Graffiti (plural; singular graffiti or graffito, the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire (see also mural).

 

Graffiti is a controversial subject. In most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered by property owners and civic authorities as defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime, citing the use of graffiti by street gangs to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities. Graffiti has become visualized as a growing urban "problem" for many cities in industrialized nations, spreading from the New York City subway system and Philadelphia in the early 1970s to the rest of the United States and Europe and other world regions

 

"Graffiti" (usually both singular and plural) and the rare singular form "graffito" are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched"). The term "graffiti" is used in art history for works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. A related term is "sgraffito", which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it. This technique was primarily used by potters who would glaze their wares and then scratch a design into them. In ancient times graffiti were carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used. The word originates from Greek γράφειν—graphein—meaning "to write".

 

The term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, and such, found on the walls of ancient sepulchres or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Historically, these writings were not considered vanadlism, which today is considered part of the definition of graffiti.

 

The only known source of the Safaitic language, an ancient form of Arabic, is from graffiti: inscriptions scratched on to the surface of rocks and boulders in the predominantly basalt desert of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. Safaitic dates from the first century BC to the fourth century AD.

 

Some of the oldest cave paintings in the world are 40,000 year old ones found in Australia. The oldest written graffiti was found in ancient Rome around 2500 years ago. Most graffiti from the time was boasts about sexual experiences Graffiti in Ancient Rome was a form of communication, and was not considered vandalism.

 

Ancient tourists visiting the 5th-century citadel at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka write their names and commentary over the "mirror wall", adding up to over 1800 individual graffiti produced there between the 6th and 18th centuries. Most of the graffiti refer to the frescoes of semi-nude females found there. One reads:

 

Wet with cool dew drops

fragrant with perfume from the flowers

came the gentle breeze

jasmine and water lily

dance in the spring sunshine

side-long glances

of the golden-hued ladies

stab into my thoughts

heaven itself cannot take my mind

as it has been captivated by one lass

among the five hundred I have seen here.

 

Among the ancient political graffiti examples were Arab satirist poems. Yazid al-Himyari, an Umayyad Arab and Persian poet, was most known for writing his political poetry on the walls between Sajistan and Basra, manifesting a strong hatred towards the Umayyad regime and its walis, and people used to read and circulate them very widely.

 

Graffiti, known as Tacherons, were frequently scratched on Romanesque Scandinavian church walls. When Renaissance artists such as Pinturicchio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio, or Filippino Lippi descended into the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, they carved or painted their names and returned to initiate the grottesche style of decoration.

 

There are also examples of graffiti occurring in American history, such as Independence Rock, a national landmark along the Oregon Trail.

 

Later, French soldiers carved their names on monuments during the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt in the 1790s. Lord Byron's survives on one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Attica, Greece.

 

The oldest known example of graffiti "monikers" found on traincars created by hobos and railworkers since the late 1800s. The Bozo Texino monikers were documented by filmmaker Bill Daniel in his 2005 film, Who is Bozo Texino?.

 

In World War II, an inscription on a wall at the fortress of Verdun was seen as an illustration of the US response twice in a generation to the wrongs of the Old World:

 

During World War II and for decades after, the phrase "Kilroy was here" with an accompanying illustration was widespread throughout the world, due to its use by American troops and ultimately filtering into American popular culture. Shortly after the death of Charlie Parker (nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird"), graffiti began appearing around New York with the words "Bird Lives".

 

Modern graffiti art has its origins with young people in 1960s and 70s in New York City and Philadelphia. Tags were the first form of stylised contemporary graffiti. Eventually, throw-ups and pieces evolved with the desire to create larger art. Writers used spray paint and other kind of materials to leave tags or to create images on the sides subway trains. and eventually moved into the city after the NYC metro began to buy new trains and paint over graffiti.

 

While the art had many advocates and appreciators—including the cultural critic Norman Mailer—others, including New York City mayor Ed Koch, considered it to be defacement of public property, and saw it as a form of public blight. The ‘taggers’ called what they did ‘writing’—though an important 1974 essay by Mailer referred to it using the term ‘graffiti.’

 

Contemporary graffiti style has been heavily influenced by hip hop culture and the myriad international styles derived from Philadelphia and New York City Subway graffiti; however, there are many other traditions of notable graffiti in the twentieth century. Graffiti have long appeared on building walls, in latrines, railroad boxcars, subways, and bridges.

 

An early graffito outside of New York or Philadelphia was the inscription in London reading "Clapton is God" in reference to the guitarist Eric Clapton. Creating the cult of the guitar hero, the phrase was spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington, north London in the autumn of 1967. The graffito was captured in a photograph, in which a dog is urinating on the wall.

 

Films like Style Wars in the 80s depicting famous writers such as Skeme, Dondi, MinOne, and ZEPHYR reinforced graffiti's role within New York's emerging hip-hop culture. Although many officers of the New York City Police Department found this film to be controversial, Style Wars is still recognized as the most prolific film representation of what was going on within the young hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 took hip hop graffiti to Paris and London as part of the New York City Rap Tour in 1983

 

Commercialization and entrance into mainstream pop culture

Main article: Commercial graffiti

With the popularity and legitimization of graffiti has come a level of commercialization. In 2001, computer giant IBM launched an advertising campaign in Chicago and San Francisco which involved people spray painting on sidewalks a peace symbol, a heart, and a penguin (Linux mascot), to represent "Peace, Love, and Linux." IBM paid Chicago and San Francisco collectively US$120,000 for punitive damages and clean-up costs.

 

In 2005, a similar ad campaign was launched by Sony and executed by its advertising agency in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami, to market its handheld PSP gaming system. In this campaign, taking notice of the legal problems of the IBM campaign, Sony paid building owners for the rights to paint on their buildings "a collection of dizzy-eyed urban kids playing with the PSP as if it were a skateboard, a paddle, or a rocking horse".

 

Tristan Manco wrote that Brazil "boasts a unique and particularly rich, graffiti scene ... [earning] it an international reputation as the place to go for artistic inspiration". Graffiti "flourishes in every conceivable space in Brazil's cities". Artistic parallels "are often drawn between the energy of São Paulo today and 1970s New York". The "sprawling metropolis", of São Paulo has "become the new shrine to graffiti"; Manco alludes to "poverty and unemployment ... [and] the epic struggles and conditions of the country's marginalised peoples", and to "Brazil's chronic poverty", as the main engines that "have fuelled a vibrant graffiti culture". In world terms, Brazil has "one of the most uneven distributions of income. Laws and taxes change frequently". Such factors, Manco argues, contribute to a very fluid society, riven with those economic divisions and social tensions that underpin and feed the "folkloric vandalism and an urban sport for the disenfranchised", that is South American graffiti art.

 

Prominent Brazilian writers include Os Gêmeos, Boleta, Nunca, Nina, Speto, Tikka, and T.Freak. Their artistic success and involvement in commercial design ventures has highlighted divisions within the Brazilian graffiti community between adherents of the cruder transgressive form of pichação and the more conventionally artistic values of the practitioners of grafite.

 

Graffiti in the Middle East has emerged slowly, with taggers operating in Egypt, Lebanon, the Gulf countries like Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and in Iran. The major Iranian newspaper Hamshahri has published two articles on illegal writers in the city with photographic coverage of Iranian artist A1one's works on Tehran walls. Tokyo-based design magazine, PingMag, has interviewed A1one and featured photographs of his work. The Israeli West Bank barrier has become a site for graffiti, reminiscent in this sense of the Berlin Wall. Many writers in Israel come from other places around the globe, such as JUIF from Los Angeles and DEVIONE from London. The religious reference "נ נח נחמ נחמן מאומן" ("Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman") is commonly seen in graffiti around Israel.

 

Graffiti has played an important role within the street art scene in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), especially following the events of the Arab Spring of 2011 or the Sudanese Revolution of 2018/19. Graffiti is a tool of expression in the context of conflict in the region, allowing people to raise their voices politically and socially. Famous street artist Banksy has had an important effect in the street art scene in the MENA area, especially in Palestine where some of his works are located in the West Bank barrier and Bethlehem.

 

There are also a large number of graffiti influences in Southeast Asian countries that mostly come from modern Western culture, such as Malaysia, where graffiti have long been a common sight in Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Since 2010, the country has begun hosting a street festival to encourage all generations and people from all walks of life to enjoy and encourage Malaysian street culture.

 

The modern-day graffitists can be found with an arsenal of various materials that allow for a successful production of a piece. This includes such techniques as scribing. However, spray paint in aerosol cans is the number one medium for graffiti. From this commodity comes different styles, technique, and abilities to form master works of graffiti. Spray paint can be found at hardware and art stores and comes in virtually every color.

 

Stencil graffiti is created by cutting out shapes and designs in a stiff material (such as cardboard or subject folders) to form an overall design or image. The stencil is then placed on the "canvas" gently and with quick, easy strokes of the aerosol can, the image begins to appear on the intended surface.

 

Some of the first examples were created in 1981 by artists Blek le Rat in Paris, in 1982 by Jef Aerosol in Tours (France); by 1985 stencils had appeared in other cities including New York City, Sydney, and Melbourne, where they were documented by American photographer Charles Gatewood and Australian photographer Rennie Ellis

 

Tagging is the practice of someone spray-painting "their name, initial or logo onto a public surface" in a handstyle unique to the writer. Tags were the first form of modern graffiti.

 

Modern graffiti art often incorporates additional arts and technologies. For example, Graffiti Research Lab has encouraged the use of projected images and magnetic light-emitting diodes (throwies) as new media for graffitists. yarnbombing is another recent form of graffiti. Yarnbombers occasionally target previous graffiti for modification, which had been avoided among the majority of graffitists.

 

Theories on the use of graffiti by avant-garde artists have a history dating back at least to the Asger Jorn, who in 1962 painting declared in a graffiti-like gesture "the avant-garde won't give up"

 

Many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to see artistic value in some graffiti and to recognize it as a form of public art. According to many art researchers, particularly in the Netherlands and in Los Angeles, that type of public art is, in fact an effective tool of social emancipation or, in the achievement of a political goal

 

In times of conflict, such murals have offered a means of communication and self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically, or racially divided communities, and have proven themselves as effective tools in establishing dialog and thus, of addressing cleavages in the long run. The Berlin Wall was also extensively covered by graffiti reflecting social pressures relating to the oppressive Soviet rule over the GDR.

 

Many artists involved with graffiti are also concerned with the similar activity of stenciling. Essentially, this entails stenciling a print of one or more colors using spray-paint. Recognized while exhibiting and publishing several of her coloured stencils and paintings portraying the Sri Lankan Civil War and urban Britain in the early 2000s, graffitists Mathangi Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A., has also become known for integrating her imagery of political violence into her music videos for singles "Galang" and "Bucky Done Gun", and her cover art. Stickers of her artwork also often appear around places such as London in Brick Lane, stuck to lamp posts and street signs, she having become a muse for other graffitists and painters worldwide in cities including Seville.

 

Graffitist believes that art should be on display for everyone in the public eye or in plain sight, not hidden away in a museum or a gallery. Art should color the streets, not the inside of some building. Graffiti is a form of art that cannot be owned or bought. It does not last forever, it is temporary, yet one of a kind. It is a form of self promotion for the artist that can be displayed anywhere form sidewalks, roofs, subways, building wall, etc. Art to them is for everyone and should be showed to everyone for free.

 

Graffiti is a way of communicating and a way of expressing what one feels in the moment. It is both art and a functional thing that can warn people of something or inform people of something. However, graffiti is to some people a form of art, but to some a form of vandalism. And many graffitists choose to protect their identities and remain anonymous or to hinder prosecution.

 

With the commercialization of graffiti (and hip hop in general), in most cases, even with legally painted "graffiti" art, graffitists tend to choose anonymity. This may be attributed to various reasons or a combination of reasons. Graffiti still remains the one of four hip hop elements that is not considered "performance art" despite the image of the "singing and dancing star" that sells hip hop culture to the mainstream. Being a graphic form of art, it might also be said that many graffitists still fall in the category of the introverted archetypal artist.

 

Banksy is one of the world's most notorious and popular street artists who continues to remain faceless in today's society. He is known for his political, anti-war stencil art mainly in Bristol, England, but his work may be seen anywhere from Los Angeles to Palestine. In the UK, Banksy is the most recognizable icon for this cultural artistic movement and keeps his identity a secret to avoid arrest. Much of Banksy's artwork may be seen around the streets of London and surrounding suburbs, although he has painted pictures throughout the world, including the Middle East, where he has painted on Israel's controversial West Bank barrier with satirical images of life on the other side. One depicted a hole in the wall with an idyllic beach, while another shows a mountain landscape on the other side. A number of exhibitions also have taken place since 2000, and recent works of art have fetched vast sums of money. Banksy's art is a prime example of the classic controversy: vandalism vs. art. Art supporters endorse his work distributed in urban areas as pieces of art and some councils, such as Bristol and Islington, have officially protected them, while officials of other areas have deemed his work to be vandalism and have removed it.

 

Pixnit is another artist who chooses to keep her identity from the general public. Her work focuses on beauty and design aspects of graffiti as opposed to Banksy's anti-government shock value. Her paintings are often of flower designs above shops and stores in her local urban area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some store owners endorse her work and encourage others to do similar work as well. "One of the pieces was left up above Steve's Kitchen, because it looks pretty awesome"- Erin Scott, the manager of New England Comics in Allston, Massachusetts.

 

Graffiti artists may become offended if photographs of their art are published in a commercial context without their permission. In March 2020, the Finnish graffiti artist Psyke expressed his displeasure at the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat publishing a photograph of a Peugeot 208 in an article about new cars, with his graffiti prominently shown on the background. The artist claims he does not want his art being used in commercial context, not even if he were to receive compensation.

 

Territorial graffiti marks urban neighborhoods with tags and logos to differentiate certain groups from others. These images are meant to show outsiders a stern look at whose turf is whose. The subject matter of gang-related graffiti consists of cryptic symbols and initials strictly fashioned with unique calligraphies. Gang members use graffiti to designate membership throughout the gang, to differentiate rivals and associates and, most commonly, to mark borders which are both territorial and ideological.

 

Graffiti has been used as a means of advertising both legally and illegally. Bronx-based TATS CRU has made a name for themselves doing legal advertising campaigns for companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Toyota, and MTV. In the UK, Covent Garden's Boxfresh used stencil images of a Zapatista revolutionary in the hopes that cross referencing would promote their store.

 

Smirnoff hired artists to use reverse graffiti (the use of high pressure hoses to clean dirty surfaces to leave a clean image in the surrounding dirt) to increase awareness of their product.

 

Graffiti often has a reputation as part of a subculture that rebels against authority, although the considerations of the practitioners often diverge and can relate to a wide range of attitudes. It can express a political practice and can form just one tool in an array of resistance techniques. One early example includes the anarcho-punk band Crass, who conducted a campaign of stenciling anti-war, anarchist, feminist, and anti-consumerist messages throughout the London Underground system during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In Amsterdam graffiti was a major part of the punk scene. The city was covered with names such as "De Zoot", "Vendex", and "Dr Rat". To document the graffiti a punk magazine was started that was called Gallery Anus. So when hip hop came to Europe in the early 1980s there was already a vibrant graffiti culture.

 

The student protests and general strike of May 1968 saw Paris bedecked in revolutionary, anarchistic, and situationist slogans such as L'ennui est contre-révolutionnaire ("Boredom is counterrevolutionary") and Lisez moins, vivez plus ("Read less, live more"). While not exhaustive, the graffiti gave a sense of the 'millenarian' and rebellious spirit, tempered with a good deal of verbal wit, of the strikers.

 

I think graffiti writing is a way of defining what our generation is like. Excuse the French, we're not a bunch of p---- artists. Traditionally artists have been considered soft and mellow people, a little bit kooky. Maybe we're a little bit more like pirates that way. We defend our territory, whatever space we steal to paint on, we defend it fiercely.

 

The developments of graffiti art which took place in art galleries and colleges as well as "on the street" or "underground", contributed to the resurfacing in the 1990s of a far more overtly politicized art form in the subvertising, culture jamming, or tactical media movements. These movements or styles tend to classify the artists by their relationship to their social and economic contexts, since, in most countries, graffiti art remains illegal in many forms except when using non-permanent paint. Since the 1990s with the rise of Street Art, a growing number of artists are switching to non-permanent paints and non-traditional forms of painting.

 

Contemporary practitioners, accordingly, have varied and often conflicting practices. Some individuals, such as Alexander Brener, have used the medium to politicize other art forms, and have used the prison sentences enforced on them as a means of further protest. The practices of anonymous groups and individuals also vary widely, and practitioners by no means always agree with each other's practices. For example, the anti-capitalist art group the Space Hijackers did a piece in 2004 about the contradiction between the capitalistic elements of Banksy and his use of political imagery.

 

Berlin human rights activist Irmela Mensah-Schramm has received global media attention and numerous awards for her 35-year campaign of effacing neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist graffiti throughout Germany, often by altering hate speech in humorous ways.

 

In Serbian capital, Belgrade, the graffiti depicting a uniformed former general of Serb army and war criminal, convicted at ICTY for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnian War, Ratko Mladić, appeared in a military salute alongside the words "General, thank to your mother". Aleks Eror, Berlin-based journalist, explains how "veneration of historical and wartime figures" through street art is not a new phenomenon in the region of former Yugoslavia, and that "in most cases is firmly focused on the future, rather than retelling the past". Eror is not only analyst pointing to danger of such an expressions for the region's future. In a long expose on the subject of Bosnian genocide denial, at Balkan Diskurs magazine and multimedia platform website, Kristina Gadže and Taylor Whitsell referred to these experiences as a young generations' "cultural heritage", in which young are being exposed to celebration and affirmation of war-criminals as part of their "formal education" and "inheritance".

 

There are numerous examples of genocide denial through celebration and affirmation of war criminals throughout the region of Western Balkans inhabited by Serbs using this form of artistic expression. Several more of these graffiti are found in Serbian capital, and many more across Serbia and Bosnian and Herzegovinian administrative entity, Republika Srpska, which is the ethnic Serbian majority enclave. Critics point that Serbia as a state, is willing to defend the mural of convicted war criminal, and have no intention to react on cases of genocide denial, noting that Interior Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin decision to ban any gathering with an intent to remove the mural, with the deployment of riot police, sends the message of "tacit endorsement". Consequently, on 9 November 2021, Serbian heavy police in riot gear, with graffiti creators and their supporters, blocked the access to the mural to prevent human rights groups and other activists to paint over it and mark the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism in that way, and even arrested two civic activist for throwing eggs at the graffiti.

 

Graffiti may also be used as an offensive expression. This form of graffiti may be difficult to identify, as it is mostly removed by the local authority (as councils which have adopted strategies of criminalization also strive to remove graffiti quickly). Therefore, existing racist graffiti is mostly more subtle and at first sight, not easily recognized as "racist". It can then be understood only if one knows the relevant "local code" (social, historical, political, temporal, and spatial), which is seen as heteroglot and thus a 'unique set of conditions' in a cultural context.

 

A spatial code for example, could be that there is a certain youth group in an area that is engaging heavily in racist activities. So, for residents (knowing the local code), a graffiti containing only the name or abbreviation of this gang already is a racist expression, reminding the offended people of their gang activities. Also a graffiti is in most cases, the herald of more serious criminal activity to come. A person who does not know these gang activities would not be able to recognize the meaning of this graffiti. Also if a tag of this youth group or gang is placed on a building occupied by asylum seekers, for example, its racist character is even stronger.

By making the graffiti less explicit (as adapted to social and legal constraints), these drawings are less likely to be removed, but do not lose their threatening and offensive character.

 

Elsewhere, activists in Russia have used painted caricatures of local officials with their mouths as potholes, to show their anger about the poor state of the roads. In Manchester, England, a graffitists painted obscene images around potholes, which often resulted in them being repaired within 48 hours.

 

In the early 1980s, the first art galleries to show graffitists to the public were Fashion Moda in the Bronx, Now Gallery and Fun Gallery, both in the East Village, Manhattan.

 

A 2006 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum displayed graffiti as an art form that began in New York's outer boroughs and reached great heights in the early 1980s with the work of Crash, Lee, Daze, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It displayed 22 works by New York graffitists, including Crash, Daze, and Lady Pink. In an article about the exhibition in the magazine Time Out, curator Charlotta Kotik said that she hoped the exhibition would cause viewers to rethink their assumptions about graffiti.

 

From the 1970s onwards, Burhan Doğançay photographed urban walls all over the world; these he then archived for use as sources of inspiration for his painterly works. The project today known as "Walls of the World" grew beyond even his own expectations and comprises about 30,000 individual images. It spans a period of 40 years across five continents and 114 countries. In 1982, photographs from this project comprised a one-man exhibition titled "Les murs murmurent, ils crient, ils chantent ..." (The walls whisper, shout and sing ...) at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

 

In Australia, art historians have judged some local graffiti of sufficient creative merit to rank them firmly within the arts. Oxford University Press's art history text Australian Painting 1788–2000 concludes with a long discussion of graffiti's key place within contemporary visual culture, including the work of several Australian practitioners.

 

Between March and April 2009, 150 artists exhibited 300 pieces of graffiti at the Grand Palais in Paris.

 

Spray paint has many negative environmental effects. The paint contains toxic chemicals, and the can uses volatile hydrocarbon gases to spray the paint onto a surface.

 

Volatile organic compound (VOC) leads to ground level ozone formation and most of graffiti related emissions are VOCs. A 2010 paper estimates 4,862 tons of VOCs were released in the United States in activities related to graffiti.

  

In China, Mao Zedong in the 1920s used revolutionary slogans and paintings in public places to galvanize the country's communist movement.

 

Based on different national conditions, many people believe that China's attitude towards Graffiti is fierce, but in fact, according to Lance Crayon in his film Spray Paint Beijing: Graffiti in the Capital of China, Graffiti is generally accepted in Beijing, with artists not seeing much police interference. Political and religiously sensitive graffiti, however, is not allowed.

 

In Hong Kong, Tsang Tsou Choi was known as the King of Kowloon for his calligraphy graffiti over many years, in which he claimed ownership of the area. Now some of his work is preserved officially.

 

In Taiwan, the government has made some concessions to graffitists. Since 2005 they have been allowed to freely display their work along some sections of riverside retaining walls in designated "Graffiti Zones". From 2007, Taipei's department of cultural affairs also began permitting graffiti on fences around major public construction sites. Department head Yong-ping Lee (李永萍) stated, "We will promote graffiti starting with the public sector, and then later in the private sector too. It's our goal to beautify the city with graffiti". The government later helped organize a graffiti contest in Ximending, a popular shopping district. graffitists caught working outside of these designated areas still face fines up to NT$6,000 under a department of environmental protection regulation. However, Taiwanese authorities can be relatively lenient, one veteran police officer stating anonymously, "Unless someone complains about vandalism, we won't get involved. We don't go after it proactively."

 

In 1993, after several expensive cars in Singapore were spray-painted, the police arrested a student from the Singapore American School, Michael P. Fay, questioned him, and subsequently charged him with vandalism. Fay pleaded guilty to vandalizing a car in addition to stealing road signs. Under the 1966 Vandalism Act of Singapore, originally passed to curb the spread of communist graffiti in Singapore, the court sentenced him to four months in jail, a fine of S$3,500 (US$2,233), and a caning. The New York Times ran several editorials and op-eds that condemned the punishment and called on the American public to flood the Singaporean embassy with protests. Although the Singapore government received many calls for clemency, Fay's caning took place in Singapore on 5 May 1994. Fay had originally received a sentence of six strokes of the cane, but the presiding president of Singapore, Ong Teng Cheong, agreed to reduce his caning sentence to four lashes.

 

In South Korea, Park Jung-soo was fined two million South Korean won by the Seoul Central District Court for spray-painting a rat on posters of the G-20 Summit a few days before the event in November 2011. Park alleged that the initial in "G-20" sounds like the Korean word for "rat", but Korean government prosecutors alleged that Park was making a derogatory statement about the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, the host of the summit. This case led to public outcry and debate on the lack of government tolerance and in support of freedom of expression. The court ruled that the painting, "an ominous creature like a rat" amounts to "an organized criminal activity" and upheld the fine while denying the prosecution's request for imprisonment for Park.

 

In Europe, community cleaning squads have responded to graffiti, in some cases with reckless abandon, as when in 1992 in France a local Scout group, attempting to remove modern graffiti, damaged two prehistoric paintings of bison in the Cave of Mayrière supérieure near the French village of Bruniquel in Tarn-et-Garonne, earning them the 1992 Ig Nobel Prize in archeology.

 

In September 2006, the European Parliament directed the European Commission to create urban environment policies to prevent and eliminate dirt, litter, graffiti, animal excrement, and excessive noise from domestic and vehicular music systems in European cities, along with other concerns over urban life.

 

In Budapest, Hungary, both a city-backed movement called I Love Budapest and a special police division tackle the problem, including the provision of approved areas.

 

The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 became Britain's latest anti-graffiti legislation. In August 2004, the Keep Britain Tidy campaign issued a press release calling for zero tolerance of graffiti and supporting proposals such as issuing "on the spot" fines to graffiti offenders and banning the sale of aerosol paint to anyone under the age of 16. The press release also condemned the use of graffiti images in advertising and in music videos, arguing that real-world experience of graffiti stood far removed from its often-portrayed "cool" or "edgy'" image.

 

To back the campaign, 123 Members of Parliament (MPs) (including then Prime Minister Tony Blair), signed a charter which stated: "Graffiti is not art, it's crime. On behalf of my constituents, I will do all I can to rid our community of this problem."

 

In the UK, city councils have the power to take action against the owner of any property that has been defaced under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) or, in certain cases, the Highways Act. This is often used against owners of property that are complacent in allowing protective boards to be defaced so long as the property is not damaged.

 

In July 2008, a conspiracy charge was used to convict graffitists for the first time. After a three-month police surveillance operation, nine members of the DPM crew were convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage costing at least £1 million. Five of them received prison sentences, ranging from eighteen months to two years. The unprecedented scale of the investigation and the severity of the sentences rekindled public debate over whether graffiti should be considered art or crime.

 

Some councils, like those of Stroud and Loerrach, provide approved areas in the town where graffitists can showcase their talents, including underpasses, car parks, and walls that might otherwise prove a target for the "spray and run".

 

Graffiti Tunnel, University of Sydney at Camperdown (2009)

In an effort to reduce vandalism, many cities in Australia have designated walls or areas exclusively for use by graffitists. One early example is the "Graffiti Tunnel" located at the Camperdown Campus of the University of Sydney, which is available for use by any student at the university to tag, advertise, poster, and paint. Advocates of this idea suggest that this discourages petty vandalism yet encourages artists to take their time and produce great art, without worry of being caught or arrested for vandalism or trespassing.[108][109] Others disagree with this approach, arguing that the presence of legal graffiti walls does not demonstrably reduce illegal graffiti elsewhere. Some local government areas throughout Australia have introduced "anti-graffiti squads", who clean graffiti in the area, and such crews as BCW (Buffers Can't Win) have taken steps to keep one step ahead of local graffiti cleaners.

 

Many state governments have banned the sale or possession of spray paint to those under the age of 18 (age of majority). However, a number of local governments in Victoria have taken steps to recognize the cultural heritage value of some examples of graffiti, such as prominent political graffiti. Tough new graffiti laws have been introduced in Australia with fines of up to A$26,000 and two years in prison.

 

Melbourne is a prominent graffiti city of Australia with many of its lanes being tourist attractions, such as Hosier Lane in particular, a popular destination for photographers, wedding photography, and backdrops for corporate print advertising. The Lonely Planet travel guide cites Melbourne's street as a major attraction. All forms of graffiti, including sticker art, poster, stencil art, and wheatpasting, can be found in many places throughout the city. Prominent street art precincts include; Fitzroy, Collingwood, Northcote, Brunswick, St. Kilda, and the CBD, where stencil and sticker art is prominent. As one moves farther away from the city, mostly along suburban train lines, graffiti tags become more prominent. Many international artists such as Banksy have left their work in Melbourne and in early 2008 a perspex screen was installed to prevent a Banksy stencil art piece from being destroyed, it has survived since 2003 through the respect of local street artists avoiding posting over it, although it has recently had paint tipped over it.

 

In February 2008 Helen Clark, the New Zealand prime minister at that time, announced a government crackdown on tagging and other forms of graffiti vandalism, describing it as a destructive crime representing an invasion of public and private property. New legislation subsequently adopted included a ban on the sale of paint spray cans to persons under 18 and increases in maximum fines for the offence from NZ$200 to NZ$2,000 or extended community service. The issue of tagging become a widely debated one following an incident in Auckland during January 2008 in which a middle-aged property owner stabbed one of two teenage taggers to death and was subsequently convicted of manslaughter.

 

Graffiti databases have increased in the past decade because they allow vandalism incidents to be fully documented against an offender and help the police and prosecution charge and prosecute offenders for multiple counts of vandalism. They also provide law enforcement the ability to rapidly search for an offender's moniker or tag in a simple, effective, and comprehensive way. These systems can also help track costs of damage to a city to help allocate an anti-graffiti budget. The theory is that when an offender is caught putting up graffiti, they are not just charged with one count of vandalism; they can be held accountable for all the other damage for which they are responsible. This has two main benefits for law enforcement. One, it sends a signal to the offenders that their vandalism is being tracked. Two, a city can seek restitution from offenders for all the damage that they have committed, not merely a single incident. These systems give law enforcement personnel real-time, street-level intelligence that allows them not only to focus on the worst graffiti offenders and their damage, but also to monitor potential gang violence that is associated with the graffiti.

 

Many restrictions of civil gang injunctions are designed to help address and protect the physical environment and limit graffiti. Provisions of gang injunctions include things such as restricting the possession of marker pens, spray paint cans, or other sharp objects capable of defacing private or public property; spray painting, or marking with marker pens, scratching, applying stickers, or otherwise applying graffiti on any public or private property, including, but not limited to the street, alley, residences, block walls, and fences, vehicles or any other real or personal property. Some injunctions contain wording that restricts damaging or vandalizing both public and private property, including but not limited to any vehicle, light fixture, door, fence, wall, gate, window, building, street sign, utility box, telephone box, tree, or power pole.

 

To help address many of these issues, many local jurisdictions have set up graffiti abatement hotlines, where citizens can call in and report vandalism and have it removed. San Diego's hotline receives more than 5,000 calls per year, in addition to reporting the graffiti, callers can learn more about prevention. One of the complaints about these hotlines is the response time; there is often a lag time between a property owner calling about the graffiti and its removal. The length of delay should be a consideration for any jurisdiction planning on operating a hotline. Local jurisdictions must convince the callers that their complaint of vandalism will be a priority and cleaned off right away. If the jurisdiction does not have the resources to respond to complaints in a timely manner, the value of the hotline diminishes. Crews must be able to respond to individual service calls made to the graffiti hotline as well as focus on cleanup near schools, parks, and major intersections and transit routes to have the biggest impact. Some cities offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of suspects for tagging or graffiti related vandalism. The amount of the reward is based on the information provided, and the action taken.

 

When police obtain search warrants in connection with a vandalism investigation, they are often seeking judicial approval to look for items such as cans of spray paint and nozzles from other kinds of aerosol sprays; etching tools, or other sharp or pointed objects, which could be used to etch or scratch glass and other hard surfaces; permanent marking pens, markers, or paint sticks; evidence of membership or affiliation with any gang or tagging crew; paraphernalia including any reference to "(tagger's name)"; any drawings, writing, objects, or graffiti depicting taggers' names, initials, logos, monikers, slogans, or any mention of tagging crew membership; and any newspaper clippings relating to graffiti crime.

Airing out of the 6' bowl

Piper Alpha was a North Sea oil production platform operated by Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Ltd.

 

The platform began production in 1976, first as an oil-only platform and later converted to add gas production. An explosion, and the resulting oil and gas fires, destroyed it on 6 July 1988, killing 167, including two crewmen of a rescue vessel; 61 survived.

 

The total insured loss was about £1.7 billion (US$3.4 billion). At the time of the disaster, the platform accounted for approximately ten percent of North Sea oil and gas production, and the accident was the worst offshore oil disaster in terms of lives lost and industry impact.

 

The Kirk of St Nicholas in Union Street, Aberdeen has dedicated a chapel in memory of those who perished and there is a memorial sculpture in the Rose Garden of Hazlehead Park in Aberdeen. Thirty bodies were never recovered.

 

During the late 1970s, major works were carried out to enable the platform to meet UK Government gas export requirements and after this work had been completed, Piper Alpha was operating in what was known as phase 2 mode (operating with the Gas Conservation Module (GCM)) since the end of 1980 up until July 1988; phase 2 mode was its normal operating state. In the late 1980s, major construction, maintenance and upgrade works had been planned by Occidental and by July 1988, the rig was already well into major work activities, with six major projects identified including the change-out of the GCM unit which meant that the rig had been put back into its initial phase 1 mode (i.e. operating without a GCM unit).

 

Despite the complex and demanding work schedule, Occidental made the decision to continue operating the platform in phase 1 mode throughout this period and not to shut it down, as had been originally planned. The planning and controls that were put in place were thought to be adequate. Therefore, Piper continued to export oil at just under 120,000 barrels per day and to export Tartan gas at some 33 MMSCFD (million standard cubic feet per day) during this demanding period.

 

Because the platform was completely destroyed, and many of those involved died, analysis of events can only suggest a possible chain of events based on known facts. Some witnesses to the events question the official timeline.

 

12:00 noon Two condensate pumps, designated A and B, displaced the platform's condensate for transport to the coast. On the morning of 6 July, Pump A's pressure safety valve (PSV #504) was removed for routine maintenance. The pump's two-yearly overhaul was planned but had not started. The open condensate pipe was temporarily sealed with a disk cover (flat metal disc also called a blind flange or blank flange). Because the work could not be completed by 6:00 p.m., the disc cover remained in place. It was hand-tightened only. The on-duty engineer filled in a permit which stated that Pump A was not ready and must not be switched on under any circumstances.

6:00 p.m. The day shift ended, and the night shift started with 62 men running Piper Alpha. As he found the on-duty custodian busy, the engineer neglected to inform him of the condition of Pump A. Instead he placed the permit in the control centre and left. This permit disappeared and was not found. Coincidentally there was another permit issued for the general overhaul of Pump A that had not yet begun.

 

7:00 p.m. Like many other offshore platforms, Piper Alpha had an automatic fire-fighting system, driven by both diesel and electric pumps (the latter were disabled by the initial explosions). The diesel pumps were designed to suck in large amounts of sea water for fire fighting; the pumps had an automatic control to start them in case of fire (although they could not be remotely started from the control room in an emergency). However, the fire-fighting system was under manual control on the evening of 6 July: the Piper Alpha procedure adopted by the Offshore Installation Manager(OIM) required manual control of the pumps whenever divers were in the water (as they were for approximately 12 hours a day during summer) although in reality, the risk was not seen as significant for divers unless a diver was closer than 10–15 feet (3–5 m) from any of the four 120 feet (40 m) level caged intakes.

 

A recommendation from an earlier audit had suggested that a procedure be developed to keep the pumps in automatic mode if divers were not working in the vicinity of the intakes as was the practice on the Claymore platform, but this was never developed or implemented.

9:45 p.m. Because of problems with the methanol system earlier in the day, methane clathrate (a flammable ice) had started to accumulate in the gas compression system pipework, causing a blockage. Due to this blockage, condensate (natural gas liquids NGL) Pump B stopped and could not be restarted. As the entire power supply of the offshore construction work depended on this pump, the manager had only a few minutes to bring the pump back online, otherwise the power supply would fail completely. A search was made through the documents to determine whether Condensate Pump A could be started.

 

9:52 p.m. The permit for the overhaul was found, but not the other permit stating that the pump must not be started under any circumstances due to the missing safety valve. The valve was in a different location from the pump and therefore the permits were stored in different boxes, as they were sorted by location. None of those present were aware that a vital part of the machine had been removed. The manager assumed from the existing documents that it would be safe to start Pump A. The missing valve was not noticed by anyone, particularly as the metal disc replacing the safety valve was several metres above ground level and obscured by machinery.

 

9:55 p.m. First Explosion Condensate Pump A was switched on. Gas flowed into the pump, and because of the missing safety valve, produced an overpressure which the loosely fitted metal disc did not withstand.

Gas audibly leaked out at high pressure, drawing the attention of several men and triggering six gas alarms including the high level gas alarm. Before anyone could act, the gas ignited and exploded, blowing through the firewall made up of 2.5 by 1.5 m (8 by 5 ft) panels bolted together, which were not designed to withstand explosions. The custodian pressed the emergency stop button, closing huge valves in the sea lines and ceasing all oil and gas extraction.

Theoretically, the platform would then have been isolated from the flow of oil and gas and the fire contained. However, because the platform was originally built for oil, the firewalls were designed to resist fire rather than withstand explosions. The first explosion broke the firewall and dislodged panels around Module (B). One of the flying panels ruptured a small condensate pipe, creating another fire.

 

10:04 p.m. The control room of Piper Alpha was abandoned. "Mayday" was signalled via radio by radio operator David Kinrade. Piper Alpha'sdesign made no allowances for the destruction of the control room, and the platform's organisation disintegrated. No attempt was made to use loudspeakers or to order an evacuation.

Emergency procedures instructed personnel to make their way to lifeboat stations, but the fire prevented them from doing so. Instead many of the men moved to the fireproofed accommodation block beneath the helicopter deck to await further instructions. Wind, fire and smoke prevented helicopter landings and no further instructions were given, with smoke beginning to seep into the personnel block.

As the crisis mounted, two men donned protective gear and attempted to reach the diesel pumping machinery below decks and activate the firefighting system. They were never seen again.

The fire would have burnt out were it not being fed with oil from both Tartan and the Claymore platforms, the resulting back pressure forcing fresh fuel out of ruptured pipework on Piper, directly into the heart of the fire. The Claymore platform continued pumping oil until the second explosion because the manager had no permission from the Occidental control centre to shut down. Also, the connecting gas pipeline to Tartan continued to pump, as its manager had been directed by his superior. The reason for this procedure was the huge cost of such a shut down. It would have taken several days to restart production after a stop, with substantial financial consequences.

Gas pipelines of both 16 in (41 cm) and 18 in (46 cm) diameter ran to Piper Alpha. Two years earlier Occidental management ordered a study, the results of which warned of the dangers of these gas lines. Because of their length and diameter, it would have taken several hours to reduce their pressure, which meant fighting a fire fuelled by them would have been all but impossible. Although the management admitted how devastating a gas explosion would be, Claymore and Tartan were not switched off with the first emergency call.

 

10:05 p.m. The Search and Rescue station at RAF Lossiemouth receives the first call notifying them of the possibility of an emergency, and a No. 202 Sqn Sea King helicopter, "Rescue 138", takes off at the request of the Coastguardstation at Aberdeen. The station at RAF Boulmer is also notified, and a Hawker Siddeley Nimrod from RAF Kinloss is sent to the area to act as "On-Scene Commander" and "Rescue Zero-One".

 

10:20 p.m. Tartan Gas Line Rupture Tartan's gas line (pressurised to 120 Atmospheres) melted and ruptured, releasing 15-30 tonnes of high pressure gas every second, which immediately ignited. From that moment on, the platform's destruction was assured.

10:30 p.m. The Tharos, a large semi-submersible fire fighting, rescue and accommodation vessel, drew alongside Piper Alpha. The Tharos used its water cannon where it could, but it was restricted, because the cannon was so powerful it would injure or kill anyone hit by the water.

 

10:50 p.m. MCP-01 Gas Line Rupture The second gas line ruptured (the riser for the MCP-01 platform), ejecting millions of cubic feet of gas into the conflagration and increased its intensity. Huge flames shot over 300 ft (90 m) in the air. The Tharos was driven off by the fearsome heat, which began to melt the surrounding machinery and steelwork. It was only after this explosion that the Claymore platform stopped pumping oil. Personnel still left alive were either desperately sheltering in the scorched, smoke-filled accommodation block or leaping from the various deck levels, including the helideck, 175 ft (50 m) into the North Sea. The explosion also killed two crewmen on a fast rescue boat launched from the standby vessel Sandhaven and the six Piper Alpha crewmen they had rescued from the water.

 

11:18 p.m. Claymore Gas Line Rupture The gas pipeline connecting Piper Alpha to the Claymore Platform ruptured, adding even more fuel to the already massive firestorm that engulfed Piper Alpha.

 

11:35 p.m. Helicopter "Rescue 138" from Lossiemouth arrives at the scene.

11:37 p.m. Tharos contacts Nimrod "Rescue Zero-One" to appraise him of the situation. A standby vessel has picked up 25 casualties, including three with serious burns, and one with an injury. Tharos requests the evacuation of its non-essential personnel to make room for incoming casualties. "Rescue 138" is requested to evacuate 12 non-essential personnel from Tharos to transfer to Ocean Victory, before returning with paramedics.

 

11:50 p.m. With critical support structures burned away, and with nothing to support the heavier structures on top, the platform began to collapse. One of the cranes collapsed, followed by the drilling derrick. The generation and utilities Module (D), which included the fireproofed accommodation block, slipped into the sea, taking the crewmen huddled inside with it. The largest part of the platform followed it. "Rescue 138" lands on Tharos and picks up the 12 non-essential personnel, before leaving for Ocean Victory.

 

11:55 p.m. "Rescue 138" arrives at Ocean Victory and lands the 12 passengers before returning to Tharos with 4 of Ocean Victory's paramedics.

  

00:07 a.m., 7 July "Rescue 138" lands paramedics on Ocean Victory.

00:17 a.m. "Rescue 138" winches up serious burns casualties picked up by the Standby Safety Vessel, MV Silver Pit.

00:25 a.m. First seriously-injured survivor of Piper Alpha is winched aboard "Rescue 138".

00:45 a.m. The entire platform had gone. Module (A) was all that remained of Piper Alpha.

00:48 a.m. "Rescue 138" lands on Tharos with three casualties picked up from MV Silver Pit.

00:58 a.m. Civilian Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of Bristow Helicopters arrives at Tharos from Aberdeen with Medical Emergency Team.

01:47 a.m. Coastguard helicopter land on Tharos with more casualties.

02:25 a.m. First helicopter leaves Tharos with casualties for Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

03:27 a.m. "Rescue 138" lands on Tharos with the bodies of two fatalities. "Rescue 138" then leaves to refuel on the drilling rig Santa Fe 140.

05:15 a.m. "Rescue 137" arrives at Tharos and after landing, then leaves taking casualties to Aberdeen.

06:21 a.m. Uninjured survivors of Piper Alphaleave Tharos by civilian S-61 helicopter for Aberdeen.

07:25 a.m. "Rescue 138" picks up remaining survivors from Tharos for transfer to Aberdeen.

At the time of the disaster 226 people were on the platform; 165 died and 61 survived. Two men from the Standby Vessel Sandhaven were also killed.

Series of five. A nest box in the middle of nowhere, but a safe home for these Blue Tits. The front seemed to be concrete so no problem from predators. Just hope the babies don't eat too much before they fledge!

I made another version of this shot - here - a bit more of a vintage look... But personally I prefer this softer and whiter look.

You can also see it Large.

You can have as many as you want... no towel reserving skulduggery or malarkey required.

Singapore National Day Parade

 

Singapore celebrated its first National Day as an independent nation in 1966, one year after Singapore's separation from Malaysia on 9 August 1965.

 

The first National Day Parade started in the morning at 9:00 a.m. that day. People came as early as 7:00 a.m. in order to get good vantage points. Singapore's first President, Mr Yusof bin Ishak and Singapore's first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, were seated with members of the government at the grandstand on the steps of City Hall. When the parade began, 6 military contingents (including the Singapore Infantry Regiment, SPDF and the then Republic of Singapore Police), a mobile column from the SIR, and various schools and civil contingents marched past City Hall and then into the city streets. Three military bands accompanied the parade inspection and later the march past with military music. The Singapore Fire Brigade also took part in this first parade with its firetrucks included in the mobile column. Rounding it all was a massed lion and dragon dance performance from drum and dragon troupes nationwide.

 

The following year, the contingents increased to 76, including those of the then established Singapore Armed Forces, the RSP and more cultural groups, with the addition of more civil marching groups. The reason is partly due to the introduction of the National Service program in the military and police forces, and later extended to the Fire Brigade, later called the Singapore Fire Services in the 1970s. Street performances by various groups also debuted in that year's parade. The 1968 edition, although held on a rainy morning that surprised even the marching contingents and the dignitaries, saw the first ground performances on the Padang as the weather improved - a prelude to today's show performances. 1969's parade, the one where the Mobile Column made its first drivepast, commemorated the 150th year of the city's founding and had Princess Alexandra of the UK as principal guest.

 

On the August 9, 1970 NDP edition, the Flypast of the State Flag and the Republic of Singapore Air Force Flypast debuted. A combat simulation performance by Singapore Army personnel was one of the new highlights for that year.

 

The 1971 NDP was the first to include the iconic mobile parade floats from various organizations. Choirs also debuted on that year's edition.

 

The 1973 parade was held from the afternoon to early evening for the first time to attract more attendance from the public. The next year, colour broadcasts of the parade on television began.

 

The 1975 parades, held to celebrate Singapore's 10th year, were for the first time decentralized into 13 parade venues for more public participation. Almost all of them lasted for an hour and all of them even had route marches on the streets to the participating venues.

 

By the time the NDP was held at the National Stadium (for the first time) in 1976, the NDP Guard of Honour, composed of officers and personnel of the SAF and the Singapore Police Force made its first appearance, followed after the parade proper by the very first evening presentations by various groups, a prelude to future evening NDPs in 1980 and from 1984 onward. 1977's parade was a decentralized event like two years before (and like 1968's was damped by the rain) while 1978 would see the parade back at the Padang grounds. 1979's parade was yet another decentralized one, held in several high schools and sports stadiums nationwide.

 

The 1980 parade, held at the National Stadium, almost rained at the start, but the performances went on as planned as the weather improved later. This was the first parade in which the feu de joie of the Guard-of-Honour contingents made its inaugural appearance. 1981's NDP was the very first parade appearance of the then SPF Civil Defense Command, presently the Singapore Civil Defense Force, later combined with the SFS in 1989. (The SCDF of today showed itself for the first time in the 1982 NDP held in the Padang.) They were held in two decentralised venues, Jurong and Queenstown Sports Stadiums for further increase public attendance and participation in the celebrations. 1982's parade, back at the Padang site, featured more contingents and for the first time the mobile column drove past after the marchpast had concluded, thus making it a predecessor to the parades at the Padang from 1995 onward (every 5 years).

 

1983 would be the final year that the NDP was held in multiple venues.

 

The 1984 NDP, now back at the Padang, celebrated Singapore's Silver Jubilee of self-governance and included a bigger Mobile Column, the first appearance of the popular Silent Precision Drill Squad from the Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command and the first true evening fireworks display (plus the debut of the very first NDP theme song) while NDP 1985 celebrated the nation's 20th year with more participants in the parade segment and in the show proper. The 1986 edition was the first true evening edition of the parade, and the first to use flashlights for audience use. 1987's parade, held at the Padang, was the first ever evening event held there and featured the first appearance of the massed military bands of the SAF. 1988 saw the card stunt feature being used for the first time during the National Stadium event and the 1989 edition, the first National Stadium daytime event, saw the debut of the nationally famous Red Lions parachute team and the daylight fireworks after 1966. The parade returned to the Padang in 1990 to honor the nation's silver jubilee year, which would turn out to be the last afternoon event ever to be held.

 

In 1997, for the first time, there was a National Education Show, where Primary 5 students watch NDP rehearsals.

 

The government set up the electronic voting ticketing system in 2003 in order to tackle the problem of overcrowding. Such ticketing system enables citizens to stand a chance at winning the tickets by registering their e-mail addresses or mobile numbers at the NDP website or phonelines.

 

Starting 2008, the NDP is also aired all over the Asia-Pacific region through Channel NewsAsia.

 

2009's NDP was the first ever edition to have an integrated show including the parade segment.

 

In 2014 Third Warrant Officer Shirley Ng became the first female Red Lion parachutist to jump at the NDP.[1][2]

 

2015's parade, even as all was planned for the parade to be at the Padang, will be the first ever parade to be held both there and at the Float at Marina Bay, breaking a parade tradition in the process. NDP 2015 is the first National Day Parade without the founding leader Lee Kuan Yew, who never missed a single National Day Parade since 1966, for whom he had died on 23 March 2015, within 8 months after attending the 2014 edition.

 

NDP editions

 

The venue of the parade is usually at the historical grounds of the Padang, where the declaration of Singapore's independence was held. Since the first parade in 1966, all the way to 1975, the venue was located in this central area to bring the parade closer to the people. In 1976, the parade was held for the first time at the newly completed National Stadium, where the much larger capacity allowed for more to view the parade live.

 

Although offering about 60,000 seats in the National Stadium, the demand for tickets remained high. Hence there were several attempts to decentralise the venue to bring the celebration closer to more Singaporeans. From 1975 to 1983, celebrations were alternated between a decentralised event and one centered at the Padang or stadium. From 1984, the parade was held twice at the stadium before being brought back to the Padang. This three-year cycle was repeated up to 1994.

 

From 1995, it was decided that the Padang would be used as the venue every five years. The Padang, although historically important, posed a greater logistical challenge and also offered fewer seats for spectators. The event and rehearsals also required the closing of surrounding roads. There was a need to construct temporary spectator stands around the field. The site remained, however, the only feasible venue for the mobile column, as the heavy vehicles could not be driven onto the stadium track. The Padang was used as the main performance venue for the 2005 parade, with fringe activities decentralised to Marina South, Jurong East, Yishun and Tampines.

 

Several alternate locations were mooted, including the utilisation of the Padang, which is physically bigger and less likely to disrupt daily functions in the city.

Parade being held at the Marina Bay Floating Stadium in 2007

 

On 16 October 2005, it was announced that that 2006 NDP would be held at the old stadium for the last time before moving to The Float at Marina Bay [1]. The 130 metre by 100 metre platform would be used for the next five years until the new stadium is completed. Although offering a seating capacity of only 27,000, which is less than National Stadium, there is a vast area for 150,000 extra spectators along the Marina Bay waterfront.

 

Since the 2000s (decade), every year's parade would revolve around a theme which would guide the planning of the parade and show.

 

After ten-year hiatus, the 2016 edition of NDP will return back to the new National Stadium

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

obesity is a huge problem in the US...

I've nothing to wear

Available on MP here.

During sundown

 

I had some problem with the line I wanted to have horizontal, the line where the field and trees meet. But then the church would not have had a vertical standing.

www.kopabill.deviantart.com

A problem, fucking to education!

QUINTA do DOURADO e sua CAPELA de S. CRISTÓVÃO (S. Mamede de Infesta, Matosinhos) - ATUALIZADO de 24/01/2016 a 28/01/2016, graças às contribuições de Ana Coimbra, neta do Eng.º João Paes de Aguilar.

Situada na R. da Igreja Velha, tem casa nobre, casa de caseiros, jardins, capela, eira de pedra, uma cortinha de lavradio, um monumental portão de entrada com nicho vazado no tímpano a recolher o orago protetor S. Cristóvão e, no logradouro da entrada, bem próximo da capela, existe um pavilhão ladeado por 2 pedras de arma de bom lavor e, defronte dele, um amplo lago enquadrado por esculturas barrocas em granito:

o atual portão de entrada belo monumental, o amplo lago e o pavilhão ladeado por 2 pedras de arma de bom lavor são da responsabilidade do último comprador da quinta em 1954, o Eng.º João Paes de Aguilar, que fez grandes obras na quinta modificando os jardins, construindo o lago e o pavilhão e substituindo o portão de entrada pelo atual que ele mandou fazer propositadamente para valorizar e recuperar a quinta.

Da capelinha barroca, ereta sob a proteção de S. Cristóvão, e já sem a belíssima talha, foi referenciada em 1741 como 'huma capela com o seu quintal pegedo que adquirido de novo por compoziçãm que fes com os moradores da freguezia de Sam Mamede da Ermida que esta tudo cito no lugar donde estava situada a lgreya Velha da dita freguezia' (segundo o Eng.º Agostinho Boavida, em 1772, o proprietário M. Costa Santiago reconstituiu-a);

parece concluir-se, com relativa segurança, que no quintal anexo à capela a que se reporta o aludido documento de 1741 esteve implantada a antiga igreja paroquial de S. Mamede de Infesta.

Em 1849, a quinta passou a ser propriedade de BOAVENTURA DA COSTA DOURADO para mandar celebrar missas na capela de S. Cristóvão existente na quinta:

este portuense emigrou para Salvador da Bahia no Brasil antes de 1811, pois a 07/02/1811 matriculou-se na Real Junta do Commercio e já tinha a sua casa comercial situada na R. dos Caldeireiros na parte baixa da cidade de Salvador da Bahia e na qual vendia vários bens oriundos de Jersey num bergantim fazendo escala em Lisboa e comprados à 'Barroso, Martins e C.ª' de Londres com a qual tinha estabelecido relações comerciais que terminariam em 1812 (vinho engarrafado clarete, licores, açúcar refinado em pão, ferro em barras, em vergalhão e em arcos, sabão, cabos, azeite em botijas e louça e sal de Lisboa);

como ficou a dever 4 725$213 réis à empresa londrina de Domingos José Martins e seus sócios, Boaventura da Costa Dourado partiu em 1813 para o Rio de Janeiro para ver se aí resolvia os seus problemas mercantis e financeiros;

regressado entretanto a Portugal antes de 1831 com a sua mulher Ursula Joaquina (Dourado) e os seus filhos brasileiros baianos Antonio Wenceslau da Costa Dourado e Hermogenes Henrique Dourado que nasceram na freguesia de N.ª S.ª da Conceição da Praia da Cidade da Bahia no Imperio do Brazil antes de 1813, a família foi viver para a R. das Flores na freguesia da Sé do Porto e aí ele estabeleceu-se como comerciante;

a 12/09/1831, era um dos 3 'Fiscaes da Administração da casa fallida de 'Bernardo Clamouse Browne e Companhia' (irmão ? de Manoel de Clamouse Browne, nascido em 1790 e falecido em 1857, e de Maria da Felicidade do Couto Browne que nasceu no Porto a 10/01/1800, foi uma poetisa romântica conhecida por Coruja Trovadora e por Soror Dolores, privou com Camilo Castelo Branco tendo organizado célebres saraus poéticos na sua quinta no lugar do Choupello em Vila Nova de Gaia e faleceu no Porto a 8 ou 09/11/1861) pretendendo vender a um preço inferior aos das suas judiciais avaliações os armazéns sitos nos n.º 15 a 3 do lugar do Choupello em Vila Nova de Gaia (por 4 560$000 réis) e a casa dos n.º 57 e 58 da então R. Nova dos Ingleses, de acordo com o anúncio publicado nesse dia na 'Gazeta de Lisboa';

a 31/03/1835, já era membro da Direção da Associação Commercial do Porto, tal como Manoel de Clamouse Browne, presidida desde a sua fundação a 24/12/1834 por Arnaldo VanZeller;

a 12/11/1835, foi o mais coletado na Décima dos moradores na freguesia da Sé e em 1835 foi um dos 190 acionistas fundadores da Companhia de Seguros Confiança (com 6 das 1000 ações de 1000$000 réis cada uma) criada pela Associação Commercial do Porto;

fez testamento e faleceu viúvo antes de 1855 ? tendo ficado a viver na Quinta do Dourado pelo menos o seu neto solteiro Boaventura da Costa Dourado.

O brasileiro baiano HERMOGENES HENRIQUE DOURADO casou no Porto com Lucinda Emilia de Miranda (Dourado), era um dos 40 maiores contribuintes do concelho do Porto apurados em sessão publica da Câmara Municipal do Porto a 07/01/1855 e construiu em Leça da Palmeira uma casa da responsabilidade do conceituado Capitão de Engenharia Joaquim Miguel Baptista Maciel (autor do projeto para um quartel na praça da Serra do Pilar em 1856, da planta duma parte do extinto Convento de Monchique no Porto onde se projetava estabelecer um deposito de cereaes para fornecimento das tropas da 3.ª Divisão Militar em novembro de 1860 e da planta e dos perfis do terreno escolhido para se edificar o Hospital Militar permanente do Porto, entre muitos outras plantas e projetos) e do desenhador e pintor Leonel Marques Pereira (Lisboa, 1828 - Lisboa, 30/06/1892) quando exerceu na Direcção Geral de Engenharia Militar o cargo de desenhador, cuja construção foi iniciada em 1864 e para onde terá ido viver com a sua esposa.

O brasileiro baiano ANTONIO WENCESLAU DA COSTA DOURADO, a viver com seus pais na R. da Flores enquanto solteiro, casou a 11/09/1841 com LUDOVINA CANDIDA DE MIRANDA (Dourado), natural da freguesia da Sé no Porto, por Portaria do Bispo da Sé do Porto na Capela Pública de Antonio Joaquim de Miranda Guimaraens (o pai da noiva era filho de Jose de Miranda e Anna Maria de Miranda, casado com Maria Theodora do Valle Miranda que era filha de Maria Theodora do Valle e do alferes Francisco Jose Gomes Monteiro que foi eleito Eleitor Paroquial e Compromissório pela freguesia da Sé nas primeiras eleições de dezembro de 1820 para as 'autarquias locais' e as Cortes e que foi Alferes das Milícias na 2.ª Secção da 2 .ª Linha pelas topas liberais desde 13/05/1825 até pelo menos 25/07/1833);

continuando a viver na R. das Flores, tiveram aí os seus filhos Maria da Costa Dourado, Boaventura da Costa Dourado, Dúlla da Costa Dourado, Helena Maria da Costa Dourado, Sophia Maria Dourado e Antonio Wenceslau da Costa Dourado Junior;

MARIA da Costa Dourado nasceu na R das Flores a 10/07/1842 e foi batizada a 18/08/1842 na Sé Cathedral do Porto pelo padre Abbade da Sé Jose Vicente Teixeira tendo sido seus padrinhos o seu avô paterno Boaventura da Costa Dourado e o seu avô materno Antonio Joaquim de Miranda Guimaraens representado, por procuração por si passada, pelo tio tio da batizanda e proprietário Manoel Joaquim de Araujo e Costa;

BOAVENTURA da Costa Dourado nasceu na R. da Flores a 11/07/1844, foi batizado a 31/08/1844 na Sé Cathedral do Porto pelo padre Abbade da Sé Jose Vicente Teixeira tendo sido seus padrinhos o seu avô paterno Boaventura da Costa Dourado e Emilia Arminda de Miranda representada, por procuração passada por si passada, pelo tio da batizanda e propietário Manoel Joaquim de Araujo e Costa, e faleceu solteiro na Quinta do Dourado a 29/01/1920;

DÚLLA da Costa Dourado nasceu na R. da Flores a 18/04/1847 e foi batizada a 29/05/1847 na Sé Cathedral do Porto pelo padre Abbade da Sé Jose Vicente Teixeira tendo sido seus padrinhos o seu avô paterno Boaventura da Costa Dourado e assistiu como madrinha o seu tio e proprietário Manoel Joaquim de Araujo e Costa morador na R. das Flores e que, em 1857, foi um dos numerosos fundadores (proprietários, futuros titulares, homens do governo da cidade e diversos estrangeiros, nomeadamente ingleses) de 'O Club Portuense' tendo vindo a falecer a 02/02/1901 e o seu testamento foi aberto a 03/02/1901;

HELENA MARIA da Costa Dourado nasceu na R. da Flores a 07/05/1848, foi batizada a 14/06/1848 na Sé Cathedral do Porto pelo padre Abbade da Sé Jose Vicente Teixeira tendo sido seus padrinhos o seu avô paterno Boaventura da Costa Dourado e Lucinda Emilia de Miranda (Dourado) representada, por procuração por si passada, pelo seu marido e tio paterno da batizanda Hermogenes Henrique Dourado, e casou a 20/02/1868 na Capella do Relogio de Santa Rita (vulgo, dos Grillos), situada na casa do pai do noivo (o Conselheiro Doutor Adrião Pereira Forjaz de Sampaio, Lente cathedratico da Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Coimbra nascido a 10/02/1810, falecido a 11/09/1874 na Figueira da Foz e casado com Leonarda Teresa Leite Ribeiro Freire nascida em 1824 e falecida em 1899 em Coimbra) da freguesia de São Chtristovão da Cidade de Coimbra, com Diogo Pereira de Sampaio Forjaz (nascido nesta freguesia a 21/10/1846 e falecido a 15/03/1927) tendo sido testemunhas Jose Maria Pereira Forjaz de Sampaio (tio paterno do noivo e Desembargador da Relação de Lisboa), Hermogenes Henrique Dourado (tio paterno da noiva) e sua mulher Lucinda Emilia de Miranda (Dourado), e Guilhermina Amalia Leite Ribeiro Freire (tia materna do noivo, nascida em 1821 e casada com Manuel dos Santos Pereira Jardim nascido em Coimbra em 1818 e aí falecido em 1887);

SOPHIA MARIA Dourado (da Cunha Velho Sotto Mayor) nasceu na R das Flores, já vivia na Quinta do Dourado em S. Mamede de Infesta quando casou a 23/10/1877 na Igreja Parochial de São Martinho de Dume em Braga com Alberto da Cunha Velho Sotto Mayor que nasceu a 26/02/1851 no lugar da Ordem em Barcelos na casa dos barões da Retorta, o brasileiro Domingos Miguel da Cunha Velho Sotto Mayor de Azevedo e Melo Tavora de Albergaria e Castro (Sacramento da Sé, Rio de Janeiro, 12/04/1806 - Casa da Ordem, S. Martinho de Dume, Braga, 28/10/1877) e Anna Emilia da Costa e Almeida Ferraz (Barcelinhos, Barcelos, 20/05/1816 - Braga, 19/06/1888) de quem teve 10 filhos, tendo sido o Arnaldo o 14.º dos seus 17 filhos e tendo falecido em Ponte da Barca (um desses filhos foi Boaventura Dourado da Cunha Sotto Mayor que casou com Maria de Assunção Mesquita (Dourado da Cunha Sotto Mayor) de quem teve geração no Porto, no Brasil e em Paris, e faleceu em S. Mamede Infesta depois de ter vendido parte da Quinta do Dourado;

ANTONIO WENCESLAU da Costa Dourado JUNIOR nasceu na R. das Flores a 08/09/1849, foi batizado a 15/10/1849 na Sé Cathedral do Porto pelo padre Abbade da Sé Jose Vicente Teixeira tendo sido seus padrinhos o seu avô paterno Boaventura da Costa Dourado e o seu tio Manoel Joaquim de Araujo e Costa representado pela sua mulher Emilia ? de Araujo e Costa, casou às 16:30 de 28/11/1874 na Igreja parochial de N.ª S.ª da Vitória no Porto com GRACINDA DA GLORIA DE FONTES (Dourado) que nasceu a 06/04/1851 na Travessa da Fabrica da freguesia da Vitoria, foi batizada a 20/06/1851 na Igreja de N.ª S.ª da Vitoria e era filha dos lavradores Manoel de Fontes (natural de Ponte de Lima, filho de Caetano de Fontes natural da freguesia de Lobão e de Maria da Roza natural da freguesia de Santa Marinha no concelho de Ribeira de Pena no Arcebispado de Braga) e de Maria da Gloria Fontes (natural de Lordello do Ouro no Porto, filha de Francisco Jose Antunes natural de São Vicente de Campos e de Maria Ermelinda de Barros Antunes natural da freguesia da Vitoria no Porto), faleceu em Cedofeita a 30/09/1904 e ambos tiveram vários filhos na freguesia de S. Martinho de Cedofeita para onde foram viver (Antonio Wenceslau Fontes Dourado nascido em 1877 e falecido a 18/11/1888, Helena de Fontes Dourado nascida a 31/12/1879, Affonso Henriques da Costa Dourado nascido a 05/05/1881, Boaventura António de Fontes Dourado que nasceu a 02/12/1883 e frequentou no anno lectivo de 1902/1903 a Academia Polytechnica do Porto, Maria da Natividade de Fontes Dourado nascida a 06/11/1890 e João Miguel de Fontes Dourado cuja filha Helena da Glória Gouveia de Fontes Dourado nasceu em 1917 e casou com Jose Antonio de Oliveira Braga nascido em 1896).

Com a morte do solteiro Boaventura da Costa Dourado a 29/01/1920, foram herdeiros da quinta os seus 4 irmãos e os descendentes de uma das irmãs já falecida:

a quinta foi desmembrada em 2 por partilhas, a quinta principal (Quinta do Dourado) e a Quinta do Albuquerque composta por casas para caseiros, grande terreno a lavradio, engenho de tirar água para rega e 2 tanques;

depois de várias e atribuladas sucessões, foi a Quinta do Albuquerque vendida em 13/10/1950, a Maria Amelia de Magalhães e Lencastre (S. Lazaro, Porto, 19/041896 - Porto, 04/01/1954) e seu marido Luis de Faria Lencastre (Ariz, Marco de Canavezes, 06/12/1887 - Antas, Porto, 02/06/1951) casados a 18/11/1914 em Vila Boa do Bispo no concelho de Marco de Canaveses, por Boaventura da Costa Dourado Sottomayor (filho de Alberto da Cunha Velho Sotto Mayor e Sophia Maria Dourado, um dos muitos sobrinhos do solteiro Boaventura da Costa Dourado) e sua mulher Maria de Assunção Mesquita;

por morte da viúva Maria Amelia de Magalhães e Lencastre a 04/01/1954, foram herdeiros os seus 7 filhos, estando a viver na quinta o seu filho António de Faria Lencastre (Vila Boa do Bispo, Marco de Canaveses, 18/09/1917 - Foz do Douro, Porto, 24/04/1976) e a sua mulher D. Maria Elisabete de Oliveira Lobo d' Ávila (23/05/1919 - ?) casados a 02/04/1945 na Foz do Douro e sepultados em jazigo de família no Cemitério do Prado deixando 7 filhos ainda todos vivos.

Em 1954, por causa das partilhas entre Antonio de Faria Lencastre e os seus irmãos após a morte da mãe a 04/01/1954, foi decidido a venda da quinta:

assim, a Quinta do Albuquerque voltou a unir-se ao núcleo fundamental da Quinta do Dourado, por compra de ambas pelo Eng.º Eletrotécnico João Paes de Aguilar.

JOÃO PAES DE AGUILAR nasceu entre agosto de 1900 e janeiro de 1901 em S. João da Pesqueira, apenas porque o seu pai era então Juiz de Direito no Tribunal de S. João da Pesqueira, era irmão de Maria Augusta de Lacerda Leitão de Aguilar que comprou a Casa Nobre ou Casa dos Navegantes na R. de Sobreiras em Lordelo do Ouro no Porto e eram ambos filhos de Jose Maria da Fonseca Saraiva d' Aguilar (Cabeça de Mouro, Torre de Moncorvo, Bragança, ? - R. do Moreira, n.º 255, Bonfim, 28/11/1926) e de Maria Lacerda Leitão (de Aguilar) casados em dezembro de 1899 (filho de Jose Maria Saraiva d' Aguilar e irmão de Frederico Saraiva d' Aguilar, de Ayres Augusto Saraiva d' Aguilar e do médico Arthur Maximo Saraiva d' Aguilar, o pai de João Paes de Aguilar matriculou-se a 02/10/1879 no curso de Direito da Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Coimbra onde concluiu o Bacharelato em Direito de 5 anos em 1884 tendo aí residido no n.º 18 do Largo do Hospital quando frequentou o 1.º ano no ano letivo de 1879/80, no n.º 23 do Bêeco dos Militares quando frequentou os 2.º e 3.º anos nos anos letivos de 1880/81 e 1881/82 e no n.º 5 dos Arcos do Jardim quando frequentou os 4.º e 5.º anos nos anos letivos de 1882/83 e 1883/84, o rei D. Carlos I transferiu-o por carta de 21/11/1893 para ser o Delegado do Procurador Régio na Comarca de S. João da Pesqueira até janeiro de 1901, foi nomeado a 04/01/1901 Juiz de Direito da Comarca da Ilha das Flores nos Açores pelo rei D. Carlos I (nomeação escrita a 21/01/1901 no Livro de Mercês do rei), era Juiz de Direito na Comarca de Felgueiras em 1911 tendo estado de licença, concedida a 24/08/1911, entre 23/09/1911 e 21/10/1911 e fez testamento cerrado a 20/04/1922, 4 anos e meio antes de falecer, e aberto a 08/12/1926);

João Paes de Aguilar era em 1924 aluno do Eng.º Civil Luís Couto dos Santos (Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 01/03/1872 - Porto, 31/01/1938), professor ordinário da 3.ª secção (a de Mecânica e Eletrotecnia) na Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto desde maio de 1919 lecionando então as aulas da 25.ª cadeira (Medidas Elétricas);

entre 1934 e 1937, ele foi Eng.º Vogal do Conselho Superior de Obras Públicas (CSOP) na 2.ª Subsecção (Telecomunicações) da Secção de Eletricidade, conselho este criado na 1.ª quinzena de janeiro de 1934 por Despacho ao abrigo de um Decreto do Governo de 23/12/1933;

João Paes de Aguilar CASOU depois de 1937 a um 13 de abril com Branca Alice Ferreira Braga (de Aguilar), nascida a 30/04/1909, viúva de Armando Duarte Dias (com quem esteve casada entre 1929 e 1937, ano em que o seu 1.º marido faleceu vítima de tuberculose que o tinha atacado 7 anos antes), falecida a 14/02/2005 e neta materna de Narciso Ferreira (Pedome, Famalicão, 07/07/1862 - 23/03/1933) que era filho dos pequenos lavradores Antonio Ferreira (natural de Pedome e filho de Custodio Ferreira natural de Sam Clemente de Sande e Anna de Abreu Marques natural de Santa Maria de Oliveira) e Maria Dias de Sampaio falecida por volta de 1890 (natural de Riba d' Ave e filha de Domingos Jose Dias de Sampaio natural de Pedome e Francisca Rosa da Silva Pacheco natural de Riba d' Ave), foi o grande fundador da indústria têxtil em Portugal (depois da aprendizagem em oficina manual de tecelão aos 19 anos cerca de 1881 com 2 teares manuais na sua casa de Pedome vendendo os seus tecidos de algodão nas feiras vizinhas e no Porto onde arranjou clientes certos para o sustento da mãe e dos irmãos devido à morte prematura do seu pai, e depois de ter casado a 19/01/1882 em Riba d' Ave com Eva Rosa de Oliveira (filha de Zeferino Jose Pereira e Anna Joaquina de Oliveira naturais de Riba d' Ave, nascida a 14/01/1861 e falecida a 01/01/1913), procedeu aqui por volta de 1890 à instalação duma oficina têxtil com teares mecânicos junto ao curso do rio Ave onde estabeleceu uma queda de água, a qual chegou a atingir 19 teares mecânicos e onde ele se especializou nos 'riscados fortes' que lhe deram fama e proveito e que ele continuou a produzir e a potenciar com o seu desenvolvimento empresarial ao ter conseguido sociedade em 1894 junto dos negociantes e capitalistas do Porto Manuel J. Oliveira, José Augusto Dias, Eng.º Ortigão Sampaio e J. Fernandes Machado legalizando a situação em 1896 com a criação da empresa 'Sampaio, Ferreira & C.ª' cujo crescimento deu origem ao maior empreendimento têxtil que existia em Portugal na 2.ª metade do século XIX, não se limitando a adquirir riqueza, mas preocupando-se imenso também com os aspetos da solidariedade e da amizade já que mandou construir em Riba d' Ave 5 bairros para operários, 1 creche e 1 quartel para a Guarda Nacional, escolas em várias localidades e o Hospital de Riba d’ Ave) e foi o responsável pelo início do abastecimento de energia elétrica ao Norte de Portugal (criou em 1907 a 'Companhia Hidro-Eléctrica do Varosa' nas cercanias de Lamego, a qual começou a produzir energia 2 anos depois), teve 10 filhos (2 que morreram crianças, Delfim de Oliveira Ferreira nascido na freguesia de Riba d' Ave a 13/12/1888 e agraciado com a Grã-Cruz da Ordem de Mérito Industrial em 1951, a Ordem Militar de Cristo, o Grande Oficialato da Ordem de Mérito Industrial e a Medalha de Ouro Municipal de Vila do Conde tendo falecido a 24/09/1960 na sua Quinta de Serralves no Porto adquirida a Carlos Alberto Cabral, 2.º Conde de Vizela e à sua esposa Blache Daubin em 1957 e onde a sua esposa e violinista Sílvia Gomes continuou a viver até à sua morte em fevereiro de 1982 deixando órfãos os seus filhos Maria Alice, Sílvia, Maria de Lurdes e Delfim Alexandre, Alfredo de Oliveira Ferreira nascido a 09/11/1889 e casado com Maria Amélia da Costa tendo falecido em Riba d' Ave a 12/12/1958, Raul de Oliveira Ferreira que nasceu a 14/03/1895 e casou com Maria da Gloria Gomes de Matos Ribeiro tendo sido Comendador e falecido a 09/05/1974, Jose de Oliveira Ferreira nascido a 14/12/1887 e casado com Maria Candida Nogueira Gonçalves tendo falecido em Riba d' Ave a 13/11/1922, Joaquim Ferreira nascido a 04/02/1893 e casado com Ermelinda Alice da Costa Guimarães, Manoel Carlos de Oliveira Ferreira casado com Maria Margarida Mesquita Guimarães de Brito e falecido a 02/02/1935, Maria Luciana de Oliveira Ferreira casada com Arnaldo Gonçalves e Rita Rosa de Oliveira Ferreira casada com Antonio Manoel Ferreira Braga natural de Chaves, os pais da esposa de João Pais de Aguilar que tiveram 5 filhos tendo um deles falecido aos 5 anos com tifo) e foi galardoado pelo Governo com a Grã-Cruz da Ordem de Mérito Industrial e com a Grã-Cruz da Ordem de Benemerência;

João Paes de Aguilar foi destacado pelo governo para dirigir as obras de construção da barragem da Chicamba Real (uma das gargantas do rio Revué em Moçambique) a partir dos projetos elaborados pelo Gabinete de Estudos da 'Sociedade Hidro-Eléctrica do Revué, SARL' criada pelo Decreto n.º 35744 de 10/07/1946 (a barragem situa-se cerca de 30 Km a oeste de Chimoio no planalto de Manica e foi inaugurada como Barragem Oliveira Salazar a 20/06/1959);

ainda em 2008, existia em Maputo (antiga Lourenço Marques) uma rua com o seu nome;

João Paes de Aguilar foi primo direito do médico e político Artur Máximo Saraiva de Aguilar (Seixas do Douro, Vila Nova de Foz Coa, Guarda, 22/11/1910 - ?), de Aires Máximo Saraiva de Aguilar e do advogado e escritor José Maria Saraiva de Aguilar (Seixas do Douro, Vila Nova de Foz Coa, Guarda, 23/07/1913 - Vila Real, 11/03/1981) que casou com Augusta Magalhães de Aguilar (Santa Marta de Penaguião, Vila Real, 02/08/1907 - Vila Real, 07/02/2002), filhos de de Anna Joaquina Pego e do seu tio paterno e médico Arthur Maximo Saraiva d' Aguilar formado em 1902 na Escola Médico-Cirúrgica do Porto com a sua dissertação inaugural 'Alimentação na Febre Typhoide (breve estudo)' orientada pelo Dr. Candido Pinho.

Há uns anos atrás, na antiga Quinta do Albuquerque, esteve em exploração um horto, sendo que a casa grande da Quinta do Dourado era utilizada para banquetes, casamentos e outras receções:

atualmente, a casa está habitada por uma família herdeira de João Pais de Aguilar e já não desenvolve atividades para o exterior.

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Es gibt wahrscheinlich keine richtig schlechten 135er-Objektive – diese Brennweite bereitet seit langem konstruktiv keine Probleme mehr, so dass man auch unter den preisgünstigen sehr ordentliche Linsen findet.

 

Aber unter diesen nicht schlechten gibt es natürlich herausragende – und dazu zählt mit Sicherheit dieses 135er Elmarit.

 

Ich möchte mich hier aber nicht nochmals über die Vorzüge dieses Objektives auslassen, im Internet gibt's Informationen in Hülle und Fülle.

 

Nichtsdestotrotz zähle ich auschnittweise ein paar Werbeargumente für Leica-Objektive auf:

 

- LEICA R-Objektive zeigen schon bei voller Öffnung eine besonders große Schärfe- und Kontrastleistung.

 

- perfekt-neutrale Farbwiedergabe durch spezielle Maßnahmen bei der Vergütung.

 

- solide und dauerhafte Mechanik, z. B. Metallschneckengänge aus Aluminium- und Messingteilen.

 

- Ein spezieller, dünner Fettfilm sorgt dafür, daß die Leichtgängigkeit der Schneckengänge auch bei Dauereinsatz erhalten bleibt.

 

Bei Temperaturschwankungen scheint es aber Probleme zu geben.

 

Es gibt zwei Versionen des 135ers. Von 1964 bis 1968 wurden ca. 16.000 Exemplare der ersten Version hergestellt, die etwas kürzer und leichter als die zweite Serie war sowie einen anderen Linsenaufbau hatte.

 

Weitaus häufiger ist das 135er der 2. Version, zu der auch meines gehört. Über 50.000 sollen von 1968 bis 1998 hauptsächlich in Kanada produziert worden sein. Laut Seriennummer stammt das abgebildete Objektiv aus dem Jahr 1976.

 

Bemerkenswert ist das Gewicht (obwohl das nicht direkt mit der Qualität zu tun haben muss): 730 g wiegt es – das Porst-Tele (von Enna) hat 260 g und macht auch schöne Fotos. :-)

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Subscribe to my new youtube channel and see how I used the divine section and golden rectangle, spiral, and ratio to get the cover of N-Photo Magazine! And see how Ansel Adams and the great painters and fine art masters used the golden mean in their compositions!

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLlB_W3XG-k

www.youtube.com/channel/UC42cWDExI8K8stjROqOlLbQ

 

It shows up in a lot of my surf photos too!

 

Nikon D810 Photos Pro Women's Surfing Sports Photography With New Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens for Nikon!

 

Beautiful athletic swimsuit bikini wetsuit model goddesses!

 

The new Nikon D810 rocks for sports photography! New Instagram!

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Goddess videos! vimeo.com/45surf

 

Nikon D810 Photos Pro Women's Surfing Van's US Open Sports Photography Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD !

 

I shot in DX mode which crops away the extra pixels and takes me 1.5X closer while allowing for up to 7 FPS with the Nikon D810's Nikon MB-D12 Battery Grip using the 8 AA battery option! 8 Duracles took me through around 3,000 shots no problem--maybe more! I was shooting at the equivalent of 900mm with the 1.5x crop factor! Pretty close! Had I gone with the Nikon D4s, I would have gotten 12 fps, but no DX crop factor, as the sensor has only around 14mp, compared to the d810's 36 megapixels! Sure the larger pixel size on the Nikon D4s full frame sensor comes in handy indoors or at night, but in the brigth sun, there's more than enough light for the smaller pixels in crop mode! Sure we lose some pixels from the outer edges when shooting in DX crop mode, but most of those pixels would be cropped away in lightroom anyway. And the smaller files make the memory cards last longer, while also upping the FPS to 7 shots per second! Not quite 12 FPS< but still awesome and enough I felt!

 

What a beautiful way to test the Nikon D810 and Tamron 150-600mm zoom lens for sports photography!

 

Athletic graceful girl goddesses! Tall, thin, fit and in shape! Pro women's surfers form the van's us open wearing both long wetsuits and bikini bottoms with shorty wetsuit tops/summer wetsuits. Sexy, beautiful beach babes and water goddesses all! Many are professional swimsuit bikini / surf lifestyle models too!

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Autofocus lens for Nikon AF-D Cameras.

 

The new Nikon D810 rocks for sports photography New Instagram!

instagram.com/45surf

 

Beautiful athletic swimsuit bikini wetsuit model goddesses!

 

Join me friends!!

 

instagram.com/45surf

 

www.facebook.com/elliot.mcgucken

 

www.facebook.com/45surfAchillesOdysseyMythology

 

Subscribe to my new youtube!

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLlB_W3XG-k

 

All the best on your epic hero's odyssey! :)

 

Been hard at work on my books--my physics books on Dynamic Dimensions Theory (dx4/dt=ic) celebrating the hitherto unsung reality of the fourth expanding dimension which all the photons surf across the universe en route to making a photograph! Also working on an art, mythology, and photography book titled The Golden Hero's Odyssey! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey! Always love hearing from y'all! :)

Non?

Tour Zizim

problem roll w/ Arista.EDU Ultra 100 after reusing D-76 once with Barry Thornton's teapsoon method

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The problem with being a bird photographer is that you're invariably looking up and that reptiles come out to bask in the sun. As the sun mainly strikes through the rainforest where paths have been cleared, there's a good chance that you could step on this feller as I nearly did. I suppose I should count myself lucky that it wasn't a snake :-)

These geraniums look so beautiful in the sun that I love to sit beside them just watch them and any bees that might come along.

 

I wish you well in whatever way is most appropriate for you but cannot take on the extra work of writing it to you individually. Thank you for your good wishes and to those who have made me their contact. Due to long term health and eye problems I regret I can't take on any new contacts but nearly always manage to reply to your comments. Please no more than 1 invite.

Downtown Drug Problems

Lublin, Poland

De cateva zile aveti probleme mari cu sinuzita sau ati constatat ca aveti tulburari de miros? Cel mai bine este sa mergeti la un consult ORL. Daca sunteti din Bacau va recomandam sa apelati la serviciile medicale oferite de Cabinetul medical al doamnei doctor Laura Asafte. Acest cabinet ORL...

 

zoom-biz-news.ro/orl-bacau-2/

- Você tem que parar de comer tantas besteiras! – Oceania estava extremamente preocupada.

 

- É verdade. Vai acabar doente e de cama com algum problema no estômago. – Falou Dantallia repreendendo.

 

- Você não pode ficar de cama agora que eu acabei de sair de lá. – Reclamou Kinshiro olhando preocupadamente para a Sohee.

 

Desde que decidiu não sofrer mais pelo Solle, Sohee consumia quantidades absurdas de açúcar durante o dia todo. Nada salgado passava pelos lábios dela.

 

- Mas os doces me fazem bem! Eles e os pijamas são meus novos amigos. – Disse abraçando a taça de sorvete com carinho.

 

- Isso é loucura!!! Você tá se entupindo de doces só pra preencher o vazio do Solle e nem percebe. – Kinshiro detestava cada dia mais aquele cara babaca.

 

- O Kin tem razão! Você devia estar preenchendo esse vazio com a gente! Nós somos seus amigos de verdade. – Dantallia tentava tirar os doces da mesa, mas Sohee dava tapinhas nas mãos dela toda a vez que ela encostava em algo.

 

- Até parece que você não gosta mais da gente... – Disse Oceania com a voz triste.

 

- Não é isso... Eu só não quero virar um grude com vocês. Vocês ficaram tanto tempo ao meu lado, suportando os meus choros, as minhas lamentações, aquele bando de lenço cheios de meleca... Não é justo eu ficar alugando vocês ainda mais! Mas os doces não reclamam se eu fizer isso com eles.

 

- E nem a gente vai reclamar! – Falou Kin de prontidão.

 

- É, Sohee. Você preciiiisa da gente nesse momento. Nós queremos te ajudar a melhorar.

 

- E se você não melhorar a gente mete bala naquele idiota! – Falou Oceania determinada, fazendo Sohee rir.

 

- Você é uma figura, Nia! Mas obrigada, gente... Acho que eu ainda estaria lá naquele quarto se não fosse o carinho de vocês. Principalmente o seu, Kin... Me-mesmo ainda estando mal você veio me animar. Isso foi muito importante pra mim... – Disse isso olhando nos olhos de Kinshiro, ficando levemente avermelhada. Mas ela tratou logo de apoiar a cabeça no ombro dele, escondendo assim o rosto tímido.

 

O garoto ficou tenso com aquele toque repentino, mas ela estava tão preocupada em esconder a timidez que nem reparou. A verdade é que ela estava bem cansada desses acontecimentos todos que surgiam um atrás do outro. Sohee só queria ficar de olhos fechados inspirando e expirando. Relaxando junto daquelas pessoas que eram tão importantes para ela.

Já Kinshiro prendeu a respiração, não acreditando que ela estava encostando nele de livre e espontânea vontade. Ele olhou incrédulo para Dantallia e Oceania, mas elas só olhavam e riam para ele, animadas com aquilo tanto quanto ele. Elas fitavam os dois alegremente, fazendo joinhas e gritando silenciosamente para ele. Parecia que o encanto que o Solle tinha posto nela estava se despedaçando mais rápido do que o imaginado!

Problems...

See? All you gotta do is close the door. 😉

Mathematical and Geometrical Problems, The Iconographic Encyclopedia of Science, Literature and Art c. 1851 Copyright free.

The walkway, along with the Marine Station (Dover Eastern Docks) have both been recently renovated, and thanks to my busy lifestyle, have not been able to go down to see the competed work.

 

But on Sunday after the beach clean up, we did go in, and how wonderful it is. It has been cleaned, and no longer smells like a toilet, broken glass has been replaced with double glazing, ironwork has been pained, and in general, looks marvelous.

 

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The outbreak of war with France in 1793 focused attention on coastal defence and upon the strategic importance of Dover Harbour.

 

Before the war Dover had been a thriving port with over thirty vessels employed in the channel passage and had been known for its thriving shipbuilding business. Despite this, the problem of shingle blocking the harbour entrance had not been solved.

 

Radical plans to improve the harbour were submitted by the military engineer Thomas Hyde Page and by civil engineers Rennie and Walker. These were rejected in favour of a series of works by James Moon, the resident engineer and harbour master, and Sir Henry Oxenden, a harbour commissioner.

 

The improvements begun by Moon and Oxenden involved over eighteen years work and saw the building of wet and dry docks in the tidal harbour and a new cross wall with clock and compass towers. The stone quays of the Pent were begun and North and South Piers rebuilt. This was to have a significant effect on the Port's future.

 

The widening of South Pier included the installation of water jets in its head supplied by pipes in from the wet dock. These were intended to clear the harbour mouth of shingle.

 

Despite all this work, shingle remained a problem. A further problem during this period was the and building of the wet and dry docks in the tidal harbour unfortunately made the harbour far too small for the number of ships which used it.

 

In 1834 Thomas Telford, the famous engineer, submitted plans to improve the sluices and the jets in the south pier.

 

Telford believed that thorugh increasing the volume of water available with a tunnel between the Basin and the wet dock and by increasing the diameter of the pipe supplying the jets, the harbour mouth could be cleared of shingle. After Telford's death, his plans were continued by James Walker. These improvements, completed in 1838, went a long way towards solving the problem of shingle in the harbour mouth.

 

In the meantime the townspeople had become tired of the delays and pressed the Harbour Board for action, which in fact the Harbour Board had already begun. In 1836 the Board were refused further financial powers by Parliament and a parliamentary enquiry established.

 

This enquiry and the Royal Commission of 1840 laid the ground for the modern harbour with the recommendation in 1846 that Dover become a harbour of refuge 'capable of receiving any class of vessels under all circumstances of the wind and tide'.

 

Whilst the Royal Commission deliberated, work went on in Dover and the tidal harbour doubled in size in 1844 with the demolition of Amherst's Battery and the excavation of the land on which it stood. At the same time, construction of a new bridge and gate to the Pent and new quays within it were undertaken.

 

In 1847 work began on the western arm of the Harbour of Refuge. The Harbour had been designed by James Walker and was commissioned by the Admiralty. By 1851 the pier had reached a sufficient length to solve the problem of shingle in the harbour mouth and cross channel steamers were able to berth alongside.

 

The South Eastern Railway reached Dover via Folkestone in 1844 and the plans for the pier were altered to also provide a station which could deliver passengers and goods directly to the gang-planks of the channel boats. Traffic increased with the arrival of the London, Chatham & Dover Railway line in 1861 which was connected to the pier in 1864.

 

The first phase of the pier was completed in 1854, and the second in 1864, but the third phase was delayed by discussion as to how it should finish at the seaward end. It was finally decided that a fort with two powerful 80 ton guns should be placed there. It was not until 1880 that the first structure was complete and 1885 before the guns were first fired. It became known as the Admiralty Pier Gun Turret.

 

The eastern arm of the Harbour of Refuge was never begun and to meet the demand of cross channel trade plans were made to build a smaller commercial harbour. The eastern arm of this was the Prince of Wales Pier and was not begun until 1893.

 

It was not until 1897 that the contract for Dover's Harbour of Refuge, first considered in 1836, was finally let. Work had already begun on Dover Harbour Board's commercial harbour scheme with the construction of Prince of Wales Pier and the plans for this were therefore amended.

 

The plans for the harbour included a 2,000 feet extension of Admiralty Pier, an Eastern Arm of 2,900 feet and a breakwater of 4,200 feet. This entirely enclosed the bay leaving an Admiralty harbour of 610 acres and a commercial harbour of 68 acres. The plans for Admiralty Pier were amended in 1906 to allow the building of a station for the South Eastern and Chatham Railway.

 

Despite problems with currents caused by the initial building of Prince of Wales Pier beyond the length of the incomplete Admiralty Pier, Dover flourished and in 1904 transatlantic liners began to use the port. This proved very short lived with the Hamburg Amerika Line moving to Southampton in 1906 after a series of collisions in the harbour mouth and with the other liner companies following suit over the next two years.

 

The problems with the entrance were solved when the piers and breakwaters were finished. Unfortunately this was too late to save the liner traffic, however since 1996 the Port of Dover has seen liners return with the opening of a new cruise terminal.

 

The completed harbour was opened on 14 October 1909 by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, the future King George V.

 

www.dovermuseum.co.uk/Dover-History/19th-Century-Dover/Do...

 

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This was a large, spacious, and impressive station, located within a maze of lines upon a tight triangular junction between the routes from Folkestone and Dover Priory. The origins of the terminus and general railway expansion in the Dover area derive from a need to cope with ever-increasing traffic, both local and boat services. Indeed, many capacity issues upon both SER and LC&DR networks were properly addressed after the formation of the SE&CR. The SER had initially commenced through running to Dover on 7th February 1844, after an eastward extension from Folkestone, which involved taking the railway along the dramatic coastline of Folkestone Warren. This had witnessed the blowing up of sections of chalk cliff with gunpowder, and boring three tunnels:

 

Martello Tunnel: 532-yards

Abbotscliff Tunnel: 1,942-yards

Shakespeare Tunnel: 1,387-yards

 

The SER ran into what later became known as ‘’Dover Town’’ station, and between here and Shakespeare Tunnel, the double-track line was elevated upon a wooden framework. The SER’s Town station was a large affair, comprising five tracks entering the terminus from the west, all of which were protected by a large twin-span overall roof. Substantial three-storey-high railway offices backed onto the rear of the platform lines, these being constituted of the customary yellow brick, lined at the edges with stone. Extension beyond the terminus took place in 1860, by means of a single track exiting the rear (east) of the layout, veering southwards onto a stone-built pier head. The latter, known as the ‘’Admiralty Pier’’, carried a double-track and allowed trains to come directly alongside steamer boat services to France. In July of the following year, the LC&DR commenced through running between Victoria and Dover Priory. Also in 1861, after the boring of a 684-yard-long tunnel southwards through the Kentish chalk, from Priory station, the ‘’Chatham’’ line was brought closer to the earlier SER station. The LC&DR opened ‘’Dover Harbour’’ on 1st November 1861, which was a terminus affair comprising two platform faces, separated by three tracks, all of which were protected by a single-span triangular-shaped trainshed. Just like the SER’s Town station, Dover Harbour ceased to be a terminus proper when a single-track was taken beyond the original buffer stops, down to the Admiralty Pier. LC&DR services commenced to the pier on 30th August 1864, where separate platforms were provide for both ‘’Chatham’’ and SER companies. The platforms were arranged in an end-to-end fashion along the same section of track, rather than serving their own separate lines upon the pier. The LC&DR’s southward extension from Dover Harbour formed the second side of what would later become a triangular junction – the SER had created the first southern side of the arrangement, as a result of its initial 1860 opening of the short section of line between Dover Town and Admiralty Pier.

 

On 15th June 1881, the SER and LC&DR opened the ''Dover & Deal Joint Line'' – a rare example of the frenetic rivals cooperating. To allow the SER direct access to this line from its trunk route via Folkestone, a double-track spur (the ‘’Hawkesbury Street Curve’’) between Dover Harbour station and the Dover Town approaches came into use on the same day – the triangular junction was now complete. The SER was granted running powers over LC&DR metals through Priory station, and a number of local services now bypassed Dover Town. However, to compensate for this, additional platform surfaces were brought into use upon the connecting spur. The area in-between the two sites was already heavily built up, but early maps suggest that demolition in the locale, to accommodate the spur, was surprisingly modest. At the ‘’Chatham’’ end of the spur, signalling was installed by contractors Stevens & Sons.

 

The formation of the SE&CR Joint Managing Committee on New Years Day 1899 marked the beginning of a new era of railway expansion and improvements on the erstwhile independent networks of the SER and LC&DR. Of prominence during this company’s tenure was the St Johns to Orpington quadrupling works, between 1900 and 1905, which involved physically connecting both Tonbridge Cut-Off and ‘’Chatham’’ main lines in the vicinity of Chislehurst. In the Dover area, alterations began with the closure of the platforms upon the connecting spur between SER and LC&DR lines, in 1903. Subsequently, in 1912, major works began alongside the Admiralty Pier, to create an artificial platform within the water, on which a whole new terminus station was to be built. The latter was to be a spacious affair, dedicated to boat traffic only, and would permit the closure of existing station sites. Creating the platform involved dumping large quantities of chalk into the water immediately east of the Admiralty Pier. As it later transpired, the Admiralty Pier was not demolished, but rather, was absorbed into the new works to become the western side of the sea platform. Construction of the terminus commenced in 1913, and by the outbreak of the Great War in August 1914, the majority of the building work had been completed. A splendid vaulted train shed roof, comprising seven spans of varying widths, had been erected. The station measured 170-feet in width, and at its longest point stretched to 800-feet. The well-covered terminus comprised four 693-foot-long platform faces, arranged in the form of two spacious islands of concrete construction.

 

Wartime economies saw the closure of the ex-SER Dover Town station in 1914, which was never to reopen, but the retention of the ex-LC&DR Harbour and Priory stations, to which all services were now diverted to. The demise of the Town station was coupled with the closure of the three-road engine shed adjacent to the Hawkesbury Street Curve, and the concentration of the area’s locomotive allocation on the depot at Priory. The withdrawal of boat services on the outbreak of war saw that the semi-complete SE&CR terminus had no passenger traffic to serve. Despite its unfinished state, the station was quickly brought into use on 2nd January 1915 for military traffic, initially in the form of ambulance trains. Although the trainshed was virtually complete by this time, a significant feature still lacking was the marvellous stone façade which now graces the structure’s landward elevation. Completion of building works came after the cessation of war in November 1918, and the first passenger boat trains commenced to the terminus on 18th January 1919, the station being christened ‘’Dover Marine’’.

 

Attractive single-storey red brick offices, complete with war memorial, were built upon the platform surfaces, and both platform islands and the exit were linked by a lattice footbridge at the northern end of the terminus, located within the trainshed. The incorporation of the SE&CR’s main war memorial here was unusual, for the other large railway companies erected these at their main termini in London. The layout upon the sea platform had grown to an extensive arrangement of tracks, numerous sidings having been brought into use to handle substantial levels of freight traffic during the war period. Dover Marine was controlled by an SE&CR-designed 120-lever signal box positioned to the west of the station, immediately adjacent to the tracks from Priory. The signal box comprised a substantial brick base and was in fact a much larger version of the signal cabin which still exists at Folkestone Harbour, demonstrating traits of those early Saxby & Farmer products. A 455-foot long enclosed glazed footbridge was suspended above the double-track of the former Admiralty Pier, and this took passengers over the complex approaches from the Folkestone direction. A physical connection was also made between this footbridge and the Lord Warden Hotel. The latter was a four-storey colossus, the main section of which was built upon a floor plan of 130-foot by 120-foot. Originally opened in 1851, the hotel was built on a site immediately behind the SER’s Dover Town station.

 

Locomotive facilities at the site initially comprised just a turntable and cylindrical water tank, located behind the signal box. As previously mentioned, on the closure of Dover Town, the locomotive allocation was concentrated on the existing depot at Priory. However, the inadequacy of the Priory site was emphasised after completion of the SE&CR’s Dover area enlargement works, and a new improvement scheme was soon set in motion after the formation of the Southern Railway. The SR devised a modernisation programme for the Dover area, which included a comprehensive rebuilding of Priory station, the closure of Harbour station, and the building of a new motive power depot. The proposals got underway in 1924, with the confirmation of a 280-foot-long five-road locomotive shed, to be built to the west of Dover Marine, alongside the running lines from Folkestone. As per the construction of the twelve-acre platform for the Marine station, large quantities of chalk were dumped into the sea, beside the former site of the ex-SER’s Dover Town, to reclaim enough land for a spacious complex. The depot came into use during 1928, comprising four eastward-facing dead-end tracks, a single through track, and a sixth line which terminated within an adjacent repair shed. The provision of a 65-foot turntable at the site resulted in the removal of that which resided behind the signal box at Dover Marine, and the water tank there also disappeared. The commissioning of the engine shed, which at 2007 prices cost approximately £7,767,500 to build, allowed the closure of the shed at Priory station, allowing the site there to become part of an enlarged goods yard. Dover Harbour station was subject to closure on 10th July 1927, all local traffic being concentrated at Priory and boat services being served exclusively at Marine station. Other improvements in the Dover area during the SR’s tenure included the rebuilding of the elevated track bed east of Shakespeare Tunnel from wood to concrete, and the laying of coal sidings at the Eastern Docks. Eight freight sidings also came into use alongside the Hawkesbury Street Curve, at Bulwark Street, partially upon the former site of the SER’s Dover Town engine shed. A dock basin for the train ferry, fed by a double-track emanating from the Dover Priory route, came into use during 1936, to the north of the Marine terminus.

 

Before continuing, it is worth examining one of the out-of-the-ordinary boat trains that served Dover Marine. Initially, the French inaugurated the ‘’Flèche d’Or’’ on 11th September 1926, a prestigious boat train running between Calais and Paris. The ‘’Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits’’ (International Sleeping Car Company) ordered twenty British Pullman vehicles to operate the service: fifteen kitchen cars (Nos. 4001 to 4015) were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company, and fifteen parlour cars (Nos. 4016 to 4030) were constructed by the Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon & Finance Company. The luxury vehicles were delivered new in the now renowned Umber and Crème ‘’New Standard’’ Pullman colours of the British fleet, and were operated as pairs, rather than individual carriages. With reference to the latter, this meant that a kitchen car and a parlour car would be semi-permanently coupled into a pair known as a ‘’Couplage’’, or, if you like, ‘’Linkage’’. Initially, the Flèche d’Or service was operated by two trains, each ten vehicles in length. From 1932 onwards, Pullman vehicles were repainted into the standard colours worn by the rest of the Wagon-Lits fleet: a lighter shade of crème appeared in place of the British colour, and the umber lower half became dark blue.

 

The French’s efforts were matched on the other side of the Channel by an all-Pullman service run by the Southern Railway from Victoria. Colloquially, this was referred to as the ‘’White Pullman’’, because the other Pullman cars on the Eastern Section at that time still wore the crimson lake livery of the SE&CR. Officially, however, the service was called the ‘’Continental Express’’, but it was nevertheless referred to by passengers as the ‘’Golden Arrow’’, the English translation of the French title. This was a sign of things to come, for on 15th May 1929, the SR’s all-Pullman boat train service was re-launched as the ‘’Golden Arrow’’. Significant engineering works occurred on the ex-SER trunk line between Petts Wood Junction and Dover, which involved strengthening bridges to accommodate the heavier engines planned to haul this prestigious service. Maunsell ‘’Lord Nelson’’ 4-6-0 locomotives were selected as the prime motive power, with Urie 4-6-0 ‘’King Arthur’’ engines (later modified by Maunsell) supplementing the fleet.

 

Much of the time, the outward ‘’Golden Arrow’’ from Victoria was booked to arrive at Folkestone Harbour, but the return portion instead started at Dover Marine, which gave rise to some interesting shunting movements. As mentioned elsewhere on the website, the Folkestone Harbour branch has never had a direct connection with the main line, and access to it can only be made by means of a headshunt manoeuvre. This arrangement was implemented as a safety measure from the outset, since the branch descends at a steep gradient of 1 in 30 to the harbour. Thus, the Pullman service would arrive at Folkestone Junction, and initially terminate in the reception sidings positioned to the east of the station there, where the connection with the Harbour Branch was made. An ex-SE&CR R1 Class 0-6-0 Tank would then attach itself to the rear of the train, whilst the ‘’main line’’ engine was detached, and take the Golden Arrow stock down to Folkestone Harbour. This released the ‘’main line’’ locomotive from the headshunt, and consequently, it ran light along Folkestone Warren, to Dover Marine. At the latter, the engine would be rotated, more often than not by means of the triangular junction between the converging lines from Folkestone, Priory, and Marine stations, rather than on the turntable at Dover shed. After rotation, the locomotive would then head back to Folkestone Junction to collect the empty Pullman stock for the return working, which had previously been banked up the steep Harbour Branch incline by as many as four R1 Tanks. The tank engines would usually bring the train out onto the running lines at the Junction station, allowing the express locomotive to immediately couple to the stock. The Pullman vehicles would then be hauled empty to Dover Marine to form the return working to Victoria. This involved some indignity for the engine because for this empty stock movement, it had to run tender-first.

 

The declaration of war on Germany on 3rd September 1939 signalled the beginning of harsh times for the Port of Dover, as it became a prime target for bombing raids. Boat trains and steamer services were suspended immediately, and passenger services to the Marine station ceased. The Marine site was again dedicated to military traffic, just as it had been during World War I, and as a consequence, services along the ex-SER route went no further than Folkestone. Indeed, consistent shelling over the Channel, from France, had made the site unsafe to handle any form of passenger traffic, and even the 1928-opened engine shed had to close during the conflict, all engines being stationed at Ashford for the duration. The attractive Marine station suffered damage to the trainshed roof, but thankfully, this was modest enough to deem it practical and worthwhile to repair, normal service at the station resuming after the conflict. Since the advent of World War II, the prominent Lord Warden Hotel had been used as offices; the Marine Department occupied the building from 1952 onwards, by which time it was known as ‘’Southern House’’.

 

Initially, the British Railways era did not necessarily mean rationalisation for this extensive site, as it did at so many other stations nationwide. Rather, the emphasis was on modernising facilities, to cater for new rail freight boat traffic which, in these pre-Chunnel days, was still important and by no means in decline. Modernisation of the site began in 1953, with the renewal of the five quayside cranes which ran alongside the northern wall of the terminus. This was followed in February 1956 by the approval of the Kent Coast Electrification Scheme. Published within an ‘’Extension of Electrification’’ report of 1957 were the alterations proposed for the Marine station. In early 1959, the station was closed to passengers temporarily to allow modifications to be carried out. These involved the extension of both island platforms westward by 114-feet, beyond the extent of the trainshed, and the installation of canopies above the exposed surfaces. The platform extensions were constituted of prefabricated concrete components, manufactured at Exmouth Junction concrete works; the platform canopies were W-shaped and lacked any form of valance. The latter were virtually enlarged versions of the equally clinical canopies which emerged at the rebuilt Folkestone Central and St Mary Cray stations, and these additions somewhat marred the attractive stone façade of the SE&CR station. Third rail was installed on all platform lines during 1959, as part of the ‘’Chatham’’ line electrification of the scheme’s ‘’Phase 1’’, and these were subsequently energised for the commencement of the full electric timetable via this route on 15th June of that year. An enclosed riveted steel footbridge was also erected across the approach tracks from Dover Priory, linking the main entrance beside the Lord Warden Hotel with the Customs Hall, on the northern perimeter of the Western Docks. Naturally, steam continued to visit the station by means of the ex-SER trunk line from the Folkestone direction until the implementation of a full electric timetable on this route on 18th June 1962. The Golden Arrow had been hauled by E5000 series electric locomotives since 12th June 1961. Colour lights installed at the Marine station during the electrification scheme were of the three-aspect type. Before electrification, the empty stock of arrived services would be shunted out the seaward end of the trainshed, and up along the extent of the old Admiralty Pier, to clear the platform lines. Locomotives would also be required to run-a-round using the Admiralty Pier tracks.

 

The commencement of electric haulage on the Golden Arrow in the June of 1961 coincided with the demise of Dover engine shed. Hitherto, the depot had the responsibility of servicing the Stewarts Lane-allocated steam locomotives which brought the luxurious train down from Victoria. Closure of the sub-shed at nearby Folkestone Junction also occurred, but the site of Dover MPD was put to new railway use, becoming host to a plethora of goods sidings. Closure of goods sidings at Bulwark Street occurred on 15th August 1966, but Archcliffe Junction – at the Folkestone end of the Hawkesbury Street Curve – remained in existence. In the following decade, major works were planned around the Marine station’s peripheral: in 1973, proposals were put forward for the construction of a roll-on-roll-off vehicle shed, and in 1974, planning of a new hoverport at the Western Docks began. After a consultation period spanning 1975 to 1976 inclusive, the hoverport was formally commissioned for operation on 5th July 1978, and replaced a smaller affair situated in the Eastern Docks. Track rationalisation had also occurred beyond the rear of the trainshed, and the ‘’Golden Arrow’’ had ceased between Victoria and the Channel Ports after a final run on 30th September 1972. Since 1969, the number of Pullman cars in the train had been whittled down to five, and the rest of the formation consisted of Second Class BR Mk 1 vehicles.

 

On 14th May 1979, Dover Marine station was renamed ‘’Dover Western Docks’’, and on 31st October of the following year, the ‘’Night Ferry’’ London to Paris train made its final run. This had first operated on the evening of 14th October 1936, between London Victoria and Paris Gare du Nord, via Dover Marine and Dunkirk. The service was unique among the boat trains, because the carriage stock travelled across the Channel with the passengers and ran on both British and French railway networks. Indeed, the vehicles were smaller than standard Continental carriage stock, having been specially built to meet the restrictive loading gauge of the British system. The service had been suspended during the war years, the last train running through to Paris over the night of 3rd/4th September 1939. After the cessation of the conflict, the ‘’Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits’’ (CIWL: International Sleeping Car Co.) found itself engaged in a search and rescue mission over the whole of Europe, to find several missing carriages. Stock of both the ‘’Night Ferry’’ and ‘’Orient Express’’ services had been taken over by the Germans, camouflaged and armoured, and subsequently used as army vehicles. The ‘’Night Ferry’’ service was resumed on 14th December 1947, and this was followed ten years later by the addition of a through sleeping car to Brussels. A sleeping car for Basle, Switzerland, was added to the service in 1967, but this lasted just two years.

 

Over the five years which followed the renaming of the station to ‘’Dover Western Docks’’, truncations of the lines within the trainshed, at their seaward ends, saw a ground level walkway come into use for passengers, behind the new buffer stops (a headshunt did, however, still remain for locomotive-hauled services). The SNCF train ferry continued to handle an abundance of ferry vans, shunted by Class 33/2 locomotives – the latter had been under the auspices of Railfreight Distribution (RfD) since that Business Sector’s formation on 10th October 1988. The ferry itself accommodated a double-track, and to maintain balance on the vessel, wagons on both lines would be loaded and unloaded simultaneously. During 1993, the train ferry shunting duty passed to Class 09 diesels.

 

Channel Tunnel boring began on 1st December 1987, and in light of this, the British Rail Board produced the dreaded report in 1989: the ‘’Proposed closure of Dover Western Docks Station and Folkestone Harbour branch’’. Passenger boat traffic was now seen as a thing of the past, as the advent of the proposed ‘’Eurostar’’ services through the Chunnel would now cater for this, providing a much faster and efficient service. Some of the freight carried upon the ferries could be transferred for haulage through the Chunnel; certain traffic, however, such as chemicals and inflammables, were not permitted through the tunnel, as they were safety hazards. Handling of these goods would therefore transfer to the Eastern Docks, involving the use of road transport, due to the lack of a rail connection there. During 1992, the headshunt facility at Western Docks station was taken out of use, meaning that locomotive-hauled services had to be shunt released – the latter duty was generally undertaken by a RfD Class 33/2. The fateful day was on Saturday 24th September 1994, when 4 CEP No. 1604 departed with the last advertised public departure to Victoria, scheduled for 21:44. The following day, the closure of the station was marked by the visit of ex-BR Pacific No. 70000 ‘’Britannia’’, with ‘’The Continental Farewell’’ rail tour from London Victoria. This had travelled via Balham, Beckenham Junction, and Tonbridge. The locomotive was masquerading as No. 70014 ‘’Iron Duke’’, which was one of two ‘’Britannias’’ formerly associated with the haulage of the famous ‘’Golden Arrow’’ on the South Eastern Division, between the years of 1952 and 1958 inclusive. At Western Docks, the tour met another ex-Golden Arrow locomotive, but of a more modern era: Type ‘’HA’’ E5000 series No. E5001. This locomotive fronted two tours on the same day, taking the excursion stock from Western Docks to Ashford and back, via Folkestone and Canterbury West.

 

It was not the total end of Dover Western Docks – yet. Until 19th November 1994, empty stock movements to and from the station continued to be available to passengers, albeit not advertised in the official timetable. Thereafter, the trainshed became a useful facility for stabling electric units for cleaning, until complete closure came with the decommissioning of the SE&CR signal box on 5th July of the following year. The bulldozers finally moved in at the beginning of 1996, but thankfully, since the main building was protected by Listed Status, demolitions only encompassed those additions made in 1959, as part of the Kent Coast Electrification Scheme. Naturally, the tightly curving track, with its famous crossovers, was also lifted, and as part of the works to convert the trainshed into a cruise liner terminal, the gap in-between the island platforms was in-filled, to provide a continuous floor at the same level. All red brick offices upon the platforms were retained, as was the elongated footbridge towards the Lord Warden Hotel. Even the substantial SE&CR signal box remained on site as office accommodation, but unlike the main station structure, this was not a Listed building. Tragically, the signal box met its end in 2000. The train ferry dock basin of 1936 was in-filled, and today its site is host to a sand operation.

 

The British Rail Board’s original report of 1989 outlined the closure of the Folkestone Harbour branch, but in the midst of the redevelopment at the Western Docks, the renowned steeply graded line continued to enjoy services. Unlike at Dover, where the passenger ferries at Eastern Docks were detached from the railway, Sea Cat sailings continued to operate from the railway pier at Folkestone, even after the opening of the Chunnel. These justified the retention of rail services to the Harbour station, which continued until the transference of the Sea Cat to Ramsgate in 2001.

 

www.kentrail.org.uk/dover_marine.htm

A cactus manipulated in PicsArt

Flickr is having a sporadic problem. Some folks' most recent uploads are not showing up in contacts' "my contacts" thumbnails. It is a subject of conversation in the help forum.

 

My most recent upload -- the descending Mallard Hen -- has not received comments as it normally would. If you see THIS upload, could you check your 'my contacts' list thumbnails, and see if the Mallard hen photo is included...and drop me a message. Or leave a comment here.

 

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Problem zone taping

here: Mouth that doesn't stand still

The Olmsted drinking fountain, built into the terrace wall, at the edge of the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol. 1st St, Washington, DC.

 

It's upsetting to see the plumbing has been removed.

Crested tit at my large pine cone set up in the Highlands. These birds are fantastic to photograph and hopefully get some very soon again.

This photo shot with my 1960's vintage Zenza Bronica S2A on Ilford film. Photo taken at Fish Lake in the mountains above Whitehorse, Southern Yukon.

 

Unfortunately, unbenownst to me, the old Bronica camera was suffering from a shutter problem. I got two perfect photos from the roll of 12 then each succeeding image had more and more of the frame cut off at the top. This image is the last of the useable frames, but it is one of only four that are. Every other image was ruined. The following roll was even worse, and then the camera locked up completely.

 

If any one out there has experience with this sort of issue on the S2/S2A, perhaps you could offer some suggestions in the comments, below? It really is a shame because, as you can see, this camera is capable of taking some striking images, and other than the shutter issue, it's a beautiful unit in mint condition.

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.

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