For whatever reason, I just tend to see 639 a whole lot less than the other two E400s branded for the 48. And whenever I do see it, any photo I manage of it tends to turn out bad, or at least not as good as what it probably would be had it been of either of the other two 48s! I did eventually get a decent enough one back in January, in this exact location no less, but it was on the compact so still slightly lower quality.

 

Here it is again on the DSLR, parked in the same city centre spot, at the 48 terminus on Beastmarket Hill. Since that previous photo, it looks marginally better with offside ad removed, plus the frequency and ticket price branding have both been altered. In fact, it might just be an illusion but several parts of the branding look as if they're slightly wonky. The paint is definitely glossier under where the advert used to be, though... I might have to try and include that in an OMSI repaint or something some time as I quite like that as a detail.

 

2.9.22

That's one of the reasons why I made a dash to the store. Tonight ( late ) rain is supposed to start. and as we progress toward thanksgiving, turning to freezing rain or snow, depending on the storm track. Temps are expected to drop into the teens at night and in the low 30's and 20's during the day. They are saying this is going to be a long term freeze. Just east of where I live they are predicting a foot or more of snow. ( lake effect )

Today is the last day with mild temps. it's still late autumn but it's going to be cold from now until about mid April. We may actually get a white Christmas this year. Last year it rained and rained. seemed like we were in the south of the country instead of the north.

When i was a kid and into my teen years. Cold arrived in October, November thru March was just plain miserable cold. Lake Erie froze over, ice boats used to race and ice fishing was so common it looked like a small village out on the ice of the lake. It's been close to twenty years since I have seen this happen on the lower lakes. I ce fishing is still popular but it takes place on the ice shelf that builds up a long the shore line. The lake has not frozen over now for many many years.

That means the towns and cities a long the lake get dumped on with lake effect snow. Buffalo and Watertown N.Y. are the most infamous places for this. 16 feet one year in Watertown.

The inhabitants of the YOOP don't get off easy either. Lake Superior dumps on them. Many homes there have exit doors to the outside on the second floor.

DRS 20s & 37 seen in store at Carnforth Steamtown.

 

The coaling plant at Carnforth is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons: * Technology: the plant represents the peak of technological development for the refuelling of steam locomotives; * Rarity: the only steam-age mechanical coaling plant retaining its mechanism that survives nationally, also thought to be a rare survival internationally; * Efficiency: the London Midland Scottish Railway led the way nationally in improving operating efficiency and developed an ultra-efficient design for their Motive Power Depots, these representing the peak of development for steam traction, the coaling plant being an important, high-tech component of the depot; * Distinctiveness: the widely known and modelled structure that marks the high point of steam technology, being the most memorable feature of the last British Rail depot to close to steam locomotives; * Group value: part of a remarkably complete survival of a steam-age Motive Power Depot.

 

In 1846 the first railway station was opened at Carnforth as a simple wayside halt. By 1880 it had become an important junction between the London and North Western Railway's (LNWR) London to Glasgow main line, the Furness Railway to Furness and the joint Furness Midland Railway to Leeds, with all three railway companies having servicing facilities for their locomotives at the junction. With the formation of the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923, Carnforth passed into single ownership, remaining an important junction and centre for the servicing and stabling of locomotives. In 1938-44 the LMS, which led the way nationally with improving operational efficiency, modernised the depot to conform to their standard depot layout developed in 1933, designed to service and stable large numbers of steam locomotives efficiently.

 

Commissioned in 1938, built in 1939 and operational by April 1940, the coaling plant, along with the associated ash plant, was a key feature of the modernised Motive Power Depot (MPD) and represented state-of-the-art technology. The coaling plant was based on the typical LMS cenotaph design with two 75 ton capacity hoppers, but modified with an extra pair of side chutes. These extra chutes allowed engines to be coaled on both the road immediately to the west of the structure as well as that which passes underneath. One hopper was used for class 1 and 2 coal used by passenger and heavy freight trains, the second hopper for class 3 and 4 coal used for locomotives with less demanding duties. The hoppers were filled directly from 15 ton open coal wagons which were electrically winched up the east face of the tower and inverted, water sprays being used to limit the spread of fine dust particles. The plant was operated from a control cabin at the top of the tower and was far more efficient in operation than previous practice which employed manual labour. The LMS built a number of these coaling plants across its network in its drive for increased efficiency, when other companies, such as the Great Western Railway, were still constructing traditional coaling stages employing manual labour.

 

Carnforth was the last MPD in the country to close to steam locomotives in August 1968, finally closing to all British Rail traffic in March 1969. However from December 1968, Carnforth became a base for steam locomotive preservation, first as Steamtown (a museum and steam locomotive restoration facility) and from the late 1990s as the base of West Coast Railways which operates private charter trains hauled by both steam and diesel traction. It is not known when the coaling plant was last operational. Both the ash and coaling plants have been the basis of models produced by a number of model railway manufacturers.

Razón contra Corazón

  

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Thanks for stopping by and view this photo. The reason for posting this photo on Flickr is to learn so if you have constructive feedback regarding what I could do better and / or what should I try, drop me a note I would love to hear your input.

View on Black the way it should be seen!

-- Let the sound of the shutter always guide you to new ventures.

© 2018 Winkler

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For some reason this shot reminds me of an old 1930's film :) I love this boyy so very much! Though he's been a pain for the last couple days he wont leave my side. Everywhere I go he has to follow which i suppose is not a bad thing but its very annoying xD espically if I put him in my room for a second and walk away he screams bloody murder xD he never done that not even as a puppy. I guess he just loves me so much (:

 

Oh btw I finally got pro account! :D

location: a thousand windows, china

 

top: miss chelsea - nimi top @ N21 Sept 2020

The full video is available on YouTube via link.

studio.youtube.com/video/fRXAQvsD5d4/edit/basic

Text revised and up-dated on 27 Dec 2022.

 

McKinney’s Old (GNRI) Railway Bridge

The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I) or GNRI) was an Irish gauge (1,600mm - 5'- 3") railway company in Ireland. It was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway (INW|), Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. The governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland jointly nationalised the company in 1953, however the company was liquidated in 1958.

The Great Northern Railway (GNR) which ran from Omagh to L/Derry crossed the island of Island More (Corkan) via two metal railway bridges. The 'Red Bridge' which is located

to the North of the island at Glenfad near Porthall and is still accessible but predominately used by the farming community and the river bed aggregate extraction company while the bridge onto Island More to the South was demolished by the British Army during the Northern Ireland 'Troubles' as where many small cross-border unapproved) roads.

Known locally as 'McKinney's Bridge' it crosses the River Foyle which forms the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, hence the reason why the bridge was demolished and is now unusable as a crossing point.

 

Anthony Freire Marreco (b.26th Aug 1915 d.4th June 2006, aged 90)

When growing up, I knew Islandmore or Corkan Island as 'Marreco's Island', named after Anthony Freire Marreco who was a British barrister and who had maintained a georgian

house at Porthall, near Lifford, Co. Donegal, on the banks of the River Foyle overlooking the island.

 

Anthony Blechynden Freire Marreco was born in Leiston, Suffolk, England on 26th Aug 1915 where his father's regiment was stationed at the time. The only son of Geoffrey Algernon Freire Marreco (b.25 Feb 1882 d.15 Sept 1969) of The Old Court House, St Mawes, Cornwall and his wife, nee Hilda, Gwendoline Beaufoy Francis (b.1 Dec 1887 d.9th June 1967) from Hampshire. Both parents are buried at St. Lucadius Church of Ireland, Clonleigh Parish, Lifford, Co. Donegal, Ireland.

 

The Freire Marreco’s were of Portuguese origin; Antonio Joaquim Freire Marreco (b.1787 d.1850), Anthony's great-grandfather was an interesting fellow. Born in Penafiel in

Northern Portugal he left for Brazil in 1808, together with King João VI and the Portuguese Court, who fled the invading Napoleonic troops and settled in Rio de Janeiro.

In 1820, the King returned to Portugal and Marreco returned with him. Antonio established himself in business in England in the early 1820s as a wine importer and in July 1834 married Anna “Annie” Laura Harrison (born in 1806) of Newcastle, the daughter of his English business partner, William Harrison, at St. Botulph's Church, Aldgate in London. He became a naturalised British subject. Freire was the original Portuguese surname, Marreco was added by the grandfather after a trip to Brazil were at that time it was popular to add the names of flowers and bird, Marreco being a type of duck.

Geoffrey, Anthony’s father worked for Richard Garrett & Sons a manufacturer of agricultural machinery, steam engines and trolleybuses, the factory was located in Leiston, Suffolk, England being founded by Richard Garrett in 1778.

 

Education

Anthony initially attended a private school, Allen House in Woking (founded in 1871), before attending the Royal College of St Peter's, Westminster from 1929 to 1934 where his lifelong interest in human rights began. His headmaster, Dr. Crossley-White had invited leading personalities of the day to dinner. At the age of 17, Marreco met his childhood hero, T.E. Lawrence (b.1888 d.1935) and also Mahātmā Ghandi (b.1869 d.1948).

 

Stage Career

In 1934 he joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), but was expelled after being spotted by the principal's wife at the Epsom Downs Derby, when he should have been attending classes. From 1935 to 1937, he began a career on the stage, playing in Shakespeare and forming friendships with figures such as Noel Coward (b.1899 d.1973) and

Johnny Weismuller (b.1904 d.1984). He joined Northampton Repertory and was stage manager at Crewe Repertory and later the London shows at His Majesty's Theatre, Daly's

Theatre, the Arts Theatre and the Theatre Royal.

 

Military Career

In 1940 he joined Royal Navy as a rating, Commission, Sub-Lieutenant (A) Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve R.N.V.R. and when the Admiralty learned that he had a pilot's licence,

Certificate No:14851 issued on 24 April 1937 by the Great Britain, Royal Aero Club Aviators at Airwork School of Flying, Heston Airport, Hounslow, Middlesex, which was taken

using an Avro Club Cadet Gipsy Major 130. He was later commissioned to fly a Fairey Swordfish (a biplane torpedo bomber). He received his wings on 6th October 1940 and was

appointed to train observers at R.N.A.S. Arbroath in Scotland.

 

In 1941 he was temporarily released from Naval duties on appointment, as Assistant Counsel to the legal department of the Industrial Export Council and was later promoted to

Lieutenant. In the same year he was appointed to the Royal Naval Air Service (R.N.A.S.) at Yeovilton in Somerset as Instructor, Fighter Direction School.

 

In January 1942 Marreco was appointed Fleet Fighter Direction Officer, Staff Commander-in-Chief, H.M.S. King George V (41) the flagship of both the British Home Fleet and

Pacific Fleets. In May 1941, along with HMS Rodney, King George V was involved in the hunt and pursuit of the German battleship Bismarck, eventually inflicting severe battle

damage which led to her being scuttled in the North Atlantic on 27 May 1941.

 

In April, Marreco was lent to US Carrier Wasp as Flight Deck Officer (FDO) to fly Spitfires off to Malta and in June 1942 was appointed to the Naval Night Fighter Development Unit.

 

In June 1943 he was appointed Flight Deck Officer (FDO) on an American built 'Attacker class' Escort Aircraft Carrier, which took part in “Operation Avalanche”, the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno which was executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy.

In December 1943 he was appointed Flight Deck Officer (FDO) of the American built Aircraft Carrier, USS Pybus (CVE-34) which was renamed Emperor (D98) by the Royal Navy.

 

In January 1944 he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and appointed Flight Deck Officer (FDO) Aircraft Carrier Formidable (67), which was involved in Operation Mascot, an

unsuccessful air raid against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Kaafjord, Norway, on 17 July 1944. The attack was one of a series of strikes against the battleship, launched from british aircraft carriers between April and August 1944. Tirpitz, was eventually sank during Operation Catechism on 12 November 1944 off Håkøy Island near Tromsø, Norway.

 

Formidable was subsequently assigned to the British Pacific Fleet (BPF) in 1945 where she played a supporting role during the Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg

where the Allies assembled the most powerful naval force in history. Formidable. later attacked targets in the Japanese Home Islands. She was hit twice by kamikaze aircraft

on the 4th and 9th of May. In both instances, she was saved by her armoured deck and was able return to flight operations rapidly. The ship was used to repatriate liberated Allied prisoners of war and soldiers after the Japanese surrender and then ferried British personnel across the globe through 1946.

 

Later in June 1945 Marreco was discharged for passage to the UK to take up an appointment at the Admiralty as advisor on Kamikaze suicide fighters during the pending final assault on Japan. He left his ship and flew to Sydney, Australia and as Senior Naval Officer, he boarded an old P&O liner call the 'Randi' which requisitioned by the Admiralty on 27 August 1939 and converted on 23 October 1939 to an armed merchant cruiser to carrying Japanese prisoners of war back to Southampton. Marreco, as part of his job aboard,

describes the trip, "I had to get up at 5.00am and bury my brother's and sister's who had not survived the night”.

 

In 1946, Marreco was demobilised and return to civvy street, he soon accepted an offer to attend the Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal as part of the British delegation where he

spent a number of months. During October 1946 he was appointed Chief Assistant to Deputy Chairman, Government Sub-Committee (Control Commission) for Berlin and later in April 1947 was appointed Director of the same.

 

In October 1947 was appointed British member, Directorate of Internal Affairs and Communications; Chief Staff Officer to Political Adviser to Military Governor. During December 1948 he resigned from the Control Commission.

 

Legal Career

Having passed his first Bar Examination in 1938, he was called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1941 during his absence on war service. He continued his law studies and took his Bar Finals at Twatt on a remote island in the Orkneys, invigilated by a chief petty officer. He was later a pupil of the distinguished Irish lawyer Brian McKenna in Walter Monckton's chambers in the Temple located at 2, Paper Buildings, London. Marreco never returned to the Bar, and instead went on to become a human-rights advocate, helping co-found Amnesty International.

 

Publishing & Banking

In the 1950s he was a director of Weidenfeld & Nicolson, established 1949, a British publisher of fiction and reference books. He also worked as an investment banker for SG

Warburg & Co founded in 1946 by Siegmund Warburg (b.1902 d.1982) and Henry Grunfeld (b.1904 d.1999).

 

Olympic Games – Germany 1936

Anthony received an invitation from Otto Christian von Bismarck (b.1987 d.1976) who was counsellor at the German Embassy in London (1929 to 1937) to attend the 1936 Summer

Olympic games in Germany as part of an official party. On attendance with some others were, John Beverley Nichols (b.1898 d.1983) English author, playwright, journalist,

composer, and public speaker and Mangal Heppeelipol (New Zealander) there was a mix up with their seats and it looked like they would not get in, however a German SS officer

frantically beckoned them upstairs to some fine seats. Minutes later Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring and Joseph Goebbels along with their respective wives arrived and took up their seats directly in front. The party was in the charge of Ernst Hanfstaengl (b.1887 d.1975), nicknamed "Putzi", who was a German-American businessman and became an

intimate friend and confidant of Adolf Hitler who enjoyed listening to "Putzi" play the piano. Hitler was the godfather of Hanfstaengl's son Egon (b.1921 d.2007).

Marreco witnessed the display of fury that Hitler showed when Jessie Owens (b.1913 d.1980) won the 100 meters (Owens won four gold medals, the long jump, 100 meters, 200 meters and 4 × 100m relay). Marreco also remarked how Helene Bertha Amalie “Leni” Riefenstahl (b.902 d.2003) who was a German film director, actress and Nazi sympathizer

jumped up with her camera and filmed Hitler from every conceivable angle every time he spoke. She was commissioned by the German Olympic Committee for $7 million to film the Games and directed the Nazi propaganda films “Triumph des Willens” (Triumph of the Will) and “Olympia” (video documentary of the games). Both movies are widely considered to be the most effective, and technically innovative, propaganda films ever made. Adolf Hitler was in close collaboration with Riefenstahl during the production of at least three important Nazi films during which they formed a friendly relationship. Some have suggested that Riefenstahl's visions were essential in the carrying out of the Holocaust?

 

Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal (1945 to 1949)

Marreco takes up the story. "I had returned from the Navy and I was back in my London chambers when one day in March 1946 after coming out of the dining hall of the Inner

Temple, about three months into the trial, Hartley Shawcross (b.1902 d.2003), the Attorney-General, (he was a sailing acquaintance of my father), fell into step beside me and

he said, "Good to see you Marreco, how are getting on? I’m fine”, and then he asked, "Would you like to go to Nuremberg?" Marreco replied, “Give me 24 hours”, I went back to my chambers and discussed the proposition with my colleagues who advised me to go. He arrived in Germany, just as U.S. Chief of Counsel, Robert Houghwout Jason

(b.1892 d.1954) was cross-examining Hermann Göring (18 March 1946). Marreco was briefed by the head of the British team, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe (b.1900 d.1967), 1st Earl of

Kilmuir.

 

Members of the British Prosecuting Counsel at Nuremberg included: Chief Prosecutor: Attorney General Sir Hartley Shawcross, Deputy Chief Prosecutor: Rt. Hon. Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, Leading Council: Mr. Geoffrey ('Khaki') Dorling Roberts (b.1886 d.1967), Junior Council: Major J. Harcourt Barrington (b.1907 d.1973), Major Frederick Elwyn Jones

(b.1909 d.1989), Mr Edward George G Robey (b.1900 d.1983), Lieut Col. John Mervyn Griffith-Jones (b.1909 d.1979), Colonel Henry Josceline Phillimore (b.1910 d.1974), Mr. Airey

Middleton Sheffield Neave (b.1916 d.1979), Sir Clement Raphael Freud (b.1924 d.2009) & Peter John Ambrose Calvocoressi (b.1912 d.2010).

 

In all, six organisations, including the SS, the Gestapo and the high command of the German army were also accused. 199 defendants were tried, 161 were convicted and 37 were

sentenced to death, including 12 of those tried by the International Military Tribunal (IMT).

 

From March to Sept 1946 Marreco was Junior Counsel of the British Delegation, his first task was to join a subsidiary tribunal to sort out the witnesses, convened under Airey

Neave who was the first British officer to escape from Colditz Castle on 12 May 1942. The defence called more than 400 witnesses. Marreco was present when they made their

depositions and cross-examined them on behalf of the prosecution. He also describes how he helped draft the trials' forensic closing speech delivered by the head of the

British team, Sir Hartley Shawcross.

 

Marreco recalls, "In the six months I was in Nuremberg, I got to know each of the Nazi defendants, and with one notable exception, I never liked any of them. Particularly, Joachim von Ribbentrop, the former ambassador to Britain who sat ashen-faced and was the most unpalatable character. Wilhelm Frick (Reich Minister of the Interior) was a horrible little man, Walther Funk (Reich Minister for Economic Affairs) was another dirty little shit”. He loathed Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz whom he vividly remembered being "brought into the courtroom clanking in chains" and who paced up and down, giving the impression of a madman. But with Hermann Göring, Hitler's number two, there was something about his attitude and the way he took charge of all the defendants that was, for me, totally compelling."Göring, who sangfroid throughout the judicial process and on one occasion when a particularly attractive military wren was standing next to the dock, Göring reached out and pinched her bottom. "She was so incensed and complained to the judge, but Göring knew he was going to die and he didn't care".

Britain’s legal team was tiny compared with the 300-plus American one, but Maxwell Fyfe told Marreco that the American's had got bogged down because the German defence counsel had surprisingly called more than 400 witnesses, many of them SS guards who had previously been at the extermination camps of Auschwitz and Belsen.

 

The International Military Tribunal (IMT) announces it's verdicts on November 1946. It imposed the death sentence on 12 defendants, Hermann Göring, Joachim von Ribbentrop,

Wilhelm Keitel, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Fritz Sauckel, Alfred Jodl, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, and Martin Bormann.

3 are sentenced to life imprisonment, Rudolf Hess, Walther Funk and Erich Raeder. The only one of them to serve their entire life in prison was Rudolf Hess who died on 17 Aug 1987, he was found strangled to death in a cabin in the exercise yard at Spandau Prison, Berlin. Apparently, he choked himself to death with an electrical cord. Some suspected foul play.

4 receive prison terms ranging from 10 to 20 years, Karl Dönitz, Baldur von Schirach, Albert Speer, and Konstantin von Neurath. The court acquits 3 defendants: Hjalmar Schacht (Economics Minister), Franz von Papen (German politician who played an important role in Hitler's appointment as chancellor), and Hans Fritzsche (head of Press and Radio).

The death sentences were carried out on 16 October 1946, with two exceptions: Hermann Göring committed suicide shortly before his scheduled execution, and Martin Bormann,

who was sentensed but was absent during the trial. The other 10 defendants were hanged, their bodies cremated at Ostfriedhof, Munich, and their ashes deposited in the Iser

River.

 

Video - Nuremberg Executions 1946 - What Happened to the Bodies? (Mark Felton Productions)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=At7IA19fXHc&ab_channel=MarkFe...

Video - Joachim von Ribbentrop (Mark Felton Productions)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-q6pdTyE0Q&ab_channel=MarkFe...

Video - Hermann Göring's Mysterious Death (Mark Felton Productions)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IMhFW7539s&ab_channel=MarkFe...

Hermann Göring's Special Train - Exclusive New Footage (Mark Felton Productions)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMc3Kw9aNEs&ab_channel=MarkFe...

Video - Rudolf Hess: The Last Prisoner of Spandau (Mark Felton Productions)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9lM-aaCHJU&ab_channel=MarkFe...

Video - The hanging of Rudolf Höss at Auschwitz (Alan Heath)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3C4njP5J2o&ab_channel

 

Post in Germany

As Chief Staff Officer to the Political Adviser to the British Military Government of Germany, and as British Member of the Directorate of International Affairs and Communications, Allied Control Authority, Berlin, from 1946 to 1949, Marreco assisted in the creation of new democratic and legal institutions in Germany.

 

Political Career

Marreco contested Wells in Somerset as a Liberal candidate in the 23 February 1950 general election obtaining 9,771 votes however, he was unsuccessful being beaten by the

Conservative representative Dennis Boles (b.1885 d.1958) with 20,613 votes. Again, in Goole in the West Riding of Yorkshire in the 25 October 1951 general election he obtained 17,073 votes being beaten by the Labour representative George Jeger (b.1903 d.1971) with 26,088 votes.

 

Amnesty International

In 1960 Flora Solomon (b.1895 d.1984), his neighbour in Shepherd Street, told Marreco that her son, Peter Benenson (b.1921 d.2005) was founding an organisation which was

later to become Amnesty International. Marreco, who had twice stood as a Liberal candidate for Parliament, supported him vigorously.

 

In 1968 he became Honorary Treasurer and had set up an Amnesty International Development Inc. (AID Inc.) in 1970 in the United States, which was totally separate from Amnesty

International and which could send funds to families of Greek prisoners. This was strongly opposed by Amnesty International USA. Outspoken in all his opinions, Marreco

conducted several investigations for Amnesty, notably during the regime of the Greek Colonels, when he went to Athens to interview Stylianos Pattakos (b.1912 d.2016), one of the Junta leaders of 1967 to 1974, about allegations of torture and the curtailing of civil liberties.

 

In 1971, Marreco investigated allegations of torture by British troops in Northern Ireland and subsequently resigned. Amnesty, he said, "refused to go to Belfast and even see these people", he added that "it was also a bizarre circumstance" that Amnesty's chairman, Sean MacBride (b.1904 d.1988), was the leader of Clann na Poblachta (Irish

republican political party) from 1946 to 1965 and was a former Chief of Staff of the IRA from 1936 to 1939. He also implied that he had received treats from the IRA when living at Porthall, County Donegal.

 

Mayfair Residents Association

For 13 years he was chairman of the Residents Association of Mayfair (RAM), steering it through turbulent times when it was opposed by the Association of Residents of Mayfair (ARM). When the two merged in 2004 he was appointed Honorary Present of the Residents’ Society of Mayfair and St James’s. He resigned on 13 January 2004. He was also a member

of the Royal Institute of International Affairs and of the Garrick Theatre, the Royal Thames Yacht Club and the Beefsteak Club. He was also a Director of Aldbourne Craft Trust

from 4 August 2000 until he resigned on 4 June 2006.

 

Institute of International Criminal Law

In 1983 he proposed setting up an Institute of International Criminal Law, to be established in association with the Irish Universities. He offered Port Hall to the Irish government as a study centre, where "the hideous violations of human rights, which had disfigured the 20th century" could be researched. His ambition was to set up a television archive of the Nuremberg Trials to be used by lawyers and peace researchers from all over the world. The Institute never came to fruition, possibly because Marreco also remained energetically committed to sorting out the legal and domestic problems of the Mayfair intelligentsia.

 

In his last years Marreco retired to Greenhill Bank Cottage, Aldbourne, in Wiltshire, with his wife, Gina, who was a brilliant hostess and an unforgettable cook.

 

Relationships

Anthony Marreco was married four times, but to only three women and had numerous affairs with other women but he had no children.

 

Lady Ursula Isabel Manners (b.1916 d.2017)

Lady Ursula Isabel Manners was born 8th November 1916, being the elder daughter of five children of John Manners, (b.1886 d.1940) 9th Duke of Rutland, by his wife the former

Kathleen Tennant (b.1894 d.1989, aged 95). As a 20-year-old she acted as one of Queen Elizabeth's trainbearers in Westminster Abbey and received international media attention after a photograph of her from the coronation on 12 May 1937, standing alongside the British royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace which was circulated in the news.

The reports, focused on her beauty and distinctive widow's peak, leading to her being nicknamed "the cygnet" by Winston Churchill while she accompanied the king and queen on a 5-day royal tour to France in 1938.

 

On 25 July 1943, Lady Ursula married Anthony Marreco in the chapel at Belvoir Castle, Grantham, Leicestershire, a man she barely knew and who threatened to commit suicide if

she refused to do so. The swiftness in which a wedding was organised prompted the minister to place a chair for her to sit on at the altar as he assumed, she was pregnant, this, she admitted, had infuriated her. Marreco left her to serve in the British Armed Forces in Asia and lost communication with her until 1946. During this time she had entered into a brief relationship with Man Singh II (b.1912 d.1970), the Maharaja of Jaipur, whom she met through her friend Jawaharlal Nehru (b.1889 d.1964). Lady Ursula and Marreco divorced in 1948.

 

Lady Ursula resumed her maiden name, and married secondly on 22 Nov 1951, Robert Erland Nicolai d'Abo (b.1911 d.1970), the elder son of Gerard Louis d'Abo (b.1884 d.1962), by whom

she had two sons and a daughter. In 2014 she published her memoir titled “The Girl with the Widow's Peak: The Memoirs”.

 

Lady Ursula died on 2 November 2017, aged 100, she was one of the last surviving aristocrats to have participated at the Coronation of King George VI & Queen Elizabeth on 12 May 1937.

 

Louise de Vilmorin (b.1902 d.1969)

Marreco also became involved with Louise de Vilmorin through the late 1940s until 1951 who was a French novelist, poet and journalist. Born in the family château at Verrières-le-Buisson, Essonne, a suburb southwest of Paris, she was heir to the fortune of the great French seed company, that of 'Vilmorin'. (The 4th largest seed company in the world).

Louise was the younger daughter of Philippe de Vilmorin (b.1872 d.1917) by his wife Berthe Marie Mélanie de Gaufridy de Dortan (b.1876 d.1937)

 

From a child, she was afflicted with a slight limp, the result of Tuberculosis of the hip, however she compensated for her frailty with a flamboyant personality. She was a spellbinding talker who craved the limelight that she once flung a butterball to the ceiling when another guest at a dinner party wouldn’t allow her to tell a story.

 

De Vilmorin was never wholly sure of Marreco's devotion, as in Venice, in July 1950 her doubts were realised when Marreco went in successful pursuit of the somewhat unstable

Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia (b.1921 d.1993), who had fellen madly in love with him and who then took an overdose of sleeping pills and slipped into a coma, but recovered

after two days, allegedly after de Vilmorin removed him to Sélestat in France at the end of the holiday.

 

De Vilmorin's diaries are peppered with references to him. She was much taken by his style of dress, on one occasion a shirt with narrow blue and white stripes, a black silk tie with white spots, a black jacket and waistcoat, spongebag trousers, and black leather ankle boots. When he went out, he perched his bowler hat at a rakish angle, and carried a furled umbrella. Above all, she was impressed by Marreco's adonis-like looks, impressed that he could return from a fashionable ball at six in the morning, neither drunk nor tired, but invigorated with life, talking of beautiful women, fortune, society and success. "Beauty likes to shine, to dazzle," wrote de Vilmorin, "and above all to be recognised!" She was deeply saddened when he left her in New Year in 1951, conscious that she was 13 years his senior and that his career might place demands on him that would take him away from her. These concerns were replicated as Marreco at this time had political aspirations.

 

Again, De Vilmorin's fears were realised while she was staying with Paul-Louis Weiller (b.1893 d.1993), at his villa, La Reine Jeanne, with Marreco in tow. She awoke one morning and found him gone. He had set off to Brazil in pursuit of Lali Horstmann, whose book had recently been published to great acclaim.

Vilmorin's first husband was an American real-estate heir, Henry Leigh Hunt (b.1886 d.1972), the only son of Leigh S. J. Hunt (b.1855 d.1933), a businessman who once owned

much of Las Vegas, Nevada and his wife, Jessie Nobel (b.c.1862 d.1960). They married in c.1925, moved to Las Vegas, and divorced in the 1930s. They had three daughters,

Jessie, Alexandra, and Helena.

Her second husband was Count Paul Pálffy ab Erdöd (b.1890 d.1968), a much-married Austrian-born Hungarian playboy, who had been second husband to the Hungarian countess better known as Etti Plesch (b.1914 d.2003), owner of two Epsom Derby winners. Palffy married Louise as his 5th wife in 1938, but the couple soon divorced.

Vilmorin was the mistress of another of Etti Plesch's husbands, Count [Maria Thomas] Paul Esterházy de Galántha (b.1901 d.1964), who left his wife in 1942 for Vilmorin. They

never married. For a number of years, she was the mistress of Duff Cooper (b.1890 d.1954), British ambassador to France.

 

Louise spent the last years of her life as the companion of the French Cultural Affairs Minister and author André Malraux (b.1901 d.1976), calling herself "Marilyn Malraux". She died on 26 Dec 1969 aged 67 and is buried in Verrières-le-Buisson (Essonne) cemetery also the initial resting place of André Malraux.

 

Léonie (Lally or Lali) Horstmann (b.1898 d.1954)

While serving in Germany, Marreco, then aged 36, became the lover of Lali Horstmann, who came from a distinguished German banking family, the von Schwabachs, her father was

the banker and historian Paul von Schwabach (b.1867 d.1938) and her mother Eleonor (Elli) Schröder (b.1869 d1942). Lali was the widow of Alfred (Freddy) Horstmann (b.1979 d.1947) who was a retired diplomat, art collector and later the head of the English department at the German Foreign Office. Freddy resigned his diplomatic duties in 1933, the year Hitler came to power, rather than work for the Nazis.

As Germany collapsed in the face of the allied invasion, the Horstmann’s decided, against the trend of fleeing from the Russian advance, by staying at their Kerzendorf estate,

East of Berlin, an elegant eighteenth-century house which contained numberous antiquities, had a small park, avenues, statues and a garden. The house was destroyed one night

by allied bombers and the Horstmann's moved into the agent's little house in the park.

At first, the Horstmann's were able to anaesthetise themselves from the worst excesses through their wealth and possessions, but soon the valuable objets sought by Russian

soldiers ran out as they lived in constant fear of rape and pilliage. One day in March 1946, Freddy was taken away by the Russian Secret Police for questioning about his

diplomat duties, stating, "It is now Saturday, six o'clock, you will probably be back tomorrow at the same time, Tuesday at the latest."

Almost, two and a half years later, August 1948 at Berlin station, Lali was told that Freddy had died of starvation in a Russian concentration camp, (No.7 Sachsenhausen,

Oranienburg, Germany, which was only a few miles from their home) a year after his arrest and that he was buried at the edge of the camp with many of his companions. Others

had survived, a few had been released for no apparent reason, many of them were still, and are now, in captivity. My husband, like all the others, had never been questioned

or tried. He had never been given any opportunity to defend himself.

 

Lali later wrote a moving account of her search for him, 'Nothing for Tears' (1953), which has been described as "one of the most remarkable personal documents to come out of

Germany at the end of 2nd World War". Marreco's relationship ended in Berlin, but they remained friends, both in Berlin and later when Lali moved to London.

 

They met again in 1954 in Brazil only when Lali made her first trip to Brazil to meet friends who had settled in Paraná in the south of the country. Lali asked Anthony to drive her from Rio to Paraná. They stopped overnight in São Paulo, where Lali was found the following morning, unconscious in her hotel room, having suffered a massive heart attack. She was rushed to hospital where she died the next day, aged 56. Lali Horstmann was buried in São Paulo. Marreco inherited part of her substantial fortune, derived from her ownership of real estate in Berlin and her late husband's family publishing buisness, the newspaper the 'Frankfurter General-Anzeiger', which was published in Frankfurt from 1876 to 1943 under various names. As a result of this Marreco bought Port Hall in Lifford, Co Donegal in 1956 where he lived and farmed until 1983 when he sold the house as his money was running out.

 

Loelia, Duchess of Westminster (b.1902 d.1993)

Marrero was subsequently the lover of Lady Loelia Mary Lindsay of Dowhill, Duchess of Westminster who was a British peeress, needlewoman and magazine editor. Loelia was the

only daughter of the courtier Sir Frederick Ponsonby (b.1867 d.1935), later 1st Baron Sysonby, and Lady Victoria Lily (Kennard) Sysonby (b.1874 d.1955), the well-known cook

book author. Loelia spent her early years at St James's Palace in London, Park House at Sandringham and Birkhall in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. As one of the "Bright Young

People", she met the twice divorced Hugh Grosvenor (b.1879 d.1953), 2nd Duke of Westminster. They were married on 20 February 1930 in a blaze of publicity, with Winston Churchill as the best man, but were unable to have children. Her marriage to the enormously wealthy peer failed and was dissolved in 1947 after years of separation.

 

Loelia's private diaries were likewise filled with anxious questions as to Marrero's love and loyalty. She encouraged Marrero to invest in Weidenfeld & Nicolson, and for some

years in the 1950s he was a financial supporter of George Weidenfeld (b.1919 d.2016).

 

Lindsay's 2nd marriage, to the divorced explorer Sir Martin Lindsay (b.1905 d.1981), 1st Baronet. The couple were married on 1st August 1969. Sir Martin, a devoted husband, died in 1981, and Lady Lindsay chose to spend her last years in nursing homes. Her memoirs, written in 1961 and titled 'Grace and Favour: The Memoirs of Loelia, Duchess of Westminster', a significant record of aristocratic life between the First and Second World Wars.

 

Regina de Souza Coelho (b.1927 - ?)

In 1954 Marreco went to Brazil for S G Warburg and while in Brazil he met Regina (Gina) de Souza Coelho, only daughter of Dr. Roberto and Roberto de Souza Coelho of Rio de

Janeiro. Marreco, consummated his second marriage with Gina on 19th November 1955, but the marriage was dissolved in 1961.

Anthony and Gina resumed their relationship in 1990, buying a cottage in Aldbourne, Wiltshire in 1997 and re-marrying in 2004. Very little is known about Regina.

 

Anne Wignall (née Acland-Troyte) b.1912 d.1982

Daughter of Major Herbert Acland-Troyte (b.1882 d.1943) and Marjorie Florence Pym (b.1891 d.1977). Anne was born in Kensington, London and had previously been married to the

5th Lord Ebury, Rennie Hoare (b.1901, d.1981), and also Lt-Col Frederick Wignall (b.1906 d.1956)

 

Anne first married, Robert Egerton Grosvenor (b.1914 d.1957), 5th Baron Ebury, son of Francis Egerton Grosvenor (b.1883 d.1932), 4th Baron Ebury and Mary Adela Glasson

(b.1883 d.1960), on 1 July 1933. She and Robert were divorced in 1941. Anne & Robert had two sons:

1. Francis Egerton Grosvenor, 8th Earl of Wilton (b.8th Feb 1934)

2. Hon. Robert Victor Grosvenor (b.1936 d.1993)

A keen racing driver, Lord Ebury died in an accident at Prescott, Gloucestershire on 5 May 1957, aged 43, while driving a Jaguar C-type - XKC 046 (Registration MVC630). He

was cremated at Oxford Crematorium, where there is a plaque to him and his 3rd wife Sheila, who died in 2010.

 

Anne's 2nd marriage on 23 December 1941 was to, Henry Peregrine Rennie Hoare (b.1901 d.1981) son of Henry Hoare (b.1866 d.1956) and Lady Geraldine Mariana Hervey

(b.1869 d.1955). Anne and Henry were divorced in 1947.

 

Anne's 3rd marriage on 13 November 1947 was to Lt.Col. Frederick Edwin Barton Wignall (b.1906 d.1956). He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in The Life Guards and died

9 November 1956 and was buried in the churchyard of St Michael and All Angels, Poulton, Gloucestershire.

 

Anne's 4th marriage on 25 September 1961 was to Anthony Freire Marreco (his 3rd marriage) and as Anne Marreco she was the biographer of “Constance Markievicz - The Rebel

Countess” (1967). She changed her name back to Wignall by deed poll in 1969 and died on 23 June 1982 in Tiverton, Devon and was buried in the churchyard at All Saints Church,

Huntsham, close to her father's ancestral seat, Huntsham Court.

 

Port Hall House

At Port Hall Marreco bred a fine herd of Charolais cattle and was immediately accepted by that flamboyant section of Irish society known as "The Donegal Group". Anthony was a

convivial host, a considerable raconteur, his hospitality was legendary being a generous host at Port Hall, with it's spacious library and hand-painted wallpaper and at his summer house parties in Greece and in his book-lined flat in Shepherd Market in Mayfair in London.

His many guests ranged from Henry MacIlhenny (b.1910 d.1986), millionaire owner of Glenveagh Castle, Co. Donegal to historian R.B McDowell (b.1913 d.2011), who for 13 years

(1956 to 1969) was dean of discipline at Trinity College, Dublin and once castigated future President Mary Robinson.

 

Port Hall house was owned by Anthony Marreco from 1956 until 1983. He had a strong interest in building conservation and carefully repaired and conserved Port Hall during the

1960s. This important building is one of the most significant elements of the built heritage of Donegal, and forms the centrepiece of a group of related structures along with

the warehouses to the rear, the walled garden to the south, and the other surviving elements of the site.

Port Hall House was built in 1746 on the banks of the River Foyle, for Judge John Vaughan (b.1603 d.1674) also of Buncrana Castle, who served as a Grand Juror for County

Donegal which was based at Lifford a short distance to the south-south-west of Port Hall. The house design is attributed to Michael Priestley (d.23 September 1777), an architect who was also responsible for the designs of the county court house and gaol (Old Courthouse) in Lifford’s Diamond (were John Half-Hung MacNaghten was held), Strabane Canal, Prehen House on the outskirts of Derry City and possibly First Presbyterian Church in Magazine Street, Derry City.

 

Marreco strenuously opposed salmon poaching, then running at a value of £1 million of fish a year. He became chairman of the Foyle Fisheries Commission (now known as the ‘Loughs Agency’) and immersed himself in every aspect of Ireland's cultural and political life. In the last year of his life, he had wished to make his own documentary, The Rule of Law, tracing the development of international law from the time of Grotius, the 17th century philosopher, to the present day.

 

Anthony Freire Marreco died on 4th June 2006 aged 90 years and was buried in the graveyard of St. Michael's Church, Aldbourne, Wiltshire, England. Donations were requested for

the RSPCA.

 

A video interview with Anthony Marreco recalling moments from his life at aged 82 is available on YouTube via link.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR3BaWVwqHc&t=481s

 

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters - 10.01.2025 - Jazzit Musik Club Salzburg

www.jazzfoto.at/konzertfotos25/the-sleep-of-reason-produc...

 

Besetzung:

Mariam Rezaei: turntables;

Mette Rasmussen: alto sax;

Gabriele Mitelli: piccolo trumpet, electronics;

Lukas Koenig: drums;

Far too many people in far too many countries continue to vote for people that neither represent them nor their interests, but cater to the obscenely rich and the corporations. An ongoing action that defies rational thought.

 

We're Here looks at exterminating Rational Thought today.

Why I like BC, reason #3: its spectacular wilderness. Here's a sample - morning at Rock Lake, in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, in the Canadian Rockies. Of course, what looks fabulous doesn't always feel great, and the truth is that this was one of the coldest backpacking trips I ever attempted. I was hit with a major snowfall in the 3rd week of September, and camped here for three nights before turning back. That nub of a white peak in the background left is actually towering Mount Assiniboine, my destination, but this was as close as I got to it on that trip. The snow in the passes was deep. So it goes. This was the single sunny morning of the trip; the other days it was either snowing or the valley was filled with fog from evaporation. An hour after I shot this image, the fog rolled in and the warmth vanished. But it sure was beautiful...

 

Scanned from the original Kodachrome 64 slide, September 1988.

 

Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.

© James R. Page - all rights reserved.

 

Martinville, Québec, Canada

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The image was taken with a Sony ILCA-77M2, Sigma 18-250 mm

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Follow me on my page:

500px.com/DraganMilovanovic

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Dear UserThanks for choosing our Network DVR.This email is recorded and sent automatically by DVR.Reason as follows:Motion detection.Triggered channel:4,Time:2016-03-26 20:59:45You are suggested to check the recorded files, thanks for cooperation.

The reason for been at Brightside was to enjoy the sight of a pair of 50s in action. 50007 & 50049 oblige with the Cardiff - Newcastle 'The Christmas White Rose'.

One of the reasons I loved Victoria Coach Station on my visits with my dad in the 70's was the variety of operators coaches you could see.

This is a shot from I think the late 60's taken by the same unknown photographer as the last two as the time is just before 18.35 this time.

Centre shot we have Royal Blue EDV542D a Bristol MW with ECW bodywork new to the operator in March 1966. Right of Centre we have Standerwick FCK934F a Leyland Leopard with Plaxton C49F bodywork new in April 1968. Left of Centre is Wilts and Dorset (on hire to Royal Blue) EMR298D with fleet number 723 which was another Bristol MW but this time with ECW bus bodywork designated DP41F and new in June 1966. Finally peepeing through we have East Kent AFN604B and AEC Reliance with PArk Royal C49F bodywork new to the operator in May 1964.

Also love the passengers wondering around!

"Despondency never takes into account the firmament."

Alda Merini

“Lo sconforto non tiene mai conto del firmamento.”

Alda Merini

  

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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;

or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;

clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;

oppure…. premi il tasto “L” per ingrandire l'immagine;

 

Qi Bo's photos on Fluidr

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickriver

  

www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...

  

www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...

 

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A history of Taormina.

Her name was Cheryl and she was 65, he was called Christopher and he was 59, they both came from Australia; before reaching Taormina, in Sicily, they had traveled far and wide in various European countries, finally they came to Italy to visit some cities of art and tourism such as Florence, Rome, Sorrento, Amalfi ... the reason for this great to wander? The answer will be known after their tragic ending: to look for a "beautiful place" where they can die ... They weren't married, they didn't behave like lovers or boyfriends do, they certainly were good friends, or maybe they were simply a so-called open couple. Physically and temperamentally they were the exact opposite: Cheryl was sunny, cheerful, decidedly nice, a little chubby, overweight, she loved to wear large handkerchiefs which she then tied on top of her head to form showy bows, Christopher instead was a bit skittish , closed and sad, of few words, thin, tall, with possibly gay attitudes, but both were very friendly, so much so that they had made friends above all with the hotel staff, indeed, to be honest, they made small gifts, they were objects of good workmanship that they had brought with them and bought somewhere, demonstrating their sincere attachment (they had chosen a famous hotel in Taormina, staying in a Junior Suite - Sea View, in Taormina they should have stayed a week, later they would go to Syracuse). On the day of departure, 02-October -2013, at 14.00, Cheryl and Christopher do not show up in the hall to hand over the keys to the room, with extreme embarrassment the assistant manager of the hotel and the housekeeper go to knock on their door , over and over again, and seeing that they do not answer, they open the door with the electronic passe-partout: as soon as they enter they see reflected in the mirror the shape of their bodies that appear stretched out in bed, motionless: quick and convulsive thousand questions pile up in the mind of the two women, the housekeeper is terrified and runs away, while the lady assistant director must be able to understand what is happening and approaches, what she sees is a surreal scene: they are clearly dead, lying and rigid on the bed, they are not hugging each other , however, they are lying next to each other, under them, to cover the blankets and sheets of the bed, they have placed a large sheet of cellophane, like the one used by painters, to prevent any the humors freed from lifeless bodies, could dirty; on the back of the bed hung a row of Halloween flags, with printed skulls, and, among these, other flags, those used for birthday parties, each with a letter forming the phrase "dance of death"; on the bedside table there were two empty bottles (200 - 300 ml), which each contained a lethal substance, there were keys (for the locks of the suitcases), and a letter, in which they reported their last wishes: they left the money to honor the hotel expenses, they donated the contents of their suitcases to the hotel, and finally asked forgiveness for the inconvenience that their extreme action would certainly have caused to the hotel. The scant news on the web at the time (all photocopies of a single article) reported that both suffered from serious health problems, but that was not the case, certainly there was some minor ailment, but nothing really serious and unsolvable. Cheryl and Cristopher now lie in the cemetery of Taormina, higher up, closer to the sky than to the earth, even with the high ladder it is not easy to get close, even if only to lay a flower, the Australian embassy was contacted, but no one asked that their bodies were repatriated to their homeland, Australia.

Saint Augustine does not seem to say "those who sing, pray twice", but it would be nice to think that I, in posting my photos and dedicating them to them, maybe I am praying for them.

Post Scriptum: I thank Mrs. Luisa, without her I would never have been able to reconstruct the last hours of their lives with some accuracy, the news on the web is imprecise and laconic; many thanks to mr. Bambara, a funeral director, who having buried their bodies in 2013, showed me, accompanying me in person, where exactly their location is.

All the photos I present were taken in the town of Taormina and its surroundings (Sicily); I made photos related to "street photography";

I tried to capture the essence of minimal photographic stories, collected walking down the street ... in search of fleeting moments ...

For some photographs I used a particular photographic technique at the time of shooting, which in addition to capturing the surrounding space, also "inserted" a temporal dimension, with photos characterized by being moved because the exposure times were deliberately lengthened, they are confused -focused-imprecise-undecided ... the Anglo-Saxon term that encloses this photographic genre with a single word is "blur", these images were thus created during the shooting phase, and not as an effect created subsequently, in retrospect, in the post-production.

 

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Una storia di Taormina.

Lei si chiamava Cheryl ed aveva 65 anni, lui si chiamava Christopher ed aveva 59 anni, entrambi provenivano dall’Australia; prima di giungere a Taormina, in Sicilia, avevano girato in lungo ed in largo in vari paesi d’Europa, infine giunsero in Italia per visitare alcune città d’arte e turismo come Firenze, Roma, Sorrento, Amalfi… il motivo di questo gran girovagare? La risposta si saprà dopo il loro tragico epilogo: cercare un “posto bello” dove poter morire…Non erano sposati, non si comportavano come fanno gli amanti od i fidanzati, certamente erano dei buoni amici, o forse erano semplicemente una cosiddetta coppia aperta. Fisicamente e caratterialmente erano l’esatto opposto: Cheryl era solare, allegra, decisamente simpatica, un po’ pienotta, sovrappeso, amava indossare dei grandi fazzoletti che poi annodava in cima al capo a formare dei vistosi fiocchi, Christopher invece era un po’ ombroso, chiuso e triste, di poche parole, magro, segaligno, alto, con atteggiamenti forse da gay, però entrambi erano molto cordiali, tant’è che avevano fatto amicizia soprattutto col personale d’albergo, anzi, a dirla tutta, acostoro facevano dei piccoli regali, erano oggetti di buona fattura che avevano portato con se ed acquistati chissà dove, a dimostrazione del loro sincero attaccamento (avevano scelto un famoso albergo di Taormina, alloggiando in una Junior Suite –Vista Mare, a Taormina sarebbero dovuti restare una settimana, dopo si sarebbero recati a Siracusa). Il giorno della partenza, il 02-ottobre -2013, alle ore 14,00, Cheryl e Christopher non si presentano nella hall a consegnare le chiavi della stanza, con estremo imbarazzo la vicedirettrice dell’albergo e la governante vanno a bussare alla loro porta, più e più volte, e, vedendo che non rispondono, aprono la porta con il passe-partout elettronico: appena entrate vedono riflessa nello specchio la sagoma dei loro corpi che appaiono distesi nel letto, immobili: rapide e convulse mille domande si affastellano nella mente delle due donne, la governante è terrorizzata e fugge via, mentre la vicedirettrice deve poter capire cosa sta succedendo e si avvicina, quello che vede è una scena surreale: loro sono chiaramente morti, distesi e rigidi sul letto, non sono tra loro abbracciati, però sono coricati l’uno accanto all’altra, sotto di loro, a coprire le coperte e le lenzuola del letto, hanno posto un grande foglio di cellophane, come quello che usano gli imbianchini, per evitare che eventuali umori liberatisi dai corpi esanimi, potessero sporcare; sulla spalliera del letto era appesa una fila di bandierine di Halloween, coi teschi stampati, e, tra queste, altre bandierine, quelle che si usano per le feste di compleanno, ognuna con una lettera a formare la frase “dance of death” (la danza della morte); sul comodino c’erano due flaconi (200 – 300 ml) svuotati, che contenevano ognuno una sostanza letale, c’erano delle chiavi (per le serrature delle valigie), ed una lettera, nella quale riportavano le loro ultime volontà: lasciavano i soldi per onorare le spese dell’albergo, donavano all’albergo il contenuto delle loro valigie, ed infine chiedevano perdono per il disagio che il loro gesto estremo avrebbe certamente arrecato all’albergo. Le scarne notizie sul web di allora (tutti articoli fotocopia di un solo articolo) riportarono che entrambi soffrivano di gravi problemi di salute, ma le cose non stavano così, certo qualche piccolo malanno c’era, ma nulla di veramente grave ed irrisolvibile. Cheryl e Cristopher adesso giacciono nel cimitero di Taormina, in alto, più vicini al cielo che alla terra, neanche con la scala alta è facile avvicinarsi, anche solo per deporvi un fiore, fu contattata l’ambasciata australiana, ma nessuno chiese che i loro corpi venissero rimpatriati nella loro patria, l’Australia.

Sant’Agostino sembra non disse “chi canta prega due volte”, ma sarebbe bello pensare che io, nel postare le mie foto e nel dedicarle a loro, forse io stia ugualmente pregando per loro.

Post Scriptum: ringrazio la signora Luisa, senza di lei non sarei mai riuscito a ricostruire con una certa accuratezza le ultime ore della loro vita, sul web le notizie sono imprecise e laconiche; ringrazio il sig. Bambara, impresario di pompe funebri, che avendone tumulato i loro corpi nell’anno 2013, mi ha indicato, accompagnandomi di persona, dove si trova esattamente la loro ubicazione.

Tutte le foto che presento sono state realizzate nella cittadina di Taormina e nei suoi dintorni (Sicilia);

ho realizzato foto riconducibili alla “street photography”;

ho cercato di cogliere al volo l’essenza di storie fotografiche minime, raccolte camminando per la strada ... alla ricerca di attimi fugaci s-fuggenti ...

Ho utilizzato per alcune fotografie una tecnica fotografica particolare al momento dello scatto, che oltre a catturare lo spazio circostante, ha "inserito" anche una dimensione temporale, con foto caratterizzate dall’essere mosse poiché volutamente sono stati allungati i tempi di esposizione, sono confuse-sfocate-imprecise-indecise...il termine anglosassone che racchiude con una sola parola questo genere fotografico è "blur", queste immagini sono state così realizzate in fase di scatto, e non come un effetto creato successivamente, a posteriori, in fase di post-produzione.

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Lone Star Great Barbie

Destiny's Child Michelle

Princess of India

Holiday Angel 2001

The darters or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae having a single genus Anhinga. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and classified as near-threatened by the IUCN. The term "snakebird" is usually used without any additions to signify whichever of the completely allopatric species occurs in any one region. It refers to their long thin neck, which has a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged, or when mated pairs twist it during their bonding displays. "Darter" is used with a geographical term when referring to particular species. It alludes to their manner of procuring food, as they impale fishes with their thin, pointed beak. The American darter (A. anhinga) is more commonly known as the anhinga. It is sometimes called "water turkey" in the southern United States for little clearly apparent reason; though the anhinga is quite unrelated to the wild turkey, they are both large, blackish birds with long tails that are sometimes hunted for food.

 

Anhinga is derived from the Tupi ajíŋa (also transcribed áyinga or ayingá), which in local mythology refers to a malevolent demonic forest spirit; it is often translated as "devil bird". The name changed to anhingá or anhangá as it was transferred to the Tupi–Portuguese Língua Geral. However, in its first documented use as an English term in 1818, it referred to an Old World darter. Ever since, it has also been used for the modern genus Anhinga as a whole.

Another reason to LOVE Darci #10,000,053: OMFG!!! I just dressed my redhead in that department store special (inherited from the Bionic Woman) outfit 'Gold Dust' that my collecting BFF gifted me today, as I always wanted those special sets and I know how impossible they are to find, so I went for the next best thing ... and I decided to style her hair in a very old-school Hollywood 'Rita Hayworth' glamorous look, but thinking it would be impossible as her hair was all weird and kinky from being in a high side ponytail for ages while she was wearing 'Autumn Days'... (I know one of my Barbies has been in curlers for THREE DAYS and still won't curl how I want! :S) ... and all I needed to do was mist her hair a bit with my spray water bottle, brush it into shape and hit it with a hairdryer for a few seconds and VOILA... perfect in seconds! No hairpins, curlers, gel or ANYTHING! I just spritzed some natural hair spray on the back of the head to keep one side flat behind her ear and that's it! Her hair is still glossy, sleek and smooth even after hairspray and some strong blasts from the hairdryer! Here are the glorious results... (I tried the hairdryer on that Barbie and it started frizzing it out badly straight away! :S) Darci's hair was actually a swift and easy pleasure to style! I'm thinking I'm gonna exclusively 'play with' Darci for now! (Had to use flash for these pics as it's late at night here, so I will take better pics of her soon.)

Someone complained to me in a comment that for historic reasons this should be red not green so I contacted an expert and it was confirmed that red was not adopted until July 1874 in London and that it took more than ten years to repaint all letter boxed in Britain and Ireland.

 

In 1855 the first pillar box arrived in Ireland. Ireland’s oldest post-box, The Ashworth box, is now housed in the National Museum at Collins’ Barracks.

 

This particular letter box is located at Collins Barracks Museum but when I last photographed it in 2016 it was at a different location and I do not know why it was moved.

 

The green post box, in various shapes and sizes, is a familiar sight on city streets and country roads throughout Ireland.

 

Introduced well over 150 years ago by the novelist, Anthony Trollope, who worked for the Post Office in Ireland for several years, the letter box is an instantly recognised symbol of the Post Office. The intention was to make it easier for people to post their letters and make it unnecessary for them to have to wait for a post office to open. The first boxes appeared on the streets of cities like Dublin, Belfast and Cork over 150 years ago and were subsequently introduced elsewhere. The big pillar boxes were soon joined by smaller boxes that fitted into walls and later by lamp boxes which were cheaper to make and could be attached to lamp and telegraph poles.

 

One particularly attractive box, the hexagonal-sided Penfold, caused complaints when it was introduced as letters could occasionally get stuck at the edges. The classic cylindrical shape did away with these problems, however. A great many old post boxes remain in use today and they bring an elegance to their localities that is often much appreciated.

 

Anthony Trollope (1815 – 1882) was a remarkable man. As a Post Office official he was responsible for introducing the pillar box; and it was during his 18 years working for the Post Office in Ireland and at Drumsna, Co Leitrim in particular, that he wrote his very first novel ‘The McDermotts of Ballycloran’ and got much inspiration for characters in the 46 works that were to follow.

Every One Makes Reason To Smoke or Its A Part OI Corporate Game

"The New Town Hall (German: Neustädter Rathaus) belongs to the most important Gothic buildings in the New Town of Prague, which were built during the reign of Charles IV. The monarch's wish was that Karlovo náměstí (the Cattle Market at the time) would become not only an important commercial center, but also a worthy counterpart to Old Town Square. This was also the reason why the Novoměstská town hall was supposed to stand out for its exhibition. The Gothic town hall building is located on the corner of Vodičkova street and the northern facade of Karlova náměstí in Prague 2.

 

The New Town Hall consists of several buildings, and their construction took place gradually, in stages. The oldest part of the building is the eastern wing (Vodičkova Street), its construction took place between 1377 and 1398. After 1411, under the leadership of Martin Friček and Master Kříž, the southern wing was built with a facade facing Karlovo náměstí. From these years (1411–1418), a two-nave hall with six vaulted bays, supported by two cylindrical pillars, is preserved on the ground floor of the main south wing and occupies the area of ​​almost the entire wing. It has been restored in its original Renaissance form. The hall is 23 meters long, 11 meters wide and the ceiling height of the hall is 7 meters.

 

The dominant feature of the New Town Hall, the town hall tower, was founded in 1451 and is located in the southeast corner (it forms the corner of Vodičkova street and Karlova náměstí). The tower was built between 1452 and 1456. It is 70 meters high and 212 steps lead to its top. It has six floors. The ground floor of the tower served as a prison. On the first floor is the Gothic, later Baroque- styled Chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Wenceslas. The chapel also served as the last refuge of those condemned to death. On the wall is a fresco with the theme of Law and Justice. The top floor served as the announcer's apartment.

 

The roof and corridor of the tower are from 1722-1725. In the years 1520–1526, the south wing and the main facade were modified in the Renaissance style by Benedikt Ried (the facade has this form with high gables today). After the fire in 1559, the western and northern wings were built, and the eastern wing (Vodičkova ul.) was renovated by Bonifác Wohlmut, in which the original large Gothic hall with a Gothic ribbed vault on Renaissance supports was preserved (on the 1st floor). After these reconstructions and additions, the scope of the development of the town hall was completed: a building with four wings, an arcaded courtyard and a tower in the southeast corner was created.

 

The New Town (Czech: Nové Město) is a quarter in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. New Town is the youngest and largest of the five independent (from the Middle Ages until 1784) towns that today comprise the historic center of modern Prague. New Town was founded in 1348 by Charles IV just outside the city walls to the east and south of the Old Town and encompassed an area of 7.5 km²; about three times the size of the Old Town. The population of Prague in 1378 was well over 40,000, perhaps as much as twice that, making it the 4th most populated city north of the Alps and, by area, the 3rd largest city in Europe. Although New Town can trace its current layout to its construction in the 14th century, only few churches and administrative buildings from this time survive. There are many secular and educational buildings in New Town, but also especially magnificent gothic and baroque churches. These nevertheless are not the main drawing points for tourists. New Town's most famous landmark is Wenceslas Square, which was originally built as a horsemarket and now functions as a center of commerce and tourism. In the 15th century, the Novoměstská radnice, or New Town Hall, was the site of the first of the three defenestrations of Prague.

 

Prague (/ˈprɑːɡ/ PRAHG; Czech: Praha [ˈpraɦa]; German: Prag [pʁaːk]; Latin: Praga) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oceanic climate, with relatively warm summers and chilly winters.

 

Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of central Europe, with a rich history and Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectures. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably Charles IV (r. 1346–1378) and Rudolf II (r. 1575–1611).

 

It was an important city to the Habsburg monarchy and Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city played major roles in the Bohemian and the Protestant Reformations, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia between the World Wars and the post-war Communist era.

 

Prague is home to a number of well-known cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of 20th-century Europe. Main attractions include Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, Petřín hill and Vyšehrad. Since 1992, the historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

 

The city has more than ten major museums, along with numerous theatres, galleries, cinemas, and other historical exhibits. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city. It is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe.

 

Prague is classified as a "Alpha-" global city according to GaWC studies. In 2019, the city was ranked as 69th most livable city in the world by Mercer. In the same year, the PICSA Index ranked the city as 13th most livable city in the world. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination and as of 2017, the city receives more than 8.5 million international visitors annually. In 2017, Prague was listed as the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Rome, and Istanbul.

 

Bohemia (Latin Bohemia, German Böhmen, Polish Czechy) is a region in the west of the Czech Republic. Previously, as a kingdom, they were the center of the Czech Crown. The root of the word Czech probably corresponds to the meaning of man. The Latin equivalent of Bohemia, originally Boiohaemum (literally "land of Battles"), which over time also influenced the names in other languages, is derived from the Celtic tribe of the Boios, who lived in this area from the 4th to the 1st century BC Bohemia on it borders Germany in the west, Austria in the south, Moravia in the east and Poland in the north. Geographically, they are bounded from the north, west and south by a chain of mountains, the highest of which are the Krkonoše Mountains, in which the highest mountain of Bohemia, Sněžka, is also located. The most important rivers are the Elbe and the Vltava, with the fertile Polabean Plain extending around the Elbe. The capital and largest city of Bohemia is Prague, other important cities include, for example, Pilsen, Karlovy Vary, Kladno, Ústí nad Labem, Liberec, Hradec Králové, Pardubice and České Budějovice, Jihlava also lies partly on the historical territory of Bohemia." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon or donate.

Yesterday at WalMart ....7 tulips were on sale for $3.33 ....l couldn't resist ....

 

So here are 7 images ....

The main reason for the revisit to Alabama was to shoot the pair of ISRR GP40's that were both in the shops in Panama City on my last visit and are also slated for rebuild and repaint later this year or was the plan as of recently. I knew 4041 was on the Chatt job our of Dothan as the east leader but the 4040 had vanished to the C&I and hadn't been seen in a while. After chasing the Chatt job back west the day before I made a trip back to Hilton to see if I could track down the 4040. Well upon arriving into Hilton the 4040 had shown up after I left and tied down south of town for the night.

 

The original plan for this day was to chase the 4041 east on the Chatt job and then chase the 3018 back west. When I arrived to the yard in Dothan that morning the crew had put the TPW 3830 in the lead running long hood forward so I jetted the 15 minutes over to Hilton to try and catch these guys going to work. As I pulled into town the C&I crew had just showed up and quickly put their train together to take south to the Georgia Pacific plant a few miles south of Hilton. Here the 4040 is notching up and heading south for GP after quickly building their train.

'' Cherish yesterday, dream tomorrow, live TODAY ''

  

I wanted to do a short series of photographs that represent in different ways my most important and successful images from my time here on FLICKR and also with GETTY IMAGES, who are my worldwide agents. These photographs might be in the selections for a number of reasons, but each has played a significant part in my photographic journey and represent personal memories, some not having been seen for a while.

  

Whilst my photographic journey and success over the last fifty years pale to insignificance compared to many of the renowned and talented photographers out there, I am none the less proud of my achievements along the way with three published books, worldwide sales of my photographs, my contracts with Getty Images who are my agents, competition wins, appearances in photographic exhibitions and publications in magazines, books, online websites and in corporate calendars and merchandising. I have always where possible allowed free use of certain images when requested, and my passion for photography still runs deep and strong.

  

(2) FOG AT SUNRISE (THE FISH MARKET IN SIDNEY BC ON VANCOUVER ISLAND)

  

Taken on my last trip over to see my family who live in a beautiful little town called Sidney, nestled on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It's always a big deal when I return to the Island, a homecoming of sorts, a spiritual home and a place where I can be at one with nature and relax with my camera, watching the wildlife and the beauty that Mother Nature offers. I am never happier than when photographing amidst the splendour of the golden hour around sunrise and sunset, and here in Sidney it's a very sentimental location as my mother in law moved out here and spent her final years watching her grandchildren grow, enjoying the beauty and the tranquility.

  

On this morning the weather was changing so quickly. A bank of sea fog was rushing in across the Salish Sea from the Southern Gulf Islands, I could feel the drop in temperature and see the darkness as the fog swept across the landscape. I had to act quickly and knew that I only had a few frames possible before I was engulfed. Heading back to the Buick Enclave that I'd parked close to the seafront, I stopped and set up my tripod for my last few shots, the fog swirling all around me, the colours, ambient light and temperature all changing by the second. The Fish market on Beacon Avenue has long been a popular location in Sidney and is situated on the pier close to Beacon Park and the new bandstand. I managed about three thirty second long exposures before everything was bathed in a sea of white, balancing settings with the changing light conditions. An amazing experience.

  

The few frames of that moment have gone on to be published by Getty images in October 2019 and have sold around the world, appearing in magazines as well as being invited into thirteen Flickr groups and an equal number of galleries, as well as being selected for FLICKR EXPLORE, which was really nice. This frame for me represents my passion, my love for the golden hour and the disciplines it imposes on you as a photographer, and also in sentimental terms the place I call my spiritual home.

  

©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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This thirty seconds long exposure was taken at an altitude of Zero metres at 06:35am on Saturday 21st September 2019 around sunrise off 1st Street and Bevan Avenue, between the boat jetty and Bevan Avenue Fishing Pier in beautiful Sidney by the sea on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

  

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Nikon D850. Focal length 50mm Shutter speed Thirty seconds seconds long exposure (Electronic front-curtain) Aperture f/16.0 iso160 RAW (14 bit uncompressed) Image size L (8256 x 5504 FX). Focus mode AF-C focus 51 point with 3D- tracking. AF-Area mode single point & 73 point switchable. Exposure mode - Aperture priority exposure. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. Matrix metering. ISO Sensitivity: Auto. White balance: Natural light auto. Colour space Adobe RGB. Nikon Distortion control on. Picture control: Auto. High ISO NR on. Vignette control: normal. Active D-lighting Auto.

  

Nikkor AF-S 24-120mm f/4G ED VR. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 77mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 0.9 (3 stops) ND Grad soft resin.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Nikon EN-EL15a battery.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960. Matin quick release neckstrap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod 3 Sections (Payload: 5.6kgs). Manfrotto 327RC2 Light Duty Grip Ball Magnesium Tripod Head (Payload: 5.5kgs). Manfrotto quick release plate 200PL-14. Jessops Tripod bag.Nikon MC-DC2 remote shutter release cable.

  

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LATITUDE: N 48d 38m 53.70s

LONGITUDE: W 123d 23m 36.44s

ALTITUDE: 0.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF: 90.1MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 29.50MB

     

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PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

  

 

Greek Goddess of wisdom, warfare, strategy, heroic endeavour, handicrafts and reason. A Gold 45 Goddess embodies 45SURF's motto "Virtus, Honoris, et Actio Pro Veritas, Amor, et Bellus, (Strength, Honor, and Action for Truth, Love, and Beauty," and she stands ready to inspire and guide you along your epic, heroic journey into art and mythology. It is Athena who descends to call Telemachus to Adventure in the first book of Homer's Odyssey--to man up, find news of his true father Odysseus, and rid his home of the false suitors, and too, it is Athena who descends in the first book of Homer's Iliad, to calm the Rage of Achilles who is about to draw his sword so as to slay his commander who just seized Achilles' prize, thusly robbing Achilles of his Honor--the higher prize Achilles fought for. And now Athena descends once again, assuming the form of a Gold 45 Goddess, to inspire you along your epic odyssey of heroic endeavour.

I think the main reason I'm less smitten with Blondie than I expected is this girl. It's all her fault. Now I didn't really like the Cerise promos. I thought she looked weird. Then people started getting theirs and more often than not, she still looks weird. This one though is just right! (As Blondie would say.)

 

Her eye placement is perfect. I've seen so many where they're printed too high and you can see the eye indents beneath them, which look like she has bags under her eyes.

 

Her streaks are also perfect. I've seen several where the white is so blended in, it's like it's not even there.

 

So Cerise is now my second favorite after Signature Raven. I just ADORE this doll.

 

I shot this one in my natural light, so you can see the definition in her lovely face.

Dear UserThanks for choosing our Network DVR.This email is recorded and sent automatically by DVR.Reason as follows:Motion detection.Triggered channel:4,Time:2016-02-28 20:29:38You are suggested to check the recorded files, thanks for cooperation.

The Reason for the Season.

 

www.NeedGod.com

The Rundāle Palace, Latvia.

 

What you're seeing here is a recreation of the original interior. The restoration cost over 8 million Euros, which, when you see the results, doesn't seem nearly enough to produce the splendors one encounters at every turn.

 

What's not clear to me is whether any of decoration is original and restored and how much is brand new. This always frustrates me because I'm hung up on the concept of authenticity. I'll just come right out and say I don't get the same satisfaction from replicas that I do from originals.

 

One way to resolve this conundrum is to say this is an authentic replica of an 18th century palace that was, as the text below explains, "demolished in 1812 during the Franco-Russian [Napoleonic] War," and then "demolished [again in 1919] by the men of the Bermondt-Avalov army," which was commanded by a Cossack warlord who decided to take over newly-independent Latvia instead of fighting the Bolsheviks.

 

Still, this begs the question of the meaning of such a place. A hot take is that it's an expression of Latvian nationalism. However, in the 18th century this region was ruled by Germans and then by Russians. Most ethnic Latvians were serfs. Perhaps the nationalist message is that the Latvians, once free from the rule of Baltic Germans, Czarist Russians, Nazis and the Soviets, had the wherewithal to recreate a palace once owned by an overlord and make it their own. To further make the point, the compound is now a major tourist attraction, so interiors once intended solely for the aristocracy, royalty and their hangers-on and servants are today filled to the brim with tourists like us.

 

Is is also a acknowledged center for the study of 18th-century interior design? The devil is in the details, and I haven't yet had time to delve into that.

 

If you're wondering why the point of view in these photos is from the top of the windows to the ceiling, it's because there were mobs of visitors that made it almost impossible to photograph whole walls, much less floors.

 

Here is the whole history of the construction of the palace from the palace's informative Web site. I recommend visiting it if for no other reason than to see the rooms devoid of visitors. Also, there's a section on the restoration.

rundale.net/en/

 

The name of Rundāle comes from the German place-name Ruhenthal (Valley of Peace).

 

The Rundāle Palace built during the 16th century was located on the northern side of the pond. It can be seen in the design of F. B. Rastrelli as a small square field with towers in the corners.

 

Rundāle Manor was already created at the end of the 15th century. It belonged to the Grotthus family from 1505 to 1681 and the palace was mentioned in the list of Livonian castles in 1555.

 

Facade finishing components have been found in the territory of the palace – cast fragments and fragments of coats of arms carved in stone dating to the middle of the 17th century. In 1735 Ernst Johann von Biron bought the Rundāle property for 42 000 thalers.

 

The old palace was completely torn down, and the stones, bricks and even the mortar were used in the construction of the new palace.

 

Duke Ernst Johann died in 1772, and the palace was inherited by his widow Duchess Benigna Gottlieb; during her time orchards were formed around the palace. Duke Peter did not come to Rundāle often, he mostly resided in the smaller Vircava Palace near Jelgava.

 

In 1795 Duke Peter gave up his throne and the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was added to the Russian Empire. Catherine II gave Rundāle Manor as a present to Count Valerian Zubov who died in 1804.

 

During the distribution of inheritance Rundāle became the property of his brother Prince Platon Zubov, the last favourite of Catherine II.

 

During the time of Zubov the palace was refurnished, however the building itself remained untouched, only entrance porticos were added to the central building and several fireplaces were built inside.

 

The palace was demolished in 1812 during the Franco-Russian War – mirrors were smashed, silk wallpaper was torn down, the library given as a present from Catherine II was destroyed.

 

Prince Platon Zubov died in Rundāle Palace on 7 April 1822. His widow married Count Andrey Shuvalov, and Rundāle Manor belonged to this family until the agrarian reform of the Republic of Latvia in 1920.

 

The Shuvalovs rarely stayed in the palace, excluding the time period from 1864 to 1866 when Count Pyotr Shuvalov was the governor-general of the Baltic region and used Rundāle Palace as his official summer residence.

 

During this time unsuccessful renovation of the palace rooms was carried out, however during the 1880’s careful renovation of the interior design was performed. At the end of the 19th century part of the palace’s furniture and works of art was taken to Saint Petersburg.

 

During the time from 1915 to 1918 a German army commandant’s office and an infirmary was established in the palace. In 1919 the palace was demolished by the men of the Bermondt-Avalov army.

 

The palace was renovated in 1923 and some of its rooms were used as the primary school of Rundāle Parish. In 1924 Rundāle Palace was handed over to the Latvian Union of Disabled Veterans, but in 1933 it was taken over by the Board of Monuments which started the renovation of the building and the restoration of some of the rooms, and the western building was constructed for the needs of the primary school.

 

In 1938 the palace was handed over to the State Historical Museum that was planning to create a church art and decorative art museum there. The palace was also open to the public during World War II.

 

In 1945 a grain storage was formed in the halls of the palace, and the palace was closed to the public after that.

 

In 1963 some of the palace’s rooms were given to the Museum of Regional Studies and Art of Bauska, but in 1972 a permanent Rundāle Palace Museum was created and its main aim was to renew the whole ensemble of the palace by mainly orientating towards the condition of the palace during the second part of the 18th century.

 

The first restored rooms in the eastern building of the palace were opened to the public in 1981, gradually being followed by new interiors. Restoration of the palace was finished in 2014.

 

Construction history

 

Count Ernst Johann von Biron bought the Rundāle manor complex on 26 June 1735. In August of the same year the court architect of Russia Francesco Rastrelli came to Courland. From September until December agreements were being concluded with carpenters, masons, brickmakers, construction material suppliers, potters – stove makers.

 

The construction project was ready in January of 1736. The eight pages of the project are located in the graphic art collection “Albertina” in Vienna. It consists of a situation plan, two floor plans, a sketch of four facades and the altar of the palace church.

 

The first construction period from 1736 to 1740.

 

On 24 May 1736 the foundation-stone of the palace was set. Construction of the foundation was completed on 6 July, whereas on 13 October the central building was built to the level of the windowsill of the second floor. The construction of 12 brick-kilns and 12 brick storages was finished in June. 268 masons were working in the palace, but Rastrelli requested 500 men.

 

Construction was stopped on 1 November due to cold.

The construction works were restarted on 12 April 1737. On 28 May the central building was finished, and on 18 June covering was started to be placed on the side buildings, whereas the construction of the central building roof was finished at the end of June.

 

When the works were stopped on 10 October, one side building was roofed over, and the other one was covered with a temporary roof. The foundations of the stables were also ready. The bricklaying works were finished on 1 October 1737.

 

After Biron was elected Duke, he ordered to simplify the building. The finishing materials were produced by the master carpenters and woodcarver A. Kamaev of the Imperial Construction Bureau of Saint Petersburg, master potter I. Ushakov of the Neva brick factory with his team and painters I. Mizinov, I. Pilugin and I. Yevdokimov. Austrian potters were working in Vircava. The finishing materials were also being produced in Saint Petersburg.

 

In 1738 the volume of work in Rundāle decreased, as construction works of Jelgava Palace began. Some of the produced components were also taken to Jelgava. However, the works were moving forward – chimneys and room arches were being built, roofs were being finished.

 

From 14 June, when the construction of the main residence in Jelgava began, the construction works in Rundāle were moving at a slower pace. Master carpenter Eger had finished oak-wood panels for 33 rooms, as well as 13 oak-wood parquet floors. Ceilings boards were put up in the rooms, so that the plastering works could be started. In September the carpenters started working on the outside staircases. The construction of the gate tower was also started.

 

Entwurf von Rastrelli: die Nordfassade des Schlosses Rundāle mit dem Torturm

Rastrelli’s design, nothern facade of the palace with the gate tower.

 

In 1739 the interior plastering works were supposed to be carried out, but the Duke ordered to decrease the amount of plasterers and to simplify the work. Stucco formations were made only for the main staircase rooms and halls, the other rooms were left with smooth ceilings. Only ten craftsmen were working in Rundāle.

 

On 1 February after the order of Empress of Russia Anna Ioannovna all of the Saint Petersburg Construction Office masons were sent to Courland.

 

The components made for Rundāle, including carved doors, panels, parquet, Austrian potter stoves, plafonds painted on canvas and cast-iron facade decorations made by Bartolomeo Tarsia that can be seen in the Jelagava Palace facade, were transported to the main residence in Jelgava.

 

N. Vasilyev assisted Rastrelli in managing the construction works. Russian chamberlain Ernst Johann von Buttlar was in charge of finances and organisation and he was sending reports to Saint Petersburg regarding the work process.

 

In 1740 the woodcut altar of the palace church was transported to Jelgava. Supposedly the room decoration in the palace had been finished, but not all of the wall panels had been mounted and some of the stoves were also not set up, as a lot of the materials were in storage.

 

Work was stopped after the palace revolution of 20 November in Russia and the arrest and exile of Duke Ernst Johann. The prepared finishing materials and construction components were sent to Saint Petersburg, and some of the built-in components, such as doors, wall panels and parquet, were broken.

Overall more than a thousand different profession craftsmen and workers were employed in the construction works of the palace.

 

The second construction period from 1764 to 1770.

 

In 1762 Ernst Johann von Biron was granted mercy and returned to Courland in January of 1763.

In January of 1764 Johann Gottfried Seidel was appointed the court architect of the Duke, but in August Francesco Rastrelli returned to work for the Duke and was appointed to the position of main administrator of the Duke’s buildings.

 

During this time he arranged his construction designs and carried out general supervision of the Duke’s construction works.

The unfinished gate tower was torn down and the stable building construction was started. Latvian carpenters and woodworkers were sent from the Duke’s domain manors to Rundāle up until 1768. In 1765 woodworker Blanks, sculptor Zībenbrods, locksmith Šreibfogels, gold plating master Johans Endress, potter Šēfers, locksmith Horstmanis and coppersmith Mēmels were working in the palace.

 

In 1766 Severin Jensen from Denmark started working as the court architect. His style can be seen in the gateposts and in the stable buildings, which obtained a semicircular shape in contrast to Rastrelli’s rectangular design. A dating – 16 May 1766 – has been made in the keystone of the northern facade window.

 

In 1768 the gate was built and the forgings were placed.

 

The palace interior planning was changed slightly. By merging five smaller rooms the grand dining-room – the Grand Gallery – was created, whereas a dance hall known as the White Hall was created in the place of the palace church. Both front staircases, the Small Gallery, the lobby and galleries of the first floor were preserved from the original interiors of the first construction period.

 

The stucco decorative finishing of the interiors was carried out by the Berlin sculptor and stucco marble master Johann Michael Graff together with his team – his brother Josef and assistants Bauman and Lanz – from 1765 to 1768.

 

Sculpturesque decorations were made in twenty-seven rooms, but in two rooms of the Duke’s apartments and in the hall – synthetic marble panels. Works were started in the central building first.

 

The Marble Hall and the marble panel of the Gold Hall in which the dating has been engraved on the door lining, were finished in 1767. In July of 1768 Graff received payment for his final works – the White Hall, Oval Cabinet, Duchess’ Boudoir and vases for the 22 stair banisters.

 

The ceilings were painted by the Italian painters Francesco Martini and Carlo Zucchi from Saint Petersburg. They started working in August of 1766, but only the name of Martini is mentioned in documents starting with March of 1768. Francesco Martini received his last payment in March of 1769.

 

Ceilings of eight rooms, as well as the walls of two rooms were painted. One of the ceiling paintings got destroyed. The repainted wall paintings were later uncovered in the Grand Gallery and in the second study of the Duke.

 

The Duke came to Rundāle Palace in April of 1767 and stayed there until December with interruptions, although the finishing works were still in progress. The palace was also inhabited in 1768. The final works were carried out in 1770 when a fellow of J. M. Graff placed mirrors in the White Hall.

 

20.04.2018

   

Nimba children hair style and jewelry choice follow some complexe rules I do not remember so well. I suppose she is a girl according to Eric Lafforgue explanation on his him pictures:

www.flickr.com/photos/mytripsmypics/5835810770/in/album-7...

 

Namibia was the last country of my world tour since I wanted to end it at the skeleton coast. I arrived by bus from Zambia and rented a jeep in Windhoek to explore all the country with one of my friends.

 

After safari in Etosha National Park we would drive until Kaokoland where we had the opportunity to meet Himba people, leaving traditional way of life. The most impressive remind was the kindness of the little kids which contrasts a lot with the brutality of europeans ones, always crying or shooting. I am pretty sure that the reason is the kids needs a lot of natural space in otherwise they keep frustrated.

 

Here is the full HD movie of this second part of Namibia trip:

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2f03b3_namibie-le-kaokoland-le...

National Mall, Washington D.C.

www.navidbaraty.com | facebook | twitter | behance | 500px | g+

 

This day, the sun could not even reveal the emptiness I once felt towards a person named me. Drowning in tears, glittering drops further disturb my reflection in the sea. My wish is to be free...a slave no more in the arms of my faceless adversary, him which hoists the flag of misery. Imperfect little boat named black pearl I may be, yes, I no longer hold to any a worthy appeal; fear is to drift away without hearing my own souls plea, "unanchor and become the master of your own destiny!"...

  

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I'm hopelessly behind in commenting LOL !

 

'I hear her lies, piercing through me, hypnotized

Cursing the skies, who I become, I despise

I had no choice, all is lost – can't rejoice

Nothing but noise and her sweet, sweet voice

 

No, as the dusk is approaching, I hear her again

It's the Twilight Princess I fear

Oh, her beauty, ethereal, out of this world

Because the Twilight Princess is here

 

Give me a reason, you won't give me a sign

Give me a reason to cross the line

Darkness has come

And the last rays of sunlight are gone

What matters now won't matter soon

In the light of the moon..'

 

[Hammerfall]

 

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I recommend zooming in with L then tapping (or just tapping the picture on an iPad) to see the detail.

 

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Three days until Christmas! That seemed like a good enough reason for fireworks.

would love to have a reason to wear this

+++ in case you want to read

 

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Just some experimental bullshit. Every now and again you need to create something weird, that doesn't work but it comes from inside and that's what matters.

 

2 more in comments

Fucking trees in the middle of the highway!!!