Although we didn't go in the museum, I just had to get a photo of these exhibits outside! We stopped here for ice creams (and nearly got pneumonia in the cold wind!!)

The museum was established in 2011 by The Historical Diving Society. It is located in a Victorian military battery in Gosport on the shores of The Solent. It is the only museum of its kind in the UK. Gosport has a claim to being the ‘home’ of the global diving industry. In 1832 the Deane brothers (the inventors of the diving helmet) carried out the world’s first commercial dive just off the coast of the Isle of Wight. John Deane subsequently moved to Gosport to continue working on local wrecks. Their invention suddenly made underwater exploration possible and the new ‘art of diving’ was soon practised all around the world. The prototype helmet which the Deane brothers used to perfect their diving helmet is currently on display in the Diving Museum. (From the museum website)

I heard the first male Tawny calling from the wood behind my house last night. I don't normally hear them until the end of the month or early October.

5 years ago, I worked on a Tawny project often aided and abetted by Paul and Andy. I posted several images at the time in my Tawny album.

I thought it would be a good idea to re-visit the project so I had my first go tonight. It was a last minute decision but the flashes were charged so I went back to the same wood where it all began.

It was a particularly dark night and I could barely make out the perch. A blackbird gave an alarm call and I remembered this is exactly how it began 5 years ago. This was the signal that the Tawny had begun to hunt.

I didn't have to wait long before I could just make out the outline of the Tawny on the perch. I couldn't make out which way he was facing so I used the same well practised drill that worked so well in the past.

I gave a tiny squeak between my teeth and hit the shutter. When the 2 flashes fired, I could see he had his back to me but the tiny squeak got him looking straight down the barrel of the lens. I would otherwise have only got a shot of the back of his head.

It's a simple shot to start with, hopefully there will be more to come.

The sun sinks low in the west as Class 43 locomotive No. 43378 speeds through Yatton station at the front of 1E63, the 15:27 Plymouth to Leeds service on Friday 29th October 2021. Sister locomotive No. 43207 was at the rear. This was the last weekday working of 1E63 in British Summer Time.

Notice the family group on platform 1, far left. A few minutes earlier the older child had been exploring the station's garden*, while the little one practised his or her new-found skill of walking. For me, it is the witnessing of simple, everyday events like these that often enriches time spent at railway stations while waiting to get that imagined classic shot.

* The garden lies adjacent to the platform. It was restored in 1999 and since then has been maintained by the Friends of Yatton Station for the benefit of passengers and passers-by. I will try to include it in a future offering.

The fishing village of Bolungarvík lies in the bay of the same name and is framed by the prominent mountains Óshyrna, located here above Ósvör, and Tra∂rhyrna, above the village itself.

Because of Bolungarvík's proximity to rich fishing grounds, fishing has been practised from here since the beginning of Iceland's settlement. Fishing huts were built along the coast, but for a long time there was no permanent settlement here. In 1890 a shop was opened in Bolungarvík and gradually people settled here. In 1903 Bolungarvík was officially designated as a trading centre and in 1911 the construction of the harbour began. Fishing is still the most important industry in the village today.

Here in Ósvör you can see how fishing was practised in Bolungarvík and throughout the country in past centuries. Reconstruction of the old fishing huts began in 1988 and today the place looks almost the same as it did in the past.

The Ósvör Museum was built in memory of ways of working that have disappeared in Iceland today. There is a fisherman's hut, a salt house, a fish drying shed, an open rowing boat, a winch and a fish drying area.

Der Fischerort Bolungarvík liegt in der gleichnamigen Bucht und wird von den markanten Bergen Óshyrna, hier oberhalb von Ósvör gelegen, und Tra∂rhyrna, oberhalb des Ortes selbst, eingerahmt.

Wegen der Nähe Bolungarvíks zu den reichen Fischgründen wurde von hier aus schon seit Beginn der Besiedlung Islands Fischerei betrieben. Fischerhütten wurden entlang der Küste errichtet, doch lange Zeit gab es hier keine feste Siedlung. Im Jahr 1890 wurde in Bolungarvík ein Geschäft eröffnet und nach und nach siedelten sich Menschen an. 1903 wurde Bolungarvík offiziell als Handelsplatz ausgewiesen und 1911 begann der Bau des Hafens. Fischerei ist bis heute der wichtigste Wirtschaftszweig des Ortes.

Hier in Ósvör kann man sehen, wie Fischerei in Bolungarvík und im ganzen Land in den vergangenen Jahrhunderten praktiziert wurde. 1988 wurde mit dem Wiederaufbau der alten Fischerhütten begonnen und heute sieht der Ort wieder fast genauso aus wie früher.

Das Museum Ósvör wurde in Erinnerung an heute in Island verschwundene Arbeitsweisen errichtet. Hier gibt es eine Fischerhütte, ein Salzhaus, einen Schuppen zum Trocknen von Fisch, ein offenenes Ruderboot, eine Seilwinde und einen Fischtrockenplatz.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christchurch_Harbour

Christchurch Harbour is a natural harbour in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England named after the nearby town of Christchurch. Two rivers, the Avon and the Stour, flow into the Harbour at its northwest corner. The harbour is generally shallow and due to the tidal harmonics in the English Channel has a double high water on each tide. On the north side of the harbour, east of the Avon are Priory Marsh, and to the east of this Stanpit Marsh, a Local Nature Reserve. To the west side of the harbour are Wick Fields, the southern flank of the harbour being bounded by Hengistbury Head, a prominent coastal headland. The harbour flows into the Christchurch Bay and the English Channel through a narrow channel known locally as The Run which rests between Mudeford Quay and Mudeford Spit. Shallow-draught boats can enter from this channel and cruise up stream for 2 miles (3 km) choosing either the Avon or the Stour, the Stour leading up as far as Iford Bridge passing Christchurch Quay and Tuckton.

Christchurch Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is a 352-hectare (870-acre) site designated both for its biological and geological interest. It comprises the estuary of the Stour and Avon and the Hengistbury Head peninsula. The varied habitats include saltmarsh, wet meadows, grassland, heath, sand dune, woodland and scrub. The site is of great ornithological interest.[

History

The harbour was formed around 7000 years ago when the sea level rose at the end of the last Ice Age. Previously the area which was many miles from the open sea was inhabited by Stone Age hunters. Archaeological finds dating from 12,500 year BP have been made on Hengistbury Head and Flints dating as much as 250,000 years BP have been found in the Bournemouth area.[3] The Bluestones used at Stonehenge may have been transported via the harbour and the River Avon (2550 BCE).[4] It is suggested that there may have been an ancient causeway usable at low water running from Double Dykes on the south shore to Tuttons Well located on the north shore near Stanpit village.[5]

The Harbour became a major trading port around 100BCE,[6] exports included copper, gold, silver and iron and importing luxury goods including wine and glass from which jewellery was manufactured. It is likely that slaves were also exported through the harbour. The boats used at this time were shallow draft, oak-planked with square leather sails for propulsion. It would have been a twelve-hour passage across the channel to Cherbourg and without any modern compasses or much weather forecasting. Despite this there was considerable two way trade with both British and Foreign Ports, it then declined as a result of the Roman invasion of France in 56 BCE.[7] The remains of a Roman ship were discovered in the harbour in 1910.[8] Trade continued until the Roman Invasion of Britain in AD43. During Saxon times the harbour again became one of the most important in Britain[9] as it was easily reached from the continent and boats could enter the harbour and travel up the river Avon all the way to Salisbury, and along the Stour to Wimborne and Blandford Forum.

In 1664 The River Avon Navigation act was passed to again enable vessels to travel as far as Salisbury and reestablish it as a port as in Medieval times. Traffic used the river from 1684 to 1720 with a break whilst repairs were made from 1695 to 1700. The route was finally abandoned in 1730.[10] In 1695 Lord Clarendon made a new entrance in Mudeford Sandbank using the iron stone from Hengistbury to form a training bank, these rocks now called Clarendon Rocks are still in existence, but the new entrance silted up and the channel returned to its original course. During this period and up until the middle of the 19th century, smuggling was rife in the Harbour (see the Battle of Mudeford).

There were numerous Harbour Improvement schemes proposed in the next three centuries, particularly the Railway and Docks Scheme of 1885. This would have seen major dredging of the harbour, training banks within the harbour and a railway terminus on the south side.[11] In 1965 there were a plans to construct a marina at Wick Hams.[12] This and the other schemes were never proceeded with. In the 1930s there were three "tea boats" providing refreshments to holidaymakers and at least another five houseboats in the harbour these were all abandoned and then wrecked during World War II.[13] The River was dredged in 1937 and again in the 1950s using a Suction Dredger, in the late 1980s Wessex Water carried out substantial dredging in the River Stour from Iford bridge as far as Christchurch Quay, this was part of a Flood Alleviation Plan.[14] The channel has been marked since at least 1884 first by Christchurch Sailing Club and since 1963 by the Harbour Improvements Association now renamed Christchurch Harbour Association.[14] Since 1963 the Mudeford inshore lifeboat has been stationed on the quay at Mudeford.

Geology

The Harbour is made up of Sandy Gravels, Sands, Muddy Sands, and towards the margins Silty Muds.[15] High and low Salt marsh both exist within the harbour, the latter colonised by Puccinellia and other grasses. Spartina anglica does not exist in significant volume, with no sign that it was previously extensive. The sedimentation of the Harbour has not therefore been substantially affected in the way most other south coast estuaries have by the spread and die back of this species.[15] Any loss of the salt marsh appears to have been offset by the re-colonization of abandoned artificial salt pans. Extensive Phragmites reed beds occupy tidal creek margins and areas of higher marsh, where they front wet grazing meadows. The inflow and outflow of sediment in the Harbour is positive,. Grimbury Marsh, is substantially composed of dredged spoil material. In total the estuarine system is a sediment sink.[15]

Royalty Fishery

The earliest reference to the Royal Fishery at Christchurch dates back to 939AD[16] and there was a valuable fishery in medieval times when the fishery was the property of the Lord of the Manor. The Royalty Fishery Title was conferred by Royal Grant during Queen Mary's reign and was renewed by Elizabeth I. It had come into the possession of the crown by reason of treason.[16] The Queen sold the rights back to Lord Huntington and it was sold on to the Lord of the Manor of Christchurch in 1791. The fishery was then sold to a Mr Thyrwit Walker in 1865, and it was purchased by West Hampshire Water Company in 1929. The Crown had retained the title and fishing rights to the bottom third presumably as an anti-smuggling measure.[16] Today the fishery is claimed to be best Sea trout fishing in England,[16] with some Salmon as well as Mullet and Bass. Also Coarse fish, Roach, Dace, Carp and Pike, the harbour and rivers have now been made a sport fishery where all species are returned to ensure the long term sustainability of the fishery.[16]

Wildlife

The harbour is home to a great variety of wildlife. Over 320 bird species have been recorded by Christchurch Harbour Ornithological Group.[17] The harbour and marshes are an important staging point for migratory birds. There is also an abundance of insect life, and many rare plant species. Stanpit and the other marshes are used for grazing horses and cattle. Both Otters and Seals have been seen in the Harbour.[18]

Leisure

The harbour is home to three Sailing Clubs, Highcliffe Sailing Club situated on Mudeford Quay, Mudeford Sailing Club on the North Shore and Christchurch Sailing Club adjacent to Place Mill on Christchurch Quay. Chistchurch Rowing Club is situated on the Quomps above Christchurch Quay. Hengistbury Head Activities Centre is situated on the South Shore of the Harbour. There are more than 1,400 small boat moorings in the harbour and rivers.[19] Sailing, rowing, canoeing, windsurfing and kite surfing are all practised in the harbour. Fishing Walking and Bird Spotting are all activities enjoyed on the Harbour shores. Ferries run from Tuckton Bridge to Mudeford Sandbank and between there and Mudeford Quay, these are some of the same vessels first used in the 1930s.[20] The Mudeford ferry crossing "The Run" was until the 1960s operated by Rowing boats with payment at the discretion of the passenger. There is also a ferry at Wick.

Around the harbour

To describe the various features of the harbour, it is convenient to divide the harbour, and list the features from inland (west) to outlet (east end). Tuckton Bridge over the River Stour, although inland from the harbour, is a convenient starting point. This is also the boundary between Bournemouth and Christchurch.

North side

From Tuckton Bridge along the River Stour there are river front properties up to the Captains Club hotel which is located on the west end of a quay and open space known locally as The Quomps this is overlooked by Christchurch Priory at the eastern end. The River Avon joins the Stour alongside the Priory. Across the Avon are Priory and Grimbury Marsh then the larger Stanpit Marsh (see below), Blackberry point which is an island at High Water is to the east of the marsh. Further east are the residential areas of Stanpit and Mudeford. At the eastern end of the harbour is Mudeford Quay, and the harbour entrance which is a relatively narrow channel, named The Run,[21] the coast eastward and open to the sea leads to Highcliffe, the next coastal village.

South side

From Tuckton Bridge, the two main sections of the harbour shore are Wick and Hengistbury Head, which are in Southbourne a suburb of Bournemouth. The harbour proper begins around Wick Fields, a reed marsh and part of the area of importance for nature conservation. The Hengistbury Head Activities Centre is situated on the shore just before Barn Bight. Hengistbury Head on the south shore was threatened during the nineteenth century by the mining of ironstone doggers which dramatically increased erosion. The silt washed into that part of the harbour threatened the ecology and to prevent this, the Quarry Pool was created on the headland by building a dam in 1976. Holloway's Dock cuts into the land before the shore reaches Mudeford Sandbank which juts northwards towards The Run. The sandbank is the home to many Beach huts, a cafe and the terminus for the Hengistbury Head Land Train.

Stanpit Marsh

Along part of the south west side of the Stanpit road is Stanpit Marsh. It was formed as the result of action and deposition of material from the rivers Stour and Avon as they meet with the salt water within Christchurch Harbour. Together with Grimbury Marsh, it forms one of the largest areas of salt marsh in the county.[22] It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and an important nature reserve of about 65 hectares (160 acres), combining both freshwater and saltwater habitats.[23] It is an important staging point for migratory birds. A circular path on the marsh uses a prototype Bailey Bridge to cross Mother Siller's Channel. The highest point of the marsh is Crouch Hill at 15' above sea level.

The Hagen Open-air Museum (LWL-Freilichtmuseum Hagen – Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Handwerk und Technik; English: "LWL Open-air Museum Hagen – Westphalian State Museum for Craft and Technics") is a museum at Hagen in the southeastern Ruhr area, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded, together with the Detmold Open-air Museum, in 1960, and was first opened to the public in the early 1970s. The museum is run by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL, regional authority for Westphalia and Lippe within North Rhine-Westphalia). It lies in the Hagen neighbourhood of Selbecke south of Eilpe in the Mäckingerbach valley.

The open-air museum brings a bit of skilled-trade history into the present, and it takes a hands-on approach. On its grounds stretching for about 42 ha, not only are urban and rural trades simply "displayed" along with their workshops and tools, but in more than twenty of the nearly sixty rebuilt workshops, they are still practised, and interested visitors can, sometimes by themselves, take part in the production.

As early as the 1920s, there were efforts by a group of engineers and historical preservationists to preserve technological monuments for posterity. The initiator, Wilhelm Claas, even suggested the Mäckingerbach valley as a good place for a museum to that end. The narrow valley was chosen, as wind, water and wood were the three most important location factors for industry in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1960, the Westphalian Open-Air Museum was founded, and thirteen years later, the gates opened to the public. Unlike most open-air museums, which show everyday life on the farm or in the country as it was in days gone by, the Hagen Open-Air Museum puts the history of these activities in Westphalia in the fore. From the late 18th century through the early years of the Industrial Revolution to the highly industrialized society emerging in the early 20th century, the visitor can experience the development of these trades and the industry in the region.

Crafts and trades demonstrated at the Westphalian Open-Air Museum include ropemaking, smithing, brewing, baking, tanning, printing, milling, papermaking, and much more. A favourite attraction is the triphammer workshop shown in the image above. Once the hammer is engaged, a craftsman goes to work noisily forging a scythe, passing it between the hammer and the anvil underneath in a process called peening.

The Hagen Westphalian Open-Air Museum is open from March or April until October.

Training occurs prior to any big event. Proof of concept, being match fit, learning roles, refinement, gestures, movements and timings. Being in a team or performing as an individual.

In this image we see an illustration of an earthwork currently known as a Neolithic 'cursus' and here renamed a 'Transport Dragon Run': here a training ground - in two days, a gathering.

This form of early British Isles Neolithic earthwork sags over time; fails ever to be restored back into vivid form and space, and even gets ploughed back into soil or aligned aside traffic jams, electric windows and passing snaps.

Here the 'Transport Dragon Run' has a long barrow at one end, and a terminal post hole, and so is mildly inspired by the 3km long 'Stonehenge Greater cursus' of around 3500 BC. This earthwork came into time during the lifespan of the nearby 'Pedestal circle' at 'Robin Hood Ball' (4000-3000 BC) and originated some 400 years prior to another nearby earthwork, that of the pre megalithic Stonehenge 1 (3100 BC): a causewayed henge, almost like a simplified memory of a pedestal circle, where display took over from capacity for individual 'Transport Dragons' to execute outwards tangential rush.

[See linked below for an associated Flickr post and drawing that illustrates the early Neolithic 'Causewayed Enclosure' earthworks as 'Pedestal circles' for grouped 'Transport Dragons'. See past posts and a Flickr album for a full explanation of the 'Transport Dragon' and how it was enhanced and enabled by the invention of the 'Tension lever' - currently known as the 'Bâton percé' - again, research and Flickr album via this Photostream]

The dates of the Neolithic vary from east to west and south to north, as do details of regional megalithic, petroglyphic and earthwork manifestation. In the UK, the landscape-art of ditch, bank and raised stone perhaps started with the 'Pedestal Circles': earthworks for groups of late period residual 'Transport Dragons'. The 100 examples of 'Pedestal Circles' were built between 4900 and 4800 BC. Stonehenge 1 had many of the qualities of a causewayed enclosure and this ripple for a true future megasite was thrown around 3100 BC, so 1700 years after the 'Pedestal circle' building boom. In-between are found the hyperbolic and intoxicatingly unusual earthworks currently known as 'cursus' and here referred to as 'Transport Dragon Runs'.

In summary: the following chronology relates to parts of Britain:

- 'Pedestal circles' (Causewayed enclosures) 3700-3625 BC

- Approximative 100 year buffer

- 'Transport dragon runs' (Cursus) approx' 3500-2920 BC

- The 'Stonehenge 1' earthwork 3100 BC

- Approximative 100 year buffer

- Start of the age of megalithic stone circles: around 3000 BC.

Earthwork mounds (barrows/Tumuli) of varied silhouette and armature tended to start after the Pedestal circles and then coincide with the 'Transport Dragon Runs' to then carry on for several ages.

Examples of 'Transport Dragon Runs' include the 10km long Dorset Cursus; the triple henged megasite with dissecting cursus of 'Thornborough', and of course the examples on sites that would later be remembered as 'Newgrange' and 'Stonehenge'. From just 46m long to a staggering 9.7km, there was something in the function of a 'Cursus' that accepted flexibility of local expression. Some examples crossed rivers, many occurred near rivers. Which ever size you choose, the builders of the peripheral banks (via exterior ditch) would need to find a serious and compelling 'self' motivation, or they might need to be bullied and threatened into work by physical and/or psychological strategy. This latter option seems to be snug with the zeitgeist of today's video-game generation, and several prehistory commentators describing 'religious dictators', late prehistoric 'Lords' and other examples of back-dated Medievalism and Empire-ista. In effect, we are currently asked to imagine images of 'overlords' wanting parade grounds - the current Wiki.

There are upwards of 200 known examples of this hard won and early landscape earthwork. The early to mid Neolithic enjoyed still enjoyed forests and scrub interstitial. Parades are very human and not a jarring concept, but post Mesolithic clans might easily doubt a would-be leader's judgement regarding excessive bank and ditch circumferences. Individuals could simply disappear into the quiet and croft. I think that it is also easy to see that parades do not need 9.7km earthwork lines to be majestic or compelling, but do need more than 46m; and that parades that pass over rivers would arrive as 'pétards mouillés' more than respectable heroes or dynamic energies from within Mother Nature's array of lifeforces.

I propose the "Transport Dragon Run' as an alternative explanation to 'Cursus', and those who have read my explanation of the 'Pedestal circle' (Causewayed enclosure) will no doubt already see how the two can be linked and phase-change from circle into elongated oblong.

In the text for the associated post on the anterior earthworks of 'Pedestal circles' (Causewayed Enclosures), I offer arguments that the circles were pedestals for 'Transport Dragons'. Each pedestal had it's own exit (causeway) accessed exclusively by each gathered Transport Dragon. Transport Dragons can surge forwards with ease, perhaps reverse with difficulty (people inside walking backwards or turning whilst holding the interior frame structure) and shuffle sideways with a clumsy fall. From these early circular earthworks, gathered residual Transport Dragons could meet to trade, and mix with newcomers and sedentary crofters who had lost their implicit association with a mythological clan frame. The ability for each Transport Dragon to rush down and tangentially out of a causeway, gave the Pedestal rings a military capacity which could be applied to assure a traditional use and respect for the animate landscape (free riverside passage and so on). Now, if circles were the traditional way for clans of Transport Dragons to meet, then there were downsides that might appear over time. Pedestal circles were static, and the new sedentary populations may not witness the power potential of the form. Likewise, some Transport Dragons may slow down to a point that they loose their vitality, and the emergent properties of several strong legs powering a weighted ornamental and mythological frame might suffer from fitness issues (varied rupestra and ceramic sculptures from the Neolithic can be seen to depict overweight individuals). Here, the Cursus/Transport Dragon Run was in effect an extended Pedestal Circle, with the new interior space perfect for training and displays of acumen, stealth, resilience and sheer power.

As the landscape slowed and the cadence of long journeys reduced down, some Transport Dragons localised to help with earthworks, post glacial monolith moving, clapper bridge adjustment and earth and tree moving around rivers. Being guardians of a 'Transport Dragon Run' enabled these residual clans to retain their local meaning and the idiosyncratic belief systems of each mythical frame from specific deep human prehistories. This desire to remain alive with past and future ideas and beliefs and holistically vital for practical culture would in my mind be enough to motivate this subset of the population to stay strong and dig and build without being threatened or conned.

The above image shows a Transport Dragon Run many years into its period of use. It has lived and it has grown with nature. Three transport Dragons can be seen towards the end of a practise run. For most of the run the fire has been guarded in the sculptured cob jaws as embers of potential energy. On the final 'New Year's' day, they will need to cross the line with the embers turned into a blaze of fire - and here they are practising.

Trade can now be from each end, as can other episodes of people and place. Some Transport Dragon runs are known for endurance (9.7km), some examples for pomp and none lineal runs (Thornborough), and some examples for sprints (46m); some are known for cross-country obstacle, and some also aligned into the spirit of the sun, the moon and the stars. On big days, there were parades along all or a portion of the run. Some Transport Dragons were never raced but simply appeared on banks to interact. Some teams practised on basic frames (illustrated above) which saved the ornamental and meaningful examples for big occasions. Some Transport Dragons stayed local to a dragon run, others dedicated schedules to travel between regional examples. Many locals 'supported' a Transport Dragon without having lived and earned its Mythology. A sense of greater space than a single Neolithic life could know. Of the Transport Dragons that fixed to a place, local services against bandits were offered. This premegalithic Britain was a strong population and landscape role model on display to the watching: for this illustration, 'Saltimbanques', 'Princesses' waiting to be carried, children with outlandish high hats and tasselled sticks, and rowdy early arrivals for the future crowd. To the far side, a group practise a whirling dance around a camp fire, and in the far distance more Transport Dragons are looked at and crafted prior to a breath-taking run of extraordinary technique.

Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year to Flickr and its diverse community. Looking forward...

AJM 29.12.21

Taken in Wales. While Zandri practised her fly fishing cast, I was photographing the birds.

Dubbo Courthouse was completed in 1890 to a design by Colonial Architect James Barnet.

Prior to 1847, legal and civic matters were administered in the town of Wellington. In December 1846, a Court of Petty Sessions was established in Dubbo. A wooden courthouse was constructed in 1848. This building serviced the wider region of Dubbo, as by 1851 the population of Dubbo was still just 47 people.

A District Court was established in Dubbo in 1858 and a Court of Quarter Sessions was established the following year. A second courthouse and watch house constructed of stone was completed in 1863 at a cost of £1,567. Following the establishment of the Municipal District of Dubbo in 1872, Council meetings were held in this courthouse.

In the 1880s, a new courthouse for Dubbo was designed by Colonial Architect James Barnet. This was likely in response to the increased workload created by the new gaol in Dubbo and the growth of the town. The courthouse was completed by the end of the decade and backed onto the gaol. A residence and two cells were also constructed on the grounds. The previous courthouse was then used as a drill hall for the local regiment.

Sir Frederick Pottinger was one of the earliest Clerks of Petty Sessions in Dubbo, appointed to the position in 1860. Pottinger was a wealthy heir and Second Baronet in England who squandered his inheritance on horse racing and was forced to migrate to Australia. In 1862, Pottinger was appointed Inspector of Police for the Western District. In this post he enthusiastically pursued bushrangers, capturing Ben Hall once amongst others.

Dubbo Courthouse was enlarged in 1981 with the construction of two additional courtrooms, chambers for Judge and Magistrate and ancillary accommodation including a large Petty Sessions Office and a Sheriff’s Office. These new works were officially opened by the Premier on 10 February 1981. The total cost was $2.1 million.

---

The history of Dubbo's courthouse is intertwined with the growth of the town and the establishment of law and order in the region. The first court of petty sessions was held in Dubbo in 1846, and the police residence, courthouse, and lock-up were constructed between 1847 and 1848. The original courthouse was located on Macquarie Street, which was later closed when the Brisbane Street Courthouse opened in 1889. The Brisbane Street Courthouse was designed by Colonial Architect James Barnet and was likely built in response to the increased workload from the new gaol and the town's growth.

Colonial Architect James Barnet:

James Johnstone Barnet (1827 - 1904), architect, was born at Almericlose, Arbroath, Scotland, son of Thomas Barnet, builder, and his wife Mary, née McKay. After education at the local high school he went to London in 1843 and was apprenticed to a builder. He then studied drawing and design under W. Dyce, R.A. and architecture with C. J. Richardson, F.R.I.B.A., and became clerk of works to the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers. On the 22nd of July 1854 he married Amy, daughter of John and Elizabeth Gosling; they sailed for Sydney and arrived in December. He engaged in building operations before he became clerk of works at the University of Sydney. In 1860 he joined the Colonial Architect's Office; two years later he became its acting head and in 1865 colonial architect; he held the position until 1890 when the office was reorganised.

Barnet was responsible for the building of defence works at Port Jackson, Botany Bay, and Newcastle, courthouses, lock-ups, police stations, and post offices throughout New South Wales (NSW) and several lighthouses including the Macquarie Lighthouse on South Head, which replaced an earlier one designed by Francis Greenway. In Sydney, he designed and supervised the construction of several important public buildings: a new wing to the Australian Museum, the General Post Office, Colonial Secretary's Office, Public Works and Lands Buildings, Customs House, Public Library, the Medical School at the University of Sydney and the Callan Park Lunatic Asylum. He was also responsible for additions to the Tarban Creek Asylum and the maintenance of other public buildings. The total cost of public works carried out or in progress under his direction to 1881 was £3,598,568 for 1490 projects.

When the Duke of Edinburgh visited Sydney in 1868 Barnet was given charge of arrangements for the royal reception and in 1879 was responsible for the design and erection of the Sydney International Exhibition building on five acres of the Botanical Gardens. The design was prepared and the work completed in nine months with the aid of night shifts using the first electric light in Sydney. Preparation of 412 drawings and of all accounts and payment of moneys as well as oversight of the work were part of Barnet's responsibility. Whilst the work was in progress he was continually attacked in parliament and in the press. As an indication of its censure parliament disallowed his forage allowance in 1879. A sum of £50,000 had been voted for the project but the final cost was £184,570. Barnet explained the increased cost as the result of hurried planning and the use of more durable material than originally intended. The building 'took the public taste' and when the exhibition ended he was paid a gratuity of £500, an amount he considered totally inadequate.

The new wing for the Australian Museum was intended for a museum of natural history and a sculpture gallery. In 1873 the management of Gerard Krefft as curator was considered by the trustees to be highly unsatisfactory and on 24 February 1874 a select committee of the Legislative Assembly was appointed to investigate. Despite Barnet's denials it reported that the old building was satisfactory although in poor repair, but the new wing was 'extremely defective' with 'abundant evidence of the architect's desire to subordinate utility to ornament'; in no circumstances should the colonial architect be permitted to continue his mistakes in the uncompleted work. In spite of the committee's findings Barnet was soon acclaimed as an architect of skill and imagination. On 1 September at the official opening of the General Post Office the postmaster-general, (Sir) Saul Samuel, paid a glowing tribute to his work. The first contracts for the foundation and basement had been let in February 1866 but were delayed by negotiations for extending the site and the needs of urgent defence work. To make the most of the narrow site an extra storey was added, mezzanine galleries were built above the ground floor and the main building extended over an arcade built above the footpath. Pyrmont sandstone, in blocks 'of a magnitude never before attempted in these colonies', was used and fireproof concrete 'of original composition' formed the vaulted dome ceilings.

For decoration of the Pitt Street frontage Barnet planned carvings which would portray selected arts, sciences, and customs of the day. In 1883 these came under criticism from the postmaster-general, William Trickett. The inevitable board of inquiry commended Barnet's intention but complained that the carvings were not a faithful record, approaching 'far more to the unnatural and burlesque than … to the real', an opinion which made Barnet doubt the artistic taste of his judges. The subject was dropped although occasional notices in the press referred to the entertainment of visitors by the 'grotesque' carvings.

In addition to other official duties, Barnet sat on the commission set up in 1870 to plan the colony's defence. More defence works were recommended for Port Jackson and Barnet was directed to build new batteries and barracks. His work, without 'any technical professional aid', was highly praised by Sir William Jervois and (Sir) Peter Scratchley in 1877. On 16 July 1889 the defence work was removed from Barnet's control and a military works branch of the Public Works Department was created with Lieutenant-Colonel F. R. de Wolski as director. The earlier close relationship between the military and Barnet deteriorated rapidly, partly because of de Wolski's outspoken condemnation of Barnet's ability and partly because of his persistence on tactical delay in handing over plans and documents for defence work. For some time work at Bare Island battery, Botany Bay, had been criticized and rumours of incompetence and dishonest workmanship persisted. On 1 July 1890 a royal commission was appointed to investigate the letting of contracts and to report on the work already completed. The commissioners found that much of the construction was below standard: the colonial architect's supervision had not been adequate, specifications were altered without approval and expenditure insufficiently controlled. Barnet's evidence contradicted that of his subordinates which the commission accepted more readily than his own. Whatever deficiencies had occurred, and there were plenty, were Barnet's sole responsibility; he was found guilty of gross indifference towards his duties and of insubordination to the minister for public works.

Although the minister saved Barnet from further punishment, the commission's censure was a regrettable end to a distinguished career. For his part Barnet thought that the commissioners' report was an 'unseemly, cruel, and spiteful exhibition of silly persecution and injustice' and believed that he could have made a satisfactory explanation if given the opportunity; he was also convinced that the commission had been influenced by de Wolski who by invitation had attended many of its meetings and been permitted to comment on the evidence.

In his architectural work Barnet had been strongly influenced by the Italian Renaissance, but some of his buildings were on poor sites. He had no sympathy for new styles of architecture which were becoming fashionable in Sydney at the end of the century and tended to ape American trends. He was equally critical of domestic architecture cluttered with useless ornamentation and 'surmounted with blazing red tiles from France'. As colonial architect for twenty-five years he had an important influence on colonial architecture; his public buildings were well built and well designed and stood as a memorial to his ability. References to his work are sprinkled throughout the Sydney Morning Herald in 1863-1904. In 1899 he published Architectural Work in Sydney, New South Wales, 1788-1899.

Barnet died on 16 December 1904 and was buried in the Presbyterian section at Rookwood cemetery where his wife had been interred about 1890. He was survived by four daughters and three sons, two of whom practised their father's profession.

Source: Old Dubbo Gaol & Australian Dictionary Of Biography.

Practised some horse photography today with my new Ranger RX pack and Rotalux 100x100.

Triggered by PW Mini-TT1 and Power-ST4

Have learned that flash is OK with most horses while reflectors are very scary.

#icelandichorse #RangerRx #Pocketwizard

The Hagen Open-air Museum (LWL-Freilichtmuseum Hagen – Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Handwerk und Technik; English: "LWL Open-air Museum Hagen – Westphalian State Museum for Craft and Technics") is a museum at Hagen in the southeastern Ruhr area, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded, together with the Detmold Open-air Museum, in 1960, and was first opened to the public in the early 1970s. The museum is run by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL, regional authority for Westphalia and Lippe within North Rhine-Westphalia). It lies in the Hagen neighbourhood of Selbecke south of Eilpe in the Mäckingerbach valley.

The open-air museum brings a bit of skilled-trade history into the present, and it takes a hands-on approach. On its grounds stretching for about 42 ha, not only are urban and rural trades simply "displayed" along with their workshops and tools, but in more than twenty of the nearly sixty rebuilt workshops, they are still practised, and interested visitors can, sometimes by themselves, take part in the production.

As early as the 1920s, there were efforts by a group of engineers and historical preservationists to preserve technological monuments for posterity. The initiator, Wilhelm Claas, even suggested the Mäckingerbach valley as a good place for a museum to that end. The narrow valley was chosen, as wind, water and wood were the three most important location factors for industry in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1960, the Westphalian Open-Air Museum was founded, and thirteen years later, the gates opened to the public. Unlike most open-air museums, which show everyday life on the farm or in the country as it was in days gone by, the Hagen Open-Air Museum puts the history of these activities in Westphalia in the fore. From the late 18th century through the early years of the Industrial Revolution to the highly industrialized society emerging in the early 20th century, the visitor can experience the development of these trades and the industry in the region.

Crafts and trades demonstrated at the Westphalian Open-Air Museum include ropemaking, smithing, brewing, baking, tanning, printing, milling, papermaking, and much more. A favourite attraction is the triphammer workshop shown in the image above. Once the hammer is engaged, a craftsman goes to work noisily forging a scythe, passing it between the hammer and the anvil underneath in a process called peening.

The Hagen Westphalian Open-Air Museum is open from March or April until October.

Nothing interesting showed up at Lackford Lakes today, so got out the macro lens and practised on some bugs

Mylai Kolam drawing competition, as a part of Pongal festival, Chennai,India held at Mylapore.

Kolam (Tamil: கோலம் kõlaṁ) is a form of painting that is drawn using rice powder/chalk/chalk powder/white rock powder often using naturally/synthetically colored powders in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and most parts of Kerala and some parts of Goa, Maharashtra, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and a few other Asian countries. A Kolam is a geometrical line drawing composed of curved loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots. In South India, it is widely practised by female Hindu family members in front of their homes.

I really don't see how we would put 35 people in this. We practised getting in and out.

I never realised just how S&M my old Brownie belt is.

When he was a young boy, 'Sir Stephen' snuck into his sister's room, whilst she was at gym practice. It didn't take him long to find it, - he held it in front of him in both upturned hands then slowly pulled one end, through his clasped hand til the worn leather end slipped through his fingers, he gave a firm yet quiet whack into his open left palm. His eyelids tightened and a smile emerged as he closed her door and walked purposely across the landing back to his room. His bookcase wedged behind the bedroom door, he indulged his furtive imagination, with Margaret from two-doors-down, he practised with the assorted stolen lengths of rope from last week's 'Knot Tying Badge'. He then formulated his plan for 'training' women for him to master.

Did the route of his evil stem from a stiff leather and shiny bondage-ringed Girl Guide belt? Is that why the film opening in the 70's coincided with the phasing out of the lovely, traditional Brownie uniform dresses and belts and the introduction of brown elastic waisted culottes, logoed sweatshirts and heaven forbid, 'bobble hats'?? Is it all the Baden Powell's' fault??

One of the four forms of bullfighting praticed in the world but it differs from the other three by two features, first it is practised exclusevely with cows and not bulls, the other feature it shares with the Camargue races, is that there is no killing, or hurting of the animal, either during the race, or after.

The Hagen Open-air Museum (LWL-Freilichtmuseum Hagen – Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Handwerk und Technik; English: "LWL Open-air Museum Hagen – Westphalian State Museum for Craft and Technics") is a museum at Hagen in the southeastern Ruhr area, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded, together with the Detmold Open-air Museum, in 1960, and was first opened to the public in the early 1970s. The museum is run by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL, regional authority for Westphalia and Lippe within North Rhine-Westphalia). It lies in the Hagen neighbourhood of Selbecke south of Eilpe in the Mäckingerbach valley.

The open-air museum brings a bit of skilled-trade history into the present, and it takes a hands-on approach. On its grounds stretching for about 42 ha, not only are urban and rural trades simply "displayed" along with their workshops and tools, but in more than twenty of the nearly sixty rebuilt workshops, they are still practised, and interested visitors can, sometimes by themselves, take part in the production.

As early as the 1920s, there were efforts by a group of engineers and historical preservationists to preserve technological monuments for posterity. The initiator, Wilhelm Claas, even suggested the Mäckingerbach valley as a good place for a museum to that end. The narrow valley was chosen, as wind, water and wood were the three most important location factors for industry in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1960, the Westphalian Open-Air Museum was founded, and thirteen years later, the gates opened to the public. Unlike most open-air museums, which show everyday life on the farm or in the country as it was in days gone by, the Hagen Open-Air Museum puts the history of these activities in Westphalia in the fore. From the late 18th century through the early years of the Industrial Revolution to the highly industrialized society emerging in the early 20th century, the visitor can experience the development of these trades and the industry in the region.

Crafts and trades demonstrated at the Westphalian Open-Air Museum include ropemaking, smithing, brewing, baking, tanning, printing, milling, papermaking, and much more. A favourite attraction is the triphammer workshop shown in the image above. Once the hammer is engaged, a craftsman goes to work noisily forging a scythe, passing it between the hammer and the anvil underneath in a process called peening.

The Hagen Westphalian Open-Air Museum is open from March or April until October.

The Sisters’ Rice Festival is sometimes called Sisters’ Meal Festival or Eat Sisters’ Rice Festival. The legend is there was once an old man and his wife who had three beautiful daughters. One day while they played on the riverside, the young girls felt lovesick. Zhang Guolao, a bearded God who carried a bamboo tubular drum, possessed the spirits of the girls, telling them to prepare five-colored rolls of glutinous rice filled with shrimp, fish and other special things. When young men came down from the mountain, the beautiful girls presented the rice to them. In this way, the young girls found their marriage partners

Sisters’ Meal festival, which takes in the Spring, is specific to southeast Guizhou. During the third lunar month in Shidong, Taijiang County in Southeast Guizhou Province, girls flock to the mountains to collect wild flowers and berries to dye the glutinous rice known as Sister’s Rice and everyone cooks up a storm! A storm of glutinous rice that is — dyed in several colors and formed into balls. Each girl prepares her rice with a symbol then wraps it in a handkerchief or put inside small baskets

The Miao minority “Sisters’ Rice Festival” is a celebration of spring and of love. Dressed in finest embroidered and appliqued clothing, adorned in all their freshly shined silver jewelry, young women set out to attract a suitable mate. That’s the traditional goal, but fun is the name of the game! Two, sometimes three, festival days are filled with dancing, singing, eating, drinking lots of rice wine, watching bull fights and cockfights, and horse racing.

The Festival brings villagers from many remote areas together, the girls beautifully dressed in their embroidered costumes. A kaleidoscope of colors, local customs and traditions, signature costumes and hairstyles provide a never-ending fashion show. It is said that the Miao originated from the egg of a butterfly that emerged from a maple tree. The butterfly married a bubble and laid twelve eggs. A mythical bird called the Jiyu watched over the eggs for twelve years and finally they hatched into a Miao man known as Jiangyang, a Thunder God known as Leigong, a water buffalo, snake, dragon, tiger, centipede, elephant and four other omens. All of these symbols are found in the exquisite embroidery and colorful decoration of these artistically talented people.

In anticipation of the Sisters’ Rice Festival, the grandmothers, mothers and other female relatives polish and shine the collection of silver neck rings, bracelets, anklets, earrings, hair pins and combs, rings and pendants, phoenix crowns and headpieces that the young courting-age girls will wear. The Miao believe that silver, representing light, dispels evil spirits. Silver is also a symbol of wealth and beauty, and some young women wear several kilograms of it at one time. Dazzling embroidered skirts, blouses, aprons and jackets are decorated with many different tooled silver ornaments. Pretty necks are encircled with bands of silver and linking silver chains that support large shining lockets, glittering beads and hanging tassels. Elaborate silver headpieces crown the heads of the girls as they proudly display their self-made costumes.

The festival always begins with special family meals. Sharing traditional foods such as rice that has been colored with the dyes of different leaves, berries and flowers, then cooked in bamboo tubes, and homemade rice wine, is similarly practised among the many Miao tribes. Some of the dyed rice is molded into balls that hold hidden treasures. These rice balls are presented to the young men who come to visit, and each treasure has a different meaning. Pine needles mean “You should give me embroidery needles.” and corn silk is a suggestion of fine yarn. A thorn tells the lucky fellow “You are the one!” Chopsticks or red flower pistils say, “Let’s marry quickly — the sooner the better.” And a single chopstick, some garlic or chili means, “Find someone else!”

Meanwhile, you will find many elders at the cockfighting competitions, trading at the daylong markets, or leisurely rowing long dugout canoes on the river beside the festival ground. This is a time of camaraderie and “catching up.” Mid-morning approaches, and the elders rush off to the bullfights. Excitement rises as the mighty bulls lock horns, trying to wrestle each other to the ground. All day long, one bull after another is defeated and then the final match begins. The winning bull brings great honor and riches to his owner for the following year, so although it is festival, the participants enter into the fights with a certain seriousness. Such anxiety calls for much merriment, eating, drinking and friendly betting. The champion bull’s horns are festooned with chickens, ducks, red ribbons and flowers as he is led around the battleground and through the town, snorting proudly for all to see. Finally he is bathed in the soothing waters of the Qingshui. The crowds thin out as people join picnics and special feasts.

The Qingshui riverside becomes lively and exciting as the music and dancing begins. As they walk and dance, the lovely Miao girls jingle and shimmer in the sun. Their cheeks burn with excitement while they flirt with handsome young men, each of whom is searching for a beauty worthy of his strength and handsomeness. Towards evening the newly formed couples break away and begin singing together.

When darkness falls, the festival beat increases as the dragon dances begin. Candles are lit inside the 25-meter-long hollow paper dragons. Battles begin as the fiery dragons weave in and out of the hooting crowds chasing each other. Drums and fireworks complete the noisy atmosphere. Into the evening, the elders continue to make the rounds, greeting their friends, swapping stories and songs, sharing tobacco and wine As the moon rises high in the night sky, young lovers wander off. The mountain paths are busy with the sounds of tinkling footsteps and clear melodious voices singing gentle love songs to the tunes of Lusheng pipes. Long into the night, the partying continues… Bamboo flutes and wooden drums echo sounds throughout the valley as the dawn breaks, beginning the next day’s festivities. As crowds slowly gather, the lovely dancing girls strut like peacocks while the boys look on admiringly.

© Saúl Tuñón Loureda

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El Museo de Ciencias de Londres (Science Museum en inglés) es un museo dedicado a la ciencia en Londres; forma parte del Museo Nacional de la Ciencia y la Industria. El museo es una de las atracciones turísticas de Londres.

Este museo contuvo la mayoría de los más famosos objetos de los que ahora forman parte del Science Museum. En 1885, las Science Collections fueron renombradas como Science Museum, y en 1893 fue nombrado un director del museo. Las Art Collections fueron rebautizadas como Art Museum que posteriormente sería el Victoria and Albert Museum. La Patent Office fue integrada en el museo en 1901.

Desde entonces, y con cambios en su estructura y su filosofía, alberga las colecciones de ciencia, tecnología, industria y medicina más completas del mundo. Su actual ubicación está en South Kensington. Empezó a construirse en 1913 aunque no se pudo terminar y abrir al público hasta 1928, a causa de la Primera Guerra Mundial.

El museo es de grandes dimensiones. Tiene cuarenta salas y está dividido por áreas de conocimiento, abarcando desde los inicios de la informática hasta los viajes espaciales pasando por telecomunicaciones, agricultura, matemáticas, geofísica, medicina, etc. La división del museo es tan específica que incluso hay salas dedicadas a Ciencia y Tecnología en el Islam o Ciencia en India. Y aunque más que un museo de ciencia (más interactivo) es un museo de historia de la ciencia (con muchas vitrinas), hay elementos tan divertidos como un cine IMAX, un simulador de realidad virtual o el llamado Launch Pad, que es una zona interactiva donde los niños podrán desde construir un puente hasta pilotar un avión. Incluso uno puede llegar a hacer un descabellado viaje al futuro en uno de los simuladores con los que cuenta.

Sin embargo, la gran atracción es el valor de muchos de los objetos que hay en el mismo y que reflejan una parte del progreso del conocimiento humano. Por ejemplo, se puede ver cómo se conserva en formol el cerebro de Charles Babbage (junto con su formidable máquina precursora de las calculadoras) o ver artefactos tan únicos como el original péndulo de Foucault o el motor de vapor de Boulton y Watt.

Por ejemplo, en la parte de astronomía, también se pueden llegar a ver cosas tan sorprendentes como el espejo del telescopio Earl of Rosse que durante el siglo XIX se consideraba el espejo más grande del mundo. Sin embargo, hay que admitir que el objeto que más conmoción causa es el módulo de comando del Apolo X: la primera misión tripulada por hombres que logró entrar en la órbita lunar y que fue el antecesor del que llevó al hombre por primera vez a la luna.

Actualmente el Science Museum contiene unos 300.000 objetos, entre los que destacan: la locomotora The Rocket de George Stephenson, que es la más antigua locomotora a vapor que existe; una reconstrucción de la molécula del ADN hecha por Francis Crick y James Watson; y algunos de los motores a vapor más recientes.

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_de_Ciencias_de_Londres

The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and today is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually.[2]

Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, the Science Museum does not charge visitors for admission. Temporary exhibitions, however, may incur an admission fee. It is part of the Science Museum Group, having merged with the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester in 2012.

Origin and history

A museum was founded in 1857 under Bennet Woodcroft from the collection of the Royal Society of Arts and surplus items from the Great Exhibition as part of the South Kensington Museum, together with what is now the Victoria and Albert Museum. It included a collection of machinery which became the Museum of Patents in 1858, and the Patent Office Museum in 1863. This collection contained many of the most famous exhibits of what is now the Science Museum. In 1883, the contents of the Patent Office Museum were transferred to the South Kensington Museum. In 1885, the Science Collections were renamed the Science Museum and in 1893 a separate director was appointed.[3] The Art Collections were renamed the Art Museum, which eventually became the Victoria and Albert Museum.

When Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for the new building for the Art Museum, she stipulated that the museum be renamed after herself and her late husband. This was initially applied to the whole museum, but when that new building finally opened ten years later, the title was confined to the Art Collections and the Science Collections had to be divorced from it.[4] On 26 June 1909 the Science Museum, as an independent entity, came into existence.[4] The Science Museum's present quarters, designed by Sir Richard Allison, were opened to the public in stages over the period 1919–28.[5] This building was known as the East Block, construction of which began in 1913 and temporarily halted by World War I. As the name suggests it was intended to be the first building of a much larger project, which was never realized.[6] However, the Museum buildings were expanded over the following years; a pioneering Children's Gallery with interactive exhibits opened in 1931,[4] the Centre Block was completed in 1961-3, the infill of the East Block and the construction of the Lower & Upper Wellcome Galleries in 1980, and the construction of the Wellcome Wing in 2000 result in the Museum now extending to Queensgate.

The Science Museum now holds a collection of over 300,000 items, including such famous items as Stephenson's Rocket, Puffing Billy (the oldest surviving steam locomotive), the first jet engine, a reconstruction of Francis Crick and James Watson's model of DNA, some of the earliest remaining steam engines (Including an example of a Newcomen steam engine, the worlds first steam engine), a working example of Charles Babbage's Difference engine, the first prototype of the 10,000-year Clock of the Long Now, and documentation of the first typewriter. It also contains hundreds of interactive exhibits. A recent addition is the IMAX 3D Cinema showing science and nature documentaries, most of them in 3-D, and the Wellcome Wing which focuses on digital technology.[9] Entrance has been free since 1 December 2001.

The museum houses some of the many objects collected by Henry Wellcome around a medical theme. The fourth floor exhibit is called "Glimpses of Medical History", with reconstructions and dioramas of the history of practised medicine. The fifth floor gallery is called "Science and the Art of Medicine", with exhibits of medical instruments and practices from ancient days and from many countries. The collection is strong in clinical medicine, biosciences and public health. The museum is a member of the London Museums of Health & Medicine.

The Science Museum has a dedicated library, and until the 1960s was Britain's National Library for Science, Medicine and Technology. It holds runs of periodicals, early books and manuscripts, and is used by scholars worldwide. It was, for a number of years, run in conjunction with the Library of Imperial College, but in 2007 the Library was divided over two sites. Histories of science and biographies of scientists were kept at the Imperial College Library in London until February 2014 when the arrangement was terminated, the shelves were cleared and the books and journals shipped out, joining the rest of the collection, which includes original scientific works and archives, in Wroughton, Wiltshire.[10] The Imperial College library catalogue search system now informs searchers that volumes formerly held there are "Available at Science Museum Library Swindon Currently unavailable". A new Research Centre with library facilities is promised for late 2015 but is unlikely to have book stacks nearby.

The Science Museum's medical collections have a global scope and coverage. Strengths include Clinical Medicine, Biosciences and Public Health. The new Wellcome Wing, with its focus on Bioscience, makes the Museum a leading world centre for the presentation of contemporary science to the public.

Some 170,000 items which are not on current display are stored at Blythe House in West Kensington. Blythe House also houses facilities including a conservation laboratory, a photographic studio, and a quarantine area where newly arrived items are examined.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Museum,_London

The Hagen Open-air Museum (LWL-Freilichtmuseum Hagen – Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Handwerk und Technik; English: "LWL Open-air Museum Hagen – Westphalian State Museum for Craft and Technics") is a museum at Hagen in the southeastern Ruhr area, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded, together with the Detmold Open-air Museum, in 1960, and was first opened to the public in the early 1970s. The museum is run by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL, regional authority for Westphalia and Lippe within North Rhine-Westphalia). It lies in the Hagen neighbourhood of Selbecke south of Eilpe in the Mäckingerbach valley.

The open-air museum brings a bit of skilled-trade history into the present, and it takes a hands-on approach. On its grounds stretching for about 42 ha, not only are urban and rural trades simply "displayed" along with their workshops and tools, but in more than twenty of the nearly sixty rebuilt workshops, they are still practised, and interested visitors can, sometimes by themselves, take part in the production.

As early as the 1920s, there were efforts by a group of engineers and historical preservationists to preserve technological monuments for posterity. The initiator, Wilhelm Claas, even suggested the Mäckingerbach valley as a good place for a museum to that end. The narrow valley was chosen, as wind, water and wood were the three most important location factors for industry in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1960, the Westphalian Open-Air Museum was founded, and thirteen years later, the gates opened to the public. Unlike most open-air museums, which show everyday life on the farm or in the country as it was in days gone by, the Hagen Open-Air Museum puts the history of these activities in Westphalia in the fore. From the late 18th century through the early years of the Industrial Revolution to the highly industrialized society emerging in the early 20th century, the visitor can experience the development of these trades and the industry in the region.

Crafts and trades demonstrated at the Westphalian Open-Air Museum include ropemaking, smithing, brewing, baking, tanning, printing, milling, papermaking, and much more. A favourite attraction is the triphammer workshop shown in the image above. Once the hammer is engaged, a craftsman goes to work noisily forging a scythe, passing it between the hammer and the anvil underneath in a process called peening.

The Hagen Westphalian Open-Air Museum is open from March or April until October.

L’Antiga Farmàcia “Hippodrates” - Casa d’Antoniadi, Plòvdiv, Bulgària.

Музейна аптека "Хипократ", Пловдив.

ENGLISH

The house was built in 1872 by Dr. Sotir Antoniadi, one of the first people with medical degree in Plovdiv.

Nowadays, it features the Old pharmacy shop Hippocrates and the Museum of Pharmacy, which are unique for Bulgaria. Here you can have insight of the way medicine and pharmacy were practised during the Bulgarian Revival period, up to the beginning of the 20th century – a period when all the medications and pills used to be made of natural ingredients.

A lot of tools and medical equipment, manufactured mainly in Vienna and Berlin, are displayed inside.

The original book with recipes by the healer St. John of Rila still keeps the memory of the century-old art of making remedies.

CATALÀ

La casa va ser construïda el 1872 pel Dr Sotir Antoniadi, una de les primeres persones amb un grau mèdic a Plòvdiv.

Avui en dia, compta amb l'antiga botiga de farmàcia Hipòcrates i el Museu de Farmàcia, únics a Bulgària. Aquí podeu conèixer la manera en què es feien els medicament durant el període de Revival búlgar, fins a principis del segle XX. Període en què tots els medicaments i pastilles solien estar fets d'ingredients naturals.

Moltes eines i equips mèdics, fabricats principalment a Viena i Berlín, es mostren a l'interior.

El llibre original amb receptes del sanador Sant Joan de Rila encara conserva la memòria de l'art centenari de fer remeis.

www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/index.html?action=SitHTMD...

Site description The site is a National Park covering 36,000 ha of the High Atlas, including the highest mountain in Morocco, Jbel Toubkal (4,167 m). Located only 60 km south of the town of Marrakech, the dramatic mountain scenery attracts thousands of visitors each year, many of whom climb Jbel Toubkal or trek elsewhere in the park. The mountain summits are often only slightly above the level of their surrounding high plateaus, which are separated by deep valleys. The park extends from 1,000 m upwards and therefore encompasses a range of vegetation-types, from forest to alpine meadow. Forest only covers 15% of the park, and consists mainly of the oldest Quercus rotundifolia stands in the High Atlas and Juniperus thurifera. Along the valleys, irrigated agriculture is practised and most of the park is used for extensive livestock-grazing.

More than 95 breeding species have been recorded, among them nine species of the Mediterranean North Africa biome. Thirteen raptors are recorded, among them Gypaetus barbatus, which definitely bred in the park until 1980. The Parc National de Toubkal is one of only two areas in Morocco where Apus caffer has been recorded breeding, and also holds several species with quite localized distributions in Africa, such as Rhodopechys sanguinea and Eremophila alpestris.

Conservation issues The National Park was created by 'Arrête viziriel' on 19 January 1942. Despite its protected status, the park has been facing growing pressures since the 1960s. Poaching has wiped out some species and overgrazing has destroyed or degraded much of the natural vegetation. Tourism has mushroomed and led to erosion of footpaths—on some days 30-40 tourists may be found together at one time on the summit of Jbel Toubkal, in spite of the long and arduous trek required to reach it. To counter these threats and safeguard wildlife, in the 1950s AEFCS created a reserve for Ammotragus lervia adjacent to the park, and in 1994 enclosed an area of 1,000 ha for the reintroduction of Gazella cuvieri. Both these measures have resulted in the protection of areas of forest habitat which are important for breeding birds. In 1994, a management plan for the park was drawn up under the auspices of AEFCS. Further conservation measures required include the training of local guides; the protection of nest-sites of the rarer bird species, particularly raptors; maintenance of trails to prevent erosion; and the establishment of grazing enclosures to protect endemic plant species.

www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/index.html?action=SitHTMD...

Site description The site is a National Park covering 36,000 ha of the High Atlas, including the highest mountain in Morocco, Jbel Toubkal (4,167 m). Located only 60 km south of the town of Marrakech, the dramatic mountain scenery attracts thousands of visitors each year, many of whom climb Jbel Toubkal or trek elsewhere in the park. The mountain summits are often only slightly above the level of their surrounding high plateaus, which are separated by deep valleys. The park extends from 1,000 m upwards and therefore encompasses a range of vegetation-types, from forest to alpine meadow. Forest only covers 15% of the park, and consists mainly of the oldest Quercus rotundifolia stands in the High Atlas and Juniperus thurifera. Along the valleys, irrigated agriculture is practised and most of the park is used for extensive livestock-grazing.

More than 95 breeding species have been recorded, among them nine species of the Mediterranean North Africa biome. Thirteen raptors are recorded, among them Gypaetus barbatus, which definitely bred in the park until 1980. The Parc National de Toubkal is one of only two areas in Morocco where Apus caffer has been recorded breeding, and also holds several species with quite localized distributions in Africa, such as Rhodopechys sanguinea and Eremophila alpestris.

Conservation issues The National Park was created by 'Arrête viziriel' on 19 January 1942. Despite its protected status, the park has been facing growing pressures since the 1960s. Poaching has wiped out some species and overgrazing has destroyed or degraded much of the natural vegetation. Tourism has mushroomed and led to erosion of footpaths—on some days 30-40 tourists may be found together at one time on the summit of Jbel Toubkal, in spite of the long and arduous trek required to reach it. To counter these threats and safeguard wildlife, in the 1950s AEFCS created a reserve for Ammotragus lervia adjacent to the park, and in 1994 enclosed an area of 1,000 ha for the reintroduction of Gazella cuvieri. Both these measures have resulted in the protection of areas of forest habitat which are important for breeding birds. In 1994, a management plan for the park was drawn up under the auspices of AEFCS. Further conservation measures required include the training of local guides; the protection of nest-sites of the rarer bird species, particularly raptors; maintenance of trails to prevent erosion; and the establishment of grazing enclosures to protect endemic plant species.

~Snortypeople

Queuing needs to become an Olympic event so we can win at least one gold medal in 2012

bigger if you fancy

Some places just elude you and this chimney at the old brickworks at Newmarket kept flying off my radar for years. Now lonely and surrounded by light industry in the inner Brisbane suburb of Alderley, it is not easy to photograph in a pleasing way, so I have wrapped it in the loving arms of a palm tree at the entrance to the industrial estate. Gotcha at last!

Newmarket Brickworks Chimney is a heritage-listed brickworks at 117 Mina Parade, Alderley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1912. It is also known as Hoffman Stack. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 24 March 2000.

Location

117 Mina Parade, Alderley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Official name

Newmarket Brickworks Chimney, Hoffman Stack

The Newmarket Brickworks Chimney was constructed in 1912. At this time, it formed part of the new complex constructed by Aleck Anderson, a former Clerk of Works, known as the Brisbane Brick and Builders Supply Company Ltd - or Brisbane Brick, as it was widely known.

Brickmaking has been practised in Queensland since the days of the Moreton Bay penal settlement in the 1820s. Local clay was used for making bricks, firstly in Redcliffe, and then in Brisbane Town. The clayfield in the later case was situated near the stream at the back of the convict settlement. A kiln was first built near the river but a new kiln was built at the field. Brick production was well under way by the beginning of 1826. A boost was given to the use of brick in Queensland, following a disastrous fire in Queen Street in 1864. Changes made to Local Government Ordinances in response to this encouraged the use of brick for building, although the costs involved meant that brick were mainly used for commercial and public buildings.

The development of the brick manufacturing industry, given the wide availability of timber in Queensland, has been faced with obstacles. A group of Brisbane builders and architects, led by Aleck Anderson, a former Clerk of Works, and also an experienced builder, formed Brisbane Brick and Builders Supply Company Ltd in 1911 to obtain good quality bricks, which were then not plentifully available in Brisbane. The Company based its design on the Hoffman method of brickmaking. The main kiln was known as the "Hoffman Kiln".

Mechanisation of brickmaking began in the 1870s. By 1896 the successful Hoffman mechanical method of brickmaking was established in Australia, and for the first time, quality mass-produced bricks could be bought at prices well below those of the hand-made equivalent. The Hoffman method was named after Friedrich Hoffman, an Austrian, who invented the technique in 1859. The Hoffman method enabled drying and firing to take place simultaneously. Known as continuous firing, one chamber would be stacked with "green" bricks, other chambers contained bricks in increasing degrees of dryness, in another chamber firing may just have been commenced, while another may be in full firing, other chambers might be in various degrees of cooling while one chamber might remain empty.

Brisbane Brick made its first appearance in the Queensland Post Office Directory (Trades Directory) in 1912-13. As Queensland was essentially a timber state, the building industry developed mainly by the use of timber and the demand for bricks fell below production. Brickyards, quickly piled high with large stocks of unsold bricks, were often forced during those early years to close down for from six months to two years. After one of these closures the Brisbane Brick issued new preference shares to obtain capital to refit and modernise its original plant at Newmarket, and resume manufacturing. From then until the outbreak of World War II, the company stopped production for one or two brief periods. During the war, the Defence Department utilised the Newmarket sheds, kilns and yards to store goods such as clothing, boots and other equipment. The company's engineering staff were engaged to maintain Liberty ships and other defence work. World War II set the brick manufacturing industry back many years, and forced the closure of the company's works at Newmarket.

With the end of the war, the brick manufacturing industry then faced the introduction of price controls. At this time, the modernisation of many plants was slowed considerably. With the lifting of price controls many companies, Brisbane Brick included, began a concerted drive to make up for what was considered "lost time". Plants were improved and production methods were streamlined. Demand for bricks for homes and new commercial buildings soon outstripped production and the new industry faced a new, though welcome obstacle, keeping up with growing demand. Brisbane Brick opened Strathpine Bricks Pty Ltd in 1961, at this time the development of new processes, such as the new tunnel kiln equipment to produce bricks, gradually overhauled the shortage. At the time, Newmarket Bricks Pty Ltd, was a subsidiary of Brisbane Brick and Builders Supply Company. The design of the new Strathpine site was considered "as modern as tomorrow - the concept in brickworks design completely removes the traditional image of the old-type works with its towering smoke stack and unattractive factory".

Operation of the Newmarket brickworks were continued by PGH. By 1985, the Newmarket site had frontages to Alderley, Wakefield and Yarradale Streets and Mina Parade. In 1987 the brickworks were demolished and the site subdivided. Buildings demolished included the Hoffman kiln, drying kiln, sorting sheds, dome kiln buildings and an extruder presses building. Over the last decade, the site has been fully redeveloped for industrial purposes. At the time of demolition, the chimney was excluded from the demolition permit on the basis of its rarity as a remaining example in Brisbane of a load-bearing brick chimney stack.

Amur Leopard Cub ~ Twycross Zoo ~ Leicester ~ England ~ Monday November 28th 2016.

www.flickriver.com/photos/kevenlaw/popular-interesting/ Click here to see My most interesting images

Purchase some of my images here ~ www.saatchiart.com/account/artworks/24360 ~ Should you so desire...go on, make me rich..lol...Oh...and if you see any of the images in my stream that you would like and are not there, then let me know and I'll add them to the site for you..:))

You can also buy my WWT card here (The Otter image) or in the shop at the Wetland Centre in Barnes ~ London ~ www.wwt.org.uk/shop/shop/wwt-greeting-cards/european-otte...

I went to Tywcross Zoo in Leicester a few years ago, prior to meeting and greeting the gorgeous singer Katie Melua.:)

Where I got to photograph a couple of critically endangered Amur Leopard cubs, as ya do..Here's one of many shots I captured...Have a Fabulous Hump Day Wednesday Y'all..:)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ~ Amur leopard ~ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amur_leopard ~

The Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is a leopard subspecies native to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and the Jilin Province of northeast China. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. In 2007, only 19–26 wild Amur leopards were estimated to survive. Data published by the World Wildlife Fund indicates that there are roughly 70 adult Amur leopards in the wild today. A more recent study places the number of Amur leopards at fewer than 60.

The Amur leopard is also known as the Far Eastern leopard.

Characteristics ~ Amur leopards differ from other subspecies by a thick coat of spot-covered fur. They show the strongest and most consistent divergence in pattern. Leopards from the Amur River basin, the mountains of north-eastern China and the Korean Peninsula have pale, cream-colored coats, particularly in winter. Rosettes on the flanks are 5 cm × 5 cm (2.0 in × 2.0 in) and widely spaced, up to 2.5 cm (0.98 in), with thick, unbroken rings and darkened centers.

Their coat is fairly soft with long and dense hair. The length of hair on the back is 20–25 mm (0.79–0.98 in) in summer and up to 70 mm (2.8 in) in winter. The winter coat varies from fairly light yellow to dense yellowish-red with a golden tinge or rusty-reddish-yellow. The summer pelage is brighter with more vivid coloration pattern. Compared with other leopard subspecies, they are rather small in size, with males larger than females. Males measure from 107 to 136 cm (42 to 54 in) with a 82 to 90 cm (32 to 35 in) long tail, a shoulder height of 64 to 78 cm (25 to 31 in), and a weight of 32.2–48 kg (71–106 lb). Females weigh from 25 to 42.5 kg (55 to 94 lb).

Amur leopards have long limbs and are well adapted to walking through deep snow.

Distribution and habitat ~ Hermann Schlegel first described an Amur leopard in 1857 on the basis of a skin from Korea. The Amur leopard is the only Panthera pardus subspecies adapted to a cold snowy climate. Fossils of leopards from the Pleistocene period have been excavated in Japan, although identification of the species is uncertain.

Previous population and distribution ~

The distribution of the Amur leopard has been reduced to a fraction of its original range. It once extended throughout northeastern ("Manchurian") China, including Jilin and Heilongjiang Provinces, and throughout the Korean Peninsula. The species range in Russia was dramatically reduced during the seventies, losing about 80% of its former range. The northern boundary of their existence commenced on the coast of the Sea of Japan at 44°N and ran south at a distance of 15–30 km (9.3–18.6 mi) from the coast to 43°10'N. There it turned steeply westward, north of the Suchan River basin, then north to encompass the source of the Ussuri River and two right bank tributaries in the upper reaches of the Ussuri. There the boundary turned westward toward the bank of Khanka Lake. In the 1950s, leopards were observed 50 km (31 mi) north of Vladivostok and in Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve. The association of Amur leopards with mountains is fairly definite. They are confined more to places where wild sika deer live or where deer husbandry is practised. In winter, they keep to snow-free rocky slopes facing south.

Current population and distribution ~

Today, the Amur leopard inhabits about 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi). The last remaining viable wild population, estimated at 57 individuals, is found in a small area in the Russian Province of Primorsky Krai, between Vladivostok and the Chinese border. In adjacent China, 7-12 scattered individuals are estimated to remain. In South Korea, the last record of an Amur leopard dates back to 1969, when a leopard was captured on the slopes of Odo Mountain, in South Kyongsang Province.

Leopards cross between Russia, China, and North Korea across the Tumen River despite a high and long wire fence marking the boundary. Ecological conditions along the border in the mountains are not yet monitored. In China, Amur leopards were photographed by camera traps in Wangqing and Hunchun, east Jilin Province, China.[citation needed] The only official North Korean government webportal reported in 2009 that some leopards were in Myohyangsan Nature Reserve located in Hyangsan County. It is likely the southernmost living group of Amur leopard.

Amur leopard numbers have been reduced via over hunting of prey and poaching combined with habitat loss from agricultural and urban development. However, both camera-trapping and snow-tracking surveys indicate that the population has been stable over the last 30 years, but with a high rate of turnover of individuals. If appropriate conservation actions are taken, there is great potential for increasing population size, increasing survival rates and habitat recovery in both Russia and China.

Ecology and behavior ~ Amur leopards are crepuscular and usually start hunting shortly before sunset. They are active again in the early mornings. During the day, they rest and hide in caves or dense thickets, but rarely hunt. They are solitary, unless females have offspring.

They are extremely conservative in their choice of territory. An individual's territory is usually located in a river basin which generally extends to the natural topographical borders of the area. The territory of two individuals may sometimes overlap, but only slightly. Depending on sex, age, and family size, the size of an individual's territory can vary from 5,000–30,000 ha (19–116 sq mi). They may use the same hunting trails, routes of constant migration, and even places for extended rest constantly over the course of many years. At places where wild animals are abundant, leopards live permanently or perform only vertical migrations, trailing herds of ungulates and avoiding snow. In the Ussuri region the main prey of leopards are roe and sika deer, Manchurian wapiti, musk deer, moose, and wild pig. More rarely they catch hare, badger, fowl, and mice. In Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve roe deer is their main prey year-round, but they also prey on young Eurasian black bears less than two years old.

When density of ungulates is low, leopards have large home ranges that can be up to 100 km2 (39 sq mi).

During a study of radio-collared Amur leopards in the early 1990s, a territorial dispute between two males at a deer farm was documented, suggesting that deer farms are favoured habitats.[15] Female leopards with cubs are relatively often found in the proximity of deer farms. The large number of domestic deer is a reliable food source that may help to survive difficult times.

They can run at 37 mi (60 km) per hour, and can leap more than 19 ft (5.8 m) horizontally and up to 10 ft (3.0 m) vertically.

The Hagen Open-air Museum (LWL-Freilichtmuseum Hagen – Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Handwerk und Technik; English: "LWL Open-air Museum Hagen – Westphalian State Museum for Craft and Technics") is a museum at Hagen in the southeastern Ruhr area, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded, together with the Detmold Open-air Museum, in 1960, and was first opened to the public in the early 1970s. The museum is run by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL, regional authority for Westphalia and Lippe within North Rhine-Westphalia). It lies in the Hagen neighbourhood of Selbecke south of Eilpe in the Mäckingerbach valley.

The open-air museum brings a bit of skilled-trade history into the present, and it takes a hands-on approach. On its grounds stretching for about 42 ha, not only are urban and rural trades simply "displayed" along with their workshops and tools, but in more than twenty of the nearly sixty rebuilt workshops, they are still practised, and interested visitors can, sometimes by themselves, take part in the production.

As early as the 1920s, there were efforts by a group of engineers and historical preservationists to preserve technological monuments for posterity. The initiator, Wilhelm Claas, even suggested the Mäckingerbach valley as a good place for a museum to that end. The narrow valley was chosen, as wind, water and wood were the three most important location factors for industry in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1960, the Westphalian Open-Air Museum was founded, and thirteen years later, the gates opened to the public. Unlike most open-air museums, which show everyday life on the farm or in the country as it was in days gone by, the Hagen Open-Air Museum puts the history of these activities in Westphalia in the fore. From the late 18th century through the early years of the Industrial Revolution to the highly industrialized society emerging in the early 20th century, the visitor can experience the development of these trades and the industry in the region.

Crafts and trades demonstrated at the Westphalian Open-Air Museum include ropemaking, smithing, brewing, baking, tanning, printing, milling, papermaking, and much more. A favourite attraction is the triphammer workshop shown in the image above. Once the hammer is engaged, a craftsman goes to work noisily forging a scythe, passing it between the hammer and the anvil underneath in a process called peening.

The Hagen Westphalian Open-Air Museum is open from March or April until October.

II Former Barclays Bank, now mixed commercial use, 1956-60 with late C20 alterations, by Sir William Graham Holford (1907-1975)

MATERIALS: Reinforced concrete construction with panels of black two-inch bricks from High Brooms Brick and Tile Company, Southborough, Kent; Canterbury knapped flint and Portland stone dressings. Ground-floor windows are timber, whilst original external doors and first, second and third-floor windows are bronze. The building sits on a plinth of Belgian Fossil marble.

PLAN: Narrow, slightly wedge-shaped rectangular plan with long elevations to north and south. Principal stair tower to east, secondary stair to west. Open-plan at ground-floor, at first, second and third-floor rooms open off a corridor to the north running east to west.

EXTERIOR: Four-storeys plus basement, with a flat roof. There is a small attic storey to far west. The building has three public-facing elevations; to the north, south and west.

The north elevation has nine bays; bays two and eight (from left to right) expressed in stone. The first, second and third-floor windows of these bays are separated by panels of knapped flint and advance as a very shallow oriels over the ground-floor openings beneath. Originally the principal entrance doors were located in these bays; a door, although not original, remains in the second bay. The door in the eighth bay has been replaced with a window. A relief carving of the Barclays griffin logo remains above both openings. Above ground level the remaining bays and floor levels are delineated by a slender stone grid-work in-filled with square panels of brick. To the far east and west ends, the exposed grid terminates with a vertical strip of decorative 'quoining'. The ground-floor windows are separated by plain columns of Issogne green marble, either side of which are quadrant-shaped recesses lined with ribbed bronze sheet. Embedded at the top of the recesses are spotlights, which cast light downwards either side of each window. Beneath the ground-floor windows there were originally panels of knapped flint, however these have been removed. Historic photographs suggest that the door of bay one may be the original door from bay two, and bay one originally had a window at ground-floor.

The south elevation is similar to the north elevation, however it is bays two and nine which are expressed in stone and, in this case, the stone border is infilled with knapped flint. Above ground-floor these bays have five horizontal rows of three small square windows, and mark the internal location of the stair wells. There is a figurative carving above the ground-floor openings of both bays. At ground floor, there are large panelled bronze doors in bays one and nine, and a timber door in bay two. The doors in bays one and nine appear to be original to the building, however bay one originally had a window at ground-floor, suggesting this door was originally located in bay two. The windows in bays seven and eight have been converted to doors.

The west elevation is a single bay wide with landscape windows at first and second-floor, which advance and rest on three plain triangular corbels. At ground-floor the elevation is blind, with decorative panels of flint 'quoining'. The ground-floor corners of the building are cut back, and four carved stone coins adorn the stone recesses. The coins are: the reverse of a half penny, depicting a ship and with the date 1962, the reverse of a farthing, depicting a wren and with the date 1956, the obverse of a twenty shilling, or pound, coin, with a bust of Charles I, and the reverse of a ten shilling coin depicting St Michael slaying the serpent (also known as an 'Angel' coin), also dating from the reign of Charles I. At third-floor the building steps in at the centre to create a balcony, and above is a small attic storey with a pierced stone screen, to which a flag pole is attached.

INTERIOR: Internally the banking hall interior does not survive and suspended ceilings have been installed throughout. On the upper floors the original layout is not known; planning records suggest that the third-floor was originally a caretaker's flat. The principal and secondary stairs remain largely unaltered. The stylish principal stair has an open well; the stairs and landings are floored in white marble with black marble applied to the exposed edges. Paired black metal stick balusters are ringed with a bright brass band and support a rounded hardwood handrail. To the south the wall of the stairwell is lined in black marble, and at second and third-floor the north, east and west walls are lined with narrow hardwood strip panelling; the panels are slightly concave in section. The secondary stair shares similarities of design, however is considerably more modest in size and use of materials.

HISTORY: Sunley House was designed in the late 1950s by Sir William Graham Holford (1907-1975), as a local head office for Barclays Bank. The site was formerly occupied by five buildings which formed the west end of Middle Row. The building was opened in 1960 but closed as a bank in the mid 1990s.

Holford was born in South Africa, but in 1925 took up a place studying architecture at Liverpool University. In 1933 he set up practice as an architect and town planner, and a few years later became Lever Professor of Civic Design at his old university. During the Second World War Holford supervised a team of architects in the design and construction of munitions workers' hostels for the Ministry of Works, and became principal adviser to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning, established in 1943. Holford was involved with the drafting of the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act, the forerunner of planning law in Britain. With Charles Holden, Holford acted as a planning consultant to the City of London, and together they put forward proposals for the long-term redevelopment of the city. Holford also became planning consultant to the University of Liverpool, Exeter University and Cambridgeshire County Council, as well as architect to Corby New Town Development Corporation. He also worked on plans for Pretoria and Durban, South Africa, as well as Canberra, Australia.

Holford was referred to in one obituary as 'the father of town planning as practised today'. In recognition of his contribution to his profession, Holford was knighted in 1953, and made a life peer in 1965. Despite Holford's work not always attracting critical acclaim; he is nevertheless a key figure in town planning, whose influence helped to shape the major redevelopment of towns and cities in the post-war period.

Although Holford was involved in a great number of planning schemes, much of this work was undertaken by his firm; Holford Associates, Holford's own involvement being more on the matter of architectural policy, rather than actual design. Sunley House is one of the few examples of Holford's personal work, and it reveals a skilled for pattern and texture, and a true regard for place.

The building conforms to no one particular style; although unquestionably a piece of modern architecture, it uses traditional building materials and subtle historicist references to create an aesthetic which is both idiosyncratic and contextual. Holford's use of pattern and materials allows the building to make a bold and modern contribution to the streetscape, without losing the human scale of detailing and texture.

SOURCES: Booker, Temples of Mammon, The Architecture of Banking (1990) GE Cherry and L Penny, Holford: a study in architecture, planning and civic design (1986), 219-221 J Newman, The Buildings of England: West Kent and the Weald (1979), 412 'Lord Holford: modern town planning' Building Week, 24 October 1975, 53 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, www.oxforddnb.com, accessed online 26 October 2009 A perspective drawing of the building and a photograph of the building under construction are held at the Royal Institute of British Architects Library and can be viewed online at: www.ribapix.com (accessed 30 October 2009)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: Sunley House, a former local head office for Barclays Bank, 14-19 Middle Row, Maidstone, is listed for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: the building is a bold and accomplished piece of modern architectural design which employs a variety of high quality materials and sculptural decoration to create a rich composition of colour, pattern and surface texture * Interior interest: despite the loss of the banking hall interior, the distinctive principal stair survives intact, displaying a stylish use of colour and texture * Designer: the building is a notable work by Sir William Holford, a major figure in post-war town planning

My travels around the UK by car for three weeks with my son. June/July 2019 England.

On a short stop at Marazion late in the afternoon.

Marazion is a civil parish and town, on the shore of Mount's Bay in Cornwall, England, UK. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Penzance and the tidal island of St Michael's Mount is half-a-mile offshore. At low water a causeway links it to the town and at high water passenger boats carry visitors between Marazion and St Michael's Mount.

Remains of an ancient bronze furnace, discovered near the town, tend to prove that tin smelting was practised here at an early period. Marazion was not recorded in the Domesday Book of 1088. Its only charter was granted by Queen Elizabeth I.

For More Info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marazion<

Mylai Kolam drawing competition, as a part of Pongal festival, Chennai,India held at Mylapore.

Kolam (Tamil: கோலம் kõlaṁ) is a form of painting that is drawn using rice powder/chalk/chalk powder/white rock powder often using naturally/synthetically colored powders in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and most parts of Kerala and some parts of Goa, Maharashtra, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and a few other Asian countries. A Kolam is a geometrical line drawing composed of curved loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots. In South India, it is widely practised by female Hindu family members in front of their homes.

Kolams are thought to bestow prosperity to homes. Every morning in Tamil Nadu, millions of women draw kolams on the ground with white rice powder. Through the day, the drawings get walked on, rained out, or blown around in the wind; new ones are made the next day. Every morning before sunrise, the floor of the owners house, or where ever it may be, is cleaned with water and the muddy floor is swept well for an even surface. Wiki.

The western area of Spain’s Province of Seville and its capital with the same name (right) is pictured in this image from the Sentinel-2A satellite.

Also the capital of the wider Andalusian autonomous community, Seville is located on the Guadalquivir river. While the original course of the river is visible snaking through the city on the right, we can see where water has also been redirected in a straighter course on the left.

The fertile valley of the Guadalquivir is evident by the plethora of agricultural structures, particularly noticeable in the upper right. The Sierra Morena mountain range runs north of the Guadalquivir basin, and we can see the foothills in the upper-left corner.

Another notable feature in the upper-central section of the image is the open pit copper mine, appearing white. This type of mining is often practised when deposits of minerals or rocks are found near the surface.

To the west of this mine, two other open-pit mines are filled with water.

South of these water-filled mines we see two circular structures reminiscent of clamshells. These are large solar power plants, where mirrored panels are positioned to face a solar power tower –sitting at the southernmost tip of the structures seen here – which receives the focused sunlight and acts as a furnace to produce energy.

This image, also featured on the Earth from Space video programme, was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2A satellite on 26 July 2016.

Credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2016), processed by ESA

www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/index.html?action=SitHTMD...

Site description The site is a National Park covering 36,000 ha of the High Atlas, including the highest mountain in Morocco, Jbel Toubkal (4,167 m). Located only 60 km south of the town of Marrakech, the dramatic mountain scenery attracts thousands of visitors each year, many of whom climb Jbel Toubkal or trek elsewhere in the park. The mountain summits are often only slightly above the level of their surrounding high plateaus, which are separated by deep valleys. The park extends from 1,000 m upwards and therefore encompasses a range of vegetation-types, from forest to alpine meadow. Forest only covers 15% of the park, and consists mainly of the oldest Quercus rotundifolia stands in the High Atlas and Juniperus thurifera. Along the valleys, irrigated agriculture is practised and most of the park is used for extensive livestock-grazing.

More than 95 breeding species have been recorded, among them nine species of the Mediterranean North Africa biome. Thirteen raptors are recorded, among them Gypaetus barbatus, which definitely bred in the park until 1980. The Parc National de Toubkal is one of only two areas in Morocco where Apus caffer has been recorded breeding, and also holds several species with quite localized distributions in Africa, such as Rhodopechys sanguinea and Eremophila alpestris.

Conservation issues The National Park was created by 'Arrête viziriel' on 19 January 1942. Despite its protected status, the park has been facing growing pressures since the 1960s. Poaching has wiped out some species and overgrazing has destroyed or degraded much of the natural vegetation. Tourism has mushroomed and led to erosion of footpaths—on some days 30-40 tourists may be found together at one time on the summit of Jbel Toubkal, in spite of the long and arduous trek required to reach it. To counter these threats and safeguard wildlife, in the 1950s AEFCS created a reserve for Ammotragus lervia adjacent to the park, and in 1994 enclosed an area of 1,000 ha for the reintroduction of Gazella cuvieri. Both these measures have resulted in the protection of areas of forest habitat which are important for breeding birds. In 1994, a management plan for the park was drawn up under the auspices of AEFCS. Further conservation measures required include the training of local guides; the protection of nest-sites of the rarer bird species, particularly raptors; maintenance of trails to prevent erosion; and the establishment of grazing enclosures to protect endemic plant species.

this evening i practised making the buttonhole never having made one before. i used the buttonhole attachment on the machine. finally ok - the buttonhole on the far left. i'll have another practise tomorrow before making two on the actual blazer. i hope i don't mess it up. it could still all end in tears :)

the fabric is an olive green linen. very much the colour on the left

2metres of green linen @ £6 per metre width 1m 50cm

(reduced from £7 per metre)

2 metres of a darker green silky fabric for the lining (not silk)

£2 per metre width 1m 50cm

i'm following the classic blazer pattern downloaded from this reference book flic.kr/p/2q55djV

'the dressmaking book' by alison smith mbe publisher dk

alongside the reference book i use you tube tutorials that i search for when more explanation is needed

Sewing a coat/jacket lining

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ils6xkQu2nI

Adding a Lining to an Unlined Coat Sew Along

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4iNiib0_TA

How to Sew Jacket Lining

www.wikihow.com/Sew-Jacket-Lining

How to Sew Darts | Beginner & Advanced www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9x-i-txyfo

5 Tips on how sew non-pointy darts! www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8M_TLn_do4;

how to understitch www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFz4tsplENI

what is understitching?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnRDeKqKgto

ten top stitching tips www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDRXfYgkU4k

Buttonholes

3 Sewing Tips to Make Buttonholes Neatly and Quickly

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oOz28Ybk8I

How to Machine-Sew and Custom-sized Buttonhole

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6P-TKK3tjg&t=135s

setting the sleeve www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqo-SIy8MXY&t=178s

How to Sew an Invisible Zipper

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaza9t-CAiQ

How to Sew an Invisible Zipper - Updated

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG8CSr11kjA

How To Sew Invisible Zipper On Shirt / Dress | Sewing Technique Tutorial

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHNrRoCSxaE

Invisible Zipper

www.youtube.com/shorts/npDSSAMzNNc

Super clever invisible zip trick

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UyfKL5G-Bw

Top and Dress

Detailed Sewing Tutorial For A Beginner : Simple Linen Top, Bias Binding Neckline【Free Pattern】

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cFiT8UcU54

Download the Pattern

www.madebysachi.com/2021/09/27/super-simple-top/

LINEN DRESS DIY【Free Pattern +Easy Draft】Step by Step Guide for Beginner /back opening /Skirt Pleats

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDFRlF_yEtA&t=0s

Download the Pattern

www.madebysachi.com/2021/09/27/super-simple-top/

BASIC SEAM POCKET

www.madebysachi.com/2022/07/09/basic-seam-pocket/

How to Sew Pleats | Box Pleat, Knife Pleat, Inverted Box Pleat

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRlHcPh38MY

Forming Box Pleats

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNXJ_BIsb1E

Inverted Pleat

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfdE3DlJdFQ

coat pattern instructions www.sewmag.co.uk/free-sewing-patterns/serena-wool-coat#lo...

How to properly sew a shawl collar jacket/sewing techniques for beginners www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjeqgIfSt9c

Easy Way To Sewing shawl collar | Coat Collar Tutorial Cutting and Stitching | Sewing Tutorial www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsUZjA9JErI

my sewing machine JL220 flic.kr/p/2odruLA from john lewis www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-jl220-sewing-machine-pepperm...

sewing machine maintenance flic.kr/p/2q9GVTh

How to Use your SEWING MACHINE (for Beginners)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmaZBTMzkoY

A Beginners' Guide To Using Your Sewing Machine

www.youtube.com/watch?v=imryOl_LNaw

Beginners Sewing Course - Day 1 - The Basics

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGITrkYdjJs

Seam Finishes

10 SEAM FINISHES Without a Serger || Basic to Couture

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYt7JxC_bIc&t=596s

7 Seam Types and How to Make it- Sewing Lesson for Beginner

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax6JDDP_6O8

French Seam Pockets

How to Add Pockets to a Side Seam using French Seams

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aatWJL_aAYY

Lining

How to add lining to ANY dress pattern | Sewing Tutorial

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENKI3fSBQBo

How To Sew a Slip Stitch by Hand

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjky55Cp1_Iwww.youtube.com/watch?v=_d06GhQx_Wg

How to Fix a Low Neckline

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U-W6W5fh-4

Interfacing

How to fuse iron-on interfacing to fabric

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7idVbAkUBTU

reference books

flic.kr/p/2q55djV

i'm a complete beginner at dressmaking. posting photos of progress to encourage myself to continue www.flickr.com/photos/connect2012/albums/72177720305370633/ i'm not making any recommendations ...

La première femme chef de cuadrilla de l’histoire de la course landaise.

The first female cuadrilla leader in the history of Landes racing.

One of the four forms of bullfighting praticed in the world but it differs from the other three by two features, first it is practised exclusevely with cows and not bulls, the other feature it shares with the Camargue races, is that there is no killing, or hurting of the animal, either during the race, or after.

Windsor (/ˈwɪnzər/) is a town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family.

The town is situated 23 miles (37 km) west of Charing Cross, London. It is immediately south of the River Thames, which forms its boundary with Eton. The village of Old Windsor, just over 2 miles (3 km) to the south, predates what is now called Windsor by around 300 years; in the past Windsor was formally referred to as New Windsor to distinguish the two.

The early history of the site is unknown, although it was almost certainly settled some years before 1070 when William the Conquerorhad a timber motte and bailey castle constructed.[2] The focus of royal interest at that time was not the castle, however, but a small riverside settlement about 3 miles (5 km) downstream, possibly established from the 7th century.

Windsor, or Windlesora as it was called in the 11th century, is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The name originates from old English Windles-ore, or 'winch by the riverside'. The settlement had used an earlier name, but this is unknown. From about the 8th century, high status people started to visit the site occasionally, and possibly this included royalty. From the 11th century the site's link with king Edward the Confessor is documented, but again, information about his use of the place is scant. After the Conquest of 1066 royal use of the site increased, probably because it offered good access to woodlands and opportunities for hunting – a sport which also practised military skills. By the late 12th century, and the relocation of the royal household to an enlarged castle in 1110, the site was renamed Old Windsor.

Windsor Castle is noted in the Domesday Bookunder the entry for Clewer, the neighbouring manor to Windsor. Although this might seem strange, it occurred because plans for the castle had changed since 1070, and more land had been acquired in Clewer on which to site a castle town. This plan was not actioned until the early 12th century. By 1110, meetings of the Great Council, which had previously taken place at Windlesora, were noted as taking place at the Castle – referred to as New Windsor, probably to indicate that it was a two ward castle/borough complex, similar to other early castle designs, such as Denbigh. Henry I – according to one chronicle – had rebuilt it, and this followed the Norman kings' actions at other royal sites, such as Westminster, where larger and more magnificent accommodation was thought necessary for the new dynasty. King Henry married his second wife at Windsor Castle in 1121, after the White Ship disaster. The settlement at Old Windsor largely transferred to New Windsor during the 12th century, although substantial planning and setting out of the new town (including the parish church, marketplace, bridge, hermitage and leper hospital) did not take place until c. 1170, under Henry II, following the civil war of Stephen's reign. At about the same time, the present upper ward of the castle was rebuilt in stone. Windsor Bridge is the earliest bridge on the Thames between Staines and Reading, built at a time when bridge building was rare; it was first documented in 1191, but had probably been built, according to the Pipe rolls, in 1173. It played an important part in the national road system, linking London with Reading and Winchester, but also, by diverting traffic into the new town, it underpinned the success of its fledgling economy.

The town of New Windsor, as an ancient demesne of the Crown, was a privileged settlement from the start, apparently having the rights of a 'free borough', for which other towns had to pay substantial fees to the king. It had a merchant guild (known by the 14th century as the Fraternity or brotherhood of the Holy Trinity) from the early 13th century and, under royal patronage, was made the chief town of the county in 1277, as part of its grant of royal borough status by Edward I's charter. Somewhat unusually, this charter gave no new rights or privileges to Windsor but probably codified the rights which it had enjoyed for many years. Windsor's position as chief town of Berkshire was short-lived, however, as people found it difficult to reach. Wallingford took over this position in the early 14th century. As a self-governing town Windsor enjoyed a number of freedoms unavailable to other towns, including the right to hold its own borough court, the right of membership (or 'freedom') and some financial independence. The town accounts of the 16th century survive in part, although most of the once substantial borough archive dating back to the 12th century was destroyed, probably in the late 17th century.

The early history of the site is unknown, although it was almost certainly settled some years before 1070 when William the Conquerorhad a timber motte and bailey castle constructed.[2] The focus of royal interest at that time was not the castle, however, but a small riverside settlement about 3 miles (5 km) downstream, possibly established from the 7th century.

Windsor, or Windlesora as it was called in the 11th century, is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The name originates from old English Windles-ore, or 'winch by the riverside'. The settlement had used an earlier name, but this is unknown. From about the 8th century, high status people started to visit the site occasionally, and possibly this included royalty. From the 11th century the site's link with king Edward the Confessor is documented, but again, information about his use of the place is scant. After the Conquest of 1066 royal use of the site increased, probably because it offered good access to woodlands and opportunities for hunting – a sport which also practised military skills. By the late 12th century, and the relocation of the royal household to an enlarged castle in 1110, the site was renamed Old Windsor.

Windsor Castle is noted in the Domesday Bookunder the entry for Clewer, the neighbouring manor to Windsor. Although this might seem strange, it occurred because plans for the castle had changed since 1070, and more land had been acquired in Clewer on which to site a castle town. This plan was not actioned until the early 12th century. By 1110, meetings of the Great Council, which had previously taken place at Windlesora, were noted as taking place at the Castle – referred to as New Windsor, probably to indicate that it was a two ward castle/borough complex, similar to other early castle designs, such as Denbigh. Henry I – according to one chronicle – had rebuilt it, and this followed the Norman kings' actions at other royal sites, such as Westminster, where larger and more magnificent accommodation was thought necessary for the new dynasty. King Henry married his second wife at Windsor Castle in 1121, after the White Ship disaster. The settlement at Old Windsor largely transferred to New Windsor during the 12th century, although substantial planning and setting out of the new town (including the parish church, marketplace, bridge, hermitage and leper hospital) did not take place until c. 1170, under Henry II, following the civil war of Stephen's reign. At about the same time, the present upper ward of the castle was rebuilt in stone. Windsor Bridge is the earliest bridge on the Thames between Staines and Reading, built at a time when bridge building was rare; it was first documented in 1191, but had probably been built, according to the Pipe rolls, in 1173. It played an important part in the national road system, linking London with Reading and Winchester, but also, by diverting traffic into the new town, it underpinned the success of its fledgling economy.

The town of New Windsor, as an ancient demesne of the Crown, was a privileged settlement from the start, apparently having the rights of a 'free borough', for which other towns had to pay substantial fees to the king. It had a merchant guild (known by the 14th century as the Fraternity or brotherhood of the Holy Trinity) from the early 13th century and, under royal patronage, was made the chief town of the county in 1277, as part of its grant of royal borough status by Edward I's charter. Somewhat unusually, this charter gave no new rights or privileges to Windsor but probably codified the rights which it had enjoyed for many years. Windsor's position as chief town of Berkshire was short-lived, however, as people found it difficult to reach. Wallingford took over this position in the early 14th century. As a self-governing town Windsor enjoyed a number of freedoms unavailable to other towns, including the right to hold its own borough court, the right of membership (or 'freedom') and some financial independence. The town accounts of the 16th century survive in part, although most of the once substantial borough archive dating back to the 12th century was destroyed, probably in the late 17th century.

The Last Supper by Franz de Cleyn in the West Gallery of Windsor parish church of St John The Baptist.[3]

New Windsor was a nationally significant town in the Middle Ages, certainly one of the fifty wealthiest towns in the country by 1332. Its prosperity came from its close association with the royal household. The repeated investment in the castle brought London merchants (goldsmiths, vintners, spicers and mercers) to the town in the late 13th century and provided much employment for townsmen. The development of the castle under Edward III, between 1350–68, was the largest secular building project in England of the Middle Ages, and many Windsor people worked on this project, again bringing great wealth to the town. Although the Black Death in 1348 had reduced some towns' populations by up to 50%, in Windsor the building projects of Edward III brought money to the town, and possibly its population doubled: this was a 'boom' time for the local economy. People came to the town from every part of the country, and from continental Europe. The poet Geoffrey Chaucerheld the honorific post of 'Clerk of the Works' at Windsor Castle in 1391.

The development of the castle continued in the late 15th century with the rebuilding of St George's Chapel. With this Windsor became a major pilgrimage destination, particularly for Londoners. Pilgrims came to touch the royal shrine of the murdered Henry VI, the fragment of the True Cross and other important relics. Visits to the chapel were probably combined with a visit to the important nearby Marian shrine and college at Eton, founded by Henry VI in 1440, and dedicated to the Assumption; which is now better known as Eton College. Pilgrims came with substantial sums to spend. From perhaps two or three named inns in the late 15th century, some 30 can be identified a century later. The town again grew in wealth. For London pilgrims, Windsor was probably – but briefly – of greater importance than Canterbury and the shrine of the City's patron Saint Thomas Becket. With the closures of the Reformation, however, Windsor's pilgrim traffic died out. Henry VIII was buried in St George's Chapel in 1547, next to Jane Seymour, the mother of his only legitimate son, Edward (Edward VI). Henry, the founder of the Church of England, may have wanted to benefit from the stream of Catholic pilgrims coming to the town. His will gives that impression.

The town began to stagnate about ten years after the Reformation. The castle was considered old-fashioned and shrines to the dead were thought to be superstitious. The early modern period formed a stark contrast to the medieval history of the town. Most accounts of Windsor in the 16th and 17th centuries talk of its poverty, badly made streets and poor housing. Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Windsor is set in Windsor and contains many references to parts of the town and the surrounding countryside. Shakespeare must have walked the town's streets, near the castle and river, much as people still do. The play may have been written in the Garter Inn, opposite the Castle, but this was destroyed by fire in the late 17th century. The long-standing – and famous – courtesan of king Charles II, Nell Gwyn, was given a house on St Albans Street: Burford House (now part of the Royal Mews). Her residence in this house, as far as it is possible to tell, was brief. Only one of her letters addressed from Burford House survives: it was probably intended as a legacy for her illegitimate son, the Earl of Burford, later the Duke of St Albans.

Windsor was garrisoned by Colonel Venn during the English Civil War. Later it became the home of the New Model Army when Venn had left the castle in 1645. Despite its royal dependence, like many commercial centres, Windsor was a Parliamentarian town. Charles Iwas buried without ceremony in St George's Chapel after his execution at Whitehall in 1649. The present Guildhall, built in 1680–91, replaced an earlier market house that had been built on the same site around 1580, as well as the old guildhall, which faced the castle and had been built around 1350. The contraction in the number of old public buildings speaks of a town 'clearing the decks', ready for a renewed period of prosperity with Charles II's return to the Castle. But his successors did not use the place, and as the town was short of money, the planned new civic buildings did not appear. The town continued in poverty until the mid 19th century.

In 1652 the largest house in Windsor Great Park was built on land which Oliver Cromwell had appropriated from the Crown. Now known as Cumberland Lodge after the Duke of Cumberland's residence there in the mid 18th century, the house was variously known as Byfield House, New Lodge, Ranger's Lodge, Windsor Lodge and Great Lodge.

In 1778, there was a resumption of the royal presence, with George III at the Queen's Lodge and, from 1804, at the castle. This started a period of new development in Windsor, with the building of two army barracks. However the associated large numbers of soldiers led to a major prostitution problem by 1830, in a town where the number of streets had little changed since 1530. In the 18th c. the town traded with London selling the Windsor Chair which was actually made in Buckinghamshire.

A number of fine houses were built in this period, including Hadleigh House on Sheet Street, which was built in 1793 by the then Mayor of Windsor, William Thomas. In 1811 it was the home of John O'Reilly, the apothecary-surgeon to George III.

Windsor Castle was the westernmost sighting-point for the Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790), which measured the precise distance between the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the Paris Observatory by trigonometry. Windsor was used because of its relative proximity to the base-line of the survey at Hounslow Heath.

The substantial redevelopment of the castle in the subsequent decade and Queen Victoria's residence from 1840, as well as the coming of two railways in 1849, signalled the most dramatic changes in the town's history. These events catapulted the town from a sleepy medieval has-been to the centre of empire – many European crowned heads of state came to Windsor to visit the Queen throughout the rest of the 19th century. Unfortunately, excessive redevelopment and 'refurbishment' of Windsor's medieval fabric at this time resulted in widespread destruction of the old town, including the demolition of the old parish church of St John the Baptist in 1820. The original had been built around 1135.

Most of the current town's streets date from the mid to late 19th century.[5] However the main street, Peascod Street (pronunciation: /ˈpɛskɒd/) is very ancient, predating the castle by many years, and probably of Saxon origin. It formed part of the 10th-century parish structure in east Berkshire[citation needed] and is first referred to as Peascroftstret in c. 1170. The 1000-year-old royal Castle, although the largest and longest-occupied in Europe, is a recent development in comparison. "New Windsor" was officially renamed "Windsor" in 1974.

is accessible from Junction 6 of the M4 and from Slough via a 3 mile long dual carriageway. Bus services in the town are mostly provided by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley, although a park-and-rideservice and one local route are operated by Courtney Coaches.

Windsor has two railway stations. Windsor & Eton Central railway station has a shuttle service to Slough. Windsor & Eton Riverside station provides a service to London Waterloo. Both stations were time in the 19th century, as the two train companies which owned the lines both wanted to carry Queen Victoria to Windsor, with the first line opened gaining the privilege.[8] From 1883 to 1885, the London Underground's District line's westbound service ran as far as Windsor.

Windsor has frequent bus services to/from London Heathrow Airport, Victoria Coach Station in central London and Legoland Windsor Resort.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor,_Berkshire

La bisquine est un bateau typique de la baie du Mont Saint-Michel, apparu au début du 19ème siècle. Puissante et manœuvrable, c’est le bateau de pêche qui possède la plus grande surface de voiles de tous les navires traditionnels. La bisquine est capable de supporter un échouage sur une plage de sable, bien utile à marée basse. Elle pratiquait le dragage des huitres dans la baie du Mont Saint-Michel, la pêche au chalut, et pour les plus grandes, la pêche aux lignes. On comptait 200 à 300 bisquines dans la baie au débit du 20e s, mais les pêcheurs ont abandonné la voile vers 1940 et elles avaient totalement disparu. Celle-ci est une réplique de la fameuse "Cancalaise 55".

The bisquine is a typical boat of bay of the Mount Saint-Michel, appeared at the beginning of the 19th century. Powerful and manoeuvrable, it is the fishing boat which has more large surface of veils of all the traditional ships. The bisquine is able to support a stranding on a sandy beach, quite useful to low tide. It practised the dredging of oysters in bay of the Mount Saint-Michel, the trawling, and for largest, the angling. One counted 200 to 300 bisquines in bay with the flow of the 20th S, but the fishermen gave up the sail around 1940 and they had completely disappeared. This one is a counterpart of famous “the Cancalaise 55”.

Fêtes maritimes internationales de Brest 2016 -France-

International maritime festivals of Brest 2016 - France

www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/index.html?action=SitHTMD...

Site description The site is a National Park covering 36,000 ha of the High Atlas, including the highest mountain in Morocco, Jbel Toubkal (4,167 m). Located only 60 km south of the town of Marrakech, the dramatic mountain scenery attracts thousands of visitors each year, many of whom climb Jbel Toubkal or trek elsewhere in the park. The mountain summits are often only slightly above the level of their surrounding high plateaus, which are separated by deep valleys. The park extends from 1,000 m upwards and therefore encompasses a range of vegetation-types, from forest to alpine meadow. Forest only covers 15% of the park, and consists mainly of the oldest Quercus rotundifolia stands in the High Atlas and Juniperus thurifera. Along the valleys, irrigated agriculture is practised and most of the park is used for extensive livestock-grazing.

More than 95 breeding species have been recorded, among them nine species of the Mediterranean North Africa biome. Thirteen raptors are recorded, among them Gypaetus barbatus, which definitely bred in the park until 1980. The Parc National de Toubkal is one of only two areas in Morocco where Apus caffer has been recorded breeding, and also holds several species with quite localized distributions in Africa, such as Rhodopechys sanguinea and Eremophila alpestris.

Conservation issues The National Park was created by 'Arrête viziriel' on 19 January 1942. Despite its protected status, the park has been facing growing pressures since the 1960s. Poaching has wiped out some species and overgrazing has destroyed or degraded much of the natural vegetation. Tourism has mushroomed and led to erosion of footpaths—on some days 30-40 tourists may be found together at one time on the summit of Jbel Toubkal, in spite of the long and arduous trek required to reach it. To counter these threats and safeguard wildlife, in the 1950s AEFCS created a reserve for Ammotragus lervia adjacent to the park, and in 1994 enclosed an area of 1,000 ha for the reintroduction of Gazella cuvieri. Both these measures have resulted in the protection of areas of forest habitat which are important for breeding birds. In 1994, a management plan for the park was drawn up under the auspices of AEFCS. Further conservation measures required include the training of local guides; the protection of nest-sites of the rarer bird species, particularly raptors; maintenance of trails to prevent erosion; and the establishment of grazing enclosures to protect endemic plant species.

My travels around the UK by car for three weeks with my son. June/July 2019 England.

On a short stop at Marazion late in the afternoon.

Marazion is a civil parish and town, on the shore of Mount's Bay in Cornwall, England, UK. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Penzance and the tidal island of St Michael's Mount is half-a-mile offshore. At low water a causeway links it to the town and at high water passenger boats carry visitors between Marazion and St Michael's Mount.

Remains of an ancient bronze furnace, discovered near the town, tend to prove that tin smelting was practised here at an early period. Marazion was not recorded in the Domesday Book of 1088. Its only charter was granted by Queen Elizabeth I.

For More Info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marazion

I don't believe in fairies. So when I went to Fairy Glen near Betwys y Coed today I didn't expect to see any. And guess what? I didn't. But I did see a hobgoblin, honestly!

There's a little signpost off the A470 just on a bend where the road crosses the River Conwy. Going up through the gate posts you come to a small car park for nine cars. There's a sign saying it is £ 1.00 per car and 50p per adult to enter the Fairy Glen. You walk up the track passing stables and a farmhouse set back before you come to a little porched entrance to the fenced path to the Fairy Glen. Inside the little porch is a padlocked money box fixed rigidly to a stone wall, with a slot in it, into which you put your money. Well I had taken £ 1.50 in coins with me from the car and fed them into the slot, before pushing open the wooden gate and ushering little Darcy through. And we headed off up the path.

Now, I'm deaf on one side (not the side my wife is normally on if we are in the car) but I can hear sound as well as most with one ear. But I can't tell which direction it is coming from. About 70 yards up the path a sound broke into my thoughts and I became aware of someone shouting "Oi!" at the top of their voice several times. Looking over my shoulder I spotted a little old man run-hobbling up the path towards me with an "I mean business" set to is face. I must admit I was surprised at his demeanor, "You haven't paid the right amount" he demanded. I responded, "Yes I did, £ 1.50, a one Pound coin, a 20p, one 10p and four 5ps"

"No you didn't!"he stated and held out the coins in his palm. And there were the coins I had described, pointing out in particular the Pound coin. "Oh!" he said, "I thought it was a Penny!" He did apologise but not as apologetically as I think he should have.

But as he turned back and left me to walk on to Fairy Glen I wondered where had this little hobgoblin of a man come from. I had seen no one around at all, either at the farm or by the entrance where I put my money in the box. He must have been watching me from behind a hedge or something and the second I went through the gate dashed down, unlocked the padlock, taken the coins and counted them and then sprinted after me in a hobgoblinly way, hollering, "Oi!!"

I met a couple returning from Fairy Glen and asked them if they had seen anyone around the gate and they mentioned they had had a similar experience. In fact I have since discovered the hobgoblin has some notereity and is written up in several TripAdvisor Reviews!

On the way back I looked carefully for CCTV with a practised eye for such things. But I couldn't see anything. Nothing by the cash box. Nothing by the gate or path or road entrance to the car park. I have to conclude the hobgoblin lives in one of the barns which has a spy hole in the end of the wall!

I arrived a bit late in the day to have the sunbeams come down through the gap, and a lot of rain overnight seemed to have swollen the river, so there was no slow meandering water. And I need to learn alot more about long exposure. And the rocks were ridiculously slippery. But all in all, with hobgoblin experience thrown in for free it was well worth £ 1.50, a small amount of money to most people except you know who!

See TripAdvisor reviews here www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186447-d210110-R...

II Former Barclays Bank, now mixed commercial use, 1956-60 with late C20 alterations, by Sir William Graham Holford (1907-1975)

MATERIALS: Reinforced concrete construction with panels of black two-inch bricks from High Brooms Brick and Tile Company, Southborough, Kent; Canterbury knapped flint and Portland stone dressings. Ground-floor windows are timber, whilst original external doors and first, second and third-floor windows are bronze. The building sits on a plinth of Belgian Fossil marble.

PLAN: Narrow, slightly wedge-shaped rectangular plan with long elevations to north and south. Principal stair tower to east, secondary stair to west. Open-plan at ground-floor, at first, second and third-floor rooms open off a corridor to the north running east to west.

EXTERIOR: Four-storeys plus basement, with a flat roof. There is a small attic storey to far west. The building has three public-facing elevations; to the north, south and west.

The north elevation has nine bays; bays two and eight (from left to right) expressed in stone. The first, second and third-floor windows of these bays are separated by panels of knapped flint and advance as a very shallow oriels over the ground-floor openings beneath. Originally the principal entrance doors were located in these bays; a door, although not original, remains in the second bay. The door in the eighth bay has been replaced with a window. A relief carving of the Barclays griffin logo remains above both openings. Above ground level the remaining bays and floor levels are delineated by a slender stone grid-work in-filled with square panels of brick. To the far east and west ends, the exposed grid terminates with a vertical strip of decorative 'quoining'. The ground-floor windows are separated by plain columns of Issogne green marble, either side of which are quadrant-shaped recesses lined with ribbed bronze sheet. Embedded at the top of the recesses are spotlights, which cast light downwards either side of each window. Beneath the ground-floor windows there were originally panels of knapped flint, however these have been removed. Historic photographs suggest that the door of bay one may be the original door from bay two, and bay one originally had a window at ground-floor.

The south elevation is similar to the north elevation, however it is bays two and nine which are expressed in stone and, in this case, the stone border is infilled with knapped flint. Above ground-floor these bays have five horizontal rows of three small square windows, and mark the internal location of the stair wells. There is a figurative carving above the ground-floor openings of both bays. At ground floor, there are large panelled bronze doors in bays one and nine, and a timber door in bay two. The doors in bays one and nine appear to be original to the building, however bay one originally had a window at ground-floor, suggesting this door was originally located in bay two. The windows in bays seven and eight have been converted to doors.

The west elevation is a single bay wide with landscape windows at first and second-floor, which advance and rest on three plain triangular corbels. At ground-floor the elevation is blind, with decorative panels of flint 'quoining'. The ground-floor corners of the building are cut back, and four carved stone coins adorn the stone recesses. The coins are: the reverse of a half penny, depicting a ship and with the date 1962, the reverse of a farthing, depicting a wren and with the date 1956, the obverse of a twenty shilling, or pound, coin, with a bust of Charles I, and the reverse of a ten shilling coin depicting St Michael slaying the serpent (also known as an 'Angel' coin), also dating from the reign of Charles I. At third-floor the building steps in at the centre to create a balcony, and above is a small attic storey with a pierced stone screen, to which a flag pole is attached.

INTERIOR: Internally the banking hall interior does not survive and suspended ceilings have been installed throughout. On the upper floors the original layout is not known; planning records suggest that the third-floor was originally a caretaker's flat. The principal and secondary stairs remain largely unaltered. The stylish principal stair has an open well; the stairs and landings are floored in white marble with black marble applied to the exposed edges. Paired black metal stick balusters are ringed with a bright brass band and support a rounded hardwood handrail. To the south the wall of the stairwell is lined in black marble, and at second and third-floor the north, east and west walls are lined with narrow hardwood strip panelling; the panels are slightly concave in section. The secondary stair shares similarities of design, however is considerably more modest in size and use of materials.

HISTORY: Sunley House was designed in the late 1950s by Sir William Graham Holford (1907-1975), as a local head office for Barclays Bank. The site was formerly occupied by five buildings which formed the west end of Middle Row. The building was opened in 1960 but closed as a bank in the mid 1990s.

Holford was born in South Africa, but in 1925 took up a place studying architecture at Liverpool University. In 1933 he set up practice as an architect and town planner, and a few years later became Lever Professor of Civic Design at his old university. During the Second World War Holford supervised a team of architects in the design and construction of munitions workers' hostels for the Ministry of Works, and became principal adviser to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning, established in 1943. Holford was involved with the drafting of the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act, the forerunner of planning law in Britain. With Charles Holden, Holford acted as a planning consultant to the City of London, and together they put forward proposals for the long-term redevelopment of the city. Holford also became planning consultant to the University of Liverpool, Exeter University and Cambridgeshire County Council, as well as architect to Corby New Town Development Corporation. He also worked on plans for Pretoria and Durban, South Africa, as well as Canberra, Australia.

Holford was referred to in one obituary as 'the father of town planning as practised today'. In recognition of his contribution to his profession, Holford was knighted in 1953, and made a life peer in 1965. Despite Holford's work not always attracting critical acclaim; he is nevertheless a key figure in town planning, whose influence helped to shape the major redevelopment of towns and cities in the post-war period.

Although Holford was involved in a great number of planning schemes, much of this work was undertaken by his firm; Holford Associates, Holford's own involvement being more on the matter of architectural policy, rather than actual design. Sunley House is one of the few examples of Holford's personal work, and it reveals a skilled for pattern and texture, and a true regard for place.

The building conforms to no one particular style; although unquestionably a piece of modern architecture, it uses traditional building materials and subtle historicist references to create an aesthetic which is both idiosyncratic and contextual. Holford's use of pattern and materials allows the building to make a bold and modern contribution to the streetscape, without losing the human scale of detailing and texture.

SOURCES: Booker, Temples of Mammon, The Architecture of Banking (1990) GE Cherry and L Penny, Holford: a study in architecture, planning and civic design (1986), 219-221 J Newman, The Buildings of England: West Kent and the Weald (1979), 412 'Lord Holford: modern town planning' Building Week, 24 October 1975, 53 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, www.oxforddnb.com, accessed online 26 October 2009 A perspective drawing of the building and a photograph of the building under construction are held at the Royal Institute of British Architects Library and can be viewed online at: www.ribapix.com (accessed 30 October 2009)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: Sunley House, a former local head office for Barclays Bank, 14-19 Middle Row, Maidstone, is listed for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: the building is a bold and accomplished piece of modern architectural design which employs a variety of high quality materials and sculptural decoration to create a rich composition of colour, pattern and surface texture * Interior interest: despite the loss of the banking hall interior, the distinctive principal stair survives intact, displaying a stylish use of colour and texture * Designer: the building is a notable work by Sir William Holford, a major figure in post-war town planning

En attendant de réussir à photographier le Grand Pic, j'ai pratiqué la photo avec un tout petit. / While waiting for to photograph the Pileated Woodpecker, I am practised with a little one.

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Jallikattu also known as eru thazhuvuthal and manju virattu, is a traditional spectacle in which a Bos indicus bull, such as the Pulikulam breed,Kangayam breed is released into a crowd of people, and multiple human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull's back with both arms and hang on to it while the bull attempts to escape. Participants hold the hump for as long as possible, attempting to bring the bull to a stop. In some cases, participants must ride long enough to remove flags on the bull's horns.

Jallikattu is typically practised in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebrations on Mattu Pongal day.

Taken at the start of my 4th Street Photography Workshop last weekend, this time at the historic, city centre Souk. I was teaching the people in the group about motion blur and, as usual, I got the most graceful of the group to walk up-and-down passed the group as they practised (this was taken with my iPhone4S).

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Apologies to all my wonderful contacts for lack of comments and visits on my part, but real life is constantly intruding and posting and running is all I'm able to manage these past few months. I do try to visit your photostreams regularly, but I'm afraid that a "fave" is all I'm managing of late - so sorry!

Iceland has many lakes and most of them have fish. Fishing has always been an important way to get food here and fishing through ice has been practised for a long time. Now it has become a sport and it's getting more popular every year. It's a great way to spend a day out in the cold, all that's needed is a hook, some line, bait and something to make a hole through the ice, preferably an ice drill. and not forget a beer.

A trip with good friend one a fine sunday in february turned out to be both fun and also provided food for dinner that night. Umm, pan-fried trout with almonds and potatoes happens to be one of my favourite dishes

This photo is from Mývatn Lake, a big lake just outside of Reynihlíd in the north of Iceland, and there are mostly trout.

Piero del Pollaiolo

Temperanza or virtue of Temperance [1470]

Florence, Uffici

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Temperance, considered as the capacity for moderation and the right measure, is shown here as a young woman in the process of mixing hot and cold water, pouring it from a ewer to a basin According to Christian doctrine, she is one of the four cardinal Virtues, together with Fortitude, Justice and Prudence. The panel is part of a cycle of paintings dedicated to the Virtues and commissioned from Piero del Pollaiolo in 1469. The cycle was for the Tribunale di Mercanzia in Piazza della Signoria, Florence and is now in the Uffizi Galleries. This panel, together with Faith, was painted before summer of 1470, partly fulfilling the contract that obliged the painter to provide two panels with the Virtues every three months, starting from 1 January 1470, for a payment of 20 florins for each one.

The careful depiction of the jug and metal basin, decorated with precious stones, reflects Piero’s familiarity with goldsmithing, practised by his older brother, Antonio, at extremely high levels.

The support of the painting, as for the other five Virtues painted by Pollaiolo – Fortitude was painted by Sandro Botticelli - consists of planks in cypress, a wood able to resist the attack of wood-eating insects and damp.

The Tribunale di Mercanzia was the body that decided on the business disputes between Florentine merchants and administered justice among the guilds, known as the Arts. In the 18th century, the wealth and heritage of this judiciary went to the Chamber of Commerce, including the seven paintings of the Virtues, taken to the Uffizi Galleries in 1777.

The fishing village of Bolungarvík lies in the bay of the same name and is framed by the prominent mountains Óshyrna, located here above Ósvör, and Tra∂rhyrna, above the village itself.

Because of Bolungarvík's proximity to rich fishing grounds, fishing has been practised from here since the beginning of Iceland's settlement. Fishing huts were built along the coast, but for a long time there was no permanent settlement here. In 1890 a shop was opened in Bolungarvík and gradually people settled here. In 1903 Bolungarvík was officially designated as a trading centre and in 1911 the construction of the harbour began. Fishing is still the most important industry in the village today.

Here in Ósvör you can see how fishing was practised in Bolungarvík and throughout the country in past centuries. Reconstruction of the old fishing huts began in 1988 and today the place looks almost the same as it did in the past.

The Ósvör Museum was built in memory of ways of working that have disappeared in Iceland today. There is a fisherman's hut, a salt house, a fish drying shed, an open rowing boat, a winch and a fish drying area.

Der Fischerort Bolungarvík liegt in der gleichnamigen Bucht und wird von den markanten Bergen Óshyrna, hier oberhalb von Ósvör gelegen, und Tra∂rhyrna, oberhalb des Ortes selbst, eingerahmt.

Wegen der Nähe Bolungarvíks zu den reichen Fischgründen wurde von hier aus schon seit Beginn der Besiedlung Islands Fischerei betrieben. Fischerhütten wurden entlang der Küste errichtet, doch lange Zeit gab es hier keine feste Siedlung. Im Jahr 1890 wurde in Bolungarvík ein Geschäft eröffnet und nach und nach siedelten sich Menschen an. 1903 wurde Bolungarvík offiziell als Handelsplatz ausgewiesen und 1911 begann der Bau des Hafens. Fischerei ist bis heute der wichtigste Wirtschaftszweig des Ortes.

Hier in Ósvör kann man sehen, wie Fischerei in Bolungarvík und im ganzen Land in den vergangenen Jahrhunderten praktiziert wurde. 1988 wurde mit dem Wiederaufbau der alten Fischerhütten begonnen und heute sieht der Ort wieder fast genauso aus wie früher.

Das Museum Ósvör wurde in Erinnerung an heute in Island verschwundene Arbeitsweisen errichtet. Hier gibt es eine Fischerhütte, ein Salzhaus, einen Schuppen zum Trocknen von Fisch, ein offenenes Ruderboot, eine Seilwinde und einen Fischtrockenplatz.

Popular Photography - April 2010 issue 2

The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of the domesticated silkmoth, Bombyx mori (Latin: "silkworm of the mulberry tree"). It is an important economic insect since it is the producer of silk. A silkworm's preferred food is white mulberry leaves, but it may also eat the leaves of the Osage Orange or the Tree of Heaven. It is entirely dependent on humans for its reproduction and no longer occurs naturally in the wild. Sericulture has been practised for at least 5,000 years in China.

Angkor Wat, the state temple of King Suryavarman II (reigned 1113-1145/50) was situated near the older city of Indian name, Yashodharapura. On his death, Suryavarman II was given a posthumous name, 'Paramavishnuloka' (He who has entered the paradise of supreme Vishnu) There is a theory that the ashes of the king are interned in the Angkor Wat temple. The Cambodian kings, strongly influenced by Indianisation, Sanskrit language, Hindu religion etc. named themselves accordingly. The name Surya or Aditya denote the 'Sun God' in Hindu mythology. The word 'Jaya' means 'Victory'. The word 'Varman' means 'one who is shielded or protected'. Hence Suryavarman means 'one who is protected by Surya', Jayavarman means 'one who is protected by victory' etc. The temple is dedicated to Vishnu, one of the Trinity of the Hindu pantheon of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The western orientation of the temple is in consonance with the building treatises of the South Indian Vishnu temples, whose influence in Cambodia of that time was deeply ingrained and practised. The temple including the moat encompasses an area of 200 hectares, a rectangle of 1.5 km by 1.3 km. Angkor was the capital during the reign of Suryavarman II.

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Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia and, as of 2010, the world's most recent nation to become a republic. It is bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi) and a population of approximately 30 million, Nepal is the world's 93rd largest country by land mass and the 41st most populous country. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the country's largest metropolitan city.

Nepal is a country of highly diverse and rich geography, culture, and religions. The mountainous north has eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including the highest, Sagarmatha, known in English as Mount Everest. The fertile and humid south is heavily urbanized. It contains over 240 peaks more than 6,096 metres (20,000 ft) above sea level.

By some measures, Hinduism is practised by a larger majority of people in Nepal than in any other nation. Buddhism, though a minority faith in the country, is linked historically with Nepal as the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, who as the Gautam Buddha gave birth to the Buddhist tradition.

A monarchy throughout most of its history, Nepal was ruled by the Shah dynasty of kings from 1768, when Prithvi Narayan Shah unified its many small kingdoms. In 2006, however, decade-long People's Revolution by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) along with several weeks of mass protests by all major political parties of Nepal culminated in a peace accord, and the ensuing elections for the constituent assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of the abdication of the last Nepali monarch Gyanendra Shah and the establishment of a federal democratic republic in May 28, 2008. The first President of Nepal, Ram Baran Yadav, was sworn in on 23 July 2008.

The word "Nepal" is believed by scholars to be derived from the word "Nepa:" which refers to the Newar Kingdom, the present day Kathmandu Valley. With Sanskritization, the Newar word Nepa became Nepal. The Newars of present day Nepal, refer to all the inhabitants of Kathmandu valley and its peripheries (called "Nepa:") before the advent of Shah dynasty.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal

The Hagen Open-air Museum (LWL-Freilichtmuseum Hagen – Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Handwerk und Technik; English: "LWL Open-air Museum Hagen – Westphalian State Museum for Craft and Technics") is a museum at Hagen in the southeastern Ruhr area, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded, together with the Detmold Open-air Museum, in 1960, and was first opened to the public in the early 1970s. The museum is run by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL, regional authority for Westphalia and Lippe within North Rhine-Westphalia). It lies in the Hagen neighbourhood of Selbecke south of Eilpe in the Mäckingerbach valley.

The open-air museum brings a bit of skilled-trade history into the present, and it takes a hands-on approach. On its grounds stretching for about 42 ha, not only are urban and rural trades simply "displayed" along with their workshops and tools, but in more than twenty of the nearly sixty rebuilt workshops, they are still practised, and interested visitors can, sometimes by themselves, take part in the production.

As early as the 1920s, there were efforts by a group of engineers and historical preservationists to preserve technological monuments for posterity. The initiator, Wilhelm Claas, even suggested the Mäckingerbach valley as a good place for a museum to that end. The narrow valley was chosen, as wind, water and wood were the three most important location factors for industry in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1960, the Westphalian Open-Air Museum was founded, and thirteen years later, the gates opened to the public. Unlike most open-air museums, which show everyday life on the farm or in the country as it was in days gone by, the Hagen Open-Air Museum puts the history of these activities in Westphalia in the fore. From the late 18th century through the early years of the Industrial Revolution to the highly industrialized society emerging in the early 20th century, the visitor can experience the development of these trades and the industry in the region.

Crafts and trades demonstrated at the Westphalian Open-Air Museum include ropemaking, smithing, brewing, baking, tanning, printing, milling, papermaking, and much more. A favourite attraction is the triphammer workshop shown in the image above. Once the hammer is engaged, a craftsman goes to work noisily forging a scythe, passing it between the hammer and the anvil underneath in a process called peening.

The Hagen Westphalian Open-Air Museum is open from March or April until October.