Seattle AIDS Walk, 2011.

 

From the website of the Lifelong AIDS Alliance: "Through the AIDS Walk, we are able to educate the community and raise awareness about the continued importance of fighting HIV/AIDS. The AIDS Walk also serves as the Pacific Northwest's largest annual HIV/AIDS fundraiser, with all funds supporting the HIV prevention efforts and basic care services Lifelong provides to the community."

 

www.llaa.org/

There are 2 reason why i wake up in the morning :)...

My ALARM clock or YOU...!! <3

 

This shot was taken around 5:00am local time from our Jökulsárlón camp site.

 

Some people think everything happens for a reason. While I'm not always so sure, I was very glad that my wife and I took advantage of this situation. We had been planning on doing a 3-day overnight backpacking trip in Landmannalaugar, but the roads were closed and we were unable to access the trails. We were very disappointed at first, but we decided to make of the most of the situation at hand. We stayed an extra night at our favorite Hali Guesthouse near Jökulsárlón, but for our second night, Hali was booked and we didn't necessarily want to spend more money on lodging, so we decided to get creative.

 

Since Jökulsárlón was our favorite place in Iceland, I came up with the idea of doing some covert camping. We weren't certain of the legality of this venture, but there were no signs telling us we couldn't, so we thought we would give it a shot. We initially thought of Jökulsárlón beach, but the wind and tide were unpredictable, so we instead thought of an even better idea, and set up our Big Agnes tent along Jökulsárlón lagoon, about a half a mile away from the primary tourist location.

 

We had the place to ourselves all night, and it was without a doubt the most serene campsite we've ever had. It was truly peaceful there.

 

During the Summer Solstice, the sun never fully goes down in Iceland. It sets around 11:30pm-12:00am, and then begins rising around 2:00am or so. This results in either a long, glorious and seamless sunset to sunrise scenario, or a nice gentle and even overcast light for several hours.

 

Our sunset that night was more of the overcast cloud variety, with some low scattered clouds adding to the drama. I went to bed around 1:00am after taking it in for a couple of hours. The sunrise, on the other hand, was very intense and glorious. The sun painted the ice, clouds and landscapes in golden hues that were breathtaking to behold. I was awoken by the sun around 5:00am and frantically began taking photos while my wife slept in peace. It was a wonderful night all around, and we were very sad to leave our campsite / second home the following morning.

  

A few days later, we overheard some folks in Vik talking about their trip the night before in Landmannalaugar just after the roads had opened, and they said that it was rainy and miserable. I think we ended up with a better trip and a better story under the circumstances, and we are both very thankful for the experience, which ended up being one of the biggest highlights of our trip!

  

From Wikipedia:

Jökulsárlón (translated "glacial river lagoon") is a large glacial lake in southeast Iceland, on the borders of Vatnajökull National Park. Situated at the head of Breiðamerkurjökull, it developed into a lake after the glacier started receding from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The lake has grown since then at varying rates because of melting of the Icelandic glaciers. The lake now stands 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) away from the ocean's edge and covers an area of about 18 km2 (6.9 sq mi). It recently became the deepest lake in Iceland at over 248 metres (814 ft) depth as glacial retreat extended its boundaries. The size of the lake has increased fourfold since the 1970s. It is considered as one of the natural wonders of Iceland.

 

The icebergs that calve from the glacier edge move towards the river mouth and get entrenched at the bottom. While floating, only about one tenth mass of an iceberg is seen above the water surface. The movement of the icebergs fluctuates with the tide currents. However, they start floating as icebergs when their size is small enough to drift to the sea. These icebergs are seen in two shades, one type in milky white, while the other type is in bright blue colour, which is an interplay of light and ice crystals.

patents.justia.com/inventor/alex-gubbels

by sailchecker ift.tt/1npRYQR

If I had something inspirational to say, I would say it, but I am drowning in my own nothingness.

The new Library of Birmingham which was designed by Buro Happold and built at a cost of £188 million. In Centenary Square, Birmingham, West Midlands.

 

Birmingham City Council looked into relocating the library for many years. The original plan was to build a new library in the emerging Eastside district, which had been opened up to the city centre following the demolition of Masshouse Circus. A library was designed by Richard Rogers on a site in the area. However, for financial reasons and reservations about the location this plan was shelved. The Council suggested that the Library be split between a new building built between the Rep

Theatre and Baskerville House at Centenary Square, which until 2009 was a public car park (to house the main lending library) and a building at Millennium Point in "Eastside" (to house the archives and special collections).

 

In August 2006, the Council confirmed the area between the Rep Theatre and Baskerville House as the future site for the library. Capita Symonds had been appointed as Project Managers for the

Library of Birmingham. The council's intention was to create a "world class" landmark civic building in Centenary Square. Not long after this, the two-sites idea was scrapped and the archives and special collections will move to the site at Centenary Square.

 

Preparation of the ground for building, and archaeological work between Baskerville House and The Rep had begun before planning permission had been granted. Planning permission was finally granted and approved by Birmingham City Council in December 2009. Building work, which was undertaken by Carillion, commenced in January 2010, with a completion schedule for 3 September 2013. A topping out ceremony to mark the completion of the highest part of the building took place on 14 September 2011.

 

At the 2014 RIBA West Midlands Awards, the Library of Birmingham was named overall West

Midlands building of the year Mecanoo architect Patrick Arends won emerging architect of the year and Birmingham City Council won client of the year. In the June 2014 birthday honours, the library's director, Brian Gambles, was made MBE "for services to libraries". On 17 July 2014 the Library of

Birmingham was nominated as one of the six short-listed buildings for the 2014 Stirling Prize, awarded for excellence in architecture.

 

The library has a number of nationally and internationally significant collections, including the

Boulton and Watt archives, the Bournville Village Trust Archive, the Charles Parker Archive, the

Parker collection of children's books, the Sir Benjamin Stone photographic collection, the Wingate Bett transport ticket collection, the Warwickshire photographic survey, the British Institute of Organ Studies archive and the Railway and Canal Historical Society Library.

 

The specialist Shakespeare Memorial Room was designed in 1882 by John Henry Chamberlain for the first Central Library. When the old building was demolished in 1974 Chamberlain's room was dismantled and later fitted into the new concrete shell of the new library complex. When the Library of Birmingham was built, it was again moved, to the top floor. It houses Britain’s most important Shakespeare collection, and one of the two most important Shakespeare collections in the world; the other being held by the Folger Shakespeare Library. The collection contains 43,000 books including rare items such as a copy of the First Folio 1623; copies of the four earliest Folio editions; over 70 editions of separate plays printed before 1709 including three "Pavier" quartos published in 1619 but falsely dated. There are significant collections from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, a near complete collection of Collected Works, significant numbers of adaptations, anthologies and individual editions.

 

The Boulton and Watt Collection is the archive of the steam engine partnership of Matthew Boulton and James Watt, dating from its formation in 1774 until the firm's closure in the 1890s. The archive comprises about 550 volumes of letters, books, order books and account books, approximately 29,000 engine drawings and upwards of 20,000 letters received from customers. Boulton and Watt manufactured the screw engines for Brunel's SS Great Eastern and the archive includes a portfolio of 13 albumen prints by Robert Howlett documenting the construction of the Great Eastern, including a rare variant of the Brunel portrait of 1857.

 

The reason for the weekend visit to Scotland was to collect this vehicle a 1982 Plaxton Supreme bodied Leyland Leopard from Lathalmond. I once regularly drove a 1962 Leopard with a similar 1979 Supreme body, which I have to say was a nicer drive than this one. If you can imagine changing trains from a nice Mark 3 HST coach (modern Volvo or Setra) and getting into a Voyager (Leopard), noisy and uncomfortable..

...lilly lou & gary stranger in shoreditch....

from Tim Robertson

Jun 15, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

 

Last Saturday I found myself playing the role of fake teacher. I can now see the humor of the situation but it was not an experience that I had expected. I suppose I should have seen it coming the evening before, when my supervisor from the Office of Foreign Affairs invited me and my colleague out to dinner with some of her friends - the first time this has happened since I began teaching on the old campus. She began the occasion by giving us both a gift and then proceeded to apologize for not having done her job adequately in her responsibility toward us foreign teachers. I felt embarrassed for her since giving an explicit apology is quite uncommon in Chinese culture and, although true, it was surprising to hear her admit it. I quickly assured her that she had been very helpful and that she had a very difficult job with complicated situations. I wanted her to feel I was very sympathetic toward her so that she would be more inclined to get my papers filed and completed for my new job. I needed all the help I could get and I was desperate to use whatever leverage I had to move the process forward as best I could. Was this the answer to my prayers?

 

Midway through the elaborate dinner Greg and I were asked to help her friends to start a new English language school to prepare local high school graduates to attend college abroad. This was the real purpose of the invitation and by that time we had no choice but to agree to their request to help them recruit students and their parents. As it turned, out the next day the official college entrance exam (the infamous gaokou) was being held at local high schools so Greg and I were taken to various schools to pose as teachers for this new business. While there, I learned that I was not to identify myself as a teacher at the local college, since it would be illegal for us to work at a private school, not to mention a violation of our contract. We were just supposed to stand next to the local recruiters and lend a white face to provide prestige and credibility for a school that we knew nothing about. I don’t know how successful they were in signing up students but we went out in the morning and afternoon and were paid for our “services”. We were both relieved to find out that our participation was not needed on Sunday.

 

Hiring foreigners to pose as fake associates in a business is quite common in China (see link below) but it is was never something I aspired to do. In the past I have helped to give publicity for a local training school where I was actually teaching classes, and I expected that I would be doing somewhat the same this time as well. But the main motivation for me to accept was to curry favor with the college liaison in order to give her a personal reason to do her job on my behalf. She has been quite uncooperative and irritated with my frequent requests that she get the documents that are required by the system for this process to be completed. I am hoping she will be able to get the last document that I need to renew my resident visa, and then get a two week visitor visa to provide enough time for the process to be completed. This last official document should have been given to me a month ago but for political reasons too complicated for me to understand or explain, I will not get it until five days before my contract and resident permit expire. That is why I will need the additional two weeks to send the papers to Liaoning province, in order get my new Foreign Expert Certificate and resident permit.

 

Each of the ten documents so far have needed to be written, translated, signed and stamped by a different person, so it has been a real education for me to find my way through the bureaucracy without offending and irritating too many people by my persistence. If I do not get the last two documents all will be for naught and I will have leave the country in order to get a new entry visa, which can be quite expensive, time consuming and complicated. This is an education for me to see what Chinese must do on a regular basis and it illustrates the need to trade favors and use connections to get even simple things done. Being an outsider (non-Chinese) with no real connections or political influence, I am constantly bumping up against the inertia and indifference of officials who got their positions through family members in the party and feel no need to do anything to earn their salary. In fact, most of the time it is safer to do nothing so as to avoid irritating a superior or losing face by helping the wrong sort of people – like me.

 

This next week I will be doing final exams with each of my students by conducting an informal five minute discussion. It is challenging for me to ask different questions of each student based on their choice of one of the four movies we have used this semester. These students are masters at memorizing answers to questions if they know them ahead of time and, of course, they are expected to tell their classmates the questions that I have asked them. I find it difficult to evaluate their oral language skills objectively and consistently, especially when I am tired by doing so many within a limited time frame. My consolation is that I feel that I am getting better each time I do it, but I am keenly aware of my limitations. I also feel that I am responsible for their progress even though I have them for a total of an hour and a half each week, which is totally inadequate. But I do the best to work within the system, because, as my students often remind me, it may not be a good system, but it is the only one we have. So I feel compassion for them considering the system that they have work with and the disadvantages they have in this area of China.

 

Tonight I will go to my last English Corner and try to find something interesting to discuss. One of the recurring questions has been, “Why did you decide to come to work here?” This reflects the response to my question, “What is you biggest disappointment in life.” The most common response being, “having attend this college.” Anhui has the reputation of being the poorest province in China and has even been called “the Appalachia of China.” So it is understandable that they would want to know why I would want to teach at this college, which is in the poorest, most remote part of the province. They find it surprising when I say I like it here, but aside from it being true, I could hardly respond by showing lack of respect for the local conditions. I do like the students very much but many of them lack the motivation to study hard and do as little as possible. Perhaps this is true of a certain percentage of college students anywhere, but the standards here are dis-hearteningly low, with little incentive, since most everyone passes their classes no matter what.

 

To illustrate this point, I asked a graduating senior that I have gotten to know quite well and is known as a good student, “Did you download your senior thesis from the internet?” He became quite irritated at my question but not for the reason that I had expected. His response, “Of course I did, because 99% of all senior theses at this school are from the internet.” After looking over and reading his thesis, I was struck by how my research papers in high school had higher requirements, and that was before computers or the internet when I actually had to read books and type it on a manual typewriter with footnotes and bibliography. This was the only research paper required of these students in their four years of college. So it is easy for me to get cynical and feel I am part of a diploma mill as a fake teacher. But I take it as a challenge to give more than required and more than is expected out of concern for them as individual students and out of my desire to represent my Lord. Perhaps too out of a desire to feel that I am making a difference in their lives and they will remember and appreciate my efforts. Perhaps this illustrates my own overgrown ego to think I am doing something important and of eternal value.

 

Last week I went on a long bike ride with another foreign English teacher who is teaching at a local high school before returning to Iowa to begin her master’s degree. I took her on a ride I had made before, but this happened to be in the middle of the wheat harvest so the concrete road on top of the levee was covered most of the way with wheat stalks that were drying from the heavy rain a couple days before. As vehicles passed over them, the grain was loosened and would later be separated from the straw and the chaff. This is a normal part of the wheat harvest although it is technically illegal to use the road for drying and threshing of crops, but universally ignored. Perhaps we were of some assistance to the farmers as we rode on top of the wheat stalks, but it certainly took more effort and we often had to stop and manually remove the straw that had gotten wrapped around the gears and jammed the gear shift mechanism. This is an example of how the experience of riding over the same route can be completely different depending on the season and the activities of the local farmers. This week my allergies were activated by the smoke from burning straw in the fields - also illegal.

 

About a month ago I took a long ride with a couple of students and the fluff from the cottonwood trees was so thick in the air it seemed like a snow fall in mid-May. It was particularly enchanting because the “snowflakes” did not actually fall, but drifted on the breeze as far as the eye could see. I had to remember to close my mouth as I rode so as not to inhale the minute fibers causing me to stop from time to time to cough and clear out my throat. We paused to sit along the river bank in front of a local god house which had heaps of blown-up fire crackers and piles of ashes from the burnt incense. The door was locked but I could peer into the gloom and make out the three ancient ancestral gods of the village and three Buddhist images which seemed to have been recently added. It is always striking to me that one never sees a single image; there are always at least three versions of the main figure, and usually many more on the side, often stacked on top of each other. Like Lays potato chips you can never have just one, and the more the better, often numbering in the hundreds or thousands, like wallpaper. Such is the inflation factor of idolatry. One idol is clearly not adequate to represent a deity, but the more you have, the less the value. There is always a need for more, ad infinitum. So they have to build another temple and the process starts all over again, with many temples in a complex, and others under construction. Maybe it shows that they know the gods are fake too.

 

There is a small Buddhist nunnery a short distance from my apartment which I have visited on occasion. At present it is hard to find because it is in the middle of a massive construction site about a square kilometer. When I first arrived the area looked like a bombed out section of Berlin after WW2, covered with heaps of rubble and debris from demolished buildings except for the temple. Now, about 18 months later there are about a dozen high-rise apartment buildings rising out of the ground like erupting teeth in a toddler’s mouth. The work continues seven days a week and would be remarkable except this is going on all round the city and into the country side surrounded by farmer’s fields. This too would be remarkable except for the fact that this is going on all over China in every city and town, with no end in sight. “And now the day has come, soon he will be released, Glory Hallelujah! We’re building, building, building the perfect beast.” (Don Henley, 1984, Album: Building the Perfect Beast)

 

I have several good job offers to teach English in China so if you know anyone who is interested, I will be glad to send the job information and contact with a recruiter who will be happy to send a contract to start teaching in September.

 

Please pray during the next two weeks that all the paper work will be done on time and as I move to Dalian (more about that next time).

Thank God, he is in control!

Tim

 

Article on Fake executives: www.cnbc.com/id/37759560

Article on “naked officials”: qz.com/218369/beijing-is-having-a-hard-time-convincing-of...

 

= = =

 

Surprise!

 

May 12, 2014

 

Dear Friends and Family,

 

Today I am thankful that I could take a shower, do laundry, wash dishes and flush the toilet again. Yesterday, instead of writing this letter as I planned I focused my attention and energy on getting the water turned back on to the foreign teacher apartment building and, thankfully I was successful. This saga begins about a month ago when I noticed an official looking message posted on my door. Being illiterate but curious, I asked a student to tell me what it was about. That is how I found out that the school had not paid the water bill and this was a warning that the water was about to be turned off. Fearing the worst I took down the paper and brought it to the foreign affairs office to see what should be done. The liaison officer told me not to worry, that it was no problem and it would be taken care of. So, having received these assurances I did not think much was amiss when there was no water this past Friday.

   

After a few hours I was informed by Greg, my upstairs colleague from the UK , that the water had been turned off due to non-payment by the college. So, at least they knew about the problem and it would be soon be resolved, I assumed. On Saturday morning I began to realize that all was not going as I’d hoped, so I began to send text messages and make phone calls, but got no response until around noon. We were told to go buy drinking water in the store, but that was not very practical for other necessities. Since I was going through a bout of intestinal difficulty, I was about to go down to the river next to my apartment and get a bucket of water to flush with. Eventually I got a return call telling me to meet a student who would take me to the appropriate office close by to make the payment and get the water turned on again. After an awkward discussion, several more phone calls, and my insistence that the water be turned back on to all of the apartments in the building, and not just my own, they told me it was the weekend but it would be done in an hour. After two hours I called again and was told that the man was waiting for the rain stop. Eventually, around 4:00 pm the valve was turned back on. Fortunately, I keep my bottles of boiled water numbered for just such an emergency.

   

This little vignette is somewhat symbolic of my relationship with my supervisor, whose job is to make sure that all goes according to contract. I am usually the one who goes to bat for the other foreign teachers, which often results in a satisfactory resolution of the problem but also gives me the reputation of a trouble maker and an agitator for change. I figure that if I am persistent, the unjust judge will eventually give me what I need, even if it produces the impression that I do not give proper deference expected by a Party member from an underling, and a foreigner to boot. So it was not a big surprise that the administration decided not to renew my contract for next year (coincidentally I found this out at the same time as I gave her the water bill notice). But perhaps being open about my faith, discussing taboo political topics with students, insisting on following the contract and persistent advocacy for my students were also contributing factors. My contract expires at the end of June, along with my resident permit that allows me to stay in the country. So I will need to leave China during finals week which does not give me a lot of time to finish oral exams, submit grades, pack my stuff and remove it from this apartment to my next location – wherever that may be.

   

When I wrote you last month I was planning on teaching here for another year with the same students that I have this year, so I was disappointed to have to change my plans rather abruptly. My job search via phone, internet and email for the last three weeks has resulted in four solid offers (so far) to sign a contract for next year. At the same time, I have been praying for guidance to lead me to the right place and make the best choice based on the limited information that I can get from various sources in English. As of yesterday, I have made a tentative choice as to which offer to accept and now all I need to do is sign the printed contract, scan it and send it back via email attachment. But I continue to pray for assurance before making a commitment for the next year.

   

This afternoon I am meeting a couple of students who asked to go with me for a long bike ride outside the city. It is somewhat ironic that I will be showing them the places where I have already gone but they have not yet ventured. Fortunately the steady rain of yesterday has given way to sunshine and a cool breeze. After that I will meet a man downtown, who has asked me to teach some of his students in an English school that he has recently started. I will see if his schedule will coincide with mine. It is another chance for me to learn by experience in a new setting and earn some pocket money. The opportunities that come my way are surprising and often don’t last very long for various reasons. So I hate to turn down the chance to try something new and challenging to my teaching abilities and add to my previous experience. Unfortunately I have only a few weeks left here to explore the possibilities.

   

At English Corner on Thursday I met several students from my class last year and invited them to come over to my apartment for a spaghetti dinner this evening. The students are always eager to try some American style food and “Italian noodles” are close enough to what they normally eat. I can buy the imported spaghetti and sauce at the local Walmart and cook it in my small kitchen with other local ingredients to make a reasonable facsimile. I only wish I could find Romano or Parmesan cheese to go with it since the supply that I brought back with me from the US has been consumed on previous occasions. I can fit 4 or 5 guests around my coffee table in the sitting room/office where I can play music from my computer and speakers in order to enjoy the friendship they have offered me. The students and teachers I have invited are always very gracious and complimentary toward my efforts at cooking since it is unusual for a man (and a teacher) to offer this sort of hospitality. They also enjoy looking around my apartment and relaxing in my back yard in the hammock among the palm trees and bamboo. Since the weather was great we ate outside until the darkness and bugs drove us back inside.

   

Now that I am facing a new future, I am eager to make the change to see other parts of China with different culture, climate and people. Perhaps I have become too comfortable and complacent here and I need to stretch my faith in God’s provision for me. I have chafed under the oppressive atmosphere at this college and I am hopeful that in time I will see his purpose in taking me through this valley. To paraphrase Paul in 2Cor 8-10: “I want you to be aware of the hardships I have suffered in this province in Asia. I was under such great pressure that at times I had lost hope. In fact I felt in my heart a sentence of death. But this happened so that I would not rely on my own strength, but on the Resurrection and the Life. He has delivered me from this hopeless situation and he will continue to deliver me. I have set my hope on his promise to keep on delivering me.” Hallelujah! God willing, I will go to the city of Hangzhou in September and spend the next year there teaching English, earning my salary and sowing seeds. (James 4:13-15) More on that next time.

   

I am finishing my series of classes on the movie Titanic. It has provided me an opportunity to point out many expressions of faith in the plot, dialogue and the music. For example, when Jack says “I am on God’s good humor.” I interpret that as an expression of his reliance of God’s provision for the future. When he says “Life is a gift and I don’t plan on wasting it,” it indicates that God is the giver of life and we have a responsibility to “make it count” for him. The popular theme song also expresses faith in an afterlife. “There’s nothing I fear, I believe that the heart does go on.” Faith is also expressed in the church service on the last day before the sinking and in the prayer of the priest as he quotes from Revelation and looks forward to “a new heaven and a new earth.” Jack can also be seen as a savior since he gives up his life for Rose and she says, “But now you know that there was a man named Jack Dawson and that he saved me in every way that a person can be saved.” There is also an example of lack of faith when Cal says, “God himself cannot sink this ship.” Director James Cameron has said he intended to depict the end of the world in microcosm. While not exactly the gospel, these offer an opportunity to discuss religious topics in class to students who have been indoctrinated with atheism. I pray that from such small seeds, faith can grow.

   

The influence and popularity of American culture is evident everywhere and hard to miss. From the never ending basketball games that occupy the fourteen courts and backboards that I see every day on my way to classes, to the popularity of faded jeans and tee-shirts emblazoned with fake designer brand names and other random English words. I am the only one on campus who wears shirts and hats with Chinese characters on them. That fits my status as a foreigner trying to honor the host culture that has shifted dramatically in the past couple of decades. Many of my students have watched more American TV shows and movies than I have (since they are freely available to download from the internet), and they know the characters names and personalities too. (Curiously, the most popular line from Titanic in China, which I frequently hear is, “You jump, I jump.” In the U.S. it is “I’m the king of the world!”) When I ask students what their dreams are, the most common response is, to go to America to study, or just to see places they have seen on their video screens. One of my quirks is to try to decipher the English words and letters printed on clothing since it is somewhat altered from the original, either intentionally or in error. Often the words and letters seem to be chosen without rhyme or reason. Most Chinese have no idea what the English words mean, just as many Americans have no idea what the Chinese characters say on their clothes and accessories. So are these people victims of fashion or willing participants in a bizarre cosmic joke? Either way, it brings a smile to my face.

   

Last month I mentioned that my mother’s has cancer is no longer treatable after over 20 years of successful treatment and she is expected to live only few more weeks. I had accepted that I may not see her again in this life, but since then she has regained some strength and I am hopeful that I will be able to see her after finishing this semester. I am still exploring options for how to spend the two months of July and August between spring and fall semester. I am open to suggestions and offers of hospitality. Perhaps this is a time to try to reconnect with members of my family whom I have not seen for many years.

   

Thank-you for praying with me,

 

Tim

  

= = =

On Saturday, April 12, 2014 2:15 PM, "robertsontim66@gmail.com" wrote:

 

Dear Friends and Family,

 

I am have been experiencing internet connection problems for several days so I am not sure when I will be able to send this off, but as always, I do what I can and hope for the best.

 

Now that I have started my second year, classes are easier because I am able to reuse some of the lesson material that I created last year. I have to adapt them to my students on this campus who have lower English skills and don’t seem to be quite as motivated, but I enjoy the challenge. My students have become somewhat accustomed to my unorthodox teaching methods and my expectations of them. After many weeks I have gotten them to put away their mobile phones, and text books, and take notes in a notebook. That is the bargain I have struck with them, since they would much prefer using American movies as a source of dialogue than using their text, which is designed to teach British English to students in the UK. I have just finished a three week series using the Disney/Pixar video of Brave, which focuses on a mother daughter relationship and whether to follow tradition. Since 90% of my classes are made up of young women who are the first in their families to go to college, this is something they can all relate to on a personal level.

 

Next week I plan on starting a series on Titanic since it is a popular movie in China and many of the students have already seen it. Hopefully the level of difficulty will not be too high but I feel it is better to use real actors than animated characters, which I have used so far. I also choose popular songs to go with the plot of the stories from ones they have requested and written down for me in the attendance book that I pass around for them to mark. It usually takes three times before they feel ready to sing along, but repetition and review is part of the learning process. I also use short video clips of OMG!Meiyu that are produced by Voice of America and teach authentic language used by young people in American pop culture. The slang, idioms, and figures of speech are presented by a cute young American named Bai Jie (Jessica Beinecke) who speaks fluent Mandarin and has a large following on Weibo - the Chinese version of Facebook/Twitter. She is much more attractive and interesting to watch than me, so I use a couple of her three minute videos each week to help explain expressions related to the dialogue from the movie. I also find pictures and use music videos on the internet to help illustrate new concepts and settings. The combination of multi-media helps to produces images, sounds and scenarios so that I do a minimum of explaining and oral instruction. In addition, I make a list of new words and idioms from the script that I put up on the screen for them to write in their notebooks, along with the slang expressions, which I write on the chalk board.

 

After I show selected scenes from the movie with subtitles, and have them read the parts from the script (which I transcribe and project onto the screen) in groups. I then ask some of them to perform it in front of the class from a printed copy of the script, while the rest read along from the screen. In this way, they go over the same material three times. The visual images, pronunciation, context and plot are much better in communicating the meaning of the language than a textbook or a lecture on grammar or traditional memorization. This technique allows me to engage all of the students in the class all of the time without intimidation or embarrassment, since “losing face” is such a huge deterrent for them to speak up in class. I usually end the class by drawing parallels between the characters and situations in the movie to China and the students themselves. Thus, they learn English as well as how we share many things in common on a cultural and personal level. I teach each lesson eight times but I have to adapt and modify it each time according to how the students respond. By the end of the week I have the bugs worked out so that I can move seamlessly between the various programs and media in the right order and within the given time frame. The many hours spend preparing, finding and downloading pay off with greater enthusiasm and participation in the classroom.

 

I have started wearing short sleeved shirts as the weather warms and the bright green of new leaves appear on the various kinds of trees, especially the gingko and the dawn redwoods. The cherry blossoms are out and leaves are emerging on the bamboo and palm trees that I planted in my back patio area. I have strung up the hammock (that I bought in Qingdao last summer) between a tree and the concrete wall. I find it a relaxing way to end the day gazing up at the birds, moon and stars as they make their way through the tree branches in the evening. I listen to music with headphones or play my harmonica while tugging on a wire to keep swaying gently in the evening breeze. This reminds me of the many hours that I spent reading and relaxing at my home in the jungles of Peru many years ago, although I do miss the grand sweep of the Milky Way visible in the southern hemisphere.

 

The weather is also ideal for long rides out into the country side where the winter wheat is over a foot tall and the yellow rape seed is blooming in the fields and garden plots. The birds are singing to their mates, especially the black and white magpies which are as big as ravens and build onto their huge nests each year in the tops of the cottonwood trees. The air is full of the drifting fluff from the ever present cotton woods which is the primary tree planted for wood. On a recent ride I stopped to watch some men and women operating a large lathe to peel sheets off the logs, which are then cut put on racks in the yard to dry in the sun before being trucked off to be laminated. I was impressed at how much human labor was used and how small the logs were – usually less than a foot in diameter. The operators were happy to let me ride around and watch them at work, and even offered me a smoke. It was the first time I had observed this process although I have often seen the machinery and products along the road from a train or bus window. The physical exercise and the peaceful landscape, crowded with farms and villages give me a chance to see new aspects of life in this area which are good for body, heart and mind.

 

I have been gradually broadening my range of dishes that I can cook in my rudimentary kitchen equipped with only a hotplate, a microwave oven, a rice steamer and an electric tea kettle. As a result, I am finding it harder to shed the extra weight I gained during the winter when I spent many days without physical activity due to the weather and my travel itinerary. Perhaps I am also burning less calories in nervous energy that inevitably came with adapting to a new culture, profession and lifestyle. It seems I am continually moving around the cycle of tension, frustration, cynicism and complacency as a result of trying to solve various problems. I have learned to value the small progress in various areas from the classroom to my apartment and add to my knowledge of this strange and fascinating place called China. For instance, after eight months living in this apartment I was finally able to get my toilet bolted down to the floor. Now if it would only flush properly, stop flushing and refill the tank automatically! Each small victory encourages me to keep pushing for improvements on a personal or professional level. Although it does not seem like much, over time it adds up to significant progress.

 

Another interest I have is in teaching at a local pre-school one afternoon each week. I have finally realized that kids of this age are not impressed with technology and I have switched my focus to high touch. When I enter the room I go around to shake hands and greet them individually. At first, many were reluctant to extend their hands to me, but now they approach me and shake enthusiastically. When I leave at the end of class, I am surrounded by a crowd of three foot tall minions asking to shake hands and get a hug. Breaking the physical barrier also encourages them to speak and sing and dance with me even without the music and video on screen. Since most of my college students had never met or talked with a foreigner until my class, it is encouraging to see how quickly and easily three, four and five year-old children have adapted to me as their teacher – often, faster than college students. In China the old ways change very slowly but once the change has come on a personal level of experience, there is no going back. Building up familiarity, respect and credibility takes much time and effort, but it is the only way to open minds and hearts. In the same way I swing back and forth between empathy and impatience with my students and the pace of learning in the classroom, but the progress is evident and inevitable if I do not grow weary and lose heart.

 

There are many pleasant elements to life on campus, like the strains of instrumental melodies leaking out of the music building close to my apartment, and the family of feral cats that I feed on my back patio. (Thanks to Greg, my upstairs neighbor who buys their food.) They have gotten used to me giving them food and water, hanging up my laundry and hanging out in my hammock. So much so, that if I do not close my door, some of them will venture inside looking for more food. Somewhat less enjoyable is the chanting that comes from athletic field and vocal warm-ups of voice lessons starting around 6:00. I have gotten used to the frequent honking and the sound of fireworks going off at all times of the day or night. The students’ attire is also changing with the seasons and I am becoming accustomed to seeing short girls in high heels and short skirts with long straight black hair. They enjoy shopping for the latest fashions in the stalls and street markets as well as the large department stores. So, they are more attractively and fashionably dressed than us fashion-challenged foreign teachers. To compensate, I try to wear a different hat to class each week to go along with the lesson – another visual aid.

 

Along with these bright spots comes news of my mother who has recently returned home from the hospital and has been put on hospice care. The medications that she has been taking for the last twenty-five years are no longer effective and the cancer has spread from her breast to her lungs, diaphragm and liver. Unfortunately the cancer meds have also lowered her resistance to infection resulting in her stay at the hospital and taking high dosages of antibiotics. Her doctor estimates that she may have only two months left. I am trying to decide if I should return to Michigan to see her one last time, or for the funeral - as I did for my father about 18 months ago. I knew that when I visited her in early February that it might be the last time that I would see her. My oldest sister and her husband are there to help with another sister coming later from Canada to provide in-home care. The college administration has given me permission to go but I do not look forward to the time and rigors of travelling 10,000 miles there and back again, not to mention the costs. My younger sister has just begun to teach at an adult English training school in Shanghai and my older brother will soon be leaving for a job in Africa, but there will be many other family members who will be able to be there. So I am waiting to see what I should do and asking God for wisdom and guidance.

 

I hope you will pray along with me in this and many other matters that I face.

Looking forward to the resurrection,

Tim

 

= = =

Tim Robertson's posts about his time as an English teacher in Anhui at the Fuyang Teachers College are uploaded at: www.flickr.com/photos/ray_mahoney/9114089397/in/photostream, www.flickr.com/photos/ray_mahoney/8302698850/in/photostream, www.flickr.com/photos/ray_mahoney/14217075257/in/photostream; www.flickr.com/photos/ray_mahoney/9012874492/

'The real reason the chicken crossed the street'

Crofton Road - Chemainus BC

16th April 2012., Dublin Airport, Ireland

 

At approx 4PM local time, Delta Airlines flight "DAL 73" diverted into Dublin, Ireland while enroute from Istanbul, Turkey to New York JFK airport.

 

The reason for the diversion was the fact that a mobile phone was found in a bathroom, with a "faulty charger" requiring its "Home Made wiring" be connected to the shaver outlet and had tape entangled in its wiring.

 

The aircraft requested an expedited diversion to Dublin with security services on hand. The aircraft entered a hold to burn off fuel but the captain determined that it would be prudent to land quickly and as such he was cleared to land on runway 10 at Dublin, even though runway 16 was operational. He decided on runway 10 as it was longer.

 

On landing he followed a marshalling vehicle to a pre-determined location. The airport fire service was in attendance due to the fact that the weight of the aircraft caused the brakes to overheat.

 

After the Gardai ( Irish Police ) boarded the aircraft, an announcement was made over the aircraft intercom system and the owner of the Mobile Phone identified himself. Gardai (Irish Police) then released the flight to continue its journey

 

The aircraft continued its flight after approx 3 hours on the ground at Dublin

www.clohound.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/jennifer-lawr...

Reason for Jennifer Lawrence's absence at the Oscars

www.clohound.com/reason-for-jennifer-lawrences-absence-at...

Dear friends, dear community. For some reason in life I am going through a difficult situation especially because of my health, I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, so they removed it and 45 days later here I am standing for you and for me, I am going to continue my normal life. They will certainly see me as very thin. Expressing your positive energy makes me very happy. Kisses BRENDA

.

 

Comentarios

 

John 3:16 (New International Version)

 

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

Natanong mo naba bakit my pasko?

para saan at para kanino?

   

It's not that hard.

I suppose I have been driving up and down the A143 for the last 33 years, and I have noticed the sign to Mendham the very first time I drove down there, as Mendham was also the surname of one of the Norwich City players at this time.

 

But it wasn't until a friend posted a shot of the church from the air, that the thought of visiting it entered my little head. (www.flickr.com/photos/john_fielding/)

 

Anyway, I turned off the main road into the lane that leads to Mendham, the lane shrinking to a width of just wider than the car, before it plunged down a valley side to the now dry water meadows before a bridge took me over the river and from Norfolk into Suffolk.

 

The church was at the entrance to the village, guarded by a pillbox, looking over the lane now, but 75 years ago would have covered fire on the lane and bridge that spans the mighty river Waveney, which must be some ten feet side at this point.

 

The church was open, and despite the gloomy day, I could see lots of interest, including a blocked squint, but not too sure about that east window, but then I'm no expert.

 

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(Introduction: In 2007, I started revisiting the churches of Suffolk. It was interesting to look back at what I'd written when I'd first come this way. Back then, by the time I got to Mendham in 2002, the journey was almost complete. Here, and on the entry for neighbouring Weybread, there is a demob-happy irreverence which suggests I was happy for the journey to be coming to an end. In truth, I think I was exhausted, and it would actually be another year before I started on Norfolk. But that was in the future. I came to Mendham in the days before I owned a digital camera, which was the main reason for going back. Apart from replacing the old photographs and adding lots of new ones, I have left the account pretty much as I wrote it in 2002. This entry seems to have an uncharacteristic number of side-swipes at other villages, and the Countryside Alliance, who were at that time making themselves rather unpleasant. Perhaps they have been proved right, who can say? Anyway, this is what I wrote.)

 

2002: Mendham, for me, is synonymous with civilisation. I had come here from Bungay, one of my favourite East Anglian towns, and I had made the choice there to travel onwards on the Suffolk side of the Waveney, even though the more direct trip on the Norfolk side would take me through Earsham and Redenhall. This was because I wanted to visit Flixton, where the 19th century church of St Mary is a direct copy by Salvin of the Saxon church at Sompting in Sussex. Out of Flixton, I could stay on the main road, or try and take a short cut through the Saints.

Now, anyone who knows Suffolk will tell you that no one takes a short cut through the Saints. This elaborate maze of twelve villages is connected by threadlike roads without name, direction or purpose, that lead you into farmyards and then peter out, or double back on themselves, so you see yourself across the fields trying to get to somewhere other than the place where you are. The Saints were created by a Zen Buddhist God to demonstrate the futility of life.

 

But I ambled on, aiming for the easily recognisable tower of the church of St George, South Elmham St Cross, which would lead me to my intended destination. The road lurched and dipped, straining to throw me off down some unmarked byway, but I held to my course. I had a map, a sense of direction, and would not be diverted from reaching St George. And then I got there, and it turned out to be South Elmham St Peter.

 

I stopped for a moment, exasperated. Looking at the map, it was easy to see where I had gone wrong (they do this to you, the Saints, they point out your inadequacies) but I was now 4 miles further east than I should have been. I found a lane that led me down into South Elmham St Margaret, and resisted the temptation to head off of this road, which was the correct one.

 

Okay, then I didn't. I was going to stick to it, but a sudden lane pointed to St Cross. So I took it. Instantly, it narrowed, dipped, and sent me hurtling into a tunnel overgrown with hawthorn. The road surface disappeared under a sea of mud, obviously left over from the winter ploughing. My bike cheerfully sprayed the slurry all up the front of me. Now, I'm a reasonable man - well, mostly. But I have no time for the Countryside Alliance mob, and howled in execration, something along the lines of "----ing farmers, why can't they keep their mud on their ----ing fields where it belongs", which caused mild consternation to the donkey skulking under a tree at the bottom of the dip.

 

I climbed up the other side of the valley - and at the top of the rise there was a proper road, and a sign saying Mendham 2 and I knew I was free. With a cry of "YES!" I headed on into Mendham, a large and civilised place, which was birthplace and home to the artist Sir Alfred Munnings. Right beside the Waveney sits the pretty church of All Saints in a delightful graveyard.

 

The first impression is a neat, substantial building, and indeed this is a major 19th century restoration that was done well. The 14th tower is slightly older than the body of the church it stands against, but the chancel is late 19th century. The going over the rest of the church received 20 years earlier was at the hands of our old friend Richard Phipson, and the headstops on the porch will instantly remind us of his contemporary work at St Mary le Tower, Ipswich.

 

It is a big church, and the inside is pretty much all the work of Phipson in his 'see, I can be surprisingly creative when I try' period. So it is very Victorian, although I thought the roof angels were superb despite this. They bear shields with a complete set of Passion symbols. The chancel arch is very striking, being wooden, and based on a pair of arch braces. There is a fine memorial to William Godbold, as well as a number of lovely brasses to the Freston family, which don't seem to get mentioned in books on the subject. Best of all, I think, is the 1880s east window by Ward and Hughes depicting the Ascension.

 

Mortlock thought the painting of the Presentation in the Temple was probably Venetian, dating from the early 17th century. In general, this is a crisp, spare, simple interior, a cool place to pause in the middle of a busy journey.

 

Back outside again, the graveyard has something that no other graveyard in Suffolk has. The western edge drops straight into the Waveney, and against this edge is a pill box, a machine gun emplacement from the Second World War (or, at least, I'm guessing it was built to repel Nazi invaders, rather than anything that might come across from the Norfolk side).

 

My next port of call was Weybread, just three miles away - but five if I stayed in the narrow winding lanes on the Suffolk bank, so I took a deep breath, screwed up my courage, and crossed the river into Norfolk.

  

All Saints, Mendham, is situated between Bungay and Harleston, Norfolk, just south of the border. I found it open.

 

Simon Knott 2002 (revised and updated 2007)

  

www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/mendham.htm

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edham, adjoins east to Brockdish, on the great road; and is originally a hamlet and chapelry to Mendham, which is a very extensive place; the parish church stands just over the river, and so is in Suffolk; but this hamlet and the adjacent part between it and the parish church, on the Norfolk side, were no less than two miles and five furlongs long, and seven furlongs broad, at the Conqueror's survey, and paid 7d. to the geld or tax; and the part on the Norfolk side (exclusive of the bounds of this ancient hamlet) was called Scotford, or the part at the ford, (over which there is a good brick bridge built, called Shotford bridge at this day,) and for many ages had a rector presented to it, who served in the church of Mendham, by the name of the rector of Shotford portion in Mendham.

 

Part of Herolveston or Harleston then belonged to Mendham also; and now, that part of the town opposite to the south side of the chapel, on which the publick-house called the Pye stands, is in Mendham.

 

Mendham parish church is dedicated to All the Saints, and was originally a rectory, one turn of which, was in Sir William de Huntingfield, founder of the priory here, to which he gave it, and the other in Sir Thomas de Nedham, who gave it to William Prior of the Holy Trinity at Ipswich, and the convent there, to which it was appropriated by Thomas de Blundeville Bishop of Norwich, in 1227, when the vicarage was settled to consist of a messuage and 24 acres of land, 6 acres of meadow and marsh, with all the alterage belonging to the church, and the tithes of the mills, hay, turf, and fish, and all sorts of pulse, and 10s. per annum rent; viz. from the Lady Eve de Arches half a mark, &c. (fn. 1) and the said Prior was to pay all dues to the bishop and archdeacon, except synodals; (fn. 2) and Henry de Diss, chaplain, the first vicar here, was presented by the Prior of Ipswich. The account of this church in Norwich Domesday is thus; the Prior of the Holy Trinity of Ipswich hath the moiety of the church of Mendham, appropriated to his convent, and hath a house and two carucates of land, and receives the tithes of the demeans of Sir Thomas de Nedham; this was valued formerly at 15 marks. The Prior of Mendham hath the other moiety, and receives the tithes of Sir William de Hunting field, and his moiety is valued at ten marks. Sir Thomas de Clare is patron of the third part, which the vicar holds of the fee of Cockfield, and is valued at tive marks.

 

The chapel of St. Peter at Nedham was in all probability founded by the Nedham family, and most likely, by Sir Thomas de Nedham himself, for his own tenants; and being so far from the mother-church of Mendham, was made parochial, and hath separate bounds, officers, administration of sacraments, and burial; it is under the episcopal, but exempt from the archidiaconal jurisdiction; for it pays neither synodals, procurations, nor Peter-pence: and in 1329, a perpetual composition and agreement was made between the parishioners of the mother-church of Mendham, and those of the chapel of Nedham; by which, in lieu of all reparations and dues to the parish of Mendham, they agreed to pay 18d. every Easter-day, towards the repairs of Mendham church, as an acknowledgment that they were members of it. In 1411, the parishioners of Nedham, complained to Pope John XXIII. that their chapel was not well served, though the Prior of Mendham was well paid his tithes; upon which, a bull directed to Alexander de Totington Bishop of Norwich, issued; (fn. 3) commanding him to oblige the Prior of Mendham to find, and give security to him, that that convent would always find a parochial chaplain resident in Nedham, well and duly to serve the chapel there: and ever since, the impropriator of Mendham nominates the parish chaplain. In 1603, it was returned that

 

Mr. Andrew Wily, clerk, was curate, that there were 220 communicants, and that it was an impropriation; the herbages being reserved for the maintenance of the minister, who hath now the vicarial tithes, amounting to about 14l. per annum, for which it is served once every fortnight;

 

The Rev. Mr. John Tracey being the present curate.

 

The steeple is round at bottom and octangular at top, and hath four bells in it; the south porch and nave are tiled; there are several stones, but none with inscriptions on them, all their brasses being reaved: the chancel was wholly rebuilt in 1735, of brick, and tiled (though less than the old one was) by William Freston, Esq. who is interred in it; for whom there is a mural monument on the south side, with the

 

Crest of Freston, viz. a demi-greyhound arg. collared sab. and his arms,

 

Az. on a fess or, three leopards heads gul. which were first granted to the Frestons of Yorkshire, (fn. 4) impaling

 

Kedington, and this inscription,

 

Memoriæ sacrum, Gulielmi Freston de Mendham in Agro Norfolciensi, Armigeri, qui ex hac Vitâ demigravit 26° Die Oct. A. D. MDCCXXXIXo. Ætatis LVo. Et Margarettæ Uxoris Charissimæ, Filiæ et Herædis Henrici Kedington, Armigeri, quæ nimio ob Mariti obitum indulgens Dolori, Die 2do. Julij animam efflavit Anno Dni. DCCXLIo. Ætatis LIo. Vincula Amoris inter eos arctissima ut ad Amorem mutuum nihil posset accedere. Ex his nati sunt octo Liberi, Quorum sex jam Superstites; Maria Filia natû maxima, 20° Die Mensis Junij mortem obijt A. D. MDCCXL. Æt. XVII. Et in hoc Adesto (cum Johanne Fratre Infantulo) humata jacet. Hoc Monumentum Pietatis Ergo Coke Freston Filius natû maximus posuit.

 

Anno Domini MDCCXLVI.

 

This chapelry hath a lete held in it by the Duke of Norfolk's steward, it being in his Grace's liberty, who is lord paramount in right of his hundred of Earsham, over all the Norfolk part of Mendham; and in 1285, Roger Bigot, then lord of the hundred, had free-warren allowed him here.

 

The abbot and convent of Sibton in Suffolk had a fishery, and water-mill called Fryer's Mill, in this place; (fn. 5) which was let with their grange and manor of Weybrede in Suffolk; which in 1611, belonged to George Hering of Norwich.

 

This hamlet originally belonged to the Abbot of Bury, (fn. 6) and was infeoffed by one Frodo at the Conquest, whose descendants took the sirname of Nedham, and contrary to the common rule, gave their name to this place; it should seem that the family extinguished in several heiresses, by the many parts or manors it was divided into; and now there are four manors still subsisting here.

 

The first is a very small one, called Sileham Comitis, ex Parte Norfolk; and was originally part of the Earl's manor of Sileham, from which it was separated, and now belongs to Mr. James Bransby of Shotesham.

 

The second is called Denison's, or Denston's manor: this was given to the priory of Mendham, to which it belonged till its Dissolution.

 

This monastery was founded in King Stephen's time, by Will. son of Rog. de Hunting field, with the approbation of Roger his son and heir, who gave the whole isle of Mendham, called Medenham, or the village of meadows, to the monks of Castleacre, on condition they should erect a church of stone, and build a convent by it, and place at least eight of their monks there: in the place called Hurst, or Bruningsherst, being then a woody isle on the Suffolk side of the river; accordingly, monks being placed there, the founder ordered that they should be subject to Castleacre monks, as a cell to that house, in the same manner as Castleacre itself was, to the monastery of St. Pancras at Lewes in Suffolk; and that to the church of Cluni or Clugny in France: but after the death of the founder, the Prior of Castleacre covenanted with Roger de Hunting field his son, (who was also a great benefactor,) to maintain at least eight monks at Mendham, and not to depose the Prior there, unless for disobedience, incontinence, or dilapidations of the house.

 

Their founder gave the whole island of St. Mary of Mendham, with Ulveshage and the Granges there; and many other lands, rents, and homages; and all his lands in Crochestune, and his homagers there, which were all to be employed by the Prior, to the maintenance of Mendham monks, except half a mark of silver to be paid yearly to the priory of Castleacre, as an acknowledgment of their depending as a cell to that monastery; (fn. 7) he gave them also, St. Margaret's church at Linstede, and St. Peter's there; the moiety of the church of Trideling; an aldercarr and 11 acres by the mill, of Thomas de Mendham; and the third part of the tithes of his demeans in Suttorp; and 5s. rent in Bradenham; together with all his right in the church of Mendham: to all which, William the Dean of Redenhall, and others, were witnesses. And Stephen de Saukeville released all his right in Hurst. In 1239, Richard son of Benedict, after his decease, settled a messuage and 60 acres of land on this priory. In 1386, Sir Robert de Swillington, Knt. Sir Roger Bois, Knt. John Pyeshale, clerk, and Robert de Ashfield, settled the patronage of this monastery, on Isabel Countess of Suffolk. This house and all its revenues, were given by King Henry VIII. together with the lands of the dissolved priories of Ankerwick in Lincolnshire, and Little Marlow in Buckinghamshire, to the then newly restored monastery at Bisham or Butlesham in Berkshire, in 1537, (fn. 8) by way of augmentation to the value of 661l. 14s. 9d. per annum for the maintenance of an abbot and 13 monks of the Benedictine order. But that monastery was short-lived and soon fell; and this house, &c. in 1539, was granted to Charles Duke of Suffolk, and with it, this manor of Denston's, which, 2d 3d Philip and Mary, was conveyed to Richard Freston Esq. and Anne his wife, and he was lord of it in 1567; and it continued in his family some time: it now belongs to Mrs. Frances Bacon of Earlham, widow.

 

The prior was taxed for all his temporals in Mendham on the Norfolk side, at 4l. 12s. 11d.

 

From the rolls of this manor, I find the following Priors of Mendham, to have kept courts here.

 

1239, John. 1250, Simon. 1336. Nic. Cressi; he died this year, and Sir Rog. de Hunting field, patron of the priory, kept a court during the vacancy.

 

1340, John de Waltun; succeeded in 1342, by Henry de Berlegh. 1353, William. 1382, John de Tomston. 1400, Robert. 1420, John Betelee succeeded. 1449, Sir Tho. Rede. 1487, Sir Tho Pytte. 1501, Sir Tho. Bullock. 1523, Simon. Robert Howton, sub-prior, and Sir Ric. Pain, monk.

 

The third manor is called Bourt's and was owned by Daniel Bourt in 1345, and after by John le Straunge and Thomas de Hales, who held it at half a fee of the heirs of Roger de Hunting field; it after belonged to the Grices of Brockdish, for which family I refer you thither. In 1600, Thomas Pawlet, Esq. conveyed it to Thomas Leigh and John Godfrey; and it now belongs to Sir Edmund Bacon of Gillingham, Bart.

 

The fourth manor is called Gunshaw's, which see at p. 348.

 

To this hamlet, joins the aforesaid portion of Mendham, called

 

Shotford in Mendham,

Which contains two manors, called Whitendons, or the Whitehills, and Seameares, each of which originally presented alternately to the portion of Shotford in Mendham church.

 

Rectors of Shotford portion.

 

1317, Ralf son of Sir William de Ingham, accolite. Lady Maroya, relict of Sir John de Ingham, Knt. for this turn

 

1318, Walter of Ipswich, priest.

 

1328, Jeffry de Swanton.

 

1332, Roger Nicole, priest. John son of Robert de Ingham, attorney to Sir Oliver Ingham, Knt.

 

1339, Roger de Hempstede.

 

1347, Robert at Wode. Lady Isabel Queen of England.

 

1349, Giles Arches of Mendham, to the rectory of the third part of the church of Mendham, called Shotford portion in Norfolk. Sir Roger Lord Strange of Knokyn, Knt. He resigned in 1350, and the Lady Joan le Strange gave it to

 

Robert de Harwoode; afterwards the noble Sir Miles Stapleton, Knt. having the whole advowson, gave it to Mendham priory; and on the 3d of July, 1385, it was appropriated to the monastery of the blessed Virgin Mary at Mendham, and no vicarage ordained, so that the Prior received all tithes whatever of the whole portion, paying a pension of 6s. 8d. yearly to the Bishop, and finding a chaplain to perform a third part of the service in Mendham church: which service was after turned into that of a chantry priest, who was to officiate in St. Mary's chapel on the east side of Mendham churchyard; and that service ceased in Edward the Sixth's time, and the chapel was granted by the Crown into lay hands, and is now used as a malt-house.

 

The manor of Semere's

 

At the Conqueror's survey, belonged to Roger of Poictou, third son of Roger de Montgomery Earl of Arundel, and was held in the Confessor's time by a freeman named Ulfriz: (fn. 9) it was then valued at 10s. and after at 20. It divided into two parts, one belonged in 1311, to Alice and Edmund de Sancto Mauro or Seymor, Knt. and Joan his wife, from which family it took its name: this Sir Edmund, in 1335, infeoffed it with the manors of Sileham and Esham, and their advowsons, in Sir John Wing field, Knt. as trustee; and Laurence Seymour, parson of the united churches of Sileham and Esham, and Ralf his brother, released all their right; and the next year, Sir John released them to John son and heir of Sir Edward Seymour, Knt. It appears, that in 1291, John de Brampton held the other part of Elizabeth de Ingham at half a fee, and that it then divided, the one half continuing in the Inghams, of which Sir John Ingham, Knt. was lord, and Maroya or Mariona, his widow, in 1217. In 1331, Sir Oliver Ingham, Knt. and it passed with that family, till Sir Miles Stapleton gave it to Mendham priory, when it became joined to Denston's in Nedham. The other part, now Semere's manor, was sold to Sir John Wingfield by Laurence de Seymor; and in 1349, John Garlek and Sara his wife conveyed their third parts of Sileham, Esham, and this manor, and their advowson, to him. In 1401, Edw. Hales was lord; in 1551, it was sold to Henry Floteman, and it is now owned by John Kerrich of Bury M. D.

 

Whitendons, or Wichendons manor,

 

Belonged to Humfry, a freeman of Edric's in the Confessor's time; and to Robert Malet, lord of the honour of Eye, in the Conqueror's; (fn. 10) it after belonged to a family sirnamed De Arcubus; and in 1226, William de Arches and Eve his wife gave it to the Priory of the Holy Trinity at Ipswich; in which house it continued till its dissolution, when it came to the Crown, and the first year of Edward VI. 1546, he granted the advowson of Sileham and its appurtenances, this manor of Wichendon, and all the tithes and glebes, in Mendham, Nedham, and Metfield, late in the tenure of Richard Freston, Esq. to the said Richard and his heirs; (fn. 11) who upon this grant, came and settled in the manor-house here; and his descendants have continued in it to this time.

 

This Richard, in 1534, (fn. 12) appears to be treasurer, and a great favourite of Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk; and an intimate acquaintance of Sir Rob. Budde, who was master of Wingfield college, and chaplain to his grace; and by his interest it was, that he obtained several great grants from the Crown; (fn. 13) among which, he had Denston's manor in Nedham, and many lands belonging to Mendham priory: he was afterwards knighted, and lies buried with Dame Anne Coke his wife, in Mendham chancel, for whom there is a monument against the east part of the north wall, with the arms of Freston impaling Coke, which shows that he outlived his wife, and died in 1557; and was succeeded by

 

Richard, his son and heir, who married Cecily, daughter of Thomas Felton, Esq.; (fn. 14) she lies buried in the chancel, under a stone, on which is her effigies, and the following inscriptions in Roman capitals on brass plates:

 

Cecilia Freston, (fn. 15) Filia Thomæ Felton Arm. Uxor dicti Ricardi, viro Amore Charissima, habuerunt sex Filios et 2 Filias et obdormivit in Domino 6 Sep. 1615. Christus mihi Vita.

 

An adjoining stone hath the arms of Freston with a mullet, impaling Felton, and his image in brass, and this,

 

Ricardus Freestone Armiger, (fn. 16) vir singulari Pietate, Eraditione, et Integritate, qui obdormivit in Domino 27 Nov. 1616. mors mihi lucrum.

 

William Freston, Esq. their eldest son, inherited; and in 1620, settled the manor on Alban Pigot, Esq. with the patronage of Nedham chapel; and the same year, Sir Robert Heath, Knt. recovered it against Pigot, and conveyed it to Freston again; he died soon after, and

 

Richard his brother inherited, and died seized of this and Denston's manor in 1634; (fn. 17) he is buried under a stone in the chancel, with his crest and arms, impaling in fess, an inescutcheon, on which a plain cross between three crosslets formy fitché, the sharpened parts pointing towards the inescutcheon; and on a brass plate this,

 

Animam Creatori, Marmoreo presenti Monumento, Ricardus Freston (dum vixit, in Agro Norfolciensi Armiger) Corporis Reliquias, amicis omnibus sui desiderium, 20 Dec. A. D. 1634, reliquit, non procul a cujus dextrâ, Pater Materque ejus requiescunt. Vitam vixit summâ cum Pietate, tum morum probitate, laudabilem Amicitiam magnâ cum Sinceritate coluit.

 

By this lies a stone with Freston's arms single.

 

Hic jacet Corpus Richardi Freston Armigeri, Filij Richardi Freeston de Mendham in Agro Norfolciensi Armigeri, qui hinc translatus est ad supera, Flore Juventutis suæ, vir summis dotibus Animi et Corporis, recumbens in Christi merita, obijt 14 Augusti 1648.

 

Anthony Freston, brother of the said Richard, (fn. 18) was buried Oct. 13, 1655; Lydia his wife lies buried in the chancel under a stone, with the arms of Freston impaling on a chief indented, two hands cooped at the wrist.

 

Ledia Wife of Anthony Freston, younger son of Richard Freston Esq; ob. 22 Mar. 1651.

 

Anthony, son of the said Anthony, married Bridget, (fn. 19) daughter of Henry Coke, Esq. of Thorington in Suffolk, and Margaret Lovelace his wife; which Henry was son to Sir Edward Coke and Dame Bridget Paston his wife, and had a daughter,

 

Penelope, late wife of John Smith of Cratfield in Suffolk, buried here in 1681, æt. 51, whose marble lies in the altar rails, and hath

 

Smith's crest, viz. an arm cooped at the shoulder, holding a chaplet; the arms are, Barry of six arg. and sab. in chief three barnacles of the 2d, (which coat was granted to the Smiths of Lincolnshire,) quartering a chevron ingrailed between three garbs, and a lion rampant impaling Freston.

 

Eliz. Daughter of Anthony Freston Esq; and Bridget his Wife, was buried May 4, 1716, æt. 62.

 

Theophila their youngest daughter, married James Rant, Esq. and is buried here with this,

 

Hic jacet Sepulta Theophila Uxor Jacobi Rant Armigeri, Filii natû quarti, Gvlielmi Rant de Yelverton in Com. Norf. Armigeri, et Elizæ. Uxoris secundæ: Theophila prædicta, minima natû Filia fuit, Antonij Freston de Mendham in Com. Norf. Armigeri, et Brigidæ Uxoris ejus, E Vitâ excessit 12° Die Aprilis A.D. 1721, Ao Æt. 55. Duos Filios superstites reliquit, viz. Frestonum et Gulielmum.

 

Si quæris, Lector, qualis sub marmore dormit Fœmina! Scito brevi, casta, benigna, pia.

 

Rant's arms as in vol. i. p. 204, impaling Freston.

 

Over the south chancel door is a mural monument thus inscribed,

 

Beneath this Monument lyeth interred the Body of Edward Freston, Gent. youngest Son of Anthony Freston of Mendham in the County of Norfolk, Esq; and Bridget his Wife, Daughter of Henry Coke of Thorington in the County of Suffolk, Esq; he died 28 Day of Dec. 1708, Ao, Æt. 43. As also the Body of Elizabeth the Wife of Edward Freston, and Daughter of John Sayer of Pulham St. Mary the Virgin, in the County of Norfolk, Gent. she died the 25 Day of Sept. 1727, Ao Æt. 55.

 

Freston's crest and arms, impaling Sayer, as at p. 31, vol. iv. and crest on a cap of maintenance, a dragon's head erased vert.

 

Another monument more west, against the south wall, hath the arms of Freston impaling,

 

Cooke, or, a chevron ingrailed between three cinquefoils az. on a chief of the 2d, a lion passant guardant az.

 

M. S. Sub hoc marmore conditæ sunt reliquiæ Richardi Freston, Arm. hominis adprimè pij; mariti Uxoris amantissimi, Parentis, propitij, et clementis Domini: Vis plura Lector? Scies, hoc Monumentum a Maria Uxore ejus, Filia viri colendissimi, Domini Gulielmi Cooke, in Agro Norfolciensi, quondam Baronetti; Amoris et Pietatis Ergo extructum, ut omnes qui huc venient et intuentur, tam clari exempli memores sint et æmuli, et Vitâ cum eo fruantur æternâ, obijt 22 Junij 1721, æt. 68.

 

William Freston and Margaret Kedington his wife, who are buried in Nedham chapel as before, left this manor, impropriation, and a good estate, to

 

Coke Freston, Esq. their eldest son, who now owns them, and dwells in the site of the manor, called Wichingdon-hall.

 

In the Suffolk part of Mendham, there are four manors; the first is called

 

Mendham's-Hall, or Mendham-Hall,

 

From the ancient lords of it, who took their sirname from the town: it originally belonged to the Abbot of Bury, and was infeoffed by Baldwin Abbot there, in Hugh de Vere, of whom Nicholas de Menham had it; in 1205, William de Mendham, and in 1239, Benedict son of Serlo de Mendham conveyed a messuage and 10 acres to the prior of Ipswich, who had obtained in 1230 a release from Robert Byhurt, of all his right in Mendham advowson. In 1285 Thomas de Mendham, who was lord also in 1306; in 1312, John de Mendham had it; in 1318, John son of John de Mendham, and Christian his wife, sold it to the lord of

 

Kingshall in Mendham, (fn. 20)

 

To which it hath been joined ever since. This manor belonged to the King, according as its name intimates, and was settled by Edw. I. on Queen Eleanor his first wife, after whose death it came to the Veres Earls of Oxford; and Sir Robert Vere, in 1314, sold it to Sir John de Fresingfield, Knt. son of Seman de Fresingfield; at which time, Robert son of John de Mendham, released to him all right in Mendham's-Hall manor; and in 1317, Sir John sold them to Sir Walter de Norwich, Knt. and his heirs, the Earl of Oxford releasing all right; Sir John de Insula, or L'isle, Sir John de Foxele, and Sir John Abel, Knts. Barons of the King's Exchequer, Sir John Muteford, justice of the King's Bench, and others, being witnesses. In 1353, Sir John de Huntingfield held those manors late of Thomas Earl of Oxford, at half a fee. In 1363, it was presented that William de Huntingfield held the river Waghene as a separate fishing, from Mendham bridge to King's-hall mill, and that he had the fishery there, as belonging to his manor of King's-hall. In 1369, Will. de Huntingfield held it for life; and in 1370, John Deyns, rector of Toft in Lincolnshire, and Richard Wright of Holbech, chaplain, his trustees, released to Roger de Huntingfield, who, with his trustees, John de Seckford, parson of Somercotes, John de Linstede, parson of Cawston, Tho. Horne, rector of Huntingfield, and others, soon after, settled them on Mendham priory: in which they continued to its dissolution, and then were granted to Charles Brandon Duke of Suffolk, and his heirs, by King Henry VIII. in 1540, along with the lete of Metfield, and

 

The manor of Mendham Priory,

 

Which was given to it by its founder. They after belonged to the Frestons, and in 1551, Richard Freston was lord; in 1619, Sir Thomas Holland of Quidenham, Knt. sold to Edw. Ward of Mendham in Suffolk, Esq. the site of Mendham priory manor, now called Mendham'shall, &c. Kings-hall meadow, &c. the park, the manor of Mendhamhall, &c. with the letes thereto belonging, situate in Mendham, Withersdale, and Waybrede; all which, he purchased of Anthony Gosnold of Clopton, Esq. Anthony Gosnold of Swillington, Gent. Robert Gosnold of Ottley in Suffolk, Esq. Thomas Laurence of St. James's in S. Elmham, Gent. Michael Wentworth of Rogersthorpe in Yorkshire, Esq. Thomas Wales of Thorp in Norfolk, yeoman, and Loye Browne of Norwich: and the said Thomas, and Dame Mary his wife, sued a fine, and passed a recovery to the use of the said Edward Ward the elder, and his heirs; together with the fishery in the river Wayveneth. It came afterwards to the Baxters, and thence to the Gardiners of Norwich; and was sold by Richard Berney, Esq. recorder of Norwich, executor to Stephen Gardiner, Esq. late recorder there, to the Rev. Mr. Thomas Whitaker, late rector of Fresingfield, whose widow now owns them. They have a lete here, and another in Metfield, belonging to them; they give dower, and the eldest son is heir.

 

I find the following memorials relating to the Baxters in this church:

 

Depositum Stephani Baxter Generosi, qui decessit 12 Die Sept. 1696, æt. 79,

 

On a neat mural monument are the arms of

 

Godbold, az. two long bows in saltier or. Crest, an arm cooped at the shoulder az.

 

M.S. V. C.mi. D. Gulielmi Godbold Militis, ex illustri et perantiquâ Prosapiâ oriundi, qui post septennem peregrinationem, animi excolendi Gratiâ, per Italiam, Greciam, Palœstinam, &c. in solo natali in bonarum Literarum Studijs consenescens, morte repentinâ obijt Londini, Mense Aprilis Ao MDCXIIIC. Ætatis LXIXo. Hoc Monumentum designavit vir integerrimus, et sinceræ Probitatis Exemplar, Thomas Baxter Generosus, quem Testamenti sui Curatorem instituit; ipso autem Thomâ, morte subitaneâ perempto, collapso super eum Equo, nocte intempestivâ et tenebrosâ. IIII Calendas Septemb. MDCXC. Franciscus Gardiner de Civitate Norwicensi Armiger, ejusdem Thomœ Baxter sororis maritus, et Testamenti Curator, posuit. Baxter with a label of three, (see p. 212,) impaling D'eye, as in vol. ii. p. 345.

 

Hic reposita, beatam præstolatur Resurrectionem Fæmina, Pietate et Virtute insignis, Elizabetha Filia Thomœ Dey, de Insula, sive Eay in Agro Suffolciensi Armigeri, Uxor Thomæ Baxter de Mendham in eodem Agro Generosi, cui prolem edidit Masculam unam, alteramque fœminam, Quarum utramque ipso die lustrico et renata simul et denata est, annos nata triginta sex, nupta plus minus septendecem; obijt 27 Dec. 1681.

 

The next manor here, is called

 

Walsham-Hall,

 

From Gilbert de Walsham, who held it of the Abbot of Bury in the time of King Ric. I. at one fee; and lately it belonged to the Hobarts, who lived in the site of it, till Anthony Hobart, Gent. sold it to Mr. Robert Bransby, senior, of Shotesham, who sold it to Mrs. Sarah Woogan, wife of the Rev. Mr. Holmes, rector of Fresingfield, who now owns it.

 

I find the following account of the Hobarts buried here:

 

In the chancel on brass plates, Hobart's arms with a label of three.

 

William Son of James Hobart of Mendham Esq; died 9 March 1641. aged 3 Months.

 

Hobart with a crescent, on a stone at the east end of the nave, part of which is covered by a seat.

 

Hic expectant Christi adventum relliquiæ Jacobi Hobart Arm. (Filij unici Edwardi Hobart, dum vixit de Langley in Agro Norfolciensi Armigeri) qui Vitâ per 57 annos, piè justè, et sobriè peractâ, Patriam repetijt 20 Aug. Ao 1669: Cujus fœlici memoriæ, castissima illius Uxor, Brigetta (Gulielmi Spring, nuper de Pakenham Suffolciâ Militis Filia,) hoc &c.

 

An adjoining stone hath the arms of Hobart impaling Spring, as at vol. ii. p. 485.

 

Resurrectionem in Christo hic expectat Brigetta, Jacobi Hobart Arm. Relicta, Filiaque Gulielmi Spring nuper de Pakenham in Agro Suffolciensi Militis, quæ dum vixit Pietatem coluit et 26° Die Jan. placidè in Domino obdormivit A0 Sal. 1671.

 

Vivit post Funera Virtus.

 

On a black marble in the south isle,

 

Hic jacet Jacobus Filius et Hæres, Jacobi Hobart nuper de Mendham, Armigeri, ultimo Die Martij ad Cœlestem Patriam emigravit Ao Xti. 1673, æt. 23.

 

Animam Cœlo, Corpus humo reddidit.

 

Miles another Son, buried Jun. 8, 1686.

 

Edward Hobart, Esq; Son of James Hobart of Mendham, Esq; did 4 Nov. 1711, æt. 60. James his eldest son died 7 Aug. 1676, æt. 1 Mens. Sarah a Daughter 1689. Thomas a Son 1698, æt. 1 An. And John, Anthony, and Elizabeth, other Children buried here, and Lydia a Daughter in 1691.

 

Lydia Daughter of Edward Hobart Esq; and Penelope his Wife, died 31 Oct. 1680, æt. 1 An. 7 Mens.

 

Her Time was short, the longer is her Rest, God calls them soonest, whom he loves best.

 

There is an under manor or free-tenement, called Midletonhall, in this town, which belongs to Mrs. Whitaker, and is a good old seat; here Richard de Midleton lived in 1373, and William his son in 1390, who was succeeded by William his son; on whose marriage in 1392, it was settled on Margaret his wife, with estates in South-Elmham and Redenhale: this family always sealed with a fess erm. between three croslets; and it continued in it a long time. In 1457, William Midleton owned it, and Robert Midleton in 1467, who lived here in 1491. In 1558, Henry Reppes of Mendham died seized of it, and of Thorney manor in Stow in Suffolk, and gave them to Anne Wodehouse, alias Reppes, for life, with remainder to John Reppes, son of his brother Francis, remainder to John Reppes his brother, &c. In 1562, Ric. Whetley, rector of Homersfield, leased his rectory to Bassingbourn Gawdy of Midleton-hall in Mendham, Esq. by whom it was sold, and so became joined to the other manors.

 

There is an ancient seat here called Oaken-hill, (but no manor,) in which the family of the Batemans have resided ever since the time of William Bateman Bishop of Norwich; and William Bateman, only son of William Bateman, Gent. of Mendham, lately deceased, now dwells there: (see vol. iii. p. 506;) most of this family have had the christian name of William, ever since the Bishop's time.

 

Mendham church is a good building, with a square tower and five bells; having its nave, two isles, and south porch leaded, and chancel tiled, in which are the following memorials, besides those already taken notice of:

 

In the north isle window, France and England in a bordure gul. impaling or, an eagle displayed sab. quartering Morley.

 

And this on a stone,

 

M. S. Aliciæ Filiæ Henrici Borret de Stradbrook in Agro Suffolciensi Generosi, ob. 4 Oct. 1690, æt. 49.

 

Expectans ultimum Sonum Tubæ.

 

On a mural monument against the north chancel wall,

 

In medio hujus-ce Templi Tramite, juxta Cineres matris suæ Pientissimæ, Theop. Rant, suos etiam voluit deponi Frestonus Rant Armiger, cum quo unà sepeliuntur Urbanitas, et suavissima Facetiarum copia, cum quo unà abripiuntur ditissima placendi vena, animusque arctioris Amicitiæ necessitudini accomodalus, Hoc Juvene adempto, vix alterum reperies, aut literarum Scientiâ præcellentiorem aut humanitate Parem, cum difficilem Legis Angliœ Doctrinam, universum ferè Quinquennium apud Hospitium Grayense Studio sanè Laudabili prosecutus est, acerba suis, luctuosa sodalibus, gravis omnibus, labori vitæque mors Finem imposuit 23° Sept. Ao 1728, æt. suæ 27°. Et Luctûs et Pietatis Monumentum, Pater suus amantissimus, Jacobus Rant Armiger, hoc marmor posuit.

 

James Rant, Esq. his father, is since dead, and buried by him, and Will. Rant, Esq. his only surviving son, now lives in MendhamPriory, which is situated just by the river Waveney, about five furlongs south-west of the church, where there is a good old chapel still left, which is kept clean and neat; but there is no manor remaining with the site.

 

In the chancel,

 

Tirrel impales a chevron between three stags passant. James Tirrel Esq; May 22, 1656, 48. and left behind him his dear Consort his 2d Wife, and two Daughters by her, Eliz. and Jane. Eliz. his Widow died 1697. James his Son 1640.

 

In the churchyard are memorials for William Bateman, Gent. Jan. 9, 1659, æt. 70.

 

Hic spe plenâ resurgendi, situm est depositum mortale Johannis Kerrich Clerici Rectoris de Sternefield in Comitatû Suffolciæ, Qui, dum vixit, Dei Gloriam et animarum Salutem sedulò Studuit ob. 14 Maij. A. D. 1691, æt. 28°. Hic juxta jacet etiam Henricus Kerrich Frater supradicti Johannis qui obijt Apr. 17°, A.D. 1687, æt. 18. John Kerrich ob. June 24 1704, æt. 72. Mary his Wife, ob. 18 March 1708, æt. 76. James their Son 29 Apr. 1715, æt. 44.

 

In 1469, Walter Nyche or Neech of Mendham, was buried in AllSaints church there, before St. Nicholas's altar, and gave 12d. to every monk of Mendham, and five marks for a new tabernacle at St. Nicholas's altar; he owned an estate here, which had continued many generations in his family. In 1610, 21 Jan. Anne Neech married to William Bateman, Gent. to whose family the estate now belongs. He left Katerine his wife, Alice and Margaret, his daughters; and three sons, Robert, John le Senior, priest, and John le Junior; from whom descended the Rev. Mr. Anthony Neech, late rector of Snitterton, of whom in vol. i. p. 110, 421.

 

The vicarage stands in the King's Books at 5l. 5s. 2d. ob. and being sworn of the clear yearly value of 23l. 4s. 7d. is capable of augmentation, and was augmented accordingly by the Rev. Mr. Whitaker, late rector of Fresingfield, the patron, who presented his nephew, the Rev. Mr. Thomas Whitaker, the present vicar.

 

Vicars here.

 

1228, Henry de Diss, the first vicar, presented by the Prior of Ipswich, as were all the succeeding vicars to the Dissolution.

 

1305, Walter le Shepherd.

 

1318, Benedict.

 

1320, Hervy del Welle of Mendham.

 

1329, William son of John Gibbs of Kenford, who resigned in

 

1347, to John de Reppes, priest, in exchange for Shelton mediety.

 

1364, Edward de Flete.

 

1394, John de Hunstanton.

 

1505, Sir Jeffery Lowen.

 

1534, Will. Grave.

 

1631, Thomas Trendle, buried here 18 June the same year.

 

1632, George Fen.

 

1653, Mr. John Harward, minister.

 

1671, John Mayhew, sequestrator.

 

1677, Mr. Ric. Jennings, sequestrator, succeeded by Mr. Child, sequestrator; who was succeeded by the present vicar's predecessor,

 

Mr. Seth Turner, who was presented by Mr. Stephen Baxter,-and was vicar above 50 years; he is buried here.

 

Medefield, or Metfield, (fn. 21)

Is also another hamlet and parochial chapel of Mendham, the great tithes of which, belong to the impropriator there, who nominates and pays the stipendiary chaplain. The Rev. Mr. John Mendham, vicar of Weybrede, hath it now; and I am informed, there is a good house and glebe given to the serving minister since the Reformation.

 

The chapel is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and hath a square tower, clock, and three bells; on the biggest is this,

 

Munere Baptiste, Benedictus sit chorus iste.

 

The south porch, nave, and chancel, are leaded. There are stones for John Norton 1609. Anne wife of John Francklin, Gent. daughter of William and Elizabeth Blobold, Gent. 1636, and left John, William, Elizabeth, and Anne. Will. Browne 1660, 70.

 

Francis Smallpeece Esq; Son and Heir of Tho. Smallpeece Esq; and Anne his Wife. 1652.

 

Smallpeece, S. a chevron ingrailed between three cinquefoils ar. Crest, a bird rising.

 

But this hamlet is of chief remark, as being the ancient seat of the Jermys.

 

It seems this manor, called

 

Metefield In Mendham,

 

Was anciently of the fee of the abbot of Holm, of whom it was held in the time of Richard I. at half a fee, by Hugh Burd; after which, it was escheated to the Crown, and was granted to Thomas de Brotherton, son to King Edward I. who married Alice, daughter of Sir Roger Hales of Harwich, Knt. whose sister Joan, (fn. 22) married to Sir John Germyn or Jermy, Knt.; and in 1325, the said Thomas conveyed to his brother-in-law, Sir John Jermy, Knt. two parts of this manor, and the third part to his wife, for the assignment of her dower. In 1353, Sir John Germy, Knt. held it at a quarter of a fee of the manor of King's-hall in Mendham. In 1385, Sir Will. Jermy, Knt. was buried here; Elizabeth his wife survived him. In 1428, Sir John Jermy, Knt. and Margaret Mounteney his wife, owned this and Withersdale manors; and he it was, that rebuilt this church and manor-house, where he placed the matches of his family in the windows; and his own arms are carved several times on the timber of the roof, and are still in several windows, and in stone on the font; he died in 1487, and was buried at the north-east corner of the chancel; his inscription was cut in old text letters on his stone, but it is so worn and broken, that this only remains,

 

Johannes Jermy Miles quondam Dominus et qui obiit

 

By his will in Register Aleyn, fo. 330, which is dated at BukenhamFerry, Oct. 24, 1487, he appointed to be buried here, and gave a legacy to this church, and those of Bukenham-Ferry and Hasingham, of which he was patron; he ordered 100 marks to be distributed to the poor on his burial day, and gave the manor and advowsons of Bukenham and Hasingham, to be sold, after his wife Margaret's death: he gave 200 marks to the Abbot of St. Bennet at the Holm in Ludham, to found a chantry priest to sing mass daily there, for him and his family for ever; he is called Sir John Jermy, senior, Knt.

 

Sir John Jermy, junior, Knt. his son and heir, married Elizabeth, daughter of Will. Wroth of Enfield, Esq. and had two sons; from Thomas, the younger son, descended the Jermys of Bayfield in Norfolk, under which place I design an ample account of the family. And

 

John Jermy, Esq. the eldest son, continued the family at Metfield; he married Isabel, daughter of John Hopton, Esq. and lies buried in the chancel by his grandfather, with this on a brass plate on his stone;

Orate pro animabus Johannis Jermy et Jsabelle Uroris sue, unius Filiarum Johannis Nopton Armigeri, qui quidem Johannis obiit riiio Die Januarii Anno Domini Mo vc iiii. Quorum anima- bus propicietur Deus Amen. (fn. 23)

 

Jermy, arg. a lion rampant guardant gul. impaling Hopton, as at vol. iii. p. 553.

 

Edmund Jermy, Esq. his son and heir, married a daughter of William Booth, Esq. and left Sir John Jermy of Metfield and Brightwell, Knight of the Bath; (fn. 24) who by Margaret, daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Teye, Knt. had Francis Jermy of Brightwell, Esq. who by Eliz. daughter and coheir of Sir William Fitz-Williams of Ireland, Knt. had Sir Thomas Jermy, Knight of the Bath; who by Jane, daughter and heiress of Edward Stuart or Styward, of Teversham in Cambridgeshire, had four sons, Thomas, Edmund, John, and William, of which,

 

Thomas, his eldest son, settled here, for whom there is an altar tomb at the north-east corner of this chancel, with the arms of Jermy, and a griffin proper for the crest, and this,

 

Thomas Jarmy Esq; Sonne and Heire of Sir Thomas Jarmy Knight of the noble Order of the Bath. 21 Dec. 1652.

 

Since which time, the manor hath been sold from the family, and now belongs to Walter Plommer, Esq.

 

¶I have an account, which says, that more gentlemen kept coaches in Mendham, than in any place in Suffolk, and that in 1642, many cavileers in these parts, raised a sum for the King; among which in this town, Richard Baxter, Gent. lord, 30l. Rob. Harper 30l. William Bateman, senior, 10l. James Terrold. Gent. 10l. William Jacob 20l. Will. Herring 3l. &c. Thomas Jermy, Esq. 20l. Anthony Freston, Gent. 5l.

 

In Charles the Second's time, Sir William Godbould lived here, and Colonel John Hobard; and Edward Ward, Esq. justice of the peace, in K. James the Second's time.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-hist-norfolk/vol5...

One of the reasons Portland is the bicycling capital of the U.S. is the scenic routes available to cyclists. Here a trio of cyclists are crossing over the Willamette River on the Hawthorne Bridge.

For a variety of reasons I have not been able to access the foreshore as the tide retreats for a while. Yesterday I had a great day back there, keeping my kit to the minimum I was able to cover a lot of ground very quickly. Our time here this year is drawing to close and at every tide's retreat when the sun is low in the sky I hope to be here, tripod and cameras at the ready.

It is easily crumbled to be added to a lit coal in an incense burner. There are a lot of other scents stored elsewhere.

The frankincense was of good quality.

 

Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burned. The term refers to the material itself, rather than to the aroma that it produces. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, and in therapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be used as a simple deodorant or insectifuge.

 

Incense is composed of aromatic plant materials, often combined with essential oils. The forms taken by incense differ with the underlying culture, and have changed with advances in technology and increasing number of uses.

 

Incense can generally be separated into two main types: "indirect-burning" and "direct-burning". Indirect-burning incense (or "non-combustible incense") is not capable of burning on its own, and requires a separate heat source. Direct-burning incense (or "combustible incense") is lit directly by a flame and then fanned or blown out, leaving a glowing ember that smoulders and releases a smoky fragrance. Direct-burning incense is either a paste formed around a bamboo stick, or a paste that is extruded into a stick or cone shape.

 

A variety of incense cones which thankfully were not overly sweet. I am sad to have likely lost this annual Toronto ON sconce of incense cones.

 

Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burned. The term refers to the material itself, rather than to the aroma that it produces. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, and in therapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be used as a simple deodorant or insectifuge.

 

Incense is composed of aromatic plant materials, often combined with essential oils. The forms taken by incense differ with the underlying culture, and have changed with advances in technology and increasing number of uses.

 

Incense can generally be separated into two main types: "indirect-burning" and "direct-burning". Indirect-burning incense (or "non-combustible incense") is not capable of burning on its own, and requires a separate heat source. Direct-burning incense (or "combustible incense") is lit directly by a flame and then fanned or blown out, leaving a glowing ember that smoulders and releases a smoky fragrance. Direct-burning incense is either a paste formed around a bamboo stick, or a paste that is extruded into a stick or cone shape.

 

HISTORY:

 

The word incense comes from Latin incendere meaning "to burn".

 

Combustible bouquets were used by the ancient Egyptians, who employed incense in both pragmatic and mystical capacities. Incense was burnt to counteract or obscure malodorous products of human habitation, but was widely perceived to also deter malevolent demons and appease the gods with its pleasant aroma. Resin balls were found in many prehistoric Egyptian tombs in El Mahasna, giving evidence for the prominence of incense and related compounds in Egyptian antiquity. One of the oldest extant incense burners originates from the 5th dynasty. The Temple of Deir-el-Bahari in Egypt contains a series of carvings that depict an expedition for incense.

 

The Babylonians used incense while offering prayers to divining oracles. Incense spread from there to Greece and Rome.

 

Incense burners have been found in the Indus Civilization (3300–1300 BCE). Evidence suggests oils were used mainly for their aroma. India also adopted techniques from East Asia, adapting the formulation to encompass aromatic roots and other indigenous flora. This was the first usage of subterranean plant parts in incense. New herbs like Sarsaparilla seeds, frankincense, and cypress were used by Indians.

 

At around 2000 BCE, Ancient China began the use of incense in the religious sense, namely for worship. Incense was used by Chinese cultures from Neolithic times and became more widespread in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. The earliest documented use of incense comes from the ancient Chinese, who employed incense composed of herbs and plant products (such as cassia, cinnamon, styrax, and sandalwood) as a component of numerous formalized ceremonial rites. Incense usage reached its peak during the Song dynasty with numerous buildings erected specifically for incense ceremonies.

 

Brought to Japan in the 6th century by Korean Buddhist monks, who used the mystical aromas in their purification rites, the delicate scents of Koh (high-quality Japanese incense) became a source of amusement and entertainment with nobles in the Imperial Court during the Heian Era 200 years later. During the 14th-century Ashikaga shogunate, a samurai warrior might perfume his helmet and armor with incense to achieve an aura of invincibility (as well as to make a noble gesture to whoever might take his head in battle). It wasn't until the Muromachi period during the 15th and 16th century that incense appreciation (kōdō) spread to the upper and middle classes of Japanese society.

 

COMPOSITION:

 

A variety of materials have been used in making incense. Historically there has been a preference for using locally available ingredients. For example, sage and cedar were used by the indigenous peoples of North America. Trading in incense materials comprised a major part of commerce along the Silk Road and other trade routes, one notably called the Incense Route.

 

Local knowledge and tools were extremely influential on the style, but methods were also influenced by migrations of foreigners, such as clergy and physicians.

 

COMBUSTIBLE BASE:

 

The combustible base of a direct burning incense mixture not only binds the fragrant material together but also allows the produced incense to burn with a self-sustained ember, which propagates slowly and evenly through an entire piece of incense with such regularity that it can be used to mark time. The base is chosen such that it does not produce a perceptible smell. Commercially, two types of incense base predominate:

 

Fuel and oxidizer mixtures: Charcoal or wood powder provides the fuel for combustion while an oxidizer such as sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate sustains the burning of the incense. Fragrant materials are added to the base prior to shaping, as in the case of powdered incense materials, or after, as in the case of essential oils. The formula for charcoal-based incense is superficially similar to black powder, though it lacks the sulfur.

Natural plant-based binders: Gums such as Gum Arabic or Gum Tragacanth are used to bind the mixture together. Mucilaginous material, which can be derived from many botanical sources, is mixed with fragrant materials and water. The mucilage from the wet binding powder holds the fragrant material together while the cellulose in the powder combusts to form a stable ember when lit. The dry binding powder usually comprises about 10% of the dry weight in the finished incense. These include:

Makko (incense powder) made from the bark of various trees in the genus Persea (such as Persea thunbergii) Xiangnan pi (made from the bark of trees of genus Phoebe such as Phoebe nanmu or Persea zuihoensis.

 

Jigit: a resin based binder used in India

Laha or Dar: bark based powders used in Nepal, Tibet, and other East Asian countries.

 

Typical compositions burn at a temperature between 220 °C and 260 °C.

 

TYPES:

 

Incense is available in various forms and degrees of processing. They can generally be separated into "direct-burning" and "indirect-burning" types. Preference for one form or another varies with culture, tradition, and personal taste. The two differ in their composition due to the former's requirement for even, stable, and sustained burning.

 

INDIRECT-BURNING:

 

Indirect-burning incense, also called "non-combustible incense", is an aromatic material or combination of materials, such as resins, that does not contain combustible material and so requires a separate heat source. Finer forms tend to burn more rapidly, while coarsely ground or whole chunks may be consumed very gradually, having less surface area. Heat is traditionally provided by charcoal or glowing embers. In the West, the best known incense materials of this type are the resins frankincense and myrrh, likely due to their numerous mentions in the Bible. Frankincense means "pure incense", though in common usage refers specifically to the resin of the boswellia tree.

 

Whole: The incense material is burned directly in raw form on top of coal embers.

Powdered or granulated: Incense broken into smaller pieces burns quickly and provides brief but intense odour.

 

Paste: Powdered or granulated incense material is mixed with a sticky incombustible binder, such as dried fruit, honey, or a soft resin and then formed to balls or small pastilles. These may then be allowed to mature in a controlled environment where the fragrances can commingle and unite. Much Arabian incense, also called "Bukhoor" or "Bakhoor", is of this type, and Japan has a history of kneaded incense, called nerikō or awasekō, made using this method. Within the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition, raw frankincense is ground into a fine powder and then mixed with various sweet-smelling essential oils.

 

DIRECT-BURNING:

 

Direct-burning incense, also called "combustible incense", is lit directly by a flame. The glowing ember on the incense will continue to smoulder and burn the rest of the incense without further application of external heat or flame. Direct-burning incense is either extruded, pressed into forms, or coated onto a supporting material. This class of incense is made from a moldable substrate of fragrant finely ground (or liquid) incense materials and odourless binder. The composition must be adjusted to provide fragrance in the proper concentration and to ensure even burning. The following types are commonly encountered, though direct-burning incense can take nearly any form, whether for expedience or whimsy.

 

Coil: Extruded and shaped into a coil without a core, coil incense can burn for an extended period, from hours to days, and is commonly produced and used in Chinese cultures.

 

Cone: Incense in this form burns relatively quickly. Incense cones were invented in Japan in the 1800s.

Cored stick: A supporting core of bamboo is coated with a thick layer of incense material that burns away with the core. Higher-quality variations have fragrant sandalwood cores. This type of incense is commonly produced in India and China. When used in Chinese folk religion, these are sometimes known as "joss sticks".

 

Dhoop or solid stick: With no bamboo core, dhoop incense is easily broken for portion control. This is the most commonly produced form of incense in Japan and Tibet.

Powder: The loose incense powder used for making indirect burning incense is sometimes burned without further processing. Powder incense is typically packed into long trails on top of wood ash using a stencil and burned in special censers or incense clocks.

Paper: Paper infused with incense, folded accordion style, is lit and blown out. Examples include Carta d'Armenia and Papier d'Arménie.

Rope: The incense powder is rolled into paper sheets, which are then rolled into ropes, twisted tightly, then doubled over and twisted again, yielding a two-strand rope. The larger end is the bight, and may be stood vertically, in a shallow dish of sand or pebbles. The smaller (pointed) end is lit. This type of incense is easily transported and stays fresh for extremely long periods. It has been used for centuries in Tibet and Nepal.

 

Moxa tablets, which are disks of powdered mugwort used in Traditional Chinese medicine for moxibustion, are not incenses; the treatment is by heat rather than fragrance.

Incense sticks may be termed joss sticks, especially in parts of East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Among ethnic Chinese and Chinese-influenced communities these are traditionally burned at temples, before the threshold of a home or business, before an image of a religious divinity or local spirit, or in shrines, large and small, found at the main entrance of every village. Here the earth god is propitiated in the hope of bringing wealth and health to the village. They can also be burned in front of a door or open window as an offering to heaven, or the devas. The word "joss" is derived from the Latin deus (god) via the Portuguese deos through the Javanese dejos, through Chinese pidgin English.

 

PRODUCTION:

 

The raw materials are powdered and then mixed together with a binder to form a paste, which, for direct burning incense, is then cut and dried into pellets. Incense of the Athonite Orthodox Christian tradition is made by powdering frankincense or fir resin, mixing it with essential oils. Floral fragrances are the most common, but citrus such as lemon is not uncommon. The incense mixture is then rolled out into a slab approximately 1 cm thick and left until the slab has firmed. It is then cut into small cubes, coated with clay powder to prevent adhesion, and allowed to fully harden and dry. In Greece this rolled incense resin is called 'Moskolibano', and generally comes in either a pink or green colour denoting the fragrance, with pink being rose and green being jasmine.

 

Certain proportions are necessary for direct-burning incense:

 

Oil content: an excess of oils may prevent incense from smoldering effectively. Resinous materials such as myrrh and frankincense are typically balanced with "dry" materials such as wood, bark and leaf powders.

Oxidizer quantity: Too little oxidizer in gum-bound incense may prevent the incense from igniting, while too much will cause the incense to burn too quickly, without producing fragrant smoke.

Binder: Water-soluble binders such as "makko" ensure that the incense mixture does not crumble when dry, dilute the mixture.

Mixture density: Incense mixtures made with natural binders must not be combined with too much water in mixing, or over-compressed while being formed, which would result in either uneven air distribution or undesirable density in the mixture, causing the incense to burn unevenly, too slowly, or too quickly.

Particulate size: The incense mixture has to be well pulverized with similarly sized particulates. Uneven and large particulates result in uneven burning and inconsistent aroma production when burned.

 

"Dipped" or "hand-dipped" direct-burning incense is created by dipping "incense blanks" made of unscented combustible dust into any suitable kind of essential or fragrance oil. These are often sold in the United States by flea-market and sidewalk vendors who have developed their own styles. This form of incense requires the least skill and equipment to manufacture, since the blanks are pre-formed in China or South East Asia.

 

Incense mixtures can be extruded or pressed into shapes. Small quantities of water are combined with the fragrance and incense base mixture and kneaded into a hard dough. The incense dough is then pressed into shaped forms to create cone and smaller coiled incense, or forced through a hydraulic press for solid stick incense. The formed incense is then trimmed and slowly dried. Incense produced in this fashion has a tendency to warp or become misshapen when improperly dried, and as such must be placed in climate-controlled rooms and rotated several times through the drying process.

 

Traditionally, the bamboo core of cored stick incense is prepared by hand from Phyllostachys heterocycla cv. pubescens since this species produces thick wood and easily burns to ashes in the incense stick. In a process known as "splitting the foot of the incense stick", the bamboo is trimmed to length, soaked, peeled, and split in halves until the thin sticks of bamboo have square cross sections of less than 3mm. This process has been largely replaced by machines in modern incense production.

 

In the case of cored incensed sticks, several methods are employed to coat the sticks cores with incense mixture:

 

Paste rolling: A wet, malleable paste of incense mixture is first rolled into a long, thin coil, using a paddle. Then, a thin stick is put next to the coil and the stick and paste are rolled together until the stick is centered in the mixture and the desired thickness is achieved. The stick is then cut to the desired length and dried.

 

Powder-coating: Powder-coating is used mainly to produce cored incense of either larger coil (up to 1 meter in diameter) or cored stick forms. A bundle of the supporting material (typically thin bamboo or sandalwood slivers) is soaked in water or a thin water/glue mixture for a short time. The thin sticks are evenly separated, then dipped into a tray of incense powder consisting of fragrance materials and occasionally a plant-based binder. The dry incense powder is then tossed and piled over the sticks while they are spread apart. The sticks are then gently rolled and packed to maintain roundness while more incense powder is repeatedly tossed onto the sticks. Three to four layers of powder are coated onto the sticks, forming a 2 mm thick layer of incense material on the stick. The coated incense is then allowed to dry in open air. Additional coatings of incense mixture can be applied after each period of successive drying. Incense sticks produced in this fashion and burned in temples of Chinese folk religion can have a thickness between 2 and 4 millimeters.

Compression: A damp powder is mechanically formed around a cored stick by compression, similar to the way uncored sticks are formed. This form is becoming more common due to the higher labor cost of producing powder-coated or paste-rolled sticks.

 

BURNING INCENSE:

 

Indirect-burning incense burned directly on top of a heat source or on a hot metal plate in a censer or thurible.

 

In Japan a similar censer called a egōro (柄香炉) is used by several Buddhist sects. The egōro is usually made of brass, with a long handle and no chain. Instead of charcoal, makkō powder is poured into a depression made in a bed of ash. The makkō is lit and the incense mixture is burned on top. This method is known as sonae-kō (religious burning).

 

For direct-burning incense, the tip or end of the incense is ignited with a flame or other heat source until the incense begins to turn into ash at the burning end. The flame is then fanned or blown out, leaving the incense to smolder.

 

CULTURAL VARIATIONS:

 

ARABIAN:

 

In most Arab countries, incense is burned in the form of scented chips or blocks called bakhoor (Arabic: بخور‎ [bɑˈxuːɾ, bʊ-]. Incense is used on special occasions like weddings or on Fridays or generally to perfume the house. The bakhoor is usually burned in a mabkhara, a traditional incense burner (censer) similar to the Somali Dabqaad. It is customary in many Arab countries to pass bakhoor among the guests in the majlis ('congregation'). This is done as a gesture of hospitality.

 

CHINESE:

 

For over two thousand years, the Chinese have used incense in religious ceremonies, ancestor veneration, Traditional Chinese medicine, and daily life. Agarwood (chénxiāng) and sandalwood (tánxiāng) are the two most important ingredients in Chinese incense.

 

Along with the introduction of Buddhism in China came calibrated incense sticks and incense clocks. The first known record is by poet Yu Jianwu (487-551): "By burning incense we know the o'clock of the night, With graduated candles we confirm the tally of the watches." The use of these incense timekeeping devices spread from Buddhist monasteries into Chinese secular society.

Incense-stick burning is an everyday practice in traditional Chinese religion. There are many different types of stick used for different purposes or on different festive days. Many of them are long and thin. Sticks are mostly coloured yellow, red, or more rarely, black. Thick sticks are used for special ceremonies, such as funerals. Spiral incense, with exceedingly long burn times, is often hung from temple ceilings. In some states, such as Taiwan,

 

Singapore, or Malaysia, where they celebrate the Ghost Festival, large, pillar-like dragon incense sticks are sometimes used. These generate so much smoke and heat that they are only burned outside.

 

Chinese incense sticks for use in popular religion are generally odorless or only use the slightest trace of jasmine or rose, since it is the smoke, not the scent, which is important in conveying the prayers of the faithful to heaven. They are composed of the dried powdered bark of a non-scented species of cinnamon native to Cambodia, Cinnamomum cambodianum. Inexpensive packs of 300 are often found for sale in Chinese supermarkets. Though they contain no sandalwood, they often include the Chinese character for sandalwood on the label, as a generic term for incense.

 

Highly scented Chinese incense sticks are used by some Buddhists. These are often quite expensive due to the use of large amounts of sandalwood, agarwood, or floral scents used. The sandalwood used in Chinese incenses does not come from India, its native home, but rather from groves planted within Chinese territory. Sites belonging to Tzu Chi, Chung Tai Shan, Dharma Drum Mountain, Xingtian Temple, or City of Ten Thousand Buddhas do not use incense.

 

INDIAN:

 

Incense sticks, also known as agarbathi (or agarbatti) and joss sticks, in which an incense paste is rolled or moulded around a bamboo stick, are the main forms of incense in India. The bamboo method originated in India, and is distinct from the Nepali/Tibetan and Japanese methods of stick making without bamboo cores. Though the method is also used in the west, it is strongly associated with India.

 

The basic ingredients are the bamboo stick, the paste (generally made of charcoal dust and joss/jiggit/gum/tabu powder – an adhesive made from the bark of litsea glutinosa and other trees), and the perfume ingredients - which would be a masala (spice mix) powder of ground ingredients into which the stick would be rolled, or a perfume liquid sometimes consisting of synthetic ingredients into which the stick would be dipped. Perfume is sometimes sprayed on the coated sticks. Stick machines are sometimes used, which coat the stick with paste and perfume, though the bulk of production is done by hand rolling at home. There are about 5,000 incense companies in India that take raw unperfumed sticks hand-rolled by approximately 200,000 women working part-time at home, and then apply their own brand of perfume, and package the sticks for sale. An experienced home-worker can produce 4,000 raw sticks a day. There are about 50 large companies that together account for up to 30% of the market, and around 500 of the companies, including a significant number of the main ones, including Moksh Agarbatti and Cycle Pure, are based in Mysore.

 

JEWISH TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM:

 

KETORET:

 

Ketoret was the incense offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and is stated in the Book of Exodus to be a mixture of stacte, onycha, galbanum and frankincense.

 

TIBETAN:

 

Tibetan incense refers to a common style of incense found in Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. These incenses have a characteristic "earthy" scent to them. Ingredients vary from cinnamon, clove, and juniper, to kusum flower, ashvagandha, and sahi jeera.

 

Many Tibetan incenses are thought to have medicinal properties. Their recipes come from ancient Vedic texts that are based on even older Ayurvedic medical texts. The recipes have remained unchanged for centuries.

 

JAPANESE:

 

In Japan incense appreciation folklore includes art, culture, history, and ceremony. It can be compared to and has some of the same qualities as music, art, or literature. Incense burning may occasionally take place within the tea ceremony, just like calligraphy, ikebana, and scroll arrangement. The art of incense appreciation, or koh-do, is generally practiced as a separate art form from the tea ceremony, and usually within a tea room of traditional Zen design.

 

Agarwood (沈香 Jinkō) and sandalwood (白檀 byakudan) are the two most important ingredients in Japanese incense. Agarwood is known as "jinkō" in Japan, which translates as "incense that sinks in water", due to the weight of the resin in the wood. Sandalwood is one of the most calming incense ingredients and lends itself well to meditation. It is also used in the Japanese tea ceremony. The most valued Sandalwood comes from Mysore in the state of Karnataka in India.

 

Another important ingredient in Japanese incense is kyara (伽羅). Kyara is one kind of agarwood (Japanese incense companies divide agarwood into 6 categories depending on the region obtained and properties of the agarwood). Kyara is currently worth more than its weight in gold.

 

Some terms used in Japanese incense culture include:

 

Incense arts: [香道, kodo]

Agarwood: [ 沈香 ] – from heartwood from Aquilaria trees, unique, the incense wood most used in incense ceremony, other names are: lignum aloes or aloeswood, gaharu, jinko, or oud.

Censer/Incense burner: [香爐] – usually small and used for heating incense not burning, or larger and used for burning

Charcoal: [木炭] – only the odorless kind is used.

Incense woods: [ 香木 ] – a naturally fragrant resinous wood.

 

USAGE:

 

PRACTICAL:

 

Incense fragrances can be of such great strength that they obscure other less desirable odours. This utility led to the use of incense in funerary ceremonies because the incense could smother the scent of decay. An example, as well as of religious use, is the giant Botafumeiro thurible that swings from the ceiling of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It is used in part to mask the scent of the many tired, unwashed pilgrims huddled together in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

 

A similar utilitarian use of incense can be found in the post-Reformation Church of England. Although the ceremonial use of incense was abandoned until the Oxford Movement, it was common to have incense (typically frankincense) burned before grand occasions, when the church would be crowded. The frankincense was carried about by a member of the vestry before the service in a vessel called a 'perfuming pan'. In iconography of the day, this vessel is shown to be elongated and flat, with a single long handle on one side. The perfuming pan was used instead of the thurible, as the latter would have likely offended the Protestant sensibilities of the 17th and 18th centuries.

 

The regular burning of direct-burning incense has been used for chronological measurement in incense clocks. These devices can range from a simple trail of incense material calibrated to burn in a specific time period, to elaborate and ornate instruments with bells or gongs, designed to involve multiple senses.

 

Incense made from materials such as citronella can repel mosquitoes and other irritating, distracting, or pestilential insects. This use has been deployed in concert with religious uses by Zen Buddhists who claim that the incense that is part of their meditative practice is designed to keep bothersome insects from distracting the practitioner. Currently, more effective pyrethroid-based mosquito repellent incense is widely available in Asia.

 

Papier d'Arménie was originally sold as a disinfectant as well as for the fragrance.

 

Incense is also used often by people who smoke indoors and do not want the smell to linger.

 

AESTHETIC:

 

Many people burn incense to appreciate its smell, without assigning any other specific significance to it, in the same way that the foregoing items can be produced or consumed solely for the contemplation or enjoyment of the aroma. An example is the kōdō (香道), where (frequently costly) raw incense materials such as agarwood are appreciated in a formal setting.

 

RELIGIOUS:

 

Religious use of incense is prevalent in many cultures and may have roots in the practical and aesthetic uses, considering that many of these religions have little else in common. One common motif is incense as a form of sacrificial offering to a deity. Such use was common in Judaic worship and remains in use for example in the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican churches, Taoist and Buddhist Chinese jingxiang (敬香 "offer incense), etc.

 

Aphrodisiac Incense has been used as an aphrodisiac in some cultures. Both ancient Greek and ancient Egyptian mythology suggest the usage of incense by goddesses and nymphs. Incense is thought to heighten sexual desires and sexual attraction.

 

Time-keeper Incense clocks are used to time social, medical and religious practices in parts of eastern Asia. They are primarily used in Buddhism as a timer of mediation and prayer. Different types of incense burn at different rates; therefore, different incense are used for different practices. The duration of burning ranges from minutes to months.

 

Healing stone cleanser Incense is claimed to cleanse and restore energy in healing stones. The technique used is called “smudging” and is done by holding a healing stone over the smoke of burning incense for 20 to 30 seconds. Some people believe that this process not only restores energy but eliminates negative energy.

 

HEALTH RISK FROM INCENSE SMOKE:

 

Incense smoke contains various contaminants including gaseous pollutants, such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and adsorbed toxic pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and toxic metals). The solid particles range between ~10 and 500 nm. In a comparison, Indian sandalwood was found to have the highest emission rate, followed by Japanese aloeswood, then Taiwanese aloeswood, while Chinese smokeless sandalwood had the least.

 

Research carried out in Taiwan in 2001 linked the burning of incense sticks to the slow accumulation of potential carcinogens in a poorly ventilated environment by measuring the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (including benzopyrene) within Buddhist temples. The study found gaseous aliphatic aldehydes, which are carcinogenic and mutagenic, in incense smoke.

 

A survey of risk factors for lung cancer, also conducted in Taiwan, noted an inverse association between incense burning and adenocarcinoma of the lung, though the finding was not deemed significant.

 

In contrast, epidemiologists at the Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society, Aichi Cancer Center in Nagoya, and several other centers found: "No association was found between exposure to incense burning and respiratory symptoms like chronic cough, chronic sputum, chronic bronchitis, runny nose, wheezing, asthma, allergic rhinitis, or pneumonia among the three populations studied: i.e. primary school children, their non-smoking mothers, or a group of older non-smoking female controls. Incense burning did not affect lung cancer risk among non-smokers, but it significantly reduced risk among smokers, even after adjusting for lifetime smoking amount." However, the researchers qualified their findings by noting that incense burning in the studied population was associated with certain low-cancer-risk dietary habits, and concluded that "diet can be a significant confounder of epidemiological studies on air pollution and respiratory health."

 

Although several studies have not shown a link between incense and lung cancer, many other types of cancer have been directly linked to burning incense. A study published in 2008 in the medical journal Cancer found that incense use is associated with a statistically significant higher risk of cancers of the upper respiratory tract, with the exception of nasopharyngeal cancer. Those who used incense heavily also were 80% more likely to develop squamous-cell carcinomas. The link between incense use and increased cancer risk held when the researchers weighed other factors, including cigarette smoking, diet and drinking habits. The research team noted that "This association is consistent with a large number of studies identifying carcinogens in incense smoke, and given the widespread and sometimes involuntary exposure to smoke from burning incense, these findings carry significant public health implications."

 

In 2015, the South China University of Technology found toxicity of incense to Chinese hamsters' ovarian cells to be even higher than cigarettes.

 

Incensole acetate, a component of Frankincense, has been shown to have anxiolytic-like and antidepressive-like effects in mice, mediated by activation of poorly-understood TRPV3 ion channels in the brain.

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Thank you Lord Jesus for your sacrifice in lowering yourself to enter our world and to redeem us by your blood!

Julian: Dream of Doll Homme Ducan

Sebastian: RingDoll Sol

Brabourne nextes in the shadow of Wye Down, nestling in a fold in the land, and driving through it hardly seems to be a village, more a few houses and a farm. But just visible down a gravel track, which has a sign stating quite clearly that it was not suitable for parking for the church. In which case I woulve to partially block the lane through the village.

 

One approaches the church down a brick path, which is tricky as over the years it has developed quite an arch. You soon see that the trees are hiding a formidable church, and the most impressive of towers, almost castle keep-like.

 

A small porch allows the visitor to leave the chill air outside, and you are met my a sturdy door, which invites you in.

 

St Mary is a large and impressive church, the walls covered with memorials to the local big family, also are several cut out which may indicate where carved figures one laid. High in the north wall of the chancel, is possibly the oldest stained glass still in original position (although reset), which seem to date to the year 1200 AD, which is incredible if true, and I have no reason to diubt that.

 

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St Mary's is a very tall church, more Saxon in its proportions than Norman. The church dates in its present form from the twelfth century, with typical decoration in the form of pilaster buttresses on the outside north wall of the chancel. In the thirteenth century a south aisle was added and the present arch to the tower rebuilt; the remains of the original Norman arch may still be seen. In the chancel is a remarkable survivor - a twelfth-century window with its original glass. It has been reset and restored, but vividly recalls the dusky colours of the period. The pattern is purely geometric, of flowers and semi-circles, and may be compared to the contemporary glass in Canterbury Cathedral. Also in the chancel is one of the two thirteenth-century heart shrines in Kent. This little piece of sculpture consists of a plain shield - originally painted - under decorated and cusped tracery, the whole squeezed between thin pinnacles. It is uncertain whose heart was buried here, but it dates from about 1296 and may be associated with the de Valence family. The other Kent heart shrine is at Leybourne (see separate entry).

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Brabourne

 

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A Church has existed here since Saxon times - mention is made of one at 'Bradeburna' soon after the coming of Archbishop Lanfranc to Canterbury in about 1070.

 

The present St Mary's Church is of Norman design, and dates from the twelfth century.

 

Most of the original Norman nave can be seen on the north side, and the Chancel is pure Norman. Notice the priest's doorway and the twelfth century window in the Chancel - this still has its original glass. It is almost certainly unique in the country as most were smashed during the reign of Henry VIII, or later, during the Civil War. It was also left when other stained glass from the Church was sold in 1774. It is believed to be England's oldest complete Norman window still in its original setting with light falling through.

 

Additions were made in the thirteenth century , including the rebuilt arch to the tower. The staircase in the tower is of great antiquity: halves of an oak tree 31ft long form the sides, with another tree for the base and a forked branch as a support.

 

The Chancel also holds one of only two thirteenth century heart shrines in Kent (the other is in Leybourne). The sculpture consists of a plain shield (the original paint has long since worn away) under fine decorated arches. In the back there is a recess, which would have been used to contain a heart encased in silver or ivory. It is thought that the shrine was built for the heart of John Baliol, founder of Balliol College, Oxford. Whether it served its intended purpose is unknown, but it was found to be empty when opened in the early 1900s.

 

The tomb of Sir John Scott, made of Caen stone, stands in the north wall of the Chancel. Sir John, who died on October 17th 1485, was a Privy Councillor and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. Above the tomb hangs a trophy helmet, carried at the funeral of a knight, most probably Sir Thomas Scott, Commander of the Kentish Forces during the reign of Elizabeth I.

 

Another helmet (in the south east corner of the Chancel) is thought to have belonged to Sir William Scott, who died in 1433.

 

The altar is a tomb, topped with a slab of Bethersden Marble, and dates from around 1600. It is decorated with the arms of the Scott family.

 

www.brabournepc.kentparishes.gov.uk/default.cfm?pid=1140

 

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LIES the next parish to Bircholt north-eastward, being written in Domesday both Breburne and Bradeburne, and taking its name from its situation on the broad bourne or rivulet which rises in it.

 

THE PARISH is situated at the foot of the upper range of the chalk or down-hills, which reach from hence to the sea shore at Folkestone, and here take the name of Braborne downs; it is an unfrequented place, and from the soils of it not a pleasant one, for near the downs it is mostly chalk; the middle part, though there are various soils in it, consists mostly of a stiff, though not unfertile clay, and the southern part is a deep red sand. It is about two miles across from north to south, and somewhat more from east to west, stretching itself along a narrow slip beyond Hampton, almost as far as the village of Brooke, and on the other part within a very little of Stowting court-lodge. The village of Braborne, having the church and court-lodge in it, lies at the foot of the Down-hill, on the side of a wide valley, which extends below it southward. At the foot of the hills westward are Combe, Bedlestone, the hamlet of West Braborne-street and Hampton. The parish is well watered by several rivulets, one of them, which rises in and near Braborne-street, runs southward into that branch of the Stour below Scottshall, and so on by Sevington to Ashford; and there are others, which from the foot of the hills, more towards the west, which join the stream which runs by Swatfield bridge towards Ashford likewise.

 

In the southern part of the parish is the heath called Braborne-lees, one half of which only is within the bounds of it; across these lees the high road goes from Ashford towards Hythe. Here is a noted warren for rabbits, belonging to the Scotts-hall estate, they are of a remarkable fine flavor, from which Canterbury, and all the neighbouring towns are plentifully supplied with them. A fair is held in the village on the last day of May, for pedlary and toys.

 

That part of it which is within the borough of Cocklescombe, is in the hundred, and within the liberty of the royal manor of Wye.

 

THE MANOR OF BRABORNE, soon after the dissolution of the Saxon heptarchy, was, according to a very antient record, the inheritance of a lady called Salburga, who is stiled in it Domina de Brabourne, and by her will, in the year 864, ordered that the future possessors of it should give yearly to the monastery of St. Augustine, a quantity of provisions, on condition of their performing certain religious services for the health of her soul; which provisions were forty measures of malt, fifteen rams, twenty loaves of bread, one measure of butter, one measure of cheese, four cart loads of wood, and twenty hens. Who were the possessors of this manor afterwards till the time of the Norman conquest, does not appear; but at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, it was become part of the pos sessions of Hugo de Montfort, on whom that prince had bestowed likewise more than thirty other manors and estates in the neighbourhood of it. Accordingly he is numbered in that record as one of the thirteen, (for there are no more) who held lands in this county at that time, and under the general title of his lands this manor is thus entered in it.

 

In Wivart lath, in Berisout hundred, Hugo himself holds Breburne, Godric de Burnes held it of king Edward, and it was taxed at seven sulings, and now for five sulings and an half and half a yoke, because another part of it is without the division of Hugo, and that the bishop of Baieux holds. The arable land is fifteen carucates. In demesne there are two, and thirty-one villeins, with ten borderers having ten carucates. There is a church, and eight servants, and two mills of seven shillings, and twenty acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of twenty-five bags. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth twenty pounds, and afterwards eight pounds, now sixteen pounds.

 

That part mentioned above, as without the division of Hugo de Montfort, is likewise noticed in the same book, in the description of the adjoining manors of Hastingligh and Aldelows, belonging to the bishop of Baieux, as may be seen hereafter, in the account of them.

 

On the voluntary exile of Robert de Montfort, grandson of Hugh above-mentioned, in the reign of king Henry I. this manor, among the rest of his possessions, came into the king's hands, whence it was soon afterwards granted to Robert, son of Bernard de Ver, constable of England, who had married Adeliza, daughter of Hugh de Montfort, and was the founder of the priory of Horton, in the next adjoining parish. (fn. 1) After which it appears to have come into the possession of Henry de Essex, who was constable likewise of Eng land, from his succession to which, as well as from other circumstances, it should seem that he became entitled to this manor by inheritance Henry de Essex, before-mentioned, was baron of Raleigh, in Essex, his chief seat, and hereditary standard-bearer of England; but by his misbehaviour in a battle against the Welsh, in the 10th year of that reign, he forfeited all his possessions to the crown. (fn. 2) Before which he had confirmed to the priory of Horton all the former grants of his ancestors. And by another charter he granted to it, in free and perpetual alms, the pasture of twelve oxen in his park of Braborne, with his own oxen, for so long as they should be at feed, whether within his park or without; and all tithe of his hay, to be taken wholly and fully with his carriages to the barns of the monks. After which this manor appears to have been held by Baldwin de Betun, earl of Albermarle, who, in the 5th year of king John, granted it to William Mareschal, earl of Pembroke, with Alice his daughter in frank marriage, to hold to them and their heirs. William, earl of Pembroke, in the 10th year of king Henry III. his first wife being deceased, married Alianore, the king's sister, and in the 14th year of that reign had a confirmation of this manor, on condition that Alianore his wife, if she survived him, should enjoy it for life. He died in the 15th year of that reign, and she became possessed of it, and afterwards remarried Simon, earl of Leicester, who was slain fighting on the part of the discontented barons at the battle of Evesham. After which the countess and her children were forced to forsake the realm, and she died abroad in great poverty. In the mean time the four brothers of William, earl of Pembroke, successively earls of Pembroke, being dead s. p. their inheritance became divided between their five sisters and their heirs, and upon the division of it, the manor of Braborne, among others, was allotted to Joane, the second sister, then the widow of Warine de Montchensie, by whom she had one son William, and a daughter Joane, married to William de Valence, the king's half brother, who afterwards, through the king's favour, on William de Montchensie's taking part with the discontented barons, and his estates being confiscated, became possessed of this manor, of which he died possessed in the 23d year of king Edward I. leaving Joane his widow surviving, who had it assigned to her as part of her dower. She died in the 1st year of king Edward II. holding it in capite by knight's service, as of the king's marechalsy, and leaving one son Adomar or Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, and three daughters; Anne, married to Maurice Fitzgerald, secondly to Hugh Baliol, and lastly to John de Avennes; Isabel, to John de Hastings, of Bergavenny; and Joane, to John Comyn, of Badenagh. (fn. 3) Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, on her death, succeeded to this manor, and in the 6th year of that reign, obtained a charter of privileges for it, among which were those of a market, fair, and free-warren. He was a nobleman greatly favoured by king Edward I. and II. but in the 17th year of the latter reign, attending the queen into France, he was murdered there that year. He died possessed of this manor, and without issue; so that John de Hastings, son of Isabel, one of the earl's sisters, and John Comyn, of Badenagh, in Scotland, son of Joane, another of the earl's sisters, were found to be his coheirs and next of kin; and the latter of them, on the division of their inheritance, had this manor, in his mother's right, allotted to him. He died s. p. in the 19th year of king Edward II. leaving his two sisters his coheirs, of whom the eldest, Joane, married to David de Strabolgie, earl of Athol, possessed this manor as part of his wife's inheritance, and died next year. His descendant David de Strabolgie, earl of Athol, died in the 49th year of that reign, possessed of this manor, (fn. 4) leaving by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Henry, lord Ferrers, who died the same year, anno 1375, and was buried in the high chancel of Ashford church, two daughters his coheirs, the youngest of whom Philippa, married to John Halsham, of Halsham, in Sussex, by her father's will, became entitled to this manor. The Halshams bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron engrailed, between three leopards heads, gules. Their grandson Sir Hugh Halsham, died anno 21 Henry VI. leaving Joane, his only daughter and heir, who entitled her husband John Lewknor, esq. of Sussex, to the possession of it; in whose descendants it continued till the latter end of king Henry VII.'s reign, when Sybilla, daughter of Sir Thomas Lewknor, carried it in marriage to Sir William Scott, K. B. and in his descendants, resident at Scotts-hall, this manor, with the rents, services, courtlodge, and demesne lands, remained, till at length George Scott, esq. about the year 1700, sold the manor-house, called Braborne court-lodge, with the demesne lands belonging to it, being enabled so to do by an act passed anno 10 and 11 William III. to Tho. Denne, of Patricksborne, whose grandsons Daniel and Thomas Denne, of Sittingborne, in 1768, conveyed this estate to William Deedes, esq. of St. Stephen's, (who was before possessed of an estate in this parish, which had been purchased of George Scott, esq. by his grandfather William Deedes, M. D. of Canterbury) and his eldest son of the same name, now of Hythe, esq. is the present owner of it.

 

BUT THE MANOR RENTS AND SERVICES remained in the family of Scott for some time afterwards, and till Edward Scott, esq. some few years ago, alienated the quit-rents of this manor, together with the Park and Pound farms, in this parish, to Thomas Whorwood, esq. of Denton, who by will devised them for life to Mrs. Cecilia Scott, of Canterbury, daughter of George Scott, esq. before-mentioned, on whose death in 1785 the property of them became vested in lady Markham, widow of Sir James Markham, bart. of Lincolnshire, who was Mr. Whorwood's heir-at-law, and she sold them in 1787 to Sir Edward Knatchbull, bart. the present owner of them.

 

BUT THE MANOR OF BRABORNE ITSELF, with the court baron and other manerial rights belonging to it, remained in the descendants of George Scott, esq. down to Francis Talbot Scott, esq. whose trustees, about the year 1784, conveyed it, with his other estates in this neighbourhood, to Sir John Honywood, bart. of Evington, who is the present proprietor of it.

 

HEMINGE is a manor, lying at the south-east corner of this parish, next to Horton, which in antient time gave both surname and residence to a family so called, as the deeds without date belonging to it plainly shew. At length, after this manor had been in the possession of this name, as might be traced out fully by these evidences for almost three hundred years, it was conveyed by William Heminge, in the 2d year of Edward VI.'s reign, to Peter Nott, in whose descendants it continued till the 16th year of Charles II. when one of them alienated it to Avery Hills, by whose daughter and heir it went in marriage to Hobday, whose descendant sold it, in the year 1713, to Mr. John Nethersole, who left three sons surviving, John, who was of Barham; Stephen, who was of Wimlinswold; and William, who was of Canterbury, in whose three daughters, or their representatives, this manor at length became vested. They agreed on a partition of their inheritance, on which the whole of this manor was allotted to Jacob Sharpe, esq. of Canterbury, the surviving son of Mr. Jacob Sharpe, by Elizabeth, the eldest of the three daughters, who in 1796 sold it to Mr. Thomas Ken nett, of Brabourn, who is the present possessor of it. A court baron is held for this manor.

 

COMBE is another manor, in the northern part of this parish, close at the foot of the downs, which name it had from its situation, cumbe signifying in the Saxon a bottom or valley, and to distinguish it from other manors of the same name in this neighbourhood, it was called Braborne Combe. About the year 990, one Edward de Cumbe, whose son Leofard was a monk in St. Augustine's monastery, by his will bequeatned the land of Cumbe to that monastery. Whether the abbot and convent ever gained the possession of it, or if they did, how long it staid with them, I do not find; but at the time of taking the survey of Domesday, in the Conqueror's reign, it was parcel of the possessions of the bishop of Baieux, under the general title of whose lands it is entered in it as follows:

 

The same Wadard holds of the bishop, Cumbe. It was taxed at one suling. The arable land is two carucates. In demesne there is one, and nine villeins, with five borderers having one carucate and an half. There are fourteen acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of five hogs. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth sixty shillings, and afterwards fifty shillings, now four pounds, and the service of one knight. Leuret de rochinge held it of king Edward.

 

After this, on the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, this manor was held of the crown, by a family who took their name from their residence at it; of whom Richard de Combe, and Simon his son, served the office of sheriff, as assistants to Sir John de Northwood, in the 20th year of king Edward I. and bore for their arms, Sable, three lions passant-guar dant, in pale, gules. At length by a female heir of this name, it went by marriage, in the reign of king Richard II. to John Scott, who afterwards resided at it, as did his descendants till Sir William Scott removed to Scotts-hall at the latter end of king Henry IV.'s reign; and in his descendants, of Scotts-hall, this manor continued down to George Scott, esq. of Scotts-hall, who procured an act anno 10 and 11 king William, to vest this manor, among his other estates, in trustees, to be sold for payment of his debts, in pursuance of which it was soon afterwards sold to Brook Bridges, esq. of Goodnestone, afterwards created a baronet, whose great-grandson Sir Brook Bridges, bart. of Goodnestone, is the present possessor of it.

 

HAMPTON is the last manor to be described in this parish, being situated in the north-west corner of it, adjoining to Brooke. It has the name in antient deeds of Hampton Cocklescombe, and sometimes is described by the name of the manor of Cocklescombe only, being so called from its situation in the borough of that name, and within the hundred of Wye. This manor was given by Robert de Ver, constable of England, and lord of Braborne, to Osbert his marshal, and Emeline his wife, who gave it again to the priory in the adjoining parish of Horton, by the description of the land of Hanetone; which gift was confirmed to the priory by the same Robert de Ver, and Adeliza de Montfort his wife, and afterwards by Henry de Essex, (fn. 5) as appears by the register of it; of the priory of Horton this manor was afterwards again held, at the rent of forty shillings in perpetual fee farm, by a family who took their name of Hampton from their residence at it, as appears not only by the above register, but by antient deeds and court-rolls, and that they remained here till the reign of king Henry VI. when John Hampton pasted it away to one of the name of Shelley, by whose heir general it became the property of John May, of Bibroke, in Kennington, whose son of the same name leaving an only daughter Alice, the carried it in marriage to John Edolph, of Brenset, and his daughter Elizabeth entitled her husband William Wil cocks, esq. of New Romney, to it, who died possessed of this manor in the 16th year of queen Elizabeth, holding it in free socage. His widow survived him, and afterwards married Ralph Radcliffe, esq. of Hitchin, in Hertfordshire, who survived her. She died in the 39th year of that reign, and by her last will devised this manor to her only son by her first husband, John Wilcocks, who dying s. p. his two sisters became his coheirs, of whom Martha married Sir Edward Radcliffe, of Sevington, in this county, and physician to king James I. and Elizabeth married William Andrews; and on the partition of their inheritance, Sir Edward Radcliffe became entitled to the sole possession of it, in whose descendants it continued down to John Radcliffe, esq. of Hitchin priory, who dying in 1783, s. p. this manor, among his other estates, came to Sir Charles Farnaby, bart. of Sevenoke, in right of his wife Penelope, sister and heir-at-law of the above mentioned John Radcliffe. Sir Charles Farnaby afterwards took the name of Radcliffe, (fn. 6) and removed to Hitchin, where he died in 1798, and his heirs are now entitled to it.

 

Charities.

 

WILLIAM FORDRED, by will in 1550, gave to this parish, among others, a proportion of the rents of 25 acres of land in St. Mary's parish, in Romney Marsh; which portion to this parish is of the annual produce of 4l. 12s. 4¾d. to be distributed annually to the poor, and vested in trustees.

 

MR. KNOTT gave for the use of the poor, a sum of money, vested in Robert Goddard, of Mersham, now of the annual produce of 8s.

 

The poor constantly relieved are about fifty-five, casually twenty-five.

 

BRABORNE is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Elham.

 

The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is a large handsome building, consisting of two isles and two chancels, having a square tower steeple at the west end, in which are five bells. The northern isle is much lostier than the other, having an upper story, choir-like, with the three upper windows to the south; below which is the roof of the north isle. Both chancels are full of the interments of the Scott family; but the brasses and inscriptions are almost all gone. Against the north wall is a tomb, with an arch and recess over it; against the back have been two figures, with inscriptions, and two shields of brass, now gone; on the side of the tomb are two shields carved in stone, one Pympe, the other Scott. Against the opposite wall is a kind of altar, the form of which is given before, P. I. At the east end, within the rails, is a large altar-tomb against the wall, of Bethersden marble; on it the marks of a figure, the brass gone; on the front five shields, with the arms of Scott, and their several impalements. Over the tomb is a kind of altar-piece, ornamented with stone carve-work, and three shields of arms; I. Scott impaling oblit. over it the date 1290; 2, being the middle shield, Scott and the following quarterings, Beaufitz, Pympe, Pashley, Normanville, Warren, Sergeaux, Gower, and Cogan In which arms of Scott it is noted, all the bordures are plain. In the south chancel belonging likewise to the Scott family, the brasses on the gravestones, with which the pavement is covered, are all gone. In the south wall is a very antient tomb with an arch over it; underneath this tomb the late Edward Scott, esq. was buried. Against this wall is a monument for Arthur Scott, commissioner of the navy, third son of Geo. Scott, of Scotts-hall. Against the north wall a monument for lieutenant-colonel Cholmeley Scott, esq. youngest son of George Scott, esq. of Scotts-hall. Weever mentions several memorials of this family in the body of the church remaining in his time, all which have been long since obliterated, and their brasses destoryed. In the south isle is a stone, with the figure of a man in brass, habited in armour, with sword and spurs on, the latter having the rowels much like the figure of a catherine wheel; a greyhound under his feet; the inscription gone, excepting the words of Brabourne, armigr. and anno Dni mil. Against the north wall, a monument for William Richards, put up by Gabriel Richards, gent. of Rowling, in 1672; arms, Sable, a chevron between three fleurs de lis, argent; a crescent for difference. Another for John Richards, vicar, obt. 1727. In the south scite of the body of the church, is a memorial for Dionisia, daughter of Vincent Fynche, alias Harbert, esq. obt. 1458; arms, Finch impaling Cralle; and in the same isle is a stone, robbed of the figure on it, but the brass inscription remains, for Joane, daughter of Sir Gervas Cliston, married to John Diggs; arms, Clifton impaling Fineh, and Diggs impaling Clifton. The tower at the west end is of a large size, but flat at top, and only of equal height with the roof of the north isle.

 

Mr. Evelyn, in his Discourse on Forest Trees, mentions a superannuated yew-tree growing in this churchyard, which being 58 feet 11 inches in circumference, bore near 20 feet diameter; and besides which there were goodly planks, and other considerable pieces of square and clear timber, which he observed to lie about it, which had been hewed and sawn out of some of the arms only, torn from it by impetuous winds. This tree has been many years since gone, and a fine stately young one now flourishes in the room of it.

 

The church was formerly appendant to the manor, and continued so till it was given, in the beginning of king Henry II.'s reign, by Robert de Ver, lord of the manor of Braborne, to the priory of Horton, at his first foundation of it; and it was appropriated to the priory before the 8th year of king Richard II. the priory being bound to pay the tenth of the vicarage. But there does not seem to have been any endowment made till anno 1445, when there was one assigned by the prior to Thomas de Banstede, the vicar of it. (fn. 7) In which state this church, with the advowson of the vicarage, continued till the dissolution of the priory in the reign of king Henry VIII. when it came into the king's hands, and remained there till it was granted in exchange to the archbishop, where it still continues, the parsonage being at this time parcel of the see of Canterbury, and his grace the archbishop the present parton of the vicarage.

 

The parsonage is a very handsome brick house, standing at a small distance from the church-yard, to which the vicarage adjoins likewise, being a neat small brick building. The family of Kennet have been lessees for many years, Mr. Claude Kennet being the present lessee of it, who resides at it.

 

¶The vicarage of Braborne is valued in the king's books at 11l. 12s. 6d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 3s. 3d. And there is annually, by the endowment of it, paid out of the parsonage to the vicar, one seam or quarter of wheat, and the like of barley; and archbishop Juxon, anno 15 Charles II. augmented it sixteen pounds per annum, to be paid by the lessee of the parsonage. In 1640 this vicarage was valued at sixty-four pounds, communicants one hundred and six. In 1733 it was valued at one hundred pounds. There is one acre of glebe land belonging to it.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol8/pp14-27

Written on the Georgia Guidestones are these ten desires of the New World Order:

 

THE MESSAGE OF THE GEORGIA GUIDESTONES

 

1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.

2. Guide reproduction wisely - improving fitness and diversity.

3. Unite humanity with a living new language.

4. Rule passion - faith - tradition - and all things with tempered reason.

5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.

6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.

7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials.

8. Balance personal rights with social duties.

9. Prize truth - beauty - love - seeking harmony with the infinite.

10.Be not a cancer on the earth - Leave room for nature.

 

On one of the highest hilltops in Elbert County, Georgia stands a huge granite monument. Engraved in eight different languages on the four giant stones that support the common capstone are 10 Guides, or commandments. That monument is alternately referred to as The Georgia Guidestones, or the American Stonehenge. Though relatively unknown to most people, it is an important link to the Occult Hierarchy that dominates the world in which we live.

 

The origin of that strange monument is shrouded in mystery because no one knows the true identity of the man, or men, who commissioned its construction. All that is known for certain is that in June 1979, a well-dressed, articulate stranger visited the office of the Elberton Granite Finishing Company and announced that he wanted to build an edifice to transmit a message to mankind. He identified himself as R. C. Christian, but it soon became apparent that was not his real name. He said that he represented a group of men who wanted to offer direction to humanity, but to date, almost two decades later, no one knows who R. C. Christian really was, or the names of those he represented. Several things are apparent. The messages engraved on the Georgia Guidestones deal with four major fields: (1) Governance and the establishment of a world government, (2) Population and reproduction control, (3) The environment and man's relationship to nature, and (4) Spirituality.

 

In the public library in Elberton, I found a book written by the man who called himself R.C. Christian. I discovered that the monument he commissioned had been erected in recognition of Thomas Paine and the occult philosophy he espoused. Indeed, the Georgia Guidestones are used for occult ceremonies and mystic celebrations to this very day. Tragically, only one religious leader in the area had the courage to speak out against the American Stonehenge, and he has recently relocated his ministry.

 

Limiting the population of the earth to 500 million will require the extermination of nine-tenths of the world's people. The American Stonehenge's reference to establishing a world court foreshadows the current move to create an International Criminal Court and a world government. The Guidestones' emphasis on preserving nature anticipates the environmental movement of the 1990s, and the reference to "seeking harmony with the infinite" reflects the current effort to replace Judeo-Christian beliefs with a new spirituality.

 

The message of the American Stonehenge also foreshadowed the current drive for Sustainable Development. Any time you hear the phrase "Sustainable Development" used, you should substitute the term "socialism" to be able to understand what is intended. Later in this syllabus you will read the full text of the Earth Charter which was compiled under the direction of Mikhail Gorbachev and Maurice Strong. In that document you will find an emphasis on the same basic issues: control of reproduction, world governance, the importance of nature and the environment, and a new spirituality. The similarity between the ideas engraved on the Georgia Guidestones and those espoused in the Earth Charter reflect the common origins of both.

 

Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon, was recently quoted as referring to the American Stonehenge, saying:

 

"I want people to know about the stones ... We're headed toward a world where we might blow ourselves up and maybe the globe will not exist ... it's a nice time to reaffirm ourselves, knowing all the beautiful things that are in this country and the Georgia Stones symbolize that. " (1)

 

What is the true significance of the American Stonehenge, and why is its covert message important? Because it confirms the fact that there was a covert group intent on

 

(1) Dramatically reducing the population of the world.

(2) Promoting environmentalism.

(3) Establishing a world government.

(4) Promoting a new spirituality.

 

Certainly the group that commissioned the Georgia Guidestones is one of many similar groups working together toward a New World Order, a new world economic system, and a new world spirituality. Behind those groups, however, are dark spiritual forces. Without understanding the nature of those dark forces it is impossible to understand the unfolding of world events.

 

The fact that most Americans have never heard of the Georgia Guidestones or their message to humanity reflects the degree of control that exists today over what the American people think. We ignore that message at our peril.

 

This text courtesy of www.radioliberty.com/stones.htm

why we enjoy our National Park and the Skyline Drive. I wish others that visit here would take the time to slow down and enjoy the whole park, and not just run from one overlook to the next. They would be surprised at what they will see!

So this is the reason i love taking pictures. THAT moment where you look around and pretty much everything is perfect. aside from the fact that i couldnt feel my fingers while taking this, i was in total bliss. it was super hard to shoot though because to my left huge waves were crashing into the rocks causing mist to get on my lens ,which you can see in the picture. other then that though the colors and lighting was to die for. it was a rather spiritual experience.

 

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Ironically, despite the mountains of rubbish nature seemed to be battling through it.

The rocks in this section of Arches are called the "Parade of Elephants"

For going back to where I'm from.

But explain to school kids what’s different, because they have to wonder. While establishments of all types are open at full capacity, the classroom routine is little changed: Students must continue to wear masks—a requirement that baffles the frak out of me. Is it possible reason that most of them have not been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19? For adults, the mask-mandate is only lifted for those people who have had the shot(s). Children are extremely unlikely to be infected, manifest the disease, become seriously sick, or die. So why muzzle them?

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children ages 0-4 account for 2.1 percent of U.S. COVID cases; 10.4 percent for 5-17 year-olds. Deaths: Zero percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. Citizens ages 18-49 account for 4.7 percent of total deaths, so teachers are probably pretty safe—especially if vaccinated. So, again, I ask: Why muzzle the kids? This morning, my wife and I passed by Birney Elementary as kids arrived; they all wore masks, and parents, too!

 

I really felt sorry for the youngsters—and angry for their being punished so severely. Already, they suffered enough from forced isolation and remote-learning during most of 2020 and the first few months of this year. Meanwhile, vaccinated adults emerge to freedom. They can uncover their faces, no longer social distance, and even (gasp) touch one another (someone should sell a line of “Free Hugs—I’m vaccinated T-Shirts”).

 

How does any of this discussion relate to the photo? I’m glad you asked. The Wells Fargo branch in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood closed when Governor Gavin Newsom shut down California in mid-March 2020. Annie and I passed by the arriving school kids on our way to the plaza where is the bank. Today, the financial institution finally reopened—doors flung wide like open arms ready to hug customers. We had no business there, I only stopped for the photo.

 

Someone explain to me: We were all supposed to stop everything for 15 days to “flatten the curve“. So why were we imprisoned for 15 months? Because based on CDC data, people over 65 were highest risk—accounting for 80.1 percent of U.S. COVID-19 deaths but making up only 16.5 percent of the population. By comparison, 64.5 percent are age 49 and younger and considerably lower risk of dying.

 

But that’s a pointless topic for now; future forensic analysis of the pandemic will (hopefully) reveal what were and weren’t effective combative tactics and offer meaningful recommendations for responding to the next outbreak. For the moment, California is open and citizens can feel safe(r).

One of the main reason why we wanted to go to Kent is to visit some of the stunning castles that are in the area such as this one.

 

Leeds Castle, four miles (6.5 km) southeast of Maidstone, Kent, England, dates back to 1119, though a manor house stood on the same site from the ninth century. The castle and grounds lie to the east of the village of Leeds, Kent.

 

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Disegnata da Pininfarina, debutta in versione definitiva al Salone dell'automobile di Francoforte edizione 2003 per entrare in produzione nello stesso anno. Progettata su di un nuovo telaio a trazione posteriore utilizza una meccanica raffinata con schema transaxle e sospensioni anteriori e posteriori a quadrilateri deformabili. I motori adottati sono i nuovi 4.2 e 4.7 V8 prodotti a Maranello dalla Ferrari con basamento in alluminio e silicio e lubrificazione a carter umido; il cambio per le prime versioni prodotte era un robotizzato DuoSelect ma venne introdotto in seguito una trasmissione automatica sequenziale sviluppata dalla ZF con sei rapporti. La Quattroporte V è stata la versione più apprezzata e venduta della serie, con 24.000 esemplari prodotti in nove anni.

 

La quinta serie di Maserati Quattroporte viene prodotta dal 2003 al 2012 dalla casa automobilistica italiana Maserati; la vettura ha subito nel 2008 un aggiornamento estetico. È stata prodotta in circa 24 mila esemplari complessivi[1] e l'ultimo esemplare è uscito dalle linee di produzione dello stabilimento di Modena il 20 dicembre del 2012. La nuova generazione di Quattroporte viene progettata sotto la stretta osservazione della Ferrari in seguito ad una fusione tra quest'ultima e la Maserati grazie ad una riorganizzazione voluta dai vertici del gruppo Fiat (proprietario dei due marchi). La quarta serie ebbe un discreto successo nelle vendite ma non riuscì a risollevare l'immagine della casa del tridente, offuscata dalla produzione di auto derivate dalla serie Biturbo che non sono state mai elogiate da parte del pubblico per i contenuti tecnici; con la nuova generazione bisognava rendere competitivo il marchio ed incrementare le vendite sui principali mercati quali gli Stati Uniti e il Medio Oriente. Una delle caratteristiche strategiche per l'affermazione del modello erano il ritorno al lusso e all'eleganza di un tempo che hanno reso esclusivo il modello Quattroporte, senza però trascurare le prestazioni e la sportività. Bisognava creare una vera granturismo piacevole da guidare ma comoda per cinque passeggeri. La progettazione del modello è stata più volte discussa dai vertici che furono inizialmente contrari alla reintroduzione del modello, questo a causa degli eccessivi costi di industrializzazione e di produzione, ma erano in ballo le sorti del marchio che vide inizialmente anche uno scarso successo commerciale delle neonate sportive 3200GT e Coupé. Un nuovo prodotto era indispensabile e venne ufficialmente approvato nei primi anni 2000 affidando lo stile dell'autovettura alla Pininfarina, già autrice dei modelli più famosi prodotti dalla casa Ferrari. Il concetto era di reintrodurre lo stile della prima serie di Quattroporte in chiave moderna, un design che all'epoca piacque molto agli appassionati e indirizzò la casa del tridente verso la produzione di auto di lusso. La nuova serie, come la prima, ebbe lo stesso compito: introdurre il nuovo corso stilistico della casa e andare maggiormente incontro alle esigenze del pubblico. I primi bozzetti e alcuni prototipi in scala ridotta vennero esposti il 27 aprile 2002 al Museo d'arte contemporanea di Tokyo durante l'evento Artedinamica.

L'11 settembre del 2002 Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, presidente della Maserati, dichiara ufficialmente che gli sviluppi della nuova Quattroporte sono quasi terminati e che il modello definitivo sarà presentato in anteprima mondiale al Salone dell'automobile di Francoforte nell'autunno del 2003. Esteticamente la carrozzeria lunga oltre 5,0 metri è stata modellata in modo da garantire delle ottime prestazioni, grazie al design molto aerodinamico, muscoloso e sportivo, il frontale viene caratterizzato dalla presenza della nuova calandra in rilievo con i bordi cromati che ingloba il marchio del tridente; le versioni più esclusive vengono caratterizzate dalla presenze della griglia a quindici bande cromate che attraversa tutta la calandra, mentre le Quattroporte più sportive possiedono una griglia di colore scuro per sottolineare la vocazione da granturismo dell'automobile. La fanaleria anteriore di piccole dimensioni è stata integrata ai paraurti inferiori in modo da creare l'effetto di un cofano motore immenso solcato da profonde nervature. La fiancata esprime un concetto di sportività grazie ai passaruota in rilievo e alle classiche tre prese d'aria con bordi cromate applicate sui parafanghi anteriori; nella parte bassa della fiancata troviamo il classico fregio Pininfarina mentre sul montante posteriore, accanto alla sottile vetratura, troviamo il marchio Maserati cromato che dona un tocco di eleganza, insieme alle cornici dei finestrini (anch'esse cromate). La coda dispone di fanaleria che sfrutta la tecnologia a diodi luminosi a LED, i paraurti bombati incorporano i doppi terminali di scarico mentre il cofano del bagagliaio è stata impreziosito da una fascia cromata che si estende per tutta la sua larghezza. Il bagagliaio possiede un volume di 450 litri ed ospita le sacche da golf o il set di valigie appositamente disegnato e realizzato dalla Maserati; la mancanza della ruota di scorta ha portato all'utilizzo di un kit di gonfiaggio con compressore ma tra gli optional è disponibile anche il ruotino di scorta da 17". Gli interni della nuova Maserati Quattroporte seguono il design esterno, ovvero una plancia sinuosa che nella zona centrale presenta il grande schermo a cristalli liquidi del navigatore satellitare posizionato tra le bocchette d'aerazione del climatizzatore e i comandi del climatizzatore automatico bizona. Caratteristico è l'orologio al quarzo di forma circolare posizionato nella zona superiore della plancia. I principali comandi che governano la dinamica dell'autovettura sono stati ravvicinati al guidatore in modo da rendere più facile la gestione mentre sul tunnel centrale sono stati sistemati i pulsanti del freno a mano elettronico che si attiva automaticamente a motore spento. Gran parte della plancia e delle portiere viene realizzata in legni pregiati come lo Starwood, il Vavona ed il Wengè Polished, ma sono disponibili anche i laccati Black Piano e Blu Laque che conferiscono modernità all'abitacolo. Accanto al legno sono disponibili anche gli inserti per la plancia in Poltrona Frau e pelle con rifiniture specifiche su richiesta del cliente, il tutto montato artigianalmente. Con la Quattroporte è stato introdotto anche il Maserati Multimedia System, sviluppato dalla Magneti Marelli, integra il computer di bordo al navigatore satellitare, autoradio CD con Mp3 e hard disk da 30 GB, ingresso USB con bluetooth e comandi vocali. L'impianto audio viene gestito tramite i comandi principali applicati sul volante multifunzione con altoparlanti Bose Surround Sound System. Per i passeggeri posteriori è disponibile anche un pacchetto multimediale comprensivo di schermi LCD integrati nei poggiatesta con lettore DVD e climatizzatore posteriore. Tra i dispositivi di serie troviamo i sedili anteriori regolabili elettricamente in quattordici posizioni, cruise control, sensore crepuscolare e di pioggia, antifurto, bloccaggio automatico delle porte con spegnimento dei fari. Tra gli accessori sono disponibili anche i sedili riscaldati e massaggianti e il vano refrigerato integrato nel bracciolo centrale. La Quattroporte quinta serie viene realizzata su un telaio di base a trazione posteriore completamente inedito sviluppato appositamente per i modelli di casa Maserati; in seguito questa piattaforma sarà utilizzata dalle Maserati GranTurismo e GranCabrio e, in una versione a passo accorciato, anche le sportive Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione e 8C Spider (queste ultime prodotte dalla casa del tridente a Modena). Grazie all'elevata rigidità torsionale di questo telaio è stato possibile offrire alla Quattroporte delle prestazioni elevate abbinate ad una guida sportiva. Le sospensioni anteriori e posteriori utilizzano lo schema a quattro ruote indipendenti con quadrilateri alti deformabili realizzati con bracci in alluminio; queste raffinate sospensioni sono state studiate per migliorare l'handling della vettura e grazie alla geometria Antidrive e Antisquat il telaio non subisce brusche variazioni di altezza nelle fasi di accelerazione e di frenata. Il motore in posizione anteriore è stato arretrato verso l'abitacolo per ottenere una distribuzione dei pesi carica al 49% sull'asse anteriore e 51% sull'asse posteriore.

L’impianto frenante sfrutta sia per l'avantreno che per il retrotreno quattro dischi auto ventilanti dal diametro di 330 mm. Di serie per tutte le versioni il Maserati Stability Programm che integra l'ESP all'ABS ripartito dall'EBD. Inoltre è possibile variare la risposta dell'assetto a seconda del fondo stradale, infatti su percorsi ricchi di curve la Quattroporte si comporta come un'autentica sportiva grazie all'assetto irrigidito in configurazione Sport ma è disponibile anche la configurazione Normal per garantire una maggiore comodità agli occupanti. La sicurezza automobilistica viene garantita dalla presenza di serie degli airbag frontali a doppio stadio, laterali e per la testa oltre agli attacchi isofix per i sedili posteriori e ai vetri laminati. A cinque anni dal debutto la Quattroporte si rinnova sia in termini di estetica che di contenuti; dal 2003 fino al giugno del 2008 oltre 15.000 esemplari sono stati venduti e per rafforzare l'immagine del modello la casa è intervenuta modificando alcuni dettagli del frontale e della coda: sono stati ridisegnati i gruppi ottici che ora adottano la tecnologia a LED, la calandra dispone di nuove alette verticali mentre gli specchi retrovisori sono stati ridisegnati per donare maggiore slancio alla linea dell'auto. Complessivamente la nuova versione è lunga 5,10 metri, circa 5,0 centimetri in più rispetto alla precedente. Internamente invece la casa ha allargato la gamma di personalizzazioni introducendo nuove colorazioni per la selleria e per le rifiniture della plancia. Modificato anche il telaio, infatti la casa ha messo a disposizione un assetto ancor più sportivo e debuttano anche le nuove motorizzazioni da 4,7 litri V8 omologate Euro 5, abbinate ad una trasmissione robotizzata DuoSelect a sei rapporti oppure ad un classico automatico sequenziale, sempre a sei rapporti, realizzato in collaborazione con la ZF. Questa serie di Quattroporte è stata e continua tutt'oggi ad essere uno dei modelli più apprezzati della casa del Tridente, infatti ha riscontrato numerosi consensi soprattutto da parte del pubblico estero: fino al 2009 nella sola Gran Bretagna sono stati consegnati 1.000 esemplari. L'auto venne offerta nei primi anni di produzione in un unico allestimento base privo di denominazione e caratterizzato dalla presenza di serie di numerosi accessori per la sicurezza e per il comfort; la casa mise a disposizione anche numerosi optional proposti a pagamento come l'impianto di televisione integrato al navigatore e il telefono GSM oppure i pacchetti di accessori Comfort, Executive e Sport che arricchivano la dotazione di serie. Per gli interni erano disponibili anche particolari rivestimenti realizzati su richiesta del cliente. Nel settembre 2005 al Salone dell'automobile di Francoforte la gamma si arricchì delle versioni Executive GT e Sport GT: le Executive GT riprendevano gli accessori del precedente pacchetto Executive ed in più aggiungevano gli interni in legno con inserti della plancia in tessuto color crema e tonalità bicolore per tutto l'abitacolo, oltre alla presenza dei vari inserti cromati lungo la carrozzeria e la calandra con cerchi in lega specifici da 19" a nove razze. La Quattroporte Sport GT invece veniva caratterizzata dalle sospensioni irrigidite, il cambio robotizzato con tempi di cambiata ridotti del 35%, rifiniture interne in carbonio e scarichi modificati. Nel novembre 2007 Maserati presenta la Quattroporte Sport GT S versione che si posiziona al top della gamma; invariato il motore 4,2 litri, la Sport GT S presenta il cambio automatico sei rapporti, assetto irrigidito racing ribassato di 10 mm all'anteriore e di 25 mm al posteriore, impianto frenante a disco co-fusi in ghisa e alluminio realizzati dalla Brembo, cerchi imbruniti a sette razze da 20" e calandra sportiva. Internamente presenta i rivestimenti in Poltrona Frau abbinati agli inserti in alcantara. La Sport GT S è stata prodotta fino al restyling del 2008, anno dal quale sono entrate in listino le nuove versioni equipaggiate con motori più performanti. La Quattroporte S, introdotta con il restyling, non è altro che una versione potenziata della classica versione base che dispone del nuovo motore 4.7 V8 da 430 cavalli. Invariate le dotazioni di serie mentre i benefici riguardano le prestazioni. Al salone dell'auto di Detroit 2009 invece è stata presentata la nuova versione della Quattroporte Sport GT S equipaggiata con il nuovo motore 4.7 V8 da 439 cavalli: migliorate le prestazioni rispetto alla versione del 2007, gli interni sono stati orientati verso la sportività introducendo inserti in carbonio, modificato l'impianto di scarico. Il cambio automatico è stato rivisto per ridurre i tempi di cambiata. Non sono mancate versioni speciali prodotte in edizione limitata: verso la fine del 2004 è stata realizzata la Quattroporte Neiman Marcus distribuita nel catalogo dell'omonima azienda e prodotta in soli 60 esemplari per il mercato americano. Curiosamente tutta la produzione è stata esaurita tra le 12.00 e le 12.03 del 14 ottobre 2004. Caratterizzata dal colore bordeaux Pontevecchio e dai cerchi in lega da 19" dal disegno esclusivo, questa Maserati disponeva di numerose cromature esterne e degli interni in pelle con plancia in mogano. La Quattroporte Collezione Cento presentata nel gennaio 2008 è stata prodotta in soli cento esemplari destinati in prevalenza al pubblico americano, l'auto verniciata in color avorio era equipaggiata con dei cerchi in lega da 20" lucidi, la calandra possedeva uno sfondo grigio satinato mentre internamente si è preferito indirizzarla verso il lusso: speciale selleria in Poltrona Frau con impunture a forma di rombo e bottone a vista rifinita a mano, sistema Maserati Multimedia Entertainment con schermi a cristalli liquidi applicati negli schienali posteriori con ingresso USB e per SIM card, lettore CD e DVD con climatizzatore posteriore. Il motore era il classico otto cilindri 4,2 litri.

Nel marzo del 2009 la Maserati presenta per il solo mercato inglese la Centurion Edition, versione speciale realizzata per i soli possessori della carta American Express nera. Questa Quattroporte presenta la verniciatura nera e un raffinato abitacolo rivestito in Poltrona Frau color ghiaccio con il logo Centurion applicato sui poggiatesta e sulla plancia. I motori a disposizione sono i classici 4.2 e 4.7 V8. Al Salone di Ginevra 2010 la Maserati ha presentato la Quattroporte Sport GT S Awards Edition, versione in edizione limitata realizzata per celebrare i 65 riconoscimenti ricevuti dal modello negli oltre sei anni di commercializzazione; ciò ha dimostrato come la nuova Quatroporte sia stata un vero modello di successo per la Maserati sia in termini di immagine che di vendite. La meccanica deriva dalla Sport GT S con medesimo propulsore 4.7 V8 da 439 cavalli e stesso assetto sportivo mentre le novità sono tutte concentrate nell'abitacolo dove debuttano i nuovi rivestimenti per la selleria Awards Edition con tessuti in Poltrona Frau ed Alcantara abbinati alle rifiniture imbrunite e alle modanature satinate in legno Piano Black. Esternamente si notano i grandi cerchi in lega satinati da 20" con pinze dei freni in metallo lucidato a specchio prodotte dalla Brembo.

Inizialmente la Quattroporte venne offerta con il solo motore benzina da 4,2 litri aspirato con otto cilindri a V di 90° realizzato a Maranello dai tecnici Ferrari. Questo V8 con basamento e testa dei cilindri in alluminio e silicio possiede una distribuzione a quattro valvole per cilindro (per un totale di 32 valvole) con due alberi a camme in testa per bancata dotati di variatore di fase continuo e azionati da catena. La lubrificazione è a carter umido. Dotato di iniezione elettronica eroga la potenza massima di 400 cavalli (294 kw) a 7.000 giri/min per una coppia motrice massima di 451 N•m a 4.500 giri al minuto. Le emissioni registrate sono pari a 345 grammi di anidride carbonica emessa per chilometro nel ciclo combinato. Lo scatto da 0 a 100 km/h viene registrato in 5,2 secondi per una velocità di punta pari a 275 km/h. Il consumo medio dichiarato è di 5,2 km/l. Questo 4.2 viene omologato secondo i parametri della normativa Euro 4 ed era abbinato ad un cambio robotizzato DuoSelect a sei rapporti utilizzabili nella modalità sequenziale. Il DuoSelect, sviluppato dalla Ferrari basandosi su una evoluzione del precedente CambioCorsa, era caratterizzato dai tempi di cambiata molto rapidi e per questo venne criticato soprattutto dal pubblico americano i quali hanno richiesto una trasmissione automatica tradizionale; dal 2007 la casa ha messo a disposizione anche il cambio automatico sequenziale a sei rapporti sviluppato in collaborazione con la ZF caratterizzato dai tempi di cambiata addolciti. Con il cambio automatico ZF le prestazioni della Quattroporte vengono peggiorate: lo scatto da 0 a 100 km/h viene registrato in 5,6 secondi mentre la velocità di punta scende a 270 km/h, il tutto a favore dei consumi con l'auto che è in grado di percorrere 6,8 km/l. La coppia massima con l'automatico sale a 460 N•m erogati a 4.250 giri al minuto.

Nel 2008 venne introdotta una seconda motorizzazione benzina: si tratta del nuovo 4,7 litri sempre otto cilindri a V di 90° derivato dall'unità 4.2. Anche questo 4.7 viene prodotto a Maranello, possiede la lubrificazione umida e sfrutta l'iniezione elettronica con la fasatura variabile. Il 4.7 è riconoscibile per i coperchi delle teste di colore rosso, eroga 430 cavalli a 7.000 giri al minuto per una coppia massima di 490 N•m a 4.750 giri al minuto. Grazie alla maggiore potenza è in grado di prestazioni migliori infatti lo scatto da 0 a 100 km/h viene registrato in 5,4 secondi con una velocità massima dichiarata di 280 km/h. Ovviamente i consumi risultano sensibilmente superiori rispetto al 4.2 infatti la Quattroporte 4.7 è capace di percorrere 6,6 chilometri con un litro di carburante, le emissioni di anidride carbonica salgono a 365 grammi emessi al chilometro mentre l'omologazione anti inquinamento rispetta gli standard Euro 5. Il 4.7 è abbinato al cambio automatico sequenziale ZF sei rapporti.

Dal 2009 la Quattroporte è disponibile anche con il 4.7 V8 potenziato a 439 cavalli, incremento ottenuto intervenendo sulla centralina e sullo scarico; si tratta della più potente e veloce berlina prodotta da casa Maserati grazi alla velocità massima di 285 km/h con scatto da 0 a 100 km/h registrato in 5,1 secondi. Questa versione di punta eroga la coppia massima di 490 N•m a 4.750 giri/min ed è in grado di percorrere 6,4 km/l con emissioni di 365 g/km di anidride carboica ed omologazione Euro 5. Il cambio è una versione rivista dell'automatico sequenziale a 6 rapporti con software MC-Auto Shift: in posizione Manual Mode si ottiene una guida più personale e sportiva perché è il guidatore a decidere i passaggi di marchia (sequenziali) che possono avvenire fino ad alto numero di giri mentre in modalità Auto Sport i passaggi di marcia vengono gestiti dal software. Il 4.7 V8 da 439 cavalli è disponibile solo per la versione Quattroporte Sport GT S.

by choosingcharms ift.tt/1Kqzvf0

Segundo fato sobre ele:

Ele sempre ri quando se aproxima de mim e fala meu nome.

 

O que eu odeio alias, por que simplesmente adoro a forma como ele me chama. Não há nada de especial, talvez seja só por que gosto do jeito dele, sempre tão descontraído e sedutor. Afinal ele sabe que é extremamente lindo e que uma garota dificilmente resisti ao seu charme, algo que alias eu tentei das primeiras vezes que nos vimos.

Cho que eu estava muito fechada, e mal conversava quando cheguei a casa dele, mas todos os dias ele vinha falar comigo, fazendo suas piadas, sorrindo, sempre jogando seu charme, talvez pelo fato das meninas da casa mal o suportarem. Isso até o dia que cansada das piadas e seu sorriso, o olhei tão brava que ele caiu na risada, e aquilo acabou me desconcertando. O som do riso dele me deixou sem reação e logo me vi rindo junto.

 

Acho que a partir daquele momento eu voltei a respirar.

 

???: Bella, cheguei rsrs

 

www.redcarpetreportv.com

 

Mingle Media TV and our Red Carpet Report team with Diana Espir were on the red carpet to interview talent from a number of Netflix shows from The Crown to Stranger Things at a 24,000 square foot exhibition in Beverly Hills where they were showcasing their Emmys For You Consideration (FYC) shows with their FYSee Space kick-off party and month long event.

 

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About Netflix FYSee

Netflix has created a showcase for their FYC shows for this year’s Emmy Consideration in Beverly Hills with a number of installations that had activations from selfies to interactivity with some props from shows like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Luke Cage, Stranger Things and more! The kick-off event is had DJ Grandmaster Flash and Adrian & Ali entertaining the guests while the red carpet was busy with talent from the shows including Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp Gaten Matarazzo, Joe Keery, Shannon Purser, Natalie Dyer (Stranger Things); Katherine Langford, Dylan Minnette, Christian Navarro, Alisha Boe, Brandon Flynn, Justin Prentice, Miles Heizer, Ross Butler, Devin Druid, Michele Selene Ang, Tommy Dorfman, Brandon Larracuente, Tom Everett Scott (13 Reasons Why); Norman Lear, Gloria Calderon Kellett, Justina Machado, Isabella Gomez (One Day At A Time); Uzo Adubo, Blair Brown, Danielle Brooks, Taryn Manning, Samira Wiley, Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black);

Alan Yang, Lena Waithe and Kelvin Yu (Master of None); June Diane Raphael and Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie); Chelsea Handler (Chelsea); Mike Colter and Cheo Coker(Marvel’s Luke Cage); Eric Newman (Narcos); Gillian Jacobs, Paul Rust and Claudia O’Doherty (Love); Jason Isaacs, Brendan Merer and Brandon Perea (The OA); Logan Browning, Brandon P. Bell, Marque Richardson, Antoinette Robertson, Ashley Blaine Featherson, DeRon Horton and John Patrick Amedori (Dear White People) and more.

 

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Freestyle session

The 2017 Paris Sevens was the 15th edition of the France Sevens, and the ninth tournament of the 2016–17 World Rugby Sevens Series. The tournament was played on 13–14 May 2017 at Stade Jean-Bouin in Paris.

South Africa won the Cup final, defeating Scotland by 15–5 to clinch the overall series title for the season with an unassailable lead over the defending champions Fiji New Zealand finished third in the Paris tournament, and Argentina won the Challenge trophy for ninth place.

The teams were drawn into four pools of four teams each. Each team played all the others in their pool once. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the Cup quarter finals. The bottom two teams from each group advanced to the Challenge Trophy quarter finals.

The 2016–17 World Rugby Sevens Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, is the 18th annual series of rugby sevens tournaments for national rugby sevens teams. The Sevens Series has been run by World Rugby since 1999–2000.

The 2016–17 Series also serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens. Nine of the core teams have already qualified for that tournament. The top four finishers in the 2016–17 Series from among the remaining six core teams will qualify for the 2018 RWC Sevens.

In this series, World Rugby abolished the minor trophies of Plate, Bowl and Shield that were previously awarded in the finals play-offs at each tournament. While the winner's Cup was retained as the major trophy, the awarding of gold, silver and bronze medals to players from the three respective top-placed teams was introduced for this series. A Challenge Trophy was established for teams competing in the lower bracket of the finals play-offs at each tournament. Additionally, the playing time for Cup final matches was reduced from 20 minutes to 14 minutes, in line with all other tournament matches.

Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40 minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for Rugby Union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific. Rugby sevens is commonly referred to by rugby union media and fans as simply "sevens".

Rugby sevens originated in Melrose, Scotland in the 1880s; the Melrose Sevens tournament is still played annually. The popularity of rugby sevens increased further with the development of the Hong Kong Sevens in the 1970s, the World Rugby Sevens Series in 1999, and more recently with the 2009 vote by the International Olympic Committee to bring rugby back to the Olympics beginning in 2016.

The main competition for rugby sevens is the World Rugby Sevens Series, a series of seven to twelve tournaments played each year from approximately November to May. Rugby sevens is also played at some quadrennial events. The main quadrennial events are the Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Summer Olympics. Rugby sevens is now recognised as an Olympic sport and made its debut in the 2016 Summer Olympics. This followed a vote by the International Olympic Committee in 2009 to include the sport. Rugby sevens is also played at regional events, such as the Commonwealth Games and the Pan American Games.

Rugby sevens is sanctioned by World Rugby, and is played under similar laws (with exceptions noted below) and on a field of the same dimensions as the 15 player game. While a regular rugby union match lasts at least 80 minutes, a normal sevens match consists of two halves of seven minutes with a two-minute half-time break. The final of a competition can be played over two halves of ten minutes each. (In the World Rugby Sevens Series, only the Cup final, which determines the overall winner of an event, is played with 10 minute halves; all finals for lower-level trophies are played with 7 minute halves). Sevens scores are generally comparable to regular rugby scores, but scoring occurs much more frequently in sevens, since the defenders are more spaced out. The scoring system is the same as regular rugby union, namely five points for a try, three points for a drop goal (whether from penalty or open play) and two points for a post-try conversion.

The shorter match length allows rugby sevens tournaments to be completed in a day or a weekend. Many sevens tournaments have a competition for a cup, a plate, a bowl, and a shield, allowing many teams of different standards to avoid leaving empty-handed.

Sevens tournaments are traditionally known for having more of a relaxed atmosphere than fifteen-a-side games, and are often known as "festivals". Sevens tournaments gained their "popularity as an end of season diversion from the dourer and sterner stuff that provides the bulk of a normal season's watching." Fans frequently attend in fancy dress, and entertainment is put on for them.

The Hong Kong Sevens tournament has been especially important in popularising the game in Asia, and rugby sevens has been important as a form of international rugby "evangelism", hence is perhaps the most widely played form of the game, with tournaments in places as far apart as Bogota and Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Kenya, Singapore and Scandinavia, as well as the countries in which rugby union is well known

Women's rugby sevens has been dominated by New Zealand, with either the New Zealand team (1999–2001) or Aotearoa Maori Women's Rugby sevens team (playing as New Zealand) winning the annual Hong Kong Sevens tournament from 1997 until 2007. The United States won the Hong Kong Sevens in 2008 by defeating Canada in the final (New Zealand failed to send a team).

A women's rugby sevens game in the USA

The inaugural Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament took place in Dubai together with the men's tournament during the first weekend of March 2009. England defeated Canada 12–0 in the Bowl final while Australia edged New Zealand 15–10 in extra-time to become the first to win the Women's Rugby World Cup.

WR, then known as the International Rugby Board (IRB), organised its first official women's sevens tournament outside of the World Cup as part of the 2011 Dubai Sevens. This was part of a plan to launch a full IRB International Women's Sevens Series for 2012–13. The international series was officially christened as the IRB Women's Sevens World Series in an IRB announcement on 4 October 2012. The series, as planned, launched for the 2012–13 season and initially featured events in Dubai, the USA, China and the Netherlands. Two additional events were planned for the 2013–14 series, but in the end only one of these events, in Brazil, took place. For the 2014–15 series, China dropped from the schedule, while Canada and England hosted new events. The series was rechristened for 2014–15 as the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, following the November 2014 renaming of the IRB as World Rugby. The 2015–16 series included only five events; the England and Netherlands events were dropped and an event in France was added. The 2016–17 series returned to six events with the launch of an event in Japan.

Women's rugby sevens was included in the 2016 Olympic Games due to the IRB's successful bid to reintroduce rugby to the Summer games. Australia claimed the gold medal for the event, beating New Zealand in the final with a score of 24-17. Canada claimed the bronze medal after beating Great Britain 33-10 in the third place play-off. WR also successfully pushed for the inclusion of women's sevens in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

 

Paris accueillera la 9ème étape du HSBC Seven series.

Le Paris Sevens aura lieu du 13 au 15 mai, au Stade Jean-Bouin.

A l’issue du Tournoi de Singapour qui à vue le premier sacre du Canada, les poules pour Paris ont été dévoilées.

La France devra se défaire de l’Angleterre, du Kenya et de l’Espagne.

Devant ses fans, l’Equipe de France sera opposée à l’Angleterre, au Kenya et à l’Espagne dans la poule C. Pour se qualifier en quart-de-finale de Cup, les Bleus devront terminer à l’une des deux meilleures places de la poule C, au terme de la journée du samedi 13 mai.

POULE A : Afrique du Sud, Ecosse, Japon

POULE B : Nouvelle Zélande, Pays de Galles, Argentine

POULE C : Angleterre, Kenya, France, Espagne

POULE D : Australie, Fidji, Samoa, Russie

France Sevens , actuellement hébergé comme le Paris Sevens , est un tournoi international annuel de séminaires de rugby . L' événement fait partie de la Sevens World Series et a été accueilli à Bordeauxen 2004. La France a également accueilli des tournois dans la série Sevens Grand Prix , à Lyon .

De 1996 à 1999, le tournoi était connu sous le nom de Air France Sevens et, en 2000, il faisait partie de la série inaugurale IRB Sevens World Series.

La CISR a accueilli le tournoi à Bordeaux en 2004, avant de retourner à Paris pour 2005 et 2006 . L'événement a effectivement été remplacé dans la World Sevens Series par Scotland Sevens à Edinburgh pour lasaison 2006.

Entre 2011 et 2015, Lyon a organisé une étape du circuit européen, la Sevens Grand Prix Series .

La Série mondiale Sevens est revenue en France pour la saison 2015-16, avec la reprise du tournoi Paris Sevens en 2016.

Les IRB Sevens World Series sont créés en 1999-2000 et le tournoi parisien en fait partie. Les Néo-Zélandais conservent leur titre et s'imposent de nouveau en dominant largement l'Afrique du Sud sur le score de 69 à 10. Entre 2000 et 2004, les World Sevens Series passent par Cardiff, abandonnant le tournoi français.

En 2004, l'étape est cependant réintégré aux programme mondial. Elle se dispute cette année-là au Stade Chaban-Delmas à Bordeaux où la Nouvelle-Zélande l'emporte à nouveau en battant les Anglais 28 à 19 en finale. La saison suivante, elle fait son retour à Paris mais cette fois au Stade Jean-Bouin. C'est l'équipe de France qui est sacrée grâce à sa victoire 28 à 19 contre les fidjiens, première victoire française lors d'un tournoi des World Series. La compétition fait son retour à Charléty la saison suivante et elle connaît sa dernière édition avec une victoire de l'Afrique du Sud aux dépens de l'équipe des Samoa (33 à 12). La France n'organise pas l'édition 2007 en raison de la coupe du monde de rugby à XV qui disputera la même année. Les World Sevens Series intègrent alors l'Écosse dans le circuit mondial et Glasgow reste par la suite une étape annuelle.

L’élite mondiale du rugby à 7 a rendez-vous à Paris. Venez partager l’esprit Sevens et soutenir les Bleus les 13 & 14 mai prochains à Paris au stade Jean-Bouin !LES STARS DU RUGBY À 7 ONT RENDEZ-VOUS À PARIS

Avant dernière étape du circuit mondial rugby à 7 (HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series), les seize meilleures équipes internationales du rugby à 7 se réunissent pour s'affronter sur la pelouse de Jean-Bouin.

Le jeu à 7 est connu pour sa rapidité et son spectacle. Il va donc y avoir du jeu et de l’enjeu !

2 JOURS DE FÊTE NON STOP

Amateurs de rugby et/ou de fête, le HSBC Paris Sevens est fait pour vous !

Avec le Sevens, le spectacle est sur le terrain mais aussi dans les tribunes où l’ambiance bat son plein avec des supporters chantant et dansant parés de leur plus beau déguisement.

Paris ne va pas déroger à la règle : les 13 & 14 mai 2017, Jean-Bouin sera sportif ET festif ! Rempli de supporters français et du monde entier, remontés à bloc, l'Esprit Sevens sera au rendez-vous.

LE PROGRAMME Samedi 13 mai 2017 :

Le premier jour du tournoi est réservé aux matches de poules, décisifs pour accéder aux phases finales.

Dimanche 14 mai 2017 :

Le second jour est réservé aux phases finales, très importantes pour établir le classement final.

Sans oublier les nombreuses animations qui seront proposées dans les tribunes, dans les coursives et sur le parvis qui permettront aux spectateurs de vivre une expérience unique de fête, d’échange et de partage pendant ces 2 jours de compétition.

C’est la bonne nouvelle de ce samedi midi ! À Jean Bouin, les Bleus sont parfaitement entrés dans le Paris Sevens. Auteurs de quatre essais face à des Kenyans redoutables, récents vainqueurs du tournoi de Singapoure, les coéquipiers de Julien Candelon ont effectué une formidable deuxième mi-temps pour emporter le premier round du tournoi à 7 hexagonal (22-14). Visiblement revigorés par le retour à la compétition de Virimi Vakatawa, dont la puissance a causé de nombreux problèmes aux défenseurs kenyans, les Bleus ont envoyé un signal fort aux quelques 10 000 spectateurs présents depuis 11 heures ce matin, Porte d’Auteuil.

En fin de match, le tricolore Manuel Dall’Igna analysait : « Les Kenyans nous ont cueillis à froid par un essai magnifique. De notre côté, nous nous sommes un peu précipités en rendant des ballons au pied. A 14-5, on s’est fait peur et, à l’avenir, nous devrons également resserrer les boulons en défense. Mais l’essentiel est sauf ». De ce match, on retiendra le « off-load » magnifique de Virimi Vakatawa et l’essai de cinquante mètres aplati par Julien Candelon, après un raffut magnifique. La prochaine étape, pour les Bleus, se disputera à 16 heures contre l’Angleterre.

Vainqueurs de l'Ecosse lors de la finale du Paris Sevens (15-5), ce dimanche, l'Afrique du Sud est déjà assurée de remporter le circuit mondial.

L'Afrique du Sud a remporté dimanche le tournoi de rugby à 7 de Paris en battant l'Écosse en finale (15-5). C'est le cinquième tournoi (sur neuf joués) remporté par les Blitzboks cette saison. Les Sud-Africains sont assurés de remporter le circuit mondial avant même la dernière étape à Londres, le week-end prochain. Ils succèdent au palmarès aux Fidji, victorieux des deux dernières éditions.

La troisième place du tournoi a été prise par la Nouvelle-Zélande, qui a battu l'Angleterre en petite finale (12-5). Les Bleus, eux, ont terminé septièmes.

Le rugby à sept (ou rugby à 7) est la variante du rugby à XV qui se joue par équipes de sept joueurs sur le terrain (plus les remplaçants). Le rugby à sept reprend les caractères communs du rugby à XV : deux équipes qui se disputent un ballon ovale, le ballon joué à la main (passes) ou au pied (coups), des formes de mêlées et de touches, un objectif qui consiste à marquer plus de points que l'adversaire en réussissant soit des essais soit des buts.

Le rugby à sept est originaire d'Écosse et s'est développé dans la seconde moitié du xxème siècle dans les pays anglo-saxons (Afrique du Sud, Nouvelle-Zélande, Australie, Royaume-Uni), puis en France. Le 9 octobre 2009, le rugby à sept devient un sport olympique à partir des Jeux olympiques de Rio de Janeiro 2016, où l'équipe masculine des Fidji et l'Australie du côté des dames, ont remporté les premières médailles d'or.

En 1976, Ian Gow et Tokkie Smith, président de la filiale de Rothmans à Hong-Kong et entrepreneur sud-africain ressuscitent le jeu à sept en organisant un tournoi réunissant douze équipes à Hong-Kong. C'est un succès qui va entraîner la création de plusieurs autres tournois.

En 1993 à Édimbourg en Écosse a lieu la première coupe du monde de rugby à sept mettant aux prises 24 équipes nationales. Cette coupe du monde de rugby à sept aura désormais lieu tous les quatre ans.

En 1999-2000, l'IRB (International Rugby Board) organise une série de dix tournois internationaux, l'IRB World Sevens Series, qui couronne la meilleure nation sur l'ensemble de la saison.

Le 9 octobre 2009, le Comité international olympique intègre le rugby à 7 parmi les sports présents aux Jeux olympiques d'été et ce à compter des jeux de 2016 L'arrivée du rugby à 7 dans le programme olympique entraîne d'abord un arrêt de la Coupe du monde de rugby à 7 après l'édition de 2013 en Russie (qui est attribuée à la Nouvelle-Zélande après son écrasante victoire face à l'Angleterre 33 à 0). Cependant, en juin 2013, l'IRB décide que la compétition sera maintenue et se tiendra tous les quatre ans à partir de 2018.

Les règles de base du rugby à 7 sont fondées sur celles de son homologue à XV. Les différences y sont, comme on peut s'y attendre, principalement liées au nombre réduit de joueurs. La liste de variations officielles est détaillée dans un document de World Rugby. (Ci-dessous, entre parenthèses figure la version correspondante du rugby à XV.)

Joueurs : Par équipe, il y a 7 joueurs sur le terrain (15). Hors terrain, 5 remplaçants (7) et 3 remplacements possibles (8) au maximum sont permis par équipe. Un joueur remplacé peut revenir en jeu sauf en cas de blessure ouverte ou saignante (c'est possible à 15). Les mêlées se font avec 3 avants (8) par camp. Comme au rugby à XV, les joueurs sont classés par poste : en ligne avant, deux piliers et un talonneur qui forment la mêlée ; les arrières, 2 demis de mêlée et d'ouverture, 1 centre, et un ailier-arrière. Du fait que le terrain est le même qu'à 15, la faible densité de joueurs rend le jeu plus dynamique et les essais beaucoup plus fréquents. De ce fait également, le gabarit des joueurs est moins massif.

Temps de jeu : Un match est joué en deux mi-temps de 7 minutes (40) au plus de temps de jeu (non arrêté), avec une pause de 1 minute au plus (10 à 15) pour changer de côté. Une finale de tournoi peut durer 2 fois 10 min, avec au plus 2 min de pause. En cas d'égalité (match nul), ce temps de jeu est suivi d'une ou plusieurs prolongations de 5 min jusqu'à ce qu'une équipe l'emporte par les premiers points marqués (ordinairement 2 prolongations de 10 min, puis tirs au but).

Marque : Une transformation se fait par coup de pied tombé (anglais drop goal), dans les 40 secondes (ordinairement par coup de pied placé, et 90 s). L'équipe qui a marqué effectue la remise en jeu (c'est l'adversaire qui remet en jeu), par un drop goal qui doit atteindre la ligne des 10 mètres adverse. En prolongations, les premiers points marqués déterminent le vainqueur final.

Arbitrage : Il y a un juge d'en-but par côté (les juges de touche vont dans l'en-but) qui aidé par un juge de touche signale le passage de pénalités et transformations. Un joueur exclu temporairement pour anti-jeu ou jeu dangereux (carton jaune) l'est pour une durée de 2 min (10 min) : une telle suspension engendre une faiblesse très sévère de son équipe du fait qu'1 joueur sur 7 est exclu (1 sur 15). La règle de l'avantage est rapide, durant habituellement un temps de jeu (plusieurs). Nombre de pénalités suivant des fautes de jeu se font par un tir libre (free kick) du centre de la ligne médiane (proche du lieu de la faute), au choix à la volée ou en drop goal (en coup de pied placé). pour un tir au but, cela doit se faire dans les 30 secondes (60 s)

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Once common throughout the country, by the 20th century the species had become extinct from the majority of Ireland, surviving only in a few isolated and fragmented populations mainly in the west. The main reasons for the species’ decline were related to hunting for its fur; loss of habitat through the destruction of forests; direct and indirect poisoning and persecution as a potential predator of livestock/game populations. Taxonomically, the species belongs to the Mustelid group of animals and it is related to wildlife such as the stoat, otter and badger. Adult pine marten are about the size of a domestic cat, hence the Irish name ‘Cat crainn‘, and have a long tail that can be half the length of their body. They have a rich fur coat, typically dark brown in colour and a distinguishing creamy-yellow throat patch. Pine marten are habitat specialists, requiring forest or scrub habitat to exist in an area. They are adept at climbing trees as they have powerful non-retractable claws. The species is primarily active at night and individuals live in territories that can vary in size from 60 hectares to 430 hectares. Males typically have bigger territories than females and there can be partial overlap between adjacent territories. Life expectancy can be up to ten years, although the majority of individuals are unlikely to survive past five years in the wild.

   

Distribution

Pine marten occur throughout mainland Europe, stretching from the Ural mountains in the east to Ireland at the western edge of the species global distribution. They can also be found in parts of the Middle East. In Europe, pine marten exist with a similar species called the beech or stone marten, although that species tends to be more associated with areas of human habitation. Also, in the eastern parts of pine marten distribution (mainly Russia) there is some overlap with a related marten species known as the sable.

 

In Ireland, pine marten were once widely distributed throughout every county. Current pine marten distribution is largely concentrated in western counties and the midlands of Ireland. The species now occurs in approximately 50% of its historical range. Pine marten remain extinct throughout the majority of Munster and are very rare in Ulster.

   

Den & Refuge Sites

Pine marten can utilise a variety of den sites, which are used for breeding. Den sites can include rock crevices, tree cavities, subterranean burrows, buildings (abandoned or occupied), old bird nests, squirrel dreys and log piles. These sites provide cover from weather extremes and safety from potential predators. Den sites are normally only occupied during the breeding season. Outside of this period, pine marten use what are termed refuge sites. Refuge sites can be very varied although normally they are located several metres off the ground in forest canopy. Upturned or blown over tress are often used as refuge sites but the species can exploit any habitat feature that provides cover and safety. Pine marten will tend to have refuge and den sites that are used repeatedly in a forest and they can have a high fidelity to these sites.

   

Reproduction

Pine marten are solitary and adults avoid contact with each other throughout most of the year. The species only breeds once with mating typically occurring in early summer between adults that are at least two years old. Pine marten have what is termed ‘delayed implantation’, which means that fertilised eggs are not implanted in the uterus until the following January. This is a strategy to ensure that young (known as kits) are born during the most favourable time of year, which for pine marten is during March and April. Typically, two to three kits will be born in spring, each weighing less than 30g. The kits will stay in the den for about six weeks and are totally dependent on the female. Kits will then start exploring the area around the den and will stay with the female for at least six months, up to a maximum of 12–16 months. After this period, juveniles will disperse and attempt to establish their own territory. Only a small number of juveniles will survive to become adults and breed. Pine marten are considered to be slow breeders both in the terms of the number of young that are produced and the age at which reproductive maturity is reached.

   

Foraging/Hunting/Diet

In terms of diet, pine marten are omnivorous taking both plant and animal material. In Ireland, pine marten exploit a variety of resources including berries, fruits, small mammals, invertebrates, birds and amphibians. In some areas where pine marten occur close to towns and villages the species will exploit rubbish bins for food. In other countries, pine martens rely heavily on microtine rodents such as voles and also in colder countries on carrion, especially in winter. When foraging, pine marten will usually stay within their own territory, which will have a variety of food resources available within it.

  

Bundi is, for some reason that eludes me, not very high up on the list of places to visit for most travelers. With its beautiful blue houses, small alleyways and very friendly people it was easily the highlight of my time in Rajasthan. Also, you can get the best chai in all of India. Look out for Krishnas Place should you ever come here.

 

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For some reason I suddenly can't view videos so I don't know if it works or not. It's been such a long wait for it, we had a huge thunderstorm too, five minutes before this I had the sunroof open waiting for the fox cubs. Thanks so much for the honest comments and advice regarding the fox cubs, it's complicated by the fact that other people in the street may be feeding them or think of them as ' their ' foxes. I obviously can't do anything regarding catching them or calling the RSPCA or a wildlife hospital without talking to people ( which isn't easy for a neurotic fool like me ), the whole thing is heartbreaking. I wouldn't be surprised if the thunderstorm might have been too much for them, I know dogs can die from their fear, maybe that would be for the best at least for the worst one.

Reason for reposting this:

I saw this pic while cleaning out my photo archive. This was one of my fav pic i took when i just got my hands on my first DSLR, that was 3 years ago. This was the pic that made me think i could fall in love with photography. In the midst of reminiscing and going through my photostream (yes, i like to multi-task like that), think its time to invest more thoughts into my pictures and post those that i think matters. (Not that i don't enjoyed the earlier ones). So yes, expect less posts and will be busy looking at my contacts' photostreams to get some lessons/inspirations on better picture taking. Back to "school" so to speak.

Here is a Red Light camera at Interstate 480 and Grayton Road in Cleveland, Ohio. I see NO reason for this camera to be here besides for revenue generation. This intersection has visible signage and seems to be engineered very well other than having cameras and bad light timing. This is a major intersection for traveling from the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the International Exposition Center to Cleveland's west suburbs; there are no other decent alternative routes to take in order to avoid the cameras.

 

This is an area of Grayton Road no pedestrians or even bicyclists use, in fact there is not even a sidewalk on either side of the road. Cleveland's most common excuse for using these Red Light Cameras (RLCs) is pedestrian safety; most notably children going to and from schools or parks. "Pedestrian Safety" is not a valid excuse for these cameras to be located here.

 

Grayton Road in this area has great engineering standards. First of all this road has wide lanes, a smooth concrete road surface, and even a low-lying concrete divider between vehicles traveling in opposing directions. In this case Cleveland ingeniously placed the cameras here at around the same time this stretch of road was reconstructed. This simple action will sway any pre and post camera crash statistics to appear as if the addition of RLCs at this intersection caused a significant decrease in accidents. In reality any decrease in accidents at this intersection were due to the road being fixed.

 

Despite having a better engineered road the light timing is clearly meant to "entrap" as many people as possible. Since this is along the only main route from the CLE Airport and IX Center to the western working class suburbs there is a strong demand for using this road. I noticed that every time I traveled from state route 237 north to 480 west recently I ended up being in the "dilemma zone" at the Grayton Road and I-480 intersection; in those cases I was able to just barely stop behind the white line as the light turned red. Someone else was driving when I took these pictures and the same "dilemma zone" phenomenon happened to them; the light turned yellow at the point where it was difficult to decide if it was best to travel through the light or slam on the brakes to stop for the light. I recently realized that the lights along this route are timed in a way that puts drivers near the intersection when the light turns yellow. Having light timing like this is nearly indisputable evidence that these lights are intended to make money instead of to create safer roadways for drivers.

 

I feel these cameras are never the answer to traffic problems. Outsourcing law enforcement to for profit companies is a questionable idea in itself. Having cities use the money from RLCs for bonuses of corrupt politicians instead of public safety also makes mme question the validity of this system. Not to mention many people, myself included, feel that RLCs are a violation of drivers' constitutional rights. If a government wants to be respected by its citizens they should not implement controversial programs against their citizens such as Red Light Camera or Speed Camera programs. There are much more sensible solutions to improve traffic safety such as replacing intersections with roundabouts, setting more appropriate speed limits, and studying high incident intersections to find and fix problems, but there is no money to be made from that!

 

Red-Light Camera at Interstate 480 and Grayton Road in Cleveland, Ohio

 

I hope to see Ohio's State Senate do their job and ban these devices soon. Be sure to voice your opinions below!