View allAll Photos Tagged Relatable
Kinetic: Relating to, caused by, or producing motion.
These are called “Kinetic” photographs because there is motion, energy, and movement involved, specifically my and the camera’s movements.
I choose a light source and/or subject, set my camera for a long exposure (typically around 4 seconds), focus on my subject and push the shutter button. When the shutter opens I move the camera around with my hands...large, sweeping, dramatic movements. And then I will literally throw the camera several feet up into the air, most times imparting a spinning or whirling motion to it as I hurl it upward. I may throw the camera several times and also utilize hand-held motion several times in one photo. None of these are Photoshopped, layered, or a composite photo...what you see occurs in one shot, one take.
Aren’t I afraid that I will drop and break my camera? For regular followers of my photostream and this series you will know that I have already done so. This little camera has been dropped many times, and broken once when dropped on concrete outside. It still functions...not so well for regular photographs, but superbly for more kinetic work.
To read more about Kinetic Photography click the Wikipedia link below:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_photography
And to see more of my Kinetic Photographs please visit my set, “Flux Velocity:”
www.flickr.com/photos/motorpsiclist/sets/72157622224677487/
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Albeit supremely risky this is one of my favorite ways to produce abstract photographs.
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My photographs and videos and any derivative works are my private property and are copyright © by me, John Russell (aka “Zoom Lens”) and ALL my rights, including my exclusive rights, are reserved. ANY use without my permission in writing is forbidden by law.
Do you see the grinning Jack-O-Lantern?
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One shot SOOC.
Want more? See my new set, "Drawing with Light:"
www.flickr.com/photos/motorpsiclist/sets/72157630589237982/
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Kinetic: Relating to, caused by, or producing motion.
These are called “Kinetic” photographs because there is motion, energy, and movement involved, specifically my and the camera’s movements.
I choose a light source and/or subject, set my camera for a long exposure (typically around 4 seconds), focus on my subject and push the shutter button. When the shutter opens I move the camera around with my hands...large, sweeping, dramatic movements. And then I will literally throw the camera several feet up into the air, most times imparting a spinning or whirling motion to it as I hurl it upward. I may throw the camera several times and also utilize hand-held motion several times in one photo. None of these are Photoshopped, layered, or a composite photo...what you see occurs in one shot, one take.
Aren’t I afraid that I will drop and break my camera? For regular followers of my photostream and this series you will know that I have already done so. This little camera has been dropped many times, and broken once when dropped on concrete outside. It still functions...not so well for regular photographs, but superbly for more kinetic work.
To read more about Kinetic Photography click the Wikipedia link below:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_photography
.
Albeit supremely risky this is one of my favorite ways to produce abstract photographs.
.
My photographs and videos and any derivative works are my private property and are copyright © by me, John Russell (aka “Zoom Lens”) and ALL my rights, including my exclusive rights, are reserved. ANY use without my permission in writing is forbidden by law.
Moorook Hall is dated 1897 – 1933.
The date of 1897 relates to the one-roomed stone school building, complete with chimney as had many schools of that era. The school also served as a public hall and was used for many meetings, church services and social events. In 1901 the Moorook Hall was used for an inquest after a young man was found dead near the Moorook billabong.
After the Moorook Hall of 1933 was built the old hall was referred to as the ‘supper room’.
The following Village Settlements, all on the River Murray, were proclaimed under the Act of 1893 in Executive Council on Wednesday: Holder, Kingston, Lyrup, Moorook, Murtho, Pyap, Ramco and Waikerie. [Ref: Adelaide Observer 6-6-1896]
From Kingston, reached Moorook in about four miles. Here again very much has been done. For the most part the dwellings are comfortable, and their schoolhouse, which is used for all meeting purposes, would not disgrace any town in the colony: it is well built and well finished.
The pumping-plant here seems well kept and well suited for its work, and it is really surprising the growth everything makes with a judicious water supply. As elsewhere, the settlers seem sanguine that there will soon be an entire change of system, and that if so they can support themselves without further Government assistance, and also in time pay off their liabilities to the State. [Ref: South Australian Register 17-4-1897]
MOOROOK, July 23
The settlement is greatly improving. A new fence has been erected to enclose the settlement from the public road. A large place has been reserved for the schoolchildren.
The work of making channels was started today to carry water from the low lift to the respective blocks inhabited by the settlers.
All the settlers have received the permission of Mr R Fleming, the manager, to select pine trees growing about the place, and use them for the building of temporary houses on the blocks. [Ref Register (Adelaide) 1-8-1901]
Moorook May 6th
A farewell social was given to Sapper Harry Krollig of the engineers on Tuesday evening of last week. Sapper Krollig having obtained his final leave came up to say good bye to his people, who are much respected in this district. The notice was short but a goodly number of folks rolled up to do him honour.
It was a coincidence that Pte H Ledgard was also in the neighbourhood. He had resided here previously and came to say goodbye to his sister Mrs B L Drogemuller, and was also welcomed and farewelled as a fellow guest of Sapper Krollig.
The Captain of the Rifle Club, Mr W Munn, presented Sapper Krollig with a periscope on behalf of the club. Mr A H Roberts also spoke and cheers were given for the soldiers.
Thirty three men have enlisted from Moorook: thirteen of these were members of the Rifle Club.
The ladies provided supper, and dancing concluded a pleasant evening. [Ref: Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark) 11-5-1916]
MOOROOK
Before breakfast time on Saturday morning the ‘Industry’ and the ‘Alexandra’ left the Cobdogla woolshed landing, and His Excellence the Governor and the viceregal party continued their journey downstream. It was a perfect spring morning, and the fast steam with the current was one of the most delightful of experiences.
The trip seemed all too short, but there was plenty of interest to be seen on landing, for the next stopping place was at Moorook, originally a village settlement, but abandoned as such in 1905. A number of the old irrigable blocks are being worked by settlers with satisfactory results, and now a considerable addition has been made to the population by the establishment of a number of returned soldiers there.
The new orchards have been in for three years now, and it is anticipated that this year some 200 tons of grapes will be got from them. There are 34 returned soldiers established on the area and about 19 civilian orchardists. At the outset an experiment was tried with dairying, and several of the irrigationists grew lucerne and kept dairy cows. It has been found, however, that this is not a success, the cows have been disposed of, and the lucerne patches are to be planted, with vines, which, of all fruit crops tried along the river, are proving to be the most regular and financially successful. A packing shed and winery are now being established, and prosperity appears to lie ahead of all the settlers.
A function took place in the new hall shortly after the arrival of the visitors, who were given a hearty welcome to the district. This hall is one of the best seen all along the river. It was previously the pay office at Mitcham [military camp] and is just the very thing for the district. [This prefabricated building was subsequently named the McIntosh Hall and was intended for use by the RSL and for church services. It later became the Moorook Cooperative and general store] [Ref: Observer (Adelaide) 23-10-1920]
Moorook May l
A handsome Honour Roll was unveiled in the local hall on Anzac Day in the presence of a large audience. The board was constructed by Pengelly & Co, and the lettering by Mr R H Herriott, who was himself one of the original Anzacs. Mr A H Roberts who presided, asked Mr R Fleming to perform the act of unveiling, which he did, delivering a thoughtful address.
Major M I Herbert, one of the original 10th Battalion, gave a graphic account of the historic landing at Gallipoli, and of the conditions prevailing until and at the evacuation.
The Rev Eric Wyllie conducted the service, when special prayers were said and hymns sung, including, Kipling's Recessional and the National Anthem.
Mr R F Mayfield, chairman of the Loxton District Council, motored from Loxton to attend the ceremony, and delivered a short address. The room was tastefully decorated with flags. Altogether the ceremony was of a most impressive nature. [Ref: Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark) 6-5-1921]
In 1923 the government erected a new school, still standing today, resulting in the original school house being available solely for hall use.
The following newspaper report describes the manner in which residents secured the old hall for their use.
The annual meeting of Moorook Progress Association was held in the local hall on the 24th inst. The president, Mr A Carne JP, occupied the chair.
Since the establishment of the new school the old "Moorook Hall" had lost its principal source of revenue. The premises, and some half acre of land, were reserved for educational purposes at the time of the founding of the Village Settlement, and the deeds were handed to the Education Department.
Fearing that the premises might now be lost to the public benefit by some means, the committee had for some time been in communication with the department, with the result that it had been offered a lifelong lease of the building and adjoining reserve, at a nominal rental, providing suitable trustees were appointed. To enable negotiations to be finalized, trustees were appointed at this public meeting, the following gentlemen being elected: Messrs J Aird, A G Carne, C F Drogemuller, C R Krollig, A H Roberts, A. L. Shillabeer and T G A Wachtel.
A motion authorising them to take over a lease of the property, so that it might be conserved for the benefit of the residents was carried unanimously.
Several amendments to the rules of the Progress Association were adopted. [Ref: The Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark) of 30 March 1923]
Moorook November 2
A community song hour, which is held on alternate Mondays in the local and McIntosh halls, still holds its own in enthusiasm, especially that in the McIntosh hall, where the attendance is particularly good.
Mr H Gray is conductor, Mrs Herriot pianiste. [Ref: Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark) 7-11-1924]
IMPROVING MOOROOK HALL
Moorook August 23
The Moorook Hall has recently been painted and generally repaired, and to the great satisfaction of the ladies, the anteroom has been floored with cement, new benches and cupboards have been installed, and doors added leading from the hall. This has been a long felt want and will be greatly appreciated by everyone having occasion to use the building. [Ref: Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark) 27-8-1926]
NEW MOOROOK HALL Foundation Stone
Moorook October 7
Before a large assembly, including visitors from Barmera, Renmark, Loxton and surrounding districts, the official ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the new Moorook Hall was performed by Moorook's oldest settler and one of the River's pioneers, Mr J Aird senr, on Saturday. Appropriate speeches were made by Messrs C R Krollig, chairman of hall trustees, S G A Wachtel and F J Petch, chairman Loxton district council. Mr Aird was presented with a suitably engraved silver trowel.
The sum of £8/12/ was laid on the stone.
Following the ceremony a bazaar, opened by Mr F J Petch, was held in the old hall. The ugly man competition was responsible for raising about £15. Various stalls, and a mock court were operating during the afternoon and evening.
In the evening a dance was held, Messrs Flaherty senr, and N Schenscher supplying the music. As a result of the day's effort the building fund of the new hall will benefit to the extent of about £52.
It is anticipated that the building will be competed and ready for opening towards the end of December of this year. [Ref: Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark) 12-10-1933]
MOOROOK January 6
The official ceremony of opening the new hall was performed by Mr T C Stott MP, before a large attendance. After a presentation to Mr Stott, by Mr C R Krollig on behalf of the hall trustees, of a gold key suitably inscribed, a banquet followed, at which, an impressive toast list was given.
A social and dance held in the evening was attended by a large crowd. [Ref: Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark) 11-1-1934]
HALL IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE
The Moorook Hall Improvements Committee held a social and dance on Saturday August 12, in the Moorook Hall.
Almond blossom and greenery on the stage comprised the decorative schemen.
Items interspersed with dancing were given by boys of the Yinkanni school, recitation: Misses S Battams and R Loxton songs: Miss F Saxon and B Krollig humorous sketches.
The Moorook Harmony Boys supplied the music for dancing. Mr C Krollig was MC. Supper was served by the committee.
Following the social and dance it is proposed if satisfactory by the Hall Improvement committee to purchase a 500 candle power petrol light for the main hall. Mr Don Loxton offered to demonstrate this lamp.
A King competition for the forthcoming fete was also discussed.
A pet and doll show with decorated perams and cycles and a miniature arts and crafts exhibition are also being considered.
The first of a series of bridge and table tennis evenings, arranged by the stallholder of the fete to be held in November, was held.
Bridge was played in the supper room, a cosy fire adding to the comfort of the players. Table tennis was fought out in the main hall under the direction of Mr A B C Downs. [Ref: Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark) 24-8-1939]
Held on Saturday afternoon, November 25 in the hall with a large attendance, the fete of the Moorook institute was opened by Mr T C Stott MP, who made a hurried trip from Melbourne to fulfil his promise to officiate.
Mr Stott in his customary jocular manner complimented those present on the appearance of the hall and urged strong support for the undertaking. The hall was transformed into a garden, complete with trees, flowers, rockeries and garden seats.
Much credit is due to Mrs S Sanders and her band of willing workers for the beautiful setting, a veritable ocean of flowers.
A dance followed at night in the Institute, with Ern Saxon's orchestra in attendance.
The total proceeds amounted to nearly £73 which has been earmarked for the bank overdraft. [Ref: Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark) 14-12-1939]
In aid of the DBNS a carnival night held In the Moorook Hall was a great success. Takings amounted to £18.
The stage was decorated with multicoloured streamers and balloons. Palm leaves and blossoms were in evidence in the background.
The large throng of dancers enjoyed the melodies supplied by the Night Owls Orchestra of Cobdogla. Mr W Wetherall was MC.
Strawberry, ice cream and cool drinks stalls were arranged cabaret style in the supper room.
During the evening opportunity was taken to honour Steward C Loxton, by the Win the War Committee and Moorook residents. Mr J Grey introduced Mr G Scott (president of the Moorook RSL Sub-branch) who made the usual presentation. Steward Loxton responded.
Prior to the carnival Mrs A E Loxton was hostess at a small dinner party at which Colin was the guest of honour. [Ref: Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark) 19-12-1940]
Three Soldiers Honoured
Three members of the AIF, Privates M Royal, B Bartsch and R Bartsch were honoured by residents of Moorook and district on August 9.
The Moorook Hall was filled with one of the largest gatherings to a function of this nature. Mr J Gray (chairman of the Win the War Fund) presided and welcomed the residents. Presentations were made by Mr W E Harrington, representing the Moorook RSL Sub-branch.
The Bartsch brothers had lived in the district all their lives, while Pte Royal had come to Moorook as a young man and had become well known. He wished them a safe return.
The three men responded, thanking the residents for the interest taken in their welfare.
Mr. Harrington called for a minute's silence in honour of the late Pte T Chisholm.
Mr C Krollig was MC for a programme of dances. Community songs were sung to music played by Mrs R Herriott. Supper was served by members of the local Red Cross Circle.
Among the gathering were Pte T McCullock (Garrison), Steward C Loxton (RAN), Ptes L Aird, F Seiboth and G Bartsch (Militia). [Ref: Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark) 14-8-1941]
New Kitchen for Moorook Hall
Following a donation for £20 from the CWA for the erection of a new kitchen, the Moorook Hall Committee met a CWA subcommittee to draw plans for the kitchen. This is now well in hand, but the treasurer stated he would like a little more money in hand for the project. Anyone wishing to give a donation could send it to Mr O W Kloden, by whom it would be officially acknowledged. [Ref: Murray Pioneer (Renmark) 26-10-1950]
Moorook CWA Help for Hall
Christmas Party Moorook December 18
The Moorook Branch of the CWA, at its last meeting for the year, held in the Moorook Hall on December 13, decided to help the Hall committee on a 50/50 basis, to build a new kitchen and if possible to carry on with the proposed children's playground.
The Loxton District Council, it was stated, had offered its equipment to level the ground when it was in the district.
The first function in aid of the fund would be a cherry fete on December 15.
A huge Christmas tree decorated the stage for a Christmas party which the hostesses arranged to follow the meeting. A good programme comprising community singing, competitions and songs by Mesdames Bullock and M E Loxton was much enjoyed.
During the afternoon "Merry Christmas" arrived with a huge stocking on her back containing small parcel for each person present. The president, treasurer and secretary received a well filled Christmas stocking from the members, and much appreciated the thought.
Afternoon tea was served in the supper room, and a Christmas cake made by Mrs Loxton and decorated by Mrs R Smith was cut by the president. [Ref: Murray Pioneer (Renmark) 21-12-1950]
relating to or denoting faculties or phenomena apparently inexplicable by natural laws, esp. involving telepathy or clairvoyance.
another sign? indeed.
still playing tag with deb, check out her entire collection, it's all eye candy.
I am so excited that my brand new lensbaby for my iPhone arrived in the mail late yesterday afternoon! I was part of the Kickstarter program and have been waiting for months for this baby to be produced and shipped. I am having so much fun!!! I've wanted a Lensbaby for my Nikon forever (still do), and this is a very affordable option. Yayyyyyyy!
odc, topic= CHANGE YOUR ANGLE OR PERSPECTIVE The topic relates more to the process of shooting with a little lensbaby (or baby lens, as my husband called it. . .) than to the photo itself.
“Urban art is a style of art that relates to cities and city life. In that way urban art combines street art and graffiti and is often used to summarize all visual art forms arising in urban areas, being inspired by urban architecture or thematizing urban live style.
The notion of 'Urban Art' developed from street art that is primarily concerned with graffiti culture. Urban art represents a broader cross section of artists that as well as covering traditional street artists also covers artists using more traditional media but with a subject matter that deals with contemporary urban culture and political issues.”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_art
“Wild Flowers are not weeds"
Street Art is the modern, urban wildflowers
What's the difference between Graffiti Tagging and Street Art?
1. Street Art is constructive, Graffiti Tagging is destructive.
2. Street Art adorns the urban landscape, Graffiti Tagging scars it and accelerates urban decay.
3. Street Art stretches your mind, Graffiti Tagging is a slap in your face.
4. Street Art is about the audience, Graffiti Tagging is about the tagger.
5. Street Art says "Have you thought about this?", Graffiti Tagging says "I tag, therefore I exist".
6. Street Art was done with a smile, Graffiti Tagging was done with a scowl.
7. Street Art takes skill, Graffiti Tagging takes balls.
8. We mourn losing Street Art and celebrate losing Graffiti Tagging.
Good Street Art is great, good Graffiti Tagging is gone!
”http://www.graffitiactionhero.org/graffiti-tag-vs-street-art.html
Additional interesting sites
www.osnatfineart.com/urban-art.jsp
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_art
DSC_0247 final.jpg
Graffiti_1 LR
Okay, lookit, I bought this card at Metrolina before or after the events I'm relating, and I'm more interested in telling my story than I am in the card. I mean, to everything[s] a season, right? I'm pretty sure this is Bunny Yeager, though whether she took the photograph or someone else did I don't know. She has some assets. I'd like to drive down to Miami and meet her. Even now. But back to our story [If you haven't read the story up to now, go back one photo to the picture of the woman in the white dress. That's where the story started.]
At some point during the day of the encounter with the cranky dealer, I was looking at my New York Times for Friday, November 5th. I usually look at the arts section first, and I happened to see an article about, what else, glass lantern slides. Museums are digging them out of their basements and dusting them off and putting them on exhibit. So here's this article on the day when I first considered buying a glass lantern slide. It was like God was talking to me.
So that night, in bed (I do a lot of thinking in bed, alas) I thought about the glass lantern slide. It had, how do I say this, mrwaterslide written all over it. Its subject was pretty much total mrwaterslide + a whole lot of johnny (mrwaterslide's cohabitor). It was romantic, and it was a tad kinky, it was unusual, it was shocking (a bit), it was naughty (a bit, well, sort of like foreplay). In short, mrwaterslide realized that he had to have the glass lantern slide. It was him and he was it. God had indeed spoken directly.
Problem was, I had alienated the dealer, and there was no way he was going to sell me that glass lantern slide. He might even jack up the price, and try to sell it to me for $200 or something outrageous. I had offended him. How to get the lantern slide?
I came up with a plan.
The next day, about noon, I got out to Metrolina again. They sell you one ticket that's good for the whole week. The price used to be higher, but they got thrown for a loop when the show fragmented. I went right over to the concrete pad with the metal roof over it. At the front of this space, there is another dealer who has been there a long time. He's a nice guy, and he has a sense of humor, and I've bought from him before.
So I told the nice antiques dealer my story about the cranky antiques dealer, and how I had alienated him and now he wouldn't sell me anything, and I told him about the glass lantern slide, and how I had decided that I had to have it. The nice antiques dealer had never heard of a glass lantern slide. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to recognize it. But I told him the subject matter of the glass lantern slide, and explained that there was no way he could mistake it for something else. I asked the nice antiques dealer if he would go buy the slide for me, and he said he would. I gave him $50, which was the price the cranky guy said he wanted for the lantern slide. I was going to stay in the booth of the nice antiques dealer and watch his stuff while he was gone. The other dealer was only like thirty or forty yards away, but there were a number of dealers intervening, and no chance that Cranky Guy would catch on.
The nice antiques dealer was gone for maybe six or eight minutes. I told him not to just go in there and ask to see the glass lantern slide. He needed to be a guy looking for photographs, and then the Cranky Dealer Guy would get excited, and show him the glass lantern slide. This is what the Cranky Dealer Guy did with me, before I insulted him and alienated him and he became abusive.
So after the minutes have passed, I see the dealer fellow, the nice guy, returning to his set-up. He has the look of a man who has successfully completed his mission. I can see something that looks like the glass lantern slide in one hand, and he has some cash in the other hand. [To Be Continued]
West Palm Beach / Jul 11, 2022
25-story building set to bring a new class of luxury to office sector in 2024.
Related Companies today announced six top-ranking firms to expand their footprint into West Palm Beach’s forthcoming Class-A office One Flagler. Situated at the gateway to Palm Beach Island and connecting West Palm Beach's past and future, the building continues to attract a selection of the nation’s most influential financial and professional services firms.
Built on Related’s legacy of elegance, style and service, the building is expected to open at the beginning of 2024 with the most prestigious WiredScore Platinum rating, the world’s only internationally recognized digital connectivity rating platform.
Today, the building is nearly 60 percent pre-leased including:
GTCR, a leading private equity firm founded in 1980, will expand its existing presence in the market by opening a new West Palm Beach office. Their new office is expected to open in mid-2024. GTCR is headquartered in Chicago and has an office in New York. Colliers, Ryan Barr, Alain LeCoque and Bob Schneiderman, represented GTCR.
Diameter Capital Partners, a global credit-focused asset manager headquartered in New York, will move its West Palm Beach office to the building. The move is expected to be completed in mid-2024.
Four additional confidential firms spread across the financial services and pharmaceutical industries.
These companies join First Republic Bank and private equity firm Siris Capital and represent 50,000+ square feet of new leases.
“The expansion of our presence in West Palm Beach into this new space reflects our growth as a firm and our continued confidence in the region as a business and investing center,” said Collin Roche, co-CEO and managing director of GTCR. “The West Palm Beach market offers a unique and differentiated option for talent and diversity and building our footprint further in the city will allow us to compete for the best people. The space at Related’s One Flagler will create a dynamic environment for further collaboration within our teams and with members of the growing investment community in the area.”
“We are pleased to welcome a high caliber list of significant tenants from leading U.S. markets who believe in the power of West Palm Beach and have witnessed the evolution of the destination as a booming financial district,” said Gopal Rajegowda, partner, Related Southeast.
Designed by world-renowned architect David Childs, One Flagler is a 25-story Class-A office building that will anchor West Palm Beach’s Okeechobee Business District and the Flagler Financial District. It will include 270,000 square feet of flexible office space, 4,100 square feet of retail space, over 10,000 of indoor and outdoor upscale dining led by Estiatorio Milos by Costas Spiliadis and a reading room open to both the public and members of the adjacent First Church of Christ, Scientist. The church, designed by architect Julian Abele in 1928, is considered one of the most architecturally significant buildings in all of Palm Beach County and would be preserved in perpetuity by One Flagler. The project will also feature a living green wall adorning its parking garage and include 1.25 acres of green space extending the waterfront greenbelt.
Related Companies is the visionary firm behind some of the world’s most impactful mixed-use urban neighborhood developments and, in the past few years alone, has created more than eight million square feet of office space for dozens of diverse business leaders across all industries, including WarnerMedia, SAP, Sidewalk Labs, Wells Fargo, KKR, Google, Facebook, Converse and Tapestry. In West Palm Beach, Related has demonstrated a deep understanding of workplace needs with its widely acclaimed CityPlace Tower and a legacy in neighborhood placemaking with the conception of the original CityPlace, now called The Square.
Jon Blunk, president of TCRE, is the exclusive leasing agent for One Flagler and represented Related in the transactions.
About Related Southeast:
Headquartered in the heart of rapidly expanding Downtown West Palm, Related Southeast is Related Companies’ locally based, global real estate and lifestyle company that has redeveloped Downtown West Palm into one of the nation’s fastest growing commercial, retail, culinary, art and tourism destinations. Related Southeast leads the market in Class A office with 360 Rosemary, CityPlace Tower, Esperanté, Philips Point and the forthcoming 1 Flagler, as well as the celebrated destinations of Rosemary Square, Hilton West Palm Beach, RH West Palm and the historic Harriett Himmel Theater. The dynamic neighborhood built for all to enjoy has recently undergone a $700 million transformation designed to foster culture and enrich the community with lush green spaces; a diverse mix of experiential retail and culinary offerings; the largest concentration of public art installed by a private company in Palm Beach County, featuring renowned artists such as Yinka Shonibare, CBE and Jeppe Hein; rich cultural and educational programming and modern luxury residences. For more information about Related Southeast, please visit www.relatedsoutheast.com.
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
www.relatedsoutheast.com/press-releases/2022-07-11/relate...
issuu.com/pbmg/docs/pbi_0223/106
www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/one-flagler/32010#:~:te...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Childs
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Jesus can relate to you and me. His life was full of immense suffering so he understands intimately what we go through every day.
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Today in Ireland and in the US new regulations relating to drones has been introduced [effective from the 21st of December 2015]. There are many similarities in the regulations but there is one major differences in that here in Ireland they have not mention the penalties for failure to register but in the US the cost of failure to register appears to be rather extreme … “civil penalties up to $27,500, or criminal penalties up to 3 years in prison and $250,000.” According to the minister the aim here in Ireland is to encourage drone users to be responsible citizens.
I have included the press releases from both administrations, have a read and see what you think.
Thursday, 17th December 2015: The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) today announced a new drone regulation which includes the mandatory registration of all drones weighing 1kg or more from Monday, 21st December 2015.
The use of drones worldwide is expanding rapidly and there are estimated to be between 4,000 – 5,000 drones already in use in Ireland. Ireland has taken a proactive role in this fast emerging area and is currently one of only a handful of EU Member states that has legislation governing the use of drones.
The new legislation is intended to further enhance safety within Ireland and specifically addresses the safety challenges posed by drones.
From 21st December 2015, all drones weighing 1kg or more must be registered with the IAA via www.iaa.ie/drones. Drone registration is a simple two-step process. To register a drone, the registrant must be 16 years of age or older (Drones operated by those under 16 years of age must be registered by a parent or legal guardian). A nominal fee will apply from February 2016 but this has been initially waived by the IAA in order to encourage early registration.
Mr Ralph James, IAA Director of Safety Regulation, said
“Ireland is already recognised worldwide as a centre of excellence for civil aviation and the drone sector presents another major opportunity for Ireland. We’re closely working with industry to facilitate its successful development here. At the same time, safety is our top priority and we must ensure that drones are used in a safe way and that they do not interfere with all other forms of aviation.
Mr James explained that drone registration has been made a mandatory requirement as this will help the IAA to monitor the sector in the years ahead. The IAA encourages all drone operators to take part in training courses which are available through a number of approved drone training organisations.
“We would strongly encourage drone operators to register with us as quickly as possible, to complete a training course and to become aware of their responsibilities. People operating drones must do so in safe and responsible manner and in full compliance with the new regulations”, he said.
Welcoming the introduction of drone regulation, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD highlighted the importance of the new legislation and commended the IAA for the efficient manner to have the new registration system in place so quickly.
“The core safety message promoted today advocates the safe use of drones in civilian airspace. The development of drone technology brings opportunities as well as challenges for businesses and services in Ireland. I expect hundreds if not thousands of drones to be bought as presents this Christmas so getting the message to ensure that new owners and operators are aware of their responsibilities and the requirement to register all drones over 1 kg from 21st December 2015 is key. Tremendous potential exists for this sector and Ireland is at the forefront of its development. The speedy response by the IAA to this fast developing aviation area will make sure that drones are properly regulated and registered for use. As a result, Ireland is well placed to exploit the drone sector and to ensure industry growth in this area,” he said.
The new legislation prohibits users from operating their drones in an unsafe manner. This includes never operating a drone:
• if it will be a hazard to another aircraft in flight
• over an assembly of people
• farther than 300m from the operator
• within 120m of any person, vessel or structure not under the operator’s control
• closer than 5km from an aerodrome
• in a negligent or reckless manner so as to endanger life or property of others
• over 400ft (120m) above ground level
• over urban areas
• in civil of military controlled airspace
• in restricted areas (e.g. military installations, prisons, etc.)
• unless the operator has permission from the landowner for takeoff and landing.
For further information please visit www.iaa.ie/drones and see the IAA’s detailed Q&A sheet.
The Federal Aviation Administration has officially launched the drone registration program first reported in October. Drone operators are required to register their UAVs with the Unmanned Aircraft System registry starting December 21. Failure to register could result in criminal and civil penalties.
Under the new system, all aircraft must be registered with the FAA including those 'operated by modelers and hobbyists.' Once registered, drone operators must carry the registration certificate during operation. This new system only applies to drones weighing more than 0.55lbs/250g and less than 55lbs/25kg. The only exception to the registration requirement is indoor drone flights.
Required registration information includes a mailing address and physical address, email address, and full names; however, no information on the drone's make, model, or serial number is required from recreational users. Non-recreational users will need to provide drone information, including serial number, when that particular registration system goes live.
Failure to register could result in civil penalties up to $27,500, or criminal penalties up to 3 years in prison and $250,000. A $5 registration charge is applied, but will be refunded to those who register before January 20. The registration certificate is sent in an email to be printed at home.
Tradition relates that it was St. James the Apostle who came to Spain to spread the Gospel. January 2nd, forty years following the birth of Our Saviour, says the legend, St. James was already in Saragossa, walking along the Ebro River with seven of his disciples whom he had chosen to help him to teach the faith.
While St. James walked with his brethren along the Ebro River and talked to them, Our Lady, then still on this earth, was in Jerusalem. She prayed ardently to her Son for the success of the mission of St. James because she knew about the great venture. And, as Mary prayed with much fervor, Jesus appeared to her and promised help to St. James. At the same time, He told His Mother that angels would take her to Spain to encourage the Apostle. And immediately the seraphs carried Our Lady through the skies over the Mediterranean to Saragossa where James the Apostle was kneeling at the banks of the Ebro. He suddenly saw a radiant light and then his ears were filled with heavenly music. All the disciples shared with him the beautiful vision. Mary appeared to them seated on a throne, borne by angels and while James the Apostle and the disciples gazed up at her, she smilingly told him that she had come to help. She then asked that a church be erected on the spot. And as evidence of her appearance, Our Lady took from the hands of one of the angels at her service a small column of jasper upon which there was placed a beautiful small statue of herself, carved in wood.
Then the apparition faded out.
The pillar with the statue, however, remained there in Saragossa and this is the statue of Our Lady of the Pillar venerated ever since in that Spanish city.
St. James succeeded in his mission though he died the death of a martyr. His earthly remnants are buried in the city of Santiago de Compostela and he is considered the patron saint of Spain.
Very soon after the vision accorded to St. James and the disciples, a modest chapel was built as Our Lady had requested. This chapel was eventually destroyed and many other churches and chapels shared the same fate; the pillar with the statue, however, remained intact. It is a fact that Romans, Goths, Moors, Vandals and other invaders could never desecrate or destroy the statue itself because the people of Saragossa defended it with fierce heroism. All the kings of Spain, many other foreign rulers and saints have paid their devotion before this statue of Mary. St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Ignatius of Loyola are among the most outstanding ones. The present church was built in 1686 by Charles II, King of Spain.
"The sentiment of the Saragossans toward their beloved Virgen del Pilar is far different from the ordinary devotion paid to a favorite saint. It is an inheritance from their forefathers, a love that is born with them, and ends only with their lives. It is interwoven with their patriotism, with their nationality, with their home life, and with their daily tasks and amusements… In their talks, she is the ever-recurrent theme, and in their patriotic songs, they acclaim her as the leader of their nation. Saragossans say that the church of the Virgen del Pilar was the first raised in her honor and will last as long as the faith."
Uses: Anything relating to finance and money.
Free Creative Commons Finance Images... I created these images in my studio and have made them all available for personal or commercial use. Hope you like them and find them useful.
To see more of our CC by 2.0 finance images click here... see profile for attribution.
Inspiration: Making money. Personal finance. Analyzing the dollar, investing, stock market, etc.
A second photo album relating to the Valdes Scott Family. The first album can be viewed here www.flickr.com/photos/runninginsuffolk/albums/72157665423... This album also turned up at a car boot sale but a year later than the other in 2017. Seems to date from 1951 and the birth of Roselle in Chile.
Les Invalides contains museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l'Armée (the military museum of the Army of France), the Musée des Plans-Reliefs and the Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine, as well as the Dôme des Invalides, a large church, the tallest in Paris at a height of 350 feet. It houses tombs of some of France's war heroes, most notably Napoleon. The architect of Les Invalides was Libéral Bruant. By the time the enlarged project was completed in 1676, the river front measured 643 feet, and the complex had 15 courtyards, the largest being the cour d'honneur ("court of honor") for military parades. Jules Hardouin-Mansart assisted the aged Bruant, and the chapel for veterans was finished in 1679. This chapel was known as Église Saint-Louis des Invalides, and daily attendance of the veterans in the church services was required. Shortly after the veterans' chapel was completed, Louis XIV commissioned Mansart to construct a separate private royal chapel referred to as the Église du Dôme. The domed chapel was finished in 1708. The building retained its primary function of a retirement home and hospital for military veterans until the early 20th century. In 1872 the musée d'artillerie (Artillery Museum) was located within the building to be joined by the musée historique des armées (Historical Museum of the Armies) in 1896. The two institutions were merged to form the present Musée de l'Armée in 1905. At the same time, the veterans in residence were dispersed to smaller centers outside Paris, as the building became too large for its original purpose. The modern complex includes facilities about a hundred elderly or incapacitated former soldiers, including one gentleman sitting outside in full World War II army dress.
Photographed on 7 September 2016
The name ‘Treasurer’s House’ relates to the building that first stood on this site built for the medieval Treasurers of York Minster. The first Treasurer was appointed in 1091 AD. The Treasurer controlled the finances of the Minster but also entertained important guests, which is why he was provided with a grand residence. All that remains of the original Treasurer’s House is an external wall from the 12th century.
The Reformation of the English Church in the 1540s brought an end to the office of Treasurer and the house passed into the hands of the Archbishops of York. Thomas Young, Archbishop between 1562 and 1568, and his descendants are responsible for the structure of Treasurer’s House as it is today. The symmetrical front was part of changes made by the Young family in the early 17th century which involved almost entirely rebuilding the house. Treasurer’s House played host to Royalty when Sir George Young entertained King James I in 1617.
During the 18th century Treasurer’s House became the town residence of gentry families, lawyers and clergy. The greatest changes made during this period were the division of the building into several residences and the various extensions made. By the end of the 19th century, the house was very decayed and poorly cared for. However, at the turn of the century Frank Green came to the rescue.
Frank Green was a wealthy collector, and owned Treasurer’s House between 1897 and 1930. He demolished the additions made to the building in the 19th century and restored the house to what he thought was its original shape. He turned Treasurer’s House into a stage for his collection, designing rooms of different periods to display his antique furniture. It was at this time that Treasurer’s House received a second Royal visit, in June 1900. Edward VII and Queen Alexandra visited as Prince and Princess of Wales along with their daughter Victoria. It was in their honour that the King’s Room, Queen’s Room and Princess Victoria’s Room were so named.
Frank Green was a very precise man, in both his own appearance and the way he ran his home. He was a bit of a ‘dandy’, neatly dressed and often seen wearing a floppy silk bow tie. He had studs fixed to the floor in the rooms of Treasurer’s House so the house maids knew exactly where furniture should stand. Frank was also careful about the state of his house; signs can be seen at Treasurer’s House with careful instructions to the staff. A former kitchen maid told how Frank would inspect the kitchen, turning out any drawers he thought were untidy. Frank Green retired to Somerset in 1930 and gave Treasurer’s House to the National Trust, complete with his vast collection. It was the first historic house acquired by the Trust with its contents complete.
This image relates to a later post where I tried to replicate the album cover as part of a challenge
-FOFT Music from 1969
The FFF+ Group has a monthly challenge called "Freestyle On The Fifth" a different theme posted on the 5th of the month. This month it was Phunny Photos turn to choose the theme, and she chose -Music from 1969.
I looked at the top 100 songs from 1969 and saw Dylan’s Lay Lady Lay. I had already paid tribute to this song for my Dylan Series and then I thought of the iconic album cover of Nashville Skyline, the album which Lay Lady Lay was from.
I wondered if I could replicate it using my No. 1 son as the model.
I tried.
I thought it would be easier than it was but it turned out to be really difficult to get that bloody angle right. We tried 3 different photo shoots. Dark cloudy skies in one shoot, so windy the hat kept blowing off in another and then the sun was in the wrong position. I had the added pressure of my son decided to bleach his hair last week so needed to get it done before then! (no blonde allowed peeking out from the hat for Bob Dylan).
Nashville Skyline was incredibly important for the country music industry. The album didn’t rate in the country charts but was No. 3 on the Billboard top 200 and introduced mainstream fans to a sound many had never heard before. This crossover of country and pop helped pave the way for the Eagles and other country-rock superstars of the early ’70s “The country scene was so conservative until he arrived. He brought in a whole new audience (said Kris Kristofferson). The album took 4 days to record.
My favourite song is Girl From North Country. Even those that don’t love Dylan’s voice might find this one surprisingly beautiful. This album marked a change in Dylan’s vocals: “He had developed a baritone country croon that he claimed was a result of his decision to quit smoking cigarettes. “
(Interview in Rolling Stone).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je4Eg77YSSA (Bobby and Johnny Cash-original)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJCmgKRszYM (recording of baby faced Dylan singing in a cabin)
Sorry-I just can’t help myself rattling about Dylan but I do know a few of my followers are fans too.
I nearly drove myself mad trying to get the image right so this is not identical but it is my Ode to my favourite musician with my favourite son once again putting up with my direction to model for me (Added to Flickr x 100 portraits of son).
Midori is releasing a series of new products relating to the popular Traveler's Notebook. In an attempt to create the same aesthetic of the leather notebook, the development team chose to use brass as the material which radiates the same pleasing quality as it ages. I think it is an excellent choice of material, it gives you the feeling of a trusted old friend, give it a little polishing it comes back to a shiny companion.
The brass series includes 12 pieces of numbered clips, a 15cm ruler with raised edge for easy pick up, a solid brass pen case and bullet pen/pencils. These bullet pen/pencils are available in white or brown barrels in addition to the brass ones. The pens have a ring at one end for strap add-on while the pencils have a large eraser instead.
During the Midori private show I visited, I learned that they are preparing for a "Traveler's notebook & company" exhibition to be held in Spiral Market again this year around March/April. I am glad to be invited to contribute some contents for their on-site newsletter in "what's in my bag" style.
The large size Traveler's Notebook is far more popular than the passport size they released last year. To promote the use of the passport size Traveler's Notebook, which can be used as an actual passport jacket with note keeping capability and kept close to your body, Midori is releasing more add-ons such as new refills, rub-on letters and 2 limited edition refills which looks like a real passport. In the limited edition refill package, they thoughtfully included rub-on letters in passport looking font so you can personalize the notebook on the last page like it is a real thing.
Finally, since document envelope with string closure is very difficult to find in Japan, "Kraft envelopes" are created. It gives a crafty way to store your receipts or coasters collected from travels, either use them individually or make them handy by taping them on the notebook refill cover.
Here's my 2 cents about material use. I love the brass application on the hardware (pen case, clip, pen and ruler), while Midori is proud of its range of high quality paper products, application of tougher material on the notebook covers or even envelopes and document holders will add similar aesthetic and durability to this overlooked area. I would recommend to use jean label material in the form of cellulose fibre in combination of leather and paper to create a new range of pleasing products under the Traveler's Notebook collection.
More on Scription blog: moleskine.vox.com/library/post/what-materials-age-well-br...
1. The spiritual entity Qalb
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam
In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.
Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.
Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."
Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.
The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.
After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.
After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.
Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.
Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.
The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.
Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?
The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.
Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).
A Prophetic statement:
“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”
Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.
God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”
2. The Human Soul
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham
This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.
3. The spiritual entity Sirri
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses
This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.
4. The spiritual entity Khaffi
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus
This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.
5. The spiritual entity Akhfa
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed
This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.
The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.
The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.
Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.
6. The spiritual entity Anna
This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.
With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.
With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.
Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.
It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.
The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).
Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.
Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.
The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body
Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.
Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.
Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.
The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.
Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.
Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.
These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.
Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags
The face of the artist is nothing but his mask, since his real "I" remains invisible. According to Steiner, the head having become a kind of hologram of the body, then all the effort of spiritualization of the human being by the artist, will have to relate to the shape of the human head. This is what will happen with the design of the Goetheanum. Once more, we are faced with an objectification of the supersensible domain. The model of Gnostic art for Rudolf Steiner is of course as a work of art the Goetheanum in which he will give substance to his thought. 1965 The model of artistic gnosis for Raymond Abellio is of course a cabalistic diagram: the Universal Senaire Sphere which achieves the synthesis and the program of all his thought. Same. Through these images, we can grasp the artistic project of the first Goetheanum whose architectural elements, such as the columns, the capitals and the windows, owed nothing to chance, neither taste nor even less to functionality, but had to obey requirements particular esoteric and spiritual. The entire Goetheanum was to illustrate the foundations and 16 teachings of Anthroposophy, just as the art of Gothic cathedrals illustrated the foundations and various passages of the sacred history of Christianity. The scene of the Goetheanum was of course the apogee of his artistic project, with the column-seats where the twelve "apostrophes" should sit, next to the carved wooden ensemble, "The Representative of Humanity". which returns as a colored figure under the cupola.
In the rented hall of the Munich State Theatre, the Mystery Plays of Rudolf Steiner were performed each year between 1910 and 1913. The wish arose within the circle around Rudolf Steiner to build an appropriately designed building for these and for performances of eurhythmy. As there were many obstacles from the side of the authorities in Munich, it was decided to redesign the building to be erected on donated land in Dornach near Basel/Switzerland.
Construction began in 1913, meeting with delays during the First World War. Still incomplete, the building burnt down on New Year’s Eve of 1922/23.
The central element, already present in the project in Munich was the ground plan: 2 domes of different sizes resting on 2 large rotundas and interlinked with one another. Because of their particular proportions, they gave the impression both of a single, sculpted space, or also one consisting of 2 separate portions. The pillars along the interior of the building connected with earlier epochs in the development of architecture. Yet each pillar was sculpted individually with a base and a capital whose motifs were carved in such a manner that each new one derived its forms from elements of the previous one. It was Steiner’s attempt to incorporate into the design the laws underlying all development from one form to another in the living world, as in Goethe’s theory of metamorphosis, and to give to these new forms of artistic expression.
Architecture thereby departs from the static, “dead” state and begins to take on elements of a path of animated development. The arts of architecture, sculpture, painting and stained glass windows were united to create a space for the other arts – music, drama and eurhythmy. The building represents an effort to assist what slumbers in each human being as a higher element into full fruition
The First Goetheanum: A Centenary for Organic Architecture
John Paull*
University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia *Corresponding Author: j.paull@utas.edu.au, john.paull@mail.com
ABSTRACT
A century has elapsed since the inauguration (on 26 September, 1920) of a remarkable piece of architecture, Rudolf Steiner‟s Goetheanum, headquarters of the Anthroposophy movement, on a verdant hilltop on the outskirts of the Swiss village of Dornach, near Basel. The Goetheanum was an all timber structure, sitting on concrete footings and roofed with Norwegian slate. The building was begun in 1913, and construction progressed through the First World War. Rudolf Steiner‟s intention was to take architecture in a new and organic direction. On New Year‟s Eve, 31 December 1922, the Goetheanum hosted a Eurythmy performance followed by a lecture by Rudolf Steiner for members of the Anthroposophy Society. In the hours that followed, despite the fire-fighting efforts of the Anthroposophists and the local fire brigades, the building burned to the ground. The popular narrative is that the fire was arson but that was never proved. A local watchmaker and anthroposophist, Jakob Ott, was the only person to perish in the fire. He was falsely accused (in death) as „the arsonist‟ but the evidence is rather that he perished in his brave efforts at saving the Goetheanum. Rudolf Steiner saw the “calamity” as an opportunity “to change the sorrowful event into a blessing”. He promptly embarked on plans for a new building, Goetheanum II. This time there was to be “no wood”. The short-lived Goetheanum I had served as a placeholder for Goetheanum II. This new Goetheanum, Rudolf Steiner‟s finest work of organic architecture, is of steel reinforced concrete and today stands on the Dornach hill right on the site of the old Goetheanum.
Keywords: Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophy, Goethe, Edith Maryon, Jakob Ott, Marie Steiner, fire, arson, disability, Dornach, Switzerland.
INTRODUCTION
The present Goetheanum building, located at Dornach, Switzerland, is one of the great buildings of the twentieth century (). The world has this building, Goetheanum II, because of three strokes of good luck (karma if you prefer), although they did not appear in that guise at the time. First, was a frustrating bureaucratic denial [1], second, was a catastrophic fire that Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) described as a “calamity” [2], and third was the arrival of a talented English sculptor who became one of Rudolf Steiner‟s closest colleagues [3].
The original Goetheanum was opened on 26 September, 1920. It was designed by the New Age philosopher, Rudolf Steiner. The first plan was to build a centre for Rudolf Steiner‟s Anthroposophy movement in Munich, but the city authorities denied building approval [1, 4]. It was a source of frustration and disappointment at the time, although it was really a stroke of great good fortune. As the Nazi ideology took root in Germany, Rudolf Steiner was unwelcome and threatened in Germany. After two decades of
living in Berlin, Rudolf Steiner relinquished his Berlin apartment in 1923 and never revisited Germany [5].
Alfred Hummel, who served as a member of the Building Office for the Goetheanum, explains of the denial of building approval: “this could be seen as good providence because the building would have run into great difficulties after the outbreak of World War 1. Munich would have been a place of great danger after 1933” [4: 2]. If the Goetheanum had been raised in Munich, it would have stood a good chance of destruction during World War II since the city was carpet bombed, including with magnesium incendiary bombs, in Allied raids. Such an alternative reality was never tested because shortly after the Munich denial, Dr Emil Grossheintz offered a site for the Goetheanum in Switzerland and Rudolf Steiner took up the offer [1].
The first Goetheanum was a building of very short life. Opened in 1920, it was burned to the ground at the end of 1922. This was a blow to the aspirations of the Anthroposophists and the multinational contingent of dedicated workers
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who had laboured through the war, many as volunteers, to create this unique building. Rudolf Steiner described it as a “calamity” [1]. But, the destruction proved to be a blessing in disguise because it allowed a rethink of the design. In place of the original rather quaint structure of Goetheanum I, there is now Goetheanum II, which is a truly remarkable and timeless masterpiece.
The English sculptor, Edith Maryon (1872- 1924), arrived in Dornach a few months before the outbreak of war in 1914, to devote her talents to the service of Rudolf Steiner and his Anthroposophy movement. Here she found her spiritual home and she devoted herself forthwith to „the cause‟. Goetheanum I was already designed and under construction by the time Edith Maryon arrived in Dornach, but she was the sculptor on hand, and by then established as one of Rudolf Steiner‟s close collaborators when Goetheanum II was conceived.
On the occasion of the centenary of the opening of Goetheanum I, the present paper, considers the dharma of the building, its reception, and its passing
Methods
Goetheanum I is, a century on from the opening, beyond living memory. The present account draws on contemporary documents of the time, to throw light on the building, its reception, and its calamitous demise. Documents drawn on include eye witness accounts, personal published and manuscript accounts, newspaper accounts, correspondence, and Rudolf Steiner‟s own comments, explanations and lectures. The original sources are quoted where appropriate.
Results
The Goetheanum with which this paper is concerned is the first Goetheanum, Rudolf Steiner referred to it as the “old Goetheanum”[6], the present paper will refer to it generally as „Goetheanum I‟. When building approval was denied in Munich [4], a devotee of Rudolf Steiner‟s Anthroposophy, the Zürich dentist Dr Emil Grosheintz, offered a site on the outskirts of the Swiss village of Dornach, the site of a famous Swiss battle of 1499 where Swabian invaders were repulsed [7]. Dornach is a brief commute (train or tram, about 15 km) to the city of Basel, which sits in the north west of Switzerland near the junction of three country borders (France, Germany and Switzerland).
The Goetheanum was a project of the New Age philosopher and mystic Rudolf Steiner. He had honed his skills as an orator and lecturer as
leader of the German section of the Theosophy Society [8]. Emerging differences between the Theosophists and Rudolf Steiner led to the establishment of a breakaway movement, the Anthroposophy Society. The Goetheanum was to be the home of the new Society, an administrative centre, and a performance space for Steiner‟s Mystery plays.
Rudolf Steiner went on to design various buildings in the growing enclave of Anthroposophists at Dornach [9], but the monumental Goetheanum I was the first venture into Anthroposophical architectural design on a grand scale, and the Goetheanum II was the apogee of Rudolf Steiner‟s architectural manifestations .
THE GREAT WAR
An Australian soldier, arriving in Europe in 1916, sent a postcard home: “Dear Dave, We have seen a lot of ruined towns & villages since we have been in France. This must have been a nice building once, now ruins, Keith” [10].
In the Europe of the time, destruction on an industrial scale was the order of the day. However, Switzerland remained neutral throughout, and her neutrality was honoured by all the belligerents for the duration.
Construction of the Goetheanum at Dornach began in 1913. Construction carried on through the years of World War I (1914-1918). The Russian artist, Assya Turgeniev, recalled: “Already at the beginning of hostilities Dr Steiner tried to speak to us about the background to the events of the war ... The stirred up chauvinistic moods of his listeners thrown together from all quarters of the globe (we were from about 17 different nations) that did not allow him to continue” [11: 99].
Marie Steiner wrote that, as the war stretched on, the work force was depleted by call-up notices: “one after another our artists were called away to the scene of the war. With very few exceptions, there remained only those men who belonged to neutral countries, and the women” [in 12: vii].
The Goetheanum was built during the Great War using volunteer and paid labour. They came and went. Amongst the privations and avalanche of news of death and destruction of the war: “the work went on as best it could and as far as our strength allowed” [11: 136]. “From all quarters of the globe people gathered in Dornach to help with the building. It was a motley, many-sided, multilingual company”[11: 57]. “Our carving group grew to about 70 in number, not counting those who put in a short appearance ... All financial affairs were
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attended to by Miss Stinde. For those who needed it she arranged a modest remuneration” [11: 58].
The artist Assya Turgeniev remembered: “we were only a bunch of dilettantes ... Only the knowledge that we were working together on a great future task and Dr Steiner‟s helping guidance brought order into this chaos. It remains a wonder that the work progresses without any kind of organisation” [11: 59].
With the outbreak of war, “A heavy gloom settled over Dornach ... a European war, was now on our very doorstep [11: 68]. Goetheanum volunteers were called up to return to their respective countries: “Many friends had been recruited and had to depart” [11: 69]. “Our group of wood- carvers grew less and less as further friends were called up” [11: 79].
Figure 1. View of the Goetheanum with blossom trees [source: 13].
A NEW STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE
Rudolf Steiner spoke of the Goetheanum, “The Dornach Building”, in a lecture to Anthro- posophists at The Hague in February 1921: “I have said that the style of this Goetheanum has arisen out of the same sources that gave birth to spiritual science. The endeavour to create a new style of imperfections which must accompany such architecture is accompanied by inevitable risks, by all the a first attempt” [14: 150]. Steiner elaborated: “there is not a single symbol, not a single allegory, but rather we have attempted to give everything a truly artistic form [14: 151].
Organic Architecture
Rudolf Steiner explained his Goetheanum as a manifestation of a new organic architecture: “Concrete and wood are both employed to give rise to an architectural style that may perhaps be described as the transition from previous geometrical, symmetrical, mechanical, static- dynamic architectural styles into an organic style” [14: 153]. The plinth was concrete and the superstructure was timber.
The Goetheanum was organic but not imitative of nature: “Not that some sort of organic form has been imitated in the Dornach building. That is not the case” [14: 154]. Rudolf Steiner informed his audience that: “The least and the greatest in an organic whole has its place in the organism, its absolutely right form. All this has passed over into the architectural conception of the Dornach building” [14: 154]
Rudolf Steiner acknowledged the German writer and polymath, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 -1832): “it has been my aim, in accordance with Goethe‟s theory of metamorphosis, to steep myself in nature‟s creation of organic forms, and from these to obtain organic forms that, when metamorphosed, might make a single whole of the Dornach building. In other words, organic forms of such a kind that each single form must be in precisely the place it is” [14: 154].
Windows, as all the elements of the Goetheanum, were conceived of as part of an organic whole: “we are handing over this auxiliary building [the Glass House, Glashaus] ... in order that they
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may create something that in the fairest sense may be a living member in the whole organism of our building” [12: 15].
Rudolf Steiner was aware already that not all would be won over to his organic architecture: "I well know how much may be said against this organic principle of building from the point of view of older architectural styles. This organic style, however, has been attempted in the architectural conception of the building at Dornach ... You will therefore find in the Dornach building certain organic forms... carved out of wood, as embodied in the capitals of the columns at the entrance” [14: 154-6]
THE OPENING
The Italian artist Ernesto Genoni, who later spent a year with Rudolf Steiner at Dornach (in 1924) [15, 16] and was a member of Rudolf Steiner‟s First Class, wrote two (somewhat cryptic) accounts of his first visit to the Goetheanum on the occasion of the inauguration (26 September, 1920).
In one account Ernesto Genoni relates: “In Milan I came in touch with the Anthroposophical Society where I took part for a whole year in the study of Anthroposophy. Then my sister Mrs [Rosa] Podreider, for certain business reasons, sent me to Lausanne and said „While you are there you can go as far as the Goetheanum‟. Eventually I arrived in Dornach at the inauguration of the first Goetheanum. There Mrs [Charlotte] Ferreri introduced me to Dr Steiner and I was received by him with great warmth. Unfortunately he was speaking in German which I did not know, but by his long handshake
and smiling expression of the face I could feel his sincere welcome. Here I would like to add this - That was the only time among all the people I met at the Goetheanum that anyone gave me a feeling that I was truly welcome ... So much did I feel this isolation that I decided to return to Italy” [17: 7].
In another account of his Goetheanum inauguration visit, Ernesto Genoni writes: “In autumn 1920 Rosa sent me to Lausanne for selling some opossum skins and then I went to Dornach. What a strange impression I received from the first view of the Goetheanum building ... The short conversation with Fräulein Vreede ... chilly! Frau Ferreri ... the meeting with the Doctor ... the bewildering impression of the interior of the Goetheanum. I could not enter in such saturated life of the spirit and after a few days I left ... the reproach from Miss Maryon. In the following years it was a painful search to find my way in life” [18: 19] (author‟s note: ellipses are in the original handwritten manuscript).
ART OF THE TOUR
Rudolf Steiner wanted the art of the Goetheanum to speak directly to the viewer without intermediary explanations: “Sometimes I had occasion to show visitors the Goetheanum personally. Then I used to say that all „explanation‟ of the forms and colours was in fact distasteful to me. Art does not want to be brought home to us through thoughts, but should rather be received in the immediate sight and feeling of it” [1: 3]. The photographs in the present paper offer an insight into the experience of Steiner‟s visitors (Figs. 1, 2 & 3).
Figure 2. Rear view of the Goetheanum with Heizhaus to the right (postcard)
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NEWS IN THE ANTIPODES
The Register newspaper in Adelaide, Australia‟s city of churches, informed its readers in 1925 about Rudolf Steiner and the Goetheanum: “a man who built a building large enough to contain an audience of a thousand people, roofed by intersecting domes, the larger of them slightly greater span than St Peter‟s, earned a title of serious consideration from all who profess the art of architecture. The building owed nothing to traditional styles. No effect was made by its designer to present an intellectual conception of what the temples of ancient Greece could contribute to the art of modern Europe, nor were the forms of medieval Gothic borrowed and adjusted. In no sense was it a drawing board design.” [19].
The Register continued: “It was conceived and designed, as architecture should be and must be, in three dimensions, and it had to be seen in three dimensions to be understood ... as a first effort in a new presentation of architecture it has probably no rival in the history of art” [19].
Readers in South Australia were informed that the Goetheanum: “was built on the summit of one of the foothills of the Jura mountains, near the village of Dornach, standing out against a background of rugged hills and rocky cliffs ... He deliberately discards the limitations of squares, and one feels that his construction is organic rather than static” [19].
Figure 3. Interior of the Goetheanum [source: 13]. Journal of Fine Arts V3 ● I2 ● 2020
The Name
Even the name of the Goetheanum apparently drew offence. „Wokeness' is not such a twenty- first century phenomenon as some might suppose. Rudolf Steiner explained: “Many people were scandalised at the very name, „Goetheanum‟, because they failed to consider the fundamental reason for this name, and how it is connected with all that is cultivated there as Anthroposophy ... this Anthroposophy is the spontaneous result of my devotion for more than four decades to Goethe‟s world-conception” [2: 1].
Of the name, Rudolf Steiner explained: “this Goetheanum was first called „Johannesbau‟ by those friends of the anthroposophical world- conception who made it possible to erect such a building ... for me this building is a Goetheanum, for I derived my world-view in a living way from Goethe ... I have always regarded this as a sort of token of gratitude for what can be gained from Goethe, an act of homage to the towering personality of Goethe ... the anthroposophical world-view feels the deepest gratitude for what has come into the world through Goethe” [2: 2].
Second Thoughts
Less than a year after the opening of the Goetheanum, and even while the building remained incomplete (it was never entirely completed), Rudolf Steiner revealed that he was thinking of a Goetheanum Mark 2.
At a lecture in Berne on 29 June 1921 titled „The Architectural Conception of the Goetheanum‟ Rudolf Steiner told his audience that: “Naturally one can criticise in every possible way this architectural style which has been formed out of spiritual science. But nothing that makes its first appearance is perfect, and I can assure you that I know all its flaws and that I would be the first to say: If I had to put up this building a second time, it would be out of the same background and out of the same laws, but in most of its details, and perhaps even totally, it would be different” [20: 42]. As events played out just eighteen months later, it proved to be a remarkably prescient statement.
Bad Timing
For sheer bad timing (and perhaps prolixity), a fund raising letter dated 25 December 1922 by the British Anthroposophical Society in London would be hard to beat. The letter explained that: “the Goetheanum expresses in a language of line, form and colour those thoughts and ideas which a knowledge of higher spiritual worlds
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produces in the artist. As a work of art the Goetheanum can only be compared, in its tendency to the supreme artistic achievements of humanity, for it produces in the onlooker the perception of that interpenetration of object and idea of which the true world of art is the outcome, while it raises him to that point within his inner being where an ideal spiritual world is felt to be born into physical reality”.
Then the fund raising letter gets to the point: “The Goetheanum still remains to be completed. The funds at Dr Steiner‟s disposal are drawing to an end. Money is urgently needed to carry on the work. The work MUST NOT STOP ... Let each give what he or she can. In the old days ladies sold their jewellery to enable the foundation stone to be laid” [21].
Just six days after the date of the London fund raiser letter, the Goetheanum burned to the ground (on the night of 31 December 1922). Rudolf Steiner described the occurrence as a “dreadful calamity”. He reminded his audience of “The terrible catastrophe of last New Year‟s Eve, the destruction by fire of the Goetheanum, which will remain a painful memory” [2: 1].
Rudolf Steiner explained that the Anthroposophical Society was misunderstood and that there was calumny afoot: “That dreadful calamity was just the occasion to bring to light what fantastic notions there are in the world linked with all that this Goetheanum in Dornach intended to do and all that was done in it. It was said that the most frightful superstitions were disseminated there, that all sorts of things inimical to religion were being practiced; and there is even talk of all kinds of spiritualistic seances, of nebulous mystic performances, and so on” [2: 1].
The Fire
A local newspaper, the Basler Nachricten reported the news of the New Year fire at the Goetheanum: “The Goetheanum in Dornach-Arlesheim is on fire, was the terrible alarm message that flew like wildfire ... just before the bells sounded in solemn ringing ... On New Year‟s Eve ... at 7 pm , the Goetheanum had a presentation of Eurythmy and a lecture by Rudolf Steiner ... The last audience had left the lecture hall by 9.45 pm ... immediately after the seriousness of the situation was clear, the calls for help were despatched to the surrounding villages and to Basel ... The Dornachers were the first to arrive at 11:45 pm, followed by the Arlesheimers a quarter of an hour later ... Because of repair work, there was scaffolding where the fire was first seen” [22].
Rudolf Steiner put the fire as starting between 5:15 pm and 6:20 pm [23].
Rudolf Steiner related that: “one hour after the last word had been spoken, I was summoned to the fire at the Goetheanum. At the fire of the Goetheanum we passed the whole of that New Year night”. He stated that it was “exactly at the moment in its evolution when the Goetheanum was ready to become the bearer of the renewal of spiritual life”[6].
A newspaper gave an account of the events: “When the double cupolas fell in, there shot up heavenwards a giant sheaf of fire, and a torrent of sparks threatened the whole neighbor-hood so that fire-men had to be sent in all directions to prevent the spread of disaster” [24]. Later, on New Year‟s Day “The sky was veiled in clouds as if to check the great outpouring of people which took place from Basel and its neighbor- hood. For nearly the whole population there was one urge: Off to Dornach! Hour after hour unbroken streams of people climbed the muddy roads and slippery fields, whilst other streams, equally unbroken, flowed down again” [24].
Rudolf Steiner later referred to “the pain for which there are no words” [1: 7]. However, on the day, as Albert Steffen relates, Rudolf Steiner kept his nerve and declared the continuance of the New Year‟s programme: “In the morning Dr Steiner ... was still there ... „We will go on with our lectures as notified‟, he said, and gave instructions that the pools of water in the „Schreinerei‟ (the temporary shed used for lectures) and the dirt carried in by muddied shoes should be removed” [25: 13].
Seat of the Fire
Albert Steffen (1884-1963), Anthroposophist, writer and editor, wrote of the seat of the fire: “Unfortunately a scaffolding, necessary for certain work, had been put up just in the place where the fire was first noticed” [25: 12]. A local Basel newspaper had reported likewise: “Because of repair work, there was scaffolding where the fire was first seen” [22].
Ninety nine years later, accounts of the Notre Dame Cathedral fire of 2019 are reminiscent of accounts of the Goetheanum fire. “The fire began at about 18:43 local time on Monday (15 April). Pictures show flames shooting up around the spire, shortly after the doors were shut to visitors for the day. The blaze spread rapidly along the wooden roof as onlookers gathered on the ground below” [26]. Another account states
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that: “Flames that began in the early evening burst through the roof of the centuries-old cathedral and engulfed the spire, which collapsed, quickly followed by the roof” [27]. Builder‟s scaffolding for repair work are also a part of the Notre Dame story: “Much of the roof was covered in scaffolding as part of a big renovation programme, which is being investigated as a possible cause of the blaze” [26]. Two leading candidates for the cause of the Notre Dame fire are identified: “The catastrophic fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral could have been caused by a burning cigarette or an electrical malfunction, French prosecutors said ... Prosecutors are now looking at the possibility of negligence” [28].
Of the Goetheanum fire, a Basel newspaper reported: “Dr Steiner ... According to him,, who will probably know his way around the construction of the building, the fire must have started between 5:00 and 7:00 in the evening .... The smoke was noticed a little after 10 pm in the so-called „white room‟ on the third floor” [23]. The room, the apparent seat of the fire, was used by one or some Eurythmists as a change room [23]. It was reported that “there were no electrical systems at the fire site”[22].A discarded cigarette butt, a neglected candle or a portable camp stove or heater (the outside temperature would have been hovering around 0o C), or a flimsy Eurythmy costume draped carelessly on a hot light bulb are candidates as potential ignition sources.
The Goetheanum was insured for CHF 3,800,000 and with a further CHF 500,000 for furniture and equipment [22]. A proof of contributory negligence would have voided or severely prejudiced an insurance claim. This, combined with the prevailing persecution complex of the Anthroposophists, was a great motivation for fuelling suspicions of arson. To this day, the cause of the Goetheanum blaze remains an open question [29]. The timely payout of the insurance facilitated the rebuild of the Goetheanum, and the local Building Insurance Act was revised “to protect the state institution against such disasters” [30].
Jakob Ott
One person lost their life in the fire. That was Jakob Ott, a watchmaker from nearby Arlesheim, and a member of the Anthroposophy Society.
Assya Tergeniev recorded that: “When the glowing ashes had cooled, some days later, a human skeleton with a deformed spine was found therein. This deformity was the same as
that of a watchmaker who had disappeared at the time of the fire. It was officially announced that he had come to grief while helping with the rescue work” [11: 129].
A Basel newspaper reported that “Human remains were found in the rubble of the burned- down Goetheanum on Wednesday [10 January]. It is not yet certain whether it is the missing watchmaker Ott ... These are the bones of a single person, who presumably fell from the floor of the dome into the depth of the basement. The skull was smashed ... no one apart from the watchmaker Ott has been missing since that fateful night ... the bone remains were almost completely covered with slate residue from the roof of the dome. The casualty must have plunged into the stage basement below the collapsing dome at 12 midnight. Although all fire-fighting teams had withdrawn at 11:30 pm in view of the building, which was at risk and could no longer be saved, it is easily possible that, due to the thick smoke, a person who might already have been stunned had not been noticed” [31].
Conspiracy theorists of the day, and later commentators, have attributed the fire to arson, but that is not proven, and even named the supposed arsonist as Jakob Ott, and that is proven false. Research of Günther Aschoff has established: “the 28-year-old watchmaker Jakob Ott from Neu-Arlesheim had died in the fire. But he could not have been the arsonist, because he was home all New Year's Eve, then in the evening at a choir rehearsal and at the year-end service in the Reformed Church. (He was a member of the Reformed Church and of the Anthroposophical Society, he procured many advertisements for the magazine "Das Goetheanum" and had also collected signatures for the naturalization of Rudolf Steiner). At about 22.30 he was on the tram on the way home. When he saw the clouds of smoke at the Goetheanum in the moonlit night, he ran up the mountain, to help, which he used to do whenever he was needed. He was present when the fire was extinguished in the small dome at the top of the building, but when the others had already retreated because of all the smoke”. Jakob Ott failed to evacuate likely because he was overcome by smoke or that he lost his footing [32].
Jakob Ott was reportedly just 1.5 metres tall, and a hunchback with “a backbone curvature due to an accident” [31]. Another account simply sated: “Ott had a hump” [30]. He was a man of modest means and lacking influential friends. As a disabled figure, Jakob Ott was a
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ready candidate for „othering‟ and he made a convenient scapegoat for the smug. A Basel newspaper reported: “Dr Steiner, whom we also interviewed regarding Ott ... He himself has no suspicion of Ott” [23]. Rudolf Steiner subsequently attended Jakob Ott‟s funeral [33].
It appears that Rudolf Steiner never referred to the fire as „arson‟. Albert Steffen wrote of „The destruction of the Goetheanum by fire”, he did not write of „by arson‟ [25]. Arson does not rate in the top ten causes of house fires [34]. Arson does not rate as one of the nominated “leading causes of warehouse structure fires” [35]. If the arson conspiracy theory fails, then the quest for „the arsonist‟ is extinguished.
The demonising of Jakob Ott has been an unworthy episode propagated by some who should have known better. One hysterical account about Jakob Ott appears to be mere flights of fancy, ungrounded in fact, and owes more to a fertile imagination than sound research [e.g. 36]. It appears that Marie Steiner has fuelled conspiracy theories: “One of the suspects was the watchmaker Jakob Ott from Allesheim , whose skeleton was found ten days after the fire in the ashes of the Goetheanum which had burned down. It was identified by a spinal defect. Later Marie Steiner wrote „From a skeleton that was discovered, it can be established that the arsonist was burned‟‟ [quoted in 33: 904].
Jakob Ott (1895-1923) died a miserable death by incineration, in a worthy cause of trying to save the Goetheanum. Whether he was overcome by smoke and/or lost his footing, the action of entering a burning building is the act of a brave man.
A Blessing
Exactly a year on from the fire, Rudolf Steiner reflected on the events of New Year‟s Eve, 1922, at the Goetheanum. The venue for the lectures was now the much less salubrious (and cold) Schreinerei, the carpentry workshop, adjacent to the site of the remnants of the fire [37].
Rudolf Steiner referred to the “painful memory” of the final lecture that he had delivered at the Goetheanum, what he now called “our old Goetheanum” [6]. Remembering the night, Rudolf Steiner reminded his listeners that; “the flames bust from our beloved Goetheanum ... but out of the very pain we pledge ourselves to remain loyal to the Spirit to which we erected the Goetheanum, building it up through ten years of work” [6].
Changing tack, Rudolf Steiner urged his audience to move on from the “tragedy” and offered them the recipe for doing just that: “if we are able to change the pain and grief into the impulses to action then we shall also change the sorrowful event into a blessing. The pain cannot thereby be made less, but it rests with us to find in the pain the urge to action ... Let us carry over the soul of the Goetheanum into the Cosmic New Year, lets try to erect in the new Goetheanum a worth memorial to the old!” [6: 4].
Beyond Wood
Goetheanum I was an all-timber construct. One of the building officers related that: “our first director had implored us not to use any iron nail, coach screw or sheet metal in the main wooden structure. These artificial building materials were not to be brought in connection with the noble organic timber” [4: 15]
A few months after the fire, Rudolf Steiner, writing in the April 1923 issue of the periodical „Anthroposophy‟, was quick to rule in a rebuild, that was never in doubt in his mind, while at the same time he ruled out rebuilding in timber: “In rebuilding the Goetheanum we shall probably need to think on different lines ... There can, of course, be no question of a second Building in wood” [38: 38].
In 1923 Rudolf Steiner wrote to the Central Administration of the local Swiss Canton Solothurn: “The new building will stand directly on the site of the old. With regard to the construction of the building as a whole, we bring to your attention that it is to be executed as a solid structure and that all its structural parts, all floors and bearing walls, as well as the roof trusses will be carried out in reinforced concrete. We plan to employ a purely steel construction for the support of the floor of the main stage alone. Timber will be used nowhere as a constructional element in the new building, but exclusively for doors, windows, flooring and floor construction over solid slab floors, for rafters and for fixtures and cladding. As roof material the same Norwegian slate as was used on the old Goetheanum is to be employed. ... We are convinced that the entire building, when completed in this type of construction, will be able to meet all requirements as to fire safety to an unusual degree” [39: 52].
Concrete
By the time of Goetheanum II, Rudolf Steiner already had some experience of reinforced
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concrete as a building medium. The rather fanciful Heizhaus (Boiler House) of 1914 [9], located nearby the Goetheanum, and still standing today, is a creative exercise in concrete. Rudolf Steiner described it as “a remarkable structure” and so it is [14] (Fig.2).
Rudolf Steiner was well aware of criticism of his first adventure in concrete, the Boiler House. He proffered this rejoinder: “This is what is subject to the most severe criticism from some quarters ... I undertook to create ... a shell of concrete - a material which is extremely difficult to mould artistically. Those who criticise this structure today do not pause to reflect what would stand there if no endeavour had been made to mould something out of concrete - a material so difficult to mould. There could be nothing but a brick chimney. I wonder if that would be more beautiful than this, which of course is only a first attempt to give a certain style to something made of concrete. It has many defects, for it is only a first attempt to mould something artistic out of materials such as concrete” [14: 157].
Edith Maryon, Sculptor
Edith Maryon (1872-1924) stepped into Rudolf Steiner‟s life in 1914. It was just before the outbreak of World War I and she quickly became one of his closest confidants. Edith Maryon was an English sculptor trained at the Royal College of Arts in London.
As a trained and skilled sculptor, Edith Maryon brought new skills into the inner sanctum of Rudolf Steiner‟s bevy of talented women, which included the mathematician Elizabeth Vreede and medical doctor Ita Wegman. Goetheanum I was already under construction when Edith Maryon arrived at Dornach. Edith Maryon however quickly proved her skills in collaborative architectural design not just of sculptural elements within Goetheanum I. Together they created the Eurythmy Houses I, II and III (Eurythmiehäuser), a little way down the Dornach hill from the Goetheanum [9].
Edith Maryon brought a feminine influence and a sculptor's panache. Under the collaborative influence of Edith Maryon, Rudolf Steiner was liberated from the overt Freudian features of his earlier creations with his phallic Boiler House and the double-breasted Glass House (Glashaus) and Goetheanum I.
The clay models for Goetheanum II were constructed during 1923, the year of closest
collaboration between Rudolf Steiner and Edith Maryon. At the end of the year, at the Christmas Conference of 1923 Rudolf Steiner appointed Edith Maryon as the head of the Sculpture Section (plastic arts) of the School of Spiritual Science of the Goetheanum [40]. Sadly, by then her health was deteriorating and she passed away four months later. Rudolf Steiner‟s own health took a blow at the close of the Christmas Conference on 31 December 1923. He struggled on through nine months of 1924, before retreating to his sick bed in September, and he passed away six months later.
It could be regarded as fortuitous that Goetheanum I was destroyed during Rudolf Steiner‟s own lifetime and that he and Edith Maryon had developed a close collaborative working embrace that could bring the clay sculptural models of Goetheanum II quickly to fruition. Goetheanum II is Rudolf Steiner‟s final contribution to his portfolio of Anthroposophic buildings and to organic architecture, and more than any of his prior works, it is a monumental and masterful work of sculpture.
CONCLUSION
The first Goetheanum was both success and failure. It was a bold experiment in organic design, a proof of concept that such a vision could be translated into reality, that despite the disruption of war, work could proceed, funds could be raised, a distinctive building could be manifested, and the enthusiasm and talent of a multitude of volunteers could be harnessed. However, an all timber building is a conflagration waiting to happen, it is just the timing of the conflagration that is the uncertainty. In the case of Goetheanum I, the conflagration came quickly, before even the building was completed, before a Mystery Play was ever performed in the space, remembering that a dedicated performance space for such plays had been a large part of the rationale for the building.
The dharma of Goetheanum I was to serve as a placeholder for Goetheanum II. The new Goetheanum took the money from the insurance of the demise of the old Goetheanum, and embraced the lesson that an all-timber construction is not a recipe for longevity. Goetheanum II harnessed the sculptural skills by then on hand, and brought them to the fore to create what is not only a magnificent sculpture in concrete, but is also a functioning building and a delight to work in. Flushed away is the quaintness of Goetheanum I. The new Goetheanum is a bold twentieth
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century building worthy of the twenty first century and beyond.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Thank you to to members of the Goetheanum Archive (Dokumentation am Goetheanum Bibliothek Kunstsammlung Archiv) for kind
assistance in navigating the collection and to DeepL.com/Translator and Google Translate for assistance with various translations.
REFERENCES
[1] Steiner, R., The Goetheanum in the ten years of its life, I. Anthroposophy, 1923. 2(1-2): p. 2-10.
[2] Steiner, R., What was the purpose of the Goetheanum and what is the task of Anthroposophy, A lecture at Basel, 9 April, 1923. 1923, Fremont, IL: Rudolf Steiner Archive, .
[3] Paull, J., A portrait of Edith Maryon: Artist and Anthroposophist. Journal of Fine Arts, 2018. 1(2): p. 8-15.
[4] Hummel, A., A Diary: Life and Work During the Building of the First Goetheanum. 2003, (Trans. Friedwart Bock from c.1955 German original), Aberdeen: Camphill Architects.
[5] Paull, J., Rudolf Steiner: At Home in Berlin. Journal of Biodynamics Tasmania, 2019. 132: p. 26-29.
[6] Steiner, R., World History in the Light of Anthroposophy, A lecture at Dornach, 31 December 1923. 1923, Fremont, IL: Rudolf Steiner Archive, .
[7] Fahrni, D., An Outline History of Switzerland From the Origins to the Present Day. 1997, Zürich: Pro Helvetia Arts, Council of Switzerland.
[8] Steiner, R., The Story of My Life. 1928, London: Anthroposophical Publishing Co.
[9] Kugler, J., ed. Architekturführer Goetheanumhügel die Dornacher Anthroposophen-Kolonie. 2011, Verlag Niggli: Zurich.
[10] Keith, Postcard (with handwritten message on rear): Ypres - La Salle Pauwels (Halles d'Ypres) avant et après le Bombardment. The Pauwels Gallery (Halles of Ypres) before the Bombard- ment and after. 1916, Paris: Visé Paris (private collection).
[11] Turgeniev, A., Reminiscences of Rudolf Steiner and Work on the First Goetheanum. 2003, Forest Row, UK: Temple Lodge.
[12] Steiner, R., Ways to A New Style in Architecture: Five lectures by Rudolf Steiner given during the building of the First Goetheanum, 1914. 1927, London: Anthroposophical Publishing Company.
[13] Uehli, E., Rudolf Steiner als Künstler. 1921, Stuttgart: Der Kommnede Tag.
[14]
[15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]
[22] [23]
[24]
[25] [26] [27]
[28]
[29] [30] [31]
Steiner, R., The Dornach Building, Lecture at The Hague, 28 Feb 1921, in Rudolf Steiner Architecture, A. Beard, Editor. 2003, Sophia Books: Forest Row.
Paull, J., Ernesto Genoni: Australia's pioneer of biodynamic agriculture. Journal of Organics, 2014. 1(1): p. 57-81.
Paull, J., The Anthroposophic Art of Ernesto Genoni, Goetheanum, 1924. Journal of Organics, 2016. 3(2): p. 1-24.
Genoni, E., Personal memoir. c.1970, 9 pp., typewritten manuscript, last date mentioned is 1966, A4. Private collection.
Genoni, E., Personal memoir. c.1955, 26 pp., handwritten manuscript, last date mentioned is 1952, school exercise book. Private collection.
The Register, Modernity in Art - New Architectural Forms. The Register (Adelaide, Australia), 1925. 31 December: p. 5.
Biesantz, H. and A. Klingborg, The Goetheanum: Rudolf Steiner's Architectural Impulse. 1979, London: Rudolf Steiner Press.
Metaxa, G., Typed letter, Dear Friends and fellow members. 2 pages. 25 December. Anthroposophical Society. 1922, 46 Gloucester Place, London.
Basler Nachrichten, Das Goetheanum niedergebrannt. Basler Nachrichten, 1923. 2 January.
Basler Nachrichten, Zum Brand im Goetheanum - Ott in Verdacht als Brandstifter oder Mitwisser. Basler Nachrichten, 1923. 5 January.
National Zeitung, The account of the burning of the Goetheanum from the National Zeitung. Anthroposophy, 1923. 2(1-2, January- February): p. 18-19.
Steffen, A., The destruction of the Goetheanum by fire. Anthroposophy, 1923. 2(1-2): p. 10-13.
BBC News, Notre-Dame: The story of the fire in graphics and images. BBC News, 2019. 16 April.
ABC News, Notre Dame fire: Paris cathedral spire collapses as blaze tears through landmark. ABC News, 2019. 16 April.
Vandoorne, S., A. Crouin, and B. Britton, Notre Dame fire could have been started by a cigarette or an electrical fault, prosecutors say. CNN, 2019. 26 June.
Balzer, M., The unsolved Goetheanum case: A play is devoted to the fire of New Year'ds Eve 1922. Aargauer Zeitung, 2019. 2 May.
Basler Nachrichten, Zur Untersuchung über den Goetheanum-Brand. Basler Nachrichten, 1923. 11 January.
Neue Zürcher Nachrichten, Ein wichtiger Fund bei den Aufräumungsarbeiten am Goetheanum. Neue Zürcher Nachrichten, 1923. 13 January.
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The First Goetheanum: A Centenary for Organic Architecture
[32] Aschoff, G., Neues vom Goetheanum-Brand. Das Goetheanum, 2007. 1-2.
[33] Prokofieff, S.O., May Human Beings Hear It!: The Mystery of the Christmas Conference. 2014, Forest Row, UK: Temple Lodge.
[34] Real Insurance, The most common causes of house fires. 2013, Sydney: Real Insurance.
[35] Campbell, R., Structure Fires in Warehouse Properties. 2016, Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association.
[36] Ravenscroft, T., The Spear of Destiny: The Occult Power Behind the Spear Which Pierced the Side of Christ and how Hitler inverted the Force in a bid to conquer the World. 1982, York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser Inc.
[37] Paull, J., Dr Rudolf Steiner's Shed: The Schreinerei at Dornach. Journal of Bio-Dynamics Tasmania, 2018. 127(September): p. 14-19.
[38] Steiner, R., The Goetheanum in the ten years of its life, VI. Anthroposophy, 1923. 2(4): p. 37-41.
[39] Raab, R., A. Klingborg, and A. Fant, Eloquent Concrete: How Rudolf Steiner Employed Reinforced Concrete. 1979, London: Rudolf Steiner Press.
[40] Steiner, M., Proceedings of the Founding Conference of the General Anthroposophical Society. 1944, Roneoed publication. "As edited and published by Marie Steiner in 1944. Translated by Frances E Dawson": "For Members of the General Anthroposophical Society".
Manikkavacakar or MaanikkaVaasagar was a 9th-century Tamil poet who wrote Tiruvasakam, a book of Shaiva hymns. He was one of the main authors of Saivite Tirumurai, his work forms volume eight of the Tirumurai, the key religious text of Tamil language Saiva Siddhanta. A minister to the Pandya king Varagunavarman II (c. 862 C.E. – 885 C.E.) (also called Arimarthana Pandiyan), he lived in Madurai. His work is a poetic expression of the joy of God-experience, the anguish of being separated from God. Although he is a prominent saint in Southern India, he is not counted among the sixty-three Nayanmars .
Manikkavacakar is said to have born in Vadhavoor (Thiruvadhavoor, near by Melur in Madurai district), seven miles from Madurai on the banks of river Vaigai. He belonged to the Pandithar saivite temple priest guild. His father was a temple priest. The group wore a top tilted knot to denote servitorship to Lord Siva like sambandar, etc. A mural and statuette of Manikkavacakar with head knot is seen in Tirupperunturai near Pudukkottai. A poetic and elaborate hagiography of Manikkavacakar and his works was written in the 16th century and is called Tiruvilayadal puranam, meaning "An account of divine deeds". The same is not available now in its original form. Another called Vadhavoorar puranam and yet another Sanskrit work of the 12th century CE on the same saint is now missing.
According to accounts the king of Pandyan dynasty had selected Manikkavacakar as a part of his legion after seeing his military acumen and had once entrusted him with a large amount of money to purchase horses for his cavalry. On his way he met an ascetic devotee of Siva, who in fact was Siva himself. Manikkavacakar received enlightenment, realised that material things are transitory and built the temple of Shiva in Tirupperunturai with the money. King Varaguna also was preached with knowledge of reality and blessed with mukthi after Lord Shiva made him realize his small worldly mistake. Varaguana maharaja immediately gave up his throne and attained mukthi at the feet of Lord Shiva.
Manikkavacakar's birth name is unclear, but he was known as Vadhavoorar after his birthplace. Manikkavacakar means 'man with words as precious as Manikam'.
According to Ramana Maharshi, it is said that when Manikkavacakar attained mukthi, his body dissolved in a blinding light without leaving a corpse behind.
Literary work
Manikkavacakar moved from one place to other, singing and composing devotional songs. Finally, he settled in Chidambaram. His Tiruvasakam is placed near the Murti of Nataraja there. Several verses of Tiruvasagam including the accho patikam after singing which he attained mukti at Thillai Natarajar's feet are also engraved in the walls of the chidambaram temple. The tiruchazhal hymn after singing which the communal Buddhists were exposed is also engraved in one of the prakarams. The work tiruchitrambalakkovaiyar was sung entirely in thillai chidambaram. Throughout his work he discusses how important it is to forego attachments and cultivate dispassionate, devoted, sincere and simple hearted love to lord Shiva in order to attain his beatitude and also that the five letters of na ma si va ya alone give one mukti.
Manikkavacakar's work has several parts. The Tiruvembavai, a collection of twenty hymns in which he has imagined himself as a woman following the Paavai Nonbu and praising Shiva. The twenty songs of Tiruvembavai and ten songs of Tiruppalliezhuchi on the Tirupperunturai Lord are sung all over Tamil Nadu in the holy month of Margazhi ( The 9th month of the Tamil calendar, December and January).
There are things that we take for granted sometimes because it comes cheap. A Henna session with a beautician from the local parlour costs 1 hour and about Rs. 1250, approximately US $ 25 or 30.
I'm floored by the fact how many people don't make notice of such subtle beautiful things in life.
I have a soft corner for henna, i've always loved to have it as a kid and its been ages since i had henna on my hands last. I wish someone would married in the family or in my friends circle and i could use that as an excuse to post self portraits of me hands with henna.
I'm sorry about the F/2.8. I wish i could have had the tripod and shot this at F/11 or F/13 with better lighting but i was rushed to have dinner the lovely people around me were like "Enough of pictures, when are you gonna eat, come get dinner...!"
Sigh, a photographers life is always a battle of love between his camera and his people who love him, im sure most of you can relate to what im saying on a very personal note. LOL!
Canon EOS 400D with the Canon EF 100MM F/2.8 USM Macro. Manual, F/2.8 at 1/80th of a Second, Hand held. ISO400, Canon Speedlite 430EX, Fill Flash Fired.
Alexander Reford, a great-grandson of Elsie Reford, has managed the Reford Gardens since 1995, taking responsibility for their preservation and development. An historian by profession, educated at the universities of Oxford and Toronto, he has published many articles relating to Canadian history. He is chairman of the Association des jardins du Québec and a co-founder of the International Garden Festival, held each year at the Reford Gardens.
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.
Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.
Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.
She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.
In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.
During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.
In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.
Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.
To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.
Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.
In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)
Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.
Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.
Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada
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ITM1692074
Technology company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A technology company (or tech company) is an electronics-based technological company, including, for example, business relating to digital electronics, software, and internet-related services, such as e-commerce services.[1][2][3]
Details
According to Fortune, as of 2020, the ten largest technology companies by revenue are: Apple Inc., Samsung, Foxconn, Alphabet Inc., Microsoft, Huawei, Dell Technologies, Hitachi, IBM, and Sony.[4] Amazon has higher revenue than Apple, but is classified by Fortune in the retail sector.[5] The most profitable listed in 2020 are Apple Inc., Microsoft, Alphabet Inc., Intel, Meta Platforms, Samsung, and Tencent.[4]
Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc. (owner of Google), Meta Platforms (owner of Facebook), Microsoft, and Amazon.com, Inc. are often referred to as the Big Five multinational technology companies based in the United States. These five technology companies dominate major functions, e-commerce channels, and information of the entire Internet ecosystem. As of 2017, the Big Five had a combined valuation of over $3.3 trillion and make up more than 40 percent of the value of the Nasdaq-100 index.[6]
Many large tech companies have a reputation for innovation, spending large sums of money annually on research and development. According to PwC's 2017 Global Innovation 1000 ranking, tech companies made up nine of the 20 most innovative companies in the world, with the top R&D spender (as measured by expenditure) being Amazon, followed by Alphabet Inc., and then Intel.[7]
As a result of numerous influential tech companies and tech startups opening offices in proximity to one another, a number of technology districts have developed in various areas across the globe.[8] These include: Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Wadi in Israel, Silicon Docks in Dublin, Silicon Hills in Austin, Tech City in London; Digital Media City in Seoul, Zhongguancun in Beijing, Cyberjaya in Malaysia and Cyberabad in Hyderabad.
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model.[1][2] While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend to become registered, startups refer to new businesses that intend to grow large beyond the solo founder.[3] At the beginning, startups face high uncertainty[4] and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to be successful and influential.[5]
Actions
Startups typically begin by a founder (solo-founder) or co-founders who have a way to solve a problem. The founder of a startup will begin market validation by problem interview, solution interview, and building a minimum viable product (MVP), i.e. a prototype, to develop and validate their business models. The startup process can take a long period of time (by some estimates, three years or longer), and hence sustaining effort is required. Over the long term, sustaining effort is especially challenging because of the high failure rates and uncertain outcomes.[6] Having a business plan in place outlines what to do and how to plan and achieve an idea in the future. Typically, these plans outline the first 3 to 5 years of your business strategy. [7]
Design principles
Models behind startups presenting as ventures are usually associated with design science. Design science uses design principles considered to be a coherent set of normative ideas and propositions to design and construct the company's backbone.[8] For example, one of the initial design principles is "affordable loss".[9]
Heuristics and biases in startup actions
Because of the lack of information, high uncertainty, the need to make decisions quickly, founders of startups use many heuristics and exhibit biases in their startup actions. Biases and heuristics are parts of our cognitive toolboxes in the decision-making process. They help us decide quickly as possible under uncertainty but sometimes become erroneous and fallacious.[10]
Entrepreneurs often become overconfident about their startups and their influence on an outcome (case of the illusion of control). Entrepreneurs tend to believe they have more degree of control over events, discounting the role of luck. Below are some of the most critical decision biases of entrepreneurs to start up a new business.[10]
Overconfidence: Perceive a subjective certainty higher than the objective accuracy.
Illusion of control: Overemphasize how much skills, instead of chance, improve performance.
The law of small numbers: Reach conclusions about a larger population using a limited sample.
Availability bias: Make judgments about the probability of events based on how easy it is to think of examples.
Escalation of commitment: Persist unduly with unsuccessful initiatives or courses of action.
Startups use several action principles to generate evidence as quickly as possible to reduce the downside effect of decision biases such as an escalation of commitment, overconfidence, and the illusion of control.
Mentoring
Many entrepreneurs seek feedback from mentors in creating their startups. Mentors guide founders and impart entrepreneurial skills and may increase the self-efficacy of nascent entrepreneurs.[11] Mentoring offers direction for entrepreneurs to enhance their knowledge of how to sustain their assets relating to their status and identity and strengthen their real-time skills.[12]
Principles
There are many principles in creating a startup. Some of the principles are listed below.
Lean startup
Lean startup is a clear set of principles to create and design startups under limited resources and tremendous uncertainty to build their ventures more flexibly and at a lower cost. It is based on the idea that entrepreneurs can make their implicit assumptions about how their venture works explicit and empirically testing it.[13] The empirical test is to de/validate these assumptions and to get an engaged understanding of the business model of the new ventures, and in doing so, the new ventures are created iteratively in a build–measure–learn loop. Hence, lean startup is a set of principles for entrepreneurial learning and business model design. More precisely, it is a set of design principles aimed for iteratively experiential learning under uncertainty in an engaged empirical manner. Typically, lean startup focuses on a few lean principles:
find a problem worth solving, then define a solution
engage early adopters for market validation
continually test with smaller, faster iterations
build a function, measure customer response, and verify/refute the idea
evidence-based decisions on when to "pivot" by changing your plan's course
maximize the efforts for speed, learning, and focus
Market validation
A key principle of startup is to validate the market need before providing a customer-centric product or service to avoid business ideas with weak demand.[14] Market validation can be done in a number of ways, including surveys, cold calling, email responses, word of mouth or through sample research.[15]
Design thinking
Design thinking is used to understand the customers' need in an engaged manner. Design thinking and customer development can be biased because they do not remove the risk of bias because the same biases will manifest themselves in the sources of information, the type of information sought, and the interpretation of that information.[16] Encouraging people to “consider the opposite” of whatever decision they are about to make tends to reduce biases such as overconfidence, the hindsight bias, and anchoring (Larrick, 2004; Mussweiler, Strack, & Pfeiffer, 2000).
Decision-making under uncertainty
In startups, many decisions are made under uncertainty,[4] and hence a key principle for startups is to be agile and flexible. Founders can embed options to design startups in flexible manners, so that the startups can change easily in future.
Uncertainty can vary within-person (I feel more uncertain this year than last year) and between-person (he feels more uncertain than she does). A study found that when entrepreneurs feel more uncertain, they identify more opportunities (within-person difference), but entrepreneurs who perceive more uncertainties than others do not identify more opportunities than others do (no between-person difference).[4]
Partnering
Startups may form partnerships with other firms to enable their business model to operate.[17] To become attractive to other businesses, startups need to align their internal features, such as management style and products with the market situation. In their 2013 study, Kask and Linton develop two ideal profiles, or also known as configurations or archetypes, for startups that are commercializing inventions. The inheritor profile calls for a management style that is not too entrepreneurial (more conservative) and the startup should have an incremental invention (building on a previous standard). This profile is set out to be more successful (in finding a business partner) in a market that has a dominant design (a clear standard is applied in this market). In contrast to this profile is the originator which has a management style that is highly entrepreneurial and in which a radical invention or a disruptive innovation (totally new standard) is being developed. This profile is set out to be more successful (in finding a business partner) in a market that does not have a dominant design (established standard). New startups should align themselves to one of the profiles when commercializing an invention to be able to find and be attractive to a business partner. By finding a business partner, a startup has greater chances of becoming successful.[18]
Startups usually need many different partners to realize their business idea. The commercialization process is often a bumpy road with iterations and new insights during the process. Hasche and Linton (2018)[19] argue that startups can learn from their relationships with other firms, and even if the relationship ends, the startup will have gained valuable knowledge about how it should move on going forward. When a relationship is failing for a startup it needs to make changes. Three types of changes can be identified according to Hasche and Linton (2018):[19]
Change of business concept for the start up
Change of collaboration constellation (change several relationships)
Change of characteristic of business relationship (with the partner, e.g. from a transactional relationship to more of a collaborative type of relationship)
Entrepreneurial learning
See also: Validated learning
Startups need to learn at a huge speed before running out of resources. Proactive actions (experimentation, searching, etc.) enhance a founder's learning to start a company.[20] To learn effectively, founders often formulate falsifiable hypotheses, build a minimum viable product (MVP), and conduct A/B testing.
Business Model Design
With the key learnings from market validation, design thinking, and lean startup, founders can design a business model. However it's important not to dive into business models too early before there is sufficient learning on market validation. Paul Graham said "What I tell founders is not to sweat the business model too much at first. The most important task at first is to build something people want. If you don’t do that, it won’t matter how clever your business model is."[21]
Founders/entrepreneurs
Main article: Organizational founder
Founders or co-founders are people involved in the initial launch of startup companies. Anyone can be a co-founder, and an existing company can also be a co-founder, but the most common co-founders are founder-CEOs, engineers, hackers, web developers, web designers and others involved in the ground level of a new, often venture. The founder that is responsible for the overall strategy of the startup plays the role of founder-CEOs, much like CEOs in established firms. Startup studios provide an opportunity for founders and team members to grow along with the business they help to build. In order to create forward momentum, founders must ensure that they provide opportunities for their team members to grow and evolve within the company.[22]
The language of securities regulation in the United States considers co-founders to be "promoters" under Regulation D. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission definition of "Promoter" includes: (i) Any person who, acting alone or in conjunction with one or more other persons, directly or indirectly takes initiative in founding and organizing the business or enterprise of an issuer;[23] However, not every promoter is a co-founder. In fact, there is no formal, legal definition of what makes somebody a co-founder.[24][25] The right to call oneself a co-founder can be established through an agreement with one's fellow co-founders or with permission of the board of directors, investors, or shareholders of a startup company. When there is no definitive agreement (like shareholders' agreement), disputes about who the co-founders are, can arise.
Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy refers to the confidence an individual has to create a new business or startup. It has a strong relation with startup actions.[26] Entrepreneurs' sense of self-efficacy can play a major role in how they approach goals, tasks, and challenges. Entrepreneurs with high self-efficacy—that is, those who believe they can perform well—are more likely to view difficult tasks as something to be mastered rather than something to be avoided.
Stress
Startups are pressure cookers. Don’t let the casual dress and playful office environment fool you. New enterprises operate under do-or-die conditions. If you do not roll out a useable product or service in a timely fashion, the company will fail. Bye-bye paycheck, hello eviction.
Iman Jalali, chief of staff at ContextMedia[27][unreliable source?]
Entrepreneurs often feel stressed. They have internal and external pressures. Internally, they need to meet deadlines to develop the prototypes and get the product or service ready for market. Externally they are expected to meet milestones of investors and other stakeholders to ensure continued resources from them on the startups.[28] Coping with stress is critical to entrepreneurs because of the stressful nature of start up a new firm under uncertainty. Coping with stress unsuccessfully could lead to emotional exhaustion, and the founders may close or exit the startups.
Emotional exhaustion
Sustaining effort is required as the startup process can take a long period of time, by one estimate, three years or longer (Carter et al., 1996; Reynolds & Miller, 1992). Sustaining effort over the long term is especially challenging because of the high failure rates and uncertain outcomes.[28]
Founder identity and culture
Some startup founders have a more casual or offbeat attitude in their dress, office space and marketing, as compared to executives in established corporations. For example, startup founders in the 2010s wore hoodies, sneakers and other casual clothes to business meetings. Their offices may have recreational facilities in them, such as pool tables, ping pong tables, football tables and pinball machines, which are used to create a fun work environment, stimulate team development and team spirit, and encourage creativity. Some of the casual approaches, such as the use of "flat" organizational structures, in which regular employees can talk with the founders and chief executive officers informally, are done to promote efficiency in the workplace, which is needed to get their business off the ground.[29]
In a 1960 study, Douglas McGregor stressed that punishments and rewards for uniformity in the workplace are not necessary because some people are born with the motivation to work without incentives.[30] Some startups do not use a strict command and control hierarchical structure, with executives, managers, supervisors and employees. Some startups offer employees incentives such as stock options, to increase their "buy in" from the start up (as these employees stand to gain if the company does well). This removal of stressors allows the workers and researchers in the startup to focus less on the work environment around them, and more on achieving the task at hand, giving them the potential to achieve something great for both themselves and their company.
Failure
The failure rate of startup companies is very high. A 2014 article in Fortune estimated that 90% of startups ultimately fail. In a sample of 101 unsuccessful startups, companies reported that experiencing one or more of five common factors were the reason for failure; lack of consumer interest in the product or service (42% of failures), funding or cash problems (29%), personnel or staffing problems (23%), competition from rival companies (19%) and problems with pricing of the product or service (18%).[5] In cases of funding problems it can leave employees without paychecks. Sometimes these companies are purchased by other companies if they are deemed to be viable, but oftentimes they leave employees with very little recourse to recoup lost income for worked time.[31] More than one-third of founders believe that running out of money led to failure. Second to that, founders attribute their failure to a lack of financing or investor interest. These common mistakes and missteps that happen early in the startup journey can result in failure, but there are precautions entrepreneurs can take to help mitigate risk. For example, startup studios offer a buffer against many of the obstacles that solo entrepreneurs face, such as funding and insufficient team structure, making them a good resource for startups in their earliest phases.[32]
Re-starters
Failed entrepreneurs, or restarters, who after some time restart in the same sector with more or less the same activities, have an increased chance of becoming a better entrepreneur.[33] However, some studies indicate that restarters are more heavily discouraged in Europe than in the US.[34]
Training
See also: Entrepreneurship education
Many institutions and universities provide training on startups. In the context of universities, some of the courses are entrepreneurship courses that also deal with the topic of startups, while other courses are specifically dedicated to startups. Startup courses are found both in traditional economic or business disciplines as well as the side of information technology disciplines. As startups are often focused on software, they are also occasionally taught while focusing on software development alongside the business aspects of a startup.[35]
“The best way of learning about anything is by doing.” – Richard Branson
Founders go through a lot to set up a startup. A startup requires patience and resilience, and training programs need to have both the business components and the psychological components.[36] Entrepreneurship education is effective in increasing the entrepreneurial attitudes and perceived behavioral control,[37] helping people and their businesses grow.[36] Most of startup training falls into the mode of experiential learning (Cooper et al., 2004; Pittaway and Cope, 2007), in which students are exposed to a large extent to a real-life entrepreneurship context as new venture teams (Wu et al., 2009).[13] An example of group-based experiential startup training is the Lean LaunchPad initiative that applies the principles of customer development (Blank and Dorf, 2012) and Lean Startup (Ries, 2011) to technology-based startup projects.
As startups are typically thought to operate under a notable lack of resources,[38] have little or no operating history,[39] and to consist of individuals with little practical experience,[40][41] it is possible to simulate startups in a classroom setting with reasonable accuracy. In fact, it is not uncommon for students to actually participate in real startups during and after their studies. Similarly, university courses teaching software startup themes often have students found mock-up startups during the courses and encourage them to make them into real startups should they wish to do so.[35] Such mock-up startups, however, may not be enough to accurately simulate real-world startup practice if the challenges typically faced by startups (e.g. lack of funding to keep operating) are not present in the course setting.[42]
To date, much of the entrepreneurship training is yet personalized to match the participants and the training.
Ecosystem
A startup ecosystem can contribute to local entrepreneurial culture.
The size and maturity of the startup ecosystem is where a startup is launched and where it grows to have an effect on the volume and success of the startups. The startup ecosystem consists of the individuals (entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, mentors, advisors); institutions and organizations (top research universities and institutes, business schools and entrepreneurship programs and centres operated by universities and colleges, non-profit entrepreneurship support organizations, government entrepreneurship programs and services, Chambers of commerce) business incubators and business accelerators and top-performing entrepreneurial firms and startups. A region with all of these elements is considered to be a "strong" startup ecosystem.
One of the most famous startup ecosystems is Silicon Valley in California, where major computer and internet firms and top universities such as Stanford University create a stimulating startup environment. Boston (where Massachusetts Institute of Technology is located) and Berlin, home of WISTA (a top research area), also have numerous creative industries, leading entrepreneurs and startup firms. Basically, attempts are being made worldwide, for example in Israel with its Silicon Wadi, in France with the Inovallée or in Italy in Trieste with the AREA Science Park, to network basic research, universities and technology parks in order to create a startup-friendly ecosystem.
Although there are startups created in all types of businesses, and all over the world, some locations and business sectors are particularly associated with startup companies. The internet bubble of the late 1990s was associated with huge numbers of internet startup companies, some selling the technology to provide internet access, others using the internet to provide services. Most of this startup activity was located in the most well-known startup ecosystem - Silicon Valley, an area of northern California renowned for the high level of startup company activity:
The spark that set off the explosive boom of "Silicon startups" in Stanford Industrial Park was a personal dispute in 1957 between employees of Shockley Semiconductor and the company’s namesake and founder, Nobel laureate and co-inventor of the transistor William Shockley... (His employees) formed Fairchild Semiconductor immediately following their departure... After several years, Fairchild gained its footing, becoming a formidable presence in this sector. Its founders began leaving to start companies based on their own latest ideas and were followed on this path by their own former leading employees... The process gained momentum and what had once begun in a Stanford’s research park became a veritable startup avalanche... Thus, over the course of just 20 years, a mere eight of Shockley’s former employees gave forth 65 new enterprises, which then went on to do the same...[43]
Startup advocates are also trying to build a community of tech startups in New York City with organizations like NY Tech Meet Up[44] and Built in NYC.[45] In the early 2000s, the patent assets of failed startup companies were being purchased by people known as patent trolls, who assert those patents against companies that might be infringing the technology covered by the patents.[46]
Investing
Diagram of the typical financing cycle for a startup company
Startup investing is the action of making an investment in an early-stage company. Beyond founders' own contributions, some startups raise additional investment at some or several stages of their growth. Not all startups trying to raise investments are successful in their fundraising.
In the United States, the solicitation of funds became easier for startups as result of the JOBS Act.[47][48][49][50] Prior to the advent of equity crowdfunding, a form of online investing that has been legalized in several nations, startups did not advertise themselves to the general public as investment opportunities until and unless they first obtained approval from regulators for an initial public offering (IPO) that typically involved a listing of the startup's securities on a stock exchange. Today, there are many alternative forms of IPO commonly employed by startups and startup promoters that do not include an exchange listing, so they may avoid certain regulatory compliance obligations, including mandatory periodic disclosures of financial information and factual discussion of business conditions by management that investors and potential investors routinely receive from registered public companies.[51]
Investors are generally most attracted to those new companies distinguished by their strong co-founding team, a balanced "risk/reward" profile (in which high risk due to the untested, disruptive innovations is balanced out by high potential returns) and "scalability" (the likelihood that a startup can expand its operations by serving more markets or more customers).[citation needed] Attractive startups generally have lower "bootstrapping" (self-funding of startups by the founders) costs, higher risk, and higher potential return on investment. Successful startups are typically more scalable than an established business, in the sense that the startup has the potential to grow rapidly with a limited investment of capital, labor or land.[52] Timing has often been the single most important factor for biggest startup successes,[53] while at the same time it's identified to be one of the hardest things to master by many serial entrepreneurs and investors.[54]
Startups have several options for funding. Revenue-based financing lenders can help startup companies by providing non-dilutive growth capital in exchange for a percentage of monthly revenue.[55] Venture capital firms and angel investors may help startup companies begin operations, exchanging seed money for an equity stake in the firm. Venture capitalists and angel investors provide financing to a range of startups (a portfolio), with the expectation that a very small number of the startups will become viable and make money. In practice though, many startups are initially funded by the founders themselves using "bootstrapping", in which loans or monetary gifts from friends and family are combined with savings and credit card debt to finance the venture. Factoring is another option, though it is not unique to startups. Other funding opportunities include various forms of crowdfunding, for example equity crowdfunding,[56] in which the startup seeks funding from a large number of individuals, typically by pitching their idea on the Internet.
Startups can receive funding via more involved stakeholders, such as startup studios. Startup studios provide funding to support the business through a successful launch, but they also provide extensive operational support, such as HR, finance and accounting, marketing, and product development, to increase the probability of success and propel growth. [57]
Necessity of funding
While some (would-be) entrepreneurs believe that they can't start a company without funding from VC, Angel, etc. that is not the case.[58] In fact, many entrepreneurs have founded successful businesses for almost no capital, including the founders of MailChimp, Shopify, and ShutterStock.[59]
Valuations
If a company's value is based on its technology, it is often equally important for the business owners to obtain intellectual property protection for their idea. The newsmagazine The Economist estimated that up to 75% of the value of US public companies is now based on their intellectual property (up from 40% in 1980).[60] Often, 100% of a small startup company's value is based on its intellectual property. As such, it is important for technology-oriented startup companies to develop a sound strategy for protecting their intellectual capital as early as possible.[61] Startup companies, particularly those associated with new technology, sometimes produce huge returns to their creators and investors—a recent example of such is Google, whose creators became billionaires through their stock ownership and options.
Investing rounds
When investing in a startup, there are different types of stages in which the investor can participate. The first round is called seed round. The seed round generally is when the startup is still in the very early phase of execution when their product is still in the prototype phase. There is likely no performance data or positive financials as of yet. Therefore, investors rely on strength of the idea and the team in place. At this level, family friends and angel investors will be the ones participating. At this stage the level of risk and payoff are at their greatest. The next round is called Series A. At this point the company already has traction and may be making revenue. In Series A rounds venture capital firms will be participating alongside angels or super angel investors. The next rounds are Series B, C, and D. These three rounds are the ones leading towards the Initial Public Offering (IPO). Venture capital firms and private equity firms will be participating.[62] Series B: Companies are generating consistent revenue but must scale to meet growing demand. Series C & D: Companies with strong financial performance looking to expand to new markets, develop new products, make an acquisition, and/or preparing for IPO.
History of startup investing
After the Great Depression, which was blamed in part on a rise in speculative investments in unregulated small companies, startup investing was primarily a word of mouth activity reserved for the friends and family of a startup's co-founders, business angels, and Venture Capital funds. In the United States, this has been the case ever since the implementation of the Securities Act of 1933. Many nations implemented similar legislation to prohibit general solicitation and general advertising of unregistered securities, including shares offered by startup companies. In 2005, a new Accelerator investment model was introduced by Y Combinator that combined fixed terms investment model with fixed period intense bootcamp style training program, to streamline the seed/early-stage investment process with training to be more systematic.
Following Y Combinator, many accelerators with similar models have emerged around the world. The accelerator model has since become very common and widely spread and they are key organizations of any Startup ecosystem. Title II of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), first implemented on 23 September 2013, granted startups in and startup co-founders or promoters in US. the right to generally solicit and advertise publicly using any method of communication on the condition that only accredited investors are allowed to purchase the securities.[63][64][65] However the regulations affecting equity crowdfunding in different countries vary a lot with different levels and models of freedom and restrictions. In many countries there are no limitations restricting general public from investing to startups, while there can still be other types of restrictions in place, like limiting the amount that companies can seek from investors. Due to positive development and growth of crowdfunding,[66] many countries are actively updating their regulation in regards to crowdfunding.
Investing online
The first known investment-based crowdfunding platform for startups was launched in Feb. 2010 by Grow VC,[67] followed by the first US. based company ProFounder launching model for startups to raise investments directly on the site,[68] but ProFounder later decided to shut down its business due regulatory reasons preventing them from continuing,[69] having launched their model for US. markets prior to JOBS Act. With the positive progress of the JOBS Act for crowd investing in US., equity crowdfunding platforms like SeedInvest and CircleUp started to emerge in 2011 and platforms such as investiere, Companisto and Seedrs in Europe and OurCrowd in Israel. The idea of these platforms is to streamline the process and resolve the two main points that were taking place in the market. The first problem was for startups to be able to access capital and to decrease the amount of time that it takes to close a round of financing. The second problem was intended to increase the amount of deal flow for the investor and to also centralize the process.[70][71]
Internal startups
Internal startups are a form of corporate entrepreneurship.[72] Large or well-established companies often try to promote innovation by setting up "internal startups", new business divisions that operate at arm's length from the rest of the company. Examples include Bell Labs, a research unit within the Bell System and Target Corporation (which began as an internal startup of the Dayton's department store chain) and threedegrees, a product developed by an internal startup of Microsoft.[73] To accommodate startups internally, companies, such as Google has made strides to make purchased startups and their workers feel at home in their offices, even letting them bring their dogs to work.[74]
Unicorns
See also: List of unicorn startup companies
Some startups become big and they become unicorns, i.e. privately held startup companies valued at over US$1 billion. The term was coined in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee, choosing the mythical animal to represent the statistical rarity of such successful ventures. According to TechCrunch, there were 452 unicorns as of May 2019, and most of the unicorns are in the USA, followed by China. The unicorns are concentrated in a few countries. The unicorn leaders are the U.S. with 196 companies, China with 165, India with 107[75] and the U.K. with 16.[76] The largest unicorns included Ant Financial, ByteDance, DiDi, Uber, Xiaomi, and Airbnb. When the value of a company is over US$10 billion, the company will be called as a Decacorn. When the company is valued over US$100 billion, Hectocorn will be used.
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#LiveLondon - Traditional yet uninhibited, frenzied but quiescent, diverse yet welcoming - be immersed in this series of compelling photographs that capture the juxtapositions of city life in London.
Explore these virtues and join in on a unique and authentic journey through the streets of one of the great cities of the world in LiveLondon – Benedict Sin’s first public exhibition.
Feel the pulsating energy, vibe and life, captured far from the ubiquitous sights, which every Londoner and visitor to the city would be able to relate to.
Catch #LiveLondon (June 18-29 2014) at The Arts House Singapore, 1 Old Parliament Lane Singapore 179429.
There are many ways in which a why question can be answered. The word itself relates to a questioning, reasoning, exclamation. A pause in the life to point something out or draw attention to the extraordinary in some way.
Why can be both up and down. Why can evoke purpose, passion and spark ideas, new thoughts, new action.
But sometimes a why is confused. Sometimes a why is both hopeless and helpless. Sometimes the rest of the world looks on with a why so big it changes everything.
On Thursday 3rd September 2015, The Independent newspaper in the UK printed a full page colour photograph as it's lead story. The image was of a 3 year old Syrian refugee called Alan Kurdi, he was lying facedown at the edge of the Aegean sea whilst a Turkish Officer Sgt. Major Mehmet Ciplak was approaching him, about to discover Alan had drowned at sea along with his mother Rehanna and his 5 year old brother Ghalib.
Damian sent me the photo by messenger. He just wrote "I can't stop crying". As soon as I saw it, I had the same reaction. An utter despair of "He is a baby, he never asked for this, he is alone, where is his mum?" and then the comparisons, of all the children that represents for us personally. And the horror that confronts us all- he is a fellow human being and he reached 3 years old before his life was cut short because the water overpowered him. He was in the water because he hasn't been afforded the security of a safe place to call home because Syria is a warzone and so his family were forced to take steps to escape.
The BBC have written a very good article about the power of the photograph and why it cut through the world both vividly and viral. www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34150419
And so we are left to reconcile our own thoughts to this. I have read and heard so many different points of view but I am increasingly frustrated by those who claim to assert the position of ''we are full up''. Just because we are born into a lifestyle and a country does not mean that by default WE own it all. Equality for all will only exist when diversity and inclusive thinking exists across the masses and doing the right thing means stepping in and helping out before a baby washes up on the shores of Turkey.
As part of the article by the BBC, Will Wintercross (an award-winning war photographer for the Daily Telegraph) makes the comment:
"Pictures like this are taken all the time, but not necessarily filed all the time because they are so graphic," he says. "Most will hardly ever be seen by anyone."
"In Syria you see so much that's gory that you start to filter out what's not worth photographing ... You just know some pictures will never be used."
This really just underlines my own thoughts and feelings towards photography- it must be relevant and real. Whether that be joy, or sadness, pleasure or pain. I am sure there are 1000 Alan's whose deaths have all mattered and counted. When we see a neat little bar chart of filtered statistics we are unable to SEE the true horror existing in the lives of people on the same planet as us. These photos must be taken, no matter if no one has the courage to publish them, they need to represent, remember and announce to the world that this life happened.
I am using this self-portrait to enter the SNAP photo festival (#snapphotofest) competition.
I feel that I have reached a place where I am ready to go beyond evoking a feeling and an idea, a smile or an emotion and I now want to take my photography to the level of making it matter. Because people matter. Because their lives matter. Because there is something within me that drives me harder, makes me think further and makes me question WHY to everything I see and I need to find a way of connecting the dots and organising my thoughts enough to make that move.
This image was kindly made available from Graeme Andrews' Collection and much of the information below comes from his observations during a visit in 1975.
This image was taken around 1960 on the edge of Wallis Lake near Forster. It is possible that this is the log punt Wallis Lake that became redundant when the bridge between Forster and Tuncurry was completed in 1959.
Other images relating to the log punt Wallis Lake are in the Album Wallis Lake or Queen?
UPDATED NOVEMBER 2016
This revised description of the log punt that ended up protecting John Sointu’s wharf on Wallis Island in the late 1950s has been prepared by Alan Wright and Chris Borough. Alan is a Director of the Great Lakes Co-operative Historical Society Ltd, is a member of the Wright shipbuilding family of Tuncurry and has a wealth of knowledge about the shipping history of the Great Lakes of NSW.
After a lot of thought Alan and Chris have concluded that this is the hulk of the Wallis Lake built by Ernest Wright in 1924. Many reports have suggested that it is another of the Wright-built log punts - Queen.
Information on the log punts that were operated by Wright and McLaren and later John Wright and Co. Ltd. is scant with reports varying. This interpretation should not be relied upon to be completely accurate although the evidence provided is strong. Despite some reservations, the story of the hulk on Wallis Island story reflects a fascinating period in the history of the timber industry of the Great Lakes of NSW.
Early Log Punts
Early sawmillers employed teams to fell trees for logs that were dragged by bullock team from the forest to rivers and lakes. Here they were loaded onto log punts and taken to mills located on the waterfront at Tuncurry and Forster.
The puntmen who delivered logs to the sawmills at Tuncurry had to employ great caution and skill in mooring a fully loaded punt at the mill wharf as the tides moving into and out of Wallis Lake were strong - particularly coming down with the ebbing tide. The procedure was to throw out an anchor on the opposite sand spit, so that the punt swung around and faced upstream.
The first log punt built by John Wright at Tuncurry was the Nil Desperandum - a punt that was handled by man-power alone – typically a puntman using a long pole that he pushed into the mud and walked the length of the punt pushing on the pole.
Steam Punts
A series of four steam powered log punts were then built for the sawmilling operation at Tuncurry operated initially by Wright and McLaren and, after 1913, by John Wright & Co. Ltd.
These were:
- Queen I (circa 1897) - builder John Wright
- Queen II (believed to be built 1914) – builder Ernest Wright
- Wallis Lake (1924) - builder Ernest Wright
- Queen III (1948) - builder William Mann - Nabiac
John Wright constructs the steam punt The Queen I
Around 1897, John Wright constructed a much larger, steam powered, paddle-wheeler log punt that could operate regardless of the tide. She was the Queen of the Hawke (later known simply as the The Queen). The deckhouse was located at the rear – the two paddle wheels were located each side the deckhouse. Records from the Great Lakes Museum indicate that she was some 30 m long and 6 m wide on the deck. For convenience she is referred to as Queen I.
Cape Hawke Regattas
The first reference to the The Queen was in 1898 when she was used to bring people to the Cape Hawke Regatta on 26th January. “To reach the rendezvous, the steam punts belonging to the various sawmills are brought into requisition. The mill-owners always allow the use of their punts to convey passengers, free of charge. These punts are roomy— not too slow— well provided with awnings and seats, and suit admirably. Mr. Wright's 'Queen,' from Tuncurry; Messrs. Miles, Bros.' 'The Brothers' from Forster; Mr. Fenning's 'Wollomba,' from Wallamba River; Mr. J. Breckenridge's 'Wheelbarrow,' from Failford ; and Messrs. Goodlet & Smith's ' Coolongolook,' from the village of the same name, conveyed hundreds of people— all sorts and conditions of men, yes, and women, too— for the ladies of Forster and district take great interest in boating, and lend an additional charm to the great aquatic carnival by their presence in large numbers.”
The Manning River Times and Advocate for the Northern Coast Districts of New South Wales (Taree, NSW : 1898 - 1954) - Sat 5 Feb 1898
She was initially given the name Queen of the Hawke but commonly this was abbreviated to simply the The Queen or Queen. Newspaper reports in 1899 reported the Queen of the Hawke taking people from Tuncurry to the famous Cape Hawke Regatta that was held every year around 26th January – Anniversary Day (now Australia Day).
The Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Observer (NSW : 1898 - 1954) - Wed 1 Feb 1899
The Queen - multi-tasked vessel
The The Queen performed many tasks other than the transport of logs and sawn timber and participants to the annual Cape Hawke Regatta. In 1901 four vessels helped raise the sunken log punt Wallamba - these were 'The Dart,' the s.s. 'Marian Mayfield,' the s.s. 'Ariel,' and the p.s. 'Queen.'
In 1904 Queen I travelled to Smiths Lake (presumably as far south in Wallis Lake as possible) as reported in the Manning Times - :
“The fishermen of Cape Hawke are congratulating themselves on having an ice factory in their midst — Mr. Coombes having brought his refrigerating plant and machinery down from Smith's Lake last week in Messrs. Wright and McLaren's steam punt [Queen].”
The Manning River Times and Advocate for the Northern Coast Districts of New South Wales (Taree, NSW : 1898 - 1954) - Sat 7 May 1904
Log punt Queen sinks in 1914
In 1913 the partnership of Wright and McLaren was wound up and a new entity that incorporated various operations, was formed in 1913 – John Wright & Co. Ltd.
In 1914 it appears that Queen I may have sunk, near Bandicoot Island. “A severe south-easterly gale is raging here. Shipping is delayed. Wright and McLaren's steam punt, while crossing Wallace [Wallis] Lake yesterday, was caught by the gale and sunk, the crew escaping in a boat. The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) - Fri 19 Jun 1914
Graeme Andrews reported this after his journey on Wallis Lake in 1975: "The run from Pacific Palms to Forster is about 17 km and gives some idea of the size of the Wallis Lake. The lake is long enough and wide enough to build up big seas and, as it is never very deep - but enough for any boat likely to use it - the wind can build up steep seas very quickly.
As an example, about 1920, one of the paddle droghers "S.S Queen" was overwhelmed by the seas on the lake. Despite the efforts of her crew, short, small waves breaking over the flat deck gradually filled the craft, she sank and her superstructure stood above the surface for many years. Now the remains are just below the surface and are marked by only a small stick." (Australian Seacraft 1977)
Queen II constructed
Although there was a report in 1902 that a new log put was to be constructed after the Bellinger was completed, no reports of an actual construction have been located: "Messrs. Wright & McLaren are going to have a large new log punt constructed after their steamer [Bellinger] is completed, and the present punt is to do duty in connection with the Krambach mill. A large new wharf is also to be created at the Tuncurry mill, and also new stores." The Manning River Times and Advocate for the Northern Coast Districts of New South Wales- Sat 25 Jan 1902
Although there are no press reports to confirm or reject our hypothesis, we have assumed that Ernest Wright constructed a new log punt (Queen II) shortly after the 1914 sinking of Queen I.
A new log punt Wallis Lake launched
In September 1924 a new log punt was launched, the Wallis Lake - built by Ernest Wright. "Mr. E. Wright has launched a new log punt which is an improvement on anything we have had here. Mr. Wright is master of this craft himself." The Northern Champion Wed 1 Oct 1924
The Wallis Lake continued operation until at least late 1954.
Queen III launched in 1948
The Queen III, built by William (Billy) Mann in 1948, operated for a relatively short time and was sold to Port Macquarie interests after fire destroyed the John Wright & Co. Ltd. Sawmill at Tuncurry in 1951.
Wallis Lake towed to Wallis Island
It is at this point that the idea that the Queen was put in place to protect a wharf arose.
Enter Ida Niemi
Ida Niemi was a member of a Finnish family headed by her cousin John Sointu. John built a house - Harmony Hill House - on Wallis Island in the late 1940’s and constructed a jetty. “When Ida heard one day, that they were sinking big droghers, she rowed over to Forster, saw the boss who owned the sawmill, and said she wanted a punt sunk near her wharf, to act as a barrier from bad weather. He agreed to do this provided she paid for it, so that he would not be liable for any damage that may be caused. He offered her the other “Queen”, and a price of two shillings was agreed. The drogher was brought around and sunk, and its remains can be seen today.”
Williamson (2002): We built a village – the Heritage of Coomba Park.
Graeme Andrews takes a trip on the launch Lake Wallis
In 1975 Graeme Andrews (well-known author on the vessels of NSW) and his wife Winsome took a trip on the Lake Wallis operated by Stan Croad. Stan had been operating his launch since 1946 when he obtained a contract to take schoolchildren to school. Later he operated a tourist service. Stan’s extensive observations and experience cannot be under-estimated and it was upon his advice that Graeme Andrews based his report.
“On the south-western end of Wallis Island is a grand and remarkable two-storey house. It is obviously old and apparently houses a Finnish family who have crops, cattle and the obligatory sauna. Their ‘wharf’ consists of the remains of the steam paddle lighter, or ‘drogher’ Queen. About 40 m long by 10 or 12 m wide, this craft is a wooden boat enthusiast’s dream. Much of the exposed timber remains showing grown timbers and adzed wood working. Stores and monies change hands and off we go again.” Tea and Scones on Lake Wallis - AFLOAT February 2012.
Given that the size of the Wallis Lake matches the measurements made by Graeme Andrews and the Wallis Lake was the last log punt operating from Tuncurry in the mid 1950s we believe that the wharf on Wallis Island was not made from the Queen II. No doubt, however, the issue of Queen vs Wallis Lake will not completely fade away!
So the Wallis Lake, built by Ernest Wright in 1924, lives on almost 100 years after she was built – a testimony to the work of the Wright family and to the quality of the Australian hardwood timbers used.
References:
Andrews, Graeme and Winsome - AFLOAT February 2012 Tea and Scones on Lake Wallis - Graeme and Winsome Andrews
Andrews, Graeme. An alternative to trailerboating - FERRY FROM FORSTER AUSTRALIAN SEACRAFT - April 1977.
Williamson, Wendy (2002). We built a Village - the heritage of Coomba Park. A Coomba Park Production.
Acknowledgements: Alan Wright of the Great Lakes Museum for his criticism and presenting a plausible explanation of this conundrum.
All Images in this photostream are Copyright - Great Lakes Manning River Shipping and/or their individual owners as may be stated above and may not be downloaded, reproduced, or used in any way without prior written approval.
GREAT LAKES MANNING RIVER SHIPPING, NSW - Flick Group --> Alphabetical Boat Index --> Boat builders Index --> Tags List
Difference #2 relates to the renovation history. In 2003, this Fry's was renovated — two years before 627 — with a nicer version of what 627 eventually got. One of the big differences was that the electronics section, which in the original Smitty's layout was located just inside the right side entrance, got its drop ceiling removed and painted black. As in #627, electronics later moved out to make room for Tully's and then Starbucks, but unlike #627, this cafe has its TV still.
Please relate to this thread for test details:
www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45878
BTW this is one of my favourite roses: a David Austin rose "Abraham Darby". This one is from the first spring flowering, so it is quite pink, while later during the season the reflowerings are more salmon-apricot. The scent is a gorgeous mix of old rose and mixed fruit.
The KOM League
Flash Report
To end 2020
and
Kickoff 2021
If interested, this report is accessible at: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/50766767243/
Even if you are not interested, it is still there. It is the reader’s choice to either partake or reject. Sure hope a few do the former.
____________________________________________________________________________
Annual Christmas call
Each year, approximately two or three days prior to Christmas, a cheerful voice announces that he is calling to tell his old friend Merry Christmas. The caller is Billy Bagwell of Homer, Louisiana and each time he relates that God is blessing him and that he loves my wife and I. This year a little more was elicited from him in the conversation. He is undergoing treatment for cancer and all is not as well as he would like. His parting comment was “John, I hope that I will be here next year to wish you a Merry Christmas.” I too, hope that is the case realizing that can go both ways.
Bagwell and his wife Joyce attended every KOM league reunion and was always the hit of the event when his did his pantomime of the man whose suit didn’t fit. It was such a humorous act that even those with hearing loss would laugh without being able to hear his words.
Bagwell has been mentioned numerous times in these reports. Since this report is far too voluminous I’m sharing this link to indicate is extensive minor league career after he had served in WW II. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/12518/...
Another Christmas call used to come each afternoon on the 25th of December. It originated in Springfield, Missouri and was from the all-time home run hitter in KOM league history, Don Ervin. He was a native of Kansas City and did his heavy clouting for the 1952 Miami, Oklahoma Eagles. In recent years correspondence has been established with his daughter. This was a recent e-mail from her. “Merry Christmas. It’s been almost 3 years since my dad passed. Thank you for the pictures you send out. They are uplifting in times of sadness.”
There were many family members, of deceased KOM leaguers, who sent along Christmas greetings and a few former members of the league who sent greetings on their own behalf.
_______________________________________________________
One game shortstop.
In the final week of the 1946 season the St. Louis Cardinals sent a World War II veteran to Carthage, Missouri John James Meyer played in one game. It was the 114th contest of the season and he went 0-4 at the plate. The next spring he reported to the Cardinal training camp at Albany, Georgia but wasn’t on the bus to Carthage when the team headed north. That concluded his professional baseball days.
However, Meyer left a lasting memory of his very short time with Carthage. On the last day of the season he signed a baseball and that, along with one box score, are the only remaining pieces of evidence that he played professional baseball. Thanks to the late Oscar “Pappy” Walterman that baseball remains in my possession in a place that will not be revealed due to security reasons. Well, a little exaggeration isn’t all that bad, is it?
John James Meyer.https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/18444007/ John-James-Meyer/Jeromesville/Ohio/Fickes-Funeral-Home
John J. Meyer went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on September 24, 2020 surrounded by his devoted family. Born May 25, 1925 in Stryker, Ohio, he was the only child of Carl and Miriam (Koehl) Meyer. In 1937, the family moved to England Station in rural Ashland County where they had purchased a farm. John attended a one-room schoolhouse until the eighth grade and graduated from Ashland High School in 1943. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the US Navy where he received his commission in 1944 after attending Oberlin College and Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. On November 24, 1945, John married Nona Harriet Powers in San Francisco, CA where he was stationed during World War II. Upon his discharge in 1946, John and Nona returned to the family farm in England Station where they raised their family of six sons and two daughters. John and Nona also opened their home to several foster children throughout the years.
John made a life and a living primarily on the family farm. During his lifetime he sold seed corn and was a dairy and grain farmer. John learned to fix anything and always had a spare part or tool and some words of wisdom when anyone needed them. He farmed in some capacity into his nineties. He also was a Broker/Realtor at his son’s real estate company, JC Meyer Realtors. He earned many awards as a Realtor including Salesman of the Year and the coveted Realtor of the Year from the Ashland Board of Realtors.
Having a strong sense of community, he served as a 4-H advisor for 25 years, a Montgomery Township Trustee for 20 years, an Ashland County Fair Board Director for over 30 years, and held many positions, including Board President, with the Ashland Board of Realtors. He was a long-time member of the Ashland Dickey Church of the Brethren and was a proud World War II Veteran.
John was preceded in death by his son John (JC) in 2002 and his wife Nona in 2009. He is survived by his children and their spouses: Chris and Sharon Meyer (Ashland), Rex Meyer (Ashland), Paul and Kris Meyer (Gold Hill, Oregon), Mary and Rolly Cox (Ashland), Dewey and Karen Meyer (Polk), Ann Davis (Olivesburg), Dan and Terri Meyer (Ashland) and daughter-in-law Sue Meyer (Jeromesville). He will also be deeply missed by 17 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and 5 great great-grandchildren. A loving dad and grandpa, he enjoyed keeping up with the goings-on of his large family and his kitchen table became the family meeting place.
A Celebration of Life memorial service will be held on Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 1 PM at the Ashland Dickey Church of the Brethren with Pastor Jeff Messner officiating. The family will greet guests at the church one hour prior to the service and again after the service at the family farm. At the church, the sanctuary will be reserved for the family, but guests can watch the service in the downstairs hall or can listen to the service in their vehicles in the church parking lot. Burial will immediately follow the service in the Dickey Church Cemetery and then all are welcome to return to the family farm for a meal and further visitation with the family. Memorial contributions, if one wishes to do so, can be made to the Ashland Dickey Church of the Brethren 1509 Township Road 655 Ashland, OH 44805.
Ed comment:
With the passing of John Meyer only three members of the 1946 Carthage Cardinals remain, to my knowledge. They are former big league hurler Cloyd Victor Boyer, long-term Pennsylvania State Representative William Eckensberger Jr. and Thomas Wardner Crossley from Hilliards, Ohio who now resides in Florida. For those who fact check these reports be aware that Crossley’s Sporting News player card had his middle name as Warden, as did I, until some further research was undertaken. Crossley was released by the Cardinals at the end of 1946 and he signed with the St. Louis Browns and was with their Pittsburg, Kansas KOM league affiliate in 1947.
One player from the 1946 Carthage club was never located. That was Louis Robert Cloutier from Windsor, Ontario who also lived in Hull, Quebec, Canada.
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Robert Mack Ehrlich
www.legacy.com/obituaries/spokesman/obituary.aspx?n=rober... Photo is included in this link.
EHRLICH, Robert M. (Age 94) On August 31, Heaven's gates opened to welcome Robert Mack Ehrlich. Bob was born September 19, 1925 In Topeka, Kansas to parents, John Henry Ehrlich and Idamac Warner Ehrlich. He joined brother, John and sister, Mary.
Bob's early years were full of baseball from the time he could lift a bat until June of 1943 when he joined the Marine Corps. He served in the Pacific and was in the battles of Pelelieu and Okinawa and the Army of Occupation in Japan. He was discharged in February 1946 and that was when he met his wife-to-be Eleanor Griswold --- they met at Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas. Bob and "El" were married on November 8, 1947 (missed 73 years by two months). In 1948 they moved to Idaho where Bob attended Farragut College and Technical Institute which was located in the former Navy Base. In 1950 Bob went back into the Marine Corps and served in Korea where he was a member of the "Frozen Chosin" and received two Purple Hearts. He was discharged in 1951.
They lived in Topeka where Bob served on the Police Department for five years. Their daughter, Vickie, was born in 1951, followed by Bob in 1953 and John in 1957. In 1958, back to the Northwest and Coeur d' Alene where Bob was in the Panhandle Health Dept. stationed in Grangeville and Coeur d'Alene. Son, Bill joined the family in 1966 and in 1972, they moved to Whatcom County, Washington where Bob had the dream job of his life farming. They had a red raspberry ranch and he also had a woodworking shop where he built beautiful furniture and did inlay work with exotic woods. Then back to Coeur d' Alene in 2008 to be closer to family. In addition to his parents, Bob was preceded in death by brother, John and daughter, Vickie. He is survived by wife, Eleanor; children, Bob (Karen), John (Dana), and Bill (Joyce); six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild. Due to declining health, Bob lived at Legends Assisted Living for the past five years and was loved and cared for there. Hospice of North Idaho was involved in his care for the last months and his family can never thank both Hospice and Legends enough for the loving care he received. In lieu of flowers, any contribution in Bob's memory can be made to Christ the King Lutheran Church Roof Fund or Hospice of North Idaho. A celebration of Bob's life will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, September 19, 2020 at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 1700 E. Pennsylvania Ave., Coeur d' Alene, ID 83814. The service will be streamed on ctkcda.com Yates Funeral Home is entrusted with final arrangements. Please visit Bob's online memorial and sign his guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.
Ed comments:
Ehrlich pitched for the 1947 Independence, Kansas Yankees. His Sporting News player card shows his activity from 1947 to 1950 at which time he was back in the United States Marine Corps and was unfortunate to have been at the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/52252/... The Sporting News card provides a great hint as to how he wound up spending the bulk of his life in Spokane, Washington.
In 1947 Ehrlich filled out the Baseball Questionnaire which is found at this link. It requires a subscription to Ancestry.com to access it. www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61599/images/480... When his middle name was being transcribed for the Ancestry site someone interpreted “Mack” as “Nock.”
Ehrlich played American Legion baseball, in Topeka, with Lee and Stokes Dodson. All three of those guys went into the Marine Corps during WWII. Lee Dodson was in the KOM League, in 1946 and the next year the trio of the Dodson boys and Ehrlich were playing professional baseball in the New York Yankee chain. Lee was with the Kansas City Blues of the American Association and Stokes and Ehrlich were hurling for the Independence, Kansas Yankees of the KOM league.
This link is the obituary for Ehrlich that appeared in the Lynden, Washington Times. It is included as it has a photo of him during his Marine Corps days as well as how he appeared in his senior years. www.lyndentribune.com/community/obituaries/robert-ehrlich...
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James Laverne Qualls==1950 Independence, Kansas Yankees
www.wilsonsfuneralhome.net/obituary/james-qualls?lud=9610...
On Friday morning, December the 18th the following note was received from Sparta, Illinois.
“Hi John a note to let you know Jim passed away on Tuesday. He was 89 and would be 90 Jan. 31. We were married 68 years. Thanks for everything .....Marge.”
Ed comments:
Over the years a lot of correspondence went back and forth from the Qualls family and Yours truly. James was a teammate of Bill Virdon in 1950 at Independence, Kansas. They were both Yankee minor league property at the time. However, Virdon wound up with the St. Louis Cardinals and was a Rookie of the Year a hand full of years later. Over the years Qualls became a Cardinal fan due to his proximity to St. Louis and their far-flung radio and television outreach.
Knowing that the Virdons had long been in touch with this source, Marge asked for the Virdons e-mail address so she could send them e-mails. However, at about that time Shirley Virdon ceased e-mailing, as she had in the past, and thus the Qualls/Virdon connection wasn’t reestablished.
James L. Qualls of Sparta, Illinois
January 31, 1931 - December 15, 2020
SPARTA – James L. Qualls, 89, of Sparta, passed away at 3:05 pm, Tuesday, December 15, 2020, at Sparta Community Hospital, Sparta, Illinois.
James was born in Jacob, Illinois, on January 31, 1931, the son of Robert F. and Dara (Moschenrose) Qualls. He married Margie “Marge” Eaton on January 16, 1953, in Piggott, AR. James was a retired Prudential Insurance Agent. He was a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Sparta, IL. He was a 50-year member of Hope Lodge #162 A.F. & F.M., Sparta, and an Ainad Shriner, East St. Louis, IL. James was the Chartered President of the Trico Lions Club. He was an avid golfer and achieved 5 holes-in-one! James loved flying and was a licensed pilot, loved the St. Louis Cardinals and spent some time in the Yankee’s Minor League.
James is survived by his wife, Margie Qualls of Sparta, IL, brother, Jerry (Lois) Qualls of Goreville, IL, and lots of loving nieces and nephews.
James was preceded in death by his Parents and one Sister, Pat Arbeiter.
James’s wishes are to be cremated and a Graveside Service at Caledonia Cemetery, Sparta, IL, will be held at a later date. Memorials may be given to Sparta Food Pantry and can be mailed to Wilson’s Funeral Home, PO Box 217, Steeleville, IL 62288. To sign the guestbook visit www.wilsonsfuneralhome.net.
The following link shows the Sporting News players card that was maintained for Qualls.
digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/92250/...
Two years ago an article featuring Qualls appeared on the Internet. Most liked it was shared at that time since the person writing this report was mentioned in it. The writer of that newspaper story got one detail incorrect but it wasn’t enough to prevent me from sharing that link, one more time. countyjournal.org/james-qualls-reflects-on-his-days-in-pr...
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Robert James Rose--- Leamington, Ontario
Bob Rose played for the 1949 Pittsburg, Kansas Browns. I was never able to verify much about him until Dec. 3. 2020. The following is an interview with him on a legacy site for Korean War veterans. There are four links like this one.
koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/robert-j-rose/
If anyone who is interested can’t pull up that entire interview, in narrative format, let me know and an attempt at a miracle will be undertaken to get it to you.
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A long search comes to a conclusion.
Back in the days when KOM league reunions were an annual event there was always a name or two that was bandied about by former teammates of a player that hadn’t been located. One name always came up when speaking with Brandy Davis who played not only for the Bartlesville Pirates but also the Pirates whose home was Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during that era.
Each year Davis would ask if there was any trace of Bill Phillips who caught for the 1951 team of which Davis was a member. The years passed swiftly and in June of 2005 Davis departed this realm not knowing of his former teammate’s fate.
Over the next 15 years the search didn’t cease in locating Phillips or to learn of his fate. For all the years of searching the name of William Eugene Phillips born July 7, 1931 in Terre Haute, Indiana nothing appeared.
In looking at his Sporting News player card it showed that he had filled it out as Bill Eugene Phillips. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/105253... That name was not found in Terre Haute but there was a reference to an obituary of a lady by the name of Jeanine Phillips. Following the “bouncing ball” quick fingers took me to her grave marker and there was the name of her husband. The first reaction was “Oh, no.” Then, looking closer the name “Bill Eugene Phillips” was on the marker, along with his birthdate but no death date. In reading her obituary I found Jeanine had been married to a Bill Eugene Phillips on February 27, 1954 and she passed away on May 2, 2008 and her husband survived her
images.findagrave.com/photos/2014/20/123850477_1390333718...
At this juncture it was pretty obvious Mr. Phillips is alive. A few clicks of the Internet searching for Bill Eugene Phillips turned up an address for him in Florida. That would be great news to share with his former 1951 Bartlesville teammate but there aren’t that many remaining who would recall the name. Brandy Davis and Ronnie Kline would have remembered him but they are no longer around. Phillips caught Kline, the future big leaguer, a number of times in 1951.
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Glen Gorbous’s amazing throw
John that is an unbelievable baseball throw. My brain cannot comprehend it. I thought I had a decent arm, but evidently not. I hope you had a good funeral for butterball and all who attended enjoyed. Wishing you and Noel a very blessed Christmas. Look forward to your great stories next year. Take care. Don Papst—Chanute, Kansas
Ed comment:
Well butterball was the theme of a note shared with a few people prior to Thanksgiving. If you missed it here it is. “Thanksgiving. We've been told that only six people are allowed to meet for Thanksgiving Day, but 30 people for a funeral. With this, I announce that we will be holding a funeral for our pet turkey named "Butterball" who will pass away on November 26, 2020. Refreshments provided. In lieu of flowers, please bring a side dish.”
On the subject of the throw by Glen Gorbous the Guinness Book of World Records at the time listed it at 445’ 10”.
From Portland Univ. Hall of Fame baseball coach regarding Gorbous
This note is relative to Glen Gorbous and his GREAT throwing arm. We were teammates in 1950 in The Arizona-Texas League. I coached Dale Murphy and I always compared his arm to Glen’s...both arms were unbelievable!. Howie Haak, Dodger scout, signed me in 1948...keep up the Great job! Kindest regards. Jack Dunn
A link to the Gorbous throw. albertadugoutstories.com/2017/08/02/alberta-kid-with-an-a... The throw was on August 1, 1957 when Gorbous was playing with the Omaha, Nebraska Cardinals.
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Recalling youthful days.
Enjoyed your news on the KOM players. Like many Carthage kids I still remember some of the 18 year old kids who played back in those days!! Have a great Christmas and stay safe. Merle Southern—Antarctic geologist among other things
Ed reply:
Thanks for the note. Those guys gave us a lot of lasting memories. Back then we thought they were older than they were.
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ACKKKKKK
An e-mail was received from a Kansas reader who had this reaction regarding a statement made in Nick Stefano’s about his love of two items of food. Although, I think he never ate them on the same plate that is the image the writer of the note had in mind when he wrote “Black licorice and ravioli ?!? ACKKKKKK !!!!!! Jeff Simpson
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Reaction to not having regular doses of FR
John, I know for sure I will be in the hospital within two weeks, all because of this new mysterious disease named appropriately, FR LOST-----so please do not cease completely, my old ticker can’t handle the shock. Casey--Always remember Once a Gorilla, Always a Gorilla------------1966 here!!!!
Ed comment:
Each time it is mentioned these Flash Reports have about run their course there are two, maybe three people who stir from their slumber and urge its continuance. Thus, I guess Casey, the Gorilla, is responsible for this attempt at informing and entertaining. The Gorilla is the mascot of the Pittsburg, Kansas State University. Usually, Casey spends the autumn of each year following the football team but in this past football season the Gorillas lost every game to the Chinese Covids.
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Former Dodger moves.
(We) just wanted to let you know that we have moved into a Senior apartment. Not much fun during this time of Covid. Mailing address is: 13801 East Yale Ave. apt 131, Aurora, Co
80014. Haven't lived in an apartment for over 50 years. The house is being sold to pay rent. Unbelievable how much it costs in Colorado. Have a wonderful Christmas season. Thank you for all you have done over the years. Take care. Pat Crandall—Wife of Harry Crandall 1950 Ponca City Dodgers
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News received on Christmas eve
John, it's with a heavy heart that I write to tell you that Dad passed away peacefully on Monday. His grandson Josh did a great job of taking care of Dad, although I have to admit Dad got a little combative at the end because frankly, he was ready to go and didn't want to be messed with.
One of my attempts to change his shirt ended with me being called a "Chicken Batter." Well, Mom and Dad only had me as a back-up scorekeeper, I'm sure. I was with him at the end, and for all the rude baseball catcalls, he went very peacefully. He was cremated in his best overalls with his Red Man and his harmonica in his pocket. No services, but he and Mom will be placed in the columbarium at Leavenworth National Cemetery in the spring. John, thanks for all your friendship with him and your hard work on the KOM league remembrance, that was a big part of Mom and Dad's later years. Here is the link to his obituary in The Star today, and please forgive me if I stated a few things not quite right:
www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kansascity/name/warren-listo...
Warren T. Liston
October 31, 1926 - December 21, 2020
Kansas City, Kansas - Warren Thomas Liston, 94, of Kansas City, Kansas, died Monday, December 21, 2020, at the home. He was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on October 31, 1926, to Lloyd and Edna Liston. He graduated from Wyandotte High School and covered high school sports for the school's newspaper, The Pantograph, and also was a student sports reporter for The Kansas City Star. He was mobilized from the army's basic training at Camp Roberts, California, to the Philippines after the Japanese surrender and then was sent to Korea. After his military service, he attended Kansas City, Kansas, junior college and played on its baseball team.
He played for several teams in the Ban Johnson League and also played professional Class C and D baseball in the Kansas Oklahoma Missouri (KOM) league in Iola, Kansas; Miami, Enid and Blackwell, Oklahoma, and was active in the KOM's old-timers' reunion association. He coached several youth baseball teams and ended his baseball-playing career at the age of 61 in the Western Missouri Amateur Baseball Association. He was a reporter/photographer for The Kansas City Star's Kansas City, Kansas, office, covering local police news and sports, and later worked for The Kansas City Kansan newspaper. He married Delores Olive Sheppard in 1952 and the couple celebrated their 66th anniversary before her death in 2018. He was also predeceased by his parents; sisters Catherine, Barbara and Linda Kay; brothers Robert, Vernon, Jerry and Donnie. He is survived by his brother Richie of Kansas City, Kansas; brother Vance of Basehor, Kansas; eldest son Jeffrey and wife Jan of Boise, Idaho; daughter Jennifer and husband Greg Sherwood of Olathe, Kansas; son Dan and son Tom and his wife, Jeanne, all of the Sun Valley area, Idaho; son Alan and grandson Josh of Kansas City, Kansas, grandson Nick, and two great-grandsons. Cremation. Private services with inurnment in Leavenworth National Cemetery in the spring. The family suggests donations to The Hunger Coalition, 121 Honeysuckle St., Bellevue, ID, 83313, or thehungercoalition.org/act/donate/. Play ball!
Ed comment:
Warren Liston is a person who I could fill notebooks about. However, to those who knew him would quickly figure out any remarks made here would not do him justice. Thus, the only thing I’m going to share at this point is a note sent to Jack Morris of the Society of American Baseball Research—Necrology Section. “This one is a tough one to report. Warren was one of a kind. He and his wife would follow my travels anywhere I would appear in the Mid-America (KC metro) to talk about the KOM league. Wherever the appearance took place Warren would be in his overalls accompanied by his Red Man tobacco pouch and harmonica. He was a beat writer for the KC Star and when he left he still had a lot of typing paper remaining. He used that yellowed paper for his "Hunt and peck" messages to me, pounded out on a very old Underwood typewriter. Those letters were classic and were used in many of the paper newsletter I published for 17 years.”
Shortly after hearing of Liston’s death from his daughter this e-mail was received from Kansas City. It fits well with what is stated in the previous paragraph about the Liston’s attending any function dealing with the KOM league. “I am sure you know this John but just came in from getting today's KC Star and skimmed and saw obit for Warren Liston. Have not read entirely but see it says he was 94. He was in attendance that Saturday many years ago at the Red Bridge Library in KC. Mo when my son and I met you for the very first time. So sad to see.” Casey Casebolt
Also reading the Kansas City Star obituaries on Sunday, December 27, 2020 was former Kansas City A’s batboy from the mid-50’s, Jim Jay. He shared this comment “Saw in the STAR that Warren Liston at 94 passed away. He was a character and a good man. I liked the man.”
Shortly after hearing from Jim Jay a note was received from Bill Ashcraft who will be identified in this paragraph by the note he sent. What the note doesn’t reveal is he was one of the earliest Federal Narcotics agents, forerunner to the DEA, and his supervisor was my first cousin. I mention that since there is a reader of these reports who is the daughter of my first cousin which makes her my second cousin (dah). That is mentioned for it is essential to share material that keeps as many people as possible coming back each time these reports are prepared to see if there is anything, of interest, included. This is the note from Ashcraft. “John: You are probably aware of this but in the event you’re not: The KC Star’s 12-24-2020 edition reported that Warren Liston, a former KOMer had died on 12-21-2020. He was born in 1926 four years older than me. I only was with Iola for about 10 days in 1950 before being sent on to Ada (Ed note: Sooner State league) but Windy Johnson had me pitch relief in 3 games in a row and my arm was quite sore. I could never pitch even one inning without having a heckuva sore arm the next day.
At any rate Johnson had me come in in relief the first night I was in Iola, against Chanute. I could throw quite hard at the time and the first batter I faced was a big guy, whose identity I had no idea of, was a fellow named Newkirk and I threw him about 6 or 7 pitches, one quite close to his head and he glared at me before striking out on the next pitch over his head. The next batter was Sam ?, seems like it was Dixon (Ed note: It was), and he grounded out. When I got to the bench Warren Liston told me that the guy I had almost hit was somewhat hot headed and probably thought that I had intentionally thrown at him-so I had better watch out since I was due to bat. As it turned out we got a man on and Johnson pinch hit for me, thus averting retaliation. (Sorry to bore you with my inconsequential trivia--not about Liston of course). I only met him once but he seemed like a good guy.” Bill Ashcraft--Overland Park, Ks.
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Chanute player from 1950 passed away
Donald David Mitroff www.rosehills.com/obituaries/whittier-ca/donald-mitroff-7...
DECEMBER 17, 1928 – JANUARY 20, 2018
Donald David Mitroff - Was born on December 17, 1928 in Anaheim, CA and passed away on January 20, 2018 and is under the care of Rose Hills Memorial Park.
Ed comment:
There is nothing more frustrating, for the purposes of writing reports, than to find an obituary listed with very little information included. That is when this old guy has to “create stuff.”
Over the years the communication lines were open with the former infielder for the Chanute Athletics in 1950. He was with the club for a couple of weeks but loved his team and the town. This is his Sporting News player’s card. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/152037... He was originally in the Pittsburgh Pirate organization in 1949 at Greenville, Alabama and then wound up with the Cleveland Indian organization to start the 1950 season at Daytona Beach. After 80 games in the Sunshine state he was off to play for Chanute, Kansas which was an unaffiliated club.
At this point I take exception to the obituary birth site listed at the start of this article. Mitroff was born on the date cited but in Lorain, Ohio not Anaheim, California. His Lorain address was 314 E.27th Street and he attended high school in Lorain and played basketball and football as well as baseball. He was a 6’ 185 athlete who was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates following his graduation from Lorain High School. During his high school days he played amateur baseball for the National Tube Company that was located in his home town.
For the baseball scholars who search these reports for accuracy let it be known that when he filled out his Baseball Questionnaire on July 22, 1950 for the group in San Mateo, California he listed his birth year as 1930 for obvious reasons.
Anaheim was his place of residence for the many years we corresponded. Even for a fellow who had less than three weeks in the KOM league he loved reading about the exploits of the old league and he subscribed to the newsletters for the entirety of its existence.
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Richard Allen Hibbeler --November 6, 1928 - April 15, 2017
hutchensfuneralhomes.com/obituary/richard-allen-hibbeler/
Richard A. (Dick) Hibbeler, of Florissant Missouri, fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church, Saturday, April 15, 2017
Beloved husband of Frances M. Hibbeler; dear father and father-in-law of Rick (Valerie) Hibbeler, James (Dorothy) Hibbeler, Steve (Margaret) Hibbeler and Gregg (Carrie) Hibbeler; dear grandfather of Ryan (Holly, Kelly (Tanner) Julie (Chris), Jim, Susan (Jonathan), Michael, Christine (Jon), Andrea (Steve), Eric (Rachel), Leah, Peter, Emily, Katherine, Nicholas and Sarah; great-grandfather of 11; dear brother of Mary Jane (Tim) Sandt, and the late Donald, Charles and Kenneth Hibbeler; dear brother-in-law, uncle and friend.
Richard was a former standout amateur athlete who played football and basketball at North side Catholic/De Andreis High School in the 1940’s. He also played professional baseball in the old New York Giants minor league system. He signed his first professional contract at the age of sixteen and was inducted into the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.
Richard retired from Southwestern Bell Telephone Company after 37 1/2 years, where he held a number of craft and supervisory positions. He was also active in the Fraternal Order of Eagles Alton Aerie #254 and participated in local community development affairs.
Memorials to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place Memphis, TN, 38105. Services will be private with his family.
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James Talmadge Hudson
www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/19250870/James-Talmadge...
James Talmadge Hudson, 92, died December 7, 2020. Born in Swifton, AR He was the son of the late Alvin Vohn and Lena Hancock Hudson. He was a World War II Marine Corps Veteran. Mr. Hudson was of the Lutheran faith. He enjoyed baseball and played professionally in the minor league for the New York Yankees.
Surviving is his wife, Carolyn Lane Hudson of Cheraw, SC, sons, James Hudson of Cheraw, SC , Mark Hudson of Palm Harbor, FL, four grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
There will be a private family visitation and service.
Note
James Hudson started with Independence, Kansas in 1948 and was then sent to Fond du Lac in the Wisconsin State league. When obtaining his release from the Yankee farm team he was signed by the New York Giants and sent to Chanute. His Sporting News player card didn’t reveal his Chanute playing days. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/89996/... During the “revival” days of the KOM league Hudson drove to some of the KOM league cities Interestingly, he made the trip to Chanute but not Independence. He was a long term supporter of the KOM League Remembered newsletter that preceded the Flash Reports.
Ed comment:
This report carries the obituaries of Richard Hibbeler, James Hudson and Vincent Speranza who were all members of the 1948 Chanute Giants if but for fleeting moments. Of the young men who appeared on that New York Giant affiliated club, managed by Al Smith, who stopped Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak, Daniel Dondero, Danny Bass, Richard Nolte, Anthony La Croix and Robert Harrison survive. In one of the best kept secrets one of those five guys later played in the major leagues. Yes, Robert Harrison made a quick pass through Chanute that season on his way to the Sooner State league.
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Vincent James Speranza
patch.com/connecticut/glastonbury/classifieds/announcemen...
Vincent “Gizzy” James Speranza died peacefully with his daughter by his side on January 19, 2019 at the age of 89. He had been under the care of Salmon Brook Center and Masonicare Hospice in Glastonbury, CT.
Gizzy is survived by his son James Anthony Speranza of Denmark, his daughter Lynn Michele “Shelly” Ruff and husband David of Fuquay Varina, N.C. and his granddaughter Sarah Speranza of Denmark along with several nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents Rocco and Nicholetta Speranza and siblings Carmelo Speranza, Lillian Speranza (Frascatore) and Fortunata Speranza (Caputo).
Gizzy was born on June 27, 1929 in Palmi, Italy to Rocco and Nicholetta Speranza. His family immigrated to Stamford, CT in 1930. He graduated from Stamford High School where he had been active in track, gymnastics and baseball. Gizzy’s love of baseball and natural ability as a pitcher led to his being drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers AA team. His baseball career was cut short when he voluntarily joined the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He was stationed in Okinawa.
Gizzy loved to travel. He logged thousands of miles driving across the U.S. visiting National Parks even making it as far as Alaska. He made many stops along the way to visit family and friends. These visits were always filled with much joy, laughter and home-cooked meals. He also made many trips abroad. He enjoyed visiting his son and granddaughter in Denmark. He was also able to return to Italy to visit his birthplace and reconnect with family.
Over the years Gizzy had planted roots in Naples, FL and Fort Collins, CO, before settling in Glastonbury, CT in 2003 so he could live close to his daughter. Gizzy’s love of sports and health remained a priority for him. Wherever he resided he quickly joined the local gym and made many new life-long friends. His days were spent enjoying time with family and friends, caring for his “grand-dogs”, taking long walks around town, going to the gym and of course, satisfying his abundant appetite for good food and conversation.
Gizzy lived his life the way he wanted, carefree and happy and always tried to pass that attitude on to everyone he knew. He touched the lives of so many people in such positive ways, is greatly loved and will be momentously missed by all who knew him.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Masonicare of Connecticut.
I didn’t know about this when it happened. He had time with two KOM teams. When he was in the KOM league his birthplace was listed as Calibria, Italy and that he was from Stamford, Conn.
Ed comments:
Speranza made a number of stops in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas during his career that is cited in the following link. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/141700...
There is a possible conflict on his place of birth listed in his obituary and the one placed on his Sporting News player card. One shows he was from Palmi and the other has Calibria, Italy, I’m going to assume he was born in Palmi and moved 157 miles north to Calibria and from there his parents brought him to Stamford. CT.
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Len Wiesner 1949 Independence Yankees
Wiesner, Leonard George, age 91, was baptized into the hope of Christ's resurrection, Saturday, December 5, 2020. www.schrader.com/obituary/leonard-wiesner
Leonard was the beloved husband of the late Elizabeth Wiesner (nee Gray), who preceded him in death in May 1988; the dear father of Barbara Wiesner, Mary (Rich) Eberhardt and Richard (Marie) Wiesner. He was also the loving grandfather (“G-Pa”) to Kaitlyn, William, Benjamin (Lisa) and Elizabeth Wiesner, Christopher (Amy) Eberhardt and Melissa Eberhardt; great grandfather to Jake and Ryan Eberhardt.
He was born and raised in St. Louis, a son of the late Joseph and Marie (nee Lindewirth) Wiesner. Beloved brother of the late Laverne (Ralph) Fioretti, late Joseph (Elaine) Wiesner, late Marian Duffy, late Loretta (Jake) Marquart, late Joni (Jim) Budde and Delores (Robert) Chapie. Dear uncle, cousin and friend.
After high school Leonard played professional baseball in the New York Yankees farm system, until serving in the United States Army during the Korean Conflict. He received his bachelor's degree from St. Louis University in 1958, and retired as an accountant after 30 years with Monsanto. He was an avid lifelong fan of the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals. He also helped establish the original Metro Collegiate Baseball League in the 1980’s. In 1994, he was inducted into the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame.
Services: Funeral Mass at Christ, Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Manchester, Monday, December 14, 2020, 11:00 a.m. Interment Holy Cross Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Catholic Charities. Visitation at the church, Monday, 10-11 a.m. A service of the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory. Friends may sign the family's on-line guestbook at Schrader.com.
Ed comment:
Wiesner spent a lot of time being injured during his days with the Independence Yankees in 1949 and Joplin Miners in 1950. In spite of that he was a very good hitter and loved remembering those days playing with Bob Wiesler, Mickey Mantle, Steve Kraly and Lou Skizas. Over the last few years, at this time, he would make his annual Christmas call to KOM league headquarters and ask “How many of us are still left?” Sadly, each year the number decreased and this year he missed his call by a couple of weeks.
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Thank You John!!!
Thank You for all the KOM memories. I can’t imagine anyone doing more research than what you have done on anything It makes me wonder how many books all your reports would fill…..
Ed reply:
Books are easy to write. Selling them is the tough task. With my Flash Repots they would easily produce a half dozen good size books a year. The books may be good size but they wouldn’t be good sellers.
The stuff that might sell are the true stories that I know bur won’t reveal. Most of the old ball players who told them to me are now deceased but they have survivors who wouldn’t benefit one iota from them being printed. Bruce Orser in New York
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The Cherokee Kid returns
For those who subscribed to the paper newsletter that went all over everywhere and back for over a decade, the name of Billy Jack Cornsilk was very much in prominence. He came into this world in 1933 at Stilwell, Oklahoma and nineteen years later he was pitching for Boyd Bartley’s Ponca City Dodgers.
Cornsilk reunited with many of his former Ponca City teammates at the huge KOM league reunion, at Carthage, Mo. in 1998. That was the last time I ever saw him but he stayed in touch until recent years. For about a half-dozen years nothing was heard from him until the day after Christmas. When the telephone ran on that day I had a feeling a former ballplayer was calling even though I was addressed by a different first name. When that got sorted out Cornsilk said that he had recently moved to be near his son in the Sacramento area. That came about after he lost his wife.
When going through his “most treasured” belongings (I kid) he found a copy of the KOM League Remembered newsletter from a different century. He looked for a telephone number of the editor of that paper and fortunately he found that the person responsible for printing it hadn’t had a change of numbers. A very nice conversation ensued and now Cornsilk is on the distribution list of these reports as well as all the previous ones he can handle. He also asked for an update on the status of his former teammates and that has already been shared. He is well down memory lane, by now, as he goes over the names of those who still share this planet with him as well as most of his former teammates who don’t.
One of the most memorable stories of Cornsilk is when the paper newsletters were sent. Somehow, Furman Bisher, the legendary sports writer for the Atlanta Constitution-Journal, used Cornsilk’s name at the close of an article. That reference was noticed by a reader in the Atlanta area who was shocked to see Cornsilk mentioned. Immediately, he placed a call to Bisher and asked how he knew of Cornsilk. Bisher admitted he had only seen that name by reading a newsletter published by someone in Missouri. The caller, Ron Minnich, wanted to know if there was any way that person could be contacted and Bisher called Yours truly to see if it was okay to release the contact information. Of course, I was thrilled, for at that juncture the search was for former players was in high gear. So, Billy Cornsilk has been a valuable asset in keeping the KOM league memory alive and it is great he will be reading these reports once again.
For anyone wishing to know the stops on the baseball journey of Cornsilk this link provides it: digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/44591/...
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This is a two-prong report—this last for 2020 and the first for 2021 as the KOM League enters its 75th year of being in the hearts and minds of a few people.
1. The spiritual entity Qalb
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam
In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.
Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.
Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."
Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.
The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.
After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.
After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.
Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.
Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.
The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.
Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?
The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.
Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).
A Prophetic statement:
“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”
Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.
God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”
2. The Human Soul
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham
This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.
3. The spiritual entity Sirri
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses
This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.
4. The spiritual entity Khaffi
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus
This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.
5. The spiritual entity Akhfa
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed
This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.
The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.
The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.
Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.
6. The spiritual entity Anna
This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.
With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.
With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.
Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.
It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.
The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).
Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.
Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.
The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body
Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.
Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.
Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.
The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.
Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.
Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.
These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.
Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags
1. The spiritual entity Qalb
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam
In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.
Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.
Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."
Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.
The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.
After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.
After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.
Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.
Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.
The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.
Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?
The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.
Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).
A Prophetic statement:
“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”
Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.
God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”
2. The Human Soul
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham
This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.
3. The spiritual entity Sirri
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses
This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.
4. The spiritual entity Khaffi
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus
This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.
5. The spiritual entity Akhfa
Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed
This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.
The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.
The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.
Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.
6. The spiritual entity Anna
This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.
With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.
With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.
Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.
It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.
The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).
Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.
Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.
The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body
Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.
Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.
Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.
The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.
Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.
Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.
These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.
Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags
Tom J Newell’s elephant, entitled The Beat Goes On, references imagery relating to Lizzie, the elephant employed to work at Sheffield Steel Works during World War One. Tom elephant weaves abstract shapes and patterns representing steel, with iconography of Indian elephant and culture. He also used to his design as an opportunity to reference the travelling circus from which Lizzie originated.
Designed by: Tom J Newell
Tom J Newell is an artist, illustrator, record collector and turntable tinkering DJ who has worked and exhibited internationally with his intricately hand drawn black and white artworks. Tom is head designer at Twisted Burger Company, paints murals for The Kraken Rum, plays records at his weekly SHOWBOAT event at Picture House Social, and is sponsored by Posca Pens and Pink Pig Sketchbooks.
Sponsored by: Crystal Peaks Shopping Mall
Auction Price: £6500
Summer 2016, a herd of elephant sculptures descended on Sheffield for the biggest public art event the city has ever seen!
58 elephant sculptures, each uniquely decorated by artists, descended on Sheffield’s parks and open spaces, creating one of the biggest mass participation arts events the city has ever seen. Did you find them all?
The trail of elephants celebrates Sheffield’s creativity with over 75% of artists from the city. Some well-known names include Pete McKee, James Green, Jonathan Wilkinson and Lydia Monks – each of which has put their own creative mark on a 1.6m tall fibreglass elephant sculpture. They are all very difference, take a selfie with your favourite as they will be on display until the end of September.
International artist Mark Alexander, who is currently working with Rembrandt for an exhibition in Berlin, flew to Sheffield especially to paint his elephant and international players from the World Snooker Championship signed SnookHerd, an elephant celebrating the heritage of snooker in Sheffield.
The Arctic Monkeys, famous for their love of their home city, added their signatures to their own personalised sculpture which pays homage to the striking sound wave cover of the band’s 2013 album “AM”.
By supporting the Herd of Sheffield you are investing in the future of Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Every penny raised will go towards our Artfelt programme, which transforms the hospital’s walls and spaces with bright art, helping children recover in an environment tailored to them. The programme also puts on workshops for youngsters to provide distraction during anxious moments – such as before an operation, and to breakup long stays on the wards.
This exciting Wild in Art event brought to you by The Children’s Hospital Charity will:
Unite our city – bringing businesses, communities, artists, individuals and schools together to create a FREE sculpture trail which is accessible to all.
Attract more visitors – both nationally and regionally as well as encouraging thousands of people to become a tourist in their own city.
Invest in the future – with a city wide education programme that can be used for years to come and by funding a life-saving piece of medical equipment at Sheffield Children’s Hospital from the Herd auction at the end of the trail.
Showcase our city – celebrating Sheffield’s heritage and cementing our status as a vibrant and culturally exciting city through this world-class initiative.
The Herd of Sheffield Farewell Weekend was held on 14-16 October and was your chance to say a last goodbye to all 58 large elephant sculptures as they gather in one place for a final send-off at Meadowhall.
This special event gave visitors a chance to see the entire herd in all its glory – from the signed Arctic Monkeys’ ‘AM’ elephant, right through to ‘SnookHerd’, autographed by a host of international snooker players including current world champion Mark Selby.
Please note that the Little Herd elephants will not be on display as they will be returned to their school for pupils to enjoy.
Meadowhall, along with its joint owners, British Land are very proud to be supporting The Children’s Hospital Charity as host sponsors for the Herd of Sheffield Farewell Weekend.
Auction: Hundreds of elephant enthusiasts gathered at the Crucible on 20 October for the Herd of Sheffield Auction, which raised a total of £410,600 for The Children’s Hospital Charity.
The Postcard is addressed to 'Mr Redmond / 47 Oxford Rd Northshore Blackpool'. Handwritten text on the reverse reads: 'Arrived home safely. Sorry to leave all the friends. Wish we had met earlier. Don't forget me P.C. Kind regards to Miss Kerr and the other friends, sincerely from F Hodges'.
This image is part of an archive series consisting of photographs relating to the career of champion Australian swimmer, diver and vaudeville entertainer in Australia and the United Kingdom Beatrice Kerr. If reproduced or distributed, this image should be clearly attributed to the collection of the Australian National Maritime Museum; and not be used for any commercial or for-profit purposes without the permission of the museum. For more information see our Flickr Commons Rights Statement.
The ANMM undertakes research and accepts public comments that enhance the information we hold about images in our collection. This record has been updated accordingly.
Thank you for helping caption this important historical image.
Object number ANMS1032[029]
ANMM Collection Gift from Michael Williams
This relates to the Shock of the New Challenge "GAMES" that ended on October 14, 2019!
It's October 15, and time to vote!!!
www.flickr.com/groups/shockofthenew/discuss/7215771082105...
With the rain falling harder, it was a bit of a route march to Holborn and my next church, the stunning St Sepulchre, which was also open.
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St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Holborn), is an Anglican church in the City of London. It is located on Holborn Viaduct, almost opposite the Old Bailey. In medieval times it stood just outside ("without") the now-demolished old city wall, near the Newgate. It has been a living of St John's College, Oxford, since 1622.
The original Saxon church on the site was dedicated to St Edmund the King and Martyr. During the Crusades in the 12th century the church was renamed St Edmund and the Holy Sepulchre, in reference to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The name eventually became contracted to St Sepulchre.
The church is today the largest parish church in the City. It was completely rebuilt in the 15th century but was gutted by the Great Fire of London in 1666,[1] which left only the outer walls, the tower and the porch standing[2] -. Modified in the 18th century, the church underwent extensive restoration in 1878. It narrowly avoided destruction in the Second World War, although the 18th-century watch-house in its churchyard (erected to deter grave-robbers) was completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt.
The interior of the church is a wide, roomy space with a coffered ceiling[3] installed in 1834. The Vicars' old residence has recently been renovated into a modern living quarter.
During the reign of Mary I in 1555, St Sepulchre's vicar, John Rogers, was burned as a heretic.
St Sepulchre is named in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons as the "bells of Old Bailey". Traditionally, the great bell would be rung to mark the execution of a prisoner at the nearby gallows at Newgate. The clerk of St Sepulchre's was also responsible for ringing a handbell outside the condemned man's cell in Newgate Prison to inform him of his impending execution. This handbell, known as the Execution Bell, now resides in a glass case to the south of the nave.
The church has been the official musicians' church for many years and is associated with many famous musicians. Its north aisle (formerly a chapel dedicated to Stephen Harding) is dedicated as the Musicians' Chapel, with four windows commemorating John Ireland, the singer Dame Nellie Melba, Walter Carroll and the conductor Sir Henry Wood respectively.[4] Wood, who "at the age of fourteen, learned to play the organ" at this church [1] and later became its organist, also has his ashes buried in this church.
The south aisle of the church holds the regimental chapel of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), and its gardens are a memorial garden to that regiment.[5] The west end of the north aisle has various memorials connected with the City of London Rifles (the 6th Battalion London Regiment). The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Sepulchre-without-Newgate
The Early History of St. Sepulchre's—Its Destruction in 1666—The Exterior and Interior—The Early Popularity of the Church—Interments here—Roger Ascham, the Author of the "Schoolmaster"—Captain John Smith, and his Romantic Adventures—Saved by an Indian Girl— St. Sepulchre's Churchyard—Accommodation for a Murderess—The Martyr Rogers—An Odd Circumstance—Good Company for the Dead—A Leap from the Tower—A Warning Bell and a Last Admonition—Nosegays for the Condemned—The Route to the Gallows-tree— The Deeds of the Charitable—The "Saracen's Head"—Description by Dickens—Giltspur Street—Giltspur Street Compter—A Disreputable Condition—Pie Corner—Hosier Lane—A Spurious Relic—The Conduit on Snow Hill—A Ladies' Charity School—Turnagain Lane—Poor Betty!—A Schoolmistress Censured—Skinner Street—Unpropitious Fortune—William Godwin—An Original Married Life.
Many interesting associations—Principally, however, connected with the annals of crime and the execution of the laws of England—belong to the Church of St. Sepulchre, or St. 'Pulchre. This sacred edifice—anciently known as St. Sepulchre's in the Bailey, or by Chamberlain Gate (now Newgate)—stands at the eastern end of the slight acclivity of Snow Hill, and between Smithfield and the Old Bailey. The genuine materials for its early history are scanty enough. It was probably founded about the commencement of the twelfth century, but of the exact date and circumstances of its origin there is no record whatever. Its name is derived from the Holy Sepulchre of our Saviour at Jerusalem, to the memory of which it was first dedicated.
The earliest authentic notice of the church, according to Maitland, is of the year 1178, at which date it was given by Roger, Bishop of Sarum, to the Prior and Canons of St. Bartholomew. These held the right of advowson until the dissolution of monasteries by Henry VIII., and from that time until 1610 it remained in the hands of the Crown. James I., however, then granted "the rectory and its appurtenances, with the advowson of the vicarage," to Francis Phillips and others. The next stage in its history is that the rectory was purchased by the parishioners, to be held in fee-farm of the Crown, and the advowson was obtained by the President and Fellows of St. John the Baptist College, at Oxford.
The church was rebuilt about the middle of the fifteenth century, when one of the Popham family, who had been Chancellor of Normandy and Treasurer of the King's Household, with distinguished liberality erected a handsome chapel on the south side of the choir, and the very beautiful porch still remaining at the south-west corner of the building. "His image," Stow says, "fair graven in stone, was fixed over the said porch."
The dreadful fire of 1666 almost destroyed St. Sepulchre's, but the parishioners set energetically to work, and it was "rebuilt and beautified both within and without." The general reparation was under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, and nothing but the walls of the old building, and these not entirely, were suffered to remain. The work was done rapidly, and the whole was completed within four years.
"The tower," says Mr. Godwin, "retained its original aspect, and the body of the church, after its restoration, presented a series of windows between buttresses, with pointed heads filled with tracery, crowned by a string-course and battlements. In this form it remained till the year 1790, when it appears the whole fabric was found to be in a state of great decay, and it was resolved to repair it throughout. Accordingly the walls of the church were cased with Portland stone, and all the windows were taken out and replaced by others with plain semi-circular heads, as now seen—certainly agreeing but badly with the tower and porch of the building, but according with the then prevailing spirit of economy. The battlements, too, were taken down, and a plain stone parapet was substituted, so that at this time (with the exception of the roof, which was wagon-headed, and presented on the outside an unsightly swell, visible above the parapet) the church assumed its present appearance." The ungainly roof was removed, and an entirely new one erected, about 1836.
At each corner of the tower—"one of the most ancient," says the author of "Londinium Redivivum," "in the outline of the circuit of London" —there are spires, and on the spires there are weathercocks. These have been made use of by Howell to point a moral: "Unreasonable people," says he, "are as hard to reconcile as the vanes of St. Sepulchre's tower, which never look all four upon one point of the heavens." Nothing can be said with certainty as to the date of the tower, but it is not without the bounds of probability that it formed part of the original building. The belfry is reached by a small winding staircase in the south-west angle, and a similar staircase in an opposite angle leads to the summit. The spires at the corners, and some of the tower windows, have very recently undergone several alterations, which have added much to the picturesqueness and beauty of the church.
The chief entrance to St. Sepulchre's is by a porch of singular beauty, projecting from the south side of the tower, at the western end of the church. The groining of the ceiling of this porch, it has been pointed out, takes an almost unique form; the ribs are carved in bold relief, and the bosses at the intersections represent angels' heads, shields, roses, &c., in great variety.
Coming now to the interior of the church, we find it divided into three aisles, by two ranges of Tuscan columns. The aisles are of unequal widths, that in the centre being the widest, that to the south the narrowest. Semi-circular arches connect the columns on either side, springing directly from their capitals, without the interposition of an entablature, and support a large dental cornice, extending round the church. The ceiling of the middle aisle is divided into seven compartments, by horizontal bands, the middle compartment being formed into a small dome.
The aisles have groined ceilings, ornamented at the angles with doves, &c., and beneath every division of the groining are small windows, to admit light to the galleries. Over each of the aisles there is a gallery, very clumsily introduced, which dates from the time when the church was built by Wren, and extends the whole length, excepting at the chancel. The front of the gallery, which is of oak, is described by Mr. Godwin as carved into scrolls, branches, &c., in the centre panel, on either side, with the initials "C. R.," enriched with carvings of laurel, which have, however, he says, "but little merit."
At the east end of the church there are three semicircular-headed windows. Beneath the centre one is a large Corinthian altar-piece of oak, displaying columns, entablatures, &c., elaborately carved and gilded.
The length of the church, exclusive of the ambulatory, is said to be 126 feet, the breadth 68 feet, and the height of the tower 140 feet.
A singularly ugly sounding-board, extending over the preacher, used to stand at the back of the pulpit, at the east end of the church. It was in the shape of a large parabolic reflector, about twelve feet in diameter, and was composed of ribs of mahogany.
At the west end of the church there is a large organ, said to be the oldest and one of the finest in London. It was built in 1677, and has been greatly enlarged. Its reed-stops (hautboy, clarinet, &c.) are supposed to be unrivalled. In Newcourt's time the church was taken notice of as "remarkable for possessing an exceedingly fine organ, and the playing is thought so beautiful, that large congregations are attracted, though some of the parishioners object to the mode of performing divine service."
On the north side of the church, Mr. Godwin mentions, is a large apartment known as "St. Stephen's Chapel." This building evidently formed a somewhat important part of the old church, and was probably appropriated to the votaries of the saint whose name it bears.
Between the exterior and the interior of the church there is little harmony. "For example," says Mr. Godwin, "the columns which form the south aisle face, in some instances, the centre of the large windows which occur in the external wall of the church, and in others the centre of the piers, indifferently." This discordance may likely enough have arisen from the fact that when the church was rebuilt, or rather restored, after the Great Fire, the works were done without much attention from Sir Christopher Wren.
St. Sepulchre's appears to have enjoyed considerable popularity from the earliest period of its history, if one is to judge from the various sums left by well-disposed persons for the support of certain fraternities founded in the church—namely, those of St. Katherine, St. Michael, St. Anne, and Our Lady—and by others, for the maintenance of chantry priests to celebrate masses at stated intervals for the good of their souls. One of the fraternities just named—that of St. Katherine— originated, according to Stow, in the devotion of some poor persons in the parish, and was in honour of the conception of the Virgin Mary. They met in the church on the day of the Conception, and there had the mass of the day, and offered to the same, and provided a certain chaplain daily to celebrate divine service, and to set up wax lights before the image belonging to the fraternity, on all festival days.
The most famous of all who have been interred in St. Sepulchre's is Roger Ascham, the author of the "Schoolmaster," and the instructor of Queen Elizabeth in Greek and Latin. This learned old worthy was born in 1515, near Northallerton, in Yorkshire. He was educated at Cambridge University, and in time rose to be the university orator, being notably zealous in promoting what was then a novelty in England—the study of the Greek language. To divert himself after the fatigue of severe study, he used to devote himself to archery. This drew down upon him the censure of the all-work-and-no-play school; and in defence of himself, Ascham, in 1545, published "Toxophilus," a treatise on his favourite sport. This book is even yet well worthy of perusal, for its enthusiasm, and for its curious descriptions of the personal appearance and manners of the principal persons whom the author had seen and conversed with. Henry VIII. rewarded him with a pension of £10 per annum, a considerable sum in those days. In 1548, Ascham, on the death of William Grindall, who had been his pupil, was appointed instructor in the learned languages to Lady Elizabeth, afterwards the good Queen Bess. At the end of two years he had some dispute with, or took a disgust at, Lady Elizabeth's attendants, resigned his situation, and returned to his college. Soon after this he was employed as secretary to the English ambassador at the court of Charles V. of Germany, and remained abroad till the death of Edward VI. During his absence he had been appointed Latin secretary to King Edward. Strangely enough, though Queen Mary and her ministers were Papists, and Ascham a Protestant, he was retained in his office of Latin secretary, his pension was increased to £20, and he was allowed to retain his fellowship and his situation as university orator. In 1554 he married a lady of good family, by whom he had a considerable fortune, and of whom, in writing to a friend, he gives, as might perhaps be expected, an excellent character. On the accession of Queen Elizabeth, in 1558, she not only required his services as Latin secretary, but as her instructor in Greek, and he resided at Court during the remainder of his life. He died in consequence of his endeavours to complete a Latin poem which he intended to present to the queen on the New Year's Day of 1569. He breathed his last two days before 1568 ran out, and was interred, according to his own directions, in the most private manner, in St. Sepulchre's Church, his funeral sermon being preached by Dr. Andrew Nowell, Dean of St. Paul's. He was universally lamented; and even the queen herself not only showed great concern, but was pleased to say that she would rather have lost ten thousand pounds than her tutor Ascham, which, from that somewhat closehanded sovereign, was truly an expression of high regard.
Ascham, like most men, had his little weaknesses. He had too great a propensity to dice and cock-fighting. Bishop Nicholson would try to convince us that this is an unfounded calumny, but, as it is mentioned by Camden, and other contemporary writers, it seems impossible to deny it. He died, from all accounts, in indifferent circumstances. "Whether," says Dr. Johnson, referring to this, "Ascham was poor by his own fault, or the fault of others, cannot now be decided; but it is certain that many have been rich with less merit. His philological learning would have gained him honour in any country; and among us it may justly call for that reverence which all nations owe to those who first rouse them from ignorance, and kindle among them the light of literature." His most valuable work, "The Schoolmaster," was published by his widow. The nature of this celebrated performance may be gathered from the title: "The Schoolmaster; or a plain and perfite way of teaching children to understand, write, and speak the Latin tongue. … And commodious also for all such as have forgot the Latin tongue, and would by themselves, without a schoolmaster, in short time, and with small pains, recover a sufficient habilitie to understand, write, and speak Latin: by Roger Ascham, ann. 1570. At London, printed by John Daye, dwelling over Aldersgate," a printer, by the way, already mentioned by us a few chapters back (see page 208), as having printed several noted works of the sixteenth century.
Dr. Johnson remarks that the instruction recommended in "The Schoolmaster" is perhaps the best ever given for the study of languages.
Here also lies buried Captain John Smith, a conspicuous soldier of fortune, whose romantic adventures and daring exploits have rarely been surpassed. He died on the 21st of June, 1631. This valiant captain was born at Willoughby, in the county of Lincoln, and helped by his doings to enliven the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. He had a share in the wars of Hungary in 1602, and in three single combats overcame three Turks, and cut off their heads. For this, and other equally brave deeds, Sigismund, Duke of Transylvania, gave him his picture set in gold, with a pension of three hundred ducats; and allowed him to bear three Turks' heads proper as his shield of arms. He afterwards went to America, where he had the misfortune to fall into the hands of the Indians. He escaped from them, however, at last, and resumed his brilliant career by hazarding his life in naval engagements with pirates and Spanish men-of-war. The most important act of his life was the share he had in civilising the natives of New England, and reducing that province to obedience to Great Britain. In connection with his tomb in St. Sepulchre's, he is mentioned by Stow, in his "Survey," as "some time Governor of Virginia and Admiral of New England."
Certainly the most interesting events of his chequered career were his capture by the Indians, and the saving of his life by the Indian girl Pocahontas, a story of adventure that charms as often as it is told. Bancroft, the historian of the United States, relates how, during the early settlement of Virginia, Smith left the infant colony on an exploring expedition, and not only ascended the river Chickahominy, but struck into the interior. His companions disobeyed his instructions, and being surprised by the Indians, were put to death. Smith preserved his own life by calmness and self-possession. Displaying a pocket-compass, he amused the savages by an explanation of its power, and increased their admiration of his superior genius by imparting to them some vague conceptions of the form of the earth, and the nature of the planetary system. To the Indians, who retained him as their prisoner, his captivity was a more strange event than anything of which the traditions of their tribes preserved the memory. He was allowed to send a letter to the fort at Jamestown, and the savage wonder was increased, for he seemed by some magic to endow the paper with the gift of intelligence. It was evident that their captive was a being of a high order, and then the question arose, Was his nature beneficent, or was he to be dreaded as a dangerous enemy? Their minds were bewildered, and the decision of his fate was referred to the chief Powhatan, and before Powhatan Smith was brought. "The fears of the feeble aborigines," says Bancroft, "were about to prevail, and his immediate death, already repeatedly threatened and repeatedly delayed, would have been inevitable, but for the timely intercession of Pocahontas, a girl twelve years old, the daughter of Powhatan, whose confiding fondness Smith had easily won, and who firmly clung to his neck, as his head was bowed down to receive the stroke of the tomahawks. His fearlessness, and her entreaties, persuaded the council to spare the agreeable stranger, who could make hatchets for her father, and rattles and strings of beads for herself, the favourite child. The barbarians, whose decision had long been held in suspense by the mysterious awe which Smith had inspired, now resolved to receive him as a friend, and to make him a partner of their councils. They tempted him to join their bands, and lend assistance in an attack upon the white men at Jamestown; and when his decision of character succeeded in changing the current of their thoughts, they dismissed him with mutual promises of friendship and benevolence. Thus the captivity of Smith did itself become a benefit to the colony; for he had not only observed with care the country between the James and the Potomac, and had gained some knowledge of the language and manners of the natives, but he now established a peaceful intercourse between the English and the tribes of Powhatan."
On the monument erected to Smith in St. Sepulchre's Church, the following quaint lines were formerly inscribed:—
"Here lies one conquered that hath conquered kings,
Subdued large territories, and done things
Which to the world impossible would seem,
But that the truth is held in more esteem.
Shall I report his former service done,
In honour of his God, and Christendom?
How that he did divide, from pagans three,
Their heads and lives, types of his chivalry?—
For which great service, in that climate done,
Brave Sigismundus, King of Hungarion,
Did give him, as a coat of arms, to wear
These conquered heads, got by his sword and spear.
Or shall I tell of his adventures since
Done in Virginia, that large continent?
How that he subdued kings unto his yoke,
And made those heathens flee, as wind doth smoke;
And made their land, being so large a station,
An habitation for our Christian nation,
Where God is glorified, their wants supplied;
Which else for necessaries, must have died.
But what avails his conquests, now he lies
Interred in earth, a prey to worms and flies?
Oh! may his soul in sweet Elysium sleep,
Until the Keeper, that all souls doth keep,
Return to judgment; and that after thence
With angels he may have his recompense."
Sir Robert Peake, the engraver, also found a last resting-place here. He is known as the master of William Faithorne—the famous English engraver of the seventeenth century—and governor of Basing House for the king during the Civil War under Charles I. He died in 1667. Here also was interred the body of Dr. Bell, grandfather of the originator of a well-known system of education.
"The churchyard of St. Sepulchre's," we learn from Maitland, "at one time extended so far into the street on the south side of the church, as to render the passage-way dangerously narrow. In 1760 the churchyard was, in consequence, levelled, and thrown open to the public. But this led to much inconvenience, and it was re-enclosed in 1802."
Sarah Malcolm, the murderess, was buried in the churchyard of St. Sepulchre's in 1733. This coldhearted and keen-eyed monster in human form has had her story told by us already. The parishioners seem, on this occasion, to have had no such scruples as had been exhibited by their predecessors a hundred and fifty years previous at the burial of Awfield, a traitor. We shall see presently that in those more remote days they were desirous of having at least respectable company for their deceased relatives and friends in the churchyard.
"For a long period," says Mr. Godwin (1838), "the church was surrounded by low mean buildings, by which its general appearance was hidden; but these having been cleared away, and the neighbourhood made considerably more open, St. Sepulchre's now forms a somewhat pleasing object, notwithstanding that the tower and a part of the porch are so entirely dissimilar in style to the remainder of the building." And since Godwin's writing the surroundings of the church have been so improved that perhaps few buildings in the metropolis stand more prominently before the public eye.
In the glorious roll of martyrs who have suffered at the stake for their religious principles, a vicar of St. Sepulchre's, the Reverend John Rogers, occupies a conspicuous place. He was the first who was burned in the reign of the Bloody Mary. This eminent person had at one time been chaplain to the English merchants at Antwerp, and while residing in that city had aided Tindal and Coverdale in their great work of translating the Bible. He married a German lady of good position, by whom he had a large family, and was enabled, by means of her relations, to reside in peace and safety in Germany. It appeared to be his duty, however, to return to England, and there publicly profess and advocate his religious convictions, even at the risk of death. He crossed the sea; he took his place in the pulpit at St. Paul's Cross; he preached a fearless and animated sermon, reminding his astonished audience of the pure and wholesome doctrine which had been promulgated from that pulpit in the days of the good King Edward, and solemnly warning them against the pestilent idolatry and superstition of these new times. It was his last sermon. He was apprehended, tried, condemned, and burned at Smithfield. We described, when speaking of Smithfield, the manner in which he met his fate.
Connected with the martyrdom of Rogers an odd circumstance is quoted in the "Churches of London." It is stated that when the bishops had resolved to put to death Joan Bocher, a friend came to Rogers and earnestly entreated his influence that the poor woman's life might be spared, and other means taken to prevent the spread of her heterodox doctrines. Rogers, however, contended that she should be executed; and his friend then begged him to choose some other kind of death, which should be more agreeable to the gentleness and mercy prescribed in the gospel. "No," replied Rogers, "burning alive is not a cruel death, but easy enough." His friend hearing these words, expressive of so little regard for the sufferings of a fellow-creature, answered him with great vehemence, at the same time striking Rogers' hand, "Well, it may perhaps so happen that you yourself shall have your hands full of this mild burning." There is no record of Rogers among the papers belonging to St. Sepulchre's, but this may easily be accounted for by the fact that at the Great Fire of 1666 nearly all the registers and archives were destroyed.
A noteworthy incident in the history of St. Sepulchre's was connected with the execution, in 1585, of Awfield, for "sparcinge abrood certen lewed, sedicious, and traytorous bookes." "When he was executed," says Fleetwood, the Recorder, in a letter to Lord Burleigh, July 7th of that year, "his body was brought unto St. Pulcher's to be buryed, but the parishioners would not suffer a traytor's corpse to be laid in the earth where their parents, wives, children, kindred, masters, and old neighbours did rest; and so his carcass was returned to the burial-ground near Tyburn, and there I leave it."
Another event in the history of the church is a tale of suicide. On the 10th of April, 1600, a man named William Dorrington threw himself from the roof of the tower, leaving there a prayer for forgiveness.
We come now to speak of the connection of St. Sepulchre's with the neighbouring prison of Newgate. Being the nearest church to the prison, that connection naturally was intimate. Its clock served to give the time to the hangman when there was an execution in the Old Bailey, and many a poor wretch's last moments must it have regulated.
On the right-hand side of the altar a board with a list of charitable donations and gifts used to contain the following item:—"1605. Mr. Robert Dowe gave, for ringing the greatest bell in this church on the day the condemned prisoners are executed, and for other services, for ever, concerning such condemned prisoners, for which services the sexton is paid £16s. 8d.—£50.
It was formerly the practice for the clerk or bellman of St. Sepulchre's to go under Newgate, on the night preceding the execution of a criminal, ring his bell, and repeat the following wholesome advice:—
"All you that in the condemned hold do lie,
Prepare you, for to-morrow you shall die;
Watch all, and pray, the hour is drawing near
That you before the Almighty must appear;
Examine well yourselves, in time repent,
That you may not to eternal flames be sent.
And when St. Sepulchre's bell to-morrow tolls,
The Lord above have mercy on your souls.
Past twelve o'clock!"
This practice is explained by a passage in Munday's edition of Stow, in which it is told that a Mr. John Dowe, citizen and merchant taylor of London, gave £50 to the parish church of St. Sepulchre's, under the following conditions:—After the several sessions of London, on the night before the execution of such as were condemned to death, the clerk of the church was to go in the night-time, and also early in the morning, to the window of the prison in which they were lying. He was there to ring "certain tolls with a hand-bell" appointed for the purpose, and was afterwards, in a most Christian manner, to put them in mind of their present condition and approaching end, and to exhort them to be prepared, as they ought to be, to die. When they were in the cart, and brought before the walls of the church, the clerk was to stand there ready with the same bell, and, after certain tolls, rehearse a prayer, desiring all the people there present to pray for the unfortunate criminals. The beadle, also, of Merchant Taylors' Hall was allowed an "honest stipend" to see that this ceremony was regularly performed.
The affecting admonition—"affectingly good," Pennant calls it—addressed to the prisoners in Newgate, on the night before execution, ran as follows:—
"You prisoners that are within,
Who, for wickedness and sin,
after many mercies shown you, are now appointed to die to-morrow in the forenoon; give ear and understand that, to-morrow morning, the greatest bell of St. Sepulchre's shall toll for you, in form and manner of a passing-bell, as used to be tolled for those that are at the point of death; to the end that all godly people, hearing that bell, and knowing it is for your going to your deaths, may be stirred up heartily to pray to God to bestow his grace and mercy upon you, whilst you live. I beseech you, for Jesus Christ's sake, to keep this night in watching and prayer, to the salvation of your own souls while there is yet time and place for mercy; as knowing to-morrow you must appear before the judgment-seat of your Creator, there to give an account of all things done in this life, and to suffer eternal torments for your sins committed against Him, unless, upon your hearty and unfeigned repentance, you find mercy through the merits, death, and passion of your only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of God, to make intercession for as many of you as penitently return to Him."
And the following was the admonition to condemned criminals, as they were passing by St. Sepulchre's Church wall to execution:—" All good people, pray heartily unto God for these poor sinners, who are now going to their death, for whom this great bell doth toll.
"You that are condemned to die, repent with lamentable tears; ask mercy of the Lord, for the salvation of your own souls, through the [merits, death, and passion of Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of God, to make intercession for as many of you as penitently return unto Him.
"Lord have mercy upon you;
Christ have mercy upon you.
Lord have mercy upon you;
Christ have mercy upon you."
The charitable Mr. Dowe, who took such interest in the last moments of the occupants of the condemned cell, was buried in the church of St. Botolph, Aldgate.
Another curious custom observed at St. Sepulchre's was the presentation of a nosegay to every criminal on his way to execution at Tyburn. No doubt the practice had its origin in some kindly feeling for the poor unfortunates who were so soon to bid farewell to all the beauties of earth. One of the last who received a nosegay from the steps of St. Sepulchre's was "Sixteen-string Jack," alias John Rann, who was hanged, in 1774, for robbing the Rev. Dr. Bell of his watch and eighteen pence in money, in Gunnersbury Lane, on the road to Brentford. Sixteen-string Jack wore the flowers in his button-hole as he rode dolefully to the gallows. This was witnessed by John Thomas Smith, who thus describes the scene in his admirable anecdotebook, "Nollekens and his Times:"—" I remember well, when I was in my eighth year, Mr. Nollekens calling at my father's house, in Great Portland Street, and taking us to Oxford Street, to see the notorious Jack Rann, commonly called Sixteenstring Jack, go to Tyburn to be hanged. … The criminal was dressed in a pea-green coat, with an immense nosegay in the button-hole, which had been presented to him at St. Sepulchre's steps; and his nankeen small-clothes, we were told, were tied at each knee with sixteen strings. After he had passed, and Mr. Nollekens was leading me home by the hand, I recollect his stooping down to me and observing, in a low tone of voice, 'Tom, now, my little man, if my father-in-law, Mr. Justice Welch, had been high constable, we could have walked by the side of the cart all the way to Tyburn.'"
When criminals were conveyed from Newgate to Tyburn, the cart passed up Giltspur Street, and through Smithfield, to Cow Lane. Skinner Street had not then been built, and the Crooked Lane which turned down by St. Sepulchre's, as well as Ozier Lane, did not afford sufficient width to admit of the cavalcade passing by either of them, with convenience, to Holborn Hill, or "the Heavy Hill," as it used to be called. The procession seems at no time to have had much of the solemn element about it. "The heroes of the day were often," says a popular writer, "on good terms with the mob, and jokes were exchanged between the men who were going to be hanged and the men who deserved to be."
"On St. Paul's Day," says Mr. Timbs (1868), "service is performed in St. Sepulchre's, in accordance with the will of Mr. Paul Jervis, who, in 1717, devised certain land in trust that a sermon should be preached in the church upon every Paul's Day upon the excellence of the liturgy o the Church of England; the preacher to receive 40s. for such sermon. Various sums are also bequeathed to the curate, the clerk, the treasurer, and masters of the parochial schools. To the poor of the parish he bequeathed 20s. a-piece to ten of the poorest householders within that part of the parish of St. Sepulchre commonly called Smithfield quarter, £4 to the treasurer of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and 6s. 8d. yearly to the clerk, who shall attend to receive the same. The residue of the yearly rents and profits is to be distributed unto and amongst such poor people of the parish of St. Sepulchre's, London, who shall attend the service and sermon. At the close of the service the vestry-clerk reads aloud an extract from the will, and then proceeds to the distribution of the money. In the evening the vicar, churchwardens, and common councilmen of the precinct dine together."
In 1749, a Mr. Drinkwater made a praiseworthy bequest. He left the parish of St. Sepulchre £500 to be lent in sums of £25 to industrious young tradesmen. No interest was to be charged, and the money was to be lent for four years.
Next to St. Sepulchre's, on Snow Hill, used to stand the famous old inn of the "Saracen's Head." It was only swept away within the last few years by the ruthless army of City improvers: a view of it in course of demolition was given on page 439. It was one of the oldest of the London inns which bore the "Saracen's Head" for a sign. One of Dick Tarlton's jests makes mention of the "Saracen's Head" without Newgate, and Stow, describing this neighbourhood, speaks particularly of "a fair large inn for receipt of travellers" that "hath to sign the 'Saracen's Head.'" The courtyard had, to the last, many of the characteristics of an old English inn; there were galleries all round leading to the bedrooms, and a spacious gateway through which the dusty mail-coaches used to rumble, the tired passengers creeping forth "thanking their stars in having escaped the highwaymen and the holes and sloughs of the road." Into that courtyard how many have come on their first arrival in London with hearts beating high with hope, some of whom have risen to be aldermen and sit in state as lord mayor, whilst others have gone the way of the idle apprentice and come to a sad end at Tyburn! It was at this inn that Nicholas Nickleby and his uncle waited upon the Yorkshire schoolmaster Squeers, of Dotheboys Hall. Mr. Dickens describes the tavern as it existed in the last days of mail-coaching, when it was a most important place for arrivals and departures in London:—
"Next to the jail, and by consequence near to Smithfield also, and the Compter and the bustle and noise of the City, and just on that particular part of Snow Hill where omnibus horses going eastwards seriously think of falling down on purpose, and where horses in hackney cabriolets going westwards not unfrequently fall by accident, is the coach-yard of the 'Saracen's Head' inn, its portals guarded by two Saracen's heads and shoulders, which it was once the pride and glory of the choice spirits of this metropolis to pull down at night, but which have for some time remained in undisturbed tranquillity, possibly because this species of humour is now confined to St. James's parish, where doorknockers are preferred as being more portable, and bell-wires esteemed as convenient tooth-picks. Whether this be the reason or not, there they are, frowning upon you from each side of the gateway; and the inn itself, garnished with another Saracen's head, frowns upon you from the top of the yard; while from the door of the hind-boot of all the red coaches that are standing therein, there glares a small Saracen's head with a twin expression to the large Saracen's head below, so that the general appearance of the pile is of the Saracenic order."
To explain the use of the Saracen's head as an inn sign various reasons have been given. "When our countrymen," says Selden, "came home from fighting with the Saracens and were beaten by them, they pictured them with huge, big, terrible faces (as you still see the 'Saracen's Head' is), when in truth they were like other men. But this they did to save their own credit." Or the sign may have been adopted by those who had visited the Holy Land either as pilgrims or to fight the Saracens. Others, again, hold that it was first set up in compliment to the mother of Thomas à Becket, who was the daughter of a Saracen. However this may be, it is certain that the use of the sign in former days was very general.
Running past the east end of St. Sepulchre's, from Newgate into West Smithfield, is Giltspur Street, anciently called Knightriders Street. This interesting thoroughfare derives its name from the knights with their gilt spurs having been accustomed to ride this way to the jousts and tournaments which in days of old were held in Smithfield.
In this street was Giltspur Street Compter, a debtors' prison and house of correction appertaining to the sheriffs of London and Middlesex. It stood over against St. Sepulchre's Church, and was removed hither from the east side of Wood Street, Cheapside, in 1791. At the time of its removal it was used as a place of imprisonment for debtors, but the yearly increasing demands upon the contracted space caused that department to be given up, and City debtors were sent to Whitecross Street. The architect was Dance, to whom we are also indebted for the grim pile of Newgate. The Compter was a dirty and appropriately convictlooking edifice. It was pulled down in 1855. Mr. Hepworth Dixon gave an interesting account of this City House of Correction, not long before its demolition, in his "London Prisons" (1850). "Entering," he says, "at the door facing St. Sepulchre's, the visitor suddenly finds himself in a low dark passage, leading into the offices of the gaol, and branching off into other passages, darker, closer, more replete with noxious smells, than even those of Newgate. This is the fitting prelude to what follows. The prison, it must be noticed, is divided into two principal divisions, the House of Correction and the Compter. The front in Giltspur Street, and the side nearest to Newgate Street, is called the Compter. In its wards are placed detenues of various kinds—remands, committals from the police-courts, and generally persons waiting for trial, and consequently still unconvicted. The other department, the House of Correction, occupies the back portion of the premises, abutting on Christ's Hospital. Curious it is to consider how thin a wall divides these widely-separate worlds! And sorrowful it is to think what a difference of destiny awaits the children—destiny inexorable, though often unearned in either case—who, on the one side of it or the other, receive an eleemosynary education! The collegian and the criminal! Who shall say how much mere accident— circumstances over which the child has little power —determines to a life of usefulness or mischief? From the yards of Giltspur Street prison almost the only objects visible, outside of the gaol itself, are the towers of Christ's Hospital; the only sounds audible, the shouts of the scholars at their play. The balls of the hospital boys often fall within the yards of the prison. Whether these sights and sounds ever cause the criminal to pause and reflect upon the courses of his life, we will not say, but the stranger visiting the place will be very apt to think for him. …
"In the department of the prison called the House of Correction, minor offenders within the City of London are imprisoned. No transports are sent hither, nor is any person whose sentence is above three years in length." This able writer then goes on to tell of the many crying evils connected with the institution—the want of air, the over-crowded state of the rooms, the absence of proper cellular accommodation, and the vicious intercourse carried on amongst the prisoners. The entire gaol, when he wrote, only contained thirty-six separate sleeping-rooms. Now by the highest prison calculation—and this, be it noted, proceeds on the assumption that three persons can sleep in small, miserable, unventilated cells, which are built for only one, and are too confined for that, being only about one-half the size of the model cell for one at Pentonville—it was only capable of accommodating 203 prisoners, yet by the returns issued at Michaelmas, 1850, it contained 246!
A large section of the prison used to be devoted to female delinquents, but lately it was almost entirely given up to male offenders.
"The House of Correction, and the Compter portion of the establishment," says Mr. Dixon, "are kept quite distinct, but it would be difficult to award the palm of empire in their respective facilities for demoralisation. We think the Compter rather the worse of the two. You are shown into a room, about the size of an apartment in an ordinary dwelling-house, which will be found crowded with from thirty to forty persons, young and old, and in their ordinary costume; the low thief in his filth and rags, and the member of the swell-mob with his bright buttons, flash finery, and false jewels. Here you notice the boy who has just been guilty of his first offence, and committed for trial, learning with a greedy mind a thousand criminal arts, and listening with the precocious instinct of guilty passions to stories and conversations the most depraved and disgusting. You regard him with a mixture of pity and loathing, for he knows that the eyes of his peers are upon him, and he stares at you with a familiar impudence, and exhibits a devil-may-care countenance, such as is only to be met with in the juvenile offender. Here, too, may be seen the young clerk, taken up on suspicion—perhaps innocent—who avoids you with a shy look of pain and uneasiness: what a hell must this prison be to him! How frightful it is to think of a person really untainted with crime, compelled to herd for ten or twenty days with these abandoned wretches!
"On the other, the House of Correction side of the gaol, similar rooms will be found, full of prisoners communicating with each other, laughing and shouting without hindrance. All this is so little in accordance with existing notions of prison discipline, that one is continually fancying these disgraceful scenes cannot be in the capital of England, and in the year of grace 1850. Very few of the prisoners attend school or receive any instruction; neither is any kind of employment afforded them, except oakum-picking, and the still more disgusting labour of the treadmill. When at work, an officer is in attendance to prevent disorderly conduct; but his presence is of no avail as a protection to the less depraved. Conversation still goes on; and every facility is afforded for making acquaintances, and for mutual contamination."
After having long been branded by intelligent inspectors as a disgrace to the metropolis, Giltspur Street Compter was condemned, closed in 1854, and subsequently taken down.
Nearly opposite what used to be the site of the Compter, and adjoining Cock Lane, is the spot called Pie Corner, near which terminated the Great Fire of 1666. The fire commenced at Pudding Lane, it will be remembered, so it was singularly appropriate that it should terminate at Pie Corner. Under the date of 4th September, 1666, Pepys, in his "Diary," records that "W. Hewer this day went to see how his mother did, and comes home late, telling us how he hath been forced to remove her to Islington, her house in Pye Corner being burned; so that the fire is got so far that way." The figure of a fat naked boy stands over a public house at the corner of the lane; it used to have the following warning inscription attached:— "This boy is in memory put up of the late fire of London, occasioned by the sin of gluttony, 1666." According to Stow, Pie Corner derived its name from the sign of a well-frequented hostelry, which anciently stood on the spot. Strype makes honourable mention of Pie Corner, as "noted chiefly for cooks' shops and pigs dressed there during Bartholomew Fair." Our old writers have many references—and not all, by the way, in the best taste—to its cookstalls and dressed pork. Shadwell, for instance, in the Woman Captain (1680) speaks of "meat dressed at Pie Corner by greasy scullions;" and Ben Jonson writes in the Alchemist (1612)—
"I shall put you in mind, sir, at Pie Corner,
Taking your meal of steam in from cooks' stalls."
And in "The Great Boobee" ("Roxburgh Ballads"):
"Next day I through Pie Corner passed;
The roast meat on the stall
Invited me to take a taste;
My money was but small."
But Pie Corner seems to have been noted for more than eatables. A ballad from Tom D'Urfey's "Pills to Purge Melancholy," describing Bartholomew Fair, eleven years before the Fire of London, says:—
"At Pie-Corner end, mark well my good friend,
'Tis a very fine dirty place;
Where there's more arrows and bows. …
Than was handled at Chivy Chase."
We have already given a view of Pie Corner in our chapter on Smithfield, page 361.
Hosier Lane, running from Cow Lane to Smithfield, and almost parallel to Cock Lane, is described by "R. B.," in Strype, as a place not over-well built or inhabited. The houses were all old timber erections. Some of these—those standing at the south corner of the lane—were in the beginning of this century depicted by Mr. J. T. Smith, in his "Ancient Topography of London." He describes them as probably of the reign of James I. The rooms were small, with low, unornamented ceilings; the timber, oak, profusely used; the gables were plain, and the walls lath and plaster. They were taken down in 1809.
In the corner house, in Mr. Smith's time, there was a barber whose name was Catchpole; at least, so it was written over the door. He was rather an odd fellow, and possessed, according to his own account, a famous relic of antiquity. He would gravely show his customers a short-bladed instrument, as the identical dagger with which Walworth killed Wat Tyler.
Hosier Lane, like Pie Corner, used to be a great resort during the time of Bartholomew Fair, "all the houses," it is said in Strype, "generally being made public for tippling."
We return now from our excursion to the north of St. Sepulchre's, and continue our rambles to the west, and before speaking of what is, let us refer to what has been.
Turnagain Lane is not far from this. "Near unto this Seacoal Lane," remarks Stow, "in the turning towards Holborn Conduit, is Turnagain Lane, or rather, as in a record of the 5th of Edward III., Windagain Lane, for that it goeth down west to Fleet Dyke, from whence men must turn again the same way they came, but there it stopped." There used to be a proverb, "He must take him a house in Turnagain Lane."
A conduit formerly stood on Snow Hill, a little below the church. It is described as a building with four equal sides, ornamented with four columns and pediment, surmounted by a pyramid, on which stood a lamb—a rebus on the name of Lamb, from whose conduit in Red Lion Street the water came. There had been a conduit there, however, before Lamb's day, which was towards the close of the sixteenth century.
At No. 37, King Street, Snow Hill, there used to be a ladies' charity school, which was established in 1702, and remained in the parish 145 years. Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Thrale were subscribers to this school, and Johnson drew from it his story of Betty Broom, in "The Idler." The world of domestic service, in Betty's days, seems to have been pretty much as now. Betty was a poor girl, bred in the country at a charity-school, maintained by the contributions of wealthy neighbours. The patronesses visited the school from time to time, to see how the pupils got on, and everything went well, till "at last, the chief of the subscribers having passed a winter in London, came down full of an opinion new and strange to the whole country. She held it little less than criminal to teach poor girls to read and write. They who are born to poverty, she said, are born to ignorance, and will work the harder the less they know. She told her friends that London was in confusion by the insolence of servants; that scarcely a girl could be got for all-work, since education had made such numbers of fine ladies, that nobody would now accept a lower title than that of a waiting-maid, or something that might qualify her to wear laced shoes and long ruffles, and to sit at work in the parlour window. But she was resolved, for her part, to spoil no more girls. Those who were to live by their hands should neither read nor write out of her pocket. The world was bad enough already, and she would have no part in making it worse.
"She was for a long time warmly opposed; but she persevered in her notions, and withdrew her subscription. Few listen, without a desire of conviction, to those who advise them to spare their money. Her example and her arguments gained ground daily; and in less than a year the whole parish was convinced that the nation would be ruined if the children of the poor were taught to read and write." So the school was dissolved, and Betty with the rest was turned adrift into the wide and cold world; and her adventures there any one may read in "The Idler" for himself.
There is an entry in the school minutes of 1763, to the effect that the ladies of the committee censured the schoolmistress for listening to the story of the Cock Lane ghost, and "desired her to keep her belief in the article to herself."
Skinner Street—now one of the names of the past—which ran by the south side of St. Sepulchre's, and formed the connecting link between Newgate Street and Holborn, received its name from Alderman Skinner, through whose exertions, about 1802, it was principally built. The following account of Skinner Street is from the picturesque pen of Mr. William Harvey ("Aleph"), whose long familiarity with the places he describes renders doubly valuable his many contributions to the history of London scenes and people:—"As a building speculation," he says, writing in 1863, "it was a failure. When the buildings were ready for occupation, tall and substantial as they really were, the high rents frightened intending shopkeepers. Tenants were not to be had; and in order to get over the money difficulty, a lottery, sanctioned by Parliament, was commenced. Lotteries were then common tricks of finance, and nobody wondered at the new venture; but even the most desperate fortune-hunters were slow to invest their capital, and the tickets hung sadly on hand. The day for the drawing was postponed several times, and when it came, there was little or no excitement on the subject, and whoever rejoiced in becoming a house-owner on such easy terms, the original projectors and builders were understood to have suffered considerably. The winners found the property in a very unfinished condition. Few of the dwellings were habitable, and as funds were often wanting, a majority of the houses remained empty, and the shops unopened. After two or three years things began to improve; the vast many-storeyed house which then covered the site of Commercial Place was converted into a warehousing depôt; a capital house opposite the 'Saracen's Head' was taken by a hosier of the name of Theobald, who, opening his shop with the determination of selling the best hosiery, and nothing else, was able to convince the citizens that his hose was first-rate, and, desiring only a living profit, succeeded, after thirty years of unwearied industry, in accumulating a large fortune. Theobald was possessed of literary tastes, and at the sale of Sir Walter Scott's manuscripts was a liberal purchaser. He also collected a library of exceedingly choice books, and when aristocratic customers purchased stockings of him, was soon able to interest them in matters of far higher interest…
"The most remarkable shop—but it was on the left-hand side, at a corner house—was that established for the sale of children's books. It boasted an immense extent of window-front, extending from the entrance into Snow Hill, and towards Fleet Market. Many a time have I lingered with loving eyes over those fascinating story-books, so rich in gaily-coloured prints; such careful editions of the marvellous old histories, 'Puss in Boots,' 'Cock Robin,' 'Cinderella,' and the like. Fortunately the front was kept low, so as exactly to suit the capacity of a childish admirer. . . . . But Skinner Street did not prosper much, and never could compete with even the dullest portions of Holborn. I have spoken of some reputable shops; but you know the proverb, 'One swallow will not make a summer,' and it was a declining neighbourhood almost before it could be called new. In 1810 the commercial depôt, which had been erected at a cost of £25,000, and was the chief prize in the lottery, was destroyed by fire, never to be rebuilt—a heavy blow and discouragement to Skinner Street, from which it never rallied. Perhaps the periodical hanging-days exercised an unfavourable influence, collecting, as they frequently did, all the thieves and vagabonds of London. I never sympathised with Pepys or Charles Fox in their passion for public executions, and made it a point to avoid those ghastly sights; but early of a Monday morning, when I had just reached the end of Giltspur Street, a miserable wretch had just been turned off from the platform of the debtors' door, and I was made the unwilling witness of his last struggles. That scene haunted me for months, and I often used to ask myself, 'Who that could help it would live in Skinner Street?' The next unpropitious event in these parts was the unexpected closing of the child's library. What could it mean? Such a well-to-do establishment shut up? Yes, the whole army of shutters looked blankly on the inquirer, and forbade even a single glance at 'Sinbad' or 'Robinson Crusoe.' It would soon be re-opened, we naturally thought; but the shutters never came down again. The whole house was deserted; not even a messenger in bankruptcy, or an ancient Charley, was found to regard the playful double knocks of the neighbouring juveniles. Gradually the glass of all the windows got broken in, a heavy cloud of black dust, solidifying into inches thick, gathered on sills and doors and brickwork, till the whole frontage grew as gloomy as Giant Despair's Castle. Not long after, the adjoining houses shared the same fate, and they remained from year to year without the slightest sign of life—absolute scarecrows, darkening with their uncomfortable shadows the busy streets. Within half a mile, in Stamford Street, Blackfriars, there are (1863) seven houses in a similar predicament— window-glass demolished, doors cracked from top to bottom, spiders' webs hanging from every projecting sill or parapet. What can it mean? The loss in the article of rents alone must be over £1,000 annually. If the real owners are at feud with imaginary owners, surely the property might be rendered valuable, and the proceeds invested. Even the lawyers can derive no profit from such hopeless abandonment. I am told the whole mischief arose out of a Chancery suit. Can it be the famous 'Jarndyce v. Jarndyce' case? And have all the heirs starved each other out? If so, what hinders our lady the Queen from taking possession? Any change would be an improvement, for these dead houses make the streets they cumber as dispiriting and comfortless as graveyards. Busy fancy will sometimes people them, and fill the dreary rooms with strange guests. Do the victims of guilt congregate in these dark dens? Do wretches 'unfriended by the world or the world's law,' seek refuge in these deserted nooks, mourning in the silence of despair over their former lives, and anticipating the future in unappeasable agony? Such things have been—the silence and desolation of these doomed dwellings make them the more suitable for such tenants."
A street is nothing without a mystery, so a mystery let these old tumble-down houses remain, whilst we go on to tell that, in front of No. 58, the sailor Cashman was hung in 1817, as we have already mentioned, for plundering a gunsmith's shop there. William Godwin, the author of "Caleb Williams," kept a bookseller's shop for several years in Skinner Street, at No. 41, and published school-books in the name of Edward Baldwin. On the wall there was a stone carving of Æsop reciting one of his fables to children.
The most noteworthy event of the life of Godwin was his marriage with the celebrated Mary Wollstonecraft, authoress of a "Vindication of the Rights of Women," whose congenial mind, in politics and morals, he ardently admired. Godwin's account of the way in which they got on together is worth reading:—"Ours," he writes, "was not an idle happiness, a paradise of selfish and transitory pleasures. It is, perhaps, scarcely necessary to mention, that influenced by ideas I had long entertained, I engaged an apartment about twenty doors from our house, in the Polygon, Somers Town, which I designed for the purpose of my study and literary occupations. Trifles, however, will be interesting to some readers, when they relate to the last period of the life of such a person as Mary. I will add, therefore, that we were both of us of opinion, that it was possible for two persons to be too uniformly in each other's society. Influenced by that opinion, it was my practice to repair to the apartment I have mentioned as soon as I rose, and frequently not to make my appearance in the Polygon till the hour of dinner. We agreed in condemning the notion, prevalent in many situations in life, that a man and his wife cannot visit in mixed society but in company with each other, and we rather sought occasions of deviating from than of complying with this rule. By this means, though, for the most part, we spent the latter half of each day in one another's society, yet we were in no danger of satiety. We seemed to combine, in a considerable degree, the novelty and lively sensation of a visit with the more delicious and heartfelt pleasure of a domestic life."
This philosophic union, to Godwin's inexpressible affliction, did not last more than eighteen months, at the end of which time Mrs. Godwin died, leaving an only daughter, who in the course of time became the second wife of the poet Shelley, and was the author of the wild and extraordinary tale of "Frankenstein."
It is not my intention to write my way through four hundred years of Maxwell occupation, but there are a few interesting facts to relate. When Aymer de Maxwell became the first Maxwell laird of Kirkconnell (the Maxwells added the extra 'L' on the end), none of the existing buildings stood here. MacGibbon & Ross state that 'the tower is of a period not earlier than the sixteenth century. Aymer already owned Kelton, on the other bank of Nith, and it is quite possible the Maxwells continued to live there for a while.
The most interesting period of Maxwell of Kirkconnell history, coincided with the Reformation and the years that followed it. Like the Kirconnels of that ilk, the Maxwells were strong supporters of 'holy church' and great benefactors to the abbey and church of New Abbey in particular. The family remained 'good Catholics' at the Reformation and the fact that they were able to do so may be a reflection of their generosity towards the church over many generations, although it is noticeable that as church land was parceled up and given away to new lay owners, none of it returned to the Maxwells of Kirkconnell.
The Maxwells of Kirkconnell were not alone in this part of Galloway in continuing to support 'papistrie', indeed such was the support for and protection provided to the Catholic church among the leading families in the area, that it happened in this district of Scotland, as it happened in the Lancashire districts of England, that the laws against Catholics were not enforced, because where so large a proportion of the inhabitants were Catholics, few persons were found ready to enforce them.
In 1562 John Knox was appointed by the Kirk Commissioner for Galloway and drew up a "monster inditement" against the clergy who remained faithful to their flocks and ordination vows. Despite the legal perils of their situation, priests up and down the district remained undaunted. Of these the most courageous was Gilbert Brown, at one time Abbot of New Abbey.
During the Christmas holidays 1601-1602 the inhabitants of Dumfries had openly attended the celebration of Mass, for which the most important were cited to appear in Edinburgh, but, as Calderwood says, "they were for the most part suffered to return home without punishment." The Government, however, ordered the Guard to hunt down Abbot Brown, who was at length captured near New Abbey in 1605. The country people rose in arms to rescue him, but were overpowered by Lord Cranston and his guardsmen. The former Abbot was imprisoned first at Blackness Castle, and later in Edinburgh Castle.
The Privy Council Records narrate how Archbishop Spottiswoode four years later "went with a party to the town of New Abbey, and there broke into the house of Mr. Gilbert Brown, former Abbot of New Abbey, and having found a great number of popish books, copes, chalices, pictures, images, and such other popish trash, he most worthily and dutifully, as became both a prelate and a councillor, on a mercat day, at a great confluence of people in the high street of the burgh of Dumfries, did burn all those copes, vestments,and chalices, delivering up the books to Maxwell of Kirkconnell, to be afterwards dealt with. The Privy Council allowed this to be good service on the part of the archbishop, and granted him a gift of the books left unburned." Abbot Brown, I am pleased to relate, survived to die in Paris in 1610, aged 100.
Kirkconnell has a chapel to this day, but during the Reformation, the chapel was in the comparative safety of the top of the old tower (the room used to be so full of people that they had to kneel down the corkscrew stairs). Mass continued to be celebrated here for long after the Reformation - and not in complete secrecy. It was well known that when Mass was to be said here, a man wrapped in a white sheet appeared at night in the avenue between the large holly-trees, and those who were in the secret knew what this signal meant, whilst the rest of the passers-by were terrified and thought it was a ghost. This explains why a white lady is said to appear in the avenue and the holly-trees themselves were popularly known as the “Mass Bushes."
The Catholic atmosphere, however, which was so strong at Kirkconnell itself, did not extend very far afield, as the following story demonstrates. "About 1745 a faithful servant of the family, named Lottomer, died, and was buried in Sweetheart Abbey. But so great was the bigotry and the bitterness against Catholics that next morning his dead body was found to have been brought back to Kirkconnell and cast on the dunghill. The Colonel, who commanded the troop of Dragoons at that time stationed in the house, was most indignant, and wished to have the poor man re-buried in the Abbey by his soldiers and guarded. The Laird of Kirkconnell however, did not wish this: "We will bury him here," said he, "in consecrated ground, where he will rest in peace," which was accordingly done. The burial place was in front of the house on a little knoll, which was always said to be consecrated ground, as it was believed that a little chapel, dedicated to St. Connel, had stood there in bygone days (and from which of course, the place gets its name). There Lottomer was laid, two flat stones marking the place, but, except to those who are familiar with the scene, "Lottomer's grave" is unknown."
Visiting Dyce Military Cemetery Aberdeen Scotland today Sunday 13th Of January 2019, I found a number of hand painted stones placed on the Cross Of Sacrifice, it is the first time I have viewed any personal items reflecting thoughts of remembrance other than flowers or wreaths at a commonwealth grave cemetery.
Hand painted and personally placed on the Cross Of Sacrifice by unknowns who appreciate those who gave the ultimate sacrifice moved me , hence I captured a number of photo’s to archive the scene .
There are ten German graves in Dyce Cemetery. It is assumed that all of them relate to Luftwaffe personnel.
They are the crews of three aircraft which failed to make it back after missions over Aberdeen.
Aberdeen was the most frequently bombed city in Scotland. It was attacked 34 times and 178 people were killed.
The heaviest attack was on 21st April 1943. In a pre-planned air raid 25 Dornier 217s of the Kampf-Geschwader Group 2 swept into Aberdeen from the north of the city as dusk fell causing damage in the Woodside, Hilton, Cattofield, Kittybrewster and George Street areas.
The toll was heavy : 98 people were killed and a similar number seriously injured.
Dyce airport was a Royal Air Force station during the 1939-1945 War, and an extension on the western side of the old churchyard was chosen by the authorities for the burial of casualties from the air station.
Only airmen are buried in this reserved plot.
There is 1 Commonwealth burial of the 1914-18 war in the churchyard.
There are a further 45 of the 1939-45 war, 1 being an unidentified airman of the R.A.F. There are 11 Foreign National war burials and 4 non-war Service burials here.
The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). It is present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or more graves. Its shape is an elongated Latin cross with proportions more typical of the Celtic cross, with the shaft and crossarm octagonal in section. It ranges in height from 18 to 24 feet (5.5 to 7.3 m).
A bronze longsword, blade down, is affixed to the front of the cross (and sometimes to the back as well). It is usually mounted on an octagonal base. It may be freestanding or incorporated into other cemetery features.
The Cross of Sacrifice is widely praised, widely imitated, and the archetypal British war memorial. It is the most imitated of Commonwealth war memorials, and duplicates and imitations have been used around the world.
The Imperial War Graves Commission
The First World War introduced killing on such a mass scale that few nations were prepared to cope with it. Millions of bodies were never recovered, or were recovered long after any identification could be made. Hundreds of thousands of bodies were buried on the battlefield where they lay. It was often impossible to dig trenches without unearthing remains, and artillery barrages often uncovered bodies and flung the disintegrating corpses into the air.
Many bodies were buried in French municipal cemeteries, but these rapidly filled to capacity. Due to the costs and sheer number of remains involved, Australia, Canada, India, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom barred repatriation of remains.
Fabian Ware, a director of the Rio Tinto mining company, toured some battlefields in as part of a British Red Cross mission in the fall of 1914.
Ware was greatly disturbed by status of British war graves, many of which were marked by deteriorating wooden crosses, haphazardly placed and with names and other identifying information written nearly illegibly in pencil. Ware petititoned the British government to establish an official agency to oversee the locating, recording, and marking of British war dead, and to acquire land for cemeteries. The Imperial War Office agreed, and created the Graves Registration Commission in March 1915. In May, the Graves Registration Commission ceased to operate an ambulance service for the British Red Cross, and in September was made an official arm of the military after being attached to the Royal Army Service Corps.
During its short existence, the Graves Registration Commission consolidated many British war dead cemeteries. Ware negotiated a treaty with the French government whereby the French would purchase space for British war cemeteries, and the British government assumed the cost of platting, creating, and maintaining the sites. Over the next few months, the Graves Registration Commission closed British war dead cemeteries with fewer than 50 bodies, disinterred the bodies, and reinterred them at the new burying grounds. The Graves Registration Commission became the Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries in February 1916.
As the war continued, there was a growing awareness in the British Army that a more permanent body needed be organized to care for British war graves after the war. In January 1916, the prime minister H. H. Asquith appointed a National Committee for the Care of Soldiers' Graves to take over this task. Edward, Prince of Wales agreed to serve as the committee's president. The committee's membership reflected all members of the British Commonwealth (with a special representative from India).
Over the next year, members of the National Committee for the Care of Soldiers' Graves began to feel that their organization was inadequate to the task, and that a more formal organization, with a broader mandate, should be created. The idea was broached at the first Imperial War Conference in March 1917, and on 21 May 1917 the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) was chartered . Lord Derby was named its chair, and the Prince of Wales its president.
The same month he was appointed to the senior architects' committee, Blomfield accompanied Lutyens and Baker on a tour of French and Belgian battlefields.
Designing the Cross of Sacrifice
Kenyon, Baker, and Blomfield all submitted cross designs to the senior architects' committee. Kenyon submitted two draft designs, one for a Celtic cross and one for a medieval Christian cross (both typically found in old English cemeteries). Baker, who had advocated the cemetery theme of "crusade" since July 1917 and (according to Goebel, was "obsessed" with the idea), submitted the design of a stone Christian cross with a bronze longsword (called a Crusader's sword by Baker) on the front. His design, which he called the "Ypres cross", also included a bronze image of a naval sailing ship, emblematic of the Royal Navy's role in winning both the Crusades and the First World War.
Blomfield, on the other hand, took a different approach to the cross. He rejected Kenyon's design, arguing that "runic monuments or gothic crosses had nothing to do with the grim terrors of the trenches." Blomfield wanted a design that reflected the war, which had stripped away any notions about glory in combat and nobility in death on the battlefield. "What I wanted to do in designing this Cross was to make it as abstract and impersonal as I could, to free it from any association of any particular style, and, above all, to keep clear of any sentimentalism of the Gothic. This was a man's war far too terrible for any fripperies, and I hoped to get within range of the infinite in this symbol..." His design featured an elongated cross of abstract design, on the front of which was a bronze longsword, blade pointed downward. It was intended to be an overtly Christian symbol, in contrast to Lutyen's Stone of Remembrance (which was purposefully stripped of any such associations). Blomfield drew the inspiration for the sword from a sword which hung in his home in Rye.
The senior architects' committee quickly endorsed the Blomfield design. The committee considered adding text to the base or steps of the cross, but rejected this idea.
In order to ensure that the architects' ideas for Commonwealth cemeteries worked well in the field, the IWGC decided to fund the construction of three experimental cemeteries Le Tréport, Forceville, and Louvencourt. The goal was to determine how expensive the cemeteries were likely to be.
The model cemeteries were designed by Baker, Lutyens, and Blomfield, and began construction in May 1918. Due to problems with construction, none were complete until early 1920, six months later than planned. Each model cemetery had a chapel and shelter, but no Stone of Remembrance or Cross of Sacrifice. Nevertheless, even without these major additions, the cemeteries were too expensive.
The model cemeteries experiment changed the way the Stone of Remembrance was placed in cemeteries, and almost changed the design of the Cross of Sacrifice itself. To reduce costs, Blomfield offered to design a wide variation of Crosses, many of which were less costly than the original design. But the committee of senior architects rejected his offer. What became apparent with the experimental cemeteries is that a full-size Cross or Stone was appropriate only for the largest cemeteries. Mid-size and smaller cemeteries needed smaller memorials. Blomfield quickly designed two smaller-sized Crosses to accommodate this need. But Lutyens refused to allow anything but a full-sized War Stone (12 feet (3.7 m) in length and 5 feet (1.5 m) in height) to be used.
Subsequently, and partly as a cost-saving measure, no Stone of Remembrance was erected in a cemetery with fewer than 400 graves. Budgetary issues also led the committee to agree that shelters should be forgone in any cemetery with fewer than 200 graves.
The model cemeteries experiment also helped the architects decide where to place the Cross of Sacrifice. As early as 1917, Lutyens and Kenyon had agreed that the War Stone should be in the east, but facing west. (All graves were supposed to face east, facing the enemy, although many of the earliest cemeteries had graves facing in other [sometimes in many different] directions.)
The initial idea was to have the Cross of Sacrifice be in opposition to the Stone. In practice, however, the placement of the Cross of Sacrifice varied widely.
The model cemeteries experiment also had one other effect, and that was to make Blomfield's design for the cross the only one ever used by the IWGC. The original intent of the senior architects had been to allow each junior architect to design his own cross for his own cemetery. But Blomfield's design proved so wildly popular that the decision was made to implement it as a standard feature in all cemeteries.
The formal adoption of Blomfield's Cross of Sacrifice, and the concepts regarding its placement, position, and use, were outlined by Kenyon in a report, A Memorandum on the Cross as Central Monument, submitted in January 1919 as an addendum to his November 1918 main report.
About the Cross of Sacrifice
Cross of Sacrifice at Eindhoven, Netherlands.
According to Fabian Ware, the name "Cross of Sacrifice" arose spontaneously from an unknown source, and attached itself to the cross.
The Cross of Sacrifice is carved from white stone.[61][58] This is usually Portland stone,[62] but it is sometimes granite[63] or any type of white limestone commonly found in France or Belgium. In Italy, Chiampo Perla limestone was used.[65] The proportions of the cross, with short arms close to the top of the shaft are similar to some Celtic crosses, the crossarm being one-third the length of the shaft (as measured from the point where the shaft emerges from the base).
The cross consists of three pieces: The shaft, from base to crossarm; the crossarm; and the upper shaft, above the crossarm. The crossarm is fastened to the lower and upper shaft by two bronze dowels. A joggle (a portion of the shaft which extends into the base, acting as a joint) about 6 inches (15 cm) long extends into the base, where it is secured by another bronze dowel. The shaft and crossarm are both octagonal in shape, and the shaft tapers slightly as it rises to give the cross entasis.
On the large size version, there are three plain mouldings on the shaft near the base, often reduced to one in smaller sizes, and the three extremities of the cross finish at a plain moulding projecting sideways from the main element. The crossarms are sometimes irregular octagons in section, with four wide faces at front, back, top and bottom, and four shorter faces in between them.
A stylized bronze longsword, point down, is fastened to the front of the cross.[66] The cross is designed so that a second bronze sword may be fastened to the rear as well. The sword is positioned so that the crossguard on the sword matches where the cross' shaft and crossarm meet.
The Cross of Sacrifice originally came in four heights: 14 feet (4.3 m), 18 feet (5.5 m), 20 feet (6.1 m), and 24 feet (7.3 m).[43] Sizes up to 30 feet (9.1 m) are now permitted,[67] although sometimes even larger versions are allowed. As of 2012, the largest Cross of Sacrifice in the world was the 40-foot (12 m) high marker at the Halifax Memorial in Halifax.
The Halifax Memorial's Cross of Sacrifice
The shaft is fastened to an octagonal base. The size of the base varies, according to the height of the shaft, but the 24-foot (7.3 m) high cross has a base 15 feet 6 inches (4.72 m) in diameter.[69] This largest base weighs 2 short tons (1.8 t).[58] The base usually sits on three octagonal steps.[58] This can vary, however, depending on the height of the cross, its placement in the cemetery, and whether it is part of some other cemetery element.
The position of the Cross of Sacrifice in Commonwealth war cemeteries varies depending on a wide range of factors. Many cemeteries were laid out haphazardly during the war. The role of the junior designing architect was to determine the position of the Cross (and Stone of Remembrance) in relationship to the graves.[57] Most cemeteries had two axes—a main axis and an entrance axis, or a main/entrance axis and a lateral axis. An overriding guiding principle was that the War Stone should be the focus of the cemetery.
The Cross of Sacrifice, however, usually functioned as the primary orienting feature of the cemetery for visitors, due to its height. In hilly areas, the architect had to ensure that the cross was visible from the road or path. (This was far less important in flat areas, obviously.) When a road passed directly by the cemetery, the cross usually was placed near the road and the entrance to the cemetery associated with the cross. These design considerations meant that the Cross of Sacrifice could be placed in a wide variety of places. Sometimes it was situated next to the War Stone, and sometimes in opposition to it. In some cases, the Cross of Sacrifice was placed in a distant corner of the cemetery, so that its relationship to the Stone of Remembrance was not clear.
It was not necessary for the Cross of Sacrifice to stand alone, either. In some cases, it was incorporated into a wall or benches.
The placement of the Cross of Sacrifice affected other elements of the cemetery. The architect's choice of buildings to erect—double shelters, galleries, gateways, pergolas, sheltered alcoves, or single shelters—depended on the location of the War Stone, the Cross of Sacrifice, and the size of the cemetery.
The cross at Tyne Cot Cemetery near Ypres, Belgium, was incorporated into a pillbox.
A Cross of Sacrifice was erected in almost every Commonwealth war cemetery. Subsequent Commonwealth War Graves Commission policy has erected the cross Commonwealth war cemeteries with 40 or more graves.
There were only a handful of exceptions. No cross was erected in cemeteries which held a majority of Chinese or Indian graves.
In Turkey, no cross was erected in order to accommodate local Muslim feelings. Instead, a simple Latin cross was carved into a stone slab, which was placed at the rear of the cemetery. In Macedonia, a cairn was used in place of a cross to reflect the local custom.
In the several Commonwealth cemeteries in the mountains of Italy, Blomfield's design was replaced with a Latin cross made of rough square blocks of red or white stone.
It is unclear how much it cost to manufacture a Cross of Sacrifice. Generally speaking, however, the cost of building a cemetery was borne by each Commonwealth nation in proportion to number of their war dead in that cemetery.
While generally considered a beautiful design, the Cross of Sacrifice is not a robust one. The artwork is susceptible to toppling in high wind, as the shaft is held upright only by a 6-inch (15 cm) long piece of stone and a single bronze dowel. Should the stone joggle or dowel break, the shaft topples.
This problem quickly became apparent in Europe, where a large number of the crosses fell in high winds in the 1920s and 1930s. At one point, the Imperial War Graves Commission considered suing Blomfield for under-designing the artwork, but no lawsuit was ever filed.
Vandalism has also been a problem. Crosses of Sacrifice have been smashed or the bronze swords stolen, with the vandalism being particularly bad in the 1970s.
The Cross of Sacrifice is considered one of the great pieces of war-related art. Its enduring popularity, historian Allen Frantzen says, is because it is both simple and expressive, its abstraction reflecting the modernity people valued after the war.
Fabian Ware argued that its greatness was because its symbolism is so purposefully vague: To some, it is a Christian cross; to others, the stone is irrelevant and the sword itself is the cross; and to others, the artwork symbolizes those who sacrificed their lives to the sword.
The theme of sacrifice is commonly seen in the piece. Jeroen Geurst points out that Lutyens' War Stone unsettlingly brings to mind images of soldiers sacrificed on the altar of war, while Blomfield's cross speaks about self-sacrifice and the saving grace of Jesus Christ's sacrifice.
The sword has drawn praise as well. Frantzen notes that the sword can be both an offensive and defensive weapon, which mitigates against an interpretation of the Cross of Sacrifice as a glorification of war.
The sword also incorporates elements of chivalry, which was an important value to officers and men during the war.
Historian Mark Sheftall agrees that the sword evokes chivalric themes, and argues that by combining the religious and the chivalric with the classical Blomfield created "a single powerful image".But the military element has also been criticized. Geurst argues that one may interpret the sword as implying that the Great War was a religious crusade—which it most certainly was not.
The impact of the Cross of Sacrifice on war memorialization is difficult to underestimate. The IWGC considered the artwork a "mark of the symbolism of the present crusade". Cemetery historian Ken Worpole argues that the Cross of Sacrifice "became one of the most resonant and distinctive artefacts in British and Commonwealth war cemeteries, following the end of World War One."
First World War historian Bruce Scates observes that its symbolism was effective throughout the Commonwealth, despite widely disparate cultural and religious norms.
Historians agree it is the most widely imitated of Commonwealth war memorials,and Sheftall concludes that it has become the archetypal example of Great War commemoration in Britain.
It is increasingly clear to me that my art relates more and more to a sublimation of my closeness to the natural world, it's events, light itself, and the positive... it is a personal expression based on observation and reaction, that I am not able to define except in terms of the work itself. ~ Ansel Adams
Bartolomeo Pinelli (1771-1835) - Telemachus Relates His Adventures to the Goddess Calypso, from The Adventures of Telemachus, Book 1 (1815)
www.artic.edu/artworks/17971/telemachus-relates-his-adven...
A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly. Typically, a signal might inform the driver of the speed at which the train may safely proceed or it may instruct the driver to stop.
One of the earliest forms of fixed railway signal is the semaphore ike these ones. These signals display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore signals were patented in the early 1840s by Joseph James Stevens, and soon became the most widely used form of mechanical signal. Designs have altered over the intervening years, and colour light signals have replaced semaphore signals in some countries, but in others they remain in use.
Engine sheds could be found in many towns and cities as well as in rural locations. They were built by the railway companies to provide accommodation for their locomotives that provided their local train services. Each engine shed would have an allocation of locomotives that would reflect the duties carried out by that depot. Most depots had a mixture of passenger, freight and shunting locomotives but some such as Mexborough had predominantly freight locomotives reflecting the industrial nature of that area in South Yorkshire. Others, such as Kings Cross engine shed in London, predominantly provided locomotives for passenger workings.
This view is on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway (RH&DR) which is a 15 in (381 mm) gauge light railway in Kent, England, operating steam and internal combustion locomotives. The 13 3⁄4-mile (22.1 km) line runs from the Cinque Port of Hythe via Dymchurch, St. Mary's Bay, New Romney and Romney Sands to Dungeness, close to Dungeness nuclear power station and Dungeness Lighthouse.
This is at New Romney railway station which has always been the headquarters location of the railway.
There is a signal box for local train control, and also the main Control Centre for train operation across the whole railway. The latter is staffed by a Control Officer, who is in constant radio contact with all signal boxes, locomotives, and (where appropriate) station staff, travelling guards, and engineering teams.
This original engine shed is still in use, but was designed to accommodate only nine locomotives. In recent years it has been considerably extended, more than doubling the original size. This shed is now capable of housing all the railway's locomotives, as well as an engineering centre capable of work from minor running repairs to full locomotive overhauls, together with the necessary mess facilities for engineering staff. Also on the New Romney site are a separate locomotive erecting shop, and a paint shop where locomotives and other rolling stock can be re-liveried. Although there is a secondary engine shed at Hythe station, all locomotives are now based at New Romney locomotive shed.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_signal
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_semaphore_signal
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motive_power_depot
atelier ying, nyc.
Not to outdo the proliferation of Bond gadgetry as the films progressed through Moonraker, this proposed design goes in the very opposite direction; to reconcile and ground the gadgets to the past, to the golden era when Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were still together and an unbeatable team that really developed the Bond mystique on film. It tries to reconcile the radical departure from the Cold War's dark James Bond to a lighthearted hedonistic Bond portrayed by Roger Moore. To this end, the drawing is done in a bold, heady style to match the themes.
There Is no camera function for this watch (although there are camera motifs). Instead it is issued with a concealed chip holder, a Royal British postage stamp to mail a photograph the old-fashioned way, and a USB port connecting to a Polaroid printer (stored away neatly inside the slightly oversized Seiko presentation box).
Instead of the teletype printout from the watch (too much of a pure fantasy) I propose another connection linking the past, an
electric telegraph practice kit also concealed in the presentation box for the watch.
A separately issued porcelain cigar humidor jar from the 1970's holds a bundle of Partagas sticks and enough telegraph wire to connect James Bond with headquarters.
The watch face is the telegraph key feedback device which to the street photographer can only mean digital but with a return to fundamentals. In this design idea, Bond is ceremoniously brought back to the basics. The two teletype designs (Digital and analog) are united as a memento.
A strip of the original teletype tape that issued from the movie prop Seiko watch Roger Moore wore extends out of the presentation box as a relic.
A secondary heliograph function is spring-loaded to the left side of the watch and snaps open to be both a highly polished mirror for the heliograph which Bond could use wirelessly by pushing the spring action slide up and down to make morse code, as well as being an accurate cutter for smaller gauged Partagas cigars.
I incorporate the telegraph to a number of designs because I have found that it relates to various themes I follow. These would include Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Winston Churchill, Tintin and others.
The premiere of the film, "For Your Eyes Only" has its date 7-7-77 ceremoniously it's on the top watch face forever.
Design, text and drawing are copyright 2013 by David Lo.