View allAll Photos Tagged OUTWARDS
my heart keeps beating like a hammer
oh my, oh my i love this picture! its kind of a metaphor if you can understand it - let me know what you think this picture means, i'd love to hear some feedback! I've been really doing grainy pictures lately, and im trying to get out of it - i need a new lens really badly!
Sorry i gotta run - thanks guys!
xoxo
ZEN MAGNETS - Neodymium Magnetic Balls (@Varies) - Fun with 5-ball pentagon rings part 3
(@060) - Diamond subunit (3-layer) = (4 x (3 x 5))
(@040) - 12-pointed star / Dome = =((6 x (Diamond subunit (3-layer)) + (6 x (3 x 5))
(@030) - 2-layer triangle subunit - (3 x (2 x 5))
(@120) - Outwards quad triangle subunit = (4 x (2-layer triangle subunit))
(@360) - Outwards quad-tri triangle = (3 x (Outwards quad triangle subunit))
(@600) - Outwards quad-tri star= (5 x (Outwards quad triangle subunit))
(@600) - Outwards quad-tri spaceship v1 = (5 x (Outwards quad triangle subunit))
(@480) - Outwards quad-tri square = (4 x (Outwards quad triangle subunit))
(@600) - Outwards quad-tri spaceship v2 = (5 x (Outwards quad triangle subunit))
(@120) - Inwards quad triangle subunit = (4 x (2-layer triangle subunit))
(@600) - Inwards quad-tri pentagon = (5 x (Inwards quad triangle subunit))
(@600) - Inwards quad-tri spaceship v3 = (5 x (Inwards quad triangle subunit))
(@960) - Triangle subunit ring variations v1 = (8 x (2-layer triangle subunit))
(@720) - Triangle subunit ring variations v2 = (6 x (2-layer triangle subunit))
(@040) - Triangle subunit ring variations squares = (16 x (2-layer triangle subunit))
(@720) - Triangle subunit ring variations v2 = (6 x (2-layer triangle subunit))
(@070) - Heptagon subunit = (7 x (2 x 5))
(@140) - Heptagon subunit stacker v1 = (2 x (Heptagon subunit))
(@560) - Heptagon subunit stacker v2 = (8 x (Heptagon subunit))
Note: Outward = three pentagon rings facing outward, Inward = three pentagon rings facing inward. For polarity reversed, separate two from the rest, and use a separator card in-between to flip the two ball from top set to bottom set.
More build pics here:
The central point from which all the buildings fanned outwards from the keep, the Cour Ovale more or less marks the position of the original Château de Fontainebleau (aside from a tidy-up of the layout at the end of the Renaissance). Lined with 16th and 17th century facades, it opens to the south through the former fortified entrance (the Porte Dorée), and since Henry IV’s time opens to the east onto the Cour des Offices (Baptistry entrance). www.musee-chateau-fontainebleau.fr/The-Cour-Ovale?lang=en
in this photo, the stream flows from bottom to top, and the trees on the left fan outwards; it subtly disturbing. in contrast, the path on the left—like all paths—goes in both directions.
Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. The Diocese of Lichfield covers all of Staffordshire, much of Shropshire and part of the Black Country and West Midlands. The 99th and current Bishop of Lichfield is Michael Ipgrave who was appointed on 10 June 2016.
The cathedral is dedicated to St Chad and Saint Mary. Its internal length is 113 metres (370 feet), and the breadth of the nave is 21m (68'). The central spire is 77m (252') high and the western spires are about 58m (190').
The stone is sandstone and came from a quarry on the south side of Lichfield. The walls of the nave lean outwards slightly, due to the weight of stone used in the ceiling vaulting; some 200–300 tons of which was removed during renovation work to prevent the walls leaning further.
Lichfield suffered severe damage during the English Civil War in which all of the stained glass was destroyed. In spite of this the windows of the Lady Chapel contain some of the finest medieval Flemish painted glass in existence. Dating from the 1530s it came from the Abbey of Herkenrode in Belgium, in 1801, having been purchased by Brooke Boothby when that abbey was dissolved during the Napoleonic Wars. It was sold on to the cathedral for the same price. There are also some fine windows by Betton and Evans (1819), and many fine late 19th century windows, particularly those by Charles Eamer Kempe.
The Lichfield Gospels, also known as the Book of Chad, are the gospels of Matthew and Mark, and the early part of Luke, written mainly in Latin with some text in early Welsh and dating from around 730. There were originally two volumes but one went missing around the time of the English Civil War. It is closely related in style to the Lindisfarne Gospels. The manuscript is on display in the Chapter House from Easter to Christmas.
The Close is one of the most complete in the country and includes a medieval courtyard which once housed the men of the choir. The three spires are often referred to as 'the Ladies of the Vale'.
Early history and elevation to Archbishopric
The cathedral choir
The high altar
When Chad was made Bishop of Mercia in 669 he moved his See from Repton to Lichfield, possibly because this was already a holy site, as the scene of martyrdoms during the Roman period. The first cathedral to be built on the present site was in 700AD when Bishop Hedda built a new church to house the bones of St Chad which had become a sacred shrine to many pilgrims when he died in 672. Offa, King of Mercia seemed to resent his own bishops paying allegiance to the Archbishop of Canterbury in Kent who, whilst under Offa's control, was not of his own kingdom of Mercia. Offa therefore created his own archbishopric in Lichfield, who presided over all the bishops from the Humber to the Thames. All this began in 786, with the consent of Pope Adrian. The Pope’s official representatives were received warmly by Offa and were present at the Council of Chelsea (787), often called `the contentious synod', where it was proposed that the Archbishopric of Canterbury be restricted in order to make way for Offa's new archbishop. It was vehemently opposed, but Offa and the papal representatives defeated Archbishop Jaenbert, installing Higbert as the new Archbishop of Lichfield. Pope Adrian sent Higbert the pallium, denoting his support for this move. In gratitude, Offa promised to send an annual shipment of gold to the pope for alms and supplying the lights in St. Peter's church in Rome. However, The Archbishopric of Lichfield lasted for only 16 years, ending soon after Offa's death, when it was restored to Archbishop Aethelheard of Canterbury.
Starting in 1085 and continuing through the twelfth century the original wooden Saxon church was replaced by a Norman cathedral made from stone, and this was in turn replaced by the present Gothic cathedral begun in 1195. It was completed by the building of the Lady Chapel in the 1330s. The Choir dates from 1200, the Transepts from 1220 to 1240 and the Nave was started in 1260. The octagonal Chapter House, which was completed in 1249 and is one of the most beautiful parts of the Cathedral with some charming stone carvings, houses an exhibition of the cathedral's greatest treasure, the Lichfield Gospels, an 8th-century illuminated manuscript.
Devastation of the English Civil War
The Sleeping Children by Francis Chantrey (1817), portrays two young sisters, Ellen-Jane and Marianne, who died in tragic circumstances in 1812
There were three great sieges of Lichfield during the period 1643–1646 as the cathedral close was surrounded by a ditch and defensive walls it made a natural fortress. The cathedral authorities with a certain following were for Charles I, but the townsfolk generally sided with Parliament, and this led to the fortification of the close in 1643. Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke, led an assault against it, but was killed [1] by a deflected bullet from John Dyott (known as 'dumb' because he was a deaf mute) who along with his brother Richard Dyott had taken up a position on the battlements of the central cathedral spire on 2 March 1643.[citation needed] Brooke's deputy John Gell, took over the siege. The Royalist garrison surrendered to Gell two days later.[citation needed]
In April of the same year (1643) Prince Rupert led an Royalist expeditionary force from Oxford to recapture Lichfield.[1] The siege started on 8 April. During the second assault Rupert's engineers detonated what is thought to be the first explosive mine to be used in England to breach the defences. Unable to defend the Close, Colonel Russell, the parliamentary commander of the garrison, surrendered on terms to Rupert on 21 April.[2]
The cathedral suffered extensive damage: the central spire was demolished, the roofs ruined and all the stained glass smashed. Bishop Hacket began the restoration of the cathedral in the 1660s, aided by substantial funds donated by the restored monarch, but it was not until the 19th century that the damage caused by the Civil War was fully repaired. Up until the 19th century, on top of an ornamented gable, between the two spires, stood a colossal figure of Charles II, by William Wilson. Today it stands just outside the south doors
Victorian restoration
The Cathedral Close, Lichfield with its many fine buildings is one of the most unspoilt in England
The Lichfield Angel carving
Although the 18th century was a golden age for the City of Lichfield, it was a period of decay for the cathedral. The 15th-century library, on the north side of the nave, was pulled down and the books moved to their present location above the Chapter House. Most of the statues on the west front were removed and the stonework covered with Roman cement. At the end of the century James Wyatt organised some major structural work, removing the High Altar to make one worship area of Choir and Lady Chapel and adding a massive stone screen at the entrance to the Choir. Francis Eginton painted the east window and was commissioned by the chapter to do other work in the cathedral. The ornate west front was extensively renovated in the Victorian era by George Gilbert Scott.
It includes a remarkable number of ornate carved figures of kings, queens and saints, working with original materials where possible and creating fine new imitations and additions when the originals were not available. Wyatt's choir-screen had utilised medieval stone-work which Scott in turn used to create the clergy's seats in the sanctuary. The new metal screen by Francis Skidmore and John Birnie Philip to designs by Scott himself is a triumph of High Victorian art, as are the fine Mintons tiles in the choir, inspired by the medieval ones found in the Choir foundations and still seen in the Library.
Lichfield Angel
In February 2003, an eighth century sculpted panel of the Archangel Gabriel was discovered under the nave of the cathedral. The 600mm tall panel is carved from limestone, and originally was part of a stone chest, which is thought to have contained the relics of St Chad.[3] The panel was broken into three parts but was still otherwise intact and had traces of red pigment from the period. The pigments on the Lichfield Angel correspond closely to those of the Lichfield Gospels which have been dated to around 730AD. The Angel was first unveiled to the public in 2006, when visitor numbers to the cathedral trebled. After being taken to Birmingham for eighteen months for examination, it is now exhibited in the cathedral. wikipedia
Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure near Morrison, Colorado, where concerts are given in the open-air amphitheatre. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind the stage, a huge vertical rock angled outwards from stage right, several large outcrops angled outwards from stage left and a seating area for up to 9,450 people in between.
The freighter CSL Tadoussac, formerly just plain Tadoussac, is nicknamed "Tater Sack" by some freighter fans. A recent refit saw her ballast tanks shifted outwards to make room for more cargo.
North chapel window by Hardmans, c1870s. Presumably originally set on the north wall of the chancel and then relocated further outwards when the north chapel was built in 1891 (the window is clearly from an earlier phase of Hardman's output).
Just off the main road leading out of the village of Husbands Bosworth is a little known Victorian gem, the Roman Catholic church of St Mary standing close to Bosworth Hall. At first sight it may seem a small and rather modest structure, its steep roof crowned only by a central bellcote and the main building of a simple 'two-cell' construction of nave and chancel without aisles, aside from the protruding north chapel which was a later addition to the chancel, which with its rose window facing the approaching visitor gives a hint of the glories within.
The church was built in 1873 to the designs of architect Gilbert Blount and remains largely untouched ever since apart from one major structural addition, the aforementioned north chapel that was built in 1891 as a chantry to house the tomb of the founder of the church, Sir Francis Fortescue-Turville. The designer of this chapel was Alfred Purdie, who succeeded Blount after his death as chief architect of his practice (it seems likely that the north wall is still Blount's work, having merely been dismantled and re-erected further outwards).
The interior comes as a surprise as this church may appear humble on first impressions but soon reveals a Puginesque ambition within. The nave is revealed as a light space under a steeply pitched open timber roof, but it is the darker, more mysterious chancel that draws the focus, for despite its diminutive scale this is among the richest of Victorian church interiors. The glass by Hardmans and the richly carved reredos announce their presences first, but as the eyes adjust to the subdued light here the richly painted walls and ceiling adorned by W. H. Romaine Walker are revealed in tones that have darkened a little with time but still make this space sing. Most remarkable of all is the vaulted ceiling adorned with angels and vines, which is uniquely pierced by four groups of small oculi containing stained glass roundels of angels, a unique feature (made all the more astonishing by the ease with which these windows are concealed on the exterior of the building, the openings disguised under glass tiles that blend almost seamlessly with the surrounding pottery roof tiles).
The north chapel contains the effigy of the founder and has a panelled and painted wooden ceiling of its own. The glass is partially reused Hardman windows moved outwards from the former north chancel wall, and glazing of the 1890s by an unidentified studio in the rose window and eastern apse (the central light of which was later replaced by Hardman glass from Whitley Abbey, also found in several other windows here, while the original central light has been relocated in a larger window on the north side of the nave).
I am greatly indebted to Fr Matthew Pittam for showing me this fine church for which he is now the incumbent. The church isn't kept open outside of Mass times but is in regular use for services and clearly (and rightly) well loved by the community.
The font in St Paul's Bow Common, reflecting the roof.
Taken during Open House London 2017
St Paul's Bow Common
Robert McGuire & Keith Murray
Very nearly 150 years ago, this area of East London was beginning to emerge as a populated area after centuries of being no more than common grazing land (hence our name of Bow Common!). The coming of the railway lines, together with two canals nearby, guaranteed the growth of a working population clustered near to vital transport links. London was on the move, expanding ever outwards.
To serve this growing population a grand and lofty Victorian Gothic church was built in 1858, with a great spire and a huge stained glass window at the west end. This first St. Paul’s, Bow Common became a real focus for the neighbouring community for most of the next century. Then disaster struck during the Blitz of World War II and in 1941 incendiaries gutted the church, reducing it to a shell.
The War ended but growth & recovery were slow after so much widespread destruction. It was a full decade before thoughts could turn to re-building the church and thanks to War Reparation funds, a new church could be built, but it had to seat a minimum of 500 people.
The Vicar who came in 1951, the late Revd. Gresham Kirkby, was a young radical who drew like-minded people about himself. Already, in the 1950s there was a serious re-evaluation in progress far and wide, among churches and architects alike, as to what exactly the purpose and function of a church is, and how its configuration should express its deepest purposes. Interest was stirred again in the earliest forms of church architecture and in exploring the very roots of Christian worship. Emerging out of all of this, in the 1950s, churches were being built in Europe expressing these radical ideas.
All of this passionately concerned Fr. Kirkby but he was not impressed by what he saw abroad! And so he approached a young designer in his early 20s – the late Keith Murray – whose work had impressed him in local commissions at Queen Mary College and St. Katherine’s Foundation Chapels. Teaming up with the equally young & gifted Robert Maguire, the architect and designer worked together from 1958-1960 to build the church in which you stand – regarded widely as the most significant post-War Church in Britain.
The creators of this church & the parish priest proudly regarded themselves as purposeful rebels! They were politically, socially & theologically attuned. This was the most radical and pure expression of a movement which focused so much upon the relations of the gathered worshipping community, one with another, and together as one Body, in relationship with God.
In 2010 Robert Maguire wrote:
‘We were trying to build a church which would encourage true relationships in the liturgy – priest to people, people to one another, priest to God and people to God, the worship of the whole Church together. Encourage, but not cause; because it is only people coming together with understanding and faith which bring those relationships to life.‘
The roots and antecedents of this building’s design run deep – to classical forms and the Renaissance Revival – to the fundamental geometry of square and circle - influences owing a debt to Brunelleschi, Palladio, Bramante – and further back, to the churches of Torcello, to Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and to the great Pantheon in Rome. This was no mere ‘bright new idea’! Around them they drew other young and gifted workers and designers. The mosaics which you see encircling the walls are the work of Charles Lutyens (great-nephew of the great architect Edwin Lutyens) carried out over a period of five years after the church had already been opened for use.
In form, the building is basically a stack of three diminishing cubes with ancillary spaces added at the sides. Maguire and Murray’s defining geometry was that of two bounded areas – contained by the exterior and barely broken bounding walls and also by the inner ‘transparent’ but effective encircling line of colonnades.
In this way distinct areas are subtly but effectively delineated within the volume of the church, as well as areas serving the varying needs of the Christian community – not only for worship, but for the whole of our life. This was seen very much as a space in which the whole common life of the worshipping community could be lived out – and from which they would then go out into the world. Benches were designed to be easily moveable so that they could be set aside or re-arranged according to the needs of our common life.
Today our life includes exhibitions, from intimate displays of just one art work to 800 square feet of dazzling external installation or walls completely bedecked with textile panels made in the community by ‘Stitches in Time.’
In 2010, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the consecration of the church and, reflecting on the ways in which St. Paul’s, Bow Common has proved to be so extraordinarily adaptable and appropriate for uses in a social context never imagined 50 years earlier, Robert Maguire said:
’I designed the building as "liturgical space", informed by how I saw the nature of liturgy as the formative activity in realising the community as the Body of Christ. Later (and now) I would call it 'inclusive space' – space that enables everyone within it, wherever they are, to feel included in what is happening, wherever in the space that may be. So this quality naturally extends inclusiveness to anything the community wishes to do in the building, and the building should lend itself creatively to community-building of any kind.'
[Open House website]
The former Bank House B&B, No 3 Banks Street in Blackpool.
The gable end wall is bulging outwards. This property is to be demolished soon.
Panasonic TZ9 camera, 24th November 2016.
During the last two decades of the 19th century, London was expanding outwards as suburbs became more built up and were absorbed into the built-up area of London itself. Towns such as Croydon, Sutton and Norwood, which had previously been commuter towns separate from London, grew to form one large area of housing. Much of this was because of the success of the 'Terriers' themselves, as they had speeded up suburban passenger services, encouraging people to move out of the centre of London. Trains became progressively heavier while the need for shorter journey times remained the same. As a result, the engines gradually became largely unsuited for their original purpose.
Taken during Open House London 2017
St Paul's Bow Common
Robert McGuire & Keith Murray
Very nearly 150 years ago, this area of East London was beginning to emerge as a populated area after centuries of being no more than common grazing land (hence our name of Bow Common!). The coming of the railway lines, together with two canals nearby, guaranteed the growth of a working population clustered near to vital transport links. London was on the move, expanding ever outwards.
To serve this growing population a grand and lofty Victorian Gothic church was built in 1858, with a great spire and a huge stained glass window at the west end. This first St. Paul’s, Bow Common became a real focus for the neighbouring community for most of the next century. Then disaster struck during the Blitz of World War II and in 1941 incendiaries gutted the church, reducing it to a shell.
The War ended but growth & recovery were slow after so much widespread destruction. It was a full decade before thoughts could turn to re-building the church and thanks to War Reparation funds, a new church could be built, but it had to seat a minimum of 500 people.
The Vicar who came in 1951, the late Revd. Gresham Kirkby, was a young radical who drew like-minded people about himself. Already, in the 1950s there was a serious re-evaluation in progress far and wide, among churches and architects alike, as to what exactly the purpose and function of a church is, and how its configuration should express its deepest purposes. Interest was stirred again in the earliest forms of church architecture and in exploring the very roots of Christian worship. Emerging out of all of this, in the 1950s, churches were being built in Europe expressing these radical ideas.
All of this passionately concerned Fr. Kirkby but he was not impressed by what he saw abroad! And so he approached a young designer in his early 20s – the late Keith Murray – whose work had impressed him in local commissions at Queen Mary College and St. Katherine’s Foundation Chapels. Teaming up with the equally young & gifted Robert Maguire, the architect and designer worked together from 1958-1960 to build the church in which you stand – regarded widely as the most significant post-War Church in Britain.
The creators of this church & the parish priest proudly regarded themselves as purposeful rebels! They were politically, socially & theologically attuned. This was the most radical and pure expression of a movement which focused so much upon the relations of the gathered worshipping community, one with another, and together as one Body, in relationship with God.
In 2010 Robert Maguire wrote:
‘We were trying to build a church which would encourage true relationships in the liturgy – priest to people, people to one another, priest to God and people to God, the worship of the whole Church together. Encourage, but not cause; because it is only people coming together with understanding and faith which bring those relationships to life.‘
The roots and antecedents of this building’s design run deep – to classical forms and the Renaissance Revival – to the fundamental geometry of square and circle - influences owing a debt to Brunelleschi, Palladio, Bramante – and further back, to the churches of Torcello, to Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and to the great Pantheon in Rome. This was no mere ‘bright new idea’! Around them they drew other young and gifted workers and designers. The mosaics which you see encircling the walls are the work of Charles Lutyens (great-nephew of the great architect Edwin Lutyens) carried out over a period of five years after the church had already been opened for use.
In form, the building is basically a stack of three diminishing cubes with ancillary spaces added at the sides. Maguire and Murray’s defining geometry was that of two bounded areas – contained by the exterior and barely broken bounding walls and also by the inner ‘transparent’ but effective encircling line of colonnades.
In this way distinct areas are subtly but effectively delineated within the volume of the church, as well as areas serving the varying needs of the Christian community – not only for worship, but for the whole of our life. This was seen very much as a space in which the whole common life of the worshipping community could be lived out – and from which they would then go out into the world. Benches were designed to be easily moveable so that they could be set aside or re-arranged according to the needs of our common life.
Today our life includes exhibitions, from intimate displays of just one art work to 800 square feet of dazzling external installation or walls completely bedecked with textile panels made in the community by ‘Stitches in Time.’
In 2010, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the consecration of the church and, reflecting on the ways in which St. Paul’s, Bow Common has proved to be so extraordinarily adaptable and appropriate for uses in a social context never imagined 50 years earlier, Robert Maguire said:
’I designed the building as "liturgical space", informed by how I saw the nature of liturgy as the formative activity in realising the community as the Body of Christ. Later (and now) I would call it 'inclusive space' – space that enables everyone within it, wherever they are, to feel included in what is happening, wherever in the space that may be. So this quality naturally extends inclusiveness to anything the community wishes to do in the building, and the building should lend itself creatively to community-building of any kind.'
[Open House website]
The two handles are threaded onto an all-thread rod. Unscrew the handles and they press the fork blades outwards.
One of the most beautiful traditions during an Indian wedding ceremony is the Kanyadan. The bride and groom hold of their open hands outwards and the father of the bride holds his open hand above their palms. the mother of the bride pours water over her husband’s hand, and the water then cascades over the hands of the bride and groom. During this Indian wedding ceremony at Manhattan’s Skylight West this particular ceremony was beautifully lit because Ray Roman, the cinematographer documenting this wedding, had placed a discreet video light behind the mandap in order to illuminate the scene perfectly. Ray was kind enough to collaborate with me in regards to the placement of the light. Event designer and coordinator David Tutera did an extraordinary job creating an intimate and welcoming space for the Indian ceremony. The entire bottom floor of Skylight West was decorated in rich reds and vibrant jewel tones and the curtained mandap provided the perfect stage for the ceremony to take place. I photographed this image with a 70-200mm for two reasons. One was because I love the compressed look to the final image. this second reason was because utilizing the long live enabled me to stay far back in the ceremony room and not intrude upon the guests to take my image. I try very hard to be unobtrusive when documenting the ceremony because I believe that all eyes should be on the bride and groom, not the photographer as they run around the space snapping shots like crazy!
This Christmas bauble was hand beaded with sequins and pins by me. I have a Christmas tradition. I bead Christmas baubles for a select group of friends every year.
Each bauble is 15 centimetres in diameter and contain hundreds of sequins, varying in number depending upon the complexity of the pattern and the type of sequins I use. Most sequins in this bauble are 5mm in diameter, except the flowers, the larger of the petals which are 10mm and their centres which are 4mm. The flower centres are raised cups and are imported from France Depending upon the colour of the sequin, I will use either a gold or a silver pin to attach it to the bauble. I always leave the flowers until last, allowing a gap in the sequin chain to pin them in.
These baubles are smaller than some others I do, and because it is a simple pattern which starts from the inside and is worked outwards in ever larger circles, each bauble takes approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours per side.
It is however, a labour of love which I do to pass the time throughout the year.
Here I havegiven the paperbowl a edge heading outwards....Just a try while i wasn´t sure it would work....but i t does so far...now I´m asking myself...should the edge be more straight or what ?
maybe I´ll give it a try but just making some "pretend" by putting some white copy-paper losely around and take a photo.....
Taken during Open House London 2017
St Paul's Bow Common
Robert McGuire & Keith Murray
Very nearly 150 years ago, this area of East London was beginning to emerge as a populated area after centuries of being no more than common grazing land (hence our name of Bow Common!). The coming of the railway lines, together with two canals nearby, guaranteed the growth of a working population clustered near to vital transport links. London was on the move, expanding ever outwards.
To serve this growing population a grand and lofty Victorian Gothic church was built in 1858, with a great spire and a huge stained glass window at the west end. This first St. Paul’s, Bow Common became a real focus for the neighbouring community for most of the next century. Then disaster struck during the Blitz of World War II and in 1941 incendiaries gutted the church, reducing it to a shell.
The War ended but growth & recovery were slow after so much widespread destruction. It was a full decade before thoughts could turn to re-building the church and thanks to War Reparation funds, a new church could be built, but it had to seat a minimum of 500 people.
The Vicar who came in 1951, the late Revd. Gresham Kirkby, was a young radical who drew like-minded people about himself. Already, in the 1950s there was a serious re-evaluation in progress far and wide, among churches and architects alike, as to what exactly the purpose and function of a church is, and how its configuration should express its deepest purposes. Interest was stirred again in the earliest forms of church architecture and in exploring the very roots of Christian worship. Emerging out of all of this, in the 1950s, churches were being built in Europe expressing these radical ideas.
All of this passionately concerned Fr. Kirkby but he was not impressed by what he saw abroad! And so he approached a young designer in his early 20s – the late Keith Murray – whose work had impressed him in local commissions at Queen Mary College and St. Katherine’s Foundation Chapels. Teaming up with the equally young & gifted Robert Maguire, the architect and designer worked together from 1958-1960 to build the church in which you stand – regarded widely as the most significant post-War Church in Britain.
The creators of this church & the parish priest proudly regarded themselves as purposeful rebels! They were politically, socially & theologically attuned. This was the most radical and pure expression of a movement which focused so much upon the relations of the gathered worshipping community, one with another, and together as one Body, in relationship with God.
In 2010 Robert Maguire wrote:
‘We were trying to build a church which would encourage true relationships in the liturgy – priest to people, people to one another, priest to God and people to God, the worship of the whole Church together. Encourage, but not cause; because it is only people coming together with understanding and faith which bring those relationships to life.‘
The roots and antecedents of this building’s design run deep – to classical forms and the Renaissance Revival – to the fundamental geometry of square and circle - influences owing a debt to Brunelleschi, Palladio, Bramante – and further back, to the churches of Torcello, to Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and to the great Pantheon in Rome. This was no mere ‘bright new idea’! Around them they drew other young and gifted workers and designers. The mosaics which you see encircling the walls are the work of Charles Lutyens (great-nephew of the great architect Edwin Lutyens) carried out over a period of five years after the church had already been opened for use.
In form, the building is basically a stack of three diminishing cubes with ancillary spaces added at the sides. Maguire and Murray’s defining geometry was that of two bounded areas – contained by the exterior and barely broken bounding walls and also by the inner ‘transparent’ but effective encircling line of colonnades.
In this way distinct areas are subtly but effectively delineated within the volume of the church, as well as areas serving the varying needs of the Christian community – not only for worship, but for the whole of our life. This was seen very much as a space in which the whole common life of the worshipping community could be lived out – and from which they would then go out into the world. Benches were designed to be easily moveable so that they could be set aside or re-arranged according to the needs of our common life.
Today our life includes exhibitions, from intimate displays of just one art work to 800 square feet of dazzling external installation or walls completely bedecked with textile panels made in the community by ‘Stitches in Time.’
In 2010, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the consecration of the church and, reflecting on the ways in which St. Paul’s, Bow Common has proved to be so extraordinarily adaptable and appropriate for uses in a social context never imagined 50 years earlier, Robert Maguire said:
’I designed the building as "liturgical space", informed by how I saw the nature of liturgy as the formative activity in realising the community as the Body of Christ. Later (and now) I would call it 'inclusive space' – space that enables everyone within it, wherever they are, to feel included in what is happening, wherever in the space that may be. So this quality naturally extends inclusiveness to anything the community wishes to do in the building, and the building should lend itself creatively to community-building of any kind.'
[Open House website]
I had to use a long lens to really capture the colors and the way the cranes interact with the clouds here. And, getting the "central" crane into exactly the right position, with the rays through the clouds going outwards from it, took some "zooming by foot", sideways :P
Front profile mirror reflection. This was a middle design note the thicker wing and shorter tails and it looks more like a Hornet from this angle because of the way that the low tails slant outwards.
Make: Arrow Games
Serial: 5487
Title: -
Series: The Compass Jigsaw Puzzle
Pieces: 500 (circular).
Size: 19" diameter. 48.3 cm diameter.
Date: -
Bar Code: -
Origin: England.
My initial intention was to build this puzzle from the centre outwards but in the end, the construction was largely from the outside inwards.
The initial sort gave me the edge pieces, those pieces with text on them, and the sailing ship in the centre.
After assembling the lettered pieces it was obvious that the edge pieces would overlap the circles with the compass points, plus knowing the relative position of each, it was apparent that assembling the remainder of the edge would be straightforward. The rest of the orange coloured pieces completed the outer circle.
A similar pattern was established with the next, yellow, circle. Assemble the lettered pieces first, place them in position and gradually fill the gaps around them. After that there were sufficiently few pieces remaining that they could all be laid out and the remainder of the picture completed.
One piece missing :-(
The box retains what I assume is the original price ticket - 85p from WH Smith. With this puzzle being undated and Arrow Games puzzles acquiring dates in 1978, I took a leap of faith and had a look at 1977 prices via www.hillarys.co.uk/back-in-my-day/ - 44p for a pint of milk and 23p for a loaf of bread. 86p would buy 400g, or 14 oz as it would have been known then, of bacon.
Bought more jigsaws…
DONE: 271 puzzles (180980 nominal piece count). TO DO: 915 puzzles (1084512 nominal piece count).
**black metal hi tech shield::1.2 a rectangular hard light force field barrier extending outwards from the shield::1.7 a neon blue rectangle with a black circle in the centre::.8 blue rectangle with hexagon patterns::.65 --ar 5:4** - Image #4 <@314289947542683660>
Single sheet seamless top pentagon box
Using the same method of the hexagon box, that can be used with different folds on the top face.
The corners to fix the model can be made outwards or inwards, just inverting the folds.
Yangon (Burmese: ရန်ကုန်, MLCTS rankun mrui, pronounced: [jàɴɡòʊɴ mjo̰]; formerly known as Rangoon, literally: "End of Strife") is the capital of the Yangon Region of Myanmar, also known as Burma. Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government relocated the capital to the purpose-built city of Naypyidaw in central Myanmar. With over 7 million people, Yangon is Myanmar's largest city and is its most important commercial centre.
Yangon boasts the largest number of colonial-era buildings in the region, and has a unique colonial-era urban core that is remarkably intact. The colonial-era commercial core is centred around the Sule Pagoda, which reputed to be over 2,000 years old. The city is also home to the gilded Shwedagon Pagoda — Myanmar's most sacred Buddhist pagoda. The mausoleum of the last Mughal Emperor is located in Yangon, where he had been exiled following the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
Yangon suffers from deeply inadequate infrastructure, especially compared to other major cities in Southeast Asia. Though many historic residential and commercial buildings have been renovated throughout central Yangon, most satellite towns that ring the city continue to be profoundly impoverished and lack basic infrastructure.
ETYMOLOGY
Yangon (ရန်ကုန်) is a combination of the two words yan (ရန်) and koun (ကုန်), which mean "enemies" and "run out of", respectively. It is also translated as "End of Strife". "Rangoon" most likely comes from the British imitation of the pronunciation of "Yangon" in the Arakanese language, which is [rɔ̀ɴɡʊ́ɴ].
HISTORY
EARLY HISTORY
Yangon was founded as Dagon in the early 11th century (c. 1028–1043) by the Mon, who dominated Lower Burma at that time. Dagon was a small fishing village centred about the Shwedagon Pagoda. In 1755, King Alaungpaya conquered Dagon, renamed it "Yangon", and added settlements around Dagon. The British captured Yangon during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26), but returned it to Burmese administration after the war. The city was destroyed by a fire in 1841.
COLONIAL RANGOON
The British seized Yangon and all of Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, and subsequently transformed Yangon into the commercial and political hub of British Burma. Yangon is also the place where the British sent Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor, to live after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Based on the design by army engineer Lt. Alexander Fraser, the British constructed a new city on a grid plan on delta land, bounded to the east by the Pazundaung Creek and to the south and west by the Yangon River. Yangon became the capital of all British-ruled Burma after the British had captured Upper Burma in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885. By the 1890s Yangon's increasing population and commerce gave birth to prosperous residential suburbs to the north of Royal Lake (Kandawgyi) and Inya Lake. The British also established hospitals including Rangoon General Hospital and colleges including Rangoon University.
Colonial Yangon, with its spacious parks and lakes and mix of modern buildings and traditional wooden architecture, was known as "the garden city of the East." By the early 20th century, Yangon had public services and infrastructure on par with London.
Before World War II, about 55% of Yangon's population of 500,000 was Indian or South Asian, and only about a third was Bamar (Burman). Karens, the Chinese, the Anglo-Burmese and others made up the rest.
After World War I, Yangon became the epicentre of Burmese independence movement, with leftist Rangoon University students leading the way. Three nationwide strikes against the British Empire in 1920, 1936 and 1938 all began in Yangon. Yangon was under Japanese occupation (1942–45), and incurred heavy damage during World War II. The city was retaken by the Allies in May 1945.
Yangon became the capital of Union of Burma on 4 January 1948 when the country regained independence from the British Empire.
CONTEMPORARY YANGON
Soon after Burma's independence in 1948, many colonial names of streets and parks were changed to more nationalistic Burmese names. In 1989, the current military junta changed the city's English name to "Yangon", along with many other changes in English transliteration of Burmese names. (The changes have not been accepted by many Burmese who consider the junta unfit to make such changes, nor by many publications, news bureaus including, most notably, the BBC and foreign nations including the United Kingdom and United States.)
Since independence, Yangon has expanded outwards. Successive governments have built satellite towns such as Thaketa, North Okkalapa and South Okkalapa in the 1950s to Hlaingthaya,
Shwepyitha and South Dagon in the 1980s. Today, Greater Yangon encompasses an area covering nearly 600 square kilometres.
During Ne Win's isolationist rule (1962–88), Yangon's infrastructure deteriorated through poor maintenance and did not keep up with its increasing population. In the 1990s, the current military government's more open market policies attracted domestic and foreign investment, bringing a modicum of modernity to the city's infrastructure. Some inner city residents were forcibly relocated to new satellite towns. Many colonial-period buildings were demolished to make way for high-rise hotels, office buildings, and shopping malls, leading the city government to place about 200 notable colonial-period buildings under the Yangon City Heritage List in 1996. Major building programs have resulted in six new bridges and five new highways linking the city to its industrial back country. Still, much of Yangon remains without basic municipal services such as 24-hour electricity and regular garbage collection.
Yangon has become much more indigenous Burmese in its ethnic make-up since independence. After independence, many South Asians and Anglo-Burmese left. Many more South Asians were forced to leave during the 1960s by Ne Win's xenophobic government. Nevertheless, sizable South Asian and Chinese communities still exist in Yangon. The Anglo-Burmese have effectively disappeared, having left the country or intermarried with other Burmese groups.
Yangon was the centre of major anti-government protests in 1974, 1988 and 2007. The 1988 People Power Uprising resulted in the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of Burmese civilians, many in Yangoon where hundreds of thousands of people flooded into the streets of the then capital city. The Saffron Revolution saw mass shootings and the use of crematoria in Yangoon by the Burmese government to erase evidence of their crimes against monks, unarmed protesters, journalists and students.
The city's streets saw bloodshed each time as protesters were gunned down by the government.
In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Yangon. While the city had few human casualties, three quarters of Yangon's industrial infrastructure was destroyed or damaged, with losses estimated at US$800 million.
In November 2005, the military government designated Naypyidaw, 320 kilometres north of Yangon, as the new administrative capital, and subsequently moved much of the government to the newly developed city. At any rate, Yangon remains the largest city, and the most important commercial centre of Myanmar.
GEOGRAPHY
Yangon is located in Lower Burma (Myanmar) at the convergence of the Yangon and Bago Rivers about 30 km away from the Gulf of Martaban at 16°48' North, 96°09' East (16.8, 96.15). Its standard time zone is UTC/GMT +6:30 hours.
CLIMATE
Yangon has a tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification system. The city features a lengthy wet season from May through October where a substantial amount of rainfall is received; and a dry season from November through April, where little rainfall is seen. It is primarily due to the heavy rainfall received during the rainy season that Yangon falls under the tropical monsoon climate category. During the course of the year 1961 to 1990s, average temperatures show little variance, with average highs ranging from 29 to 36 °C and average lows ranging from 18 to 25 °C.
CITYSCAPE
Until the mid-1990s, Yangon remained largely constrained to its traditional peninsula setting between the Bago, Yangon and Hlaing rivers. People moved in, but little of the city moved out. Maps from 1944 show little development north of Inya Lake and areas that are now layered in cement and stacked with houses were then virtual backwaters. Since the late 1980s, however, the city began a rapid spread north to where Yangon International airport now stands. But the result is a stretching tail on the city, with the downtown area well removed from its geographic centre. The city's area has steadily increased from 72.52 square kilometres in 1901 to 86.2 square kilometres in 1940 to 208.51 square kilometres in 1974, to 346.13 square kilometres in 1985, and to 598.75 square kilometres in 2008.
ARCHITECTURE
Downtown Yangon is known for its leafy avenues and fin-de-siècle architecture. The former British colonial capital has the highest number of colonial period buildings in south-east Asia. Downtown Yangon is still mainly made up of decaying colonial buildings. The former High Court, the former Secretariat buildings, the former St. Paul's English High School and the Strand Hotel are excellent examples of the bygone era. Most downtown buildings from this era are four-story mix-use (residential and commercial) buildings with 4.3 m ceilings, allowing for the construction of mezzanines. Despite their less-than-perfect conditions, the buildings remain highly sought after and most expensive in the city's property market.
In 1996, the Yangon City Development Committee created a Yangon City Heritage List of old buildings and structures in the city that cannot be modified or torn down without approval. In 2012, the city of Yangon imposed a 50-year moratorium on demolition of buildings older than 50 years. The Yangon Heritage Trust, an NGO started by Thant Myint-U, aims to create heritage areas in Downtown, and attract investors to renovate buildings for commercial use.
A latter day hallmark of Yangon is the eight-story apartment building. (In Yangon parlance, a building with no elevators (lifts) is called an apartment building and one with elevators is called a condominium. Condos which have to invest in a local power generator to ensure 24-hour electricity for the elevators are beyond the reach of most Yangonites.) Found throughout the city in various forms, eight-story apartment buildings provide relatively inexpensive housing for many Yangonites. The apartments are usually eight stories high (including the ground floor) mainly because city regulations, until February 2008, required that all buildings higher than 23 m or eight stories to install lifts. The current code calls for elevators in buildings higher than 19 m or six stories, likely ushering in the era of the six-story apartment building. Although most apartment buildings were built only within the last 20 years, they look much older and rundown due to shoddy construction and lack of proper maintenance.
Unlike other major Asian cities, Yangon does not have any skyscrapers. Aside from a few high-rise hotels and office towers, most high-rise buildings (usually 10 stories and up) are "condos" scattered across prosperous neighbourhoods north of downtown such as Bahan, Dagon, Kamayut and Mayangon. The tallest building in Yangon, Pyay Gardens, is a 25-story condo in the city's north.
Older satellite towns such as Thaketa, North Okkalapa and South Okkalapa are lined mostly with one to two story detached houses with access to the city's electricity grid. Newer satellite towns such as North Dagon and South Dagon are still essentially slums in a grid layout. The satellite towns - old or new - receive little or no municipal services.
ROAD LAYOUT
Downtown Yangon's road layout follows a grid pattern, based on four types of roads:
Broad 49-m wide roads running west to east
Broad 30-m wide roads running south to north
Two narrow 9.1-m wide streets running south to north
Mid-size 15-m wide streets running south to north
The east-west grid of central was laid out by British military engineers Fraser and Montgomerie after the Second Anglo-Burmese War. The city was later developed by the Public Works Department and Bengal Corps of Engineers. The pattern of south to north roads is as follows: one broad 30 m wide broad road, two narrow streets, one mid-size street, two more narrow streets, and then another 30 m wide broad road. This order is repeated from west to east. The narrow streets are numbered; the medium and broad roads are named.
For example, the 30 m Lanmadaw Road is followed by 9.1 m-wide 17th and 18th streets then the medium 15 m Sint-Oh-Dan Road, the 30-foot 19th and 20th streets, followed by another 30 m wide Latha Road, followed again by the two numbered small roads 21st and 22nd streets, and so on.
The roads running parallel west to east were the Strand Road, Merchant Road, Maha Bandula (née Dalhousie) Road, Anawrahta (Fraser) Road, and Bogyoke Aung San (Montgomerie) Road.
PARKS AND GARDENS
The largest and best maintained parks in Yangon are located around Shwedagon Pagoda. To the south-east of the gilded stupa is the most popular recreational area in the city – Kandawgyi Lake. The 61-ha lake is surrounded by the 45-ha Kandawgyi Nature Park, and the 28-ha Yangon Zoological Gardens, which consists of a zoo, an aquarium and an amusement park. West of the pagoda towards the former Hluttaw (Parliament) complex is the 53-ha People's Square and Park, (the former parading ground on important national days when Yangon was the capital.) A few miles north of the pagoda lies the 15-ha Inya Lake Park – a favorite hangout place of Yangon University students, and a well-known place of romance in Burmese popular culture.
Hlawga National Park and Allied War Memorial at the outskirts of the city are popular day-trip destinations with the well-to-do and tourists.
Yangon Book Plaza, the first and biggest book shop in Myanmar was opened on February 26, 2017 on the fifth floor of Than Zay Market in Lanmadaw Township, Yangon.
ADMINISTRATION
Yangon is administered by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). YCDC also coordinates urban planning. The city is divided into four districts. The districts combined have a total of 33 townships. The current mayor of Yangon is Maung Maung Soe. Each township is administered by a committee of township leaders, who make decisions regarding city beautification and infrastructure. Myo-thit (lit. "New Towns", or satellite towns) are not within such jurisdictions.
TRANSPORT
Yangon is Burma's main domestic and international hub for air, rail, and ground transportation.
AIR
Yangon International Airport, located 19 km from the centre, is the country's main gateway for domestic and international air travel. The airport has three terminals, known as T1, T2 and T3 which is also known as Domestic. It has direct flights to regional cities in Asia – mainly, Doha, Dubai, Dhaka, Kolkata, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Guangzhou, Taipei, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Kunming and Singapore. Although domestic airlines offer service to about twenty domestic locations, most flights are to tourist destinations such as Bagan, Mandalay, Heho and Ngapali, and to the capital Naypyidaw.
RAILWAYS
Yangon Central Railway Station is the main terminus of Myanmar Railways' 5,403-kilometre rail network whose reach covers Upper Myanmar (Naypyidaw, Mandalay, Shwebo), upcountry (Myitkyina), Shan hills (Taunggyi, Lashio) and the Taninthayi coast (Mawlamyaing, Dawei).
Yangon Circular Railway operates a 45.9-kilometre 39-station commuter rail network that connects Yangon's satellite towns. The system is heavily utilized by the local populace, selling about 150,000 tickets daily. The popularity of the commuter line has jumped since the government reduced petrol subsidies in August 2007.
BUSES AND CARS
Yangon has a 4,456-kilometre road network of all types (tar, concrete and dirt) in March 2011. Many of the roads are in poor condition and not wide enough to accommodate an increasing number of cars. The vast majority of Yangon residents cannot afford a car and rely on an extensive network of buses to get around. Over 300 public and private bus lines operate about 6,300 crowded buses around the city, carrying over 4.4 million passengers a day. All buses and 80% of the taxis in Yangon run on compressed natural gas (CNG), following the 2005 government decree to save money on imported petroleum. Highway buses to other cities depart from Dagon Ayeyar Highway Bus Terminal for Irrawaddy delta region and Aung Mingala Highway Bus Terminal for other parts of the country.
Motor transportation in Yangon is highly expensive for most of its citizens. As the government allows only a few thousand cars to be imported each year in a country with over 50 million people, car prices in Yangon (and in Burma) are among the highest in the world. In July 2008, the two most popular cars in Yangon, 1986/87 Nissan Sunny Super Saloon and 1988 Toyota Corolla SE Limited, cost the equivalent of about US$20,000 and US$29,000 respectively. A sports utility vehicle, imported for the equivalent of around US$50,000, goes for US$250,000. Illegally imported unregistered cars are cheaper – typically about half the price of registered cars. Nonetheless, car usage in Yangon is on the rise, a sign of rising incomes for some, and already causes much traffic congestion in highway-less Yangon's streets. In 2011, Yangon had about 300,000 registered motor vehicles in addition to an unknown number of unregistered ones.
Since 1970, cars have been driven on the right side of the road in Burma, as part of a military decree. However, as the government has not required left hand drive (LHD) cars to accompany the right side road rules, many cars on the road are still right hand drive (RHD) made for driving on the left side. Japanese used cars, which make up most of the country's imports, still arrive with RHD and are never converted to LHD. As a result, Burmese drivers have to rely on their passengers when passing other cars.
Within Yangon city limits, it is illegal to drive trishaws, bicycles, and motorcycles. Since February 2010, pickup truck bus lines have been forbidden to run in 6 townships of central Yangon, namely Latha, Lanmadaw, Pabedan, Kyauktada, Botahtaung and Pazundaung Townships. In May 2003, a ban on using car horns was implemented in six townships of Downtown Yangon to reduce noise pollution. In April 2004, the car horn ban was expanded to cover the entire city.
RIVER
Yangon's four main passenger jetties, all located on or near downtown waterfront, mainly serve local ferries across the river to Dala and Thanlyin, and regional ferries to the Irrawaddy delta. The 35-km Twante Canal was the quickest route from Yangon to the Irrawaddy delta until the 1990s when roads between Yangon and the Irrawaddy Division became usable year-round. While passenger ferries to the delta are still used, those to Upper Burma via the Irrawaddy river are now limited mostly to tourist river cruises.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Yangon is the most populous city by far in Burma although estimates of the size of its population vary widely. All population figures are estimates since no official census has been conducted in Burma since 1983. A UN estimate puts the population as 4.35 million in 2010 but a 2009 U.S. State Department estimate puts it at 5.5 million. The U.S. State Department's estimate is probably closer to the real number since the UN number is a straight-line projection, and does not appear to take the expansion of city limits in the past two decades into account. The city's population grew sharply after 1948 as many people (mainly, the indigenous Burmese) from other parts of the country moved into the newly built satellite towns of North Okkalapa, South Okkalapa, and Thaketa in the 1950s and East Dagon, North Dagon and South Dagon in the 1990s. Immigrants have founded their regional associations (such as Mandalay Association, Mawlamyaing Association, etc.) in Yangon for networking purposes. The government's decision to move the nation's administrative capital to Naypyidaw has drained an unknown number of civil servants away from Yangon.
Yangon is the most ethnically diverse city in the country. While Indians formed the slight majority prior to World War II, today, the majority of the population is of indigenous Bamar (Burman) descent. Large communities of Indians/South Asian Burmese and the Chinese Burmese exist especially in the traditional downtown neighborhoods. A large number of Rakhine and Karen also live in the city.
Burmese is the principal language of the city. English is by far the preferred second language of the educated class. In recent years, however, the prospect of overseas job opportunities has enticed
some to study other languages: Mandarin Chinese is most popular, followed by Japanese, and French.
RELIGIONS
The primary religions practiced in Yangon are Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. Shwedagon Pagoda is a famous religious landmark in the city.
MEDIA
Yangon is the country's hub for the movie, music, advertising, newspaper and book publishing industries. All media is heavily regulated by the military government. Television broadcasting is off limits to the private sector. All media content must first be approved by the government's media censor board, Press Scrutiny and Registration Division.
Most television channels in the country are broadcast from Yangon. TV Myanmar and Myawaddy TV are the two main channels, providing Burmese-language programming in news and entertainment. Other special interest channels are MWD-1 and MWD-2, MRTV-3, the English-language channel that targets overseas audiences via satellite and via Internet, MRTV-4 and Channel 7 are with a focus on non-formal education programs and movies, and Movie 5, a pay-TV channel specializing in broadcasting foreign movies.
Yangon has three radio stations. Myanmar Radio National Service is the national radio service and broadcasts mostly in Burmese (and in English during specific times.) Pop culture oriented Yangon City FM and Mandalay City FM radio stations specialize in Burmese and English pop music, entertainment programs, live celebrity interviews, etc. New radio channels such as Shwe FM and Pyinsawaddy FM can also be tuned with the city area.
Nearly all print media and industries are based out of Yangon. All three national newspapers – two Burmese language dailies Myanma Alin (မြန်မာ့အလင်း) and Kyemon (ကြေးမုံ), and the English language The New Light of Myanmar — are published by the government. Semi-governmental The Myanmar Times weekly, published in Burmese and in English, is mainly geared for Yangon's expatriate community. Over twenty special interest journals and magazines covering sports, fashion, finance, crime, literature (but never politics) vie for the readership of the general populace.
Access to foreign media is extremely difficult. Satellite television in Yangon, and in Burma, is very expensive as the government imposes an annual registration fee of one million kyats. Certain foreign newspapers and periodicals such as the International Herald Tribune and the Straits Times can be found only in a few (mostly downtown) bookstores. Internet access in Yangon, which has the best telecommunication infrastructure in the country, is slow and erratic at best, and the Burmese government implements one of the world's most restrictive regimes of Internet control. International text messaging and voice messaging was permitted only in August 2008.
COMMUNICATION
Common facilities taken for granted elsewhere are luxury prized items in Yangon and Burma. The price of a GSM mobile phone was about K1.1 million in August 2008. In 2007, the country of 55 million had only 775,000 phone lines (including 275,000 mobile phones), and 400,000 computers. Even in Yangon, which has the best infrastructure, the estimated telephone penetration rate was only 6% at the end of 2004, and the official waiting time for a telephone line was 3.6 years. Most people cannot afford a computer and have to use the city's numerous Internet cafes to access a heavily restricted Internet, and a heavily censored local intranet. According to official statistics, in July 2010, the country had over 400,000 Internet users, with the vast majority hailing from just two cities, Yangon and Mandalay. Although Internet access was available in 42 cities across the country, the number of users outside the two main cities was just over 10,000.
LIFESTYLE
Yangon's property market is the most expensive in the country and beyond the reach of most Yangonites. Most rent outside the centre and few can afford to rent such apartments. (In 2008, rents for a typical 60 to 70 m2 apartments in the centre and vicinity range between K70,000 and K150,000 and those for high end condos between K200,000 and K500,000.)
Most men of all ages (and some women) spend their time at ubiquitous tea-shops, found in any corner or street of the city. Watching European football (mostly English Premier League with occasional La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga) matches while sipping tea is a popular pastime among many Yangonites. The average person stays close to his or her residential neighbourhood. The well-to-do tend to visit shopping malls and parks on weekends. Some leave the city on weekends for Chaungtha and Ngwesaung beach resorts in Ayeyarwady Division.
Yangon is also home to many pagoda festivals (paya pwe), held during dry-season months (November – March). The most famous of all, the Shwedagon Pagoda Festival in March, attracts thousands of pilgrims from around the country.
Yangon's museums are the domain of tourists and rarely visited by the locals.
Most of Yangon's larger hotels offer some kind of nightlife entertainment, geared towards tourists and the well-to-do Burmese. Some hotels offer traditional Burmese performing arts shows complete with a traditional Burmese orchestra. The pub scene in larger hotels is more or less the same as elsewhere in Asia. Other options include karaoke bars and pub restaurants in Yangon Chinatown.
Due to the problems of high inflation, the lack of high denomination notes, and the fact that many of the population do not have access to checks, or credit or debit cards, it is common to see citizens carrying a considerable amount of cash. (The highest denomination of Burmese currency kyat is 10 000 (~US$10.)) Credit cards are only rarely used in the city, chiefly in the more lavish hotels. Credit cards are also accepted in the major supermarket and convenience store chains.
SPORTS
As the city has the best sporting facilities in the country, most national-level annual sporting tournaments such as track and field, football, volleyball, tennis and swimming are held in Yangon. The 40,000-seat Aung San Stadium and the 32,000-seat Thuwunna Stadium are the main venues for the highly popular annual State and Division football tournament. Until April 2009, the now defunct Myanmar Premier League, consisted of 16 Yangon-based clubs, played all its matches in Yangon stadiums, and attracted little interest from the general public or commercial success despite the enormous popularity of football in Burma. Most Yangonites prefer watching European football on satellite TV. Teams such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City are among the favorite European teams among the Yangonites. It remains to be seen whether the Myanmar National League, the country's first professional football league, and its Yangon-based club Yangon United FC will attract a sufficient following in the country's most important media market.
Yangon is also home to annual the Myanmar Open golf tournament, and the Myanmar Open tennis tournament. The city hosted the 1961 and 1969 South East Asian Games. During colonial times, cricket was played mostly by British officials in the city. First-class cricket was played in the city in January 1927 when the touring Marylebone Cricket Club played Burma and the Rangoon Gymkhana. Two grounds were used to host these matches, the BAA Ground and the Gymkhana Ground. These matches mark the only time Burma and Rangoon Gymkhana have appeared in first-class cricket, and the only time first-class cricket has been played in Burma. After independence cricket all but died out in the country.
Yangon has a growing population of skateboarders, as documented in the films Altered Focus: Burma and Youth of Yangon. German non-profit organization Make Life Skate Life has received permission from the Yangon City Development Committee to construct a concrete skatepark at Thakin Mya park in downtown, and plans to complete the park in November 2015.
ECONOMY
Yangon is the country's main centre for trade, industry, real estate, media, entertainment and tourism. The city represents about one fifth of the national economy. According to official statistics for FY 2010–2011, the size of the economy of Yangon Region was 8.93 trillion kyats, or 23% of the national GDP.
The city is Lower Burma's main trading hub for all kinds of merchandise – from basic food stuffs to used cars although commerce continues to be hampered by the city's severely underdeveloped banking industry and communication infrastructure. Bayinnaung Market is the largest wholesale centre in the country for rice, beans and pulses, and other agricultural commodities. Much of the country's legal imports and exports go through Thilawa Port, the largest and busiest port in Burma. There is also a great deal of informal trade, especially in street markets that exist alongside street platforms of Downtown Yangon's townships. However, on 17 June 2011, the YCDC announced that street vendors, who had previously been allowed to legally open shop at 3 pm, would be prohibited from selling on the streets, and permitted to sell only in their townships of residence, presumably to clean up the city's image. Since 1 December 2009, high-density polyethylene plastic bags have been banned by city authorities.
Manufacturing accounts for a sizable share of employment. At least 14 light industrial zones ring Yangon, directly employing over 150,000 workers in 4,300 factories in early 2010. The city is the centre of country's garment industry which exported US$292 million in 2008/9 fiscal year. More than 80 percent of factory workers in Yangon work on a day-to-day basis. Most are young women between 15 and 27 years of age who come from the countryside in search of a better life. The manufacturing sector suffers from both structural problems (e.g. chronic power shortages) and political.
problems (e.g. economic sanctions). In 2008, Yangon's 2500 factories alone needed about 120 MW of power; yet, the entire city received only about 250 MW of the 530 MW needed. Chronic power shortages limit the factories' operating hours between 8 am and 6 pm.
Construction is a major source of employment. The construction industry has been negatively affected by the move of state apparatus and civil servants to Naypyidaw, new regulations introduced in August 2009 requiring builders to provide at least 12 parking spaces in every new high-rise building, and the general poor business climate. As of January 2010, the number of new high-rise building starts approved in 2009–2010 was only 334, compared to 582 in 2008–2009.
Tourism represents a major source of foreign currency for the city although by south-east Asian standards the number of foreign visitors to Yangon has always been quite low - about 250,000 before the Saffron Revolution in September 2007. The number of visitors dipped even further following the Saffron Revolution and Cyclone Nargis. The recent improvement in the country's political climate has attracted an increasing number of businessmen and tourists. Between 300,000 and 400,000 visitors that went through Yangon International in 2011. However, after years of underinvestment, Yangon's modest hotel infrastructure - only 3000 of the total 8000 hotel rooms in Yangon are "suitable for tourists" - is already bursting at seams, and will need to be expanded to handle additional visitors. As part of an urban development strategy, a hotel zone has been planned in Yangon's outskirts, encompassing government- and military-owned land in Mingaladon, Hlegu and Htaukkyant Townships.
EDUCATION
Yangon educational facilities has a very high number of qualified teachers but the state spending on education is among the lowest of the world. Around 2007 estimate by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies puts the spending for education at 0.5% of the national budget. The disparity in educational opportunities and achievement between rich and poor schools is quite stark even within the city. With little or no state support forthcoming, schools have to rely on forced "donations" and various fees from parents for nearly everything – school maintenance to teachers' salaries, forcing many poor students to drop out.
While many students in poor districts fail to reach high school, a handful of Yangon high schools in wealthier districts such as Dagon 1, Sanchaung 2, Kamayut 2, Bahan 2, Latha 2, and TTC provide the majority of students admitted to the most selective universities in the country, highlighting the extreme shallowness of talent pool in the country. The wealthy bypass the state education system altogether, sending their children to private English language instruction schools such as YIEC or more widely known as ISM, or abroad (typically Singapore or Australia) for university education. In 2014, international schools in Yangon cost at least US$8,000 a year.
There are over 20 universities and colleges in the city. While Yangon University remains the best known (its main campus is a part of popular Burmese culture e.g. literature, music, film, etc.), the nation's oldest university is now mostly a graduate school, deprived of undergraduate studies. Following the 1988 nationwide uprising, the military government has repeatedly closed universities, and has dispersed most of undergraduate student population to new universities in the suburbs such as Dagon University, the University of East Yangon and the University of West Yangon. Nonetheless many of the country's most selective universities are still in Yangon. Students from around the country still have to come to study in Yangon as some subjects are offered only at its universities. The University of Medicine 1, University of Medicine 2, Yangon Technological University, University of Computer Studies and Myanmar Maritime University are the most selective in the country.
HEALTH CARE
The general state of health care in Yangon is poor. According to a 2007 estimate, the military government spends 0.4% of the national budget on health care, and 40% to 60% on defense. By the government's own figures, it spends 849 kyats (US$0.85) per person. Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals including the flagship Yangon General Hospital lack many of the basic facilities and equipment.
Wealthier Yangonites still have access to country's best medical facilities and internationally qualified doctors. Only Yangon and Mandalay have any sizable number of doctors left as many Burmese doctors have emigrated. The well-to-do go to private clinics or hospitals like Pun Hlaing International Hospital and Bahosi Medical Clinic. Medical malpractice is widespread, even in private clinics and hospitals that serve the well-to-do. In 2009 and 2010, a spate of high-profile deaths brought out the severity of the problem, even for the relatively well off Yangonites. The wealthy do not rely on domestic hospitals and travel abroad, usually Bangkok or Singapore, for treatment.
WIKIPEDIA
North chapel window by Hardmans, c1870s. Presumably originally set on the north wall of the chancel and then relocated further outwards when the north chapel was built in 1891 (the window is clearly from an earlier phase of Hardman's output).
Just off the main road leading out of the village of Husbands Bosworth is a little known Victorian gem, the Roman Catholic church of St Mary standing close to Bosworth Hall. At first sight it may seem a small and rather modest structure, its steep roof crowned only by a central bellcote and the main building of a simple 'two-cell' construction of nave and chancel without aisles, aside from the protruding north chapel which was a later addition to the chancel, which with its rose window facing the approaching visitor gives a hint of the glories within.
The church was built in 1873 to the designs of architect Gilbert Blount and remains largely untouched ever since apart from one major structural addition, the aforementioned north chapel that was built in 1891 as a chantry to house the tomb of the founder of the church, Sir Francis Fortescue-Turville. The designer of this chapel was Alfred Purdie, who succeeded Blount after his death as chief architect of his practice (it seems likely that the north wall is still Blount's work, having merely been dismantled and re-erected further outwards).
The interior comes as a surprise as this church may appear humble on first impressions but soon reveals a Puginesque ambition within. The nave is revealed as a light space under a steeply pitched open timber roof, but it is the darker, more mysterious chancel that draws the focus, for despite its diminutive scale this is among the richest of Victorian church interiors. The glass by Hardmans and the richly carved reredos announce their presences first, but as the eyes adjust to the subdued light here the richly painted walls and ceiling adorned by W. H. Romaine Walker are revealed in tones that have darkened a little with time but still make this space sing. Most remarkable of all is the vaulted ceiling adorned with angels and vines, which is uniquely pierced by four groups of small oculi containing stained glass roundels of angels, a unique feature (made all the more astonishing by the ease with which these windows are concealed on the exterior of the building, the openings disguised under glass tiles that blend almost seamlessly with the surrounding pottery roof tiles).
The north chapel contains the effigy of the founder and has a panelled and painted wooden ceiling of its own. The glass is partially reused Hardman windows moved outwards from the former north chancel wall, and glazing of the 1890s by an unidentified studio in the rose window and eastern apse (the central light of which was later replaced by Hardman glass from Whitley Abbey, also found in several other windows here, while the original central light has been relocated in a larger window on the north side of the nave).
I am greatly indebted to Fr Matthew Pittam for showing me this fine church for which he is now the incumbent. The church isn't kept open outside of Mass times but is in regular use for services and clearly (and rightly) well loved by the community.
This is a close cousin of Yellow Bells, but there is a big difference - Yellow Bells has compound leaves, whereas this one has simple leaves. In the Yellow Bells, the clusters of flowers bend the branch and are commonly seen beautifully hanging down. In Chestnutleaf Trumpetbush, clusters of yellow bell-shaped flowers appear at the end of branches which spread outwards. The leaves have serrated margins.
For all Yellow lovers
model: NP-N130
model code: NP-N130-JAE1UK
2010-01
BA68-05289A 11
Contains FCC ID: TX2-RTL8192EHMC
Contains IC: 6317A-RTL8192EHMC
Windows 7 Pro Natl. Academic Only OA
Samsung Electronics
The film can be seen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gKjAurLEBw
... or in HD here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5wNlfXBJA8
Hogweed: narration for a short documentary by Giles Watson.
Of all the plant’s common names – Alderdrots, Bear’s Breech, Bear Skeiters, Bee’s Nest, Beggar-Weed, Broad Kelk, Bullers, Bund-Weed, Bunnert, Cathaw-Blow, Clogweed, Cow-Cakes, Devil’s Oatmeal, Eltrot, Gypsy’s Lace, Humpy-Scrumples, Kedlock, Kegga, Kiskies, Limpernscrimp, Rabbit’s Vittles, Scabby Hands, Snake’s Meat, Wippul-Squip, to name a few – the official floras had to choose Hogweed. Its second most common names are Cow Parsnip, or more authentically, Pig’s Parsnip, since pigs relish the plant, and most especially its root, which is said to taste of asparagus. Sows are not alone in their appreciation; an entire mini-ecosystem depends upon it for food and shelter. Only a human being would be fool enough to scorn a hogweed.
The hogweed understorey teems with more life than that of a woodland. Purple-mottled spikes of woundwort populate its margins, mingling with the milfoil, their leaves hairy and pungent as burnt rubber. The flowers flare, brazen as orchids, and dance about their stems in rings. Sawflies retire from the heat under the shade of the leaves of buttercups. Brambles unfold their blooms like crinkled paper. White campions and tassel-seeded nettles jostle for space, and in places where the hogweed has not grown, there are temporary campion-forests, wind-shaken and sun-splashed, punctuated with grass-inflorescences. There are red-campions too, and powder-pink hybrids, nodding in the shadows amongst the cleavers. By summer, the cowslips are making seeds, and the campion leaves are mined by caterpillars, safe under skins of epidermis. Bumblebees helmet themselves with the flowers of white archangels, and fly off, pollen-pated.
The leaves of hogweed are broad as umbrellas, casting a shade of delicious coolness. Its stems are tall, hollow and bristled, ridged and stringy as celery, each a pillar supporting a canopy as complex as the fan-vaults of a Decorated cathedral. Denizens of the hogweed underworld live out their minutes in a green half-light, occasionally pierced by snail-searing rays of sun, where some caterpillar has grazed a hole to let them in. Some of these creatures come here only to rest in comparative safety; others, like the snails, spend the whole of their lives here, silently devouring wilting leaves with their rasping mouths, indulging in strange, sado-masochistic love-rites, burying little spherical, gelatinous eggs in the soil, and hibernating deep amongst the lifeless stems throughout the winter. Slaters – crustaceans who have spent millions of years on the edge of an aquatic existence – skulk in the damper places. Flies come down, as if to drink the shade – some dumpy, their legs scrunched underneath them like stunted stilts, others, like the mottle-winged, slow-moving Platystoma, coloured for a crepuscular existence lasting twelve hours every day. She sucks the goodness out of decaying insects. Scorpion-flies skulk in the interstices between layered leaves, folding their magpie-coloured wings, their long beaks giving them parsimonious expressions. Pursued, they slide into the shadows, and reappear elsewhere, unwilling to fly for very long. They, too, thrive on decay. A beetle seems to pant in the coolness, its elytra malformed, the underwings disordered – a parachute badly packed. Its minutes may be numbered, but nothing will wasted under the hogweed. A snout-nosed moth sits slightly askew, its wings etched with tide-marks, like contours on a map, or layers of sedimentary stone. Approach too close, and it abandons pretence, flits awhile, then drops, willy-nilly as a dead leaf, waits and hopes. The ruse will be repeated time and again, until it works.
Hidden dangers lurk in the understorey. Agelena labyrinthica has crafted a white, dew-spangled vortex out of threads drawn from the plump lozenge of her abdomen. She lurks at the nadir of her spun funnel, one leg stretched to assess vibrations in the silk. Let your shadow cross her, and she darts back into her anteroom, but walk away a moment, and hunger will bring her out again. Her crystal castle is strung with hidden snares - lines of silk taut enough to trip a grasshopper’s leg. Tiny insects cavort on leaf-surfaces, only inches from the tripwires. A cranefly blunders into one; the six spindly, jointed legs do all they can to become the more entangled.
Travel up the stems to where the umbels advertise gifts of nectar on the wind, and you will find another spider. The filaments of her web are drawn between the stems of hogweed, forming a sheet over an umbel. She hides beneath it, striped forelegs extended. Other dangers walk on only six legs. Malachius bipustulatus has a carapace handsome as malachite, the ends of his tail-coat dipped in orange paint, his protruding bottom ringed with white. He has all the appearance of a dandy, but is a predator at heart: those jaws are a giveaway. Empis tesselata, a fly whose head is almost entirely composed of eyes, will sometimes use that needling beak for sucking nectar, but it is equally well adapted to puncturing chitin. Lesser flies need to be nimble in the company of a plethora of yellow dung flies, who eked out an existence in their larval form by subsisting inside cowpats, but are now interested in higher-protein foodstuffs. Their legs support them like hydraulic jacks as they fastidiously wipe their hands, sustaining themselves on hogweed-nectar whilst they wait for something more savoury to come their way. Chaffinches chatter, and blackbirds spill molten honey from their bills, unaware of this maliciousness in miniscule. Tiny black beetles crawl beneath those great hairy pylons, oblivious in their armour-plating.
Some of the umbels’ visitors, drawn by the gratuitous surfeit of nectar, are more-or-less impervious to such perils. Sawflies, like their stinging wasp-cousins, bear warning colours. One sawfly visitor is lean and elongated, black as obsidian, banded with bright yellow, the wings held splayed as she drinks, then closed as she reaches momentary satiation. Her antennae are constantly a-twiddle. Another is orange of abdomen, each joint of her yellow legs knobbled with black; the head, thorax and antennae wasp-black and seemingly dangerous. Her hindlegs caress her wings as she is drinking. Wasps come to the umbels too – some of them a positive threat to spiders – their colours flaring. At times, they hold their wings outwards, and flex their abdomens upwards, as if in nectar-fuelled ecstasy. The amber colours seem to be stitched through them, entering their bodies at the legs, and emerging at the antennae. Other Hymenopterans perform a complex, nectar-tasting dance, pirouetting with their abdomens raised aloft. Ichneumons are graceful little murderers.
The uppermost reaches of the umbel-canopies are the provinces of bees. Little, solitary burrowing bees brave the wind, their legs haired, ready for a burden of pollen. The individual flowers of the hogweed are almost as big as them: white-lobed landing-pads surrounding a fount of nectar. They are determined little customers, hanging grimly onto the umbels when the wind tosses them, plying their trade until their wings turn ragged. Their competitors are honey-bees, sleek and businesslike, and bumble-bees who fly, impossible as winged potatoes partly burnt, borne aloft on sheer bluster. One bee can cause a whole umbel to bend to her weight. Tiny beetles scurry for cover, or drop off the umbel entirely in their panic. Andrena cinerara, in her black and white suit, is dauntless in defending an entire umbel for herself – indeed, she seems to burn up an umbel’s worth of nectar-energy in the process of establishing her sovereignty.
Because bees are equipped with stings, the harmless hoverflies imitate them. The umbels attract a number of different species, all sharing the same flowers. Some are as large as honeybees, but bear only two wings. Their abdomens pulse as they gorge themselves on nectar, their semi-flexible proboscises sucking it up systematically from each flower on the umbel-head, like little vacuum-cleaners. Eristalis arbustorum is medium-sized, and no match for a honey-bee. It hops between each dome of flowers with a little burst of buzzing. When tired, it too retires to the understorey, perching nervously on a blade of grass, assessing dangers with its head-engulfing, multifaceted eyes. Even greenbottles, who spend most of their time seeking out carrion and dung, cannot resist the gift of sugar, and other flies come in still more surprising colours. Spotted crane-flies do not drink much, but when they wish to imbibe, the hogweed provides their beverage of choice. Their legs, impossibly twiggy and long, splay haphazardly across the flowers as the crane-flies bend to drink, their tiny feelers twitching with excitement. Each crane-fly has a pair of little club-shaped stabilisers at the base of its thorax. Its wings blow suddenly vertical when the wind catches them.
But most of all, hogweed flowers are homelands for the tribes of beetles. Ladybirds are not built for gainly feeding; their rigid, rotund structures dictate that a little upending is unavoidable when it comes to collecting nectar. Some umbels play host to hordes of tinier beetles, to whom the nectaries must seem as wide as lakes. Chafers chew the flowers with a lazy iridescence. Most handsome of all is Oedemera nobilis, a slim, nattily-dressed metallic green gentleman whose pantaloons are baggy on the back legs. His antennae twitch alternately, tasting the breeze for vibrations.
There are myriad other reasons not to scorn the hogweed. One of them escaped me almost as soon as I saw him: a lean, black longhorned beetle, dressed like an undertaker, who bowed once and took his leave, flying away in an instant with a flick of opened elytra. Perhaps I will see him again on my next visit. Perhaps I shall find some new delight as the flowers turn to seeds. More than likely, some other stranger will emerge over the brink of a lobe-petalled dome as I approach it – and he too will take fright, and his undulating flight will draw me on.
Moons from Jupiter outwards (so right to left) - Ganymede, Io, Europa, Callisto
Data and processing by Dave Shave-Wall
IMG_1943 copy.JPG
Modified Canon 600D DSLR
Mount - Paramount ME II
Exp - 1s
Hampshire, England, UK
93m above sea level
My mum uses full plastic bottles on the branches of these trees to encourage them to grow outwards more.
Flying Machines
Here we see the original motors still running.
The oldest ride here at Pleasure Beach, The Flying Machines are still offering family fun filled flights to all! As the ride rotates and picks up speed the centrifugal force pushes each of the rockets outwards creating the ultimate flying experience.
Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. The Diocese of Lichfield covers all of Staffordshire, much of Shropshire and part of the Black Country and West Midlands. The 99th and current Bishop of Lichfield is Michael Ipgrave who was appointed on 10 June 2016.
The cathedral is dedicated to St Chad and Saint Mary. Its internal length is 113 metres (370 feet), and the breadth of the nave is 21m (68'). The central spire is 77m (252') high and the western spires are about 58m (190').
The stone is sandstone and came from a quarry on the south side of Lichfield. The walls of the nave lean outwards slightly, due to the weight of stone used in the ceiling vaulting; some 200–300 tons of which was removed during renovation work to prevent the walls leaning further.
Lichfield suffered severe damage during the English Civil War in which all of the stained glass was destroyed. In spite of this the windows of the Lady Chapel contain some of the finest medieval Flemish painted glass in existence. Dating from the 1530s it came from the Abbey of Herkenrode in Belgium, in 1801, having been purchased by Brooke Boothby when that abbey was dissolved during the Napoleonic Wars. It was sold on to the cathedral for the same price. There are also some fine windows by Betton and Evans (1819), and many fine late 19th century windows, particularly those by Charles Eamer Kempe.
The Lichfield Gospels, also known as the Book of Chad, are the gospels of Matthew and Mark, and the early part of Luke, written mainly in Latin with some text in early Welsh and dating from around 730. There were originally two volumes but one went missing around the time of the English Civil War. It is closely related in style to the Lindisfarne Gospels. The manuscript is on display in the Chapter House from Easter to Christmas.
The Close is one of the most complete in the country and includes a medieval courtyard which once housed the men of the choir. The three spires are often referred to as 'the Ladies of the Vale'.
Early history and elevation to Archbishopric
The cathedral choir
The high altar
When Chad was made Bishop of Mercia in 669 he moved his See from Repton to Lichfield, possibly because this was already a holy site, as the scene of martyrdoms during the Roman period. The first cathedral to be built on the present site was in 700AD when Bishop Hedda built a new church to house the bones of St Chad which had become a sacred shrine to many pilgrims when he died in 672. Offa, King of Mercia seemed to resent his own bishops paying allegiance to the Archbishop of Canterbury in Kent who, whilst under Offa's control, was not of his own kingdom of Mercia. Offa therefore created his own archbishopric in Lichfield, who presided over all the bishops from the Humber to the Thames. All this began in 786, with the consent of Pope Adrian. The Pope’s official representatives were received warmly by Offa and were present at the Council of Chelsea (787), often called `the contentious synod', where it was proposed that the Archbishopric of Canterbury be restricted in order to make way for Offa's new archbishop. It was vehemently opposed, but Offa and the papal representatives defeated Archbishop Jaenbert, installing Higbert as the new Archbishop of Lichfield. Pope Adrian sent Higbert the pallium, denoting his support for this move. In gratitude, Offa promised to send an annual shipment of gold to the pope for alms and supplying the lights in St. Peter's church in Rome. However, The Archbishopric of Lichfield lasted for only 16 years, ending soon after Offa's death, when it was restored to Archbishop Aethelheard of Canterbury.
Starting in 1085 and continuing through the twelfth century the original wooden Saxon church was replaced by a Norman cathedral made from stone, and this was in turn replaced by the present Gothic cathedral begun in 1195. It was completed by the building of the Lady Chapel in the 1330s. The Choir dates from 1200, the Transepts from 1220 to 1240 and the Nave was started in 1260. The octagonal Chapter House, which was completed in 1249 and is one of the most beautiful parts of the Cathedral with some charming stone carvings, houses an exhibition of the cathedral's greatest treasure, the Lichfield Gospels, an 8th-century illuminated manuscript.
Devastation of the English Civil War
The Sleeping Children by Francis Chantrey (1817), portrays two young sisters, Ellen-Jane and Marianne, who died in tragic circumstances in 1812
There were three great sieges of Lichfield during the period 1643–1646 as the cathedral close was surrounded by a ditch and defensive walls it made a natural fortress. The cathedral authorities with a certain following were for Charles I, but the townsfolk generally sided with Parliament, and this led to the fortification of the close in 1643. Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke, led an assault against it, but was killed [1] by a deflected bullet from John Dyott (known as 'dumb' because he was a deaf mute) who along with his brother Richard Dyott had taken up a position on the battlements of the central cathedral spire on 2 March 1643.[citation needed] Brooke's deputy John Gell, took over the siege. The Royalist garrison surrendered to Gell two days later.[citation needed]
In April of the same year (1643) Prince Rupert led an Royalist expeditionary force from Oxford to recapture Lichfield.[1] The siege started on 8 April. During the second assault Rupert's engineers detonated what is thought to be the first explosive mine to be used in England to breach the defences. Unable to defend the Close, Colonel Russell, the parliamentary commander of the garrison, surrendered on terms to Rupert on 21 April.[2]
The cathedral suffered extensive damage: the central spire was demolished, the roofs ruined and all the stained glass smashed. Bishop Hacket began the restoration of the cathedral in the 1660s, aided by substantial funds donated by the restored monarch, but it was not until the 19th century that the damage caused by the Civil War was fully repaired. Up until the 19th century, on top of an ornamented gable, between the two spires, stood a colossal figure of Charles II, by William Wilson. Today it stands just outside the south doors
Victorian restoration
The Cathedral Close, Lichfield with its many fine buildings is one of the most unspoilt in England
The Lichfield Angel carving
Although the 18th century was a golden age for the City of Lichfield, it was a period of decay for the cathedral. The 15th-century library, on the north side of the nave, was pulled down and the books moved to their present location above the Chapter House. Most of the statues on the west front were removed and the stonework covered with Roman cement. At the end of the century James Wyatt organised some major structural work, removing the High Altar to make one worship area of Choir and Lady Chapel and adding a massive stone screen at the entrance to the Choir. Francis Eginton painted the east window and was commissioned by the chapter to do other work in the cathedral. The ornate west front was extensively renovated in the Victorian era by George Gilbert Scott.
It includes a remarkable number of ornate carved figures of kings, queens and saints, working with original materials where possible and creating fine new imitations and additions when the originals were not available. Wyatt's choir-screen had utilised medieval stone-work which Scott in turn used to create the clergy's seats in the sanctuary. The new metal screen by Francis Skidmore and John Birnie Philip to designs by Scott himself is a triumph of High Victorian art, as are the fine Mintons tiles in the choir, inspired by the medieval ones found in the Choir foundations and still seen in the Library.
Lichfield Angel
In February 2003, an eighth century sculpted panel of the Archangel Gabriel was discovered under the nave of the cathedral. The 600mm tall panel is carved from limestone, and originally was part of a stone chest, which is thought to have contained the relics of St Chad.[3] The panel was broken into three parts but was still otherwise intact and had traces of red pigment from the period. The pigments on the Lichfield Angel correspond closely to those of the Lichfield Gospels which have been dated to around 730AD. The Angel was first unveiled to the public in 2006, when visitor numbers to the cathedral trebled. After being taken to Birmingham for eighteen months for examination, it is now exhibited in the cathedral. wikipedia
Taken during Open House London 2017
St Paul's Bow Common
Robert McGuire & Keith Murray
Very nearly 150 years ago, this area of East London was beginning to emerge as a populated area after centuries of being no more than common grazing land (hence our name of Bow Common!). The coming of the railway lines, together with two canals nearby, guaranteed the growth of a working population clustered near to vital transport links. London was on the move, expanding ever outwards.
To serve this growing population a grand and lofty Victorian Gothic church was built in 1858, with a great spire and a huge stained glass window at the west end. This first St. Paul’s, Bow Common became a real focus for the neighbouring community for most of the next century. Then disaster struck during the Blitz of World War II and in 1941 incendiaries gutted the church, reducing it to a shell.
The War ended but growth & recovery were slow after so much widespread destruction. It was a full decade before thoughts could turn to re-building the church and thanks to War Reparation funds, a new church could be built, but it had to seat a minimum of 500 people.
The Vicar who came in 1951, the late Revd. Gresham Kirkby, was a young radical who drew like-minded people about himself. Already, in the 1950s there was a serious re-evaluation in progress far and wide, among churches and architects alike, as to what exactly the purpose and function of a church is, and how its configuration should express its deepest purposes. Interest was stirred again in the earliest forms of church architecture and in exploring the very roots of Christian worship. Emerging out of all of this, in the 1950s, churches were being built in Europe expressing these radical ideas.
All of this passionately concerned Fr. Kirkby but he was not impressed by what he saw abroad! And so he approached a young designer in his early 20s – the late Keith Murray – whose work had impressed him in local commissions at Queen Mary College and St. Katherine’s Foundation Chapels. Teaming up with the equally young & gifted Robert Maguire, the architect and designer worked together from 1958-1960 to build the church in which you stand – regarded widely as the most significant post-War Church in Britain.
The creators of this church & the parish priest proudly regarded themselves as purposeful rebels! They were politically, socially & theologically attuned. This was the most radical and pure expression of a movement which focused so much upon the relations of the gathered worshipping community, one with another, and together as one Body, in relationship with God.
In 2010 Robert Maguire wrote:
‘We were trying to build a church which would encourage true relationships in the liturgy – priest to people, people to one another, priest to God and people to God, the worship of the whole Church together. Encourage, but not cause; because it is only people coming together with understanding and faith which bring those relationships to life.‘
The roots and antecedents of this building’s design run deep – to classical forms and the Renaissance Revival – to the fundamental geometry of square and circle - influences owing a debt to Brunelleschi, Palladio, Bramante – and further back, to the churches of Torcello, to Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and to the great Pantheon in Rome. This was no mere ‘bright new idea’! Around them they drew other young and gifted workers and designers. The mosaics which you see encircling the walls are the work of Charles Lutyens (great-nephew of the great architect Edwin Lutyens) carried out over a period of five years after the church had already been opened for use.
In form, the building is basically a stack of three diminishing cubes with ancillary spaces added at the sides. Maguire and Murray’s defining geometry was that of two bounded areas – contained by the exterior and barely broken bounding walls and also by the inner ‘transparent’ but effective encircling line of colonnades.
In this way distinct areas are subtly but effectively delineated within the volume of the church, as well as areas serving the varying needs of the Christian community – not only for worship, but for the whole of our life. This was seen very much as a space in which the whole common life of the worshipping community could be lived out – and from which they would then go out into the world. Benches were designed to be easily moveable so that they could be set aside or re-arranged according to the needs of our common life.
Today our life includes exhibitions, from intimate displays of just one art work to 800 square feet of dazzling external installation or walls completely bedecked with textile panels made in the community by ‘Stitches in Time.’
In 2010, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the consecration of the church and, reflecting on the ways in which St. Paul’s, Bow Common has proved to be so extraordinarily adaptable and appropriate for uses in a social context never imagined 50 years earlier, Robert Maguire said:
’I designed the building as "liturgical space", informed by how I saw the nature of liturgy as the formative activity in realising the community as the Body of Christ. Later (and now) I would call it 'inclusive space' – space that enables everyone within it, wherever they are, to feel included in what is happening, wherever in the space that may be. So this quality naturally extends inclusiveness to anything the community wishes to do in the building, and the building should lend itself creatively to community-building of any kind.'
[Open House website]
This picture was taken a few years ago in Manchester using Ilford HP5 Plus120 film in a holga. It looks more like a lensbaby shot, the way the focus softens from the centre outwards.
I looked down at the frozen channel below me one day to see these wonderful flowers frozen into the ice via a hole in the center and petal rays outwards. Amazing sight...a first in 30 years.
Closeup of ram modules. To replace the module, just pull the two silver tabs outwards, and the module will pop right up at you. You can either do one side at a time or both at the same time. After this, the front edge of the module will be up approx. 25 degrees. Lift the front edge up to about 40 degrees and pull out from the socket. To replace, just push the module back in at approx 40 degrees gently until snug (most of the gold pins will be covered by the socket). Then press the front edge down gently until you hear/see the two silver tabs pop into place.
Photos by Jonathan Cherry
Good Read article for Mollie Makes craft magazine (issue 57)
Wear your heart on your sleeve A hand-stitched green heart can help us all protect us our beautiful world and secure a safer future for the next generation of crafters.
Words by Sarah Corbett.
Our world is amazing. It blooms with remarkable people, with art that can make us laugh, cry and even change our world view, with technology that can connect us to our loved ones on the other side of the world… and have you noticed there is a little thing many of us love called Pinterest that can nourish us with beauty and new ideas (as well as distract us for hours!)? The growth in social enterprises and cooperatives are showing us that business can benefit people and the planet, not just profit. I could go on. But then there is the elephant in the room: climate change. When I worked for Christian Aid, I met people in Kenya affected directly by global warming. I’m sure we have all listened to the warnings. It can feel overwhelming: too complicated, too many problems to overcome. But now there is an opportunity for us craft-lovers to be eco-warriors rather than weary worriers. At the end of this year global leaders will meet in Paris for the UN climate talks to sign new agreements on climate change and sustainable development, agreements that will determine what kind of future we are shaping for our children. We need our leaders to show vision and ambition to create a better future and that’s why I’m writing this ‘Good Read’ in this issue.
We are changeMAKERS
I founded the Craftivist Collective five years ago to create resources to help me and other people do effective and gentle activism using craft as the tool. I was - and am - inspired by life-changing activists such as the suffragettes, who gained votes for women, and Nelson Mandela, who ended apartheid: people who showed that campaigning works. Over the years of honing my craft in strategic activism through needlework I’ve noticed that we crafters can have real impact. Politicians and businesses take note when we stand up for what we believe: our craftivism gifts for influential people can encourage them to be the change they wish to see in the world. The time and thought that goes into our craftivism pieces shows genuine commitment and questioning. The media want to cover our attractive campaigning, people nervous of activism join our stitch-ins, and passers-by are intrigued by our craftivism. The Climate Coalition, the UK’s largest group of people dedicated to action on climate change, launched their “For The Love Of Climate” campaign this year. They have 11million supporters through a network of over 100 organisations from environmental and development charities to unions, faith, community and women’s groups. We thought craftivists and craft lovers would be a good addition and Clare Fussell, Campaigns Manager at The Climate Coalition, agrees: “Unless world leaders know that people from across the world with different passions, hobbies and backgrounds all care, they won't have the mandate to take strong action on climate change. Wae all need to be climate changeMAKERS.”
So... for the love of our world
Let’s re-imagine how we can live and help world leaders recreate our world. Join us. To make and wear your green handmade heart on your sleeve is a small, positive, beautiful and therefore influential and powerful act for at least three reasons: It’s personal. Craftivism is a thoughtful approach to activism: it’s about slowing down, using the comfort of craft to really grapple with world issues and think critically about how we can help solve them, from changing our habits and consumer choices to adding our voice to campaigners before the Paris UN climate talks. Craft can be a catalyst for open, honest and friendly discussion. By stitching what you love on your heart banner (bluebells, bumblebees or even beautiful buttons!) you are showing people that you are genuinely concerned about our world, not ignoring the problem.
Craftivists unite. Make your hearts as attractive and intriguing as possible, wear them every day, share them online with us. Let’s create an aspirational vision of our world to excite, empower and encourage others to pick up their craft tools and join us. Seeing your heart on your sleeve alongside so many others is inspiring and should entice them to join.
So pick up your fabric scissors, and start shaping the future of our world into a more sustainable, beautiful place for all. Craft alone or with friends, family, or even set up a public stitch-in and bring the discussion to passersby and at other events.
Join Craftivist Collective & Mollie Makes at our workshops at Crafty Fox Markets. Tag us @craftivists in your social media so we can share too and join #fortheloveof conversation. More info on the Climate Coalition: fortheloveof.org.uk More info on the project: www.craftivist-collective.com/fortheloveof
Old, inefficient sag lens lighting (right) next to new full cut-off lighting (left). The full cut-off lighting only sends light towards the ground, and does not waste light out to the sides as the older lighting does.
Photographer: D Baskill on behalf of the Campaign for Dark Skies.
A visit to the Museo Etrusco on the Via Don Giovanni Minzoni in Volterra. Was a lot of Etruscan and Roman artifacts here. Also a back garden.
The Guarnacci museum is one of oldest public museums of Europe: it began in 1761 when the noble abbot Mario Guarnacci (Volterra 1701-1785) gave its enormous archaeological heritage, collected over years of research and purchases, to the "public of the city of Volterra".
The current disposition and location of materials demonstrate Maffei’s positivistic impact, with items separated by classes and the urns distinguished according to the theme of the bas-relief on the case. While respecting the historic memory of this arrangement, an attempt was made, in recent times, to associate it with another, more didactic, chronological tour inside the exhibition itself, able to conduct the visitor through the long history of the Etruscan Velathri.
The Guarnacci Etruscan Museum is located in via Don Minzoni in Volterra , and contains one of the most beautiful collections of Etruscan art.
In 1776 the canon of the cathedral of Volterra Pietro Franceschini found near the Etruscan necropolis of the Portone a hypogeum of considerable size dating back to the Hellenistic period, containing forty Etruscan urns, which in 1777 donated to the town of Volterra . This donation was the first nucleus of the Civic Museum which soon collected many other works found in the surroundings of Volterra and which until then had been kept in private collections of noblemen from Volterra.
Among the various donations, the most important and most important was that of Monsignor Mario Guarnacci ( 1701 - 1785 ), a wealthy priest who promoted numerous archaeological excavation campaigns, which on 15 September 1761 donated his entire collection to the newborn museum. He was named after the museum that in over two centuries of history has increased its heritage thanks to numerous excavation campaigns promoted by the Superintendency of Antiquities of Etruria.
The first seat of the museum was Palazzo Ruggeri, home of Guarnacci, later it was transferred first to some halls of the town hall and then from 1877 in the Desideri-Tangassi palace, the current headquarters.
The first Prefect and Librarian of the Guarnacci Museum is the Roman abbot Francesco Ballani , well-known librettist of his time, who was succeeded by Giuseppe Cailli in 1805 until his death in 1810 . Francesco Inghirami ( 1772 - 1846 ) occupied this position from 1810 until 1815 .
A look around the garden to the back of the museum. Nice and relaxing out there. Warm in the sunshine, cool sitting down on a bench.
Bronze sculptures by Greg Wyatt
The Light Leaping Outwards
Bronze, 2008
sign
Seen from the lane. The sides facing outwards are in diapered brickwork and stone; those facing inwards are in two colours of stone.
The Summerhouse at Eyton-on-Severn is the survivor of a pair of banqueting towers built in the garden of Eyton Hall at the turn of the seventeenth century for Sir Francis Newport. It consists of two joined octagons in stone and brick, the smaller containing a spiral staircase. Originally the ground floor with its arches would have been an open loggia; the room above would have been used during banquets and entertainments, perhaps for guests to admire and eat fanciful sweetmeats.
Eyton Hall was destroyed by fire in the eighteenth century. The other tower was included in a georgian house and was lost when that too burned (the house was rebuilt but not the tower).
The eastern tower survived in an increasing state of decay until restored in the 1980s by the Vivat Trust, a small charity that preserves historic buildings by letting them as self-catering holiday accommodation.
I spent a very pleasurable week in the Summerhouse.