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A few months ago, you may recall I did an overview of a wee little figure.. the Sentinel 4inch-Nel Rockman/Mega Man X figure. You know, the cutesy one with the freaking magnets in the boots? I had mentioned at the time that it had a brother-from-another-brand, the D-Arts version, but getting it might be problematic given the aftermarket prices, as the popular figure was released way back in 2011.
Well, as always, I keep my nose to the ground for people getting rid of stuff, and $35 CAD later here we are - the D-Arts Mega Man X figure. Used and a bit scuffed, mind you, but complete and as far as I can tell, official.
So yeah.. before the Sentinel and of course the Kotobukiya kits of today, this was THE X figure to get. It retailed for 3,300 Yen back in the day, and included a decent number of accessories. You get the figure, a total of three face plates (netural, shouting, gritted teeth), a pair of fists, a pair of open palm hands, Rockbuster/Megabuster replacement forearm, replacement buster tip for use with the blast effects, a level 1 charged shot, and a rapid fire barrage of three standard shots.
The barrage effect can be folded such that the shots display in different patterns, and as such can be used for a wide variety of actions.
X certainly looks the part, and I think I might actually like the face on the D-Arts just a smidgen more than the Sentinel release. The feet are a bit bulky IMHO compared to the official game art, but the general silhouette is well done, which is more than I can say about the D-Arts OG figure release. Each are really aiming for a different aesthetic, I find, with the D-Arts definitely going for the more angular, armoured look versus the the streamlined look of the Sentinel. The colours on the two are slightly different, with the D-Arts figure having a glossier finish.
If I had to sum it up, the D-Arts finish is more like a model kit whereas the Sentinel is more like an animated character.
The Sentinel was definitely designed better in terms of joint concealment, as evident at the hips and the neck.
One other cosmetic thing the D-Arts has over the Sentinel is that the red parts are all translucent plastic with a chrome back piece, as compared to solid red paint.
From an articulation perspective, the two figure were actually surprisingly equal when looking at the lower body (ankles, knees, hips, waist). The Sentinel does feature an additional joint around mid calf that allows for a more satisfying folded leg via the double jointed knees, but functionally they're pretty close. Both have exceptional ankle articulation, especially when considering the bulk.
Upper body though, I found the trunk to be better designed on the Sentinel as I could get more ab range of motion. Arms and head were again pretty consistent with regards to display options as the joints were again pretty much the same.
Paint wise, other than the difference in colours, there really isn't much to compare to the two. QC changes a lot in the 7 year period between the figures but it is suffice to say that the D-Arts was generally very clean, and was certainly nicer than some of the other D-Arts releases of the era. Decal work isn't bad either, and was found to be crisp.
Build quality wise, again, you'd expect the newer one to be better built. But there's nothing wrong with the D-Arts, as parts fit together and finishes are generally good, with the exception of the torso popping off for me as I keep pushing it past its modest limitations of motion. The Sentinel, however, feels like it has a higher density (so basically, a higher concentration of actual material in the figure), which of course can help with balance issues.
Overall, both are great takes on the character, and cater to slightly different crowds. Unlike most cases, the "bigger is better" crowd would actually still be getting a pretty good figure, so long as slightly wonky looking joints isn't an issue, but this is offset by the inclusion of effects.
Finding these two isn't exactly needle in a haystack, but finding them for a good price is somewhat of a challenge. As you can imagine, each person will have a different tolerance for this sort of thing.
Having said that, if the latest and greatest is your thing, you can always try to get a hold of the Kotobukiya kits, which seem to offer a D-Arts-esque figure with a more rounded body, though the time and of course, paint necessary to get it done effectively are a no go for me.
The world is your oyster, friends.
An Antic pub, still with that problematic name, but yeah it used to be a job centre. Renamed as Jam Circus in 2023. (Older photo of it as Utrophia, an arts space.)
Address: 120-122 Deptford High Street.
Owner: Antic.
Links:
London Pubology (Jam Circus)
Warrior with Child ( Achilles and Troilus) Roman creation, end 2nd- early 3rd centuries AD. The identification of this group is problematic. A warrior is depicted in the act of lifting or hurling a dying child, who is held by the foot. The interpretations vary in identifying the figures as Neoptolemus with the body of Astyanax, or as Achilles with the body of Troilus. Modifications in the 16th century gave the hero the face of the emperor Commodus (AD 180-192) whose cruelty was recorded by ancient sorces. These changes altered profoundly the composition of the work, in which the hero lifted the boy by the left leg. This sculpture is made of yellowish white marble. A fragment of similar size and workmanship found in the Baths in 1901 appears to confirm this. The group may have been located in the frigidarium of the baths. Following its discovery it was placed in the courtyard of the Palazzo Farnese. Taken to Naples in 1787 it was set up in the new Villa Chiaia. It was removed from there in 1826 and placed in the museum collections. It can be dated between the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd century AD. This sculpture stood out to me because I would not expect to see a sculpture of a little boy dying. We cannot assume what the boy may have been dying from but we can see how the warrior is walking with triumph or possibly looks like he is on a mission to save this boys life. I also like this sculpture because you can see how the sculpture looks like the warrior is in motion or mid walk. I think its very impressive for an artist to portray such a unique element especially in a marble sculpture.
A few months ago, you may recall I did an overview of a wee little figure.. the Sentinel 4inch-Nel Rockman/Mega Man X figure. You know, the cutesy one with the freaking magnets in the boots? I had mentioned at the time that it had a brother-from-another-brand, the D-Arts version, but getting it might be problematic given the aftermarket prices, as the popular figure was released way back in 2011.
Well, as always, I keep my nose to the ground for people getting rid of stuff, and $35 CAD later here we are - the D-Arts Mega Man X figure. Used and a bit scuffed, mind you, but complete and as far as I can tell, official.
So yeah.. before the Sentinel and of course the Kotobukiya kits of today, this was THE X figure to get. It retailed for 3,300 Yen back in the day, and included a decent number of accessories. You get the figure, a total of three face plates (netural, shouting, gritted teeth), a pair of fists, a pair of open palm hands, Rockbuster/Megabuster replacement forearm, replacement buster tip for use with the blast effects, a level 1 charged shot, and a rapid fire barrage of three standard shots.
The barrage effect can be folded such that the shots display in different patterns, and as such can be used for a wide variety of actions.
X certainly looks the part, and I think I might actually like the face on the D-Arts just a smidgen more than the Sentinel release. The feet are a bit bulky IMHO compared to the official game art, but the general silhouette is well done, which is more than I can say about the D-Arts OG figure release. Each are really aiming for a different aesthetic, I find, with the D-Arts definitely going for the more angular, armoured look versus the the streamlined look of the Sentinel. The colours on the two are slightly different, with the D-Arts figure having a glossier finish.
If I had to sum it up, the D-Arts finish is more like a model kit whereas the Sentinel is more like an animated character.
The Sentinel was definitely designed better in terms of joint concealment, as evident at the hips and the neck.
One other cosmetic thing the D-Arts has over the Sentinel is that the red parts are all translucent plastic with a chrome back piece, as compared to solid red paint.
From an articulation perspective, the two figure were actually surprisingly equal when looking at the lower body (ankles, knees, hips, waist). The Sentinel does feature an additional joint around mid calf that allows for a more satisfying folded leg via the double jointed knees, but functionally they're pretty close. Both have exceptional ankle articulation, especially when considering the bulk.
Upper body though, I found the trunk to be better designed on the Sentinel as I could get more ab range of motion. Arms and head were again pretty consistent with regards to display options as the joints were again pretty much the same.
Paint wise, other than the difference in colours, there really isn't much to compare to the two. QC changes a lot in the 7 year period between the figures but it is suffice to say that the D-Arts was generally very clean, and was certainly nicer than some of the other D-Arts releases of the era. Decal work isn't bad either, and was found to be crisp.
Build quality wise, again, you'd expect the newer one to be better built. But there's nothing wrong with the D-Arts, as parts fit together and finishes are generally good, with the exception of the torso popping off for me as I keep pushing it past its modest limitations of motion. The Sentinel, however, feels like it has a higher density (so basically, a higher concentration of actual material in the figure), which of course can help with balance issues.
Overall, both are great takes on the character, and cater to slightly different crowds. Unlike most cases, the "bigger is better" crowd would actually still be getting a pretty good figure, so long as slightly wonky looking joints isn't an issue, but this is offset by the inclusion of effects.
Finding these two isn't exactly needle in a haystack, but finding them for a good price is somewhat of a challenge. As you can imagine, each person will have a different tolerance for this sort of thing.
Having said that, if the latest and greatest is your thing, you can always try to get a hold of the Kotobukiya kits, which seem to offer a D-Arts-esque figure with a more rounded body, though the time and of course, paint necessary to get it done effectively are a no go for me.
The world is your oyster, friends.
I took 3 problematic Olympus 35 RCs and created 2 fully working cameras and one "franken camera" with the worst of all of the parts (e.g. broken battery wire, broken meter coil, scratched lens, missing speed dial, bent top, scratchy wind mechanism, missing hot shoe, missing self timer lever.) However, the shutter and aperture still work in manual (I hacked up a shutter speed knob out of plastic) and the RF works and you can use the advance lever even if it makes ugly noises.
Looking out from WAIS Divide....(low-res)
Update:
We're over the half-way point in our 2012-13 field season here at WAIS Divide. The replicate ice coring that proved to be quite problematic last season, has been working like a charm this year. We are targeting 4 different core depths to be drilled at an angle off the main borehole that was completed early last season. So far, we've already finished 2 of the cores (each over 50 meters in total), and we are a good way into the third. If everything stays on track, we should wrap up the season right on schedule or perhaps even a smidge early. I have also successfully deployed my five snow surface temperature sensor stations. Each one took about a day to calibrate and install...but they've all been recording non-stop for over two weeks. It's getting to that point in the season where everyone is getting a wee bit homesick, and I know I have certainly started dreaming about getting back. We technically have 3 weeks left of possible drilling, but like I said, I suspect we'll end a smidge early.
Despite the main ice core being completed last year, the camp population is much higher this year because the Polenet project is also based out of our camp (Yep...the same polenet that I worked with last year at Union Glacier)
We all enjoyed a really nice Christmas, New Years, and even Apocalypse (Dec 21st) parties in camp. Lots of really great camp staff and science folks this year. Everyone gets along great and we all work together very well.
On a running front, I managed to slip my name back into Leadville again...as well as Finger Lakes. I also have Vermont scheduled...but we'll see about that one. My big goal for 2012, now that Hardrock didn't pan out, will be to run the Plain 100 in September. I'm putting it on my calendar now. I have another escapade possible planned for later in the year, but I will leave that off the record for now. The knee is doing better, but the heel still bothers me on and off. Not sure what to do next with it. I've been forgoing the running down here and instead been skiing a lot.
That's about it for now. I look forward to getting back home and getting my next paper written/submitted.
-j
Today I'm en-route to Canada, this is where my 365 gets problematic. I think I got a picture everyday, but it may not appear that way.
A very early start, Glasgow airport at 6am is not my favourite place to be. Then Heathrow for 11am, and not leaving until 5pm. It was a long time to wait, as great as terminal 5 is, there's only so long you can browse the shops! So I spent a long time reading twilight and listining to music.
Got to Vancouver about 8pm (Canada time) and it was great to see Heather! The evening passed in a bit of a blur though, as by the time I got to sleep I'd been up for about 30 hours and didn't really know quite what was going on!
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A rather problematic day for Lillyhall's Darts, and for a change, Lillyhall's Solo fleet was almost at full strength! This meant that 47007 (KX51CSV) could step in on the short X5 to Keswick.
Made by members of the Canberra Quilters' modern quilting group for the Canberra Quilters Exhibition 2015.
Description: Division Street bridge, west of Halsted Street
Photographer: Copelin Commercial Photographers
Series Description: Copelin Commercial Photographers recorded exteriors and interiors of buildings that Chicago's building inspectors visited when they investigated problematic structures during the 1940s, '50s, and '60s. Some general views of streets and intersections taken for the Department of Streets and Sanitation, as well as major commercial buildings also fill out the picture of various neighborhoods.
Date: 1914-1975
Geographic coverage: Chicago (Ill.)
Collection: Chicago - Photographic Images of Change (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Repository: University of Illinois at Chicago. Library. Special Collections and University Archives.
Credit Line: Cite as: Copelin Commercial Photographers, [Title], [Identifier], James S. Parker and Chicago Photography (University of Illinois at Chicago)
File Name: JPCC_01_0001_0003_0008
Acknowledgements: This project was funded through a generous grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.
Rights: This image may be used freely, with attribution, for research, study and educational purposes. For permission to publish, distribute, or use this image for any other purpose, please contact Special Collections and University Archives, University of Illinois at Chicago Library at lib-spec@uic.libanswers.com
For more images from the collection, visit collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/uic_pic
This barn is barely holding together. There are cables wrapped around the circumference.
Due to its location and design, saving this site is extremely problematic. This is on prime development area, very close to roads (now). This organization has been working on this for years and years with very little progress so far. Despite efforts to stabilize the structure, it looks like it could blow over in one bad wind storm. (Round is good, though.)
While round barns are cool, there is no shortage of them and many are in better shape. This particular farm/barn has some local history, though and, being close to interstate and future casino, it might work as tourist attraction, but it needs LOTS of work to get there.
More information in an article here - Beloit Daily News Editorial.
Review of the book, More Stories from the Round Barn at - Beloit College Magazine.
These are from today's walk around the grounds of the Dougan Round Barn on Colley Road in Beloit. Adric and I took a walk around it after brunch at the FlyingJ truck stop. I had visited yesterday on my bike ride, but nothing I shot turned out. (My eyes got so cold they couldn't focus and I had to get to work.)
The River Wear in Northern England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At 60 mi (97 km) long, it is one of the region's longest rivers. The Wear wends in a steep valley through the cathedral city of Durham and gives its name to Weardale in its upper reach and Wearside by its mouth.
Etymology
The origin behind the hydronym Wear is uncertain but is generally understood to be Celtic. The River Vedra on the Roman Map of Britain may very well be the River Wear. The name may be derived from Brittonic *wejr (<*wẹ:drā), which meant "a bend" (cf. Welsh -gwair-). An alternative but very problematic etymology might involve *wẹ:d-r-, from a lengthened form of the Indo-European root *wed- "water". Also suggested is a possible derivation from the Brittonic root *wei-, which is thought to have meant "to flow". The name Wear has also been explained as being an ancient Celtic name meaning "river of blood".
It is possible that the Wear has the same etymology as the River Wyre in Lancashire,[1] the Quair Water in Scotland, the Weser in Germany and the Vistula in Poland.
Geology
The Wear rises in the east Pennines, high on the moors of the Alston Block, an upland area raised up during the Caledonian orogeny. The Devonian age Weardale Granite underlies the headwaters of the Wear and the whole Alston Block, but does not appear at outcrop but was surmised by early geologists, and subsequently proven to exist as seen in the Rookhope borehole.[3] It is the presence of this granite that has retained the high upland elevations of this area (less through its relative hardness, and more due to isostatic equilibrium) and accounts for heavy local mineralisation, although it is considered that most of the mineralisation occurred during the Carboniferous period.
It is thought that the course of the River Wear, prior to the last Ice Age, was much as it is now as far as Chester-le-Street. This can be established as a result of boreholes, of which there have been many in the Wear valley due to coal mining. However, northwards from Chester-le-Street, the Wear may have originally followed the current route of the lower River Team. The last glaciation reached its peak about 18,500 years ago, from which time it also began a progressive retreat, leaving a wide variety of glacial deposits in its wake, filling existing river valleys with silt, sand and other glacial till. At about 14,000 years ago, retreat of the ice paused for maybe 500 years at the city of Durham. This can be established by the types of glacial deposits in the vicinity of Durham City. The confluence of the River Browney was pushed from Gilesgate (the abandoned river valley still exists in Pelaw Woods), several miles south to Sunderland Bridge (Croxdale). At Chester-le-Street, when glacial boulder clay was deposited blocking its northerly course, the River Wear was diverted eastwards towards Sunderland where it was forced to cut a new, shallower valley. The gorge cut by the river through the Permian Magnesian Limestone (Zechstein limestone) can be seen most clearly at Ford Quarry. In the 17th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica (1990), reference is made to a pre-Ice Age course of the River Wear outfalling at Hartlepool.
The upland area of Upper Weardale retains a flora that relates, almost uniquely in England, to the end of the last Ice Age, although it almost or entirely lacks the particular rarities that make up the unique "Teesdale Assemblage" of post-glacial plants. This may, in part, be due to the Pennine areas of Upper Weardale and Upper Teesdale being the site of the shrinking ice cap, or to the difference in the surface geology, with none of the 'sugar limestone' outcrops which in Teesdale are the home of many of those plants. The glaciation left behind many indications of its presence, including lateral moraines and material from the Lake District and Northumberland, although surprisingly few drumlins. After the Ice Age, the Wear valley became thickly forested, however during the Neolithic period and increasingly in the Bronze Age, were largely deforested for agriculture.
Industrial history
Much of the River Wear is associated with the history of the Industrial Revolution. Its upper end runs through lead mining country, until this gives way to coal seams of the Durham coalfield for the rest of its length. As a result of limestone quarrying, lead mining and coal mining, the Wear valley was amongst the first places to see the development of railways. The Weardale Railway continues to run occasional services between Stanhope and Wolsingham.
Mining of lead ore has been known in the area of the headwaters of the Wear since the Roman occupation and continued into the nineteenth century. Spoil heaps from the abandoned lead mines can still be seen,[where?] and since the last quarter of the twentieth century have been the focus of attention for the recovery of gangue minerals in present mining, such as fluorspar for the smelting of aluminium. However, abandoned mines and their spoil heaps continue to contribute to heavy metal mineral pollution of the river and its tributaries. This has significance to fishing in times of low flow and infrastructure costs as the River Wear is an important source of drinking water for many of the inhabitants along its course.
Fluorspar is another mineral sporadically co-present with Weardale Granite and became important in the manufacture of steel from the late 19th century into the 20th century. In many cases the steel industries were able to take fluorspar from old excavation heaps.[citation needed] Fluorspar explains why iron and steel manufacture flourished in the Wear valley, Consett and Teesside during the nineteenth century. Overlying are three Carboniferous minerals: limestone, Coal Measures as raw materials for iron and steel manufacture, and sandstone, useful as a refractory material. The last remaining fluorspar mine closed in 1999 following legislation re water quality. A mine at Rogerley Quarry, Frosterley, is operated by an American consortium who occasionally work it for specimen minerals.
Minco are currently exploring the North Pennines and the upper Wear catchment for potential reserves of zinc at lower levels.
Ironstone which was important as the ore was won from around Consett and Tow Law, then around Rookhope, while greater quantities were imported from just south of the southerly Tees in North Yorkshire. These sources were in due course depleted or became uneconomic.
The former cement works at Eastgate, until recently run by Lafarge, was based on an inlier of limestone. The site recently gained planning permission to form a visitor complex showcasing an eco-village using alternative technology, including a "hot rocks" water heating system. The underlying granite has been drilled and reports confirm their presence. Bardon Aggregates continue to quarry at Heights near Westgate and operate a tarmac "blacktop" plant on site.
Mineral extraction has also occurred above St John's Chapel with the extraction of ganister which was used in the steel process at Consett. Around Frosterley, limestone, sand (crushed sandstone) and Frosterley Marble have been worked and the Broadwood Quarry recently expanded into ground held on an old licence. The crushing plant continues to operate. A quarry at Bollihope was also mooted on a similar basis but plans seem to have been discontinued. Frosterley Marble was used extensively in church architecture, there are local examples in St Michael's church Frosterley and Durham Cathedral.
When it reaches the city of Durham the River Wear passes through a deep, wooded gorge, from which several springs emerge, historically used as sources of potable water. A few coal seams are visible in the banks. Twisting sinuously in an incised meander, the river has cut deeply into the "Cathedral Sandstone" bedrock. The high ground (bluffs) enclosed by this meander is known as the Peninsula, forming a defensive enclosure, at whose heart lies Durham Castle and Durham Cathedral and which developed around the Bailey into Durham city. That area is now a UN World Heritage Site. Beneath Elvet Bridge are Brown's Boats (rowing boats for hire) and the mooring for the Prince Bishop, a pleasure cruiser.
The River Wear at Durham was featured on a television programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of Northern England.
In June each year, the Durham Regatta, which predates that at Henley, attracts rowing crews from around the region for races along the river's course through the city. Seven smaller regattas and head races are held throughout the rest of the year, which attract a lower number of competitors. There are 14 boathouses and 20 boat clubs based on the Wear in Durham.
Two weirs impede the flow of the river at Durham, both originally created for industrial activities. The Old Fulling Mill was an archaeological museum. The museum moved to Palace Green in July 2014. The second weir, beneath Milburngate Bridge, now includes a salmon leap and fish counter, monitoring sea trout and salmon, and is on the site of a former ford. Considering that 138,000 fish have been counted migrating upriver since 1994, it may not be surprising that cormorants frequent the weir.
The river's banks also lend their name to a hymn tune Elvet Banks in the 2006 hymnbook of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, used (appropriately) for a hymn for baptism.
Durham is a cathedral city and civil parish in the county of Durham, England. It is the county town and contains the headquarters of Durham County Council, the unitary authority which governs the district of County Durham. It had a population of 48,069 at the 2011 Census.
The city was built on a meander of the River Wear, which surrounds the centre on three sides and creates a narrow neck on the fourth. The surrounding land is hilly, except along the Wear's floodplain to the north and southeast.
Durham was founded in 995 by Anglo-Saxon monks seeking a place safe from Viking raids to house the relics of St Cuthbert. The church the monks built lasted only a century, as it was replaced by the present Durham Cathedral after the Norman Conquest; together with Durham Castle it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From the 1070s until 1836 the city was part of the County Palatine of Durham, a semi-independent jurisdiction ruled by the prince bishops of Durham which acted as a geopolitical buffer between the kingdoms of England and Scotland. In 1346, the Battle of Neville's Cross was fought half a mile west of the city, resulting in an English victory. In 1650, the cathedral was used to house Scottish prisoners after their defeat at the Battle of Dunbar. During the Industrial Revolution, the Durham coalfield was heavily exploited, with dozens of collieries operating around the city and in nearby villages. Although these coal pits have now closed, the annual Durham Miners' Gala continues and is a major event for the city and region. Historically, Durham was also known for the manufacture of hosiery, carpets, and mustard.
The city is the home of Durham University, which was founded in 1832 and therefore has a claim to be the third-oldest university in England. The university is a significant employer in the region, alongside the local council and national government at the land registry and passport office. The University Hospital of North Durham and HM Prison Durham are also located close to the city centre. The city also has significant tourism and hospitality sectors.
Toponymy
The name "Durham" comes from the Brythonic element dun, signifying a hill fort and related to -ton, and the Old Norse holme, which translates to island. The Lord Bishop of Durham takes a Latin variation of the city's name in his official signature, which is signed "N. Dunelm". Some attribute the city's name to the legend of the Dun Cow and the milkmaid who in legend guided the monks of Lindisfarne carrying the body of Saint Cuthbert to the site of the present city in 995 AD. Dun Cow Lane is said to be one of the first streets in Durham, being directly to the east of Durham Cathedral and taking its name from a depiction of the city's founding etched in masonry on the south side of the cathedral. The city has been known by a number of names throughout history. The original Nordic Dun Holm was changed to Duresme by the Normans and was known in Latin as Dunelm. The modern form Durham came into use later in the city's history. The north-eastern historian Robert Surtees chronicled the name changes in his History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham but states that it is an "impossibility" to tell when the city's modern name came into being.
Durham is likely to be Gaer Weir in Armes Prydein, derived from Brittonic cajr meaning "an enclosed, defensible site" (cf. Carlisle; Welsh caer) and the river-name Wear.
History
Early history
Archeological evidence suggests a history of settlement in the area since roughly 2000 BC. The present city can clearly be traced back to AD 995, when a group of monks from Lindisfarne chose the strategic high peninsula as a place to settle with the body of Saint Cuthbert, that had previously lain in Chester-le-Street, founding a church there.
City origins, the Dun Cow story
Local legend states that the city was founded in A.D. 995 by divine intervention. The 12th-century chronicler Symeon of Durham recounts that after wandering in the north, Saint Cuthbert's bier miraculously came to a halt at the hill of Warden Law and, despite the effort of the congregation, would not move. Aldhun, Bishop of Chester-le-Street and leader of the order, decreed a holy fast of three days, accompanied by prayers to the saint. During the fast, Saint Cuthbert appeared to a certain monk named Eadmer, with instructions that the coffin should be taken to Dun Holm. After Eadmer's revelation, Aldhun found that he was able to move the bier, but did not know where Dun Holm was.
The legend of the Dun Cow, which is first documented in The Rites of Durham, an anonymous account about Durham Cathedral, published in 1593, builds on Symeon's account. According to this legend, by chance later that day, the monks came across a milkmaid at Mount Joy (southeast of present-day Durham). She stated that she was seeking her lost dun cow, which she had last seen at Dun Holm. The monks, realising that this was a sign from the saint, followed her. They settled at a wooded "hill-island" – a high wooded rock surrounded on three sides by the River Wear. There they erected a shelter for the relics, on the spot where Durham Cathedral would later stand. Symeon states that a modest wooden building erected there shortly thereafter was the first building in the city. Bishop Aldhun subsequently had a stone church built, which was dedicated in September 998. This no longer remains, having been supplanted by the Norman structure.
The legend is interpreted by a Victorian relief stone carving on the north face of the cathedral and, more recently, by the bronze sculpture 'Durham Cow' (1997, Andrew Burton), which reclines by the River Wear in view of the cathedral.
Medieval era
During the medieval period the city gained spiritual prominence as the final resting place of Saint Cuthbert and Saint Bede the Venerable. The shrine of Saint Cuthbert, situated behind the High Altar of Durham Cathedral, was the most important religious site in England until the martyrdom of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury in 1170.
Saint Cuthbert became famous for two reasons. Firstly, the miraculous healing powers he had displayed in life continued after his death, with many stories of those visiting the saint's shrine being cured of all manner of diseases. This led to him being known as the "wonder worker of England". Secondly, after the first translation of his relics in 698 AD, his body was found to be incorruptible. Apart from a brief translation back to Holy Island during the Norman Invasion the saint's relics have remained enshrined to the present day. Saint Bede's bones are also entombed in the cathedral, and these also drew medieval pilgrims to the city.
Durham's geographical position has always given it an important place in the defence of England against the Scots. The city played an important part in the defence of the north, and Durham Castle is the only Norman castle keep never to have suffered a breach. In 1314, the Bishopric of Durham paid the Scots a 'large sum of money' not to burn Durham. The Battle of Neville's Cross took place around half a mile west of the city on 17 October 1346 between the English and Scots and was a disastrous loss for the Scots.
The city suffered from plague outbreaks in 1544, 1589 and 1598.
Bishops of Durham
Owing to the divine providence evidenced in the city's legendary founding, the Bishop of Durham has always enjoyed the formal title "Bishop by Divine Providence" as opposed to other bishops, who are "Bishop by Divine Permission". However, as the north-east of England lay so far from Westminster, the bishops of Durham enjoyed extraordinary powers such as the ability to hold their own parliament, raise their own armies, appoint their own sheriffs and Justices, administer their own laws, levy taxes and customs duties, create fairs and markets, issue charters, salvage shipwrecks, collect revenue from mines, administer the forests and mint their own coins. So far-reaching were the bishop's powers that the steward of Bishop Antony Bek commented in 1299 AD: "There are two kings in England, namely the Lord King of England, wearing a crown in sign of his regality and the Lord Bishop of Durham wearing a mitre in place of a crown, in sign of his regality in the diocese of Durham". All this activity was administered from the castle and buildings surrounding the Palace Green. Many of the original buildings associated with these functions of the county palatine survive on the peninsula that constitutes the ancient city.
From 1071 to 1836 the bishops of Durham ruled the county palatine of Durham. Although the term "prince bishop" has been used as a helpful tool in the understanding the functions of the bishops of Durham in this era, it is not a title they would have recognised. The last bishop to rule the palatinate, Bishop William Van Mildert, is credited with the foundation of Durham University in 1832. Henry VIII curtailed some of the bishop's powers and, in 1538, ordered the destruction of the shrine of Saint Cuthbert.
A UNESCO site describes the role of the bishops in the "buffer state between England and Scotland":
From 1075, the Bishop of Durham became a Prince-Bishop, with the right to raise an army, mint his own coins, and levy taxes. As long as he remained loyal to the king of England, he could govern as a virtually autonomous ruler, reaping the revenue from his territory, but also remaining mindful of his role of protecting England’s northern frontier.
Legal system
The bishops had their own court system, including most notably the Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge. The county also had its own attorney general, whose authority to bring an indictment for criminal matters was tested by central government in the case of R v Mary Ann Cotton (1873). Certain courts and judicial posts for the county were abolished by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873. Section 2 of the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836 and section 41 of the Courts Act 1971 abolished others.
Civil War and Cromwell (1640 to 1660)
The city remained loyal to King Charles I in the English Civil War – from 1642 to the execution of the king in 1649. Charles I came to Durham three times during his reign of 1625–1649. Firstly, he came in 1633 to the cathedral for a majestic service in which he was entertained by the Chapter and Bishop at great expense. He returned during preparations for the First Bishops' War (1639). His final visit to the city came towards the end of the civil war; he escaped from the city as Oliver Cromwell's forces got closer. Local legend stated that he escaped down the Bailey and through Old Elvet. Another local legend has it that Cromwell stayed in a room in the present Royal County Hotel on Old Elvet during the civil war. The room is reputed to be haunted by his ghost. Durham suffered greatly during the civil war (1642–1651) and Commonwealth (1649–1660). This was not due to direct assault by Cromwell or his allies, but to the abolition of the Church of England and the closure of religious institutions pertaining to it. The city has always relied upon the Dean and Chapter and cathedral as an economic force.
The castle suffered considerable damage and dilapidation during the Commonwealth due to the abolition of the office of bishop (whose residence it was). Cromwell confiscated the castle and sold it to the Lord Mayor of London shortly after taking it from the bishop. A similar fate befell the cathedral, it being closed in 1650 and used to incarcerate 3,000 Scottish prisoners, who were marched south after the Battle of Dunbar. Graffiti left by them can still be seen today etched into the interior stone.
At the Restoration in 1660, John Cosin (a former canon) was appointed bishop (in office: 1660–1672) and set about a major restoration project. This included the commissioning of the famous elaborate woodwork in the cathedral choir, the font cover and the Black Staircase in the castle. Bishop Cosin's successor Bishop Lord Nathaniel Crewe (in office: 1674–1721) carried out other renovations both to the city and to the cathedral.
18th century
In the 18th century a plan to turn Durham into a seaport through the digging of a canal north to join the River Team, a tributary of the River Tyne near Gateshead, was proposed by John Smeaton. Nothing came of the plan, but the statue of Neptune in the Market Place was a constant reminder of Durham's maritime possibilities.
The thought of ships docking at the Sands or Millburngate remained fresh in the minds of Durham merchants. In 1758, a new proposal hoped to make the Wear navigable from Durham to Sunderland by altering the river's course, but the increasing size of ships made this impractical. Moreover, Sunderland had grown as the north east's main port and centre for shipping.
In 1787 Durham infirmary was founded.
The 18th century also saw the rise of the trade-union movement in the city.
19th century
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 gave governing power of the town to an elected body. All other aspects of the Bishop's temporal powers were abolished by the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836 and returned to the Crown.
The Representation of the People Act 2000 and is regarded as the second most senior bishop and fourth most senior clergyman in the Church of England. The Court of Claims of 1953 granted the traditional right of the bishop to accompany the sovereign at the coronation, reflecting his seniority.
The first census, conducted in 1801, states that Durham City had a population of 7,100. The Industrial Revolution mostly passed the city by. However, the city was well known for carpet making and weaving. Although most of the mediaeval weavers who thrived in the city had left by the 19th century, the city was the home of Hugh MacKay Carpets’ factory, which produced the famous brands of axminster and tufted carpets until the factory went into administration in April 2005. Other important industries were the manufacture of mustard and coal extraction.
The Industrial Revolution also placed the city at the heart of the coalfields, the county's main industry until the 1970s. Practically every village around the city had a coal mine and, although these have since disappeared as part of the regional decline in heavy industry, the traditions, heritage and community spirit are still evident.
The 19th century also saw the founding of Durham University thanks to the benevolence of Bishop William Van Mildert and the Chapter in 1832. Durham Castle became the first college (University College, Durham) and the bishop moved to Auckland Castle as his only residence in the county. Bishop Hatfield's Hall (later Hatfield College, Durham) was added in 1846 specifically for the sons of poorer families, the Principal inaugurating a system new to English university life of advance fees to cover accommodation and communal dining.
The first Durham Miners' Gala was attended by 5,000 miners in 1871 in Wharton Park, and remains the largest socialist trade union event in the world.
20th century
Early in the 20th century coal became depleted, with a particularly important seam worked out in 1927, and in the following Great Depression Durham was among those towns that suffered exceptionally severe hardship. However, the university expanded greatly. St John's College and St Cuthbert's Society were founded on the Bailey, completing the series of colleges in that area of the city. From the early 1950s to early 1970s the university expanded to the south of the city centre. Trevelyan, Van Mildert, Collingwood, and Grey colleges were established, and new buildings for St Aidan's and St Mary's colleges for women, formerly housed on the Bailey, were created. The final 20th century collegiate addition came from the merger of the independent nineteenth-century colleges of the Venerable Bede and St Hild, which joined the university in 1979 as the College of St Hild and St Bede. The 1960s and 70s also saw building on New Elvet. Dunelm House for the use of the students' union was built first, followed by Elvet Riverside, containing lecture theatres and staff offices. To the southeast of the city centre sports facilities were built at Maiden Castle, adjacent to the Iron Age fort of the same name, and the Mountjoy site was developed, starting in 1924, eventually containing the university library, administrative buildings, and facilities for the Faculty of Science.
Durham was not bombed during World War II, though one raid on the night of 30 May 1942 did give rise to the local legend of 'St Cuthbert's Mist'. This states that the Luftwaffe attempted to target Durham, but was thwarted when Cuthbert created a mist that covered both the castle and cathedral, sparing them from bombing. The exact events of the night are disputed by contemporary eyewitnesses. The event continues to be referenced within the city, including inspiring the artwork 'Fogscape #03238' at Durham Lumiere 2015.
'Durham Castle and Cathedral' was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. Among the reasons given for the decision were 'Durham Cathedral [being] the largest and most perfect monument of "Norman" style architecture in England', and the cathedral's vaulting being an early and experimental model of the gothic style. Other important UNESCO sites near Durham include Auckland Castle, North of England Lead Mining Museum and Beamish Museum.
Historical
The historic city centre of Durham has changed little over 200 years. It is made up of the peninsula containing the cathedral, palace green, former administrative buildings for the palatine and Durham Castle. This was a strategic defensive decision by the city's founders and gives the cathedral a striking position. So much so that Symeon of Durham stated:
To see Durham is to see the English Sion and by doing so one may save oneself a trip to Jerusalem.
Sir Walter Scott was so inspired by the view of the cathedral from South Street that he wrote "Harold the Dauntless", a poem about Saxons and Vikings set in County Durham and published on 30 January 1817. The following lines from the poem are carved into a stone tablet on Prebends Bridge:
Grey towers of Durham
Yet well I love thy mixed and massive piles
Half church of God, half castle 'gainst the Scot
And long to roam those venerable aisles
With records stored of deeds long since forgot.
The old commercial section of the city encompasses the peninsula on three sides, following the River Wear. The peninsula was historically surrounded by the castle wall extending from the castle keep and broken by two gatehouses to the north and west of the enclosure. After extensive remodelling and "much beautification" by the Victorians the walls were removed with the exception of the gatehouse which is still standing on the Bailey.
The medieval city was made up of the cathedral, castle and administrative buildings on the peninsula. The outlying areas were known as the townships and owned by the bishop, the most famous of these being Gilesgate (which still contains the mediaeval St Giles Church), Claypath and Elvet.
The outlying commercial section of the city, especially around the North Road area, saw much change in the 1960s during a redevelopment spearheaded by Durham City Council; however, much of the original mediaeval street plan remains intact in the area close to the cathedral and market place. Most of the mediaeval buildings in the commercial area of the city have disappeared apart from the House of Correction and the Chapel of Saint Andrew, both under Elvet Bridge. Georgian buildings can still be found on the Bailey and Old Elvet most of which make up the colleges of Durham University.
The Moses class of patriarchs not only mounts an impressive range of armaments, they also carry extensive command, communications, and control suites, as well as defensive magnetic disruption generators that are capable of deflecting not only enemy projectiles, but also enemy strike craft (it should be noted that such disruptions may disable or dismember nearby auxiliaries).
Visible on the aft quarter are the Moses's four "penetrators". These were initially developed as replaceable fuel pods to allow rapid replenishment of probabilistic capacity within the Moses's FTL drive. However, modifications to these pods allow them to detach and target planetary bodies. After penetrating the surface of the planetary body these repurposed fuel tanks release their Heinsenbergian condensate, creating a significatn probability of a time/space fold within the planetary body itself.
The Moses class patriarchs mount both conventional and FTL core powered sublight enginges (rear).
The one great weakness of the Moses class is evident from this angle. While the aft FTL arches are folded down for combat, the forward arches remain elevated so as to allow the forward rail guns a full field of fire. The Moses can fold across short distances without its forward arches but damage to one or both of these arches will make it virtually impossible to accurately fold auxiliaries out of a system.
The churches of Canterbury have proved to be problematic for me. Apart from the Cathedral, which although open charges to enter, most of the others I have found always locked.
That we do not travel into Canterbury very often, due to the dreadful traffic, means that I take the chance when around to check on a church as we pass, which will be locked.
So, it was a surprise after leaving the hifi store, and wandering down Church Street, to see a sandwich board outside St Paul's, was this my lucky day?
In more ways that one! As I met the head of Kent Mother's Union who were having a fair inside the church, and after some chatting, and me explaining how hard it can be to get into some churches, I was given the number of her PA and just pone when you want to get in a church!
With the fair, I did not get all the details of the church, but enough to see this is a fine church, some great tile work around the altar. One to return to, at some point when I can get in......
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Why ‘St. Paul’s without the Walls’? The word ‘without’ once meant ‘outside’. This Church was built ‘without’ (outside) the city walls now just across the ring road. We refer to it here also as just ‘St. Paul’s’.
The origins of St. Paul's Church and the reason for its existence lie in the proximity of the ruins of the Abbey (now called St. Augustine’s). It is believed that it was built as a chapel by the abbey for local people and overseen by them as a place of worship and instruction.
In 1300 however there was a controversy between the Abbey and the Archbishop in regard to the right to present a priest to the ‘living’ (install a priest paid to minister here).
The Archbishop seems to have won. Parishioners had the right to be buried in the Abbey cemetery and in 1591 a burial area was created in Longport (now closed and since 1951 an open space at the bottom of St. Martin’s Hill).
Sometime in the last quarter of the 13th century the Church was enlarged eastwards creating the space now occupied by our organ ( built in 1901).
In the organ space and sadly no longer visible there is another piscina and a three tiered seat or sedilia for the priest and deacons.
A further extension took place around 1320 southwards creating a second larger aisle and a great east window. The south wall was pulled down to be replaced by purbeck marble pillars and a further wall.
Dissolution of the Monasteries c1540 had a serious economic effect on the City of Canterbury. The destruction of Thomas Becket’s tomb meant no more pilgrims and a great loss of income. In 1570 a Visitation (inspection by senior clergy) recorded that there were 90 houses in this Parish and 243 communicants. In 1681 St. Paul's was united with the ancient church of St. Martin.
The worshippers at St. Martin’s were ordered to view St. Paul’s as ‘their proper church’ (fortunately they seem to have stayed at St. Martins!) (Both parishes continued side by side until the 1970s when the Parish of St.
Martin & St. Paul was formed with one Parochial Church Council). By the early 19th Century St. Paul’s was described as ‘a small, mean building’ and in poor repair. All that would change with the advent of William Chesshyre!
The print of St. Paul's in 1828 shows a rather shabby building in a busy street. In 1842 William John Chesshyre arrived as Parish Priest. He was a wealthy man who resided in his mother’s house at Barton Court (now Barton Court Grammar School on St. Martin’s Hill/Longport).
Chesshyre died in his fifties in 1859 but in his seventeen years in the Parish he oversaw a dramatic extension and refurbishment of St. Paul's under George Gilbert Scott as well as the founding of St. Paul's School (closed and demolished in the 1960s).
The tower was substantially rebuilt and a third aisle built southwards creating the space we enjoy today. An elaborate altarpiece was created in the sanctuary with the choir seated in the traditional chancel under a decorated ceiling. A new font replaced the ancient one now stored in the Church cellar in three pieces. Whatever nave seating existed was replaced by pews provided under a national church scheme to help clergy pew their churches.
n 1985 Canon Reg Humphriss oversaw a reordering (programme of interior changes) project that brought the altar forward, removed the altarpiece and moved the choir to the north aisle. The font was also moved from its traditional place at the back of the Church to its present position. This opening up of space reflected changes in worship patterns but it meant the loss of the chapel and the positioning of the choir rather close to the very powerful organ. In 2012-2013 a further reordering took place.
The key element of this was the replacement of the fixed pews with modern seating allowing creative use of space and the restoration of the chapel. New choir stalls enabled the choir to be positioned further from the organ. In line with current developments new technology has been installed including a screen that descends electronically from the tie beam over the chancel. The chancel itself was levelled and extended and recarpeted and new digital lighting installed. We are now able to offer traditional and innovative worship and welcome people to use the church for concerts and conferences using also the Parish Centre built in 2005.
Con qualche caduta e non troppi tentativi Martino si porta a casa questo Wallride Rock and Roll to Fakie sul bordo di questo muretto.
The churches of Canterbury have proved to be problematic for me. Apart from the Cathedral, which although open charges to enter, most of the others I have found always locked.
That we do not travel into Canterbury very often, due to the dreadful traffic, means that I take the chance when around to check on a church as we pass, which will be locked.
So, it was a surprise after leaving the hifi store, and wandering down Church Street, to see a sandwich board outside St Paul's, was this my lucky day?
In more ways that one! As I met the head of Kent Mother's Union who were having a fair inside the church, and after some chatting, and me explaining how hard it can be to get into some churches, I was given the number of her PA and just pone when you want to get in a church!
With the fair, I did not get all the details of the church, but enough to see this is a fine church, some great tile work around the altar. One to return to, at some point when I can get in......
------------------------------------------------------
Why ‘St. Paul’s without the Walls’? The word ‘without’ once meant ‘outside’. This Church was built ‘without’ (outside) the city walls now just across the ring road. We refer to it here also as just ‘St. Paul’s’.
The origins of St. Paul's Church and the reason for its existence lie in the proximity of the ruins of the Abbey (now called St. Augustine’s). It is believed that it was built as a chapel by the abbey for local people and overseen by them as a place of worship and instruction.
In 1300 however there was a controversy between the Abbey and the Archbishop in regard to the right to present a priest to the ‘living’ (install a priest paid to minister here).
The Archbishop seems to have won. Parishioners had the right to be buried in the Abbey cemetery and in 1591 a burial area was created in Longport (now closed and since 1951 an open space at the bottom of St. Martin’s Hill).
Sometime in the last quarter of the 13th century the Church was enlarged eastwards creating the space now occupied by our organ ( built in 1901).
In the organ space and sadly no longer visible there is another piscina and a three tiered seat or sedilia for the priest and deacons.
A further extension took place around 1320 southwards creating a second larger aisle and a great east window. The south wall was pulled down to be replaced by purbeck marble pillars and a further wall.
Dissolution of the Monasteries c1540 had a serious economic effect on the City of Canterbury. The destruction of Thomas Becket’s tomb meant no more pilgrims and a great loss of income. In 1570 a Visitation (inspection by senior clergy) recorded that there were 90 houses in this Parish and 243 communicants. In 1681 St. Paul's was united with the ancient church of St. Martin.
The worshippers at St. Martin’s were ordered to view St. Paul’s as ‘their proper church’ (fortunately they seem to have stayed at St. Martins!) (Both parishes continued side by side until the 1970s when the Parish of St.
Martin & St. Paul was formed with one Parochial Church Council). By the early 19th Century St. Paul’s was described as ‘a small, mean building’ and in poor repair. All that would change with the advent of William Chesshyre!
The print of St. Paul's in 1828 shows a rather shabby building in a busy street. In 1842 William John Chesshyre arrived as Parish Priest. He was a wealthy man who resided in his mother’s house at Barton Court (now Barton Court Grammar School on St. Martin’s Hill/Longport).
Chesshyre died in his fifties in 1859 but in his seventeen years in the Parish he oversaw a dramatic extension and refurbishment of St. Paul's under George Gilbert Scott as well as the founding of St. Paul's School (closed and demolished in the 1960s).
The tower was substantially rebuilt and a third aisle built southwards creating the space we enjoy today. An elaborate altarpiece was created in the sanctuary with the choir seated in the traditional chancel under a decorated ceiling. A new font replaced the ancient one now stored in the Church cellar in three pieces. Whatever nave seating existed was replaced by pews provided under a national church scheme to help clergy pew their churches.
n 1985 Canon Reg Humphriss oversaw a reordering (programme of interior changes) project that brought the altar forward, removed the altarpiece and moved the choir to the north aisle. The font was also moved from its traditional place at the back of the Church to its present position. This opening up of space reflected changes in worship patterns but it meant the loss of the chapel and the positioning of the choir rather close to the very powerful organ. In 2012-2013 a further reordering took place.
The key element of this was the replacement of the fixed pews with modern seating allowing creative use of space and the restoration of the chapel. New choir stalls enabled the choir to be positioned further from the organ. In line with current developments new technology has been installed including a screen that descends electronically from the tie beam over the chancel. The chancel itself was levelled and extended and recarpeted and new digital lighting installed. We are now able to offer traditional and innovative worship and welcome people to use the church for concerts and conferences using also the Parish Centre built in 2005.
Part of my museum assignment was to create a reinstallation proposal for this perfectly preserved but problematic 19th century exhibit. Look at the skylight! Look at the racist images above the cases! Oh my! I received a distinction (in British speak - honours) on this project.
Warrington is a town in between Manchester and Liverpool.
Since its founding in 1848, the Warrington Museum's collection was originally based upon the collection of the Warrington Natural History Society. It has since grown to over 200,000 objects that now include a wide range of subjects such as ethnology, egyptology, geology, Roman Britain, pottery/ceramics, botany, fish, amphibians, reptiles, local industries, birds and mammals, and glass. Located on Bold Street in a Grade II listed building, the art galleries were added to the original building in 1877 and 1931. It is one of the oldest municipal museums in the UK and much of the quintessential character of the building has been preserved.
An interesting, strange, and throughout its history a problematic and dangerous aircraft. Watching the demo though you can't help but be impressed with the ingenuity and technology, This is the USMC V-22 Tilt Rotor Osprey. The rotors tilt to allow the aircraft to takeoff, hover and land vertically then the rotors tilt to a typcial airplane propeller profile for fixed wing flight.
Taking a night photo is problematic with the Agfa Optima II. I don't blame it.
I was using 200 ASA film photographing a busy Chicago street. Obviously I moved the camera. But I think if I had been a bit steadier, the photo would have come out OK.
There is no timed release shutter for this camera, otherwise I would have tried it.
Photos of the special exhibit: Leisure & Luxury In the Age of Nero which will run at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan through May 15, 2016. From the Kelsey website: "Organized in cooperation with the Archaeological Superintendency of Pompeii and the Oplontis Project at the University of Texas, this international traveling exhibition explores the lavish lifestyle and economic interests of ancient Rome’s wealthiest and most powerful citizens, who vacationed along the Bay of Naples. Julius Caesar, Cicero, Augustus, and Nero all owned villas here. With more than 200 objects on loan from Italy, the exhibition focuses on two structures at Oplontis that were buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. One is an enormous luxury villa that may once have belonged to the family of Nero’s second wife Poppaea. The other is a nearby commercial-residential complex—a center for the trade in wine and other produce of villa lands. Together these two establishments speak eloquently of the ways in which the Roman elite built, maintained, and displayed their vast wealth, political power, and social prestige. In presenting a selection of impressive works of art along with ordinary utilitarian objects, the exhibition also calls attention to Roman disparities of wealth, social class, and consumption. Such disparities were as problematic for Roman society as they are for ours today. The exhibition in Ann Arbor will remain open to the public until May 15, 2016. It will also be shown at the Museum of the Rockies at the Montana Sate University, Bozeman (June 17-December 31, 2016) and the Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, Massachusetts (February 3-August 13, 2017)."
Closest remaining thing in Leeds to the problematic Leek Street Flats of Hunslet that were bulldozed within 14 years (1968 to 1982) This shared an eerily coincidental timeline to the similar and infamous Divis Flats of Belfast.
Made by members of the Canberra Quilters' modern quilting group for the Canberra Quilters Exhibition 2015.
The problematic Peugeot of Comte finally made it to the track for races 2 & 3, now to stay in Australia with GRM - The Bend, SA, Nov 2019.
Made by members of the Canberra Quilters' modern quilting group for the Canberra Quilters Exhibition 2015.
For me, obtaining a good image the flower of the Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), remains problematic, and elusive.
I don't feel "compelled," per se, to make images of it's fragrant, lovely leathery blossoms, but rather, challenged. I count myself fortunate in this regard, that there is a fairly decent sized tree on the lawn, which has also produced numerous blossoms this year.
To describe their fragrance (for those whom have never had the opportunity to enjoy it), the tree, first of all, is an evergreen, so recollect the needly-like sharp pungence of the pine, and that character forms the first, or top note.
Then, the middle note (the 'body' of the fragrance) is powerfully and fully sweet, like honey.
The final note (the last aspect of it's fragrance) is an almost Earthy, funky-like scent, very light, almost imperceptible.