Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed medium twin-turbine Transport helicopter. There are also armed gunship versions. The Mi-8 is among the world's most-produced helicopters, used by over 50 countries. Russia is the main producer and the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter. Between April and May 1986 many of these machines were used to drop radiation-absorbing materials into the 4th reactor of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the explosion. Most of them were severely irradiated and abandoned in the giant junkyard (so-called "machines cemetery") near Chernobyl. Several have disappeared from the site. One crashed near the power plant after hitting the crane's lines; everyone on board perished. In Afghanistan, there are several civilian versions flying cargo contracts for the US Army.

Aviation Museum in Szolnok, Hungary. I drove one hour to the town to visit a modelling show with my two younger kids this Sunday - but since we noticed the airplanes and helicopters behind the fence along the road, we visited this much more exiting museum on our way back, too.

Szolnoki Repülőmúzeum. A két kicsivel jöttünk el Szolnokra most vasárnap, egy modellkiállítás miatt, de odafelé észrevettük a repülőket és helikoptereket az út széli kerítés mögött, ezért visszafelé már itt is megálltunk - és ez a program sokkal érdekesebbnek bizonyult.

A Mi–8 (NATO-kódja: Hip) helikopter a Szovjetunióban a Mihail Mil vezetése alatt álló OKB–329 tervezőirodában kifejlesztett többcélú, polgári és katonai feladatokra szánt helikopter. Az Aeroflot, a szovjet légierő és a Varsói Szerződés tagállamainak hadseregei széles körben alkalmazták. Sorozatgyártása 1967-ben kezdődött, azóta több mint 7000 db készült, és a kelet-európai országok mellett ez a típus teljesít szolgálatot Afganisztán, Banglades, Egyiptom, Etiópia, Finnország, Irak, Észak-Korea, Pakisztán, Peru, Szomália, Jemen, Szíria és Vietnam légi haderőiben.

This is the Three Dots and a Dash, a classic tiki cocktail created by Don the Beachcomber in the 1940's during World War II. The name comes from the morse code for the letter "V" which stands for victory. Tiki drinks sometimes get a bad rap as being a mindless mix of rum, fruit juice, and sugar. Three Dots and a Dash certainly has all of those things, but it's not mindless at all. It features two key ingredients that take it from a rum fruit salad to a balanced caribbean extravaganza.

The first is Allspice Dram. We often think of winter baking spices like allspice and nutmeg as being European, but the reality is many are from the Caribbean and Central America. Donn Beach knew this which is why he included allspice dram from Jamaica. The second part was using honey, which helps build a connection between the fruit, rum and spice. The rum foundation is built on rhum agricole for a distinct grassy funk. Three Dots and a Dash isn't just an excuse to drink rum and fruit juice, but it's a tour through the Caribbean from Martinique, to Jamaican, to Barbados and beyond.

1 oz rhum agricole

1 oz aged Barbados rum

1 oz fresh lime juice (see note)

0.5 oz dry curaçao (see note)

0.5 oz falernum

1 tsp oz Allspice Dram

0.5 oz honey syrup (Combine honey and warm water at a 2:1 ratio)

3 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine all of the ingredients into a shaker tin. Add ice and shake vigorously until arctic cold. Strain into an ice filled chilled footed pilsner, tiki mug or collins glass. Garnish with three cherries to represent the three dots and one pineapple frond or chunk to represent the dash.

Note: This an adapted recipe from Paul McGee. The original recipe uses orange juice, but I feel that dry curaçao works better instead. To make the original version, substitute 0.5 oz orange juice for the dry curaçao and decrease the lime juice by 0.25 oz.

© Chase Hoffman Photography. All rights reserved.

This is RIPTIDE's first visit to the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, which is celebrating it's 40th anniversary this year. I've still got a long way to go to bring her back to her glory, but it's a shot in the arm just being around so many other wonderful boats.

RIPTIDE was built in 1927 by Frank E and William J Schertzer. They owned Schertzer Brothers Boat and Machine Company, which was then located at 1115 Northlake Avenue on the north end of Lake Union near the foot of Stone Way in Seattle.

She is 47 feet 1-inch long with a beam of 11 feet 10-inches and a draft of four feet. RIPTIDE is planked in port orford cedar riveted to white oak frames over an apitong backbone with western red cedar houses. She displaces about 10 tons, relatively light for a boat this size.

RIPTIDE is a Coast Guard documented vessel. She carries documentation number 226242 carved into the interior face of both port and starboard bilge stringers.

She is powered by remanufactured Cummins B210 5.9 liter turbo-charged diesel of 210hp. While her top speed is over 14 knots at 2400 rpm, RIPTIDE's cruising speed is a much more sedate 9 knots at 1500 rpm. She carries 300 gallons of diesel fuel.

She was overhauled by the Port Townsend Shipwright's Co-Op in Port Townsend WA between April 8th and September 16th, 2015. RIPTIDE was completely recaulked by John Zimmer of Palouse Boatworks, and painted and varnished by Diane Salguero of Salguero Marine Services.

RIPTIDE's hailing port is Port Ludlow WA. She is usually moored in Port Madison, on Bainbridge Island, WA.

Jeff Galey and crew at the Port Townsend Shipwright's Co-Op replanked RIPTIDE, sistered and replaced frames, installed all-new wiring, fuel tanks, engine and steering systems.

www.ptshipwrights.com/wp/

www.facebook.com/PortTownsendShipwrightsCoOp?fref=ts

Diane Salguero, of Salguero Marine, painted and varnished RIPTIDE.

a href="http://salgueromarine.com/" rel="nofollow">salgueromarine.com/

www.facebook.com/marinefinishes

Suzi Clinefelter of Mystery Bay Sails and Canvas made the canvas cockpit cover for RIPTIDE, with more canvas on order.

www.mysterybaysailscanvas.com/

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Coriander (UK /ˌkɒrɪˈændə/; US /ˈkɔːriˌændər/ or /ˌkɔːriˈændər/; Coriandrum sativum), also known as cilantro (/sɪˈlɑːntroʊ/) or Chinese parsley, is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds are the parts most traditionally used in cooking.

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

Coriander is native to regions spanning from southern Europe and northern Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft plant growing to 50 cm tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the flowering stems. The flowers are borne in small umbels, white or very pale pink, asymmetrical, with the petals pointing away from the center of the umbel longer (5–6 mm) than those pointing toward it (only 1–3 mm). The fruit is a globular, dry schizocarp 3–5 mm in diameter.

ETYMOLOGY

First attested in English in the late 14th century, the word "coriander" derives from the Old French: coriandre, which comes from Latin: coriandrum, in turn from Ancient Greek: κορίαννον koriannon. The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek ko-ri-ja-da-na written in Linear B syllabic script (reconstructed as koriadnon, similar to the name of Minos's daughter Ariadne) which later evolved to koriannon or koriandron.

Cilantro is the Spanish word for coriander, also deriving from coriandrum. It is the common term in North American English for coriander leaves, due to their extensive use in Mexican cuisine.

HISTORY

Coriander grows wild over a wide area of Western Asia and southern Europe, prompting the comment, "It is hard to define exactly where this plant is wild and where it only recently established itself." Fifteen desiccated mericarps were found in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B level of the Nahal Hemar Cave in Israel, which may be the oldest archaeological find of coriander. About half a litre (a pint) of coriander mericarps was recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamen, and because this plant does not grow wild in Egypt, Zohary and Hopf interpret this find as proof that coriander was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians.

Coriander seems to have been cultivated in Greece since at least the second millennium BC. One of the Linear B tablets recovered from Pylos refers to the species as being cultivated for the manufacture of perfumes, it apparently was used in two forms: as a spice for its seeds and as a herb for the flavour of its leaves.[8] This appears to be confirmed by archaeological evidence from the same period; the large quantities of the species retrieved from an Early Bronze Age layer at Sitagroi in Macedonia could point to cultivation of the species at that time.

Coriander was brought to the British colonies in North America in 1670, and was one of the first spices cultivated by early settlers.

USES

All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds are the parts most traditionally used in cooking. Coriander is used in cuisines throughout the world.

LEAVES

The leaves are variously referred to as coriander leaves, fresh coriander, dhania, Chinese parsley, or (in the US and commercially in Canada) cilantro.

Coriander potentially may be confused with culantro (Eryngium foetidum L.), an Apiaceae like coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.), but from a different genus. Culantro has a distinctly different spiny appearance, a more potent volatile leaf oil and a stronger aroma.

The leaves have a different taste from the seeds, with citrus overtones. However, some people find the leaves to have an unpleasant soapy taste or a rank smell and avoid them.

The fresh leaves are an ingredient in many South Asian foods (such as chutneys and salads); in Chinese and Thai dishes; in Mexican cooking, particularly in salsa and guacamole and as a garnish; and in salads in Russia and other CIS countries. Chopped coriander leaves are a garnish on Indian dishes such as dal. As heat diminishes their flavour, coriander leaves are often used raw or added to the dish immediately before serving. In Indian and Central Asian recipes, coriander leaves are used in large amounts and cooked until the flavour diminishes. The leaves spoil quickly when removed from the plant, and lose their aroma when dried or frozen.

FRUITS

The dry fruits are known as coriander seeds. The word "coriander" in food preparation may refer solely to these seeds (as a spice), rather than to the plant. The seeds have a lemony citrus flavour when crushed, due to terpenes linalool and pinene. It is described as warm, nutty, spicy, and orange-flavoured.

The variety C. s. vulgare has a fruit diameter of 3–5 mm, while var. C. s. microcarpum fruits have a diameter of 1.5–3 mm. Large-fruited types are grown mainly by tropical and subtropical countries, e.g. Morocco, India, and Australia, and contain a low volatile oil content (0.1-0.4%). They are used extensively for grinding and blending purposes in the spice trade. Types with smaller fruit are produced in temperate regions and usually have a volatile oil content around 0.4-1.8%, so are highly valued as a raw material for the preparation of essential oil.

FOOD APPLICATIONS

Coriander is commonly found both as whole dried seeds and in ground form. Roasting or heating the seeds in a dry pan heightens the flavour, aroma, and pungency. Ground coriander seed loses flavour quickly in storage and is best ground fresh. Coriander seed is a spice in garam masala and Indian curries which often employ the ground fruits in generous amounts together with cumin, acting as a thickener in a mixture called dhana jeera.

Roasted coriander seeds, called dhana dal, are eaten as a snack. They are the main ingredient of the two south Indian dishes sambhar and rasam.

Outside of Asia, coriander seed is used widely in the process for pickling vegetables. In Germany and South Africa (see boerewors), the seeds are used while making sausages. In Russia and Central Europe, coriander seed is an occasional ingredient in rye bread (e.g. Borodinsky bread), as an alternative to caraway.

The Zuni people of North America have adapted it into their cuisine, mixing the powdered seeds ground with chile and using it as a condiment with meat, and eating leaves as a salad.

Coriander seeds are used in brewing certain styles of beer, particularly some Belgian wheat beers#Witbier. The coriander seeds are used with orange peel to add a citrus character.

Coriander seed is one of the main traditional ingredients in the South African Boerewors, a popular spiced mixed-meat sausage.

RESEARCH

One preliminary study showed coriander essential oil to inhibit Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli.

ROOTS

Having a deeper, more intense flavor than the leaves, coriander roots are used in a variety of Asian cuisines, especially in Thai dishes such as soups or curry pastes.

FLOWERING CORIANDER FOR APHID CONTROL

In the Salinas Valley of California, aphids have been one of the worst pests in the lettuce fields. The USDA Cooperative Extension Service has been investigating organic methods for aphid control, and experimented with coriander plants and Alyssum plants; when intercropped with the lettuce and allowed to flower, they attract beneficial insects such as hoverflies, the larvae of which eat up to 150 aphids per day before they mature into flying adults.

NUTRIENTS

The nutritional profile of coriander seeds is different from the fresh stems or leaves. Leaves are particularly rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K, with moderate content of dietary minerals (table above). Although seeds generally have lower content of vitamins, they do provide significant amounts of dietary fiber, calcium, selenium, iron, magnesium and manganese.

RASTE AND SMELL

Different people may perceive the taste of coriander leaves differently. Those who enjoy it say it has a refreshing, lemony or lime-like flavor, while those who dislike it have a strong aversion to its taste and smell, characterizing it as soapy or rotten. Studies also show variations in preference among different ethnic groups: 21% of East Asians, 17% of Caucasians, and 14% of people of African descent expressed a dislike for coriander, but among the groups where coriander is popular in their cuisine, only 7% of South Asians, 4% of Hispanics, and 3% of Middle Eastern subjects expressed a dislike.

Twin studies have shown that 80% of identical twins shared the same preference for the herb, but fraternal twins agreed only about half the time, strongly suggesting a genetic component to the preference. In a genetic survey of nearly 30,000 people, two genetic variants linked to perception of coriander have been found, the most common of which is a gene involved in sensing smells. The gene, OR6A2, lies within a cluster of olfactory-receptor genes, and encodes a receptor that is highly sensitive to aldehyde chemicals. Flavor chemists have found that the coriander aroma is created by a half-dozen or so substances, and most of these are aldehydes. Those who dislike the taste are sensitive to the offending unsaturated aldehydes, while simultaneously may also be unable to detect the aromatic chemicals that others find pleasant. Association between its taste and several other genes, including a bitter-taste receptor, have also been found.

SIMILAR PLANTS

Other herbs are used where they grow in much the same way as coriander leaves.

Eryngium foetidum has a similar, but more intense, taste. Known as culantro, it is found in Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean.

Persicaria odorata is commonly called Vietnamese coriander, or rau răm. The leaves have a similar odour and flavour to coriander. It is a member of the Polygonaceae, or buckwheat family.

Papaloquelite is one common name for Porophyllum ruderale subsp. macrocephalum, a member of the Compositae or Asteraceae, the sunflower family. This species is found growing wild from Texas to Argentina.

ALLERGY

Coriander can produce an allergic reaction in some people.

This is the sort of photograph that you look at and get as far as "Ah, yes, that's ..." before realising that you can't finish the sentence. E. Fleming, Tobacconist and Confectioner, even has a street name plate on the front, but it is too small and faded to read. If that is a Bedford HA van at the far right, the picture would be from approximately 1963 onwards. Was it next to Convent Street in Ponderlaw and has everything been demolished? Probably not.

Fordwich claims to be the smallest town in England, and depending on what criteria you use, it might be. Or not.

Fordwich lies alongside a narrow lane that winds down the Stour valley side and jumps over the river via a pack bridge. THe road is very narrow in places, wide enough for just one car and turns in 90 degrees in two places too, meaning that it is totally unsuitable for the 20th century, let alone the 21st.

Fordwich was the main prt for Canterbury and is the limit of navigation now on the Stour. It was also once presided over by Sandwich and so is one of the Cinque Ports despite being a few miles from the sea now. This is because of the silting of the Wantsum Channel I talked about at Stourmouth.

Fordwich has two fine pubs, as well as a well known town hall, on stilts, shots of which I have posted before.

St Mary is now under the care of the CCT, and is home to what may be the lid of St Thomas of Canterbury's tomb and a very fine William of Orange coat of arms on the Chancel Arch.

St Mary is also available for Champing; camping in historical buildings, and several of the box pews have camp beds set up.

On this day the writer found the church to be as cold a fridge, and more than a sleeping bag needed to be kept warm at night.

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Familiar as one of the locations in the cult film `A Canterbury Tale` it stands in the heart of the smallest town in England. A Norman church with later additions it contains much of interest. Most notable is the carved stone which reputedly formed part of St Augustine's tomb in nearby Canterbury. Probably of tenth century date it was brought here by the Victorians. There is a fine assemblage of glass - much of it medieval, although the east window is a fine example of the work of Martin Travers. At the west end is a series of shelves for doling out bread to the poor. The box pews are eighteenth century and the floor pleasantly uneven. Keyholder nearby.

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Fordwich

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THE TOWN AND PARISH OF FORDWICH lIES at no great distance from St. Stephen's, a small part of the parish of Sturry only intervening, and about two miles north-eastward from Canterbury. It takes its name from the ford or pass, at the crooked winding of the river Stour, close to which it is situated. The liberty of the cinque ports claims over the whole of this parish, the town of which is a subordinate member to the principal cinque port of Sandwich, and in the survey of Domesday is said to lie within a hundred of its own name, (fn. 1) being called in the records of that time, Burgum de Fordwyc.

King Edward the Confessor, in the year 1055, gave all his lands in Fordwych to the abbot and convent of St. Augustine, who were possessed of some property here before; but soon after the conquest, Egelsin, then abbot, to gain the favour of the powerful Normans, granted away several of the estates of his monastery to them, and among others this of Fordwych to Hamo de Crevequer, surnamed Vicecomes. But the king afterwards, at the instance of abbot Scotland, put him again in possession of this borough, which Hamo the sheriff then held, as well as the other estates which had been given away. And at the same time Odo, bishop of Baieux, the king's half-brother, gave to the abbot all the houses he had here. Soon after this, anno 1080, the survey of Domesday was taken, in which, under the general title of the lands of that abbey, it is thus entered:

In Forewic hundred, the abbot himself holds one small borough, which is called Forewic. Two parts of this borough king Edward the Confessor gave to St. Augustine, but the third part, which was earl Goduin's the bishop of Baieux granted to the same saint, with the consent of king William. It was taxed at one yoke. There were one hundred plats of land, all but four, paying thirteen shillings, now there are seventy-three plats, paying as much. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, it was worth one hundred shillings, now eleven pounds and two shillings. There are twenty four acres of land, which St. Augustine had separate where there were, and there are six burgesses, paying twentytwo shillings.

In this borough archbishop Lanfranc has seven plats of land, which in the time of king Edward the Confessor performed their service to St. Augustine, now the archbishop takes away the service to himself.

Night to the city of Canterbury, St. Augustine has half a suling, which was separately acquitted; and there is one carucate in demesne, with fifteen borderers, and seven acres of meadow; and there are four acres of arable land, which four nuns hold in alms of the abbot, and pay two shillings, and one seam of meal flour. The whole of this, in the time of king Edward the Confessor, and afterwards, and now, was and is worth four pounds.

This manor was confirmed to the abbot and convent by inspeximus, by king Edward III. in his 36th year, at which time it appears that the abbot had a prison here, and held land then called a park in his demesne in this parish. After which it remained part of the possessions of the monastery till its dissolution, anno 30 Henry VIII. when it was surrendered into the king's hands, where the manor of Fordwich remained till king Edward VI. in his 7th year, granted it, with the advowson of the church, to Sir Thomas Cheney, to hold in capite, who in the Ist year of queen Mary alienated both manor and advowson to Mr. John Johnson, gent. of St. Laurence, whose grandson Timothy Johnson, gent. of Fordwich, about the latter end of that reign alienated them to Thomas Paramour, gent. descended from those of Paramourstreet, in Ash, who resided here, (fn. 2) and in James I.'s reign sold them to the lady Elizabeth Finch, widow of Sir Moile Finch, of Eastwell, afterwards created viscountess Maidstone and countess of Winchelsea, whose surviving son and heir Sir Thomas Finch, earl of Winchelsea, in the beginning of king Charles I.'s reign, passed them away to his relation Sir J. Finch, afterwards a justice of the common pleas, keeper of the great seal, and in 1630 created lord Finch, baron of Fordwich, who at his death in 1660 devised this manor and advowson by his will to his kinsman Heneage, earl of Winchelsea, whose grandson Charles, earl of Winchelsea, alienated them to William, lord Cowper, afterwards created earl Cowper and viscount Fordwich, whose great-grandson the right hon. Peter-Lewis-Francis, earl Cowper, is the present owner of the manor and advowson of the church of Fordwich. (fn. 3) A court baron is held for this manor.

THERE is an estate in this parish, called TANCREY ISLAND, which, in king Edward I.'s reign, was the property of the family of Marins, called in old deeds de Marinis, one of whom, John de Maryns, had a grant of free-warren for his lands here in the 1st year of king Edward III. but in the next reign of king Richard II. it was the property of a family who took their name from it, when Bertram de Tancrey stiled himself lord of it, in whose descendants it continued down to king Henry IV.'s reign, when it passed to the Beverleys, of Beverley, in Harbledowne, who afterwards quitted that seat and resided here, in whom it continued till William Beverley leaving an only daughter and heir Beatrix, she carried it in marriage, about king Henry VIII.'s reign, to William Norton, of Faversham, second son of Reginald Norton, esq. of Sheldwich; and it appears by the arms on a gravestone in this church, that this branch of the family of Norton bore for their arms, Three swords, jointed at the pomels in triangle, on a chief, three maunches; and that the Beverleys bore, Barry, on a chief, two pales, over all, an escutcheon, a crescent for difference; by which correct the arms of Beverley, in Harbledowne. He afterwards removed hither, and in his descendants it continued till at length it became the property of Mr. George Upton, gent. of Canterbury. After which it passed by his will to his relations, the Jennings's, with whom it continued down to Anthony Jennings, who resided here, and died possessed of it in 1771, leaving his widow Mrs. Martha Jennings surviving, who is now possessed of it, and resides here.

THE TOWN of Fordwich was in antient time of much greater account than it has been for a long time past, for Leland, who lived in Henry the VIIIth.'s reign, mentions it as then having in it a poor mayor. During the time that Reculver continued one of the mouths of the Portus Rhutupinus, and the sea flowed up from thence as far as Fordwich, it continued the great resort for the shipping, which then frequented in abundance the river Stour, the navigation of which extended as high as the key of this town, where the ships were moored, and where all goods were laded and unladed; and in the time of the Saxons there was here a public collector of the customs and droits arising from thence, appointed by the king; which duties, after the gift of the manor of Fordwich by king Edward the Confessor, belonged to the abbot of St. Augustine, and continued so till the dissolution of that monastery in king Henry VIII.'s reign. But the prior and convent of the Holy Trinity, afterwards Christ-church, in Canterbury, claimed the privilege of a key here likewise, for the use of which they built a house in a meadow close to the town, which the abbot of St. Augustine's repeatedly threw down; but this produced continual controversies between them, which at last, in 1285, was settled by a composition made between them, by the justices itinerant, appointed by the king for that purpose. (fn. 4)

The town of Fordwich lies very low and unhealthy, close to the marshes, on the southern bank of the river Stour, a lonely place, of little or no thoroughfare. It is but small and mean, consisting of about thirty houses and cottages. The only remains of antiquity, of its having belonged to the abbey of St. Augustine for a great length of time past, was a losty arched gateway, built of brick, at the entrance to their wharf here, lately pulled down, and a small length of flint wall close to the river. Near which is a large handsome house, belonging to the Blaxlands, and now made use of as a soap manufactory. This house is known by the name of Hemphall, and was formerly part of the possessions of St. Augustine's monastery, parcel of their manor here, probably their manorhouse, and the same in which the Johnsons and Paramours, who afterwards had the grant of the manor, resided. Not long after which it seems to have been separated from the manor, and come into the possession of the Crispes, in which it continued, till at length Mrs. Eleanor-Anne, daughter of Henry Crispe, esq. of Quekes, carried it in marriage to Robert Darell, esq. who resided here, whose first wife she was; and afterwards, in like manner, to the Shorts, several of whom, as well as the Darells, lie buried in the chancel of this church, the last of whom, Samuel Short, esq. of this town, died in 1716. After which it was alienated to the Turners, and thence to the Blaxlands. Close to the above-mentioned house is the court-hall, or sessions-house, and the prison underneath it. In the southern part of it is an antient brick house, formerly of some note, and much larger, seemingly of the time of queen Elizabeth, and no doubt once a gentleman's habitation, now belonging to the Graydons; a little above which is a seat, called Hermesland, once belonging to the family of Harlestone, descended out of Suffolk, and bore for their arms, Paly, or, and sable, (fn. 5) one of whom, Simon Harlestone, resided here in queen Elizabeth's reign. After which it was purchased by the Osbornes, and was afterwards alienated by William Osbornes, A. M. rector of Fordwich, to John Graydon, esq. afterwards vice-admiral of the royal navy, who rebuilt it, and resided here at his death in 1727. He married Mary, grand daughter of Sir Edward Gregory, commissioner of Chatham dock, and dying in his eighth mayoralty of this town, was buried in Westbere church. John, his eldest son, succeeded him in this seat, and died s.p. Benjamin, his second son, was of Rochester, and left a son Benjamin, now of Fordwich, and owner of this seat; and Gregory, his third son, was of Canterbury, gent. and married a daughter of William Hougham, esq. of that city. They bore for their arms, Azure, three otters, each holding in its mouth a fish, argent. Mr. Ben jamin Graydon, of Fordwich, a descendant of him before-mentioned, is owner of this seat, which is at present untenanted. The church stands close to the east end of the town, and the parsonage-house at some distance southward of it, in the road leading to Stodmarsh, The river Stour, and the small spot of Tancrey island, over which the high road leads from Sturry to Fordwich, bound the north part of this parish, which extends about a mile southward up the hill, as far as the road next to the wall of the Moat park.

THE CORPORATION of the town of Fordwich and its liberties, extend over the town and the whole of this parish, and over part of the parishes of Westbere, Sturry, Northgate, and St. Martin's, in Canterbury, and likewise down the river Stour to Grove ferry, and thence as far as Plucks gutter, just below the Wingham water, opposite to the Isle of Thanet. It is a corporation by prescription, the members of which were at first stiled barons; but it is now governed by a mayor, jurats, and commonalty, of freemen, to which is added a high steward, treasurer, and town-clerk. The mayor, who is coroner by virtue of his office, is chosen yearly on the first Monday after the feast of St. Andrew, and with the jurats, who are justices within these liberties exclusive of all others, hold a general sessions of the peace and gaol delivery, (fn. 6) together with a court of record, the same as at Sandwich, and it has other privileges, mostly the same as the other corporations within the liberties of the cinque ports; and there was a gallows erected just below the key, for the execution of criminals, which has been down but a few years. It has a mace belonging to it, which is very handsome, of silver gilt, and given to the corporation by admiral Graydon; and the mayor, the same as at Sandwich, bears in his hand, when exercising his office, a black wand. The river Stour is still navigable for lighters and barges as far as the bridge just above the town, for the passage of carriages, over which the corporation exact a toll. The droits and duties arising from the coals and other ladings brought up the river and landed at the town-key, belong to the corporation, who likewise receive twenty shillings yearly from the dean and chapter of Canterbury, for the use of the crane and wharf here. There is a particular species of trout, which frequents the river Stour, and being for the most part caught within these liberties, is from thence known by the name of Fordwich trout; being esteemed of a superior flavour to most others, and there being but few of them taken in a year, they bear a high price, and are much sought after as a delicacy throughout the neighbourhood. They are of a silver colour, speckled with black spots, and the flesh of them is of a yellowish colour; they weigh from four to ten or twelve pounds. They are a very shy fish, insomuch that they are not often taken with a drag net, and seldom or never with a hook. It is supposed they never breed in the river, no small ones being ever found in it, nor large ones with any spawn in them, but that they come from the sea, many of them being taken without the mouth of the river, particularly in the set-nets in Pegwell bay, at the entrance of Sandwich harbour. There are not more than thirty caught here yearly on an average, though they were more caught formerly than for several years past.

SIR JOHN FINCH, (son and heir of Sir Henry Finch, younger brother of Sir Moile Finch, of Eastwell, ancestor of the earls of Winchelsea and Nottingham) who was speaker of the house of commons, and afterwards made chief justice of the common pleas, was in 1639, anno 15 Charles I. made lord keeper of the great seal, and created lord Finch, baron of Ford wich. He died in 1661, without male issue, and the title became extinct. (fn. 7)

WILLIAM COWPER, ESQ. son of Sir Wm. Cowper, bart. of Ratling-court, in Nonington, having been made lord keeper of the great seal in 1705, was on December 14, 1706, anno 5 queen Anne, created lord Cowper, baron Cowper, of Wingham, in Kent, and in 1707 made lord chancellor; and on March 18, 1718, anno 4 George I. he was further advanced to the dignity of earl Cowper, and viscount Fordwich. He died in 1723, and was buried at Hertingfordbury, being succeeded by his eldest son William, second earl Cowper, and viscount Fordwich, who died in 1764, having some time before prefixed the surname and arms of Clavering to his own, according to the will of his mother's brother. He was succeeded by his only son George Clavering, the third earl Cowper, and viscount Fordwich, who residing at Florence, was created a count of the sacred Roman empire, which title was confirmed by king George III. He died in 1789, having married Anne, daughter of Francis Gore, esq. of Southampton, and was succeeded by his eldest son George-Augustus, earl Cowper, and viscount Fordwich, who dying unmarried in February, 1799, was succeeded by the right hon. Peter-LewisFrancis, the fifth and present earl Cowper, and viscount Fordwich, who is at present unmarried. He bears for his arms, quarterly, Clavering, or, and gules, surmounted with a bend, sable; and Cowper, argent, three martlets, a chief engrailed, gules, on the latter as many annulets, or; supporters, Two bay horses, with tails docked, proper. Crest, On a wreath, a lion's gamb, erected and erased, or, holding a branch vert, sructed, gules.

Charities.

WALTER BIGG, jurat, by his will in 1631, gave three pieces of land, containing nine acres, for the relief of poor aged people, to be distributed by the mayor and jurats yearly on Good-Friday, and on the Friday before Christmas-day.

STEPHEN BIGG, of Fordwich, by will in 1646, gave the rent of 20 acres of land in Romney Marsh, to be distributed yearly to six poor housekeepers, and the like number of Sturry, 20s. to each; the remainder to put out poor boys and girls of each parish apprentices, and to remain in stock in for that use for ever.

THOMAS BIGG, by will in 1669, gave 50s. per annum, to be paid weekly to the overseers, to be distributed to the poor at their discretion. Which money is given away weekly in bread.

THERE ARE nine acres of meadow in this parish, late in the possession of Anthony Jennings, into which the resident freemen of this corporation have the liberty of turning any kind of cattle, except hogs, between the months of September and May.

FORDWICH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of the same.

¶The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, consists of two isles and a chancel, having a tall spire steeple at the west end, in which are four bells. It is situated so close to the river, and so much on a level with it, that it is sometimes overflowed, and always exceedingly wet and damp. There seems to have been some good painted glass in the windows, of which there are but few remains. In the south isle is a stone, with the figure of a woman, and inscription in brass, for Afra, wife of Henry Hawkins, gent. daughter of Thomas Norton, esq. obt. 1655; arms, Hawkins, of Nash, impaling Norton; with the quarterings of Martyn, Beverley, and Hide. Several memorials for the Jennings's, of Tancrey island, and the Nortons. In the chancel are several memorials and hatchments of the Darells and Shortes, of this parish; the latter bore, Azure, a griffin passant, between three stars of six points, or. In the church-yard is a memorial for John Graydon, esq. obt. 1774. In the west part of the body of this church, was placed a very antient stone shrine against the wall, which having been removed some years since, was cast out in the church-yard, where being soon likely to perish, by being exposed to the weather, it was purchased by the editor of this history, and brought to the precincts of the cathedral of Canterbury, where it now lies. It is one solid stone, Sculptured only on one side; the back part having two hollows, as if made to fasten it to the wall. There is no conjecture to be formed on whose account it was made and placed there. (fn. 8)

The church of Fordwich is a rectory, and was always an appendage to the manor, and as such is now of the patronage of the right hon. earl Cowper, the present lord of the manor of Fordwich. It is valued in the king's books at 5l. 15s. 2d. and is now of the clear yearly certified value of forty-two pounds. In 1588. it was valued at thirty pounds, communicants one hundred and forty. In 1640 it was valued at forty pounds, communicants one hundred. It is now of about the yearly value of one hundred and twenty pounds. There are three acres of glebe land.

The rector for some length of time received of the corporation, in lieu of tithes of the merchandize of the key here, by composition, five pounds, by the name of crane duties, which has not been paid since the year 1733.

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp56-67

super excited to be featured amongst such talented artists in a lovely 11 page piece in computers arts magazine this month. the article: Illustration - Today and Tomorrow - looks at "how leading artists are climbing to new heights"

this is the front double opening page of story - you can see my piece, "there's no place like home", in the bottom right hand corner.

the text reads as follows:

"jo 'miss led' henly is another illustrator whose work is making people take notice. she's not only dabbling in the uk art scene - she's used it to launch her career. after falling into teaching art, she realised she was inspiring others to do what she was frightened of doing herself. subsequent work invovled online and offline exhibitions closer in concept than illustration work. everything was self-initiated. this gave her the confidence to keep pushing boundaries, thereby increasing the creativity and experimentation in her work. inspired by poster pop, pre-raphaelite portraits, graffiti and art nouveau, her free flowing, almost classic illustration style came about on its own. she is now regularly taking on editioral work as well as further opportunities in the art space.

when secretwars wars took their live drawing competition to the designersblock festival in london last september, henly emerged the winner. she says, "being the only female ever to enter was enough for me, but after three exhausting hours over a 20x8-foot wall space, four rounds and four stories , i was victorious!"

Kniphofia is the genus of Red Hot Pokers. There are many species, mostly in South Africa, and various species and cultivars are popular garden plants. The best known and most widespread species is K. linearifolia. The species in this photo, however, is K. splendida, a spectacular plant with flowering stems reaching nearly 2 m tall, crowned by a large and dense cone of flowers, here seen in the upper Upper Nhandar Valley on Mt Gorongosa.

Here is a pond just south of Lake Calhoun, a Minneapolis landmark, one of several lakes in the metro area.

This shot turned out really well with some interesting character. It was a two minute exposure on Kodak x-ray film processed in Caffenol-C. I don't know if the splotchy look comes from being the 2nd sheet of film run through the same chemicals, or the clouds and water moving around. Either way, I like it. It looks like the photograph was made 100-150 years ago. Although I have shot a number of paper negatives in 8x10, this is my first 8x10 in pinhole using film.

Camera is a box of foam core taped to an old wooden 8x10 film back. 202mm focal length.

Look at that branch… because that is what this is really about.

My brother would tell me my photos are getting dirty lately. I love dirt.

—-

I wrote when living in NYC on this day:

Today I'm sick, I keep missing my mom's calls and certain people I don't like are especially annoying and make me irritable today. On top of that all, I have this weird heightened sense of awareness that can be quite tiring. I keep struggling with censoring my content as more and more people I do know come to my website to see my pictures.

I struggle with the nakedness in my words: I know I've discussed this before and trust me, it is easier when complete strangers come here because they don't come with a fictitious, preconceived notion of who I am and what I'm suppose to be. They are surprised by nothing I say because they simply have no expectations. With that all said, I feel the friends that do come here understand and genuinely care about what I write and photograph, which is really awesome at the same time. This is something I will get comfortable with over time, I wreckon, or not. Who knows really.

I feel we are a generation of expression mostly because there are so many avenues to express yourself like YouTube, blogs and even Flickr. My avenue of choice has always been pictures and words. However, writing for me goes beyond being just another meandering avenue of expression. It is an opportunity for me to be narcissistic and raw. It gives me a chance to understand the joy, turmoil, or confusion just like a mathematician writes equations up on the board to eventually solve a puzzle. When I step back from what I write, I feel relief, as if I've found a hidden message of what my unconsciousness was trying to tell me. It can be as simple as: go eat some Terry's Chocolate Orange and go to bed. This is why I'd like to think my thoughts and words are meaningless for readers (sorry they don't contain the answers for a unifying theory) because they are so decontextualized and not generalizable. Whether that is true or not, I don't really know.

@ Denmark pavilion, Expo park, Shanghai

It is a little bit better to view LARGE or Click "L" on your keyboard. To view in black, please click the image. (Recommended)

These exposures are part of this Southwest video. Please check-out this high defination (HD) video - Southwest.

Non HDR Image - A Single Exposure - No Flash

Over a couple of hundreds of my photographs are available for sale. Try to search my name, cvrestan in Google that will give you the links.

All images are available for sale. If you are interested, please drop me an e-mail.

Thanks a lot and enjoy. Have a good one.

The sumptuous Galleria Borghese is home to one of Italy's finest collections of paintings, sculptures and antiquities, most of them collected by the hedonistic and extravagant Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1577-1633), a nephew of Pope Paul V. This collection, though depleted over the centuries, is still substantial and has been in public ownership since 1902. It is displayed in 20 rooms on two floors. The photograph was taken in Room V (the Room of the Hermaphrodite) and is of a 2nd century AD sculpture of a sleeping hermaphrodite. It is a copy of a 2nd century BC Greek original by Polycles; the head and bed on which (s)he rests was a 19th century addition.

The Havelock statue, constructed in 1861, is located on Building Hill at the south of the park and commemorates Sir Henry Havelock, a celebrated military general born in Bishopwearmouth. Either side of the statue are cannons, named Joshua and Caleb, replicas of those captured from the Russians during the Crimean war. The originals were melted down for metal during the Second World War.

The over life-sized bronze figure of Havelock in military uniform and a sword in his hand is on a high stepped based and a tall, square, granite plinth and faces toward his birthplace. The figure is signed 1861 by Behnes and the founder's mark on the rear of plinth reads: "The Statue Foundry, Pimlico, London". The inscription on the front of the plinth reads: "Born 5 April 1775 at Ford Hall, Bishopwearmouth. Died 24 November 1857 at Dil Koosha, Lucknow". There is a statue of Havelock by the same sculptor in Trafalgar Square, London.

Mowbray Park is a municipal park in the centre of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, located a few hundred yards from the busy thoroughfares of Holmeside and Fawcett Street and bordered by Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens to the north, Burdon Road to the west, Toward Road to the east and Park Road to the south. The park was voted best in Britain in 2008.

Mowbray Park is one of the oldest municipal parks in North East England.

The roots of Mowbray Park date back to the 1830s, when a health inspector recommended building a leafy area in the town after Sunderland recorded the first cholera epidemic in 1831. A grant of £750 was provided by the Government to buy a £2,000 plot of land from the Mowbray family for a new park.

Work on Mowbray Park – then known as The People's Park – began in the mid-1850s, incorporating a former limestone quarry set within what was known as Building Hill. It appears that spoil heaps were shaped and mounded to create distinctive paths amongst steep sided hummocks. The effect was to afford the Victorian user plenty of opportunity to perambulate within a relatively small green area.

The park was opened by John Candlish, Lord Mayor MP of Sunderland on 21 May 1857.

On the day of the park's opening on 12 May 1857, shops closed early as thousands of people flocked to attend the ceremony. An extension to Mowbray Park, from the railway cutting to Borough Road, was opened on 11 July 1866.

It was opened in 1857 in response to a demand for more open spaces in the town. The land was purchased from the Mowbray family, and named after them in recognition. The park was extended in 1866 to include a lake and a terrace, and in 1879 the Winter Gardens, museum and art gallery were added along the Borough Road side.

The Second World War affected the park; It was hit with numerous German bombs, the iron structures – most notably the Winter Gardens, a cast iron bridge, and the bandstand – were taken away to be melted down for weapons, and the open spaces were converted into vegetable patches.

Following the war, the park fell into neglect. Sunderland Civic Centre was built on the west portion of the park. The area became known for anti-social and abusive behaviour, and was considered generally unsafe. In August 1993, over £13,000 worth of damage was caused, and a survey by the Sunderland Echo showed that locals were too scared to use the park.

Following a public campaign, in 1994 work began on restoring the park to its Victorian glory, funded by a £3.3 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, described as: "The jewel in the crown of the city centre regeneration". The Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens were rebuilt, the lake was restored, the bandstand was rebuilt, and the park was re-shaped and adorned with new artworks. A large adventure play area for children was built, to an "Alice Through The Looking Glass Theme" featuring a distorted giant chequer board and giant chess pieces. The park officially re-opened in 2000.

In the first year following re-opening, the park received over 800,000 visitors, making it the most visited attraction outside London.

The Beheading of St. John the Baptist is my favourite dedication of any Kent church seen this far. It sits on the side of a down, above the rest of the village, which is what counts as the main road from Newnham to Lenham.

It also sits beside the parkland of Doddington Park, I was told by a local that is well worth a visit to see the gardens.

That the church is largely untouched since the 13th century, the clapboarded tower seems to have a new coast of paint and glistened in the early spring sunshine.

The churchyard seems now to be a nature reserve, or that wildlife is encouraged. So it is carpeted with snowdrops, with Winter Aconites, Primroses and Crocuses all showing well.

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An enchanting church set in a wooded churchyard on the edge of a steep valley. The building displays much of medieval interest due to minimal nineteenth-century interference. The most important feature is the small stone prayer desk next to the westernmost window of the chancel. This window is of the low side variety - the desk proving the window's part in devotional activities. The nearby thirteenth-century lancet windows have a series of wall paintings in their splays, while opposite is a fine medieval screen complete with canopy over the priests' seats. There is also an excellent example of a thirteenth-century hagioscope that gives a view of the main altar from the south aisle, which was a structural addition to the original building. The south chancel chapel belonged to the owners of Sharsted Court and contains a fine series of memorials to them. Most of the stained glass is nineteenth century - some of very good quality indeed. Outside there is a good tufa quoin on the north wall of the nave and a short weatherboarded tower.

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Doddington

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DODDINGTON.

NEXT to that of Linsted south-eastward, is the parish of Doddington, called in the record of Domesday, Dodeham.

THIS PARISH is about two miles across each way, it lies the greatest part of it on the hills on the northern side of the high road leading from Faversham through Newnham valley over Hollingborne hill towards Maidstone. It is a poor but healthy situation, being much exposed to the cold and bleak winds which blow up through the valley, on each side of which the hills, which are near the summit of them, interspersed with coppice woods, rise pretty high, the soil is mostly chalk, very barren, and much covered with slint stones. The village stands on the road in the valley, at the east end of it is a good house, called WHITEMANS, which formerly belonged to the family of Adye, and afterwards to that of Eve, of one of whom it was purchased by the Rev. Francis Dodsworth, who almost rebuilt it, and now resides in it. Upon the northern hill, just above the village, is the church, and close to it the vicarage, a neat modern fashed house; and about a mile eastward almost surrounded with wood, and just above the village of Newnham, the mansion of Sharsted, a gloomy retired situation.

Being within the hundred of Tenham, the whole of this parish is subordinate to that manor.

At the time of taking the above record, which was anno 1080, this place was part of the possessions of Odo, the great bishop of Baieux, the king's half brother; accordingly it is thus entered, under the general title of that prelate's lands:

The same Fulbert holds of the bishop Dodeham. It was taxed at one suling. The arable land is . . . . . In demesne there is one carucate and seventeen villeins, with ten borderers having two carucates. There is a church, and six servants, and half a fisbery of three hundred small fish, and in the city of Canterbury five houses of seven shillings and ten pence. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth ten pounds. The bishop let it to ferm for ten pounds, when Fulbert received it, six pounds, and the like now . . . . . Sired held it of king Edward.

Four years after which the bishop of Baieux was disgraced, and all his effects were consiscated to the crown.

PART OF THE above-mentioned estate was, most probably, THE MANOR OF SHARSTED, or, as it was antiently called Sabersted, the seat of which, called Sharsted-court, is situated on the hill just above the village of Newnham, though within the bounds of this parish.

This manor gave both residence and name to a family who possessed it in very early times, for Sir Simon de Sharsted died possessed of it in the 25th year of king Edward I. then holding it of the king, of the barony of Crevequer, and by the service of part of a knight's see, and suit to the court of Ledes.

Richard de Sharsted lies buried in this church, in the chapel belonging to this manor. Robert de Sharsted died possessed of it in the 8th year of king Edward III. leaving an only daughter and heir, married to John de Bourne, son of John de Bourne, sheriff several years in the reign of king Edward I. whose family had been possessed of lands and resided in this parish for some generations before. In his descendants this estate continued down to Bartholomew Bourne, who possessed it in the reign of Henry VI. in whose descendants resident at Sharsted, (who many of them lie buried in this church, and bore for their arms, Ermine, on a bend azure, three lions passant guardant, or) this estate continued down to James Bourne, esq. who in the beginning of king Charles I.'s reign, alienated Sharsted to Mr. Abraham Delaune, merchant, of London, the son of Gideon Delaune, merchant, of the Black Friars there, who bore for his arms, Azure, a cross of Lozenges, or, on a chief gules, a lion passantguardant of the second, holding in his dexter paw a fleur de lis; which was assigned to him by William Segar, garter, in 1612, anno 10 James I.

He resided at Sharsted, in which he was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir William Delaune, who resided likewise at Sharsted, where he died in 1667, and was buried in Doddington church. He was twice married; first to Anne, daughter and only heir of Tho. Haward, esq. of Gillingham, by whom he had an only daughter Anne, heir to her mother's inheritance. His second wife was Dorcas, daughter of Sir Robert Barkham, of Tottenham High Cross, (remarried to Sir Edward Dering) by whom he had a son William, and a daughter Mary, married to colonel Edward Thornicroft, of Westminster.

William Delaune, esq. the son, succeeded to this estate, and was knight of the shire for this county. He died in 1739, s.p having married Anne, the widow of Arthur Swift, esq. upon which it passed by the entail in his will to his nephew Gideon Thornicroft, son of his sister Mary, widow of Edward Thornicroft, esq. by whom she had likewise three daughters, Dorcas, Elizabeth, and Anne. This branch of the family of Thornicroft was situated at Milcomb, in Oxfordshire, and was a younger branch of those of Thornicroft, in Cheshire. John Thornicroft, esq. of London, barrister-at-law, was younger brother of Edward Thornicroft, esq. of Cheshire, and father of John, for their arms, Vert, a mascle, or, between four crasscreated a baronet of August 12, 1701, and of colonel Edward Thornicroft above-mentioned. They bore for their arms, Vert, a mascle, or, between four crosscroslets, argent. Lieutenant-colonel Thornicroft was governor of Alicant, when that fortress was besieged in 1709, and perished there, by the explosion of a mine. (fn. 1)

Gideon Thornicroft, esq. possessed this estate but a small time, and dying in 1742, s.p. and being the last in the entail above-mentioned, he devised it by his will to his mother, Mrs.Mary Thornicroft, who dying in 1744, by her will devised to her two maiden daughters, Dorcas and Anne, this manor and seat, as well as all the rest of her estates, excepting Churchill farm in Doddington, which she gave to her second daughter Elizabeth, who had married George Nevill, lord Abergavenny, who dieds.p. and lady Abergavenny, in her life-time, made a deed of gift of this farm, to her son Alured Pinke, esq. who now owns it.

They possessed this estate jointly till the death of Mrs.Dorcas Thornicroft, in 1759, when she by will devised her moiety of it, as well as the rest of her estates, except the Grange in Gillingham, to her sister Mrs. Anne Thornicroft, for her life, remainder in tail to her nephew Alured Pinke, barrister-at-law, son of Elizabeth, lady Abergavenny, her sister by her second husband Alured Pinke. esq. barrister-at-law, who had by her likewise a daughter Jane, married to the Rev. Henry Shove; upon this Mrs.Anne Thornicroft before-mentioned, became the sole possessor of this manor and estate, in which she resided till her death in 1791, æt. 90, upon which it came to her nephew, Alured Pinke, esq. before-mentioned, who married Mary, second daughter of Thomas Faunce, esq. of Sutton-at-Hone, by whom he has one son Thomas. He bears for his arms, Argent, five lozenges in pale, gules, within a bordure, azure, charged with three crosses pattee, fitchee. He resides here, and is the present possessor of this seat and estate. A court baron is held for this manor.

DOWNE-COURT is a manor in this parish, situated on the hill, about half a mile north westward from the church. In the reign of king Edward I. it was in the possession of William de Dodington, who in the 7th year of it did homage to archbishop Peckham for this manor, as part of a knight's fee, held of him by the description of certain lands in Doddington, called Le Downe. His descendant Simon de Dodington, paid aid for it in the 20th year of king Edward III. as appears by the Book of Aid; from him it passed into the family of Bourne, of Bishopsborne, whose ancestors were undoubtedly possessed of lands in this parish, (fn. 2) so early as the reign of Henry III. for archbishop Boniface, who came to the see of Canterbury in the 29th year of it, granted to Henry de Bourne, (fn. 3) one yoke of land, in the parish of Dudingtune, belonging to his manor of Tenham, which land he held in gavelkind, and might hold to him and his heirs, of the archbishop and his successors, by the service of part of a knight's fee, and by rent to the manor of Tenham.

His descendant John de Bourne lived in the reign of king Edward I. in the 17th year of which he obtained a charter offree warrenfor his lands in Bourne, Higham, and Doddington, after which he was sheriff in the 22d and the two following years of it, as he was again in the 5th year of king Edward III. His son John de Bourne married the daughter and sole heir of Robert de Sharsted, by which he became possessed of that manor likewise, as has been already related, and in his descendants Downe-court continued till about the latter end of king Henry VI.'s reign, when it was alienated to Dungate, of Dungate-street, in Kingsdown, the last of which name leaving an only daughter and heir, she carried it in marriage to Killigrew, who about the beginning of Henry VIII. ending likewise in two daughters and coheirs, one of whom married Roydon, and the other Cowland, they, in right of their respective wives, became possessed of it in equal shares. The former, about the latter end of that reign, alienated his part to John Adye, gent. of Greet, in this parish, a seat where his ancestors had been resident ever since the reign of Edward III. for he was descended from John de Greet, of Greet, in this parish, who lived there in the 25th year of that king's reign. His grandson, son of Walter, lived there in the reign of Henry V. and assumed the name of Adye. (fn. 4) This family bore for their arms, Azure, a fess dancette, or, between three cherubins heads, argent, crined of the second; which coat was confirmed by-Sir John Segar, garter, anno 11 James I. to John Adye, esq. of Doddington, son and heir of John Adye, esq. of Sittingborne, and heir of John Adye, the purchaser of the moiety of this manor.

He possessed this moiety of Downe court on his father's death, and was resident at Sittingborne. He died on May 9, 1612, æt. 66, and was buried in Doddington church, leaving issue by Thomasine his wife, daughter and coheir of Rich. Day, gent. of Tring, in Hertsordshire, one son John, and five daughters.

John Adye, esq. the grandson of John, the first purchaser, succeeded at length to this moiety of Downe-court, and resided there, during which time he purchased of the heirs of Allen the other moiety of it, one of which name had become possessed of it by sale from the executors of Cowland, who by his will in 1540, had ordered it to be sold, for the payment of debts and legacies. He died possessed of the whole of this manor and estate, in 1660, and was buried in Nutsted church, of which manor he was owner. He left by his first wife several children, of whom John, the eldest, died s.p. Edward, the second, was of Barham in the reign of king Charles II. under which parish more of him and his descendants may be seen; (fn. 5) and Nicholas was the third son, of whom mention will be made hereafter. By his second wife he had Solomon, who was of East Shelve, in Lenham, and other children.

Nicholas Adye, esq. the third son, succeeded to Downe-court, and married Jane, daughter of Edward Desbouverie, esq. Their eldest son, John Adye, succeeded to this manor, at which he resided till he removed to Beakesborne, at the latter end of Charles II.'s reign, about which time he seems to have alienated it to Creed, of Charing, in which name it continued till it was sold to Bryan Bentham, esq. of Sheerness, who devised it to his eldest son Edward Bentham, esq. of the Navy-office, who bore for his arms, Quarterly, argent and gules, a cross story counterchanged; in the first and fourth quarters, a rose, gules, seeded, or, barbed vert; in the second and third quarters, a sun in its glory, or; being the arms given by queen Elizabeth to Thomas Bentham, D.D. bishop of Litchfield, on his being preferred to that see in 1559, the antient family arms of Bentham, of Yorkshire, being Argent, a bend between two cinquefoils, sable. Since his death this estate has by his will become vested in trustees, to fulfil the purposes of it.

Charities.

JOHN ADYE, ESQ. gave by will in 1660, 40s. to the poor of this parish, payable yearly out of Capel hill, in Leysdown, the estate of Samuel-Elias Sawbridge, esq.

AN UNKNOWN PERSON gave 20s. per annum, payable out of an estate in Doddington, late belonging to the earl of Essingham, and now to the Rev. Francis Dodsworth.

TEN SHILLINGS are paid yearly at Christmas, to the poor of this parish, by the lessee of the parsonage by the reservation in his lease.

THE REV. MR. SOMERCALES, vicar of this parish, by his will gave an Exchequer annuity of 14l. to be applied to the instructing of poor children in the Christian religion.

FORTY HILLINGS are payable yearly at Michaelmas, out of a field formerly called Pyding, now St.John Shotts, belonging to Alured Pinke, esq. towards the repair of the church.

A PERSON UNKNOWN gave for the habitation of three poor persons, a house, now containing three dwellings.

The poor constantly relieved are about forty-five.

DODDINGTON is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the dioceseof Canterbury, and deanry of Ospringe.

The church, which is dedicated to St. John Baptist, consists of a body and chancel, with a chapel or chantry on the south side of it, belonging to the Sharsted estate. At the west end is a low pointed steeple, in which are six bells. About the year 1650, the steeple of this church was set on fire by lightning, and much damaged. In this church are memorials for the Swalman's, Nicholson's of Homestall, and the Norton's, and in the south, or Sharsted chancel, there is a black marble of an antique form, and on a fillet of brass round the verge of it, in old French capitals, Hic Jacet Ricardus de Saherstada, with other letters now illegible, and memorials for the Bourne's and Delaune's.

The church of Doddington was antiently esteemed as a chapel to the church of Tenham, as appears by the Black Book of the archdencon, and it was given and appropriated with that church and its appendages, in 1227, by archbishop Stephen Langton, to the archdeaconry. It has long since been independent of the church of Tenham, and still continues appropriated to the archdeacon, who is likewise patron of the vicarage of it.

Richard Wethershed, who succeded archbishop Langton in 1229, confirmed the gift of master Girard, who whilst he was rector of the church of Tenham, granted to the chapel of Dudintune, that the tithes of twenty acres of the assart of Pidinge should be taken for the use of this chapel for ever, to be expended by the disposition of the curate, and two or three parishioners of credit, to the repairing of the books, vestments, and ornaments necessary to the chapel. (fn. 6)

It is valued in the king's books at fifteen pounds, and the yearly tenths at 1l. 10s. In the visitation of archdeacon Harpsfield, in 1557, this vicarage was returned to be of the value of twelve pounds; parishioners sixty, housholders thirty-two.

¶In 1569, at the visitation of archbishop Parker, it was returned, that the chapel of Doddington used to be let to farm for forty pounds, and sometimes for less; that there were here communicants one hundred and thirteen, housholders thirty-five. In 1640 the vicarage was valued at thirty pounds; communicants one hundred and seven.

Archdeacon Parker, at the instance of archbishop Sancrost, by lease, anno 27 Charles II. reserved an additional pension of ten pounds per annum to the vicar. It pays no procurations to the archdeacon. It is now a discharged living in the king's books.

CORSEWALL LIGHTHOUSE IS LOCATED ON CORSEWALL POINT ON THE ROCKY NORTH COAST OF THE RHINS OF GALLOWAY, THE CATEGORY A-LISTED CORSEWALL LIGHTHOUSE LIES 9 MILES (14.5 KM) NORTH NORTHWEST OF STRANRAER, PROVIDING A BEACON FOR SHIPS APPROACHING THE MOUTH OF LOCH RYAN.

BUILT BETWEEN 1815-17 BY THE NOTED ENGINEER ROBERT STEVENSON (1772 - 1850) ON THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE BOARD, ITS WHITE-PAINTED MASONRY TOWER RISES TO 34M (111 FEET) AND ITS LIGHT CAN BE SEEN AT A DISTANCE OF 22 MILES (35 KM). THE ASSOCIATED LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS' COTTAGES ARE OF THE USUAL STYLE FOR THE TIME, CONSTRUCTED OF WHITE-PAINTED ASHLAR WITH RAISED QUOINS.

THE FIRST KEEPER WAS REMOVED WHEN THE LIGHT STOPPED ROTATING AFTER HE HAD FALLEN ASLEEP ON DUTY. ORIGINALLY ILLUMINATED BY OIL LAMPS, THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS MODERNISED IN 1891 AND 1910. IN NOVEMBER 1970, SEVERAL PANES OF GLASS IN THE LAMP-ROOM WERE BROKEN WHEN THE SUPERSONIC AIRLINER CONCORDE PASSED BY ON TEST FLIGHT.

THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS AUTOMATED IN 1994 AND IS NOW REMOTELY MONITORED FROM EDINBURGH. THE FORMER KEEPERS' COTTAGES HAVE BEEN SOLD BY THE BOARD AND NOW FORM THE CORSEWALL LIGHTHOUSE HOTEL.

This is the The Walker Memorial Hall on Ampton Road in Edgbaston.

The hall is for Edgbaston Old Church.

At 17a Ampton Road.

Grade II listed.

Walker Hall 17a, Birmingham

AMPTON ROAD

1.

5104

Edgbaston B15

No 17A

(Walker Ball)

SP 0585 SE 45/9

II GV

2.

Circa 1840-50 former school of modest size. One storey red brick with burnt

header diaper work. Slight Jacobean Gothic details. Main hall has gabled

break; entrance link to crosswing hall. Gables with saddlestones and kneelers.

Three and 4 light with diamond leaded lattice casements with hollow chamfered

sandstone mullions. Gable end roofs with scalloped tiles.

Listing NGR: SP0566885048

The Walker Memorial Hall was the parish school. Low Tudor ranges of 1847 etc.

From Pevsner Architectural Guides: Birmingham by Andy Foster

Edgbaston Old Church - Walker Memorial Hall

The Walker Hall, situated in Ampton Road (B15 2UJ), a few minutes’ walk from the church, was built in 1847 as a Church of England Elementary School. It functioned as a ‘British Restaurant’ during the period of the Second World War, providing lunchtime meals for those working within the parish. The building and its land were leased to the parish in 1951, and thanks to a generous bequest from the estate of Isabel Frances Walker, whose name it now bears, it was subsequently renovated for use as a church hall.

In recent years the Walker Hall has been substantially restored, and its meeting rooms and facilities are in great demand for church events and other public and private functions. It has both a substantial kitchen, and its own car park.

North Toraja (or Toraja Utara) is a regency (kabupaten) of South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, and the home of the Toraja ethnic group. The local government seat is in Rantepao which is also the center of Toraja culture. Formerly this regency was part of Tana Toraja Regency.

The Tana Toraja boundary was determined by the Dutch East Indies government in 1909. In 1926, Tana Toraja was under the administration of Bugis state, Luwu. The regentschap (or regency) status was given on October 8, 1946, the last regency given by the Dutch. Since 1984, Tana Toraja has been named as the second tourist destination after Bali by the Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia. Since then, hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors have visited this regency. In addition, numerous Western anthropologists have come to Tana Toraja to study the indigenous culture and people of Toraja.

GEOGRAPHY

Tana Toraja is located on the Sulawesi island, 300 km north of Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi. Its geographical location is between latitude of 2°-3° South and longitude 119°-120° East (center: 3°S 120°ECoordinates: 3°S 120°E). The area of the new North Toraja Regency is 1,151.47 km², about 2.5% of the total area of South Sulawesi province. The topography of Tana Toraja is mountainous; its minimum elevation is 150 m, while the maximum is 3,083 above the sea level.

Tana Toraja Regency (Indonesian for Torajaland or Land of the Toraja, abbreviated Tator) is a regency (kabupaten) of South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, and home to the Toraja ethnic group. The local government seat is in Makale, while the center of Toraja culture is in Rantepao. But now, Tana Toraja has been divided to two regencies that consist of Tana Toraja with its capital at Makale and North toraja with its capital at Rantepao.

The Tana Toraja boundary was determined by the Dutch East Indies government in 1909. In 1926, Tana Toraja was under the administration of Bugis state, Luwu. The regentschap (or regency) status was given on 8 October 1946, the last regency given by the Dutch. Since 1984, Tana Toraja has been named as the second tourist destination after Bali by the Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia. Since then, hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors have visited this regency. In addition, numerous Western anthropologists have come to Tana Toraja to study the indigenous culture and people of Toraja.

GEOGRAPHY

Tana Toraja is centrally placed in the island of Sulawesi, 300 km north of Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi. It lies between latitude of 2°-3° South and longitude 119°-120° East (center: 3°S 120°ECoordinates: 3°S 120°E). The total area (since the separation of the new regency of North Toraja) is 2,054.30 km², about 4.4% of the total area of South Sulawesi province. The topography of Tana Toraja is mountainous; its minimum elevation is 150 m, while the maximum is 3,083 above the sea level.

ADMINISTRATION

Tana Toraja Regency in 2010 comprised nineteen administrative Districts (Kecamatan), tabulated below with their 2010 Census population.

The Torajans are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 1,100,000, of whom 450,000 live in the regency of Tana Toraja ("Land of Toraja").[1] Most of the population is Christian, and others are Muslim or have local animist beliefs known as aluk ("the way"). The Indonesian government has recognised this animistic belief as Aluk To Dolo ("Way of the Ancestors").

The word Toraja comes from the Buginese language term to riaja, meaning "people of the uplands". The Dutch colonial government named the people Toraja in 1909. Torajans are renowned for their elaborate funeral rites, burial sites carved into rocky cliffs, massive peaked-roof traditional houses known as tongkonan, and colourful wood carvings. Toraja funeral rites are important social events, usually attended by hundreds of people and lasting for several days.

Before the 20th century, Torajans lived in autonomous villages, where they practised animism and were relatively untouched by the outside world. In the early 1900s, Dutch missionaries first worked to convert Torajan highlanders to Christianity. When the Tana Toraja regency was further opened to the outside world in the 1970s, it became an icon of tourism in Indonesia: it was exploited by tourism development and studied by anthropologists. By the 1990s, when tourism peaked, Toraja society had changed significantly, from an agrarian model—in which social life and customs were outgrowths of the Aluk To Dolo—to a largely Christian society. Today, tourism and remittances from migrant Torajans have made for major changes in the Toraja highland, giving the Toraja a celebrity status within Indonesia and enhancing Toraja ethnic group pride.

ETHNIC IDENTITY

The Torajan people had little notion of themselves as a distinct ethnic group before the 20th century. Before Dutch colonisation and Christianisation, Torajans, who lived in highland areas, identified with their villages and did not share a broad sense of identity. Although complexes of rituals created linkages between highland villages, there were variations in dialects, differences in social hierarchies, and an array of ritual practices in the Sulawesi highland region. "Toraja" (from the coastal languages' to, meaning people; and riaja, uplands) was first used as a lowlander expression for highlanders. As a result, "Toraja" initially had more currency with outsiders—such as the Bugis and Makassarese, who constitute a majority of the lowland of Sulawesi—than with insiders. The Dutch missionaries' presence in the highlands gave rise to the Toraja ethnic consciousness in the Sa'dan Toraja region, and this shared identity grew with the rise of tourism in the Tana Toraja Regency. Since then, South Sulawesi has four main ethnic groups—the Bugis (the majority, including shipbuilders and seafarers), the Makassarese (lowland traders and seafarers), the Mandarese (traders and fishermen), and the Toraja (highland rice cultivators).

HISTORY

From the 17th century, the Dutch established trade and political control on Sulawesi through the Dutch East Indies Company. Over two centuries, they ignored the mountainous area in the central Sulawesi, where Torajans lived, because access was difficult and it had little productive agricultural land. In the late 19th century, the Dutch became increasingly concerned about the spread of Islam in the south of Sulawesi, especially among the Makassarese and Bugis peoples. The Dutch saw the animist highlanders as potential Christians. In the 1920s, the Reformed Missionary Alliance of the Dutch Reformed Church began missionary work aided by the Dutch colonial government. In addition to introducing Christianity, the Dutch abolished slavery and imposed local taxes. A line was drawn around the Sa'dan area and called Tana Toraja ("the land of Toraja"). Tana Toraja was first a subdivision of the Luwu kingdom that had claimed the area. In 1946, the Dutch granted Tana Toraja a regentschap, and it was recognised in 1957 as one of the regencies of Indonesia.

Early Dutch missionaries faced strong opposition among Torajans, especially among the elite, because the abolition of their profitable slave trade had angered them. Some Torajans were forcibly relocated to the lowlands by the Dutch, where they could be more easily controlled. Taxes were kept high, undermining the wealth of the elites. Ultimately, the Dutch influence did not subdue Torajan culture, and only a few Torajans were converted. In 1950, only 10% of the population had converted to Christianity.

In the 1930s, Muslim lowlanders attacked the Torajans, resulting in widespread Christian conversion among those who sought to align themselves with the Dutch for political protection and to form a movement against the Bugis and Makassarese Muslims. Between 1951 and 1965 (following Indonesian independence), southern Sulawesi faced a turbulent period as the Darul Islam separatist movement fought for an Islamic state in Sulawesi. The 15 years of guerrilla warfare led to massive conversions to Christianity.

Alignment with the Indonesian government, however, did not guarantee safety for the Torajans. In 1965, a presidential decree required every Indonesian citizen to belong to one of five officially recognised religions: Islam, Christianity (Protestantism and Catholicism), Hinduism, or Buddhism. The Torajan religious belief (aluk) was not legally recognised, and the Torajans raised their voices against the law. To make aluk accord with the law, it had to be accepted as part of one of the official religions. In 1969, Aluk To Dolo ("the way of ancestors") was legalised as a sect of Agama Hindu Dharma, the official name of Hinduism in Indonesia.

SOCIETY

There are three main types of affiliation in Toraja society: family, class and religion.

FAMILY AFFILIATION

Family is the primary social and political grouping in Torajan society. Each village is one extended family, the seat of which is the tongkonan, a traditional Torajan house. Each tongkonan has a name, which becomes the name of the village. The familial dons maintain village unity. Marriage between distant cousins (fourth cousins and beyond) is a common practice that strengthens kinship. Toraja society prohibits marriage between close cousins (up to and including the third cousin)—except for nobles, to prevent the dispersal of property. Kinship is actively reciprocal, meaning that the extended family helps each other farm, share buffalo rituals, and pay off debts.

Each person belongs to both the mother's and the father's families, the only bilateral family line in Indonesia. Children, therefore, inherit household affiliation from both mother and father, including land and even family debts. Children's names are given on the basis of kinship, and are usually chosen after dead relatives. Names of aunts, uncles and cousins are commonly referred to in the names of mothers, fathers and siblings.

Before the start of the formal administration of Toraja villages by the Tana Toraja Regency, each Toraja village was autonomous. In a more complex situation, in which one Toraja family could not handle their problems alone, several villages formed a group; sometimes, villages would unite against other villages. Relationship between families was expressed through blood, marriage, and shared ancestral houses (tongkonan), practically signed by the exchange of water buffalo and pigs on ritual occasions. Such exchanges not only built political and cultural ties between families but defined each person's place in a social hierarchy: who poured palm wine, who wrapped a corpse and prepared offerings, where each person could or could not sit, what dishes should be used or avoided, and even what piece of meat constituted one's share.

CLASS AFFILIATION

In early Toraja society, family relationships were tied closely to social class. There were three strata: nobles, commoners, and slaves (slavery was abolished in 1909 by the Dutch East Indies government). Class was inherited through the mother. It was taboo, therefore, to marry "down" with a woman of lower class. On the other hand, marrying a woman of higher class could improve the status of the next generation. The nobility's condescending attitude toward the commoners is still maintained today for reasons of family prestige.

Nobles, who were believed to be direct descendants of the descended person from heaven, lived in tongkonans, while commoners lived in less lavish houses (bamboo shacks called banua). Slaves lived in small huts, which had to be built around their owner's tongkonan. Commoners might marry anyone, but nobles preferred to marry in-family to maintain their status. Sometimes nobles married Bugis or Makassarese nobles. Commoners and slaves were prohibited from having death feasts. Despite close kinship and status inheritance, there was some social mobility, as marriage or change in wealth could affect an individuals status. Wealth was counted by the ownership of water buffaloes.

Slaves in Toraja society were family property. Sometimes Torajans decided to become slaves when they incurred a debt, pledging to work as payment. Slaves could be taken during wars, and slave trading was common. Slaves could buy their freedom, but their children still inherited slave status. Slaves were prohibited from wearing bronze or gold, carving their houses, eating from the same dishes as their owners, or having sex with free women—a crime punishable by death.

RELIGIOUS AFFILATION

Toraja's indigenous belief system is polytheistic animism, called aluk, or "the way" (sometimes translated as "the law"). In the Toraja myth, the ancestors of Torajan people came down from heaven using stairs, which were then used by the Torajans as a communication medium with Puang Matua, the Creator. The cosmos, according to aluk, is divided into the upper world (heaven), the world of man (earth), and the underworld. At first, heaven and earth were married, then there was a darkness, a separation, and finally the light. Animals live in the underworld, which is represented by rectangular space enclosed by pillars, the earth is for mankind, and the heaven world is located above, covered with a saddle-shaped roof. Other Toraja gods include Pong Banggai di Rante (god of Earth), Indo' Ongon-Ongon (a goddess who can cause earthquakes), Pong Lalondong (god of death), and Indo' Belo Tumbang (goddess of medicine); there are many more.

The earthly authority, whose words and actions should be cleaved to both in life (agriculture) and death (funerals), is called to minaa (an aluk priest). Aluk is not just a belief system; it is a combination of law, religion, and habit. Aluk governs social life, agricultural practices, and ancestral rituals. The details of aluk may vary from one village to another. One common law is the requirement that death and life rituals be separated. Torajans believe that performing death rituals might ruin their corpses if combined with life rituals. The two rituals are equally important. During the time of the Dutch missionaries, Christian Torajans were prohibited from attending or performing life rituals, but were allowed to perform death rituals. Consequently, Toraja's death rituals are still practised today, while life rituals have diminished.

CULTURE

TONGKONAN

Tongkonan are the traditional Torajan ancestral houses. They stand high on wooden piles, topped with a layered split-bamboo roof shaped in a sweeping curved arc, and they are incised with red, black, and yellow detailed wood carvings on the exterior walls. The word "tongkonan" comes from the Torajan tongkon ("to sit").

Tongkonan are the center of Torajan social life. The rituals associated with the tongkonan are important expressions of Torajan spiritual life, and therefore all family members are impelled to participate, because symbolically the tongkonan represents links to their ancestors and to living and future kin. According to Torajan myth, the first tongkonan was built in heaven on four poles, with a roof made of Indian cloth. When the first Torajan ancestor descended to earth, he imitated the house and held a large ceremony.

The construction of a tongkonan is laborious work and is usually done with the help of the extended family. There are three types of tongkonan. The tongkonan layuk is the house of the highest authority, used as the "center of government". The tongkonan pekamberan belongs to the family members who have some authority in local traditions. Ordinary family members reside in the tongkonan batu. The exclusivity to the nobility of the tongkonan is diminishing as many Torajan commoners find lucrative employment in other parts of Indonesia. As they send back money to their families, they enable the construction of larger tongkonan.

Architecture in the style of a tongkonan is still very common. Various administration buildings were built in this style in recent years, e.g. the Kecamatan building in Rantepao.

WOOD CARVINGS

To express social and religious concepts, Torajans carve wood, calling it Pa'ssura (or "the writing"). Wood carvings are therefore Toraja's cultural manifestation.

Each carving receives a special name, and common motifs are animals and plants that symbolise some virtue. For example, water plants and animals, such as crabs, tadpoles and water weeds, are commonly found to symbolise fertility. In some areas noble elders claim these symbols refer to strength of noble family, but not everyone agrees. The overall meaning of groups of carved motifs on houses remains debated and tourism has further complicated these debates because some feel a uniform explanation must be presented to tourists. Torajan wood carvings are composed of numerous square panels, each of which can represent various things, for example buffaloes as a wish of wealth for the family; a knot and a box, symbolizing the hope that all of the family's offspring will be happy and live in harmony; aquatic animals, indicating the need for fast and hard work, just like moving on the surface of water.

Regularity and order are common features in Toraja wood carving (see table below), as well as abstracts and geometrical designs. Nature is frequently used as the basis of Toraja's ornaments, because nature is full of abstractions and geometries with regularities and ordering. Toraja's ornaments have been studied in ethnomathematics to reveal their mathematical structure, but Torajans base this art only on approximations. To create an ornament, bamboo sticks are used as a geometrical tool.

FUNERAL RITES

In Toraja society, the funeral ritual is the most elaborate and expensive event. The richer and more powerful the individual, the more expensive is the funeral. In the aluk religion, only nobles have the right to have an extensive death feast. The death feast of a nobleman is usually attended by thousands and lasts for several days. A ceremonial site, called rante, is usually prepared in a large, grassy field where shelters for audiences, rice barns, and other ceremonial funeral structures are specially made by the deceased's family. Flute music, funeral chants, songs and poems, and crying and wailing are traditional Toraja expressions of grief with the exceptions of funerals for young children, and poor, low-status adults.

The ceremony is often held weeks, months, or years after the death so that the deceased's family can raise the significant funds needed to cover funeral expenses. Torajans traditionally believe that death is not a sudden, abrupt event, but a gradual process toward Puya (the land of souls, or afterlife). During the waiting period, the body of the deceased is wrapped in several layers of cloth and kept under the tongkonan. The soul of the deceased is thought to linger around the village until the funeral ceremony is completed, after which it begins its journey to Puya.

Another component of the ritual is the slaughter of water buffalo. The more powerful the person who died, the more buffalo are slaughtered at the death feast. Buffalo carcasses, including their heads, are usually lined up on a field waiting for their owner, who is in the "sleeping stage". Torajans believe that the deceased will need the buffalo to make the journey and that they will be quicker to arrive at Puya if they have many buffalo. Slaughtering tens of water buffalo and hundreds of pigs using a machete is the climax of the elaborate death feast, with dancing and music and young boys who catch spurting blood in long bamboo tubes. Some of the slaughtered animals are given by guests as "gifts", which are carefully noted because they will be considered debts of the deceased's family. However, a cockfight, known as bulangan londong, is an integral part of the ceremony. As with the sacrifice of the buffalo and the pigs, the cockfight is considered sacred because it involves the spilling of blood on the earth. In particular, the tradition requires the sacrifice of at least three chickens. However, it is common for at least 25 pairs of chickens to be set against each other in the context of the ceremony.

There are three methods of burial: the coffin may be laid in a cave or in a carved stone grave, or hung on a cliff. It contains any possessions that the deceased will need in the afterlife. The wealthy are often buried in a stone grave carved out of a rocky cliff. The grave is usually expensive and takes a few months to complete. In some areas, a stone cave may be found that is large enough to accommodate a whole family. A wood-carved effigy, called Tau tau, is usually placed in the cave looking out over the land. The coffin of a baby or child may be hung from ropes on a cliff face or from a tree. This hanging grave usually lasts for years, until the ropes rot and the coffin falls to the ground.

In the ritual called Ma'Nene, that takes place each year in August, the bodies of the deceased are exhumed to be washed, groomed and dressed in new clothes. The mummies are then walked around the village.

DANNCE AND MUSIC

Torajans perform dances on several occasions, most often during their elaborate funeral ceremonies. They dance to express their grief, and to honour and even cheer the deceased person because he is going to have a long journey in the afterlife. First, a group of men form a circle and sing a monotonous chant throughout the night to honour the deceased (a ritual called Ma'badong). This is considered by many Torajans to be the most important component of the funeral ceremony. On the second funeral day, the Ma'randing warrior dance is performed to praise the courage of the deceased during life. Several men perform the dance with a sword, a large shield made from buffalo skin, a helmet with a buffalo horn, and other ornamentation. The Ma'randing dance precedes a procession in which the deceased is carried from a rice barn to the rante, the site of the funeral ceremony. During the funeral, elder women perform the Ma'katia dance while singing a poetic song and wearing a long feathered costume. The Ma'akatia dance is performed to remind the audience of the generosity and loyalty of the deceased person. After the bloody ceremony of buffalo and pig slaughter, a group of boys and girls clap their hands while performing a cheerful dance called Ma'dondan.

As in other agricultural societies, Torajans dance and sing during harvest time. The Ma'bugi dance celebrates the thanksgiving event, and the Ma'gandangi dance is performed while Torajans are pounding rice. There are several war dances, such as the Manimbong dance performed by men, followed by the Ma'dandan dance performed by women. The aluk religion governs when and how Torajans dance. A dance called Ma'bua can be performed only once every 12 years. Ma'bua is a major Toraja ceremony in which priests wear a buffalo head and dance around a sacred tree.

A traditional musical instrument of the Toraja is a bamboo flute called a Pa'suling (suling is an Indonesian word for flute). This six-holed flute (not unique to the Toraja) is played at many dances, such as the thanksgiving dance Ma'bondensan, where the flute accompanies a group of shirtless, dancing men with long fingernails. The Toraja have indigenous musical instruments, such as the Pa'pelle (made from palm leaves) and the Pa'karombi (the Torajan version of a jaw harp). The Pa'pelle is played during harvest time and at house inauguration ceremonies.

COGENDER VIEWS

Among the Saʼadan (eastern Toraja) in the island of Sulawesi (Celebes), Indonesia, there are homosexual male toburake tambolang shamans; although among their neighbors the Mamasa (western Toraja) there are instead only heterosexual female toburake shamanesses.

LANGUAGE

The ethnic Toraja language is dominant in Tana Toraja with the main language as the Sa'dan Toraja. Although the national Indonesian language is the official language and is spoken in the community, all elementary schools in Tana Toraja teach Toraja language.

Language varieties of Toraja, including Kalumpang, Mamasa, Tae, Talondo, Toala, and Toraja-Sa'dan, belong to the Malayo-Polynesian language from the Austronesian family. At the outset, the isolated geographical nature of Tana Toraja formed many dialects between the Toraja languages themselves. After the formal administration of Tana Toraja, some Toraja dialects have been influenced by other languages through the transmigration program, introduced since the colonialism period, and it has been a major factor in the linguistic variety of Toraja languages.

A prominent attribute of Toraja language is the notion of grief. The importance of death ceremony in Toraja culture has characterised their languages to express intricate degrees of grief and mourning. The Toraja language contains many terms referring to sadness, longing, depression, and mental pain. Giving a clear expression of the psychological and physical effect of loss is a catharsis and sometimes lessens the pain of grief itself.

ECONOMY

Prior to Suharto's "New Order" administration, the Torajan economy was based on agriculture, with cultivated wet rice in terraced fields on mountain slopes, and supplemental cassava and maize crops. Much time and energy were devoted to raising water buffalo, pigs, and chickens, primarily for ceremonial sacrifices and consumption. Coffee was the first significant cash crop produced in Toraja, and was introduced in the mid 19th century, changing the local economy towards commodity production for external markets and gaining an excellent reputation for quality in the international market.

With the commencement of the New Order in 1965, Indonesia's economy developed and opened to foreign investment. In Toraja, a coffee plantation and factory was established by Key Coffee of Japan, and Torajan coffee regained a reputation for quality within the growing international specialty coffee sector Multinational oil and mining companies opened new operations in Indonesia during the 1970s and 1980s. Torajans, particularly younger ones, relocated to work for the foreign companies—to Kalimantan for timber and oil, to Papua for mining, to the cities of Sulawesi and Java, and many went to Malaysia. The out-migration of Torajans was steady until 1985. and has continued since, with remittances sent back by emigre Torajans performing an important role within the contemporary economy.

Tourism commenced in Toraja in the 1970s, and accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s. Between 1984 and 1997, a significant number of Torajans obtained their incomes from tourism, working in and owning hotels, as tour guides, drivers, or selling souvenirs. With the rise of political and economic instability in Indonesia in the late 1990s—including religious conflicts elsewhere on Sulawesi—tourism in Tana Toraja has declined dramatically. Toraja continues to be a well known origin for Indonesian coffee, grown by both smallholders and plantation estates, although migration, remittances and off-farm income is considered far more important to most households, even those in rural areas.

TOURISM AND CULTURAL CHANGE

Before the 1970s, Toraja was almost unknown to Western tourism. In 1971, about 50 Europeans visited Tana Toraja. In 1972, at least 400 visitors attended the funeral ritual of Puang of Sangalla, the highest-ranking nobleman in Tana Toraja and the so-called "last pure-blooded Toraja noble." The event was documented by National Geographic and broadcast in several European countries. In 1976, about 12,000 tourists visited the regency and in 1981, Torajan sculpture was exhibited in major North American museums. "The land of the heavenly kings of Tana Toraja", as written in the exhibition brochure, embraced the outside world.

In 1984, the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism declared Tana Toraja Regency the prima donna of South Sulawesi. Tana Toraja was heralded as "the second stop after Bali". Tourism was increasing dramatically: by 1985, a total number of 150,000 foreigners had visited the Regency (in addition to 80,000 domestic tourists), and the annual number of foreign visitors was recorded at 40,000 in 1989. Souvenir stands appeared in Rantepao, the cultural center of Toraja, roads were sealed at the most-visited tourist sites, new hotels and tourist-oriented restaurants were opened, and an airstrip was opened in the Regency in 1981.

Tourism developers have marketed Tana Toraja as an exotic adventure—an area rich in culture and off the beaten track. Western tourists expected to see stone-age villages and pagan funerals. Toraja is for tourists who have gone as far as Bali and are willing to see more of the wild, "untouched" islands. However, they were more likely to see a Torajan wearing a hat and denim, living in a Christian society. Tourists felt that the tongkonan and other Torajan rituals had been preconceived to make profits, and complained that the destination was too commercialised. This has resulted in several clashes between Torajans and tourism developers, whom Torajans see as outsiders.

A clash between local Torajan leaders and the South Sulawesi provincial government (as a tourist developer) broke out in 1985. The government designated 18 Toraja villages and burial sites as traditional tourist attractions. Consequently, zoning restrictions were applied to these areas, such that Torajans themselves were barred from changing their tongkonans and burial sites. The plan was opposed by some Torajan leaders, as they felt that their rituals and traditions were being determined by outsiders. As a result, in 1987, the Torajan village of Kété Kesú and several other designated tourist attractions closed their doors to tourists. This closure lasted only a few days, as the villagers found it too difficult to survive without the income from selling souvenirs.

Tourism has also transformed Toraja society. Originally, there was a ritual which allowed commoners to marry nobles (puang) and thereby gain nobility for their children. However, the image of Torajan society created for the tourists, often by "lower-ranking" guides, has eroded its traditional strict hierarchy. High status is not as esteemed in Tana Toraja as it once was. Many low-ranking men can declare themselves and their children nobles by gaining enough wealth through work outside the region and then marrying a noble woman.

WIKIPEDIA

This is T2, the Karori Sanctuary Trust's resident male takahe. The resident female has a more interesting name - Puffin. Oh, well, what can you do? Puffin was evidently incubating an egg, so I did not get to see her. Alas, the egg was eventually abandoned as it was likely infertile.

The takahe is an endangered flightless bird. In fact, the North Island Takahe is extinct. T2 is a South Island Takahe. Males grow to be about 6 lbs (2.7kg). The South Island Takahes were thought to be extinct until a group of them were discovered in Fjordland in 1948. There are a number of predator-free islands and zones where they are being cared for.

I encountered T2 at Zealandia, formerly known as the Karori Sanctuary Trust. He was busy stripping seeds off the grasses. Zealandia is just outside of Wellington proper - amazing to think a busy city is just a few kilometers away! It's a wonderful place to see a profusion of native New Zealand birds and other critters.

www.visitzealandia.com/

Bermuda UK is a British Overseas Territory BOT of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Bermuda info:

Bermuda's Capital City is Hamilton

Bermuda is named after Juan de Bermúdez

Juan de Bermúdez from Spain the first known European explorer to reach Bermuda in 1503

Bermuda consists of approximately 138 Islands

Bermuda's six primary islands are Bermuda Main Island, Somerset, Ireland, Saint Georges, Saint Davids and Boaz

Bermuda is approximately 21 miles long and 1.75 miles wide

Bermuda is 665 miles east-southeast of North Carolina USA

Motto "Quo Fata Ferunt" / "Whither the Fates Carry

The flag of Bermuda was adopted on October 4, 1910. It is a British Red Ensign with the Union Jack Flag in the upper left corner, and the coat of arms of Bermuda in the lower right.

Bermuda Day is a public holiday in the islands of Bermuda celebrated on May 24

Bermuda shorts are considered appropriate business attire for men when made of suit-like material and worn with knee-length socks, a dress shirt, tie, and blazer.

The Bermudian dollar is the official currency of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda.

Horseshoe Bay Beach with pink sand is often considered Bermuda's most famous beach

Pink sands of Bermuda get their color from the shells of a foraminiferan / forams which are single-celled organisms with shells

People from Bermuda are called Bermudians

Bermudians are often called Onions In the early 1600s, onions were introduced to Bermuda by the British for farming. By mid 1800s, Bermuda onions became so famous worldwide that Bermuda started to export large quantities of onions to USA and other countries. This is when Bermudians got termed as Onion.

Moon Gates, walking through a moon gate brings good luck and are very popular with newly married couples

Travel info:

Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas Cruise Ship

June 4th thru June 12th 2015 (9 days)

Destinations:

USA (New Jersey)

Bermuda - Royal Naval Dockyard

Netherlands (St. Maarten)

France (Saint Martin)

San Juan Puerto Rico

Haiti

Hashtag metadata tag

‪#‎BermudaUK‬ ‪#Bermuda #BermudaIsland #‎BOT‬ ‪#‎BritishOverseasTerritory‬ ‪#‎BritishOverseasTerritories‬ ‪#‎British‬ ‪#‎GreatBritain‬ ‪#‎Britan‬ ‪#‎UK‬ ‪#‎UnitedKingdom‬ ‪#‎TheUnitedKingdomofGreatBritainandNorthernIreland‬ ‪#‎CruisetoBermuda‬ ‪#‎CruiseBermuda‬ ‪#‎BermudaCruise‬ #Bermudian #Bermudians #onions #onionpeople #Britishculture #Caribbeanculture #Island #Hamilton #HamiltonBermuda #RoyalNavalDockyard

Photo

Bermuda island, BOT British Overseas Territory, UK The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland country, North America continent

June 6th 2015

This is me. No make up, no jewelry, no flashy clothes just me. This is who I am and who I will always be. I'm pretty plain. But no one ever said plain was a bad thing. I like to pretend I am the girl next door always your best friend but never your love. I'm quiet, but I speak when there is something worth saying. I am who I am and I'm pretty content.

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Also thank you hannah.elizabeth for your super nice testimonial. I rarely get them so I get giddy when I do.

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Get to know me

Read: www.blogger.com/home

Ask Anything: www.formspring.me/meetelizabeth

Granada is synonymous with it's greatest monument, the Alhambra Palace. One of the greatest works of Islamic architecture in existence, the palace complex contains a series of richly decorated rooms and courtyards unparalled for their rich non-figurative decoration, representing the very best in Arab/Islamic art and craftsmanship.

Built in the mid 14th century the palace was home to the Nasrid Dynasty, the last Moorish rulers in Spain, prior to the final reconquest of los Reyes Catolicos, Ferdinand and Isabella. Following their victory in Granada the palace continued for some time as a royal residence, though some parts were lost in alterations and additions by suceeding generations, including Carlos V who built his unfinished Renaissance palace on part of the complex. After centuries of neglect the buildings were restored in the 19th century and are now celebrated as amongst the World's highest architectural achievements.

Most of the main rooms are open to the public, though some areas were closed for restoration on this most recent visit. The most significant areas are the Hall of the Ambassadors with it's fine wooden ceiling, the Courtyard of the Lions and the two breathtaking domed chambers that flank the courtyard with their spectacular domed 'stalactite' ceilings.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra

One is born from a woman, ends up in Earth.

Hinduism accords the respect these deserve.

A woman is called Gruha Lakshmi, one who brings Prosperity to Home.

Tamil calls her Illal, one who owns/rules the Home.

Similarly Earth is given the respect it deserves for it supports from Birth to Death.

Earth is eulogized as Mother and there are Vedic Sukthas in praise of the Earth, Bho Suktham.

There is Neela Suktham, Neela is considered to be the consort of Lord Vishnu.

Such being the case, there is no wonder in Hinduism calling the Sanctum Sanctorum of a Temple as Garbha Gruha, Gharbha meaning The Womb and Gruha, the Home.

Tamil calls The Gharbhagriha as Karuvarai, meaning ‘where the Foetus stays’

One’s first Home is the womb.

A Hindu temple consists of an inner sanctum, thegarbha griha or womb-chamber, where the primary idol or deity is housed along with Purusa. The garbhagriha is crowned by a tower-like Shikhara, also called the Vimana. The architecture includes an ambulatory for parikrama(circumambulation), a congregation hall, and sometimes an antechamber and porch.

The Hindu temple architecture reflects a synthesis of arts, the ideals of dharma, beliefs, values and the way of life cherished under Hinduism. It is a link between man, deities, and the Universal Purusa in a sacred space.

In ancient Indian texts, a temple is a place for Tirtha – pilgrimage.It is a sacred site whose ambience and design attempts to symbolically condense the ideal tenets of Hindu way of life. All the cosmic elements that create and celebrate life in Hindu pantheon, are present in a Hindu temple – from fire to water, from images of nature to deities, from the feminine to the masculine, from kama to artha, from the fleeting sounds and incense smells to Purusha – the eternal nothingness yet universality – is part of a Hindu temple architecture.

Garbhagriha or Garbha gruha (garbha gṛha) (Sanskrit: गर्भगॄह) is the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost sanctum of a Hindu templewhere resides the murti (idol or icon) of the primary deity of the temple. Literally the word means “womb chamber”, from the Sanskritwords garbha for womb and griha for house. Only ‘priests’ (pujari) are allowed to enter this chamber.

Although the term is often associated with Hindu temples, it is also found in Jain and Buddhist temples…

In temples with a spire or vimana, this chamber is placed directly underneath it, and the two of them form the main vertical axis of the temple. These together may be understood to represent the axis of the world through Mount Meru. The garbha griham is usually also on the main horizontal axis of the temple which generally is an east-west axis. In those temples where there is also a cross-axis, the garbha gṛha is generally at their intersection.

Generally the garbhagriha is a windowless and sparsely lit chamber, intentionally created thus to focus the devotee’s mind on the tangible form of the divine within it. Entrance to the garbha grha may be restricted to priests who perform the services there…

In the Dravida style, the garbhagriha took the form of a miniature vimana with other features exclusive to southern Indian temple architecture such as the inner wall together with the outer wall creating a pradakshina around the garbhagriha. The entrance is highly decorated. The inner garbhagriha or shrine became a separate structure, more elaborately adorned over time.

More often garbhagriha is square and sits on a plinth, its location calculated to be a point of total equilibrium and harmony as it is representative of a microcosm of the Universe. In the centre is placed the image of the deity.

But sometimes, for the temples of feminine deities, the garbagriha is rectangular. For example in the temple of Varahi Deula in Chaurasi.

The present structure of most of these temples is a two-storeyed vimana with a square garbhagriha and a surrounding circumambulatory path, an ardha-mandapa and a narrower maha-mandapa.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garbhagriha

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_temple_architecture

Natarja , Chidambaram Plan Image Credit. natarjatemplechidambaram.blogspot.in/

This is a photograph from the Le Chéíle 'Leixlip 5KM' Road Race, Jog, and Fun Run was held in Leixlip, Co. Kildare, Ireland on Saturday May 4th 2013 at 11:00. This race has steadily grown in stature over the past number of years and now is a well known fixture in the racing calendar in May annually. This was a big aattendance at the race which finished with the last 700 meters on the beautiful new tartan track belonging to Le Cheile AC at the Leixlip Amenities center. As always This was a great race with a great atmosphere. The weather was reasonably good (except for a head wind at a few places on the course). Good race times were reported by many participants. Congratulations to Kevin Roche and all of Le Chéíle AC for their huge volunteer work that goes into making this race the growing success that it is. As always the post race refreshments were awesome with some fabulous treats available for everyone. This year Lidl and Applegreen were title sponsors with support for prizes from Runworx. There was great support from local Kildare clubs and club of the day must go to Sliabh Buidhe Rovers AC of Ferns in Wexford who brought over 30 athletes up on a club day out for the race. The race was supported by FIT Magazine. Junior races for children aged between 7 - 16 years old took place on the track at 10:30 before the main race at 11:00. The race was AAI Permit Approved with a certified course measurement.

Reading on a Smartphone or tablet? Don't forget to scroll down further to read more about this race and see important Internet links to other information about the race! You can also find out how to access and download these photographs.

Overall Race Summary

RESULTS: The chip timing was provided by Red Tag Timing and the results are available here [www.redtagtiming.com/results/LeCheile5km_2014.pdf]

Participants: Approximately 320 people took part in both events with runners, joggers, walkers, and families involved.

Weather: This was a nice bright mild morning with a headwind at the 1st and final KM of the race.

Course: The race starts on the road outside the amenities center. There is a signifcant climb up the motorway overpass at 1KM. The stretch from here to 4KM is reasonably flat. There is a final

long drag up to Louisia Bridge and the race finishes with almost 700M on the new athletics track built by the club.

Refreshments: The refreshments after the Le Cheile 5KM have now gained legendary status. Outstanding.

Location Map: Start/finish area on Google StreetView [goo.gl/maps/ykhbT]

Some Useful Links

The Internet Homepage of Le Cheile Athletic Club [www.lecheileac.com/]

The Le Cheile Leixlip 5KM Event Page on Facebook [www.facebook.com/groups/198725250155741/]

Google StreetView of the Race HeadQuarters: goo.gl/maps/ykhbT

A Youtube Video of the 5KM Route for 2013: www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fFFem...

A GARMIN GPS Trace of the 5KM Route for 2013: connect.garmin.com/activity/305379628

Our Flickr set from the 2013 Le Cheile 5KM: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157633416311738/ (2013)

Our Flickr Set from the 2012 Le Cheile 5KM: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157629605644270/ (2012)

Our Flickr Set from the 2012 Le Cheile 5KM: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157626541539991/ (2011)

Our Flickr Set from the 2012 Le Cheile 5KM: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157624016827268/ (2010)

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 to: email, Facebook, 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.

We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. Our only "cost" is our request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, 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.

This also extends 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 the photographic image here direct 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. However - look for a symbol with three dots 'ooo' 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 does take 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.

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.

Creative Commons aims 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

The new mixles are to easy to build, so... I did it in the bag! It was really fun!

There are some great new parts in these sets! (I bought three)

Church to the Apostles (Kaiserslautern)

The Apostle church in Kaiserslautern is a Protestant church and is located on a rising land between Pfründner, Hospital, Kennel and Parisian street.

History

The church was built in 1897 according to plans by Ludwig Ritter von Stempel in neo-Romanesque style and in 1901 consecrated. After being seriously damaged in a bombing attack in 1944, it was rebuilt in simplified forms from 1952 to 1956, by doing so followed a complete redesign of the interior.

At the beginning of the 1960s, the two towers were restored. After a fire damage in the year 1991, was installed a chapel in the western wing during the following renovation.

External representation

The church appears as a central building on a floor plan in the form of a Greek cross. Above the crossing rises a squat octagonal tower, the cross wings are decorated with small towers. The gable front towards Parisian street is characterized by a large portal with stairs and a large rose window.

Interior to 1944

The interior until the damage in 1944 was designed in the Romanesque Revival style. Above the pulpit was a mosaic of glass and gold. The rose window showed a picture of Christ, the side windows, the twelve apostles. The round interior with high circulating galleries by a ribbed vault above the cross arms and a crossing-cupola towards the top was completed.

Interior after reconstruction

During the reconstruction of the church after detailed discussions was realized a modern interior design. The space under the dome was shaped uniformly, the dome as a modern, supported by slender columns element carried out and lowered as well as the height of the galleries reduced. The slightly elevated pulpit, altar and baptismal font of reddish-brown Hungarian marble were created by the Kaiserslautern Sculptor Richard Menges, the altar at the last minute being turned around and now showing the unadorned back to the community, to satisfy the reformed prohibition of images. The pulpit parapet shows relief images of the twelve apostles. The Steinmeyer organ in 1957 on the gallery behind the pulpit was built in. Since 1994, in the church room a cycle of abstract images of Kaiserslautern artist Erika Klos on Our Father ist to see. From the old equipment only the chimes along with the bell frame of iron have been preserved.

Bells

The chimes today form the only one of its kind in an evangelical church in Southwest Germany, dating back to the turn of the century and the melting escaping. The bells were cast in 1900 by the bell foundry Johann Georg Pfeifer in Kaiserslautern. They until the presence hang on an original iron belfry on straight yokes. The removal of the chimes during the First World War could be spared, but in World War II the two big bells for material purposes had to be delivered in 1942. The smallest bell was preserved during the war in the tower. In the night of the fire of 1944, it crashed into the worship space but remained intact. After the end of World War II, it was decided to look on the Hamburg Bell Cemetery for the two big ones. 1947, the two seized bells were recovered and transported back to Kaiserslautern. Since Christmas 1951, all 3 bells in the tower of the Church to the Apostles call again to worship. The largest bell with the strike note gis° is currently the largest preserved bell of the bell foundry Pfeifer and the second heaviest of the city of Kaiserslautern. The bells 2 and 3 strike every quarter of an hour and the great bell the full hours. According to the succession of ringing, all bells are chiming 10 minutes before the service begins as well as on Saturdays at 17:50 clock for the heralding of Sunday. The smallest bell rings for baptism. For Our Father chimes the medium-sized bell and rings each 30 minutes before the service. The big bell is responsible for the ringing of funerals.

No. Name Nominal casting foundry year, place of cast weight

(kg) diameter (cm) inscription

1 knell gis0 1900 Joh. Gg. Pfeifer bell foundry, Kaiserslautern 3705 197 Glory to God in the highest

2 Our Father bell h0 2305 165 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

3 baptism bell dis1 1113 131 Come, for everything is ready

Apostelkirche (Kaiserslautern)

Die Apostelkirche in Kaiserslautern ist eine evangelische Kirche und befindet sich auf einem ansteigenden Grundstück zwischen Pfründner-, Spital-, Kennel-, und Pariser Straße.

Geschichte

Die Kirche wurde ab 1897 nach den Plänen von Ludwig Ritter von Stempel in neoromanischem Stil erbaut und 1901 eingeweiht. Nach einer schweren Beschädigung durch einen Bombenangriff im Jahr 1944 wurde sie 1952–1956 in vereinfachten Formen wieder aufgebaut. Dabei erfolgte eine komplette Umgestaltung des Innenraumes.

Zu Beginn der 1960er Jahre wurden auch die beiden Türme wiederhergestellt. Nach einem Brandschaden 1991 wurde im Zuge der folgenden Renovierung eine Kapelle im westlichen Seitenflügel eingerichtet.

Äußere Darstellung

Die Kirche zeigt sich als Zentralbau über einem Grundriss in Form eines griechischen Kreuzes. Über der Vierung erhebt sich ein gedrungener, achteckiger Turm, die Kreuzflügel sind mit kleineren Türmen geschmückt. Die Giebelfront zur Pariser Straße ist durch ein großes Portal mit Treppe und eine riesige Fensterrose charakterisiert.

Innenraum bis 1944

Der Innenraum war bis zur Beschädigung 1944 im neoromanischen Stil gestaltet. Über der Kanzel befand sich ein Mosaik aus Glas und Gold. Die Fensterrose zeigte ein Christusbild, die Seitenfenster die zwölf Apostel. Der runde Innenraum mit hohen umlaufenden Emporen wurde durch ein Kreuzrippengewölbe über den Kreuzarmen und eine Vierungskuppel nach oben abgeschlossen.

Innenraum nach dem Wiederaufbau

Beim Wiederaufbau der Kirche wurde nach eingehenden Diskussionen eine moderne Innengestaltung verwirklicht. Der Raum unter der Kuppel wurde einheitlich geformt, die Kuppel als modernes, durch schlanke Säulen getragenes ausgeführt und tiefergelegt sowie die Höhe der Emporen verringert. Die leicht erhöhte Kanzel, Altar und Taufstein aus rötlich-braunem ungarischen Marmor wurden von dem Kaiserslauterer Bildhauer Richard Menges gestaltet, wobei der Altar in letzter Minute umgedreht wurde und nun mit der ungeschmückten Rückseite zur Gemeinde zeigt, um dem reformierten Bilderverbot Genüge zu tun. Die Kanzelbrüstung zeigt Reliefbilder der zwölf Apostel. Die Steinmeyer-Orgel wurde 1957 auf der Empore hinter der Kanzel eingebaut. Seit 1994 ist im Kirchenraum ein abstrakter Bilderzyklus der Kaiserslauterer Künstlerin Erika Klos zum Vater unser zu sehen. Von der alten Ausstattung sind nur das Geläute mitsamt dem Eisenglockenstuhl erhalten.

Glocken

Das Geläute bildet heute das einzige seiner Art in einer evangelischen Kirche in Südwestdeutschland, das aus der Jahrhundertwende stammt und der Einschmelzung entgangen ist. Die Glocken wurden im Jahr 1900 von der Glockengießerei Johann Georg Pfeifer in Kaiserslautern gegossen. Sie hängen bis heute an einem originalen Eisenglockenstuhl an geraden Jochen. Die Abnahme des Geläutes blieb im Ersten Weltkrieg erspart, doch im Zweiten Weltkrieg mussten die beiden großen Glocken zu Materialzwecken im Jahr 1942 abgeliefert werden. Die kleinste Glocke blieb während des Krieges im Turm erhalten. In der Brandnacht von 1944 stürzte sie in den Gottesdienstraum, blieb allerdings unversehrt. Nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges beschloss man, auf dem Hamburger Glockenfriedhof nach den beiden großen zu suchen. 1947 wurden die beiden beschlagnahmten Glocken wiedergefunden und zurück nach Kaiserslautern transportiert. Seit Weihnachten 1951 rufen alle 3 Glocken im Turm der Apostelkirche wieder zu Gottesdiensten. Die größte Glocke mit dem Schlagton gis° ist die derzeit größte noch erhaltene Glocke der Glockengießerei Pfeifer und die zweitschwerste der Stadt Kaiserslautern. Die Glocken 2 und 3 schlagen die Viertelstunden und die große Glocke die vollen Stunden. Gemäß der Läuteordnung läuten alle Glocken 10 Minuten vor dem Gottesdienstbeginn sowie samstags um 17:50 Uhr zum Einläuten des Sonntags. Die kleinste Glocke läutet zur Taufe. Zum Vater unser erklingt die mittlere Glocke und läutet jeweils 30 Minuten vor dem Gottesdienst. Die große Glocke ist für das Läuten von Beerdigungen zuständig.

Nr.NameNominalGussjahrGießer, GussortGewicht

(kg)Durchmesser

(cm)Inschrift

1Totenglockegis01900 Joh. Gg. Pfeifer Glockengießerei, Kaiserslautern3705197Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe

2Vater-Unser-Glockeh02305165Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott

3Taufglockedis11113131Kommt, denn es ist alles bereit

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostelkirche_%28Kaiserslautern%29

via Instagram instagr.am/p/oA0it/

Vorige week trof ik op het wrak van de Leopard I tank, die op de Vliehors dienst als bommendoel een sticker aan met de raadselachtige tekst 'Nöhlen is dodelijk".

Meteen had ik al het vermoeden dat het hier weer een kreet uit de Achterhoek zou betreffen, echter ik had geen flauw benul over wat het zou betekenen.

Voor vrijwel alle woorden in het Achterhoeks, heb ik een woordenboek nodig, zo ook met het woord Nöhlen.

Frans Miggelbrink schreef een stukje op zijn blog

over de kreet Nöhlen is dodelijk, en dit stuk maakt alles duidelijk.

Hier onder zijn verhaal over Nöhlen is dodelijk;

"Het is voor ons Achterhoekers sinds kort het ultieme moment van "thuus" kommen. Het moment dat we weer beginnen te lachen om onze thuishaven. Het is dat moment dat je voorbij rijdt aan dat historische bord aan de A18 met de indrukwekkende levenswijsheid:” Nöhlen is dodelijk”. Wat staat het daar fier, mooi en oprecht.

Want wij Achterhoekers zijn wel een vrolijk volkje maar zware nöhlkonten proberen dat dagelijks te ondermijnen. Voor de import: Nöhlen is een zuchtende kruising tussen klagen en zeuren en sommige Achterhoekers, ik noem geen namen maar we kennen allemaal onze sfeerbepalende zwartgallen die er ergerlijk goed in zijn om elk feestje te verzuren met hun eigen pisnormen.

De Achterhoekse dramkont die geen drol bijdraagt aan wat dan ook maar alleen maar vanaf de zij-lijn alles aan gort nöhlt. Tis nooit goed. Er is altijd wat. Nooit is het naar hun zin. Altijd is er geen parkeerplaats. Altijd aangevreten groente in zijn volkstuin. Altijd de duiven kwijt. Nooit zijn er genoeg kassa’s open in de supermarkt en welk bestuur van wat dan ook weet nooit waar ze over praten.

Dat weet alleen deze dramzak die op het hoogtepunt van het feest altijd komt met dat het verleden jaar veel leuker was. Altijd staat de muziek te hard als ze midden voor de boxen gaan zitten. Altijd is het eten minder nadat ze voor de zesde keer met de mayonaise op de bovenlip hebben volgeladen en overal tocht het en moeten de deuren dicht. En door dat dagelijkse genöhl hebben ze ooit wel eens een beetje in de buurt gezeten van de waarheid en dan hebben ze hun momentje van levenstriomf: "Hek toch altied al e-zeg". Zelf nog nooit een vinger uitgestoken, never ever iets gepresteerd want dan bestaat de mogelijkheid dat anderen terug gaan nöhlen over hun prestatie en daar passen ze echt wel voor op.

Even voor deze nöhlkonten: Is het jullie nooit opgevallen dat iedereen uit elkaar stuift als je er “gezellig” bij komt zitten. Dat de kring van het verjaardagsfeestje altijd twee lege stoelen kent. Links en rechts van je. Dat je altijd alleen aan de stamtafel zit. Dat je altijd hoort:’Ach, he wat vervelend nou. Wist je weer niet dat er een feestje was. Het was echt heeel gezellig. Iedereen was er.” En waarom denk je dat dit stukje uit de krant op je buro is vastgeniet, door tien buren in je brievenbus is gegooid of door je vrouw vastgelijmd is op je kussen. Wat denk je.

Wordt het niet eens tijd om met wat meer levensplezier naar je levenshorizon te wandelen? En dat bord zou als fier Achterhoeks levensmotto tot in lengte van jaren moeten blijven staan aan die A18 zodat we dagelijks met een lach thuiskomen. En dit alles met grote dank natuurlijk aan de jongens en meisjes van de feestfabriek, wat een mooie toepasselijke naam. "

This is the cream pair of the new SWANclothing lace suspenders. Blogged over here- www.swanclothing.com/2010/11/16/swanclothing-lace-suspend...

Today is the World Diabetes Day and I have a story to tell.

Debbie, my cat, was diagnosed with diabetes for the first time more than 8 years ago, when she was around 5. She was on insulin during several months but then diabetes disappeared, which may happen with felines. However, diabetes returned in summer 2006. Debbie was on insulin again till last January, when diabetes disappeared. By the end of spring, diabetes reappeared with much strength and in spite of the insulin shots twice a day, Debbie died 3 weeks ago, aged 13. I was the only person whom she allowed to give her the injections. It was easy for me but one week before dying she started complaining strangely, letting me know she was fed up with the shots. I went on but knew she had given up…

These objects were Debbie’s. Being for a cat, these syringes were very difficult to buy here in Portugal, because they are meant to be used by humans and have a special price for humans. I had to go to the pharmacy some days before I needed them, explain they were for a cat and wait till they came. Not that they were different from those for humans, no, just because the price was higher…

Never let your cat get fat! That may have been my mistake…

Hoje é o Dia Mundial da Diabetes e eu tenho uma história para contar.

A minha gata Debbie apareceu com diabetes pela primeira vez há mais de 8 anos, quando tinha cerca de 5 anos. Andou a tomar insulina uns meses até que a diabetes desapareceu, o que é vulgar nos felinos. Todavia, a diabetes voltou no Verão de 2006. A Debbie andou a insulina outra vez até Janeiro deste ano e a diabetes voltou a desaparecer. No fim da Primavera, a diabetes reapareceu em força e apesar das injecções de insulina duas vezes por dia, a Debbie morreu há três semanas. Eu era a única pessoa a quem ela deixava dar-lhe injecções. Era-me fácil fazê-lo mas, uma semana antes de morrer, ela começou a protestar estranhamente , fazendo-me saber que estava farta. Continuei a dar-lhe as injecções mas já tinha percebido que ela tinha desistido...

Estes objectos eram da Debbie. Estas seringas eram muito difíceis de comprar porque a sua venda só está prevista para humanos e no âmbito de um protocolo entre as farmácias e o Estado, para serem mais baratas. Sendo para um gato, eu tinha de ir à farmácia uns dias antes de precisar delas e pedir que mas arranjassem à margem do protocolo ...

Nunca deixe o seu gato ficar gordo! Esse pode ter sido o meu erro ...

God is an astronaut, Bratislava Slovakia KC Dunaj, 15.3 2012.

Samyang 14 mm 2,8

This is the new housing development Highfields, built on the site of the demolished Highfield House (1850-2008).

The builders accidentily cut a 100 year old tree down, so they planted a new one (in the old ones place)

Here is an article on the Birmingham Mail about the long gone Highfield House. It existed from the 1850s to around 2008. I don't know why such an old house had to be pulled down to build these new houses.

But it has happened.

Houses for sale by Hunters.

Christmas Day 2010 - was a nice sunny morning. The snow from the week before had frozen into compacted ice.

This is a book design and execution that I created for Susan Kozel's book Closer published by the MIT press.

It was a class assignment for CO

This is a book design and execution that I created for Susan Kozel's book Closer published by the MIT press.

It was an assignment in a UCLA Design | Media Arts Class. The front portion of the book is comprised of all the text and images, clearly setup into a four row system, which aligns to the four flipbooks at the very back of the book.

This is a book design and execution that I created for Susan Kozel's book Closer published by the MIT press.

It was an assignment in a UCLA Design | Media Arts Class. The front portion of the book is comprised of all the text and images, clearly setup into a four row system, which aligns to the four flipbooks at the very back of the book.

Patan (Sanskrit: पाटन Pātan, Newar: यल Yala), officially Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, is the third largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu and Pokhara and it is located in the south-central part of Kathmandu Valley. Patan is also known as Manigal. It is best known for its rich cultural heritage, particularly its tradition of arts and crafts. It is called city of festival and feast, fine ancient art, making of metallic and stone carving statue. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 226,728 in 54,748 individual households. The city received extensive damage from an earthquake on 25 April 2015.

GEOGRAPHY

Patan is on the elevated tract of land in Kathmandu Valley on the south side of the Bagmati River, which separates it from the city of Kathmandu on the northern and western side. The Nakkhu Khola acts as the boundary on the southern side. It was developed on relatively thin layers of deposited clay and gravel in the central part of a dried ancient lake known as the Nagdaha.

It is the third largest city of the country, after Kathmandu, and Pokhara.

The city has an area of 15.43 square kilometres and is divided into 22 municipal wards. It is bounded by:

East: Imadol VDC and Harisiddhi VDC

West: Kirtipur Municipality and Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC)

North: Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC)

South: Saibu VDC, Sunakothi VDC and Dhapakhel VDC

CLIMATE

Climate is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfa" (Humid Subtropical Climate).

HISTORY

Lalitpur is believed to have been founded in the third century BC by the Kirat dynasty and later expanded by Licchavis in the sixth century. It was further expanded by the Mallas during the medieval period.

There are many legends about its name. The most popular one is the legend of the God Rato Machhindranath, who was brought to the valley from Kamaru Kamachhya, located in Assam, India, by a group of three people representing the three kingdoms centered in the Kathmandu Valley.

One of them was called Lalit, a farmer who carried God Rato Machhindranath to the valley all the way from Assam, India. The purpose of bringing the God Rato Machhindranath to the valley was to overcome the worst drought there. There was a strong belief that the God Rato Machhindranath would bring rain in the valley. It was due to Lalit's effort that the God Rato Machhindranath was settled in Lalitpur. Many believe that the name of the town is kept after his name Lalit and pur meaning township.

In May, a chariot festival honoring the deity known as Bunga Dyah Jatra is held in Patan. It is the longest and one of the most important religious celebrations in Patan.

During the month-long festival, an image of Rato Machhendanath is placed on a tall chariot and pulled through the city streets in stages.

Lalitpur said to have been founded by King Veer Deva in 299 AD, but there is unanimity among scholars that Patan was a well established and developed town since ancient times. Several historical records including many other legends indicate that Patan is the oldest of all the cities of Kathmandu Valley. According to a very old Kirat chronicle, Patan was founded by Kirat rulers long before the Licchavi rulers came into the political scene in Kathmandu Valley. According to that chronicle, the earliest known capital of Kirat rulers was Thankot. Kathmandu, the present capital was most possibly removed from Thankot to Patan after the Kirati King Yalamber came into power sometimes around second century AD.

One of the most used and typical Newar names of Patan is Yala. It is said that King Yalamber or Yellung Hang named this city after himself, and ever since this ancient city was known as Yala.

In 1768, Lalitpur was annexed to the Gorkha Kingdom by Prithvi Narayan Shah in the Battle of Lalitpur.

HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

The city was initially designed in the shape of the Buddhist Dharma-Chakra (Wheel of Righteousness). The four thurs or mounds on the perimeter of Patan are ascribed around, one at each corner of its cardinal points, which are popularly known as Asoka Stupas. Legend has it that Emperor Asoka (the legendary King of India) visited with his daughter Charumati to Kathmandu in 250 BC and erected five Asoka Stupas, four in the surrounding and one at the middle of the Patan. The size and shape of these stupas seem to breathe their antiquity in a real sense. There are more than 1,200 Buddhist monuments of various shapes and sizes scattered in and around the city.

The most important monument of the city is Patan Durbar Square, which has been listed by UNESCO as one of seven Monument Zones that make up the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site. The seven monument zones were included in the World Heritage List in 1979 as one integrated site. The monument zones are declared as protected and preserved according to the Monuments Preservation Act of 1956. The Square was heavily damaged on 25 April 2015 by an earthquake.

Patan City was planned in Vihars and Bahils. Out of 295 Vihars and Bahils of the valley 56% of them are in Patan. The water conduits, stone spouts, Jaladroni (water tanks), artistic gate ways, Hindu temples and Buddhist Vihars adorn the city. The in built cultural heritage like the royal palace, with intricately carved doors and windows and beautiful courtyards adorned with exquisite icons enhance the beauty of the city. Such art pieces are found in stone, metal, terracotta ivory and other objects. All these artifacts exhibit artistic excellence of the craftsmen and the whole city looks like an open museum.

ECONOMY

A substantial portion of the population is engaged in trades, notably in traditional handicrafts and small scale cottage industries, and some residents work in agriculture. Lalitpur has produced the highest number of renowned artists and finest craftsmen ever recorded in the history of Nepali art.

Patan has maintained a culture of craftwork even in the face of rapid urbanization and many social and political upheavals.

The city is less urbanized than Kathmandu, north of the Bagmati river, but is home to many workshops, stores, restaurants, hotels, schools, embassies and other important sectors of the Kathmandu Valley economy.

Buddha Air has its headquarters in Jawalakhel, near Patan.

EDUCATION

POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION

Patan is home to Pulchowk Engineering Campus, one of the oldest and most reputed colleges affiliated with the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University. Patan Academy of Health Sciences is the only medical university in the city with Patan Hospital as its primary teaching hospital, and there is another medical school - KIST Medical College in Lalitpur. Other instituitions of higher learning in Patan include Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM) and Patan Multiple Campus.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

The city is served by a number of private and public instituitions providing education from primary until secondary level. Among all, the largest and reputed schools are Adarsha Vidya Mandir, St. Xavier's School, St. Mary's, Little Angels School, Graded English Medium School, Rato Bangala School, DAV Sushil Kedia, Adarsha Kanya Niketan, The British School, Adarsha Saral Madhyamik Vidyalay and Gyanodaya Bal Batika School.

LIBRARIES

Nepal National Library which was established in 1957 AD was moved to Patan from Singha Durbar in 2061 AD. It is at Harihar Bhawan. Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya which awards the Madan Puraskar and Jagadamba Shree Puraskar literary prizes is in the city.

PLACES OF INTEREST

Patan is renowned as a very artistic city. Most of the Nepalese art is devoted to Gods, and there are an abundance of temples and viharas. Notable places of interest include:

Patan Durbar Square: The palace square and residence of the Malla rulers of Patan state which now houses a museum.

Patan Dhoka: One of the historical entrances to the old city.

Bhaskerdev Samskarita Hiranyabarna Mahavihara: A Buddhist temple known locally as Golden Temple.

Mahabouddha Temple: Also known as 1000 Buddha Temple modeled liked the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya.

Kumbheswor Temple: A Shiva temple with two ponds whose water is believed to come from Gosaikunda.

Ratnakar Mahavihar: Also known as Ha Baha, the viahara complex is the official residence of the Kumari of Patan.

Krishna Mandir: One of the most beautiful stone temples of Nepal built by King Siddhinarsingh Malla in the 16th century.

Park Gallery: an artist run space founded in 1970.

TRANSPORTATION

AIRPORTS

ROADS

Walking is the easiest method of transportation within the city as the core is densely populated. In terms of motor transport, Kathmandu Valley Ring Road which encircles the central part of the valley is a strategic road in the city. Connection to Kathmandu over the Bagmati River is provided by a host of road and pedestrian bridges. The most trafficked and important bridge connecting to the centre of Kathmandu is Thapathali Bridge. Since pedestrians and vehicles often have to share the same road, traffic congestion is a major problem in Patan. Efforts are being made to widen roads to make them more suitable to vehicular traffic.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Private companies operate a number of routes connecting Patan with other places in the valley. Buses, micro-buses and electric tempos are the most common forms of public transport seen in the city. Lalitpur Yatayat buses connects the touristic Thamel area of Kathmandu with buses stopping at Patan Dhoka, a five-minute walk to Patan Durbar Square. Lagankhel Bus Park is the central transport hub.

MEDIA

To Promote local culture Patan has one FM radio station Radio Sagarmatha - 102.4 MHz which is a Community radio station.

LANGUAGE

The original native language of Patan is Nepal Bhasa's Lalitpur dialect. Though due to the migration form other places to Patan, other languages like Nepali, Tamang, etc. are also spoken.

WIKIPEDIA

Caerphilly Castle is undoubtedly one of the mightiest fortresses in Wales - and perhaps one of the grandest medieval buildings in Western Europe. Works on the castle begun in 1268, ordered by ‘Red’ Gilbert de Clare, Lord of Glamorgan. After his death in 1295, the castle was taken over and modernized by his son in law, Hugh Despenser. In 1326, during a rebellion against the despised Despenser and weakened King of England, Edward II, the two hole themselves up in Caerphilly but were captured elsewhere in Wales - and brutally executed. In late 1300s, the Castle became unused and gradually begun to decline and disintegrate. Some repair work was undertaken by Earl of Warwick in 1428-1429. A Civil war battlement was constructed alongside the castle in 1642, although it’s debated if it was ever actually used. The ruinous castle passed into the hands of the Marquesses of Bute in 1776. Vast renovations were undertaken by Fourth Marquess of Bute during 1928-1939.

Source: www.exploring-castles.com/caerphilly_castle.html

HMS Cavalier is a retired C-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by J. Samuel White and Company at East Cowes on 28 March 1943, launched on 7 April 1944, and commissioned on 22 November 1944. She served in World War II and in various commissions in the Far East until she was decommissioned in 1972. After decommissioning she was preserved as a museum ship and currently resides at Chatham Historic Dockyard.

Construction

Cavalier was one of 96 War Emergency Programme destroyers ordered between 1940 and 1942. She was one of the first ships to be built with the forward and aft portions of her hull welded, with the midsection riveted to ensure strength. The new process gave the ship additional speed. In 1970 a 64-mile race was arranged between Cavalier and the frigate Rapid, which had the same hull form and machinery. Cavalier beat Rapid by 30 yards (27 m) after Rapid lifted a safety valve, reaching an average speed of 31.8 knots (58.9 km/h).

Service history

Cavalier returning to Portsmouth in 1946

After commissioning she joined the 6th Destroyer Flotilla, part of the Home Fleet, and took part in a number of operations off Norway. Most notably in February 1945 she was despatched with the destroyers Myngs and Scorpion[5] to reinforce a convoy from the Kola Inlet in Russia, which had suffered attacks from enemy aircraft and U-boats, and had subsequently been scattered by a violent storm. She and the other escorts reformed the convoy, and returned to Britain with the loss of only three of the thirty-four ships. This action earned Cavalier a battle honour.

Later in 1945 Cavalier was despatched to the Far East, where she provided naval gunfire support during the Battle of Surabaya. In February 1946 she went to Bombay to help quell the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny. After some time in the British Pacific Fleet she was paid off in May 1946 and was placed in reserve at Portsmouth.

Cavalier returned to service in 1957 after a modernisation, which included removing some of her torpedo tubes in favour of Squid anti-submarine mortars. She was again sent to the Far East, and joined the 8th Destroyer Squadron in Singapore. In December 1962 she transported 180 troops from Singapore to Brunei to help suppress a rebellion that became part of the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation. After disembarking the troops she remained in Brunei as a communications centre for several days until other Royal Navy ships arrived to relieve her.

Cavalier was decommissioned in 1972 along with HMS Wellington (moored in London), and is the last surviving British destroyer of World War 2 still in the UK.

After decommissioning[edit]

After decommissioning at Chatham Dockyard, she was laid up in Portsmouth. As a unique survivor, after a five-year campaign led by Lord Louis Mountbatten, the ship was purchased by the Cavalier Trust for £65,000 and handed over on Trafalgar Day 1977 in Portsmouth. By selling the ship to the Trust, the UK Government and the Royal Navy severed all formal connection and responsibility for the ship. A special warrant was issued that allows her to retain the prefix "HMS" (Her Majesty's Ship) and fly the White Ensign, a privilege normally only enjoyed by commissioned ships of the Royal Navy. A similar privilege is enjoyed by another museum ship, the cruiser Belfast.

Moved to Southampton, Cavalier opened as a museum and memorial ship in August 1982. This was not commercially successful, and in October 1983 the ship was moved to Brighton, where she formed the centrepiece of a newly built yacht marina.

In 1987, the ship was brought to the River Tyne to form the centrepiece of a national shipbuilding exhibition centre planned by South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council in the former shipyard of Hawthorn Leslie and Company, builders of many similar destroyers. The plans for the museum came to nothing, and the borough council, faced with annual maintenance costs of £30,000 and a hardening of public opinion against unnecessary expenditure, resolved to sell the ship and wind up the venture in 1996. The ship sat in a dry dock (owing to a previous list) in a rusting condition, awaiting a buyer or scrapping in situ.

After the reforming of the Cavalier Trust, and a debate in Parliament, in 1998 Cavalier was bought by Chatham Historic Dockyard for display as a museum ship. Arriving on 23 May 1998, Cavalier now resides in No. 2 dry-dock.

On 14 November 2007, Cavalier was officially designated as a war memorial to the 142 Royal Navy destroyers sunk during World War II and the 11,000 men killed on those ships. The unveiling of a bronze monument created by the artist Kenneth Potts was conducted by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The monument is adjacent to the ship at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.

In the summer of 2009 the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust made available accommodation on board the ship for youth groups who wish to stay on board and experience life on board a Royal Naval Destroyer.

In September 2010, Cavalier fired the first full broadside from a ship flying the White Ensign since a firing by the destroyer London in December 1981. This was due to the work of the heritage naval gun crew who restored all three 4.5-in guns back to working condition in conjunction with the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust.

In April 2014 Cavalier was added to Google Maps Business View (formerly Google Business Photos) by CInsideMedia Ltd, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of her launch. The tour, which includes Cavalier's engine and gear room, was enhanced with interactive audio hotspots to enable visitors with accessibility issues to explore the ship.

wikipedia

Italien / Lombardei - Monte Grona

Monte Grona is a mountain of Lombardy, Italy. It has an elevation of 1,736 metres and belongs to the province of Como.

SOIUSA classification

According to the SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) the mountain can be classified in the following way:

main part = Western Alps

major sector = North Western Alps

section = Lugano Prealps

subsection = Prealpi Comasche

supergroup = Catena Gino-Camoghè-Fiorina

group = Gruppo del Gino

code = I/B-11.I-A.1

(Wikipedia)

Der Monte Grona ist ein 1736 m s.l.m. hoher Berg in den südlichen Alpen (Tambogruppe bzw. Luganer Voralpen) zwischen dem Luganersee und dem Comer See in der Lombardei in Italien.

Routen zum Gipfel

Talort ist Breglia nördlich von Menaggio. Ein Bergweg beginnt an den Monti di Breglia (996 m). Er führt zunächst zu einer Schutzhütte (Rifugio Menaggio, 1.380 m). Von dort aus führen neben dem Normalanstieg noch zwei weitere Bergwege zum Gipfel: Ein direkter Steilanstieg („Direttissima“) und ein Aussichtsweg („Sentiero Panoramico“). Der vierte Weg auf den Gipfel ist ein Klettersteig („Ferrata del Centenario CAO“).

(Wikipedia)

Der Aufstieg zum Monte Grona gehört zum Pflichtprogramm eines Comer See-Aufenthalts. Auch die Bewohner der Gemeinde Menaggio besteigen zu Saisonbeginn, veranstaltet vom hiesigen Alpenverein, den Gipfel. Auf dem Weg nach oben gehört der Besuch des Rifugio Menaggio dazu.

Der Monte Grona hat eine Bomben-Hütte

Der Hüttenwirt bereitet bis auf einen kurzen Zeitraum von Januar bis Februar das ganze Jahr über einfache lokale Speisen und Getränke zu. Der Monte Grona ist 1 736 m hoch und bietet vom Gipfel einen Rundumblick über die gesamte Region bis zum Luganer See. Der Aufstieg beginnt in Breglia oder dem Parkplatz kurz oberhalb des Ortes, nach 2h ist der Gipfel erreicht.

Das Rifugio Menaggio, bis weit über den Comer See hinaus bekannt, wurde 1952 als Schutzhütte für Bergsteiger geplant und gebaut. 1960 folgte die feierliche Eröffnung und 1970 wurde die Schutzhütte dann zu ihrer heutigen Form erweitert. Die Hütte ist weitgehend autonom, bezieht das Wasser aus einer nahe gelegenen Quelle, Strom liefert die Sonne mit Hilfe einer Photovoltaik-Anlage.

Die Lebensmittelversorgung wird über eine Lastenseilbahn von einem Forstweg (ca. 150 m unterhalb der Hütte) organisiert. Das Rifugio verfügt über zwanzig Schlafmöglichkeiten, eine Küche, zwei Aufenthaltsräume und ein Bad mit Warmwasser.

Tourbeschreibung: Die äußerst attraktive Bergwanderung beginnt man sinnvollerweise oberhalb von Breglia an einem Parkplatz. Die Anfahrt dorthin ist im Gegensatz zu anderen Bergen eher angenehm, mehr als 10 min. sollte sie nicht dauern. Wer viel Power hat, parkt natürlich in Breglia selbst bei der Kirche, ca. 30 m. vom Platz beginnt der Wanderweg. Er führt allerdings anfangs immer wieder ein bisschen an der Straße entlang, sodass viele den oberen Startpunkt wählen. Vom (Berg-)Parkplatz aus geht es dann in ca. 1h durch zunächst niedrigen Wald, später auf offener Strecke zum Rifugio Menaggio auf 1 383 m. Höhe.

Die Strecke ist durchgehend ausgeschildert und eigentlich nicht zu verfehlen. Am Rifugio angekommen, erfrischt man sich mit Wasser aus dem Brunnen oder in der Berghütte. Neben Getränken gibt es auch kleinere einfache Speisen: Polenta mit Fleisch, Käse oder Würstchen und Spaghetti mit verschiedenen Soßen. Viel grüne Fläche in der Sonne und im Schatten lädt zum Verweilen ein, die Sicht ist grandios.

Der weitere Weg auf den Monte Grona führt rechts an der Hütte vorbei. Nach wenigen Schritten geht es ab zum nahe gelegenen Klettersteig (Ferrata), der aber nur für geübte Kletterer empfohlen wird. Folgen Sie lieber der Hauptstrecke, die sich nach einigen Metern erneut teilt: Sie haben nun die Wahl zwischen der sog. ‚Diretissima‘ und dem ‚Via normale‘. Letzterer ist 10 min. länger.

Beide Strecken liegen wunderschön im Gelände, am besten man begeht beide, eine beim Aufstieg, eine beim Abstieg. Der Via normale führt über viele enge und teils extrem ausgewaschene Pfade inmitten faszinierender Natur bis zum Sattel zwischen Monte Grona und Monte Santa Amata, einem kleineren Nachbarberg, in dessen Verlauf der Monte Bregagno schon zu sehen ist. Folgen Sie dem Weg zum Monte Grona links, auf dem Schild werden 30 min. ausgewiesen, und entdecken Sie die schönsten Seiten der Comenser Bergwelten.

Bald erreicht man über schmale teils auch felsige Strecken den Gipfel mit einer Traumaussicht in alle Himmelsrichtungen. Für die letzten zehn Meter ist zur Sicherheit noch ein Seil gespannt, das man aber eigentlich nicht benötigt. Im Westen der Luganer See, dahinter die Bergkette des Monte Rosa, dem höchsten Berg der Schweiz, gegenüber der Monte Legnone, mit 2 609 m., der höchste Berg am Lago di Como.

Im Süden die hohen Vertreter der Grigne-Gruppe von Lecco, unterhalb der Ort Menaggio. Für 2 h Anstrengung erhält man an diesem Berg eine ganze Menge hochalpiner Eindrücke. Zurück am Rifugio genießt man am besten die Abendstimmung bei einer Tasse Cappuccino. Ausklang: In Menaggio gibt es direkt an der Piazza Garibaldi (auch Tourist-Office) eine Gelateria mit gutem Eis und einige Cafés.

Tourvarianten 1. Kurz nach dem oberen Parkplatz führt bei der Abzweigung ein weiterer Weg unterhalb zum Rifugio (ausgeschildert). Der Weg ist zunächst etwas flacher und breiter, verjüngt sich aber später ebenfalls. Man erreicht das Rifugio im Gegensatz zur anderen Strecke von unten. 2. Während des Aufstiegs zum Monte Grona gibt es eine gut beschilderte Abzweigung zum Monte Bregagno, mit 2 143 m. ein stattlicher Berg der Region.

Man steigt zunächst diagonal zum Berg an, überquert dann, schon auf dem Bergkamm laufend, den kleinen Bruder des Bregagno und erreicht nach weiteren 1,5 h auf weichem Wiesenuntergrund den grünen Gipfel. Von hier führt auch ein Abstieg zur Via Monti Lariani (VML), an der Kreuzung liegt die Kirche San Bernardo, die zum Bergdorf Labbio gehört.

Dort befindet sich das Agriturismo Labbio, in dem man übernachten kann (www.agriturismolabbio.it). Allen anderen bleibt nur der beschwerliche Abstieg über unzählige Serpentinen nach Musso oder der Weitermarsch auf dem VML nach Dongo. 3. Auf halber Strecke zum Monte Bregagno liegt das Kirchlein Sant‘Amate, das von vielen als (Zwischen-)Ziel gewählt wird.

(comersee-info.de)

My family is from the area but it was only a few years ago that I learned about the Tomb of the Jealous Man and Woman.

Newton Abbey is famous for the interesting 16th Century tomb of Sir Lucas Dillon and his wife, Lady Jayne Bathe. The two stone effigies on the tomb are separated by a sword of state. The tomb is known locally as 'The Tomb of the Jealous Man and Woman', it is believed that instead of signifying the sword of state, the sword actually represents Sir Lucas' displeasure at his wife for having had an affair, forever separating the two.

Locally it is believed that the tomb possesses a cure for warts and skin complaints. According to local custom all you need do is rub your wart with a pin and then leave the pin on top of the tomb, as the pin rusts the wart withers and falls off. While I may not be convinced that the process produces positive results many people must believe that it does work as there is large number of pins on the tomb.

This is the chapel of the separatist prison in Lincoln castle. The idea was that prisoner would effectively be in solitary confinement to reflect on their crimes. The boxes mean prisoners cannot see each other, only the preacher played by Dr Ian Whitbread, who I've skillfully chopped off at the top. This picture has 1st year students in it.

Alternative title: The good doctor reveals Leicester's new "late essay" penalty.

Durga Puja, also referred to as Durgotsava or Sharadotsav is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Vijayadashami. The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to the traditional Hindu calendar and the fortnight corresponding to the festival is called Devi Paksha, (‘Fortnight of the Goddess’). Devi Paksha is preceded by Mahalaya, the last day of the previous fortnight Pitri Paksha, (‘Fortnight of the Forefathers’), and is ended on Kojagori Lokkhi Puja (‘Worship of Goddess Lakshmi on Kojagori Full Moon Night’).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga_Puja

Taken by Soma Adhicary.

Photo Credit: Ann Batdorf, Smithsonian’s National Zoo

In this photo: Batang

For the first time in 25 years, staff at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are making preparations for the highly anticipated birth of an endangered Bornean orangutan. With a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP), the 19-year-old parents to be, female Batang and male Kyle, bred in January. On Feb. 2, a common human pregnancy test confirmed that Batang had successfully conceived. Earlier today, the Zoo announced Batang’s pregnancy through a broadcast via Facebook Live of her ultrasound; it will continue to provide weekly updates on Batang through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #OrangutanStory.

Zoo veterinarians have conducted bi-weekly ultrasounds since Feb. 2 and are encouraged that the ultrasounds have shown fetal growth and development, heightening hopes that Batang will give birth for the first time. They are cautiously optimistic that she will deliver a healthy baby around mid-September. However, just like any animal pregnancy, there is a possibility that miscarriage, stillbirth or a complication could occur.

“All of our perseverance and planning paid off when we confirmed Batang’s pregnancy,” said Dr. Meredith Bastian, curator of primates and member of the Orangutan SSP Steering Committee. “Watching her fetus develop over the past few months has been incredibly exciting, and we’re making every effort to ensure our efforts come to fruition.”

For the past three years, keepers have been acclimating Batang to the experiences of motherhood and training her to care for an infant. Building upon behaviors Batang has learned through routine training sessions, keepers presented her with a plush, bean-shaped pillow and an orangutan stuffed animal to simulate a baby. Keepers trained her to hold the “fake” baby upright, carry it around the enclosure and return the pillow baby to keepers through a specially designed “baby box” when asked. Should animal care staff need to evaluate a real orangutan baby’s health, this training would help staff retrieve the infant in a way that is safe and not stressful for the animals. Batang has also been trained to use a breast pump for milk collection in the event she is unable to successfully nurse.

“Training increases the likelihood that orangutan mothers will care for their infants,” said Becky Malinsky, assistant curator of primates. “This training is especially important for a first time mother, like Batang. It is our goal for the infant to be raised by her mother, learning how to be an orangutan from Batang and the other orangutans at the zoo.”

In the event that Batang is unable or unwilling to care for her infant, keepers are training females Bonnie and Iris to act as surrogate mothers. They receive similar training to Batang, but with a slight twist: keepers ask them to bring the pillow baby and present it to the keepers for bottle feedings. Batang is also trained to present the infant for bottle feedings if she is unable to nurse. As a last resort, keepers will prepare a nursery in the event it is necessary for them to hand-raise the baby with the goal of returning the infant to its mother or surrogate as soon as possible.

Native to Indonesia, orangutans live in the tropical rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. For the past seven decades, humans have cleared land that was originally orangutan territory in order to meet the growing demand for palm oil products, fast-growing pulp wood and food crops leaving orangutans in competition with one another for space, food and mates. Scientists estimate that in the past 75 years, the number of wild orangutans has decreased by 80 percent. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the Bornean orangutan as endangered and the Sumatran orangutan as critically endangered.

Visitors can see the Zoo’s six orangutans daily at the Great Ape House and the Think Tank. At the Great Ape House, visitors can meet a great ape keeper to learn about the fascinating world of apes at 11:30 a.m. daily. At Think Tank, staff and interpretive volunteers perform daily demonstrations and lead discussions on research in cognitive science, highlighting current and ongoing Zoo studies at 1:30 p.m. Visitors can also see the orangutans traveling on the O-Line on warm-weather days in the late morning and early afternoon.

# # #

Partial ice cover on Lower Galatea Lake at the beginning of July. Elevation: 2200 meter / 7200 feet.

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This is a large kitchen with painted cabinetry along the walls, and a walnut island. The island has decorative turned legs and open bookcases on each end. There will be a second row of doors above the normal doors on the upper cabinets

www.stickscabinets.com

for more info

. . . 10. 3. 2007 - this is the fourth day of a funeral ceremony in Bori for a High Class Woman. She died on 18. 1. 2007 at the age of 85 years. The ceremony will last for one week. Today we will see buffalo fighting, cock fighting, the killing of the buffalos, the horse and the deer. The photos of the killing might look strange to you, to the torajian they are common. The souls of the killed buffalos are the servants of the deads. The more buffalos are killed the better life for the dead.

If you wonder why the quality of the pictures is a little less: these are no photographs - it all are snapshots of my videos! So sorry for the less resolution, but I think, they are worth to be shown.

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The Toraja are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 1,100,000, of whom 450,000 live in the regency of Tana Toraja ("Land of Toraja"). Most of the population is Christian, and others are Muslim or have local animist beliefs known as aluk ("the way"). The Indonesian government has recognized this animist belief as Aluk To Dolo ("Way of the Ancestors").

The word toraja comes from the Bugis Buginese language term to riaja, meaning "people of the uplands". The Dutch colonial government named the people Toraja in 1909. Torajans are renowned for their elaborate funeral rites, burial sites carved into rocky cliffs, massive peaked-roof traditional houses known as tongkonan, and colorful wood carvings. Toraja funeral rites are important social events, usually attended by hundreds of people and lasting for several days.

Before the 20th century, Torajans lived in autonomous villages, where they practised animism and were relatively untouched by the outside world. In the early 1900s, Dutch missionaries first worked to convert Torajan highlanders to Christianity. When the Tana Toraja regency was further opened to the outside world in the 1970s, it became an icon of tourism in Indonesia: it was exploited by tourism developers and studied by anthropologists. By the 1990s, when tourism peaked, Toraja society had changed significantly, from an agrarian model - in which social life and customs were outgrowths of the Aluk To Dolo - to a largely Christian society. Today, tourism and remittances from migrant Torajans have made for major changes in the Toraja highland, giving the Toraja a celebrity status within Indonesia and enhancing Toraja ethnic group pride.

ETHNIC IDENTITY

The Torajan people had little notion of themselves as a distinct ethnic group before the 20th century. Before Dutch colonization and Christianization, Torajans, who lived in highland areas, identified with their villages and did not share a broad sense of identity. Although complexes of rituals created linkages between highland villages, there were variations in dialects, differences in social hierarchies, and an array of ritual practices in the Sulawesi highland region. "Toraja" (from the coastal languages' to, meaning people; and riaja, uplands) was first used as a lowlander expression for highlanders. As a result, "Toraja" initially had more currency with outsiders - such as the Bugis and Makassarese, who constitute a majority of the lowland of Sulawesi - than with insiders. The Dutch missionaries' presence in the highlands gave rise to the Toraja ethnic consciousness in the Sa'dan Toraja region, and this shared identity grew with the rise of tourism in the Tana Toraja Regency. Since then, South Sulawesi has four main ethnic groups - the Bugis (the majority, including shipbuilders and seafarers), the Makassarese (lowland traders and seafarers), the Mandarese (traders and fishermen), and the Toraja (highland rice cultivators).

HISTORY

From the 17th century, the Dutch established trade and political control on Sulawesi through the Dutch East Indies Company. Over two centuries, they ignored the mountainous area in the central Sulawesi, where Torajans lived, because access was difficult and it had little productive agricultural land. In the late 19th century, the Dutch became increasingly concerned about the spread of Islam in the south of Sulawesi, especially among the Makassarese and Bugis peoples. The Dutch saw the animist highlanders as potential Christians. In the 1920s, the Reformed Missionary Alliance of the Dutch Reformed Church began missionary work aided by the Dutch colonial government. In addition to introducing Christianity, the Dutch abolished slavery and imposed local taxes. A line was drawn around the Sa'dan area and called Tana Toraja ("the land of Toraja"). Tana Toraja was first a subdivision of the Luwu kingdom that had claimed the area. In 1946, the Dutch granted Tana Toraja a regentschap, and it was recognized in 1957 as one of the regencies of Indonesia.

Early Dutch missionaries faced strong opposition among Torajans, especially among the elite, because the abolition of their profitable slave trade had angered them. Some Torajans were forcibly relocated to the lowlands by the Dutch, where they could be more easily controlled. Taxes were kept high, undermining the wealth of the elites. Ultimately, the Dutch influence did not subdue Torajan culture, and only a few Torajans were converted. In 1950, only 10% of the population had converted to Christianity.

In the 1930s, Muslim lowlanders attacked the Torajans, resulting in widespread Christian conversion among those who sought to align themselves with the Dutch for political protection and to form a movement against the Bugis and Makassarese Muslims. Between 1951 and 1965 (following Indonesian independence), southern Sulawesi faced a turbulent period as the Darul Islam separatist movement fought for an Islamic state in Sulawesi. The 15 years of guerrilla warfare led to massive conversions to

CHRISTIANITY

Alignment with the Indonesian government, however, did not guarantee safety for the Torajans. In 1965, a presidential decree required every Indonesian citizen to belong to one of five officially recognized religions: Islam, Christianity (Protestantism and Catholicism), Hinduism, or Buddhism. The Torajan religious belief (aluk) was not legally recognized, and the Torajans raised their voices against the law. To make aluk accord with the law, it had to be accepted as part of one of the official religions. In 1969, Aluk To Dolo ("the way of ancestors") was legalized as a sect of Agama Hindu Dharma, the official name of Hinduism in Indonesia.

SOCIETY

There are three main types of affiliation in Toraja society: family, class and religion.

FAMILY AFFILIATION

Family is the primary social and political grouping in Torajan society. Each village is one extended family, the seat of which is the tongkonan, a traditional Torajan house. Each tongkonan has a name, which becomes the name of the village. The familial dons maintain village unity. Marriage between distant cousins (fourth cousins and beyond) is a common practice that strengthens kinship. Toraja society prohibits marriage between close cousins (up to and including the third cousin) - except for nobles, to prevent the dispersal of property. Kinship is actively reciprocal, meaning that the extended family helps each other farm, share buffalo rituals, and pay off debts.

Each person belongs to both the mother's and the father's families, the only bilateral family line in Indonesia. Children, therefore, inherit household affiliation from both mother and father, including land and even family debts. Children's names are given on the basis of kinship, and are usually chosen after dead relatives. Names of aunts, uncles and cousins are commonly referred to in the names of mothers, fathers and siblings.

Before the start of the formal administration of Toraja villages by the Tana Toraja Regency, each Toraja village was autonomous. In a more complex situation, in which one Toraja family could not handle their problems alone, several villages formed a group; sometimes, villages would unite against other villages. Relationship between families was expressed through blood, marriage, and shared ancestral houses (tongkonan), practically signed by the exchange of water buffalo and pigs on ritual occasions. Such exchanges not only built political and cultural ties between families but defined each person's place in a social hierarchy: who poured palm wine, who wrapped a corpse and prepared offerings, where each person could or could not sit, what dishes should be used or avoided, and even what piece of meat constituted one's share.

CLASS AFFILIATION

In early Toraja society, family relationships were tied closely to social class. There were three strata: nobles, commoners, and slaves (slavery was abolished in 1909 by the Dutch East Indies government). Class was inherited through the mother. It was taboo, therefore, to marry "down" with a woman of lower class. On the other hand, marrying a woman of higher class could improve the status of the next generation. The nobility's condescending attitude toward the commoners is still maintained today for reasons of family prestige.

Nobles, who were believed to be direct descendants of the descended person from heaven, lived in tongkonans, while commoners lived in less lavish houses (bamboo shacks called banua). Slaves lived in small huts, which had to be built around their owner's tongkonan. Commoners might marry anyone, but nobles preferred to marry in-family to maintain their status. Sometimes nobles married Bugis or Makassarese nobles. Commoners and slaves were prohibited from having death feasts. Despite close kinship and status inheritance, there was some social mobility, as marriage or change in wealth could affect an individuals status. Wealth was counted by the ownership of water buffaloes.

Slaves in Toraja society were family property. Sometimes Torajans decided to become slaves when they incurred a debt, pledging to work as payment. Slaves could be taken during wars, and slave trading was common. Slaves could buy their freedom, but their children still inherited slave status. Slaves were prohibited from wearing bronze or gold, carving their houses, eating from the same dishes as their owners, or having sex with free women - a crime punishable by death.

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION

Toraja's indigenous belief system is polytheistic animism, called aluk, or "the way" (sometimes translated as "the law"). In the Toraja myth, the ancestors of Torajan people came down from heaven using stairs, which were then used by the Torajans as a communication medium with Puang Matua, the Creator. The cosmos, according to aluk, is divided into the upper world (heaven), the world of man (earth), and the underworld. At first, heaven and earth were married, then there was a darkness, a separation, and finally the light. Animals live in the underworld, which is represented by rectangular space enclosed by pillars, the earth is for mankind, and the heaven world is located above, covered with a saddle-shaped roof. Other Toraja gods include Pong Banggai di Rante (god of Earth), Indo' Ongon-Ongon (a goddess who can cause earthquakes), Pong Lalondong (god of death), and Indo' Belo Tumbang (goddess of medicine); there are many more.

The earthly authority, whose words and actions should be cleaved to both in life (agriculture) and death (funerals), is called to minaa (an aluk priest). Aluk is not just a belief system; it is a combination of law, religion, and habit. Aluk governs social life, agricultural practices, and ancestral rituals. The details of aluk may vary from one village to another. One common law is the requirement that death and life rituals be separated. Torajans believe that performing death rituals might ruin their corpses if combined with life rituals. The two rituals are equally important. During the time of the Dutch missionaries, Christian Torajans were prohibited from attending or performing life rituals, but were allowed to perform death rituals. Consequently, Toraja's death rituals are still practised today, while life rituals have diminished.

CULTURE

TONGKONAN

Tongkonan are the traditional Torajan ancestral houses. They stand high on wooden piles, topped with a layered split-bamboo roof shaped in a sweeping curved arc, and they are incised with red, black, and yellow detailed wood carvings on the exterior walls. The word "tongkonan" comes from the Torajan tongkon ("to sit").

Tongkonan are the center of Torajan social life. The rituals associated with the tongkonan are important expressions of Torajan spiritual life, and therefore all family members are impelled to participate, because symbolically the tongkonan represents links to their ancestors and to living and future kin. According to Torajan myth, the first tongkonan was built in heaven on four poles, with a roof made of Indian cloth. When the first Torajan ancestor descended to earth, he imitated the house and held a large ceremony.

The construction of a tongkonan is laborious work and is usually done with the help of the extended family. There are three types of tongkonan. The tongkonan layuk is the house of the highest authority, used as the "center of government". The tongkonan pekamberan belongs to the family members who have some authority in local traditions. Ordinary family members reside in the tongkonan batu. The exclusivity to the nobility of the tongkonan is diminishing as many Torajan commoners find lucrative employment in other parts of Indonesia. As they send back money to their families, they enable the construction of larger tongkonan.

WOOD CARVINGS

To express social and religious concepts, Torajans carve wood, calling it Pa'ssura (or "the writing"). Wood carvings are therefore Toraja's cultural manifestation.

Each carving receives a special name, and common motifs are animals and plants that symbolize some virtue. For example, water plants and animals, such as crabs, tadpoles and water weeds, are commonly found to symbolize fertility. In some areas noble elders claim these symbols refer to strength of noble family, but not everyone agrees. The overall meaning of groups of carved motifs on houses remains debated and tourism has further complicated these debates because some feel a uniform explanation must be presented to tourists. The image to the left shows an example of Torajan wood carving, consisting of 15 square panels. The center bottom panel represents buffalo or wealth, a wish for many buffaloes for the family. The center panel represents a knot and a box, a hope that all of the family's offspring will be happy and live in harmony, like goods kept safe in a box. The top left and top right squares represent an aquatic animal, indicating the need for fast and hard work, just like moving on the surface of water. It also represents the need for a certain skill to produce good results.

Regularity and order are common features in Toraja wood carving (see table below), as well as abstracts and geometrical designs. Nature is frequently used as the basis of Toraja's ornaments, because nature is full of abstractions and geometries with regularities and ordering. Toraja's ornaments have been studied in ethnomathematics to reveal their mathematical structure, but Torajans base this art only on approximations. To create an ornament, bamboo sticks are used as a geometrical tool.

FUNERAL RITES

In Toraja society, the funeral ritual is the most elaborate and expensive event. The richer and more powerful the individual, the more expensive is the funeral. In the aluk religion, only nobles have the right to have an extensive death feast. The death feast of a nobleman is usually attended by thousands and lasts for several days. A ceremonial site, called rante, is usually prepared in a large, grassy field where shelters for audiences, rice barns, and other ceremonial funeral structures are specially made by the deceased family. Flute music, funeral chants, songs and poems, and crying and wailing are traditional Toraja expressions of grief with the exceptions of funerals for young children, and poor, low-status adults.

The ceremony is often held weeks, months, or years after the death so that the deceased's family can raise the significant funds needed to cover funeral expenses. Torajans traditionally believe that death is not a sudden, abrupt event, but a gradual process toward Puya (the land of souls, or afterlife). During the waiting period, the body of the deceased is wrapped in several layers of cloth and kept under the tongkonan. The soul of the deceased is thought to linger around the village until the funeral ceremony is completed, after which it begins its journey to Puya.

Another component of the ritual is the slaughter of water buffalo. The more powerful the person who died, the more buffalo are slaughtered at the death feast. Buffalo carcasses, including their heads, are usually lined up on a field waiting for their owner, who is in the "sleeping stage". Torajans believe that the deceased will need the buffalo to make the journey and that they will be quicker to arrive at Puya if they have many buffalo. Slaughtering tens of water buffalo and hundreds of pigs using a machete is the climax of the elaborate death feast, with dancing and music and young boys who catch spurting blood in long bamboo tubes. Some of the slaughtered animals are given by guests as "gifts", which are carefully noted because they will be considered debts of the deceased's family. However, a cockfight, known as bulangan londong, is an integral part of the ceremony. As with the sacrifice of the buffalo and the pigs, the cockfight is considered sacred because it involves the spilling of blood on the earth. In particular, the tradition requires the sacrifice of at least three chickens. However, it is common for at least 25 pairs of chickens to be set against each other in the context of the ceremony.

There are three methods of burial: the coffin may be laid in a cave or in a carved stone grave, or hung on a cliff. It contains any possessions that the deceased will need in the afterlife. The wealthy are often buried in a stone grave carved out of a rocky cliff. The grave is usually expensive and takes a few months to complete. In some areas, a stone cave may be found that is large enough to accommodate a whole family. A wood-carved effigy, called Tau tau, is usually placed in the cave looking out over the land. The coffin of a baby or child may be hung from ropes on a cliff face or from a tree. This hanging grave usually lasts for years, until the ropes rot and the coffin falls to the ground.

In the ritual called Ma'Nene, that takes place each year in August, the bodies of the deceased are exhumed to be washed, groomed and dressed in new clothes. The mummies are then walked around the village.

DANCE AND MUSIC

Torajans perform dances on several occasions, most often during their elaborate funeral ceremonies. They dance to express their grief, and to honour and even cheer the deceased person because he is going to have a long journey in the afterlife. First, a group of men form a circle and sing a monotonous chant throughout the night to honour the deceased (a ritual called Ma'badong). This is considered by many Torajans to be the most important component of the funeral ceremony. On the second funeral day, the Ma'randing warrior dance is performed to praise the courage of the deceased during life. Several men perform the dance with a sword, a large shield made from buffalo skin, a helmet with a buffalo horn, and other ornamentation. The Ma'randing dance precedes a procession in which the deceased is carried from a rice barn to the rante, the site of the funeral ceremony. During the funeral, elder women perform the Ma'katia dance while singing a poetic song and wearing a long feathered costume. The Ma'akatia dance is performed to remind the audience of the generosity and loyalty of the deceased person. After the bloody ceremony of buffalo and pig slaughter, a group of boys and girls clap their hands while performing a cheerful dance called Ma'dondan.

As in other agricultural societies, Torajans dance and sing during harvest time. The Ma'bugi dance celebrates the thanksgiving event, and the Ma'gandangi dance is performed while Torajans are pounding rice. There are several war dances, such as the Manimbong dance performed by men, followed by the Ma'dandan dance performed by women. The aluk religion governs when and how Torajans dance. A dance called Ma'bua can be performed only once every 12 years. Ma'bua is a major Toraja ceremony in which priests wear a buffalo head and dance around a sacred tree.

A traditional musical instrument of the Toraja is a bamboo flute called a Pa'suling (suling is an Indonesian word for flute). This six-holed flute (not unique to the Toraja) is played at many dances, such as the thanksgiving dance Ma'bondensan, where the flute accompanies a group of shirtless, dancing men with long fingernails. The Toraja have indigenous musical instruments, such as the Pa'pelle (made from palm leaves) and the Pa'karombi (the Torajan version of a jaw harp). The Pa'pelle is played during harvest time and at house inauguration ceremonies.

LANGUAGE

The ethnic Toraja language is dominant in Tana Toraja with the main language as the Sa'dan Toraja. Although the national Indonesian language is the official language and is spoken in the community, all elementary schools in Tana Toraja teach Toraja language.Language varieties of Toraja, including Kalumpang, Mamasa, Tae' , Talondo' , Toala' , and Toraja-Sa'dan, belong to the Malayo-Polynesian language from the Austronesian family. At the outset, the isolated geographical nature of Tana Toraja formed many dialects between the Toraja languages themselves. After the formal administration of Tana Toraja, some Toraja dialects have been influenced by other languages through the transmigration program, introduced since the colonialism period, and it has been a major factor in the linguistic variety of Toraja languages. A prominent attribute of Toraja language is the notion of grief. The importance of death ceremony in Toraja culture has characterized their languages to express intricate degrees of grief and mourning. The Toraja language contains many terms referring to sadness, longing, depression, and mental pain. Giving a clear expression of the psychological and physical effect of loss is a catharsis and sometimes lessens the pain of grief itself.

ECONOMY

Prior to Suharto's "New Order" administration, the Torajan economy was based on agriculture, with cultivated wet rice in terraced fields on mountain slopes, and supplemental cassava and maize crops. Much time and energy were devoted to raising water buffalo, pigs, and chickens, primarily for ceremonial sacrifices and consumption. Coffee was the first significant cash crop produced in Toraja, and was introduced in the mid 19th century, changing the local economy towards commodity production for external markets and gaining an excellent reputation for quality in the international market .

With the commencement of the New Order in 1965, Indonesia's economy developed and opened to foreign investment. In Toraja, a coffee plantation and factory was established by Key Coffee of Japan, and Torajan coffee regained a reputation for quality within the growing international specialty coffee sector Multinational oil and mining companies opened new operations in Indonesia during the 1970s and 1980s. Torajans, particularly younger ones, relocated to work for the foreign companies - to Kalimantan for timber and oil, to Papua for mining, to the cities of Sulawesi and Java, and many went to Malaysia. The out-migration of Torajans was steady until 1985. and has continued since, with remittances sent back by emigre Torajans performing an important role within the contemporary economy.

Tourism commenced in Toraja in the 1970s, and accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s. Between 1984 and 1997, a significant number of Torajans obtained their incomes from tourism, working in and owning hotels, as tour guides, drivers, or selling souvenirs. With the rise of political and economic instability in Indonesia in the late 1990s - including religious conflicts elsewhere on Sulawesi - tourism in Tana Toraja has declined dramatically. Toraja continues to be a well known origin for Indonesian coffee, grown by both smallholders and plantation estates, although migration, remittances and off-farm income is considered far more important to most households, even those in rural areas.

TOURISM AND CULTURAL CHANGE

Before the 1970s, Toraja was almost unknown to Western tourism. In 1971, about 50 Europeans visited Tana Toraja. In 1972, at least 400 visitors attended the funeral ritual of Puang of Sangalla, the highest-ranking nobleman in Tana Toraja and the so-called "last pure-blooded Toraja noble." The event was documented by National Geographic and broadcast in several European countries. In 1976, about 12,000 tourists visited the regency and in 1981, Torajan sculpture was exhibited in major North American museums. "The land of the heavenly kings of Tana Toraja", as written in the exhibition brochure, embraced the outside world.

In 1984, the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism declared Tana Toraja Regency the prima donna of South Sulawesi. Tana Toraja was heralded as "the second stop after Bali". Tourism was increasing dramatically: by 1985, a total number of 150,000 foreigners had visited the Regency (in addition to 80,000 domestic tourists), and the annual number of foreign visitors was recorded at 40,000 in 1989. Souvenir stands appeared in Rantepao, the cultural center of Toraja, roads were sealed at the most-visited tourist sites, new hotels and tourist-oriented restaurants were opened, and an airstrip was opened in the Regency in 1981.

Tourism developers have marketed Tana Toraja as an exotic adventure - an area rich in culture and off the beaten track. Western tourists expected to see stone-age villages and pagan funerals. Toraja is for tourists who have gone as far as Bali and are willing to see more of the wild, "untouched" islands. However, they were more likely to see a Torajan wearing a hat and denim, living in a Christian society. Tourists felt that the tongkonan and other Torajan rituals had been preconceived to make profits, and complained that the destination was too commercialized. This has resulted in several clashes between Torajans and tourism developers, whom Torajans see as outsiders.

A clash between local Torajan leaders and the South Sulawesi provincial government (as a tourist developer) broke out in 1985. The government designated 18 Toraja villages and burial sites as traditional tourist attractions. Consequently, zoning restrictions were applied to these areas, such that Torajans themselves were barred from changing their tongkonans and burial sites. The plan was opposed by some Torajan leaders, as they felt that their rituals and traditions were being determined by outsiders. As a result, in 1987, the Torajan village of Kété Kesú and several other designated tourist attractions closed their doors to tourists. This closure lasted only a few days, as the villagers found it too difficult to survive without the income from selling souvenirs.

Tourism has also transformed Toraja society. Originally, there was a ritual which allowed commoners to marry nobles (puang) and thereby gain nobility for their children. However, the image of Torajan society created for the tourists, often by "lower-ranking" guides, has eroded its traditional strict hierarchy. High status is not as esteemed in Tana Toraja as it once was. Many low-ranking men can declare themselves and their children nobles by gaining enough wealth through work outside the region and then marrying a noble woman.

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