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European Praying Mantis | Mantis religiosa | 08-2022 | Ticino | Switzerland
My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
More Ticino/Tessin Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili...
My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (warning, it's a bit shocking): www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2-Xszz7FI
ABOUT THE PHOTO:
I originally titled the image above 'Pray, Love, Eat (Your Husband)' as a joking reference to a bestselling novel and to the name of the insect depicted in the photo as well as to the species' well-documented gruesome mating behavior. I changed it now, because I wanted to be sure nobody would take the title as a recommendation (let me be very clear: if you are in fact NOT a female praying mantis, please refrain from eating your husband - regardless how tempted you may be - I'm sure he will thank you later 😉).
To provide a bit of context how I got the shot, as most of you will be well aware, this past summer was rather hot in many parts of the world, and Ticino in Switzerland (where I take all my photos), was no exception. It was in fact exceptionally hot for a long period without any rain in sight, and so I found myself getting up every morning before sunrise to water the garden.
On one such occasion in late August I noticed the frantic movement of a rather large insect that was trying to get away from the splashing water drops. I immediately put the hose down and went to investigate. I could hardly believe my luck: it was a (in Switzerland very rare) European mantis, a species I hadn't seen in a long time in my garden (certainly not since my dear mother's ill-fated attempt to transform part of the garden into a "flowery meadow" - a sad anecdote you can read all about here IF you have the stomach for it: www.flickr.com/photos/191055893@N07/52177556047/in/datepo... )
The mantis had sought shelter from the water between the blooming phlox and was now resting completely motionless among the flower petals, and so I dropped everything and ran for my camera. Once I was back at the scene I realized to my horror that it was still far too dark to get a usable photo; I was sure my "rare prize" would fly away at any instant, but all I could do now was anxiously wait for the sun to come up.
Minute after agonizing minute went by (and Mrs Mantis made suspicious "I-think-I'm-going-to-leave-now" movements several times that had me hold my breath in utter terror), but finally my camera was satisfied with the available light, and once I had shot about 800 photos, I started to relax a little.
In the end, I couldn't have been happier; it had long been my hope that my little oasis of botanic chaos would attract this rare species, and that I even got to photograph it was a dream come true. And apparently I needn't have worried about it flying away; it was a female, and as I later read mantis ladies are in most cases too heavy to fly.
And they seem to be territorial (or at least this one was); to my delight, I would find Mrs Mantis either in the phlox plants or on the nearby hibiscus every day for the remainder of my holiday (here's a photo on the hibiscus: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi... ), and so I got to photograph her plenty (suspiciouly there was never any sign of a Mr Mantis though...).
Anyway, many greetings and have a lovely weekend ahead everyone - and as always, let me know what you think in the comments 😊
End of the Course/My Journey Ends Here
On the last day of the horrendous 2019-20 school term, this wonderful sunset seems to sum up some of the emotions experienced by myself, my colleagues and my students: fear, uncertainty, anger, frustration and...love & hope.
I’m now exhausted, with a strange (hopefully short-term) aversion to screens and online interactions.
This won’t last for long. :-)
From my yard,
South Carrick Hills
SW Scotland
“Cursum Perficio” - Enya, “Watermark”.
(Reference to Marilyn Munro’s final home.)
Dommel
The Dommel is a small river in the Den Bosch. It is 120 kilometers long and starts in Belgium (Limburg) and end in the Netherlands (Noord-Brabant)
The origins of the name Dommel are not really known, but in the beginning of the 8th century Bisschop Willibrord named a river Dumthala.
Possibly Dom or duth comes from the dutting of reeds. And Mel is a reference to floating.
Te floating area of the Dommel belongs , geographical , to that of the Maas and at the source the river is 77 meter above sea level.
The Dommel is suitable for canoeing and small sight seeing ships, like the one we see here in Den Bosch. We tried to buy a ticket, but everything was sold out when we were there, so we couldn't do that tourist trip.
The many-photographed Kelpies are a very popular subject. Especially it would appear among novice photographers. I arrived about an hour before sunset and left about an hour afterwards and for the whole period the place was crawling with toggers catching one angle or another. It was getting almost impossible to get a shot without a fellow shooter getting in the frame. How do I know they were novice? I kept getting asked the question ‘why do you take the same shot three times?’. I tried to explain the benefit of bracketed exposures but they just weren’t getting it.
When it’s crowded like it was here this is one area where long exposures have a valuable benefit over hand held shutter speeds. I did have several people in this frame when shooting this image but only one stood in place long enough to register over the duration of the exposure. I deliberately left him in as a point of reference in this post (standing at edge of frame next to the left horse) although it would be a simple task to take him out with the clone tool. It’s just sometimes of considerable benefit to get more correct in frame at the time of shooting than to spend the extra effort in Photoshop later.
My photo is taken near the summit of Kippure mountain which sits on the Wicklow/Dublin border and rises to 752 m. South County Dublin and Leopardstown Racecourse can be seen in the distance through the gap with the glacial valley of Glencree {"The Glen of my Heart"} on the right and the twin humps of Cruagh 521m and Glendoo 590m on the left.
On a clear day, [ winter is best ] the Mourne mountains [ 100 miles away ] in Northern Ireland, UK, can be seen quite clearly as can Mount Snowdon [ 70 miles distant ] and its surrounding mountains in north Wales UK.
Kippure is topped with a very high telecommunications mast which is a good reference point if you get lost. Its also visible from north Wales and Im told as far south as Pembrokeshire.
In the winter, huge icicles hang from the mast and wires and every so often fall to the ground like the gods throwing huge spears to catch the unwary. Ive seen it a few times and the public are warned to stay well back.
The mountain is extremely wet as there are lots of underground springs constantly saturating the ground.There are no paths or tracks on this mountain and its totally saturated blanket bog.The Electricity Company have an access road to the top which the public can use. Ive climbed this mountain lots of times from different sides crossing a few other mountains to get there.
Now I think I would stick to the road! All I need is some fine weather if we are ever going to get any of that again!
Best Wishes to everyone and hope your New Year is everything that you would want it to be and more besides!
Anyway, your comments and Faves,
would be very welcome in these restrictve Flickr times.
P@t.
All my photos are also viewable, for your convenience in an easily accessable format on Flickr river here below;
A blue hour view of the former St. Nicholas Hotel (tall building) and Annex in the 100 block of N. Fourth St. in Springfield's historic downtown. This view is to the northeast just south of the intersection of Fourth & Washington St.
The St. Nicholas Hotel is a historic hotel building located in downtown Springfield. The original building of the St. Nicholas Hotel was constructed in 1855, and no longer exists. A 6-story annex, seen here to the right of the main building, was built on the hotel in 1910, and the current 11-story main building was constructed in 1924.
The Georgian Revival-style main building was designed by the New York City architectural firm H.L. Stevens and Company. When the current main building opened, it was the second-tallest building in Springfield after the State Capitol.
During sessions of the Illinois General Assembly, the St. Nicholas Hotel became a meeting place for Illinois politicians. The hotel has hosted many notable visitors to Springfield, including U.S. Presidents Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy.
In Illinois political lore, the St. Nicholas is best known as the residence of Paul Powell during his tenure from 1965 to 1970 as Illinois Secretary of State. Within days after his death in 1970, the executor of Powell's will found $750,000 in cash stored in shoeboxes, briefcases, and strongboxes in Powell's suite. Another $50,000 was found in his office. As the money greatly exceeded Powell's salary, which was at the most $30,000 per year, a federal investigation examined Powell's behavior while in office. The investigation determined that Powell had acquired the money via illegal cash bribes and led to the imprisonment of several state contractors.
The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and also is a contributing building to the Central Springfield Historic District. Today this historic hotel building has been repurposed as the St. Nicholas Apartments.
Maybe this was the lull during Super Saturday. Remember Super Saturday? It was the day when the Snaefellsnes peninsula was our world and we explored it royally. From mid morning at Grundarfoss until after sunset under an enormous pink swirling cloud at the black church of Budir we stopped here there and everywhere on a day of maximum input and an output that will have me reaching into the archives for months, possibly years to come. I have no less than eighteen separate folders full of RAW files from that finest of days, some of which contain large numbers of images to pore over, while a few, such as the group I took from a layby on the road to Hellnar have just two or three files, little more than handheld snapshots.
By the time we arrived here, we’d already had a very agreeable few hours at the lesser known Svodufoss on the northwest corner of the peninsula, where we’d bathed in autumnal sunshine under the majestic white peak of Snaefellsjokull. We’d paused briefly to photograph the church of Ingjaldsholl in front of the glacier, before sauntering happily along the remote and empty Utnesvegur, passing a discarded landscape of twisted forms. A crater here, a lava field there. For now we were just driving through the landscape, enjoying the privilege of witnessing this extraordinary peninsula. We’d stop at Arnarstapi and photograph the white house again next, we decided. But for a moment we’d take that side road to Hellnar and pause in the layby for a snack, from where we could gaze down at the church we’d abandoned all intentions of photographing twenty-four hours earlier. I’d seen some very agreeable images of the subject in these pages, but from wherever you looked it was surrounded by clutter, and the most compelling pictures I’d found for reference had been simplified by a blanket of snow. Reluctantly we’d agreed that there probably wasn’t a shot here for this trip. I took a couple of snaps with the long lens and duly filed the results, instantly forgetting the episode as we moved on to the next stop where there was an already tried and tested composition to revisit. The lull was over, and the feeding frenzy of Super Saturday had resumed.
It was only much later, in one of those moments when I decided that while I wanted to play around with some shots in the editing suite, I wasn’t in the mood for sifting through a large number of candidates. I wanted simple, and simple didn’t come easier than a folder with only three RAW files, two of which appeared to be almost identical. The shortlisting would take approximately zero seconds. Maybe I could declutter the space around the church? Another monochrome conversion with a bit of contrast would help to simplify the scene, and perhaps there was an image hidden in plain sight that was worth persevering for. Just a quick half hour before I moved away from the computer and did something else with my Sunday afternoon, I thought to myself. And so I started to tinker, gradually removing one distraction after another with varying degrees of success, until the white church stood alone in its space against the quiet ocean. A dodge, a burn or several, a pair of levels and curves adjustments and the shapes of distant mountains somewhere closer to Reykjavik appeared across the water. Now an image that initially offered little promise began to take shape. It still wasn’t one I planned to share – at least not until the moment that I began to rather like what I was looking at. Somehow, an image had evolved from a messy starting point and I was happy.
It makes me wonder what else I’ve got lying around in my saved files; what images are hovering one step away from the dustbin of eternity that might have a hidden promise just waiting to be hatched from chaos. When there are so many fantastic moments still waiting to be captured, it may be a while before any more of the lesser lights appear, but anything is possible. “Never delete anything – just in case,” seems to be the lesson I’ve learned, not that I often do. You never know when you might see something in an unloved snapshot that you overlooked in the first place.
Pat Murphys Meadow
" October days are here again,
And the night winds chilly blow,
The woodland turns a golden hue,
And the harvest moon`s a glow,
To hear again of days gone past,
To come no more I know,
When I mowed Pat Murphy`s meadow,
In the sunny long ago "
I see again the ocean and the distant sails afar,
While the maiden in the meadow,
Strikes up Dark Lugnagar,
There was music soft and tender,
In the winds that whispered low,
When I mowed Pat Murphy`s meadow,
In the sunny long ago "
Those days are golden memories
Like the snows of yesteryear,
And when evening shades are falling
All alone I shed a tear,
On my cheek I feel the soft kiss,
Of the winds that whispered low,
When I mowed Pat Murphy`s meadow
In the sunny long ago "
Do have a listen;
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPnOb0T4MQY
Perhaps some people may find this song a bit twee but I dont in the least. It was written as a poem in the 1930s by a native of Newfoundland, J.M. Divine. Its cetainly of a different age and I think its lovely.
There are a lot of Scotish references in it and Im of the opinion that " Dark Lugnagar " is actually Sir Walter Scott`s, " Lochinvar".
It all brings back the most wonderful memories for me so heres the story.
Now Ive known a lot of Pat Murphy`s in my time. More than you could shake a stick at in a month of Sundays. Not that Id want to shake a stick at any of them and you would be far better employed saying a few prayers on Sunday and having a drink or 12 with them as they were all nice people.
I dont ever recall any of my Pat Murphys having a meadow though. However, I do remember a Pat Ryan from county Clare having one and the wonderful time we had saving the hay together with our young wives and children away back in what were without doubt, best of times.
I know that Pat is no longer with us and Ive often thought of jumping in the car and heading down there to find them but somehow I dont think it would be the same now so Ill stay with the memory. My son still remembers and talks about it so it isnt just me who has the madness thankfully!
No More to come I know!
Best wishes my friends.
Are`nt simple things the best.
P@t.
If you are looking at this, you know where it is from. This is an image from the Palouse region of eastern Washington State. More specifically this is shot from Steptoe Butte. This was my first time to the Butte, it won't be my last.
We had been wanting to go here for a long time, but could never seem to carve out the time. This year, we were determined to make it out there in June, so the fields were green. However, this June has not been very sunny, in fact, its been quite the June-uary. We looked at the forecast and found what looked like a small window mid week. The COVID work-from-home actually worked in our favor here, I just worked on my laptop during the 6 hour drive there and back, while my fantastic wife drove. We only had the chance to stay one night, so I only had one sunset, and one sunrise. I did not have the luxury of waiting on the weather. All the other sites of the Palouse would have to wait for another trip, this trip was Steptoe only.
We got to the hotel, solid cloud cover. Near sunset, still solid cloud cover. Grrr. I set out anyway, Like everyone who comes here, we stayed in Colfax, 15 minutes from the Butte. My tripod monkey and I arrived at the Butte and it still looked bleak, but possible. The sky had some breaks here and there. So we set up the tripod and waited. I had read that the best images were not found at the top, but rather near the base of the hill. This way the images line up better with the hills.
I was feeling frantic, because I wanted to be in the right spot when the sun actually broke (if it was going to break). See, you need the sun to cast the shadows among the hills. Flat clouded skys are your friend at waterfalls, but not here. He who controls the skys did not have me wait long. No longer were we all set up and ready, the sun started to perform. We actually got about an hour and a half of good light that night. No crazy colorful sunset, but that was OK, we only needed the light on the hills.
There are a lot of great subjects here at Steptoe. The hills surround the Butte for 360 views. Naturally, to get the best shadows you go with something north of south of the setting sun. Most shoot the Whitman County Growers famous grain silos. I did too, though this little lonesome tree caught my eye. My wife is a sucker for a lone tree, and it certainly evokes an emotion.
I will probably post a few of the Palouse, I shot 32 gig of images. Let me know what you think.
Oh, and the title of the image is referencing the tree, not us alone at Steptoe. The Butte is never alone, the photography community would not have it. Especially in June.
After an exhausting , hour-long walk in the sweltering heat in the Impero Valley, the Benedictine abbey dedicated to Saints Nazarius and Celsus appears amid an immense olive grove.
It is a place of worship, of Spirit, of work as well as a place of Peace.
The first Christian church from this abbey is located near the village of Borgomaro (Liguria-Italy) and dates from the period between the second and third century AD.
From here emerged a small Christian community that, over time, became the beacon of the surrounding villages and hamlets.
Its complete reconstruction dates back to 1498 and the abbey has been run continuously by Benedictine monks from this time.
As can be seen, the abbey boast an immense outdoor area that has been preserved in its originality.
Monastic life basically encompasses the ordinairy life of every person, but God comes first here.
The monks pray for four and a half hours a day and in between prayers they have to work hard.
This soaking serves to maintain the order as they are entirely self-sufficient in their livelihood.
The monks completely independently cultivate the historic olive grove with over 600 olive trees and also try to be available for hospitality.
This abbey is an ideal centre both in attractiveness and also from its geographical location.
But above all , it wants to be a reference for all those looking for a space of silence, beautiness, hospitality, prayer and to let themselves be and rediscover God within........
Your hand was a weapon
Within a sturdy cross
A blue study transformed as if
Matisse had turned violent in a fit of passion
We felt the building might be condemned
There were notices on pieces of flimsy paper
Exteriors made by humans were now crumbling
And still there was that implicit threat
An outstretched hand transformed with a weapon
I said to Jesus
“I’ve given up. Stop! You’ve tangled my emotions!”
God has all of the answers and leaves us with only questions
And the feeling of helplessness.
I’ve given up on waiting any longer.
Whatever you’re looking for…..
Don’t come around here no more.
This poem references the song by Tom Petty:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0JvF9vpqx8
**All photos are copyrighted**
You may from time to time have seen reference to the “Three Happy Snappers” in my stories. That’s me, Dave and Lee. You don't need to know anything about me that I haven't already mentioned, so let me give you a brief introduction to the other two happy snappers. Dave is a web guru (whatever that is) and a fine art graduate. He, his wife and the youngest of their three adult sons are rarely seen in public, preferring to hide in their homely forest cottage that would have the Brothers Grimm reaching for their quills in imagination fuelled fury. Outside his day job, Dave looks after the website of a famous person, but I can’t tell you who it is of course. Client privileges and all that. He’s also my younger brother, which means I’ve known him for approximately five and a half decades. I was confined to my bed with German Measles the day he was being born at home in the next room, and when consulted by village elders on what I thought about my new baby brother, I apparently replied that he was ok, but on balance I’d rather have a new Thomas the Tank Engine train set. Choo choo!
Lee joined our world twelve or thirteen years ago, when he was invited to come and play football one Friday evening and was immediately accepted into the group on a long term basis. He used to sell glasses from a shop in Falmouth, made by the family business in his native West Midlands. Nowadays he works for a local electrician in the village where he lives, running the shop, keeping the appointments book up to date, and advising me on camera gear. His daily commute takes approximately one minute in either direction - on foot. Just occasionally, we lure him away from the village, but he does seem to be growing roots in the few years since he and his wife moved there from Falmouth. Before he came to Cornwall, he also had a famous client. He's not taking on new customers these days, but for us chosen few, he can still rustle up a new pair of varifocals at a price that tells me I shouldn't have gone to a certain optician on the High Street. I’ve never had a famous client by the way - or even any clients at all for that matter. I once bumped into Little Mo from Eastenders at Gatwick Airport. Does that count?
From time to time, the Three Happy Snappers convene at one location or another to take photographs at sunset, have a bit of a catch up with each others’ lives, discuss the football and enjoy a slow pint of hop based infusion before heading for home. And to my amazement we were going out for the second occasion in under a month. This time we’d agreed upon Land’s End in early August. The heather should be looking good around then. It was great at the same time last year. We'd grab some food on the way down, and then spend the second half of the afternoon among the heather. With any luck we’d get some nice light towards the end of day.
But what’s this - a fourth happy snapper gatecrashing the party? Well I remembered a message I’d had from one of you. Step forward artisan cheese maker Lloyd, who was making an extra visit to Cornwall this year. You know Lloyd - king of the super long exposure. I don't know if he has any famous clients, so you'll have to ask him I'm afraid. He usually arrives in quiet November, armed with a camera bag and good intentions, so being told that he was coming here in the middle of summer was a bit of a surprise. It so happened that his brief holiday coincided with our outing to Land’s End, and he was staying at nearby Cape Cornwall too. And yes he’d be delighted to meet us at Land’s End and update the locals on exactly how much it costs to park there if you don’t have a postcode that begins with “TR” or “PL.” It was the fourth time I'd met him here over the last three years. A spleen venting nine pounds and fifty pence this time. Ouch! I get to park here for free.
Half an hour later, after wrestling our way through the hordes, we were sitting in the hotel grounds, supping four frighteningly expensive pints and planning our sunset shoot. Ever the tech tart, Lee was demonstrating the remote shutter contraption he'd recently acquired to operate his phone camera from six paces away as the four of us gurned inanely at the birdie, waiting for the Google Pixel that he'd perched perilously close to the edge of the bench to topple onto the concrete below. Somehow it survived the drop. It might have been the best picture of the day.
What didn't appear to have survived this far into August was the heather. This time last year it was here in abundance, but today much of the growth was already distinctly brown and patchy. Plan A was looking a little bit shaky, so it's a good job that there are plenty of other things to take pictures of at Land's End. Although somehow, the small patch of heather that I did find in the right place made it into the image. It was easier than this last year. Strange when it’s been so colourful elsewhere around here recently.
It's always great fun when the three happy snappers get together. Even more so when an honorary fourth joins the party. Although we did ask him to bring some cheese next time. Who doesn't love cheese?
Visitors can be seen walking far down in the Almannagjá Gorge in Þingvellir National Park in southwest Iceland. The entire Þingvellir region is located in a rift valley created by the drifting apart of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The tectonic plates are drifting in opposite directions at the rate of 7 mm (0.276 in) annually. Almannagjá lies along the North American plate on the west side of the valley. It measures 7.7 km long and 64 m wide at its maximum. The gorge’s cliffs lie along a fault with a maximum throw of 30-40 m. Geologists believe the Þingvellir faults (fissures) to be the surface expressions of deeply rooted normal faults. Basalt from cooled lava flows make up the cliffs and valley floor. About two thousand years ago, the basalt erupted from near by fissures. At the top of the photo, the base of Ármannsfell, a volcanic mountain, dominates the horizon.
This unique geology became the backdrop for some of Iceland's most important political and cultural events. Iceland’s settlement by The Norse began with the arrival of Ingólfur Arnarson in 874. Historians refer to the next 56 years, as ‘The Settlement Period’. Driven away from a newly united Norway under King Harald Fairhair, settlers from many different clans settled all around the island’s shores. Though the new arrivals shared an ancestral home, religion and language, difference sprang up because each clan had its own leaders and customs. Violence broke out from time to time between these clans both over their beliefs and for the limited resources their new island had to offer. In order to address these issues the people decided to hold a general assembly with members from each clan.
A man called Grímur Geitskör was given the tasks of gathering representatives from each clan and finding a suitable meeting location. As Geitskör was searching for a location, a man who owned a sheltered piece of land accessible from all corners of the country was convicted of murder, and his property turned public. This sheltered place was in the rift valley at Þingvellir. People from all over Iceland could reach the assembly place with no more than seventeen days of traveling. In 930 AD, over thirty ruling chiefs met for the first time at Þingvellir to discuss law on the island and to create a Viking commonwealth. Their meeting place was within the Almannagjá Gorge.
Þingvellir translated literally means "Assembly Plains”. The Parliament, called The Alþing, met at Þingvellir from 930 to 1798 AD. Many important historic and cultural events occurred here while Parliment was in session which makes it one of the most imporant places in Icelandic History. In 1799 the Alþing stopped meeting due to Danish colonialism. The Alþing started meeting again sporadically in 1848 in Reykjavik but was given only limited powers by the King of Denmark. It was 1907 before the Alþing started meeting regularly also in Reykjavik. In 1928, just before the 1000 anniversary of the foundation of Alþingi in 1930, the parliament made Þingvellir a National Park. When Iceland declared it independence from Denmark in 1944, the declaration was made at Þingvellir. Today, hundreds of thousands visit Þingvellir National Park every year and most of those visitors walk the Almannagjá.
References:
icelandroadguide.com/items/hakid/
guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/jorunnsg/ingvellir-...
notendur.hi.is/oi/geology_of_thingvellir.htm
www.thingvellir.is/en/history-nature/history/
icelandmag.is/article/9-essential-things-know-about-thing...
More views from walking around Portmeirion.
There was some colour in the gardens and borders. Here we saw a lovely Magnolia tree.
In 1925, Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis acquired the site which was to become Portmeirion. He had been searching for a suitable site for his proposed ideal village for several years and when he heard that the Aber Iâ estate near Penrhyndeudraeth was for sale, he did not hesitate to make an offer.
He wanted to show how a naturally beautiful location could be developed without spoiling it, and that one could actually enhance the natural background through sympathetic development. The Aber Iâ estate had everything he had hoped for as a site for his architectural experiment: steep cliffs overlooking a wide sandy estuary, woods, streams and a nucleus of old buildings.
But the history of Portmeirion started long before 1925. The construction of Castell Deudraeth was recorded in 1188 by Gerald of Wales, who wrote: "We crossed the Traeth mawr and the Traeth Bychan. These are two arms of the sea, one large and one small. Two stone castles have been built there recently. The one called Castell Deudraeth belongs to the sons of Cynan and is situated in the Eifionydd area, facing the northern Mountains."
Castell Deudraeth was referenced again by the 17th century philologist, geologist, natural historian and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, Edward Lhuyd in 1700. Lhuyd recorded the name as Aber Iâ, stating " The Castle of Aber Iâ yet stood in ruined form overlooking the south western extremity of the peninsula".
In 1861, Richard Richards wrote a description: "Neither man nor woman was there, only a number of foreign water-fowl on a tiny pond, and two monkeys, which by their cries evidently regarded me as an unwelcome intruder. The garden itself was a very fine one, the walls of which were netted all over with fruit trees...Aber Iâ, then, gentle reader, is a beautiful mansion on the shore of Traeth Bach, in Merionethshire."
When Williams-Ellis acquired the land in 1925 he wrote, "a neglected wilderness - long abandoned by those romantics who had realised the unique appeal and possibilities of this favoured promontory but who had been carried away by their grandiose landscaping...into sorrowful bankruptcy." Clough immediately changed the name from Aber Iâ (Glacial Estuary) to Portmeirion; Port because of the coastal location and Meirion as this is Welsh for Merioneth, the county in which it lay.
His first job was to extend and convert the old house on the shore into a grand hotel. The concept of a tightly grouped coastal village had already formed in Clough's mind some years before he found the perfect site and he had quite a well-defined vision for the village from the outset.
Portmeirion was built in two stages: from 1925 to 1939 the site was 'pegged-out' and its most distinctive buildings were erected. From 1954-76 he filled in the details. The second period was typically classical or Palladian in style in contrast to the Arts and Crafts style of his earlier work. Several buildings were salvaged from demolition sites, giving rise to Clough's description of the place as "a home for fallen buildings".
"An architect has strange pleasures," Clough wrote in 1924. "He will lie awake listening to the storm in the night and think how the rain is beating on his roofs, he will see the sun return and will think that it was for just such sunshine that his shadow-throwing mouldings were made."
The first article about Portmeirion appeared in The Architects' Journal (January 6 1926) with photographs of scale models and preliminary designs prepared by Clough to impress potential investors. In this article, John Rothenstein writes: "On the sea-coast of North Wales, quite near his own old home, Plas Brondanw, he has acquired what he believes to be an ideal site, and he is engaged upon plans and models for the laying out of an entire small township. The results of his scheme will be significant and should do much to shake the current notion that although houses must be designed with due care, towns may grow up by chance."
The Hotel Portmeirion officially opened for the Easter Weekend, on 2nd April 1926. The last building, the Tollgate, was built in Clough's 93rd year.
Bellevue, Washington, USA.
This is an image of Bellevue, the very much beleaguered stepsister suburb ten miles east of Seattle. I suppose if Seattle is the Emerald City (as we like to call it here), Bellevue might be “Munchkinland” perhaps.
(If you’ve never read the book or seen the movie, The Wizard of Oz, none of these references may make any sense).
Still, as much as I don’t understand Seattle’s disdain for Bellevue after nearly a decade here, there’s no doubt that Bellevue continues to grow, transform, and expand. Bellevue still serves as the headquarters of T-Mobile, Eddie Bauer, Symetra, and the Pokémon Company to name a short few. Microsoft has a satellite building here. Expedia is also headquartered in Bellevue, but will move to Seattle in 2018, and Recreational Equipment, Inc. (a.k.a. REI) will relocate its headquarters from Kent (another suburb) to Bellevue in 2020.
Alas, Bellevue is an “urban-suburban force” to be acknowledged (and makes for great urban landscapes as well).
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'Bill just had to follow the glow'
My seventh and final build in my Iron Builder round against Lego Monkey!
The seed part is Cylinder 1 x 5 1/2 with Bar Handle in teal. I used 85 here.
This round has been quite the ride! Joshua has been a delight to compete against. From the back and forth reference builds to getting my feed brightened with each of his posts, it has truly been a blast!
Iron builder has always been demanding and this round was no exception for me. Ultimately I am pleased with what I was able to put out and am ready for a good long rest.
Huge thanks to Markus and Simon for hosting this competition!
"To the memory of the soldiers and sailors of Klickitat County who gave their lives in defense of their country. This monument is erected in hope that others inspired by the example of their valor and their heroism may share in that love of liberty and burn with that fire of patriotism which death alone can quench."
These are the profound words inscribed on the alter stone inside of the Maryhill replica of Stonehenge located on a placid hillside overlooking the winding wonder that is the Columbia River Gorge.
I urge you to research the Quaker Samuel Hill whose vision this was, as he had a long and eventful life, but it was on one of his fifty (pre transcontinental flight era) trips to Europe in 1915 accompanied by Britain's Secretary of State for War Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener that he visited the original Stonehenge. According to Hills biographer, it was Lord Kitchener who told Samuel that Druids used this place for human sacrifice 4,000 years ago. Mr. Hill being a pacifist and having witnessed the most barbaric of wars ever drew a parallel between human sacrifice of old and the wars of man and so while the war to end all wars was still raging, he dedicated this monument in 1918.
Said Nelson B. Brooks at the dedication; "To Klickitat County, Washington attaches the distinction of being the first community in the Northwest and so far as reported the first in America, to consecrate a memorial to its sons who have met death while in the nation's service in the existing war ... six names have already been inscribed upon the monument: Dewey V. Bromley, John W. Cheshier, James B. Duncan, Robert F. Graham, Carl A. Lester, and Robert F. Venable. Space has been left for others who are expected in the nature of things to follow. Of these, 'One sleeps in the land where rolls the Oregon, three in the soil of the pioneered hills of Klickitat, one upon the blood-stained hills of France, and one who, when the ocean gave up its dead from the torpedoed Tuscania, found a brutal place beneath the heather of Scotland'.
Indeed, names since added:
Henry Allyn
Charles Auer
William O. Clary
Harry Gotfredson
Louis Leidl
Edward Lindblad
Harry O. Piendl
One of them was 28, the others between the ages of 19 and 21.
I'd seen pics of this place and watched video's on youtube, most of them leaving me, um, unimpressed and truth be told I made this nearly four hour drive solely to see an oddity in the middle of nowhere and to cross it off my list. Even pulling up to it my first thought was that it was even smaller than I had imagined and I was thankful for getting out of the car.... then I stepped inside...it was still dark, but bright enough to see and even though I knew no one is buried here I felt as though I were on hallowed ground, and I was.
Go see it, and never forget.
ps
while you are there, wander a little down the hill and say hi to Sam who was cremated and buried there three years after the completion of his monument.
NRHP reference No.100006703
I firmly believe there is a spiritual energy connected with bodies of water. Saw this referenced on one of those ghost hunting TV shows years ago. The investigators noticed an uptick on paranormal activity in places saturated near rivers, lakes, ponds, etc. Not sure about any of that ghost stuff, but it stands to reason that water can harbor some form of energy. It is after all one of the forces of nature that sustains life. One of the cemeteries I visit is bounded by a river, and I invariably experience strange phenomenon there. I'm always drawn to ponds and streams. I find them instantly soothing of the soul, and its easy to drift off in to a meditative state if you spend any amount of time there. My back woods open up to this small pond, and it's been a source of inspiration over the years. I find it almost impossible to walk past it without pausing at least a moment to appreciate it, and just as often photograph it. I've witnessed it in every conceivable light, and am continually amazed at all of the 'faces' it reveals, everything from inky black to radiant splendor...like a giant mood ring. I'm always keen on its reflective quality. What you see is a sort of reality-based Rorschach test. Some people see a whole other world in the reflected light. Others see only the water itself, or what lies just beneath the surface. On this lonely autumn day I happened upon this extraordinary scene. It was as if nature teed this up exclusively for me. Of course I got the shot, but also lingered much longer. There was a presence here far beyond that which I could actually see.
What do you see?
Some of the hoodoos along the North Fork of the Shoshone River are eroded into fanciful shapes like the one pictured here. Some folks think these hoodoos resemble people, animals, imaginary creatures, buildings, or manufactured items. On the North Fork, some have official names, some have unofficial names and many more just await any traveler’s imagination. Part of the fun of driving the North Fork Highway is what your imagination can see in the hoodoo shapes. This one for example, do you see a goose? A baby dinosaur looking up at its mother? A howling dog? Something else?
Pictured is one of many mimetoliths long this road that leads to Yellowstone National Park. A mimetolith is a natural topographic feature, rock outcrop, or rock specimen whose shape resembles a person, a real or imagine animal, a plant, a manufactured item or any part thereof. Visual pattern recognition like seeing shapes in clouds and rocks; seeing faces in inanimate objects or abstract patterns is a normal humans tendency. This tendency, called pareidolia, was once seen as a mental disorder but is now seen as common and normal in humans.
So, what do you see?
Reference: stoneplus.cst.cmich.edu/mimetoliths/
HSS!
"The piece "The Sirens' Calling" (John Greer) in Halifax is conceptually referring to Greek mythology, recalling the sound of the sirens. Calling us to go further, to pursue, even if the song is muted.
The piece is composed of 4 life-size full back figures that do not have a front, but appear to be shells. They are sourced from existing archaic Greek sculpture, here used symbolically to represent the four cardinal compass points, implying journey and search. North, South, East and West. The seduction of the unknown causes us to push boundaries and to move forward – personally and as individual parts of a culture, a society.
East and West are no longer terminal, they have become infinite directions. Global consciousness has forever shifted our orientation, echoes of Ulysses."
"La pièce "The Sirens' Calling" (John Greer) à Halifax fait référence conceptuellement à la mythologie grecque, rappelant le son des sirènes. Nous appelant à aller plus loin, à poursuivre, même si la chanson est en sourdine.
La pièce est composée de 4 personnages de dos complets grandeur nature qui n'ont pas de front, mais semblent être des coquilles. Ils proviennent de sculptures grecques archaïques existantes, utilisées ici symboliquement pour représenter les quatre points cardinaux, impliquant un voyage et une recherche. Nord, Sud, Est et Ouest. La séduction de l'inconnu nous pousse à repousser les limites et à aller de l'avant - personnellement et en tant que parties individuelles d'une culture, d'une société.
Est et Ouest ne sont plus terminaux, ils sont devenus des directions infinies. La conscience globale a changé à jamais notre orientation, échos d'Ulysse."
The world-famous graffiti artist's OZMO latest mural in Liepāja
The mural " Siren, Wind, Sea and Freedom" emphasizes the importance of the sea in the daily life of the city, depicting it in the image of the Sea god Neptune, the seductive and captivating city, depicted in the image of a beautiful woman – a Siren, and the wind of Liepāja. In this work, too, OZMO has used his typical references to world-famous works of art. The image of Neptune is modelled from that one on the fountain of Neptune in Bologna, Italy, but the wind is symbolized by the Wind god Aiola, depicted in this shape at an ancient marble tab and used in the works of OZMO before. In turn, the woman’s head is decorated with three stars as those from the Latvian State Statue of Liberty, thus emphasizing the importance and role of Liepāja in the whole country.
“When creating my works, I always do research in advance and use different symbols. In this mural, the wind creates roaring sea waves, both united by the beautiful Latvian city – Liepāja, which is symbolized by a real-life girl, a singer seen on the social network Instagram,” says the author of the work OZMO. ” To create this more than 150 m2 large painting, it took 11 days, 217 colour cans, a tube of sunscreen, one bucket truck and many forthcoming people, who helped to implement this long-cherished idea,” says the author of the project idea, the “Red Sun Buffet Beach Bar” co-owner Mareks Alberts.
OZMO is visiting Liepāja within the project “Street Art Portraits in the Streets of Liepāja”. He began his creative career creating comics, but soon turned to writing and painting. In 2001, he entered the Florence Academy of Visual Arts in Milan, collaborating with the world’s largest art galleries. Shortly afterwards, under the nickname OZMO he became known for his impressive wall paintings. His works can be seen in Milan, London, Rome, Miami, Baltimore, Shanghai, Paris, Gdansk and many other cities around the world. More information about the artist is available here:
There are several surprises about Yuccas, at least to me. Surprise #1: Yuccas are a type of flowering succulent not actually a cactus, but often called a cactus. Surprise #2: Some yuccas bloom only at night because, surprise 2.5, they are pollinated by a particular moth, the yucca moths, all of which are nocturnal. Surprise #3: After blooming, which may be only once in a lifetime, some yuccas just up and die. That is the life cycle of some yuccas.
As you can see here, this yucca is none of the above. I was lucky to see five Yuccas - you know, after two or three times, the word "yucca' loses all meaning - come into bloom and remain so six weeks later. This one is about 30 feet tall. (Most yuccas live five or more years: only one reference to how long yuccas live came up with this fantastic fact: One existing Mojave yucca is at least 12,000 years old.) The one in the photo is of an unknown age (but at least 50 years) and the yucca at the end of my driveway, also in bloom, was planted in 1974 and is now a whopping 12 feet tall. It has a hole in the trunk which gets higher every year, and that has been the nest for oak titmice twice, and the Chestnut-backed chickadee once, in March of this year!
P.S. The flowers are always white.
BN westbound San Antonio coal empties with "SATX" cars passes my train behind three SP U36c and three BN "coal motors."
This train came up through Denver and a crew from Sterling (Colorado) was headed for Guernsey, where they would turn the train over to a crew based in Gillette. I recall that the trains that included pooled power from Espee were often (or always) supplied with an extra unit on the assumption that at least one SP unit would die on the way..."just along for the ride" as we often said. The "coal motor" appellation was a reference to any 3000hp six axle units - EMD or GE - used in coal service. And yes, I was standing on top of the cab of my lead unit, or maybe the nose. One of the guys told me he had a high ranking official riding with him and the official saw me up there, probably as we were in the siding somewhere, and asked just "who the hell is that up on the cab?" The guy told me that he just replied "oh, that's just the engineer." No big deal back then; probably more of a big deal now! It's a nice reminder to me, in my old age, that I was young and stupid once. It beats being old and maybe a little less stupid.
My train was in the siding at "Stuart", one of the sidings that were installed on this route to accompany the longer trains in between towns where crossings could be blocked. As often was the case in this time of transition from sleepy secondary route to major coal corridor, the siding looked better than the mainline. It's likely that the rear of the train is just leaving Nebraska here.
Adrienne fixed her gaze on K’hall, her voice steady but laced with urgency. “Our mission is to locate and destroy the reptilian nest. If Kayla’s double is operating with the same objective, she’ll be drawn to it. Help us find the nest, and we may find her.”
K’hall said nothing. He paced slowly, his expression unreadable.
Kayla turned facing K’hall, “The reptiles only breed one time then die off. Once their eggs are destroyed, their forces will collapse. No more breeding, no more reinforcements. And with that, the threat of them breaching the veil will be gone—for good.”
K’hall halted mid-step. “Bext,” he called, his voice low but commanding.
A tall figure emerged from the bright light of the bridge. Her frost-white hair shimmered under the overhead lights, and her blue eyes sharp. She moved with quiet precision, her presence commanding without a word.
“What intelligence do we have on the lizards’ breeding grounds?” K’hall asked.
Bext moved to the nearest console, fingers gliding across the interface. The screen flickered to life, casting a pale glow across her face. After a moment, she turned back to him. “Nothing. No records. No patterns. Their breeding sites are not in our data base.”
K’hall’s gaze shifted to Adrienne, then to Kayla. “Our data on the lizards is extensive—but it’s all tactical. Military deployments. Human infiltration and enslavement. Their reproductive infrastructure is a blind spot.”
Kayla stood stepping to the console. “I have coordinates of the nest location from my time. The Earth has changed—tectonic drift, submerged regions—but they might still point us in the right direction.”
She recited the coordinates, each number a location long lost. Bext entered them into the system, the screen flickering as it processed the data.
K’hall nodded. “Bext, cross-reference those coordinates with all known subterranean structures. Instruct every ship in the fleet to initiate deep scans of underground sectors. If there’s a nest buried beneath the surface, I want it found.”
Bext gave a crisp nod and turned back to the console, her fingers already summoning the fleet-wide command.
The room fell into a tense silence, broken only by the soft hum of scanners coming online.
K’hall ran his hand through his hair. “And now we wait for the scans and listen for your double to activate her device.”
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You can view Quantum Fold episodes in order from the beginning in her album titled, Quantum Fold:
www.flickr.com/photos/199076397@N02/albums/72177720326169...
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The St. Nicholas Hotel is a historic hotel building located in downtown Springfield. The original building of the St. Nicholas Hotel was constructed in 1855, and no longer exists. A 6-story annex, seen here to the right of the main building, was built on the hotel in 1910, and the current 11-story main building was constructed in 1924.
The Georgian Revival-style main building was designed by the New York City architectural firm H.L. Stevens and Company. When the current main building opened, it was the second-tallest building in Springfield after the State Capitol.
During sessions of the Illinois General Assembly, the St. Nicholas Hotel became a meeting place for Illinois politicians. The hotel has hosted many notable visitors to Springfield, including U.S. Presidents Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy.
In Illinois political lore, the St. Nicholas is best known as the residence of Paul Powell during his tenure from 1965 to 1970 as Illinois Secretary of State. Within days after his death in 1970, the executor of Powell's will found $750,000 in cash stored in shoeboxes, briefcases, and strongboxes in Powell's suite. Another $50,000 was found in his office. As the money greatly exceeded Powell's salary, which was at the most $30,000 per year, a federal investigation examined Powell's behavior while in office. The investigation determined that Powell had acquired the money via illegal cash bribes and led to the imprisonment of several state contractors.
The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and also is a contributing building to the Central Springfield Historic District. Today this historic hotel building is now the St. Nicholas Apartments.
Mountain Samdain Kangsang (6590 meters), is the second highest peak of the Nyenchen Tanglha range. It is seen here in sunset from Shachi Penninsula, Nam Tso Lake.
The Nyenchen Tanglha range continuous snow mountains accompanied with the blue sky seems very solemn. The famous Samdain Kangsang Snow Mountain is just one of them. Being one of the twenty-five highest mountains of Tibet, it's given the religious character.
Nam Tso གནམ་མཚོ།
salt lake The lake lies at an elevation of 4,718 m, and has a surface area of 1,870 square kilometres. It is the highest salt lake in the world, and largest salt lake in the Tibet Autonomous Region. However, it is not the largest salt lake in the Tibetan Plateau. That title belongs to KokoNor མཚོ་སྔོན་ མཚོ་ཁྲི ་ཤོར་རྒྱལ་མོ་ (almost twice the size of Namtso). Namtso has five uninhabited islands of reasonable size, in addition to one or two rocky outcrops. The islands have been used for spiritual retreat by pilgrims who walk over the lake's frozen surface at the end of winter, carrying their food with them. They spend the summer there, unable to return to shore again until the water freezes the following winter. This practice is no longer permitted under the Communist Chinese regime in Tibet. www.footprinttravelguides.com/c/2848/tibet/&Action=pr...
Keeping to a theme of distorted or dissolving architectures that provide a metaphor for the dissolution of rational constructs that no longer serve. My previous image cited the Major Arcana Tarot Card, The Tower, as a psychological metaphor for the coming down of a mental or psychic construct that is deemed as nothing but a hindrance in current circumstances. Here I reference that again but add to that the growing critique of the notion of modern, capitalist, exploitative progress at the expense of all else. The notion of limitless growth and limitless profit is patently ridiculous. Such growth, as I think we'll see in our lifetimes, will simply have to stop. It cannot be sustained. And again, this is not so much about radical changes to the outward world we know, but a radicalization of the thinking that creates it.
Collection of Gary Taylor, Toronto.
Part of the "Hypothetical Awards" Group's "Annual Urban Art" Challenge, HUGE thanks to Mel Cabeen for the invitation to it.
View Large on Black.
I'm sorry, but I'm trying, I tried real hard Ringo to avoid making the last post of 2022 anything but a waterfall!
But sod it, here you go, a small section of Wain Wath Force taken on our Grand Day Out around Keld.
You may be reassured to know that my Hydrotherapy sessions start the third week in January.
Anyway, a spot of music. I've been listening the this very talented lady for a while now.
As I recover from shoulder surgery, I have assigned myself a big, major, huge project…and yes it concerns photography! My mission, should I decide to accept it (Mission Impossible reference) is to clean out and organize my 2TB external hard drive…that contains every digital photo that I have retained since 1985. The majority also have the RAW file associated with that photo attached. Files numbering in the tens of thousands that have been filed, misfiled, triple duplicated and thrown into folders as if I were dealing cards. My ADHD and sense of personal embarrassment will simply not allow this craziness to continue.
The blessing of this process is not just the discovery of photos long forgotten, but the memories contained. These files may well prove themselves to be priceless…not just for the memories depicted in the photos, but as a partner as I spent the next five weeks, the hours ahead fighting off my nemesis, boredom!
Here is one from a very good day…
You know that it was a very good day when you can remember everything about that day, the temperature, the warmth of the sun, the smell of a spring pasture and in this case anxiety of having to go to work when your best girl is about to give birth! It was the 13th of May, 2010 and our National Champion (Reserve Color Champion, 2006 AOBA Nationals) girl Rosalita was in labor. Joann and I both went to work to check in and start clearing the days schedule, both securing the day off with bosses and returning to the farm in record time.
A quick switch from work to farm cloths and a short trot to the front pasture found that Rosalita had already lost her mucus plug…her cria would be born anytime now. It was time to grab some lawn chairs, my camera and our birthing kit and just wait for things to progress. In the back of my mind, I prayed for a smooth, natural birth and that I would not have to put on the big gloves ever again and assist.
The next hour provided us with a memory of a lifetime as Giacomo would come into the world! A 19.2-pound male from Legend’s Challenger, at that time one of the top gray males in the country. The beauty of the moment, the cycle of life experience on such a beautiful May day is forever etched into my soul. Joann and I removed the remnants of the birth sack and dried our gift. The name Giacomo was chosen as it was in honor of my father who had passed some four years before. It was his childhood nickname and I know that it would have made him smile…like this photo does for me now as I utilize the editing program Lightroom to bring it to life.
This photo captures the bonding process/moment that alpaca mothers do just after birth. She gently takes her lips and nose and rub it against that of her cria, all the while making a clicking sound that bonds the two together for life. She will also use the same area to help her cria stay steady on its wabbly, minutes old legs.
What a blessing it is to witness not just the new physical body that God had created, but also the pure, palpable, natural love that was immediate between mother and son as well.
I didn’t know it then, but Giacomo would be the last cria born to us at Serene-n-Green Alpacas. In the early fall of 2010, a couple came to the farm and bought our last five alpacas, water buckets, farm name, logos, hay and trailer to start their own turn-key alpaca farm in Ohio.
Today, when anyone asks if I miss raising alpacas my response is immediate and direct. I miss birthing those babies!
Chase experiences, not things!
Hasselblad 501CM, Planar 100 with extension tube, yellow filter.
FP4 in Pyro 48.
Fomatone 132 batch 079648-06,
two tray development:
1st SE5 Lith (A+B+D+water) 50+50+50+1000ml 3 mins.
2nd Pyrocatechol 15ml + Lith B 15ml + NH4Cl 20% 5ml + water 800ml 3 mins.
Gegenüber dem vorherigen Beispiel ist hier der zweite Entwickler etwas anders abgestimmt, aber auch bei völlig identischer Verarbeitung ist das matte Papier (132) immer etwas farbiger als das glänzende (131).
Compared to the previous example, the second developer is slightly different here, but even with completely identical processing, the matte paper (132) is always slightly more colourful than the glossy paper.
The current batches show the desired results in the lith printing process, but it should be noted that the snowball problem still persists with long development times (over 6–8 minutes).
I described the strategy for avoiding undesirable structures some time ago (Dec. 2023).
For easier reference, I have added the instructions for the three lith developer variants to my website.
At the border of the high Padan Plain, just at the feet of the first line of the Prealps, there lays a string of five lakes. They draw a line that is the base of the so-called Larian triangle, i.e. the triangle-shaped mountainous land between the two arms of the Lake Como (also called Lario). These lakes, often called the Lakes Briantei, or the Brianza Lakes (from the name of that land, Brianza), are way smaller than the Lario and the other great lakes of Northern Italy - just a string of beads in the higher plain - but they share the beauty of their larger cousins, although on a smaller, more intimate scale. I have always felt quite strongly the fascination of their common origin, which dates from the end of the Würm glaciation, some 11,700 years ago. I can easily see in my mind the enormous, mighty glaciers from the Alps flowing beyond the last mountains and spreading through the high plain. A powerful sight, indeed... Yet all that glory was deemed to end as the climate was becoming warmer, and eventually the glaciers began to recede, leaving behind deep ditches and huge semilunar terminal morains. You can easily fill in the story - the melting waters, the swamps, the debris from the looming mountains, and, eventually, the lakes.
Well, this is not a lesson in geology - I am by no means an expert, just a guy who perceives geology in a very emotional way (quite possibly a trait acquired from my late father, who was a passionate amateur mineral and fossil prospector). I have begun a photographic exploration of those relics of the last glaciation, the Lakes Briantei. At sunrise, of course.
My second (and last, for now) session was at the Lake Alserio, a small, rather shallow one (its average depth is 5,4 m (17,7 ft)). Yet it is a very fascinating lake, completely surrounded by a variety of natural habitats that has always hindered urban development in the close vicinity of the lake. Its placid waters are rich in waterlilies and birds of all kinds. The sky was crowded with clouds, again, and the vaguest hints of a light rain had tried to deter me from my purpose. I realised quite soon that the apparent compactness of the clouds was not real, so I hoped that the sunrise would have gifted me with something interesting.
Then lo, the whole world tinted in pink. The amazing effect lasted a handful of minutes, just enough to shoot two or three exposure bracketings: the sky was imbued with a rosy light, and everything under it as well. This magic moment was the first gift of that morning and I have done my best to capture its beauty as a gift for everyone who will enjoy it.
Explored on 2022/09/07 #19
As for the title, I must confess that in my mind echoes Satchmo's 1950 version rather than Edith Piaf's... However, feel free to love whatever version you like best!
For those of you who were a bit offended by my references to the out-of-the-frame Resegone* in the text of my previous post, The calm after the storm: here the sun is rising just over that mountain - you can make out its distinctive, saw-like long line of summits partially shrouded with clouds.
* This strange name means "the great saw", the word "resega" meaning "saw" in the Lombard dialects. It is a mountain towering over the city of Lecco and the southern end of Lake Como, characterised by a long line of Triassic dolomite summits, the teeth of the saw). It is featured in Manzoni's renowned historical novel, The Bethroted, most prominently in the famous passage from chapter 8 known as Farewell to the mountains.
I have processed this picture by blending an exposure bracketing [-2.0/-1.0/0/+1.0/+2.0 EV] by luminosity masks with the Gimp (EXIF data, as usual, refer to the "normal" exposure shot).
Along the journey - post-processing always is a journey of discovery to me - I tried the inverted RGB blue channel technique described by Boris Hajdukovic to give a slight tonal boost to the reflections. As usual, I gave the finishing touches with Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Raw files processed with Darktable.
Back at my campsite I went over my options for the day while eating breakfast. No matter what I decided to do, eventually I would end up going into Yosemite National Park via Donahue Pass and my eventual goal was a very narrow lake that lay in the footprint of the Lyell Glacier. I decided on a cross country route from here to there between a hill and a peak. I also decide to make it a day hike since I would be coming back tomorrow anyways and taking my pack was just extra work.
Soon I was on my way. After crossing Rush creek I slowly navigated up steep slopes and slabs, doing my own switchbacks to make the ascent less steep. Once I reached the saddle between the hill and the peak the route became easier. Here atop the saddle were two small, unnamed tarns, reflecting the deep blue sky. I decided to unofficially name them myself, Sky Mirror Ponds, if anything it would just be for easy reference.
Moving on the landscape became more flat as I contoured the mountainside. There was another unnamed lake that I wanted to reach on my way to the pass. To find this like I followed the sound of water flowing under rocks. Soon the much larger lake appeared resting beneath a split peak. I refilled my water here and continued. I wasn't more than 30 steps way from this other lake when in my mind a voice said, “Hey, look down, you might miss something.” I stopped and looked down. Right at my feet was a big beautiful arrowhead. Excited and in awe of the discovery, I picked it up, thanked whom ever helped me find it and thanked the person and peoples who made it, I also took time to thank the mountains and the lake I had just fill up my water at. I took a little more time to admire the craftsmanship of the arrowhead and I put it back on the earth, near where I had been told to look, though more hidden than when we found it. I decided to also unofficially name this lake too, Arrowhead Lake.
From here I finished climbing Donahue Pass and took a long rest. (11085 ft) When I was ready I went down the other side into Yosemite. I came to a beautiful tarn and creek. From here I left the trail again to follow the creek up to my destination. The valley floor was paved in glacier polished granite with large boulders strewn haphazardly about. To my left (South) rose a towering ridge of stone, that was an offshoot of the Cathedral Range. From here I could see the tallest peak in Yosemite, Mt. Lyell at 13,114 ft or 3,997m and Mt. Maclure, the fifth-highest mountain of Yosemite at 12,886ft or 3,928 m. This was also the headwaters of the Tuolumne River.
I explored a bit of this valley and also just sat and absorbed the scenery and energy of the place. Unfortunately I couldn't fully enjoy it due to the commercial airplanes flying over at regular intervals. Places like this, National Parks, Designated Wilderness Areas, National Forests, all paces set aside by the Wilderness Act to preserve the natural beauty of the landscape for future generations should really be no fly zones. To only preserve what the eye can see isn't enough, we need to preserve the quite places and natural soundscapes as well otherwise we have only gone halfway.
As the sun sank lower and the shadows stretched I headed over to the spot I had picked out for sunset photos. As the light grew pink on the peaks I took the photo that I had come here for.
Well, it had to happen, because to complete the proper Victorian aesthetic look in my downstairs office and reading room I had to change the Angle-Poise light I had on my desk, which was a spare from my attic office, up in the roof space.
So I found this lamp instead, which is in the classic Accountants/Banker style, but the shade is in white, instead of green or blue. I loved those colours, but felt that they would be too dominant on the desk itself. [Not that I am fussy or anything]. Also, you can’t see it in this photo, but there is a rather nice white glass ‘tulip-shaped’ lamp to the side, behind the sofa, which has a sort of elegance that I thought this light had on my Victorian desk and would echo in style to match.
Now I sound like some house interior magazine waffling on about design. But, I will be spending a lot of time in here, so I might as well get it right, and that’s my excuse and I am sticking to it!
So here I was working in the evening on the MacBook and using my written notes and reference books in my usual way.
This is for a part of a series that I am going to show on my website and Flickr, depending how it all goes, and as to what goes where, I will sort it out as it goes along. Actually there has been quite a lot of work that I have been organising over the past few months. I have had one of those patches where the writing flowed and I just wanted to keep going. A lot of it has ended up in a series, well, four of them so far, rather than just singles because the photographs were either taken on the same day in roughly the same location yet each seems has something to say, or they go together as a group because the weather was similar over a period of time. But seeing them as a series together just gives them more power. Whether this will work on Flickr I am not sure, as the format is a bit restricting, but on my website I can place them all up on a page of their own. On Flickr I might just choose a few examples to tempt you to go and look at it on my website, designed with the poem to go with it. The important thing for me is that they appear together somewhere. But then I will also be printing them out as well…
I know that on Flickr many just scroll through…perhaps not even reading the text that goes with it, or the poem, but lately I have been thinking about this and have decided that I am not going to concern myself with this behaviour anymore. It is there if people wish to engage with it more fully. Because I used to produce creative work for a living you got used to keeping a copy for yourself. And by that I mean a physical, printed copy. Nothing beats it, because you feel as though you have actually done something, and for me that is important to show that you have a body of work. Social media, and even websites can lose information, shut down, or be sold off to the highest bidder…and your work might be lost if you haven’t backed it up, not to mention the subscription fees..which keep going up.
I think that if you are serious about your work, you need to treat it seriously, and lately I am thinking that perhaps the body of work I leave might be of use in the future. I have been encouraged by the reaction to it on Flickr and elsewhere, and that has really helped me to continue producing it. But I have also been thinking about my own well-being and what I enjoy doing. And that is going out with my camera and being inspired to write poetry to go with it. In this way, the joy of producing that work will continue to shine through the work itself as long as I get the balance right.
And for those of you who are itching to know what those piles of books are in the image..don’t worry, there is going to be more about that later. Books should be shared and collections loved, and I have been collecting all my life…
The time seems to be going by faster. A lot has happened since my last upload, both on the world stage and personally, because of various power-cuts, another water-leak in my home, and other matters I am behind in my own schedule for about a month. This winter has been tough. I have had to also block some people on here, as I did not like their controlling behaviour; that is just not acceptable. If you do not like my work then just move on, but also perversely, those that do like it but want to invade my life and use either my work or my empathetic nature for their own benefit can also remove themselves from my presence. You have missed the point entirely of my work.
I am here to share my own journey of the soul, and to help you with yours if you want me to, through art and conversation. Perhaps as creative people we can all find an equilibrium in this, as it is something we can do, that we can rely on to help us through the turbulent years in our lives. I know for myself that this is true, as my work has helped me to remain relatively sane in difficult times. It is also good to share, not just in challenging times, but also in the good times.
The creative arts have always had a place in shaping history too, it can be very powerful. And it can also be quietly consoling.
As well as producing work for my own portfolio it has always been my intention to provide a gallery on Flickr and a website that shows my work in such a way that it can be a constructive help. I wanted both of them to be a calm space, a place you can go to when you need to think, or settle your mind. I wanted these works to provide an understanding of the human condition, of the difficulties of keeping your faith, whatever God you follow, and also the joy that spiritual faith can provide.
And most of all, I wanted my work to offer hope in any dark times you might be going through.
Thank you all for your support and I hope to keep sharing my work and enjoying the wonderful images that you all share on Flickr. In our own way, perhaps we can make the world a better place. It is a privilege to be in the Flickr community and those who care not only about their own work, but also each other.
And If you would like to see more of my work, have a look at my website at:
Update..
Thank you to all those who have responded to this Explored image...and a special thank you to those who read the accompanying text...as that was what this image was for, just to keep people in the loop as to what I am up to. But maybe the algorithm fancied a read today, who knows? At least, for the moment, it is more benign than Kubrick's "Hal"...
"Open the door Hal...open the door Hal..."
Love to all, Shell xx
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Manarola is the second of the five hamlets found in Cinque Terre, a collection of tiny fishing villages perched along the Ligurian Coast. The tiny harbor at Manarola features a boat ramp, picturesque buildings tripping down the ravine and the town's swimming hole. Although there is no real beach here, it has some of the best deep-water swimming around.
Perched on a steep cape of dark rock, with its small port enclosed by two rocky boulders, a village of ancient origins found by the inhabitants of the (probably Roman) Volastra settlement. Manarola, like the other Cinque Terre villages, is known for its tower-houses; the layout of the village develops around the subsurface course of the Groppo stream which marks out its main axis. From the sunken stream a series of narrow stone-paved streets lead off towards houses and vegetable gardens on both sides of the cape. Parallel to the main axis runs the Via di Mezzo (Middle Street) that used to be a particularly important byway before the stream was covered over. Above the houses there lies an interesting square in which all the religious buildings are located. Another peculiarity of Manarola is a pyramid in white cement whose peak can be seen rising between the taller houses and is used as a navigational reference point for all those at sea.
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Lens: EF17-40mm f/4L USM; Focal length: 29.00 mm; Aperture: 16; Exposure time: 30.0 s; ISO: 100
All rights reserved - Copyright © Lucie Debelkova www.luciedebelkova.com
All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed, written permission of the photographer.
A closer look at the C. U. Williams & Son Building located on the south side of the 200 block of E. Washington St. in downtown Bloomington. Completed in 1911, the four-story building was constructed as an automobile showroom, garage and lodge hall. Of particular note are the large second-story showroom windows designed to display twice as many cars from the street.
According to the McLean County Museum of History, C. U. Williams and his son Walter sold the latest models from early automakers, including E-M-F, Chalmers, Moon, Stearns, Studebaker, Willys-Overland and Woods (the latter known for its electric cars). "The manufacturers that we are representing are all old and well-established houses - there cars are long past the experimental stage," was a C. U. Williams & Son promise.
The McLean County Museum of History article on C. U. Williams goes on to say that Williams & Son offered not only sales and maintenance, but auto painting, "livery" service (car rentals by the hour or day), storage (when home garages were few) and even a place to charge battery-powered cars.
In later years an office equipment company by the name of Paxtons occupied the building. The building is now the home of the legal offices of Wylder Corwin Kelly LLP, trial lawyers specializing in medical malpractice.
The C. U. Williams & Son Building, along with the Castle Theatre next to it and also owned by Williams, were designed by architect A. T. Simmons. Simmons designed the Lafayette Apartments posted earlier in this series, but is probably best known for his more than 71 Carnegie libraries in Illinois and a dozen other states, along with numerous courthouses, schools, churches and other public buildings. Simmons also designed most of the houses in the Cedar Crest Historic District of Normal, Illinois, the other half of the twin municipalities of Bloomington and Normal.
Both the C. U. Williams & Son Building and the Castle Theatre next door are contributing architectural properties in the Bloomington Central Business District listed in 1985 on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The district includes roughly twelve square blocks of the city and encompasses 140 buildings, 118 of which are contributing buildings to the district's historic character.
Bloomington is the seat of McLean County. It is adjacent to Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington is home to State Farm Insurance, Country Financial and Beer Nuts. Illinois Wesleyan University is located here, while the neighboring city of Normal is home to Illinois State University and Heartland Community College. Bloomington is 135 miles (217 km) southwest of Chicago, and 162 miles (261 km) northeast of St. Louis. The estimated population of Bloomington in 2019 was 77,330, with a metro population of 191,067.
Here is a young Barn Owl emerging from a tree nest a few miles from my home in the West Yorkshire Pennines. The altitude was 200m (c650 feet) above sea level which is relevant as Barn Owls are primarily a lowland owl as they are not good at surviving where there is prolonged snow-cover, like the uplands. So Barn Owls usually only appear on the high ground after a run of mild winters Historically Barn Owls could survive snow by feeding on rats and mice inside barns. But rodenticides and grain silos mean the food isn't as plentiful so their chance of survival in a snowy winter is less. I looked at the populations of the British owls on the BTO website www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/find-a-species and it surprised me. Tawny is the commonest with 50,000 pairs with Barn Owl second at 9000 pairs. Perhaps the next commonest will surprise many as it is Long-eared Owl with 3900 with Little Owl close on its heels with 3600 pairs. Little Owl also surprised me as I expected it to be commoner than Barn Owl as it certainly is near me. Finally comes Short-eared Owl with a quoted population of 1410 pairs. But Short-eared is almost totally dependent on Short-tailed Voles as prey, which have population cycles. So in boom vole years Short-eared Owls can be common while after bust years they are rare.
John Ray wrote the first proper bird book in the English language in 1678 (though he published the same work in Latin two years earlier). There were earlier books that referenced birds, often with a more general natural history theme, but Ray's was the first devoted to birds. In this first bird book Ray gave three names to this species; "The common Barn-Owl, or White-Owl, or Church-Owl". So one name referred to its unique owl colour, and two referred to its habitat preferences. Interestingly Ray gave the name "Ivy-Owl" as an alternative to our Tawny Owl, and I usually find them roosting in Ivy. The next major work on birds was Thomas Pennant in 1768, though it was a more general work on Zoology. Pennant coined the term warbler used for so many of our birds, and he often led the way for the selection of the accepted British name. But Pennant backed the wrong horse in this instance and chose White Owl. Later authors were reluctant to lose Barn Owl and often kept both names, such as William Yarrell in 1843. He listed both names but in his text showed a clear preference for Barn Owl, and the BOU officially adopted Barn Owl in 1883. So that is why a bird that nests freely in holes in trees, nest boxes on posts, and a variety of old buildings, has become linked to barns. Before I leave the names, the name Screech Owl was widely used and pre-dates Ray as it was first used in 1593. And Barn Owl does indeed screech. Have a listen on xeno-canto: www.xeno-canto.org/604167 , but the name Screech Owl has been adopted for different species of owl in America.
www.ywt.org.uk/reserves/kilnsea-wetlands-nature-reserve
This new nature reserve has been created to compensate for habitat being lost nearby on the eroding Holderness coastline.
Update: Footpath works from the Kilnsea Wetlands car park to the hide are due to start week commencing the 11th July. These works are being conducted by Environment Agency to improve the surface of the path. The intention of the works is to test a small test area to see how the additional material binds, if satisfactory the works will continue along the rest of the path. The footpath will be closed for approximately 5 days from Monday 11th July.
Kilnsea Wetlands is intended to provide refuge for passage and wintering roosting waders that leave the adjacent Humber mudflats at high tide to roost. Golden and grey plovers, knot, dunlin, sanderling and bar-tailed godwit should all benefit from this safe refuge. A variety of habitats will provide the conditions needed to support these birds, but this will take a number of years to reach its full potential.
Freshwater and saline pools with islands and spits and wet grassland with seasonal scrapes will provide this site with roosting and feeding locations, but also hopefully he right conditions in the spring for breeding oystercatcher, ringed plover and lapwing.
Top Tip:
A visit in autumn or winter will give you a chance to see large numbers of roosting waders which this site has been specifically designed for. Check the tides to coincide your visit with high tide and you’re likely to see greater numbers.
Engineering is only the start of this process – the nature reserve is to be managed in a sustainable manner using local livestock. This location is one of the driest parts of the UK, and without the ability to bring water on to the site from surrounding areas, functionality of the habitat will rely very much on rainfall and groundwater levels.
Farmland birds including corn bunting and tree sparrow may well use the nature reserve as it develops. In time the grassland should become established and we hope this will provide some botanical value and interest, in turn supporting a host of insects including dragonflies.
Salt-tolerant plant species such as spiral tassel weed may well find a home here too.
A hide, viewing screen, and off road parking, long with a footpath route through the nature reserve leading to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Blue Bell Cafeé in Kilnsea mean this site is ideal for a visit
Discover Yorkshire’s Wildlife
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Discover Yorkshire’s Wildlife book, which has detailed information on all of Yorkshire Wildlife and Sheffield Wildlife Trust’s reserves, is available to buy now from our online shop.
Public Transport
The Spurn Ranger bus from Hull stops in Kilnsea.
Directions
Approach Kilnsea on Easington Road. The car park is on your left just after you go over the left hand bend which rises over Long Bank and before you reach Kilnsea village.
Other information
There is a dipping platform available for arranged visits. Please do not walk along Long Bank to the north of the nature reserve to avoid flushing the birds. Paths are unsurfaced. Toilets are located in Kilnsea.
Reserve information
Location
Easington Road
Kilnsea
East Yorkshire
HU12 0UD
Map reference
TA 405 167
Great for...
a family day out
birdwatching
overwintering birds
Opening Times
Open at all times.
Facilities
Cafe
Toilets
Size
35.00 hectares
Access
Yes
Contact the Trust for disabled access information. Toilets are located in Kilnsea.
Walking information
Paths are unsurfaced.
Parking
yes
Dogs
Dogs must be on lead
Grazing animals
The nature reserve is to be managed sustainably using local livestock.
Reserve manager
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Tel: 01904 659570
info@ywt.org.uk
Please view large using the new Flickr interface or Better View
Technical: Nikon D3x, CPL, 0.45x GND, 25s at f16, 36mm
This is a very special place tucked deep in the interior of Iceland and taken at "sunset", or midnight. I spent the night here and although the area is quite barren it is photographically speaking one of tremendous reward.
The subterranean activity of this thermal haven allows for wonderful long exposures as thermal mist seamlessly blends with the clouds leaving an impression of timelessness. At least that is my perception.
Conditions were extremely bizarre at the specific point I went for this shot and which make it different from a similar post At the beginning. Dancing pink hues mixed with the clouds, the steam and some reflected light. Wind speeded the movement and rising fumes heavily obscured the background. Some openings let the deep blue sky paint other areas. Such that as much as the result is intriguing it was impossible to foresee the final image as opposed to my other shot. Rewards come in different ways.
This picture is also an introduction to a future post, the subject of which is easy to guess. What I like about this image is the absence of any reference, be it time or place. It takes me to a place I have never known, back to Earth's fundamentals, it's Elemental nature. I have possibly dreamt of this image and associating what can not have been, found a sanctuary here after being pursued by some Tyrannosaurus Rex. I just don't know if this was a good or a bad dream.
Please take the time to leave a comment, an impression, a thought, always appreciated.
Check out the set as it grows:
- "I remember the mist of our ancient past"
What do you think?
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Manarola is the second of the five hamlets found in Cinque Terre, a collection of tiny fishing villages perched along the Ligurian Coast. The tiny harbor at Manarola features a boat ramp, picturesque buildings tripping down the ravine and the town's swimming hole. Although there is no real beach here, it has some of the best deep-water swimming around.
Perched on a steep cape of dark rock, with its small port enclosed by two rocky boulders, a village of ancient origins found by the inhabitants of the (probably Roman) Volastra settlement. Manarola, like the other Cinque Terre villages, is known for its tower-houses; the layout of the village develops around the subsurface course of the Groppo stream which marks out its main axis. From the sunken stream a series of narrow stone-paved streets lead off towards houses and vegetable gardens on both sides of the cape. Parallel to the main axis runs the Via di Mezzo (Middle Street) that used to be a particularly important byway before the stream was covered over. Above the houses there lies an interesting square in which all the religious buildings are located. Another peculiarity of Manarola is a pyramid in white cement whose peak can be seen rising between the taller houses and is used as a navigational reference point for all those at sea.
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Lens: EF17-40mm f/4L USM; Focal length: 32.00 mm; Aperture: 9.0; Exposure time: 30.0 s; ISO: 200
All rights reserved - Copyright © Lucie Debelkova www.luciedebelkova.com
All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed, written permission of the photographer.
Die Mädlerpassage ist ein in der Innenstadt gelegener überdachter Einzelhandels-, Restaurations- und Dienstleistungskomplex und zugleich eine der wenigen vollständig erhaltenen und prachtvollsten Ladenpassagen Leipzigs. Heute besteht die Passage aus drei Armen, angeordnet in T-Form. Am Punkt, an dem die drei Arme aufeinandertreffen, befindet sich eine oktogonale Rotunde mit einem Durchmesser von rund 12 Metern. Der längere Arm von der Grimmaischen Straße bis zur Rotunde wurde zuerst gebaut und ist rund 75 Meter lang. Ähnlich wie beim Vorbild des Bauwerks, der Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Mailand, wird die Passage durch nach innen gezogene Straßenfassaden begrenzt. In diesem Abschnitt wird die 6 bis 7 Meter breite Passage durchgängig über dem zweiten Obergeschoss in etwa 13 Meter Höhe von einem Glasdach in Stahlrippenkonstruktion bedeckt. Darüber befinden sich noch zwei weitere Etagen. Als zweiter Bauabschnitt wurde kurz darauf der Passagenarm von der Rotunde bis zum Neumarkt gebaut, so dass der Grundriss zu einem L erweitert wurde. Erst 1963-65, als das Messehaus am Markt errichtet wurde, wurde der dritte Passagenarm zur Petersstraße angefügt, so dass die heutige T-Form entstand. Die Verbindung vom Neumarkt zur Petersstraße ist 110 Meter lang. Der zuletzt angebaute Abschnitt hat nur Erdgeschoss-Höhe und wird künstlich belichtet. Im ersten Passagenabschnitt befindet sich der Zugang zum historischen Weinkeller Auerbachs Keller. Hier steht das Doppelstandbild zweier Bronzefigurengruppen von Mathieu Molitor (1873–1929). Es handelt sich um Faust und Mephisto auf der einen Seite, eine Gruppe verzauberter Studenten auf der anderen, als Zitat aus der Auerbachs Keller-Szene in Goethes Faust. Neben dem geschichtsträchtigen Auerbachs Keller im Untergeschoss befinden sich in der Passage über 20 kleine Ladengeschäfte und Gaststätten. Die Obergeschosse bieten unter anderem Platz für Büroräume, das Kabarett Sanftwut und einen Kunstraum in Größe von 250 m².
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A4dlerpassage
The Mädler Passage is a covered retail, restaurant and service complex located in the city centre and is also one of the few completely preserved and most magnificent historic shopping arcades in Leipzig. Today, the passage consists of three arms arranged in a T-shape. At the point where the three arms meet, there is an octagonal rotunda with a diameter of around 12 metres. The longer arm from Grimmaische Strasse to the rotunda was built first and is around 75 metres long. Similar to the building's model, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, the arcade is bordered by inward-facing street façades. In this section, the 6 to 7 metre wide passage is covered throughout above the second floor at a height of around 13 metres by a glass roof with a steel rib construction. Above this are two further floors. Shortly afterwards, the second construction phase saw the passage arm from the rotunda to Neumarkt built, extending the floor plan to an L shape. It was not until 1963–65, when the new exhibition centre was built on the market square, that the third arm of the arcade was added to Petersstrasse, creating the current T-shape. The connection from Neumarkt to Petersstrasse is 110 metres long. The most recently added section is only one storey high and is artificially lit. The first section of the arcade provides access to the historic Auerbachs Keller wine cellar. Here stands a double statue of two bronze figure groups by Mathieu Molitor (1873–1929). On one side are Faust and Mephistopheles, on the other a group of bewitched students, as a reference to the Auerbachs Keller scene in Goethe's Faust. In addition to the historic Auerbachs Keller (Auerbach's Cellar) in the basement, the passageway is home to over 20 small shops and restaurants. The upper floors offer space for offices, a satiric theatre and a 250 m² art space, among other things.
Picture No.3 is a picture of the information as seen in The Trimontium Museum Melrose Scotland on 31 July 2025.
Local or Legionary asks the notice next to four archaeological exhibits two skulls and two heads in The Trimontium Museum Melrose Scotland.
Yorick, no, alas this is not a known individual. Hamlet to the skull of Yorik state he was, “a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times;... Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar?” William Shakespeare in his play Hamlet druring Act V Scene i has Hamlet remember the Jester and can see his memory align with the skull so famously brought to light and theatrical acclaim as new grave being dug discovers the fleshless head of Yorick.
The flesh has been put back on this skull now in The Trimontium Museum with scientific exact reconstruction. My quickly taken pictures are not accurate representations of the exhibits and have no relevance, or reflection of the superb work completed.
This skull excavated from deep within a pit inside the Roma Fort of Trimontium ask questions that may never be answered and it is also the source of modern examination and scientific revelation. The information given in the exhibit states that a tooth from this find has shown that the individual was between 35-46 years old and he lived locally from around Moffat in Scotland just South of Trimontium Fort site and also South of the Trimontium Museum.
© PHH Sykes 2025
phhsykes@gmail.com
Trimontium Museum, Melrose,
Discover the fort at the heart of Roman Scotland with Trimontium Museum!
The following is from
hub.catalogit.app/trimontium-museum/folder/9ada1330-a68c-...
“Name/Title Skull Reconstruction
Entry/Object ID E.2023.13
Description Fully reconstructed head of skull found in pit at Trimontium.
Use The purpose of this reconstruction was done to give a face and partial identity to the individual's skull found during the 1905 - 1910 excavations at Trimontium by James Curle. The reconstruction was carried out by Professor Caroline Wilkinson in 2003. His skeleton was found almost erect with a spearhead by his side. It has been speculated whether he was a Roman soldier or a native, in which case he might have adorned the ramparts as a warning to the enemy, a practice which can be seen in such places as Trajan's column in Rome.
Further DNA analysis of the skull was carried out recently and results will be published soon.
Collection Trimontium Trust
Category Skeletal Remains
Human remains Made/Created
Artist Information Artist Caroline Wilkinson
Role Sculptor
Condition Overall Condition Good
Synton Hoard
Object/Artifact
-
Trimontium M”
hub.catalogit.app/trimontium-museum
The Trimontium Trust & Museum
www.facebook.com/TheTrimontiumTrust?locale=ne_NP
“A man found down a well - these images show the facial reconstruction by Professor Caroline Wilkinson taken from the skull of a man found in one of the pits at Trimontium. He might be a Roman soldier & his skeleton was found almost erect with a spearhead by his side.”
www.facebook.com/TheTrimontiumTrust/photos/pcb.1067369227...
Yorick
“The name Yorick has been interpreted as an attempt to render a Scandinavian forename: usually either Eric or Jørg, a form of the name George.[3] The name Rorik has also been suggested, as Saxo Grammaticus wrote that this was the grandfather of Amleth, who served as the inspiration for Hamlet.[4] Alternative suggestions include the ideas that it may be derived from the Old Norse name of the city of York (Jórvík),[5] or that it is a near-anagram of the Greek word Kyrios and thus a reference to the Catholic martyr Edmund Campion.[6]”
“David Tennant used the cranium of pianist André Tchaikowsky for Yorick's skull in a 2008 Royal Shakespeare Company production.”
André Tchaikowsky
“Tchaikowsky died of colon cancer at the age of 46 in Oxford.[1][7] In his will he left his body to medical research, and donated his skull to the Royal Shakespeare Company, asking that it be used as a prop on stage.[8] Tchaikowsky hoped that his skull would be used for the skull of Yorick in productions of Hamlet.[9] For many years, no actor or director felt comfortable using a real skull in performances, although it was occasionally used in rehearsals. In 2008, the skull was finally held by David Tennant in a series of performances of Hamlet at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.[10]
After the use of Tchaikowsky's skull was revealed in the press, this production of Hamlet moved to the West End and the RSC announced that they would no longer use Tchaikowsky's skull (a spokesman said that it would be "too distracting for the audience").[11] However, this was a deception; in fact, the skull was used throughout the production's West End run, and in a subsequent television adaptation broadcast on BBC2.[12] Director Gregory Doran said, "André Tchaikowsky's skull was a very important part of our production of Hamlet, and despite all the hype about him, he meant a great deal to the company."[12]”
Greater Yellowlegs GRYE (Tringa melanoleuca)
McSlender Reservoir (east of Garcia's Nursery)
Martindale Flats
Greater Victoria BC
DSCN5225
Field Mark Cues ^i^
Differences between the Yellowlegs can be subtle
Here are some things to keep in mid
Killdeer as Size Reference GRYE has body size obviously Bigger than Killdeer --- this one is quite a reliable differentiator
GRYE is overall heavier in structure -- longer heavier bill (and as guide books often note-- typically has a discernable upturn)
In this case , we have a Juvenile/Immature and the upturn only slightly pronounced or developed.
The hefty thickness of bill at the base of the bill can be,with practice, an indicator of GRYE
The relative "big boned -ness" of legs can be,with practice, an indicator of GRYE as well
Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia about how the Tatoosh Range (pictured here) was named:
“Tatoosh means "breast" in the Chinook Jargon,[2] in reference to the two large rock outcrops on the south face of Butter Peak.“
So this is basically the Boob Mountain Range. While these mountains aren’t huge, and as a matter of fact are quite small, they are still wonderful. I think most folks don’t discriminate about how big or small they are… mountains of any size are pretty awesome to see. However, if you’re inclined to not be too interested in Tatooshes, I can always post a desert pic of a large sandstone monolith named Long Dong Silver (I’m 100% serious). I try to cater to everyone’s preferences.
I’m as mature as I was when I was 13 years old.
As always, thanks for scrolling far enough to see my dumb little picture. If you are interested in learning how I create my dumb little pictures, reading my dumb stories or seeing more dumb photography, you can head to www.ryandyar.com or check out the link in my profile. Email subscribers get free video tutorials monthly. ❤️
Here is my photograph of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) aka “The Green Comet” which I captured on January 30, 2023—a soul-crushinginly cold night with temperatures around -25°C—in the Skull Valley desert, Utah, United States. With so many cloudy nights this winter, I thought I would miss this one. But circumstance gave me one good opportunity as long as I was willing to brave the cold. Did you know that touching metal after hours outside at these temperatures enables it to somehow “burn”?
This image was created using 175 separate 30-second exposures (longer and the comet actually streaks relative to the stars due to its movement), combining of the comet image separately from the stars, and then re-combining the two. As a bonus, you can multiple galaxies in the image.
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), called the “green comet” in various news coverage, is visible in the night sky right now, although less impressive than 2020’s Comet Neowise.
ZTF will be hard to see under moonlight with heavy light pollution, but easier to see with no moon and binoculars. With little light pollution it is much easier to see. (Apparently it was quite striking to see when my mom checked it out under her crazy-dark Wyoming skies!) This comet’s “near pass”—the closest point in its orbit to the earth—was on February 2nd. While still visible, it is now traveling farther away from earth, growing fainter day-by-day. If it survives its journey, it will return again in around 50,000 years. Something for the kiddos to look forward to!
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), at the time these photos were captured, featured two prominent ‘tails’:
The blue-tinted tail (extending frame right) is the ion tail, which is created by ultraviolet radiation ejecting electrons off particles in the coma (a cloud of gases surrounding the comet’s nucleus). The appearance of the ion tail can change rapidly (e.g. even between short exposures) due to interplay with and fluctuation of the solar wind (a continuous flow of charged particles ejected from the sun).
The warmer, fainter, larger “tail” is the dust tail, formed by solar radiation vaporizing volatile compounds in the comet, which stream out and carry dust with them. This reflects sunlight directly.
How do you end up with the name “Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)”? Breaking it down, “C” represents a non-periodic comet: it takes more than 200 years to orbit the sun. It was discovered in 2022. “E3” represents the time period of discovery, with “E” represents the fifth half-month of the year, and “3” representing the third comet discovered in that half-month. “ZTF” stands for who discovered it! In this case, the Zwicky Transient Facility, which is a wide-field sky astronomical survey running through the Samuel Oschin Telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California. What about 2020’s “NEOWISE”? In that case, it was discovered by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.
Why are articles calling this “The Green Comet”? Mainly, I expect, because very cool or very terrifying things love to have a name of some sort in media coverage, and “The Green Comet” got to stick. “ZTF” is not so catchy, to be fair. Comets typically present with a clear blue-green glow around the nucleus. It is rather prominent on this comet, relative to other signal, but not a unique characteristic of this comet. So why this color? Sources frequently cite that this color comes from Cyanogen (CN) in the comet, but this is not correct. As best I can determine, the most likely explained by a combination of “Swan Bands” of Carbon (C2) emissions—which is to say, some blending of prominent light emissions is responsible for the color we observe. This was probably discussed in early interviews and got to stick.
Edited in PixInsight and Adobe Photoshop. For full details on post-processing, reference the link at AstroBin or the processing notes in this text document:
To view more of my images, of Sheringham Hall & Park please click "here"
I would be most grateful if you would refrain from inserting images, and/or group invites; thank you!
Sheringham Park is a landscape park and gardens near the town of Sheringham, Norfolk, England. The park surrounds Sheringham Hall, lying mostly to its south. The freehold of the hall is owned by the National Trust and is privately leased on a long leasehold. Visitors to this historic building must contact the leaseholder directly for an appointment. The plantations of Sheringham Park are in the care of the National Trust and open to visitors. National Trust members and guests have no rights of access across the park and farmland surrounding Sheringham Hall. Access to these areas is solely at the discretion of George Youngs (Farms) Ltd which farms the Sheringham estate, as laid out in the 1953 agreement between that farming company and the then freeholder. Access to the plantations of Sheringham Park has become an important aspect to locals of Sheringham and visitors alike and reference to this can be found in the Domesday Book, page 56. The park was designed by Humphry Repton (1752–1818) who presented his proposals in July 1812 in the form of one of his Red Books. He described Sheringham as his "favourite and darling child in Norfolk". Abbot and Charlotte Upcher bought the estate in 1811, and successive generations of the Upcher family did much to develop the estate, the hall and the park, as well as building a school. There are fine mature woodlands and a large variety of rhododendrons and azaleas. In the early 20th century, Henry Morris Upcher obtained rhododendron seeds of various types from plantsman Ernest "Chinese" Wilson. Plants from this source which can found at the garden include Rhododendron ambiguum, calophytum and decorum, among others. Many other species of tree and shrub are represented in the garden, including fifteen kinds of magnolia, large specimen pieris. Among the other trees are maples, acers, styrax, eucryphia, pocket handkerchief tree davidia involucrata and a fine example of the snowdrop tree. Several overlook towers provide good views over the plantations, and of the nearby coast and surrounding countryside. A garden temple was constructed in the park in 1975 to the designs of James Fletcher-Watson. The Park is located 2 miles south west of the coastal town of Sheringham, 5 miles west of Cromer and 6 miles east of Holt. The main entrance is at the junction of the A148 Cromer to Holt road and the B1157 road to Upper Sheringham. The Norfolk Coast Path passes through the property. A car park, cafe and visitor centre are near the main entrance. Waymarked paths through the estate link the gardens and visitors centre to the coast, and to the Weybourne station on the North Norfolk Railway, a preserved steam railway. Pedestrian access to the park is from the village of Upper Sheringham, which is adjacent to the park. The visitor centre is located within Wood Farm Barn at the southern end of the park, the barn also houses an exhibition of the history and the wildlife of Sheringham Park. Together with a reception desk and information kiosk. From the reception there are hearing loops available. Wheelchairs and powered mobility vehicles available at no charge although it is necessary to take a small test before use. The refreshment kiosk is also at Wood Farm Barn. The exhibition area explores the life and work of the landscape architect Humphry Repton and also of the Upcher family who owned the park. There are several examples of Humphry Repton's red book of plans for the designs of the park. Part of the exhibition area has an area dedicated to the wildlife and nature of the park with identification games and interactive displays.
Sheringham Hall. The Regency, Grade II listed building is finished in grey, gault, Lincolnshire brick was designed and built by Humphry Repton and his architect son, John Adey Repton. Due to the Norfolk coast's glacial winds, Repton chose a south facing site in the lee of a wooded hillside. In July 1813 the Upcher family laid the foundation stone and the family hoped to move into the house in the summer of 1817, but the owner of the estate Abbot Upcher fell ill and died in 1819 at the age of 35. The hall remained empty for 20 years until Henry Ramey Upcher completed the house in 1839. The hall's lease was offered for sale in 2008 and the lease was further extended at that time.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
Landing in San Diego is difficult. SAN is listed as one of the worlds 10 most extreme / difficult airports to land at (depending on which list you find).
You have to fly over this hill (Balboa Park), then get the plane down before you run into the next hill (Point Loma).or before you run off the end of the short runway. So the runway is in this sort of valley, and it can be VERY difficult for pilots at times. It is a very difficult approach because of the steep angle required over the hill. There are no jumbo jets regularly flying in here like at other major airports ie LAX, JFK, DFW.
I love flying aircraft, I love aviation, so therefore, I posted this video. It is really amazing and incredible to get this kind of footage of a plane landing in San Diego.
I previously wrote about how exactly I got this video including some of the difficulty involved. But I decided to be more discreet, to edit out that part, to leave you guessing.
You can imagine the 'powers that be' discourage a lot of looky-loo's from hanging around the approach end of runways.
I suppose a fascination with the machines of transportation has long been a human thing. I remember when I was a kid, I would take my younger brothers by bicycle to the local Hicksville train station to see the mighty train engines up close. That was a regular part of our Sunday routine. First stop was church, then afterwards to the train station, last stop was Baskin-Robins for ice cream.
Church and ice cream make sense. But the train station? Why did we go there? I remember so vividly for some reason the elevated platforms of the Hicksville train station. For some reason it was just an interesting place to hang around for a kid.
I'd say it's about fascination with the machines of transportation.
Trains and Planes. Big fancy machines that move people from point A to point B. But fascinating for some reason in how they do it.
So fascinating I suppose, that I even managed to make a career out of the business. And what form of human transport could be more fascinating that a flight in a hot air balloon? Going only where the wind carries you? No steering, just riding with the wind! What a concept.
So to tie it all together, landing a balloon is difficult, extreme, and fascinating. And it all started out because my father made me take my brothers to church, and for entertainment afterwards we would go check out the trains. Go figure. Like this could really all be tied together, but perhaps.
I did not really have a key point to make with all this. It is just a sort essay on my thoughts as to why I got this video of the plane landing. I hope someone reads this and enjoys it. Maybe I'll get my brothers / sister / mom to read this since they come here sometimes, they might appreciate the references to life growing up and the Hicksville train station
Although titled "Blitz" and dedicated in honour of those firefighters who gave their lives in the Defence of the Nation 1939 - 1945. not all the women firefighters listed, (and presumably men as well), actually died during the war or even as a result of firefighting.
Daisy L Adams
Name:ADAMS, DAISY LILY
Age:34
Date of Death:26/06/1944
Additional information:Firewoman, N.F.S.; of 17 Stanley Road. Daughter of William H. F. Adams. Died at 17 Stanley Road.
Reporting Authority:CROYDON, COUNTY BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3149122
This was as a result of a V1 attack which landed at 3.57am and would claim 4 lives.
www.flyingbombsandrockets.com/V1_worst_week.html
The other three victims are:-
Name:HENDERSON, NELLLE MILLER
Age:56
Date of Death:26/06/1944
Additional information:of 25 Stanley Road. Daughter of the late Alexander and Helen Watt; wife of William Cranston Henderson. Injured at 25 Stanley Road; died same day at Mayday Hospital.
Reporting Authority:CROYDON, COUNTY BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3149483
Name:SLATER, DONALD LESLIE
Age:13
Date of Death:26/06/1944
Additional information:of 17 Stanley Road. Son of Cyril Leslie and Winifred May Slater. Died at 17 Stanley Road.
Reporting Authority:CROYDON, COUNTY BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3149782
Name:SMALL, JAMES IRELAND
Age:52
Date of Death:26/06/1944
Additional information:at 23 Stanley Road.
Reporting Authority:CROYDON, COUNTY BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3149783
The first V-1 was launched at London on 13 June 1944, one week after (and prompted by) the successful Allied landing in Europe. At its peak, over a hundred V-1s a day were fired at southeast England, 9,521 in total, decreasing in number as sites were overrun until October 1944, when the last V-1 site in range of Britain was overrun by Allied forces.
Approximately 10,000 were fired at England; 2,419 reached London, killing about 6,184 people and injuring 17,981.[The greatest density of hits were received by Croydon, on the southeast fringe of London.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_(flying_bomb)
Elsie W Baker
Name:BAKER, ELSIE WINIFRED
Age:31
Date of Death:13/02/1945
Additional information:N.F.S. Daughter of George Henry and Louisa Baker, of 19 George Road, Chingford, Essex. Injured 1 February 1945, at York Road; died at Chase Farm Hospital.
Reporting Authority:ENFIELD, URBAN DISTRICT
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3143045
Ellen RSQ Blackford
Name:BLACKFORD, ELLEN RITA ST QUENTIN
Age:26
Date of Death:11/09/1944
Additional information:Firewoman, N.F.S. Daughter of Ellen Lydia Stirrup, of 36 Albany Place, Dover, Kent; wife of Leonard Blackford, Merchant Navy. Injured September 1944, at Dover; died at Hurstwood Park War Emergency Hospital, Haywards Heath.
Reporting Authority:CUCKFIELD, URBAN DISTRICT
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3152577
Ellen is buried at DOVER (ST. JAMES'S) CEMETERY, Kent
www.doverwarmemorialproject.org.uk/Casualties/CWGC/WWII%2...
Dover suffered a resurgence of long-range shelling in September 1944, as the Germans took a last chance to fire before being forced back out of range. Its probable that Ellen died as a result of one of these incidents.
www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/19/a3358019.shtml
Mary O Cane
Name:CANE, MARY OLIVIA
Age:40
Date of Death:25/09/1940
Additional information:Driver, A.F.S., of 10 Earl's Terrace. Daughter of the late Arthur Beresford Cane, C.B.E., and Lucy Mary Cane, C.B.E., of 66 Elm Park Gardens, West Brompton. Died at 10 Earl's Terrace.
Reporting Authority:KENSINGTON, METROPOLITAN BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3132123
Night Operations - 24th/25th September 1940
At 1930 hours, raids started coming out of Le Havre making for Shoreham and London. These were followed by a sequence of other raids on the same course which were not, however, as numerous as usual. At about the same time, raids from the direction of Holland crossed the North Norfolk coast and for the most part remained in East Anglia except for two which penetrated more deeply Westwards. None of these raids appeared to proceed to the London area.
At about 2230 hours, there was a temporary lull and after 2300 hours owing to returning friendly bombers, it became difficult to distinguish hostile tracks. However, enemy activity in the London area continued and appeared to increase after 0300 hours. The approach was mainly from the South Coast but a few raids flew in from East Anglia.
In the London area, activity further increased after 0400 hours and only at 0538 hours had the last raid recrossed the coast.
Home Security Report
During the night London was again the chief target and was continuously bombed from nightfall onwards. Many fires were started and hits obtained on railways. A certain amount of indiscriminate bombing was observed in Essex and Surrey, but these particular raids do not appear to have caused much damage or casualties.
oLondon Area
Kensington: At 2100 hours IB fell on the Sunbeam-Talbot Motor Works, the offices of which were damaged by fire but production is not likely to be affected. It is reported that Warwick Road is blocked and Earls Court Railway Station closed.
Westminster: Bombs are reported near the West End Central Police Station - fires at Boyle Street and Saville Row. It is also reported that the Hungerford Bridge and Signal Box is on fire, together with St Margaret's, Westminster.
Battersea: Bombs dropped on the SR track at Broughton Street, and the line from Battersea to Clapham Junction is blocked.
Lambeth: Major damage is reported at No 10 Platform Waterloo Station, involving approximately 30 casualties.
Edmonton: IB are reported to have fallen on the West Wings of the North Middlesex and St David's Hospitals.
Ilford: At 2115 hours HE slightly damaged Plessey & Co's. There were no casualties, but effect on production is not yet ascertained.
City: Major damage at 0217 hours on the 25th was reported at Blackfriars Station, 'Times' Office, Queen Victoria Street, and Upper Thames Street.
Further bombings are reported at Hammersmith, Wood Green, Hendon, Tottenham, Wimbledon, Hornsey, Wandsworth, Richmond, Barnes, Southall and Ealing.
www.raf.mod.uk/bob1940/september24.html
Raids on London on the night of the 25th/26th don’t appear to have started until after midnight.
www.raf.mod.uk/bob1940/september25.html
There are a few papers from Arthur Beresford Cane (1864 – 1939) in the National Archive.
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?...
His cases also seem to pop up in older legal textbooks.
He received his CBE in the 1920 New Years Honours List
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Necrothesp/Honours_Lists/1920_...
Jessie Carter
No trace on CWGC, and no female with the surname Carter who is listed as a either a civilian or in the Army on the CWGC would seem to have been a fireman. May have been a post-war casualty.
Audrey M Fricker
Name:FRICKER, AUDREY MARIE
Age:18
Date of Death:24/01/1945
Additional information:Firewoman, N.F.S. Daughter of M. E. Fricker, of 132 Glenview, Abbey Wood, Woolwich, and of the late William George Fricker. Died at Post Office, Stockwell Street.
Reporting Authority:GREENWICH, METROPOLITAN BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3128920
There is a picture of the damage suffered by the post office here
postalheritage.org.uk/blog-images/69-Post118-1500.jpg/ima...
catalogue.postalheritage.org.uk/dserve/dserve.exe?dsqServ...
Sarah L L Gane
Name:GANE, SARAH LORNA LILIAN
Age:21
Date of Death:30/11/1940
Additional information:A.F.S.; of 57 Regents Park Road. Daughter of Joseph Tom and Ethel Kitty Gane. Died at 57 Regents Park Road.
Reporting Authority:SOUTHAMPTON, COUNTY BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3112221
Name:GANE, JOSEPH TOM
Age:57
Date of Death:30/11/1940
Additional information:of 57 Regents Park Road. Husband of Ethel Kitty Gane. Died at 57 Regents Park Road.
Reporting Authority:SOUTHAMPTON, COUNTY BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3112220
Name:GANE, ETHEL KITTY
Age:60
Date of Death:30/11/1940
Additional information:of 57 Regents Park Road. Wife of Joseph Tom Gane. Died at 57 Regents Park Road.
Reporting Authority:SOUTHAMPTON, COUNTY BOROUGH
CWGC: www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3112219
Name:GANE, DORA GLADYS MAY
Regiment/Service:Civilian War Dead
Age:27
Date of Death:30/11/1940
Additional information:of 57 Regents Park Road. Daughter of Joseph Tom and Ethel Kitty Gane. Died at 57 Regents Park Road.
Reporting Authority:SOUTHAMPTON, COUNTY BOROUGH
CWGC: www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3112218
Southampton suffered badly from large-scale air raids during World War Two. As a large port city on the south coast, it was an important strategic target for the German air force (Luftwaffe). There were fifty seven attacks in all, but nerves were frayed by over 1,500 alarms.
Of the 57 Air Raids, by far the worst were on 23rd and 30th November and 1st December and these attacks are generally referred to as Southamptonton's Blitz.
Southampton ablaze
It was a cold clear night on the 30th November when the drone of German aircraft engines were heard approaching Southampton. Raids were nothing new; people were used to the routine of seeking shelter and trying to lead as normal a life as possible. This one though was different; this raid was to level most of the city centre, kill over a hundred people and damage or destroy thousands of buildings. The approach of the enemy bombers was the start of the worst wartime weekend in Southampton with unprecedented destruction that would change the city forever.
Over 100 aeroplanes had approached high and began to dive down over the city. Just before 6pm the warning siren was sounded and minutes later the flares that bombers would use to light their targets began to land by parachute, making no sound. They lit the town making a mockery of the blackout. A local resident recalls 'Chandelier flares lit up the whole town around, just like daylight'. This allowed bombers to drop their heavy explosives, including two mines of nearly 2000 kg. These were then followed by thousands of incendiary devices, setting fire to buildings and further marking out the city for the bombers. Up to 9,000 incendiaries were dropped causing hundreds of fires.
The fire caused the most damage. There was no water to fight the blazes, reservoirs were low and water mains were cracked. The fire raged completely out of control at the bottom end of the High Street, at one point 647 fires were burning at the same time across Southampton. One man recalled the firestorm for the Southampton Oral History Team, 'It sweeps everything in front of it, it'll draw you into it if you're not careful... ...It was so hot that if you stood with your boots you could hear them sizzling with the heat from the pavements'. Despite over 2000 extra firefighters being drafted to the city, it was still burning brightly enough to light the way for the second attack a day later. German pilots reported that the glare of Southampton burning could be seen from the North of France.
www.plimsoll.org/Southampton/Southamptonatwar/southampton...
The Kelly’s Street Directory for Southampton for 1940-41, lists a Joseph Tom Gane at this address.
www.plimsoll.org/images/1940%20Streets%20Morland%20Road%2...
In the same directory for 1946, the odd numbered houses side of the Road goes from 51 to 61. I assume the 4 houses in-between were nothing more than a bomb-site.
Yvonne MD Green
Name:GREEN, YVONNE MARIE DUNBAR
Age:30
Date of Death:17/04/1941
Additional information:Driver, A.F.S. Daughter of Forbes Sutherland and Jeanne Tachereau Sutherland, of Montreal, Canada; wife of Lieut. Leonard G. Green, Canadian Army, of 34 Old Church Street. Died at Petyt Place.
Reporting Authority:CHELSEA, METROPOLITAN BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3126946
There are numerous references to damage to the Church and the nearby church rooms in Petyt Place during “1941”, while the nearby Royal Hospital on Kings Road was definitely bombed on the 16th April 1941.
www.athomeinnchelsea.com/cheynewalk.htm
London does not appear to have been a target for a raid on the night of the 15th/16th April 1941, but was on the night of the 16th/17th, looking at the RAF claims and losses records.
Minnie L Hallett
Name:HALLETT, MINNLE LILLIAN
Age:53
Date of Death:21/07/1944
Additional information:Firewoman, N.F.S.; W.V.S.; of 56 Morden Hall Road, Morden. Wife of Frederick Clarence Hallett. Injured at 56 Morden Hall Road; died same day at Nelson Hospital, Merton.
Reporting Authority:MERTON AND MORDEN, URBAN DISTRICT
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3150860
The first V-1 was launched at London on 13 June 1944, one week after (and prompted by) the successful Allied landing in Europe. At its peak, over a hundred V-1s a day were fired at southeast England, 9,521 in total, decreasing in number as sites were overrun until October 1944, when the last V-1 site in range of Britain was overrun by Allied forces.
Approximately 10,000 were fired at England; 2,419 reached London, killing about 6,184 people and injuring 17,981.[11] The greatest density of hits were received by Croydon, on the southeast fringe of London.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_(flying_bomb)
Meg M A S Hargrove
Name:HARGROVE, MEG MABEL AGNES STRICKLAND
Age:33
Date of Death:08/03/1941
Additional information:A.F.S. W.V.S. Daughter of Lt. Col. Bryan Cole Bartley, C.B.E., and Mrs. Bartley, of Monterey, P.O. Sandown, Johannesburg, S. Africa; wife of Frank Hargrove, of Kiama, Little Marlow Road, Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Injured at Cafe de Paris, Coventry Street; died same day at Charing Cross Hospital.
Reporting Authority:WESTMINSTER CITY
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3123160
The Times of Monday 10 March 1941 carried the news of the bombing of the Cafe de Paris that had occurred on the previous Saturday night. But you had to dig deep to find the story, and indeed to be able to relate it to the incident itself. Wartime reporting maintained a balance between news and maintaining morale, so at first glance the story (see right) seems a little confusing.
Described as 'the bright moonlight of Saturday night', the story seems almost romantic in its style, and referring to one of the biggest raids of The Blitz as 'a noisy night' seems to understate things a little. However, some deaths are referred to in the second paragraph.
It is then that the Cafe de Paris story is introduced, although masked as 'dancers and diners in a restaurant'. The only clue to the location in London is given in the song title, Oh Johnny, which many must have recognised as a favourite played by Ken Snakehips Johnson and The West Indian Orchestra. The band had a residency there, so if you knew the tune was associated with them, you could probably work out which club had been hit. The description of the aftermath, 'dust and fumes, which blackened faces and frocks' is obviously much changed from the reality of what was left, as evidenced by eye-witnesses after the war.
The idea that 'there were many wonderful escapes' again introduces an almost romantic notion of what it was like there. Needless to say, everyone pulls together and does their best to get the injured to hospital.
The final paragraph of the part that refers to the Cafe de Paris continues with the 'spririt of The Blitz'. A night club had been blown up, with over 30 dead and 80 injured, and yet 'people living nearby made tea, and passers-by contributed handkerchiefs'. The cabaret girls mentioned in the report were in their dressing room at the time, waiting to come on for their part of the show, and so were shielded from the main blast of the bomb.
The report then goes on to describe other incidents that occured the same night. By 6pm on the evening of Sunday 9 March, the London Civil Defence Regional Report showed that 159 people had been killed and 338 seriously injured in 238 incidents on the Saturday night. One of the other bombings that went unmentioned in Monday's Times was at Buckingham Palace, where the North Lodge was demolished, resulting in two fatalities.
www.swingtime.co.uk/Reviews/kenjohns/kentimes.html
www.nickelinthemachine.com/2009/09/the-cafe-de-paris-the-...
In 1939 the Café was allowed to stay open even though theatres and cinemas were closed by order. People gossiped their way through the blackout and the Café was advertised as a safe haven by Martin Poulson, the maitre d', who argued that the four solid storeys of masonry above were ample protection. This tragically proved to be untrue on March 8th 1941 when two 50K landmines came through the Rialto roof straight onto the Café dance floor. Eighty people were killed, including Ken 'Snakehips' Johnston who was performing onstage at the time and Poulson whose words had come back to haunt him. Had the bomb been dropped an hour later, the casualties would have been even higher.
www.cafedeparis.com/club/history
Fleur Lombard
Fleur Lombard QGM (1974 – 4 February 1996) was the first female firefighter to die on duty in peacetime Britain
Fleur Lombard was one of only eight women among Avon's 700 firefighters. On graduating in 1994, Lombard received the Silver Axe Award, for most outstanding recruit on her training school. On 4 February 1996, when she was 21 years old, she was fighting a supermarket fire in Staple Hill, near Bristol, when she and her partner, Robert Seaman, were caught in a flashover. She was killed as a direct result of the intense heat and her body was found just a few yards from the exit. Lombard was the first woman to die in peacetime service in Britain.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur_Lombard
www.independent.co.uk/news/jail-for-killer-of-fleur-lomba...
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/73464.stm
Dorien L Pullen
Name:PULLEN, DORRIEN AISNE
Age:29
Date of Death:25/04/1944
Additional information:N.F.S.; of 30 Armadale Road. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. C. H. Thair, of 62 Grove Road; wife of L.A.C. Harold James Pullen, R.A.F. Died at 30 Armadale Road.
Reporting Authority:CHICHESTER, MUNICIPAL BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3152523
During World War II there were 3 bombing raids on Chichester. Bombs were dropped on Basin Road in 1941, on Chapel Street and St Martins Street in 1943 and on Arndale and Green Roads in 1944.
www.localhistories.org/chichester.html
In the same raid Rosina Cox and her son Derek, aged 4, died at 34 Armadale Road, Ada Field, (aged 25) died at 41 Armadale Road, Elsie Gee (aged 28) would die at 32 Armadale Road and there is a Geoffrey Hearn recorded as dieing on the 26th.
Helen Sussman
Name:SUSSMAN, HELEN
Age:25
Date of Death:19/06/1944
Additional information:Firewoman, N.F.S.; of 12 Clydesdale Road. Daughter of Morris and Eva Sussman. Died at 12 Clydesdale Road.
Reporting Authority:KENSINGTON, METROPOLITAN BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3132450
Name:SUSSMAN, EVA
Age:48
Date of Death:19/06/1944
Additional information:of 12 Clydesdale Road. Daughter of the late James Harry and Gertrude Soloway, of 13 Chepstow Road, Bayswater; wife of Morris Sussman. Died at 12 Clydesdale Road.
Reporting Authority:KENSINGTON, METROPOLITAN BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3132449
Name:SUSSMAN, MORRIS
Age:60
Date of Death:19/06/1944
Additional information:of 12 Clydesdale Road. Husband of Eva Sussman. Died at 12 Clydesdale Road.
Reporting Authority:KENSINGTON, METROPOLITAN BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3132451
June 19.The first V1 to hit Notting Hill killed 20 people along Westbourne Park Road and in Clydesdale Road and Mews,
www.historytalk.org/Notting%20Hill%20History%20Timeline/t...
Dolcie I A Taylor
Name:TAYLOR, DOLCIE ENID AMY
Age:33
Date of Death:23/11/1940
Additional information:A.F.S. Telephonist; of Bursay, West End Road, West End. Daughter of J. H. Carter, and of Amy Dawkins Carter. Died at Bursay, West End Road.
Reporting Authority:WINCHESTER, RURAL DISTRICT
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3113022
Name:CARTER, AMY DAWKINS
Age:69
Date of Death:23/11/1940
Additional information:of Bursay, West End Road, West End. Wife of J. H. Carter. Died at Bursay, West End Road.
Reporting Authority:WINCHESTER, RURAL DISTRICT
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3113000
Name:CARTER, WINIFRED EMMA DAWKINS
Age:38
Date of Death:23/11/1940
Additional information:of Bursay, West End Road, West End. Daughter of J. H. Carter, and of Amy Dawkins Carter. Died at Bursay, West End Road.
Reporting Authority:WINCHESTER, RURAL DISTRICT
CWGC: www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3113002
Other casualties at West End on this day include David Stephens, aged 2, of 12, Shales Flats, and Jane Ware, aged 77, of Westwood, West End Road.
See Sarah Gane above for details of the Southampton Blitz. Southampton suffered particularly heavy raids on the 23rd and 30th November 1940. The village of West End, to the NE of Southampton may well have suffered as a result.
Evelyn Torr
Name:TORR, EVELYN
Age:43
Date of Death:12/08/1943
Additional information:Firewoman, N.F.S.; of 24 Craigmore Avenue, Stoke. Daughter of Mary Torr, and of James Torr. Died at 24 Craigmore Avenue.
Reporting Authority:PLYMOUTH, COUNTY BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3103029
Name:TORR, JAMES
Age:70
Date of Death:12/08/1943
Additional information:of 24 Craigmore Avenue, Stoke. Husband of Mary Torr. Died at 24 Craigmore Avenue.
Reporting Authority:PLYMOUTH, COUNTY BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3103030
Nothing seems to be reported in the mains records – RAF command, or local history sites. Other casualties include
Leonard Davey aged 46.
Firewatcher; of 17 Melville Road, Stoke. Son of Henry and Emma Davey, of 16 Hanover Road, Laira. Injured at Union Street; died same day at Prince of Wales Hospital, Greenbank.
www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3102309
Arthur Dent aged 42
Fireman, N.F.S. Son of Arthur Richard and Minnie Louisa Dent, of 18 Selborne Avenue, Manor Park, London. Died at 104 Hotspur Terrace, North Road.
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3102339
Beryl Dibley (aged 14) and Patricia Dibley (aged 3) who died at 100 North Road
Thomas Donovan who died at 21 Portland Villas
Elsie Hancock, (aged 43) died at Welbeck Avenue
Kate Hancock , (aged 73) died at 31 Welbeck Avenue
Frederick Harris, (aged 49), died at 37 Glenmore Avenue, Stoke
Marjorie Harris, (aged 38), died at 31 Welbeck Avenue
Cyril Joy, (aged 44) and his wife Sarah (aged 37) who died at 17 Melville Road
William Joy, (aged 46) who died at 104 Hotspur Terrace
George Kellond, (age 69) who died at 102 Hotspur Terrace
Charlotte Langdon, (aged 77) who died at James Street
Edith Ley, (aged 55) who died at 8 Ryder Road
Gladys Maxwell, (aged 29) and her sons Roger, (aged 3) and Paul, (aged 18 months) who died at 1, Victoria Lane
Blanche Morrell who was injured at 25 Craigmore Avenue, Stoke on the 12th and subsequently died of her injuries on the 14th
Sidney Murrin (aged 65), died at Millbay Station
Jean Sanders, (aged 12) died at 35 Welbeck Avenue
Beatrice Sayer, (aged 57) and her brother Thomas, (aged 64), died at 28 James Street
Elizabeth Shute, (aged 73) injured at 35 Welbeck Avenue on the 12th and succumced to their effects on the 24th.
George Thomas (aged 41)
Fireman, N.F.S. Son of Harriet Grace Thomas, of 7 Fairfield Road, Ongar, Essex, and of the late Edmund Haviland Thomas. Died at 104 North Road.
www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3103016
George Tucker, (aged 57) who died at 38 Glenmore Avenue, Stoke
Ernest Watts, (aged 34) who died at 104 Hotspur Road
Louisa Williams, (aged 64) who died at 26 Craigmore Avenue
A photograph of two Plymouth firewomen can be seen here
www.devonheritage.org/Places/Plymouth/Plymouth5JtoL.htm
Dorothy S Watson
Name:WATSON, DOROTHY SMITH
Age:39
Date of Death:30/06/1944
Additional information:N.F.S. Daughter of Elizabeth Catherine Watson, of 385 Brompton Road, Bexley Heath, Kent, and of the late Frederick Watson. Injured at Connaught House, Aldwych; died same day at Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street.
Reporting Authority:HOLBORN, METROPOLITAN BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3131109
The V-1 fell in the middle of the street between Bush House and Adastral House, the home of the Air Ministry, at 2:07 p.m., making a direct hit on one of the city’s main loci of power, the site of the Aldwych holy well, directly on the London ley line.
Brilliant blue skies turned to grey fog and darkness.
The device exploded some 40 yards east of the junction of Aldwych and Kingsway, about 40 feet from the Air Ministry offices opposite the east wing of Bush House.
The Air Ministry’s 10-foot-tall blast walls, made of 18-inch-thick brick, disintegrated immediately, deflecting the force of the explosion up and down the street. Hundreds of panes of glass shattered, blowing razor-sharp splinters through the air. The Air Ministry women watching at the windows were sucked out of Adastral House by the vacuum and dashed to death on the street below. Men and women queuing outside the Post Office were torn to pieces. Shrapnel peppered the facades of Bush House and the Air Ministry like bullets.
When the counting was done, about fifty people were killed, 400 seriously wounded, another 200 lightly injured.
secretfire.wordpress.com/the-aldwych-v-1-blast-june-30-1944/
www.westendatwar.org.uk/page_id__10_path__0p2p.aspx
www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/32/a7019732.shtml
Joan E B Wilson
Name:WILSON, JOAN EMMA BESSIE
Age:24
Date of Death:08/03/1941
Additional information:Women's Auxiliary Fire Service; Daughter of Mrs. M. Wilson, of 8 Northcourt Avenue, Reading, Berkshire. Died at Cafe de Paris, Coventry Street.
Reporting Authority:WESTMINSTER CITY
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3123851
See Meg Hargrove above for more details on this incident.
Not on the memorial, but on one of the site listed above Alice Jessica Gifford, aged 21 is recorded as a Firewoman in the NFS.
www.devonheritage.org/Places/Plymouth/Plymouth5GtoI.htm
However CWGC database lists her as a civilian.
Name:GIFFORD, ALICE JESSICA
Date of Death:03/07/1944
Additional information:at Plymouth.
Reporting Authority:PLYMOUTH, COUNTY BOROUGH
CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3102436
This was taken on the eastern side of the "Great Lawn" of Central Park. I took another photo of this young woman to provide more of a wide-angle perspective; click here to see it. Note: this photo was published in a Jun 15, 2010 Technologeek blog, with the same title as the caption that I used on this Flickr page. It was also published in an undated (early Dec 2010) Best Teen Bikini blog, with the same title and detailed notes as what I had written on this Flickr page.
Moving into 2011, the photo was published in an undated (late Jan 2011) Nice Cheap Computer Parts photos blog, as well as a Feb 4, 2011 posting in the same blog -- each with the same title and detailed notes as what I had written here on this Flickr page. It was also published in a May 23, 2011 blog titled "Which Gadgets Should I Bring With Me on Vacation?"
Moving into 2012, the photo was published in an "Everything Coach Store" blog, in a posting titled "Unravel the Benefits of Designer Eyeglasses." It was also published in a Mar 23, 2012 blog titled "Wie normal ist die Rolle des Smartphones in deinem Sexleben? [Studie]" And it was published in a May 2,2012 blog titled "スマホ症候群チェック." It was also published in a Jun 8, 2012 blog titled "Do you work on vacation? " It was also published in a Jul 8, 2012 blog titled "Teens Texting Nude Photos of Themselves Are Getting Out of Hand." And it was published in a Jul 13, 2012 blog titled "E-Mail am Wochenende, zwischen Kind und Kegel." And it was published in an Aug 2, 2012 blog titled "Paris kämpft gegen Freizügigkeit."
Moving into 2013, the photo was published in an undated (mid-Sep 2013) blog titled "6 Tips for Flirting Over Text With Guys." And it was published in a Nov 18, 2013 blog titled "The Majority of American Travelers Stay Plugged in on Vacation." It was also published in a Nov 13, 2013 blog titled "5 Things Marketers Can Learn From High School Students," as well as a Dec 1, 2013 blog titled "Snapchat and Selfi IM - What You Need to Know Now."
******************************************
Looking back on some old photos from 40-50 years ago, I was struck by how visible the differences were between the culture of then, versus the culture of now. In some cases, it was evident from the things people wore, or carried, or did, back then which they no longer do today. But sometimes it was the opposite: things that didn't exist back in the 1960s and 1970s have become a pervasive part of today's culture.
A good example is the cellphone: 20 years ago, it simply didn't exist. Even ten years ago, it was a relatively uncommon sight, and usually only on major streets of big cities. Today, of course, cell phones are everywhere, and everyone is using them in a variety of culture contexts.
However, I don't think this is a permanent phenomenon; after all, if you think back to the early 1980s, you probably would have seen a lot of people carrying Sony Walkmans, or "boom-box" portable radios -- all of which have disappeared...
If Moore's Law (which basically says that computers double in power every 18 months) holds up for another decade, then we'll have computerized gadgets approximately 100 times smaller, faster, cheaper, and better -- which means far better integration of music, camera, messaging, and phone, but also the possibility of the devices being so tiny that they're embedded into our eyeglasses, our earrings, or a tattoo on our forehead.
So the point of this album is to provide a frame of reference -- so that we can (hopefully) look back 10-20 years from now, and say, "Wasn't it really weird that we behaved in such bizarre ways while we interacted with those primitive devices?"
Aftermath
Name: Peter Renshaw
Location: Kinglake West.
Date: 2009MAR26
Description:
First time in the back paddock. The plants you see in the foreground are what is left of a 1acre paddock of exotic Camellias and Rhododendrons. They are bending in the direction of the fire path.
The text below is a talk I gave on how we (brother, sister, myself and mates) organised and executed plans to get immediate power & water at my Dads house. Authorities simply didn't react fast enough.
==================
Final draft for talk at Trampoline
update latest news
Now published at seldomlogical.com/gsd.html.
A quick intro to the fire is here www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157615800278371/. Be aware this is a draft & I'll be posting later a linked & more polished version at seldomlogical and my wp site. For the purposes of the talk on the day I subtitled the talk Kick-starting Volunteers to not only make the title shorter but to put the talk in a bigger context. The ideas here can be applied to situations like Black Saturday but could just as easily be applied to Volunteers, even Startups. They all face the same types of problems.
Hello, my name is Peter. My talk is called "Getting stuff
done with nothing". Before I begin I'll tell you something
about myself. My first computer was a ZX-80. I don't get
out much and I haven't been to a meeting for a long time.
I'm one of those Gen-X slackers, I went to school for 20
or so years and I've worked mostly in Startups and
software. So you could say I'm a bit of an expert on the
topic. Well at least one.
Getting stuff done with nothing
Why is it that some individuals adapt to change faster than
others? How is it that people with no authority, few
resources can make such a difference? The ideas I want to
explore has its roots in the slow decline of volunteering,
the unfolding financial crisis and the 7th February 2009.
A day we now know as Black Saturday.
How do you avoid sabotaging yourself trying to help?
How do you get stuff done, with nothing?
Black Saturday
It was 46 degrees that day. I'd thought about going to Dads
about 70 kilometers from where I live. But with a total
fire ban and hot conditions I chose the pool instead
staying close to home. It wasn't till I got home about six
o'clock that evening that I got a call from a distressed
sister saying Dad was fighting off fires at his property at
Kinglake West and his phone was going flat. Later I got
another call at around 8 o'clock to say the house had
survived but he was still fighting. [0]
I was 70 kilometers away, it was getting dark so I drove to
the nearest place I could see the range, snapped a few
shots and uploaded them to Flickr. My brother and sister
who lived closer shot up to Whittlesea trying to get into
the fire-zone to help. Foolish maybe, but it was to have
positive implications later. [1] I knew that if Dad
survived the first two hours with house intact - as long
as he kept his wits about him, he would survive. So I
started planing, writing and collecting any information
I could to see if I could help out further down the line.
49 days later
It's now forty nine days since the fire and work is
still going on. A casual comment by a CFA volunteer on my
Flickr account [2] suggesting that for the next major fire
a similar site might do exactly what I was doing -
collecting information and acting as a clearing house.
This was going to be initial idea for my talk. "How to
apply technology and apply it to solve the communications
and logistic problems" I encountered with the fires. Maybe
it could be applied to other relief efforts. What about
the recession? Could it help people who loose their jobs
to re-train? Get new skills?
But thinking about it more, it turned out to be the wrong
question to ask. I don't think technology is the problem.
[3] I think the real problem is much more fundamental. I
think it's people and how they tackle obstacles. I don't
want to get bogged down in theory. What I want concentrate
on something practical. How to apply some quick hacks that
anyone can master in times of need.
Personal qualities not technology
To get things done you have to overcome hurdles. Some
are personal and internal. Others are external and totally
out of your control. When I started thinking about what
personal qualities might be important, I was struck by the
fact you might need to experiment and apply various
combinations to achieve a result. So I have tried to narrow
the list, to what I think are the 10 qualities that make a
difference.
1) Controlling emotion
Emotions effect the way we make decisions. Emotions come in
many forms as we react to stress. Each person reacts
slightly differently. Limiting your emotional reaction, lets
you move forward to make decisions. It's a trait that only
you can control. Some sort of control is an advantage over
none. No control over you emotions can let fear control
you. Fear is by far the most damaging emotion I can think
of. Fear paralyses you into in-action. In-action is not
only counter productive but it's also the fastest way to
sabotage yourself. Fear is also contagious. If you are
fearful, it has a nasty habit of rubbing-off onto others.
I don't know the solution to avoiding or controlling fear
but I do know you should be aware it exists. You should try
to negate it's side effects. The better control you have
over fear, the more effective you can be. [4]
2) Listening
How well you listen greatly effects any outcome to try to
achieve. Not listening is one of the quickest ways to fail
when you encounter external hurdles. Not listening you miss
details. Details that could mean the difference between
knowing what is required or taking a risk and guessing. A
requirement achieved is a form of measurable success.
Guessing simply wastes time. If in doubt ask someone "on
the ground". They know things you don't. Listen now and
you save time and effort later.
3) Mindset
If you have a rigid mindset. If you cannot adapt quickly
enough. You risk not only failing to achieve the things you
set out to do. You will be susceptible to blunder. A
blunder is when the action you take, results in a worse
situation than when you start. Blunders have many causes.
But the most likely culprit is a fixed or rigid mindset.
Mindset is the combined effect of "how you react
emotionally to current events" and "the decisions you make
as a result". So ask yourself. "Are you undermining
yourself because you have a rigid mindset?"
4) Empathy & imagination
Can you walk in the shoes of another person? Can you
identify their problems and solve them? Empathy and
imagination are an effective antidote to blunders, rigid
mindsets and cognitive traps in thinking. [5] Don't just
try and blunder your way through a solution. First put
yourself into situation you are trying to improve and
use your mind to to project, how you might make the
current situation into a better or best situation. [6]
5) Communication not Info-mania
An info-maniac is someone who misuses information. If you
hold onto information, shun or avoid the source or nature
of information. You are self sabotaging yourself. You need
to collect enough of the right type of relevant
information. Don't worry about the having too much
information. You will be surprised what people might be
looking for or find. [7] Working as a team has its own
challenges. When communicating to more than one person
make sure they have the right mindset and ensure they are
communicating together to get the job done.
6) Thrift and resources
Up till now, the focus has primarily been on the how.
Little thought has been given to cost. If you have few
resources and need them quickly it is up to you to work out
how important they are. Weigh the costs of buying verses
loaning. Don't buy if you can help it. The time honoured
"Beg, borrow and ask" works, well some of the time. A simple
solution is to hack what you already have and see if it can
fit the purpose. A roll of fencing wire and duct tape may
work wonders but not miracles.
This is where you have to get creative. A good resource can
be friends or people you know. It may even be complete
strangers. In some cases you will have to pay cash. Before
you do check with people on the ground if they really need
this item. If you pay cash it might be better to accept a
higher price for a receipt instead of trying to negotiate
a discount. This avoids disputes. Pay a bit more to avoid
potential conflict. [8]
7) Speed
We are often told to do things "fast". But saying and
doing are two different things. Where do you start? Well
start at the basics. The basics of life are 'food', 'water'
and shelter. So for a given situation concentrate first on
the basics. Be able to say with certainty you have
reliability. Day in, day out. Every day. Speed is also
about getting real results without wasting unnecessary time
and resources. Any lack of the above qualities will hinder
your efforts. So I think the measure of speed is about
delivering the basics. Then using a combination of
listening, empathy and imagination you can move your way
forward.
But speed alone isn't good enough.
It's a constant. What you really want is acceleration.
What forces can you use to increase the accelerate the rate
you do things? Well the answer to this and a potential
road-block is probably a combination of and Info-mania.
Collect enough information on problem at hand and you get a
data glut and as long as the relevance of the information
is high someone can probably find the right information.
The trick is then to get the right people to take notice.
We got "feet on the ground" to Dad in less than 48 hours.
Delivering a delivering a generator and essentials. Yet I
was shocked that it took another 48 hours for support teams to
touch base in Flowerdale a mere 26 kilometers further
north. [9] This changed quickly when Pete William started
writing the "helpflowerdale" blog. Things sped up when the
information flow sped up. [10]
8) Search for simplicity
KISS or Keep it Simple Stupid. Easy to say, much harder to
do in practice. The advantage of simplicity is it helps
keeps you focused on what is achievable. Focusing on simple
outcomes is also cost and time effective. Complex things
consume resources. How do you find simple solutions in
real-life complexity?
I have no real answers. But I did get a few valuable
insights trying to work out how to solve the problem of
water. After the fires, I knew delivering the basics was
going to be a big problem. And the most important basic is
water. But how do you source, deliver and maintain a clean
water supply 70 kilometers away?
How did I simplify the problem? Well first I had the right
mindset. I knew in the middle of summer in remote areas
that damaged water tanks, no pumps and when the power is
down there will be no reliable water. I also knew speed was
of the essence. The simplicity hack I applied was knowing
that water being a basic was required quickly. I confirmed
by ringing up people on the ground that water storage was a
problem. Then spread the news around this is what was
required. It just so happened that other people where
already thinking along the same lines pre-warned because of
the information I spread, "empathised" and offered help.
The actual situation itself is complicated and I couldn't
tackle this problem myself but I got a call from a good
friend who is an expert in logistics and just happened to
have a water solution in the form of a Shutz. By chance I
also got access to various forms of transport.
Is this a case of good luck or searching for a simpler way?
I'm not sure. I do know that by knowing this was a priority
and using resources I secured the water containers and got
them delivered. [11], [12]
9) Follow through, re-evaluate
What you start you finish. Don't leave loose threads. Then
quickly re-evaluate. Do you really need to continue?
Communicate together. Is someone else doing this? Check
with someone on the ground again. Then continue. If you
promise to do something, do it. No one else is going to do
it. It is up to you.
Are you going to let your mates down?
10) Motivation, "the mongrel factor"
The final personal quality is how much of the "mongrel
factor" you have. No, it has nothing to do with "Blue
Heelers" (the TV show) [13] but the mongrel breed of dog.
How hard do you "snap" and "snarl" [14] to extract that
last 5 percent effort required to complete a task? The
difference between those who give up and those who succeed
can partially be explained to how hard they are willing to
push themselves. [15]
The future of Volunteers
I don't think technology alone can solve the types of
problems. You need intelligent application of technology.
Instead we should look at how we as individuals respond
using technology to amplify results. I also saw a complete
change in community attitudes to 'volunteering'. Before the
fire, volunteering was a dirty word. After the fire people
felt guilty not helping.
The fires may be over. But your chance to make a difference
begins now. Black Saturday might be the fractal training
run for the current recession. Lots of people, young people
especially are now going find themselves without the
opportunities to work and no path to improve themselves.
What are YOU! going to do? Are you! (point to individual)
going to let your mates down?
Reference
[0] Bootload, flickr, "You can read a summary and view
pictures of the fires first hours here",
[Accessed Thursday, 26th March, 2009]
flickr.com/photos/bootload/3260244634
[1] We (my brother, sister, her bloke, myself and a good
mate) undertook two distinct operations. Operation Genny:
objective to deliver power in the form of a generator.
Operation Shutz: objective to deliver clean water supply
tanks up to 3000 litres with 1 tank capable of being put on
a ute. We completed both. We had feet on the ground within
48 hours of the fire occurring for the generator. The water
supply following some 2 weeks later.
None of this would have been possible if emotional sister
and determined brother used speed to the fire zone within
couple of hours. The reward, a pass to move through the
police road blocks. Had it not been for this quick
thinking. Nothing we planned would have come to fruition.
[2] miniopterus, Flickr, "I should have said, good job
tracking the events. I imagine that next time we have fires,
we might see something similar to your Flickr diary.",
flickr.com/photos/bootload/3298613958
[Accessed Thursday, 26th March, 2009]
[3] To technologists who forge and yield hammers every
problem can appear to be a nail. In this case I don't think
a technology solution is applicable as tackling how people
deal with decision making. You need intelligent application
of technology. Instead we should look at how we as
individuals respond using technology to amplify results.
[4] Fear is there for a reason. Men may perceive women to
be inferior when it comes to emotion. But like the second
law of thermodynamics, all that built up emotion is going
to leak out some time in the future. So in the long run,
I think women have an edge over men dealing with emotion.
But in the short term it is men who edge women out with
self control. There is a downside here. Apply too much
control and you might emotionally overheat and become
brittle when you cool down leaving yourself open to
cracking. Hard objects become brittle and crack under
stress.
[6] google, "enter 'from: kinglake west to: Flowerdale
VIC, Australia' and view the maps tab. This reveals the
distance from Kinglake West."
[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]
[5] Zachary Shore, "Blunder: Why Smart People Make Bad
Decisions, Blunder Intro, P5."
www.zacharyshore.com/static/content/blunder_intro.pdf
[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]
[6] CVS2BVS: Current View of Situation to Best View of
Situation is a quick hack to make you think of moving
forward. What is you current view? What is your best
view? How do you get there? You have to ask the question
before you can find a solution.
[7] ITConversations, Tech Nation, Zachary Shore, "Why
Smart People Make Bad Decisions: Professor, Naval
Postgraduate School"
itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail4007.html
[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]
[8] Sourcing the Shutz (ruggised 1000 Lt, portable water
container) I negotiated a price by quoting a friends name
in cash. Then I get a phone call asking for more money. A
quick call back to my referring mate sorted this out. But
had I got a receipt I could have avoided this. In the end
it worked out. But the risk was there. You can read more
about sourcing the Shutz here:
www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157614178152108/
[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]
[9] google, "To find the distance from Kinglake West to
Flowerdale enter 'from: Kinglake West to: Flowerdale VIC,
Australia' into google and click the maps tab.
[10] Pete Williams, blogspot, "Flowerdale - Survivor
Spirit", "A cry for help from the forgotten people of
Flowerdale"
"... The final straw for my sister in law came at 6.00am
today (12/02/09) when those left fought to save one of the
remaining houses that caught on fire overnight. They fought
with no water, no fire trucks and no support from the Army
that was in the area. They lost the fight. ..."
helpflowerdalenow.blogspot.com/2009/02/cry-for-help-from-...
[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]
[11] bootload, flickr, "flickr set: 'Shutz IBC 1000L' where
I order and collect the Shutz water tank"
www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157614178152108/
[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]
[12] bootload, "flickr set: 'Eltham to Kinglake West'
where we deliver the tanks"
www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157614178001242/
[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]
[13] IMDb, "Blue Heelers, The Mongrel Factor"
[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]
[14] Australian Sports Commission, "Participating in Sport:
Predicting sports suitability", "... Coaches who observe
such testing sessions are assessing the ‘mongrel factor’
which athletes show a doggedness to continue when the test
becomes hard?"
www.ausport.gov.au/participating/got_talent/overview/pred...
[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]
[15] Simon Britton, "Mongrel Nation",
culturenow.com/site/item.cfm?item=24814
[Accessed Friday, 27th March, 2009]
To Andy, James, Kev, Mum and Trace. They know how to get
things done with nothing. Thanks Trace, Colin for reading
the article.