Paimpont forest, also known as Brocéliande, is in the French commune of Paimpont, near the city of Rennes in Brittany. As Brocéliande it had a reputation in the Medieval imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It is the setting of a number of adventures in Arthurian legend, notably Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and locals claim the tree in which the Lady of the Lake supposedly imprisoned Merlin can still be seen today. Other legendary places said to lie within the forest include the Val sans Retour, the tomb of Merlin, the Fountain of Youth, and Hotié de Vivianne (castle of the Lady of the Lake). The medieval chronicler Wace visited the forest but left disappointed:

"...I went there in search of marvels; I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool."

For those living close to Paimpont, the Arthurian legend is very strong. Many names in the legend can be translated into Breton or French, for example the name Lancelot translates as "wanderer" or "vagabond" in Breton. There is also a strong influence from the Druids, and all around Brittany are standing stones or alignments, the most famous of which are nearby at Carnac; a group of the alignments at Kerlescan are nicknamed "the soldiers of Arthur."

Paimpont is a forest of broadleaf trees, oaks and beeches mainly, with areas of conifers either inside after clear-felling or on the periphery as transition with the moor, for example towards the west in the sector of Tréhorenteuc and the Val-sans-Retour (= Valley of no Return) which was devastated by several fires in particular in 1976, a year of great drought. It occupies mainly the territory of the commune of Paimpont, but extends to bordering communes, mainly Guer and Beignon in the south, Saint-Péran in the northeast, and Concoret in north. The forest of Paimpont is the largest remnant of an ancient forest occupying Argoat, the interior region of Brittany. It was more often called the forest of Brécélien, but its ancient character and other qualities underlined by many authors decided on its name of "forest of Brocéliande," tallying of the adventures of the legend of the Round Table. This flattering designation was reinforced by the birth of the Pays de Brocéliande at the end of the 20th century, an institution intended to facilitate the development of the communes of the west of the département.

The relative altitude of the forested massif contributes to give it a climate close to the oceanic climate of the coasts of Finistere. This mode, where west and south-west winds carry of clouds and regular rain supports the vegetation, dominates. The surplus of water feeds the many brooks occupying the bottoms of small valleys before flowing into the river Aff, then the Vilaine, to the area around Redon in the south of the department. The highest point is at 256 m in the western part called Haute forêt. Altitude decreases regularly while offering viewpoints towards the department of Morbihan; viewpoints which one finds the equivalents in the north on the commune of Mauron, port of the Côtes-d'Armor. It is not far from there that the Paimpont Biological Station of the University of Rennes 1, built in 1966 and 1967, dominates the lake of Chatenay. The varied forest and its surroundings constitute a framework favorable to many training courses in which the Rennes 1 biology students as well as foreign researchers take part. These buildings can accommodate approximately 70 people, and researchers work all the year on subjects generally very far away from the local biotope such as behavior of primates, represented by Cercopithecus, whose cries are familiar for the area but surprising to the walker little accustomed to this exotic fauna. The first researchers lengthily studied the ecology of the Armorican moors, the grounds, and the hydrology.

The forest belongs mainly to owners who maintain it and exploit it for timber and hunting; only in the north-eastern part, a small part (10%) is "domanial" and is managed by the National Forestry Commission. This situation prevents freedom of movement in the forest even with the access to the borough and its pond. The owners, however, signed a convention authorizing, from April 1 to the end of September, the use of some hiking trails in the forest. Among the responsibilities of the forest guards are watching for behaviors that threaten the forest, its flora, and its fauna. For example, behaviors that pose the risk of fire, and those that endanger the game, like dogs running loose. The gathering of mushrooms is not absolutely prohibited, but it is only tolerated near the approved trails. Because of its importance before the French Revolution, the forest was the responsibility of a royal jurisdiction called the National Forestry Commission, as the traditional jurisdictions of the seigneurs did not occupying itself with forest management. The wood was excessively exploited for the power supply of the charcoal blast furnaces for the nearby industry, at least in the 17th and 18th centuries; the assignment of the trees of first choice to the navy was a marginal role.

An extract of the files of the correctional court of Montfort:

"Having left the forging mills of Paimpont on Monday morning, he passed by the workshop of the carpenter who was far away from the forging mills but in the middle of the forest, he drank there with Julien Auffray his cousin and foreman of the carpenters." (Foreman of the carpenters and sawyers on contract to the naval yards elsewhere). Auffray interrogation, 1826.

The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of Great Britain, especially those focused on King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The 12th century French poet Jean Bodel created the name in the following lines of his epic Chanson de Saisnes:

Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant,

De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.

The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the "matter of Rome", and the tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "matter of France". While Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, other lesser-known legendary history of Great Britain, including the stories of Brutus of Britain, Old King Cole, King Lear, and Gogmagog, is also included in the Matter of Britain: see Legendary Kings of the Britons.

Legendary history of Britain

It could be said that the legendary history of Britain was created in part to form a body of patriotic myth for the island. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature.

The Historia Britonum, the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Britain, may have been devised to create a distinguished genealogy for a number of Welsh princes in the 9th century. Traditionally attributed to Nennius, its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to the diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War, and thus provided raw material which later mythographers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Michael Drayton, and John Milton could draw upon, linking the settlement of Britain to the heroic age of Greek literature, for their several and diverse literary purposes. As such, this material could be used for patriotic mythmaking just as Virgil linked the mythical founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid. Geoffrey of Monmouth also introduced the fanciful claim that the Trinovantes, reported by Tacitus as dwelling in the area of London, had a name he interpreted as Troi-novant, "New Troy".

More speculative claims link Celtic mythology with several of the rulers and incidents compiled by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniæ. It has been suggested, for instance, that Leir of Britain, who later became Shakespeare's King Lear, was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr (see also the Irish sea-god Lir). Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron (cf. the Irish goddess Mórrígan). Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century, and have been questioned in more recent years.

William Shakespeare seems to have been deeply interested in the legendary history of Britain, and to have been familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline. It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material, and perhaps directed him to read Geoffrey of Monmouth[citation needed]. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth. A Welsh schoolmaster appears as the character Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Other early authors also drew from the early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots, for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Picts and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabhran especially incorporates elements of both those histories.

The Arthurian cycle

"Parsifal before the Castle of the Grail" - inspired by Richard Wagner's Opera Parsifal - painted in Weimar Germany 1928 by Hans Werner Schmidt (1859-1950)

The Arthurian literary cycle is the best known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot, usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail; some succeed (Galahad, Percival), and others fail (Lancelot).

The medieval tale of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love, such as Lancelot and Guinevere, or Tristan and Iseult. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, early twentieth century reconstructed versions.

Additionally, it is possible to read the Arthurian literature in general, and that concerned with the Grail tradition in particular, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth (a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others).

Sources wikipedia

Participants enjoy some relaxing yoga with instructor Anna at the Dowd YMCA's Taylor Swift: Reputation Party.

Italy. Florence (Firenze)

Piazza della Signoria.

Piazza della Signoria is an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. It was named after the Palazzo della Signoria, also called Palazzo Vecchio. It is the focal point of the origin and of the history of the Florentine Republic and still maintains its reputation as the political hub of the city. It is the meeting place of Florentines as well as the numerous tourists, located near Ponte Vecchio and Piazza del Duomo and gateway to Uffizi Gallery.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_della_Signoria

- Fountain of Neptune (Fontana di Nettuno) -

Because of its size, the statue of Neptune is called “il Gigante” (the Giant), or “al Żigànt” in Bolognese dialect. It was built in 1566 according to the inscription at the base of the fountain, “to serve the people”; namely, to beautify the Piazza Maggiore because it was a stop on the route between the Archiginnasio and the Palazzo del Comune. Freshly elected Cardinal Carlo Borromeo was responsible for wanting the Piazza Maggiore improvements; the work was meant to symbolize the happy rule of Pope Pius IV, his maternal uncle.

A young Flemish man, Jean de Boulogne, was called in from Douai to handle the undertaking. Known as Giambologna, he was eager to prove himself after having just lost the competition for the Fontana del Nettuno in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence.

An entire city block was razed to create the fountain, with both houses and shops paying the price. The statue of the god Neptune was placed at the exact point where the cardo and the decumanus – the proto-typical main streets of a Roman city - intersected. The fountain was supplied with water piped in from an ancient underground cistern and a spring found below a convent.

It is said that Giambologna wanted to fashion Neptune with larger genitalia but naturally met with opposition from the Church. However, the sculptor would not be swayed: he designed the statue so that from a particular angle the thumb of the outstretched left hand lines up with the groin area, making it look like an erect penis. According to the prelates, the women of Bologna were so disturbed by the sight that the Church had to put bronze pants on the statue. Actually, the entire fountain has a strongly erotic quality: just take a look at the voluptuous nymphs spraying their breasts with water!

www.italyguides.it/us/italy/emilia-romagna/bologna/piazza...

Although quiet and peaceful today Norham Castle, on the Northumberland borders of England and Scotland, has the reputation for being one of the most fought-over buildings in the UK with a suggested 13 sieges during its long history. It had long been on my ‘to do’ list.

At various times it was under the control of the palatine Bishops of Durham or the current king with its importance being its command of a major crossing point over the River Tweed and thus the approaches into England and the bishops’ northern lands.

It was first built in 1121 by Bishop Ranulf Flambard but it was captured by the Scots as soon as 1136, returned and then captured again in 1138. In 1209 King John and the Scots King William the Lion met here but that Scots king’s son, Alexander II, besieged it for 40 days unsuccessfully in 1215. English King Edward I, the ‘hammer of the Scots’ met Scots King John Balliol here in 1292. During the 14th century the Scots invaded several times but did not always attack Norham - they swerved around it.

The Scots unsuccessfully besieged it in 1318 for nearly a year and, despite getting into the outer ward, were driven out three days later. In the 15th century Norham was involved in the so-called Wars of the Roses and changed hands. The Scots largely stayed out of these wars but an unsuccessful Scots attack in 1497 saw much damage including the use of the famous Mons Meg 20-inch calibre bombard which is now housed in Edinburgh Castle.

For the 1513 Flodden campaign Norham came under a concentrated assault and was very badly damaged and finally captured. This led to an extensive Tudor rebuilding of the outer walls on all sides incorporating artillery embrasures and extensive revetment with earth on both the outside and inside. This earth was more resilient than stone to artillery. Norham continued to feature in cross-border warfare and skirmishes.There was a dusk gunfight in October of 1597 at the neighbouring ford. By 1574 it was already showing signs of decay with ships masts being used to prop up some ceilings.

As it stands today the first thing the visitor sees is the great medieval keep standing on a mount within two wards or baileys. The walls are ruinous and have been the subject of much stone robbing in antiquity but it is still possible to see how imposing it would have been in its prime. The gun embrasures on the north-western side fire directly across the Tweed to the Scottish shore. The castle is protected by a deep natural ravine to the east and north-east which drops into the Tweed with deep dry ditches on the other sides.

The original main gatehouse faced the river crossing to the west and was improved by a barbican and portcullis in medieval times. But this gate may have been a weak point. It was later partially blocked - converting to foot traffic or a sally port - with a more secure entrance facing south and flanked by copious artillery. Indeed the outer ward walls were almost completely rebuilt for artillery in the early 16th century with very little medieval material remaining visible.

The red stone keep is partly collapsed but appears to have gone through at least three stages of expansion and improvement including - at one stage - having one end demolished and rebuilt with a new circular stairwell. It is possible to see the divide between the old and new material when viewing from the south. While now free to enter my only gripe was that the lack of a site office meant no opportunity to buy a guide book but I eventually found one at another English Heritage site. There are good ‘interpretation’ boards on site but these will never replace a good guide book.

Conferenza Organizzata dal Rotaract Club Faenza sulla digital reputation all'Istituto di Sant'Umiltà - Sabato 27 Aprile 2013

The background is meant to hint at reflections of identity (it is me, taking the photo) and how online identities can be out of focus, or blurred.

Paimpont forest, also known as Brocéliande, is in the French commune of Paimpont, near the city of Rennes in Brittany. As Brocéliande it had a reputation in the Medieval imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It is the setting of a number of adventures in Arthurian legend, notably Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and locals claim the tree in which the Lady of the Lake supposedly imprisoned Merlin can still be seen today. Other legendary places said to lie within the forest include the Val sans Retour, the tomb of Merlin, the Fountain of Youth, and Hotié de Vivianne (castle of the Lady of the Lake). The medieval chronicler Wace visited the forest but left disappointed:

"...I went there in search of marvels; I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool."

For those living close to Paimpont, the Arthurian legend is very strong. Many names in the legend can be translated into Breton or French, for example the name Lancelot translates as "wanderer" or "vagabond" in Breton. There is also a strong influence from the Druids, and all around Brittany are standing stones or alignments, the most famous of which are nearby at Carnac; a group of the alignments at Kerlescan are nicknamed "the soldiers of Arthur."

Paimpont is a forest of broadleaf trees, oaks and beeches mainly, with areas of conifers either inside after clear-felling or on the periphery as transition with the moor, for example towards the west in the sector of Tréhorenteuc and the Val-sans-Retour (= Valley of no Return) which was devastated by several fires in particular in 1976, a year of great drought. It occupies mainly the territory of the commune of Paimpont, but extends to bordering communes, mainly Guer and Beignon in the south, Saint-Péran in the northeast, and Concoret in north. The forest of Paimpont is the largest remnant of an ancient forest occupying Argoat, the interior region of Brittany. It was more often called the forest of Brécélien, but its ancient character and other qualities underlined by many authors decided on its name of "forest of Brocéliande," tallying of the adventures of the legend of the Round Table. This flattering designation was reinforced by the birth of the Pays de Brocéliande at the end of the 20th century, an institution intended to facilitate the development of the communes of the west of the département.

The relative altitude of the forested massif contributes to give it a climate close to the oceanic climate of the coasts of Finistere. This mode, where west and south-west winds carry of clouds and regular rain supports the vegetation, dominates. The surplus of water feeds the many brooks occupying the bottoms of small valleys before flowing into the river Aff, then the Vilaine, to the area around Redon in the south of the department. The highest point is at 256 m in the western part called Haute forêt. Altitude decreases regularly while offering viewpoints towards the department of Morbihan; viewpoints which one finds the equivalents in the north on the commune of Mauron, port of the Côtes-d'Armor. It is not far from there that the Paimpont Biological Station of the University of Rennes 1, built in 1966 and 1967, dominates the lake of Chatenay. The varied forest and its surroundings constitute a framework favorable to many training courses in which the Rennes 1 biology students as well as foreign researchers take part. These buildings can accommodate approximately 70 people, and researchers work all the year on subjects generally very far away from the local biotope such as behavior of primates, represented by Cercopithecus, whose cries are familiar for the area but surprising to the walker little accustomed to this exotic fauna. The first researchers lengthily studied the ecology of the Armorican moors, the grounds, and the hydrology.

The forest belongs mainly to owners who maintain it and exploit it for timber and hunting; only in the north-eastern part, a small part (10%) is "domanial" and is managed by the National Forestry Commission. This situation prevents freedom of movement in the forest even with the access to the borough and its pond. The owners, however, signed a convention authorizing, from April 1 to the end of September, the use of some hiking trails in the forest. Among the responsibilities of the forest guards are watching for behaviors that threaten the forest, its flora, and its fauna. For example, behaviors that pose the risk of fire, and those that endanger the game, like dogs running loose. The gathering of mushrooms is not absolutely prohibited, but it is only tolerated near the approved trails. Because of its importance before the French Revolution, the forest was the responsibility of a royal jurisdiction called the National Forestry Commission, as the traditional jurisdictions of the seigneurs did not occupying itself with forest management. The wood was excessively exploited for the power supply of the charcoal blast furnaces for the nearby industry, at least in the 17th and 18th centuries; the assignment of the trees of first choice to the navy was a marginal role.

An extract of the files of the correctional court of Montfort:

"Having left the forging mills of Paimpont on Monday morning, he passed by the workshop of the carpenter who was far away from the forging mills but in the middle of the forest, he drank there with Julien Auffray his cousin and foreman of the carpenters." (Foreman of the carpenters and sawyers on contract to the naval yards elsewhere). Auffray interrogation, 1826.

The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of Great Britain, especially those focused on King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The 12th century French poet Jean Bodel created the name in the following lines of his epic Chanson de Saisnes:

Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant,

De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.

The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the "matter of Rome", and the tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "matter of France". While Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, other lesser-known legendary history of Great Britain, including the stories of Brutus of Britain, Old King Cole, King Lear, and Gogmagog, is also included in the Matter of Britain: see Legendary Kings of the Britons.

Legendary history of Britain

It could be said that the legendary history of Britain was created in part to form a body of patriotic myth for the island. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature.

The Historia Britonum, the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Britain, may have been devised to create a distinguished genealogy for a number of Welsh princes in the 9th century. Traditionally attributed to Nennius, its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to the diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War, and thus provided raw material which later mythographers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Michael Drayton, and John Milton could draw upon, linking the settlement of Britain to the heroic age of Greek literature, for their several and diverse literary purposes. As such, this material could be used for patriotic mythmaking just as Virgil linked the mythical founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid. Geoffrey of Monmouth also introduced the fanciful claim that the Trinovantes, reported by Tacitus as dwelling in the area of London, had a name he interpreted as Troi-novant, "New Troy".

More speculative claims link Celtic mythology with several of the rulers and incidents compiled by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniæ. It has been suggested, for instance, that Leir of Britain, who later became Shakespeare's King Lear, was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr (see also the Irish sea-god Lir). Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron (cf. the Irish goddess Mórrígan). Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century, and have been questioned in more recent years.

William Shakespeare seems to have been deeply interested in the legendary history of Britain, and to have been familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline. It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material, and perhaps directed him to read Geoffrey of Monmouth[citation needed]. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth. A Welsh schoolmaster appears as the character Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Other early authors also drew from the early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots, for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Picts and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabhran especially incorporates elements of both those histories.

The Arthurian cycle

"Parsifal before the Castle of the Grail" - inspired by Richard Wagner's Opera Parsifal - painted in Weimar Germany 1928 by Hans Werner Schmidt (1859-1950)

The Arthurian literary cycle is the best known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot, usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail; some succeed (Galahad, Percival), and others fail (Lancelot).

The medieval tale of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love, such as Lancelot and Guinevere, or Tristan and Iseult. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, early twentieth century reconstructed versions.

Additionally, it is possible to read the Arthurian literature in general, and that concerned with the Grail tradition in particular, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth (a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others).

Sources wikipedia

Fonte Official Skindred web page :

The music world may be in a permanent state of panic and flux, but one basic principle of rock’n’roll remains true: the key to longevity is to always deliver the goods. No band has better encapsulated this ethos of integrity and determination over the last decade than Skindred.

Widely acknowledged as one of the most devastating and enthralling live bands on the planet, the Newport destroyers have been a perennial force for musical invention and remorseless positivity since emerging from the ashes of frontman Benji Webbe’s former band Dub War back in 1998. Over the course of four universally praised studio albums – Babylon (2002), Roots Rock Riot (2007), Shark Bites And Dog Fights (2009) and Union Black (2011) – Skindred’s reputation for producing the ultimate spark-spraying state-of-the-art soundclash, combining all manner of seemingly disparate musical elements into an irresistibly exhilarating explosion of energy and cross-pollinated cultural fervour has rightly earned them a reputation as a band capable of uniting people from all corners of the globe and making every last one of them tear up the dancefloor with a giant shit-eating grin plastered across their faces.

With the toughest and most infectious metal riffs colliding with the biggest, phattest hip hop and reggae grooves, cutting edge electronics and a razor-sharp pop sensibility guaranteed to encourage even the most curmudgeonly music fans bellow along with rabid enthusiasm, Skindred are both the ultimate thinking man’s party band. And now, with the release of their fifth studio album Kill The Power, Benji Webbe and his loyal henchmen – bassist Dan Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Demus and drummer Arya Goggins – are poised to spread their gospel of good times and badass tunes to an even bigger global audience.

“We know that everyone recognises us as one of the best live bands around,” says Arya. “We’re really proud of all of the albums we’ve made, but we all felt that we needed to make an album that would be as powerful and effective as the live show. That’s what Kill The Power is all about. This time, we want everyone to sit up and listen and join in the party.”

“I started DJ-ing a little while ago and it’s taught me a lot,” adds Benji. “Now I feel like I wanted to make an album where every intro to every song makes kids think ‘Fucking hell, they’re playing that song!’ Every middle eight on this album is a banger. Every chorus is massive. On this album, the lyrics are deep and the songs are just bigger than ever.”

In keeping with their tradition of making people move while singing about universal issues and spreading a message of positive action and social unity, Kill The Power is an album bulging with fury at the state of the modern world. Never afraid to tackle important topics head on, while never forgetting his band’s mission to entertain and leave the world in a sweaty, sated heap, Benji’s notoriously insane energy levels seem to be creeping up with every album and Kill The Power showcases his most furious and impactful performances to date.

“The world’s getting worse so how can I get more mellow?” he laughs. “Of course I’m getting angrier! People normally stay in a bag when it comes to lyrics. Stephen King stays with horror and he’s brilliant at it, you know? With Skindred, it’s always about encouraging an uplift. It’s about a sense of unity. Lyrics can change people’s lives, you know? You can be going down one road and hear a song and have a Road To Damascus experience and become someone else.”

On an album that has no shortage of invigorating highlights, Kill The Power takes Skindred to new extremes at both ends of the lyrical spectrum, reaching a new level of fiery intensity on the lethal cautionary tale of “Playin’ With The Devil” and the euphoric end-of-the-working-week celebration of “Saturday”: both songs proving that this band’s ability to touch the heart and fire the blood remains as incisive and potent as ever. As if to enhance their songwriting chops more than ever, Kill The Power also features several songs written in collaboration with legendary songwriting guru Russ Ballard, the man behind such immortal rock staples as Since You’ve Been Gone and God Gave Rock & Roll To You, and this seemingly perverse team-up has led to Skindred’s finest set of lyrics and melodies to date.

“Basically, I try to write songs that people can interpret however they like,” says Benji. “When I wrote ‘Playin’ With The Devil’, I originally wrote some words down on a piece of paper thinking about friends I’ve had who smoke crack and live on the pipe, you know? I wrote the song about that kind of thing, but then a couple of days later the riots happened in London and so it became about that as well. When you shit on your own doorstep, your house is going to smell of shit. You’ve got to clean that up! With ‘Saturday’, it’s not a typical Skindred song; it’s a big celebration. We got Russ Ballard involved on that one and he helped me structure the lyrics in the right way so when the chorus hits, it hits like a hammer. It’s an upbeat song but when you listen to the lyrics it goes on about how people all have different reasons to be out and partying. Some people are celebrating, some people are drowning their sorrows, and we all come together on a Saturday. When this record comes out and people go to a club on a Saturday, that’s when it’s gonna go off! The chorus is huge!”

While Skindred’s previous album Union Black was dominated by the bleeps, booms and squelches of British electronic dance music, albeit balanced out by Mikey Demus’ trademark riffs, the new album sees the band return to a more organic sound that amounts to the most accurate representation of the Skindred live experience yet committed to tape. From the huge beats and stuttering samples of the opening title track and the laudably demented Ninja through to the insistent melodies and rampaging choruses of “The Kids Are Right Now” and “Saturday” and on to the thunderous, metallic throwdowns of “Proceed With Caution” and “Ruling Force” and the cool acoustic breeze of the closing More Fire, Kill The Power is Skindred cranked up to full throttle and revelling in their own febrile creativity like never before.

“It’s all about making an album that moves people in the same way that our live shows do,” says Arya. “We love what we achieved on Union Black and we still used a lot of those basic ideas on Kill The Power, but this time it’s a more organic sound. All the drum loops you hear were originally played by me before we started chopping them up, and there are a lot more guitars on this record too. We love combining all the music that we love in Skindred but we all love heavy music and we’re a rock band at heart and that really comes across this time.”

“We’ve delivered an album that’s gonna make people rock for the next few years,” states Benji. “You know what? I can’t do anything about record sales, but if people come to a Skindred show they’re gonna know they’ve been there, you know? Ha ha! The music we make is not about Christians or Muslims, straight people or gay people, black or white or any of that shit. When people are in that room together it’s just Skindred, one unity and one strength!”

Having conquered numerous countries around the world, Skindred could easily be taking a breather and resting on their laurels at this point. Instead, this most dedicated and hard-working of modern bands are preparing to launch their most exuberant assault on the world ever when Kill The Power hits the streets. Anyone that has ever seen the band live before will confirm that it is impossible not to get fired up and drawn into the joyous abandon of a Skindred show and with their greatest album to date primed and ready to explode, the best live band on the planet simply cannot fail to conquer the entire world this time round. Wherever and whoever you are, Skindred are coming. Open your ears and get your dancing feet ready…

“There’s nothing better than being on stage with these guys,” says Arya. “Skindred is my favourite band and I’m so lucky to be part of this thing we’ve created. We’ve been all over the world but there are always new places to visit and new crowds to play for. We just want to keep getting bigger and better.”

“We’re a global band. We’ve played in Colombia and India and everywhere and it’s the same energy,” Benji concludes. “I get letters from people in Hawaii and people in Turkey. It’s all the same. We resonate globally and it’s the greatest thing ever. It seems funny to us sometimes because we’re always kicking each other’s heads in and saying ‘You’re a wanker!’ to each other before we go on stage, but as soon as it’s time to play the show the oneness this band creates together and the unity we bring is unique. I’ve never experienced anything like it and we can’t wait to get back on the road and do it all again.”

It is the weekend. Again.

And with Jools suffering a relapse in her chesty cough, we slept late and I said I'd go to Tesco first thing, before coffee, and she could get dressed in her own time.

So I grabbed my coat, the shopping bags and shopping list, put them in the car and drove to Tesco. First up was to fill the car with petrol, then drive round to park up, get a trolley and head into the store, grabbing a scanner on the way in.

Apart from the weekly things, I got some stuffing mix and more blocks of butter for Christmas. Meaning that apart from the fruit and veg and milk, we are all abut done here.

Yay us.

Back home for coffee, unload the car and put shopping away, before finally having breakfast 1 of fruit then bacon butties and brews for breakfast 2.

That's better.

The plan for the day was for some local churchcrawling. After some internet research I had the name of the keyholder at Bekesbourne, I called but was told she was out but would be back "soon". OK, in which case we would visit some other nearby churches and go there last.

Not far to Barham from Chez Jelltex, just along the A2, overtaking lorries and slow cars until we turned off at Wootton, down past the filling station and into Barham, stopping on the road beside the church.

Barham is always open, I thought, no worries here. As I got out all my camera gear and lugged it over the road and through the churchyard.

Round on the north side, we arrive at the porch and I find the door is locked after all. No news of a keyholder, but next week there is a coffee morning. If we feel OK after our COVID booster, we might go along.

Its a short drive along the Elham Valley to Bridge. And yes there is really a place called Bridge, and it does have a bridge. A bridge in Bridge, which takes the old Watling Street and high road over the bed of the Nailbourne.

Bridge never lets us down. And indeed it was open, door ajar, and soon a warden came and put all the lights on so snapping was easier. I'd not missed much on previous visits, but with a new-ish lens, it was always worth in redoing shots. I did have the big lens with me, great for details of carvings and in stained glass windows, which I photograph enthusiastically.

From Bridge, its a five minute drive to Patrixbourne.

I wanted to come back here to take close up details of the Tympanum and rose window from the outside, so it wasn't too much of a loss that the door was locked after all.

The rose window here is of the same design as at Barfrestone, so wanted to follow up the detailed shots of the one there and do the same at Patrixbourne.

Patrixbourne can be said to be Barfrestone's non-identcal twin, and so dates from the same time, and that window design is French, Patrixbourne even has some Caen stone, but clearly nowhere near as much as at Barfrestone.

So, I set about getting my shots and rattle off a couple of hundred.

Back to the car, and next village along is Bekesbourne, where I had called earlier. The keyholder lives in a "large while building opposite the church", the website said. Yes, it's a palace.

An actual palace.

So, there was scruffy me shambling up the large door, ringing the bell and asking if the church keyholder was in.

She wasn't.

And her husband wasn't too keen on letting me have it.

Now I know how to get it, there'll be plenty of other times.

I leave, but on the way back to the main road, a large Audi passes us, and pretty much the only place she could be going was the palace: should we go back?

No, there'll be other times.

We head home, back along the A2, but calling in at Jen's to do some admin. That done it was back home, all back by one, and ready for some more World Cup action from the sofa.

Lunch was pizza and beer, done in ten minutes and easy as anything, so the main task of the day was to fight my heavy eyelids that threatened to send me to sleep.

Argentina beat Mexico in a bad tempered game, then France beat Denmark 2-1, by which time it was nine and time for bed.

Phew.

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A charming village church with a greater number of interesting furnishings than is usual in this part of the county. There are twelfth-century window openings in the chancel, whilst a lavish south doorway tells of an extremely wealthy medieval church. Next to it are the remains of eight mass dials - which must be a record! Inside the south, or Bifrons, chapel is separated from the aisle by a screen and steps and there is a plain hagioscope to the chancel. Many mural tablets catch the eye and tell of the long association with the village of the Conyngham family. However, it is the stained glass which really deserves our attention at Patrixbourne. Set among very basic nineteenth-century glass are many panels of seventeenth-century Swiss origin, including scenes of the Garden of Gethsemane, St Elizabeth of Hungary and the Raising of Lazarus. With the exception of Temple Ewell. this is the largest collection of pictorial Swiss glass in a Kent church. By way of contrast, the north aisle displays an excellent twentieth-century window by G.C. Abbs.

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

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PATRIXBORNE

IS situated the next parish southward from Bekesborne last-described. It is called in Domesday, Borne, which name it took from the bourn or stream which runs through it; and it was afterwards called Patrixborne, to distinguish it from the neighbouring parishes of Borne, situated on the same stream. There are two boroughs in this parish, viz. of Marten, alias Cheney, and of Patrixborne.

The PARISH is pleasantly situated in a fine healthy country; the bourn or stream of the Little Stour runs through this parish, close to it in the valley is the village, with the church, court-lodge, and vicarage near together, the latter a neat genteel habitation; opposite to them is a house called Heart-hall, formerly belonging to the family of Sabine, or Savin, but now to Mr. Taylor, of Bifrons. The upper, or north part of the village, is in the parish of Bekesborne, in which is a house, formerly the residence of the Coppins, now the property of Mr. Milles, of Nackington; and further on, one formerly owned by the Pordages, and afterwards by Mr. Litheridge. Eastward this parish extends up the hill, over the high downs, to within one field of Ileden, and from the village southward, across the Dover road, to a wild hilly country, as far as Whitehill wood, part of which is within this parish. It is well cloathed with trees along the valley, where the soil is fertile, especially towards Hoath, for both hops and corn, but the hill parts round the outskirts, are in general poor chalky land, covered with stones. There is no fair.

AT THE TIME of taking the survey of Domesday, in the year 1084, this parish was chiefly owned by Odo, bishop of Baieux, under the general title of whose lands it is thus described in that survey;

In Brige hundred, Richard, son of William, holds of the bishop, Borne. It was taxed at six sulings. The arable land is eight carucates. In demesne there are three carucates, and forty-four villeins, with three borderers having ten carucates. There is a church, and one servant, and four mills of sixteen shillings and eight pence. A fishery of six-pence. Pasiure, of which the foreign tenants have plougbed six acres of land. Wood for the pannage of four hogs. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth eighteen pounds, when be received it ten pounds, now nineteen pounds.

Four years after the taking of this survey, the bishop was disgraced, and this manor, among the rest of his possessions, escheated to the crown. After which it appears to have been divided into moieties, one of which, called afterwards THE MANOR OF PARTIXBORNE MERTON, was held by Margerie de Bornes, who carried it in marriage to John de Pratellis, or De Pratis, as he was sometimes written, a Norman, who soon after the year 1200, gave it to his new-erected priory of Beaulieu, or De Bello loco, in Normandy, to which it afterwards became an alien cell. (fn. 1) In which state this manor continued till the 11th year of king Henry IV. when it was, with the king's licence, alienated to the priory of the same order of Augustine canons of Merton, in Surry, whence it acquired the name of Patrixborne Merton; and with this priory it remained till the suppression of it by the act of the 31st of king Henry VIII. when this manor coming into the hands of the crown, was granted that year, together with the rectory and advowson of the vicarage of Patrixborne, and all liberties, free-warren, &c. to Sir Thomas Cheney, to hold to him and his heirs male in capite, as of the castle of Rochester. After which, king Edward VI. by new letters patent, in his 4th year, regranted the whole of them, to hold to him and his heirs for ever. He was succeeded in it by his only son Henry Cheney, esq. afterwards lord Cheney; (fn. 2) and he soon afterwards alienated it to Sir Thomas Herbert, who in the 21st year of that reign sold it to Thomas Smith, who passed it away before the end of the same reign to William Partherich, and his grandson Sir Edward Partherich, of Bridge, alienated it in 1638 to Mr. afterwards Sir Arnold Braems, of that parish, the heirs of whose son Walter Braems, sold it in 1704 to John Taylor, esq. of Bifrons, in this parish, in whose descendants it continued down to Edward Taylor, esq.' the present possessor of this manor, with the rectory and advowson of the church of Patrixborne.

The OTHER MOIETY of the manor of Patrixborne, called afterwards THE MANOR OF PATRIXBORNE CHENEY, after the bishop's disgrace, came into the possession of the family of Say, in which it continued till Sir William de Say, in Henry III.'s reign, gave it to Sir Alexander de Cheney. He afterwards resided here, whence it gained the name of Patrixborne Cheney; but his son William having married Margaret, daughter and heir of Sir Robert de Shurland, of Shurland, in Shepey, removed afterwards thither. After which it remained in his descendants down to Sir T. Cheney, K. G. of Shurland, who having obtained from Henry VIII. in his 31st year, a grant of the other moiety of the manor of Patrixborne, as above-mentioned, became possessed of the whole of this manor, which, notwithstanding, continued as two separate manors, in both which he was succeeded by his son Henry Cheney, (afterwards created lord Cheney, of Tuddington) who in the beginning of that reign alienated them to Sir Thomas Herbert. Since which they both remained in the same succession of ownership, as has already been mentioned before, in the description of the manor of Patrixborne Merton, down to Edward Taylor, esq. the present possessor of both these manors; which appear now to be united, as one court only is held for both of them, stiled, the court leet and court baron of the manors of Patrixborne Merton and Cheney.

BIFRONS is a seat in this parish, situated at a small distance westward from the church, which was originally built by Mr. John Bargar, or Bargrave, whose ancestors were originally of the adjcining parish of Bridge. Robert Bargrave, of Bridge, died in 1600, leaving a numerous issue; of whom John, the eldest son, was the builder of Bifrons, and Isaac, the sixth, was dean of Canterbury, and ancestor of Isaac Bargrave, esq. of Eastry, where further mention will be made of him. They bore for their arms, Argent, on a pale, gules, a sword with the point upwards, the pomel, or, on a chief, azure, three bezants. His grandson John Bargrave, esq. sold it in 1662 to Sir Arthur Slingsby, knight and baronet, descended of a younger branch of the Slingsbys, of Scriven, in Yorkshire, and created a baronet at Brussells in 1657; his arms were, Gules, a chevron, between two leopards faces, in chief, and a bugle born, in base, argent. His son and heir Sir Charles Slingsby, bart. in 1677, alienated it to Mr. Thomas Baker, merchant, of London, (fn. 3) on whose death it came to Mr. William Whotton, gent. of London, and he in 1680 passed it away to Thomas Adrian, esq. who kept his shrievalty here in 1690. He alienated it in 1694 to John Taylor, esq. the son of Nathaniel Taylor, barrister at law, descended of a family at Wlitchurch, in Salop, whose arms were, Gules, three roses, argent, a chief chequy, argent and sable. He died in 1729, leaving four sons and four daughters. Of the former, Brook, the eldest, was LL.D. and F. R. S. a learned and ingenious gentleman, who, among other treatises, wrote one on perspective. He died in 1731, leaving an only daughter Elizabeth, married to Sir William Young, bart. Herbert, in holy orders, of whom hereafter; Charles, a merchant at Moscow; and Bridges. Of the daughters, Mary died unmarried, at Bridge-place, in 1771, and Olive married John Bowtell, D. D. vicar of Patrixborne. The eldest son Dr. Brook Taylor succeeded his father in this seat, but dying without male issue in 1731, his next brother the Rev. Herbert Taylor became possessed of it, and resided here. He died in 1763, leaving by Mary, one of the daughters of Edward Wake, clerk, prebendary of Canterbury, and first-cousin to the archbishop, two sons, Herbert and Edward, the eldest of whom succeeded him in this seat, with his other estates in this county, but dying unmarried in 1767, his brother, the Rev. Edward Taylor, succeeded him in it, and afterwards rebuilt, nearly on the old scite, this seat of Bifrons, so called from its double front, and the builder of it, in commendation of his wife, placed this motto on the fore front: Diruta ædificat uxor bona, ædificata diruit mala. It was a handsome spacious house, the front of which had a very grand and venerable appearance. He died in 1798, leaving by Margaret his wife, daughter of Thomas Turner Payler, esq. of Ileden, who died at Brussells in 1780, four sons and three daughters, of whom Edward, the eldest, is a captain in the Romney fencible dragoons; Herbert is a captain likewise in the army, private secretary, and aid de camp to the duke of York; Brook is private secretary to the secretary of state for foreign affairs; and Bridges, the youngest, is a lieutenant in the navy. Of the daughters, the eldest, Mary Elizabeth married Edward-Wilbraham Bootle, esq. M. P. Charlotte married the Rev. Mr. Northey, and Margaret. Edward Taylor, esq. the esdest son, succeeded on his father's death to this seat, and continues owner of it.

HODE, now usually called Hothe, and Hothe-house, in this parish, was antiently part of the possessions of the family of Isaac, who bore for their arms, Sable, a bend, in the sinister point, a leopard's head, or; one of whom, John Isaac, held it in the 20th year of king Edward III. His descendant Edward Isaac had his lands disgavelled by the act of 31 Henry VIII. and his descendant of the same name, at length leaving only three daughters his coheirs, this estate went in marriage by Jane, his only daughter by his first wife, first to Martin Sidley, esq. of Great Chart, and secondly to Sir Henry Palmer, of Howlets, who by his will in 1611, gave it to his son in-law Sir Isaac Sidley, bart. and he conveyed his right in it to his brother-inlaw Sir Henry Palmer, from whose descendant it went by sale to Merriweather, and Edward Merriweather, about the year 1680, alienated it to Thomas Adrian, gent. who conveyed it, with Bifrons and other estates in this parish, in 1694, to John Taylor, esq. in whose descendants it has, in like manner, continued down to Edward Taylor, esq. the present possessor of it.

RENVILLE is a manor, in this parish, which formerly belonged to owners of the name of Crippen, one of whom, Thomas Crippen, died possessed of it in the beginning of king James I.'s reign, leaving an only daughter and heir Joane, who carried it in marriage to Robert Naylor, gent. whose arms were,Argent, on a bend, sable, three covered cups of the field, their rims, or. His son John, about the year 1638, sold it to William Kingley, S. T. P. archdeacon of Canterbury, who left a numerous issue, of whom George, the eldest son, succeeded to this estate, whose only son William died in 1701, leaving William, of whom mention will be made hereafter; and Anthony, who was ancestor of Thomas Pincke Kingsley, gent. now of London. From William Kingsley, esq. the eldest son, this estate came down at length to his grandson lieutenant general William Kingsley, who resided at Maidstone, where he died in 1769 unmarried, and bequeathed this manor by will to his first-cousin Mr. Charles Kingsley, of London, for his life, (fn. 4) on whose death in 1785, it came by the entail of the above will to his second son Mr. Thomas Pincke Kingsley, now of London, who is the present possessor of it.

HIGHAM is another manor, for it was formerly so accounted, though it has long since lost the reputation of having been one, situated at the boundary of this parish, upon the high grounds, at a small distance from the northern side of Barham-downs. It was antiently owned by a family of the same name, one of whom, Nicholas, son of William de Higham, by a deed of the 13th year of king Edward III. to which his seal is appendant, viz. a lion passant regardant, between six crosses formee, fitchee, appears to have held it at that time, together with the manor of Northington, in the hundred of Downhamford, not far distant. Not long after which it passed into the name of Bourne, and afterwards of Haut, of the adjoining parish of Bishopsborne, in which it remained till at length Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Sir William Haut, of Bishopsborne, carried it in marriage to Thomas Colepeper, esq. of Bedgbury, and he, in the 34th year of king Henry VIII. alienated it to Sir Anthony Aucher, in whose descendants it continued down to Sir Hewit Aucher, bart. who dying in 1726, s. p. by his will gave it to his sister Elizabeth, who entitled her husband John Corbet, LL. D. of Salop, to the possession of it. He left five daughters his coheirs, viz. Katherine, married to Stephen Beckingham; Elizabeth to Thomas Denward; Frances, to Sir William Hardres, bart. Antonina, to Ignatius Geohagan; and Hannah, to William Hougham, who became on his death jointly entitled to it. After which, Ignatius Geohagan, esq. before-mentioned, about the year 1768, built the present seat, called HIGHAM PLACE, and resided in it for some time, and then alienated his fifth part of it, as did the heirs of Katherine, Elizabeth, and Hannah, who were before deceased, their respective fifth parts, about 1781, to James Hallet, esq. who now resides in it, and has since purchased the remaining fifth part of the heirs of Frances, widow of Sir William Hardres, bart. who died in 1783. (fn. 5)

Charities.

SIR HENRY PALMER, of Bekesborne, by will in 1611, gave the sum of 10s. to be yearly paid out of his manor of Well-court, towards the relief of the poor of this parish, and he left the like som towards the relief of the poor of several of the neighbouring parishes, none of which has ever been paid to them.

The poor constantly maintained are about eight, casually 12.

THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, consists of one middle and two smaller side isles, a high and a south chancel, having a spire steeple on the south side, in which there is only one bell. This church is but small. It seems very antient. The pillars in it are very large and clumsy, and the arches circular. In the middle isle are several memorials of the Dennes, of this parish. The south chancel, formerly called the Isaac, but now the Bifrons chancel, as belonging to that seat, is covered with pews. In it are monuments for the Taylors, of Bifrons. At the entrance a memorial for John Bargrave, builder of Bifrons. In the north isle, in a window, are the arms of Fogge. Under the steeple, on the south side, is a fine arched doorway, circular, ornamented with much carvework and emblematical figures of Saxon architecture, much like that at Barfriston, (of which a plate is given in Grose's Antiquities, vol. i. præf. p. 66); and a smaller one on the south side of the high chancel, of a similar sort, over which is a small stone figure, having on its head, seemingly, a crown, and head-dress on each side hanging down, with its hands listed up as if having had something between them, perhaps for the virgin and child; but it is so corroded by time, that what it was meant for, can only be guessed at. At the east end of the chancel is a small circular window, of different compartments, like that at Bartriston. In the west part of the church-yard, are tombs for James De Roussell, esq. a truly good and worthy man, obt. 1775, and Elizabeth his wife; and for John Bowtell, D. D. vicar of Patrixborne, and Olive his wife; and one for Mrs. Mary Taylor, who died in 1771.

¶The church of Patrixborne, with the chapel of Bridge annexed, was given and appropriated to the priory of Merton, in Surry, as early as the year 1258, anno 43 Henry III. on condition that three canons should reside, for the performance of all parochial duties; and if the profits increased, more should be sent for that purpose. (fn. 6) In which state this church continued till the dissolution of the priory, by the act of the 31st year of king Henry VIII. when it came, together with the manor of Patrixborne Merton, belonging to the priory, into the king's hands, who granted both that year to Sir Thomas Cheney. Since which they have passed, in the same tract of ownership as has been already related before, in the description of that manor, down to Edward Taylor, esq. the present owner of the appropriation and advowson of the vicarage of this church, with the chapel of Bridge annexed.

It is, with the chapel of Bridge, valued in the king's books at 5l. 7s. 3½d. and the yearly tenths at 10s. 8¾d. In 1578 here were thirty-nine communicants. In 1640 it was valued at fixty pounds, communicants fifty.

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp277-286

We're back at the Monaco Ballroom on Friday December 12th for the final show of 2008!! Make sure you make it to see how the year's feuds end at this season ending super show - GPW: "Christmas Crunch"

We promise we wont crunch your credit.... we'll only crunch your Christmas!!

GPW Heavyweight Title Match

Bubblegum © vs. Dirk Feelgood

Just a few months ago you'd be forgiven for taking a double take at this match. The friendship between the two former friends totally imploded with the desire to become Heavyweight champion. Refusing to accept the demise of his friendship with Dirk Feelgood, Bubblegum spent months in turmoil not wanting to retaliate to the cutting comments and brutal attacks levelled his way by former friend and champion Feelgood. As time went by however, Bubblegum eventually unloaded on Feelgood but this will be the first time the two have ever come face to face in a one on one match. And to make things just a little more interesting... it's for the GPW Heavyweight Title. Can the fairytale championship reign continue for Bubblegum, or can Dirk shatter his dreams and become the first ever 2 time Heavyweight Champ?

Tag Team Special, Skeletor vs. Stella

Lethal Dose vs. Voodoo & "Sober" Mike Holmes

Alan Alan Alan Tasker's henchmen, Lethal Dose march into battle against former stable member Mike Holmes and the man they hold responsible for Holmes' new found sobriety - Voodoo. Cyanide and Toxic hope to tempt Holmes back over to the stable that two months ago he turned his back on. They want to snap him out of the spell they accuse Voodoo of putting him under. However, Holmes seems very happy with his new outlook on life and he and Voodoo look to send Lethal Dose packing in this tag team special. Lethal Dose have warned they will not be coming to the ring alone though, with them along with their attorney and law - Alan Alan Alan Tasker will be a 12 pack of Stella. Hoping the case of beer will prove to be a bigger demon to Holmes than the tag team itself. To fend off the 12 pack, Holmes and Voodoo will have Vooodoo's trusty skull, Skeletor in their corner. An unpredictable tag team match. Can MIke Holmes stay sober? Will Voodoo's spells work? Or will Lethal Dose deliver a beating big enough to break Voodoo's spell?

GPW British Title Match

Jak Dominotrescu vs. "Super" Sam Bailey

After pinning the British Champion last month in a tag team match, WKD's "Super" Sam Bailey has earned himself a title shot at GPW: "Christmas Crunch". Bailey, already a former tag team champion looks to add to his growing reputation by capturing his first ever singles gold in GPW. While reigning champion, Romanian Jak Domitrescu along with his cohorts - The Eastern Bloc look to make life as difficult as possible for the energetic live wire. Domitrescu has held onto the title since April this year with help from his fellow countrymen, but are his days numbered as champ? He surely wont be alone in this title outing and will have the Eastern Bloc close by, but can "Super" Sam Bailey overcome the odds to win his first singles gold in GPW?

And, the main event for the evening is...

GPW Tag Team Title 2/3 Falls Match

MIl-Anfield Connection © vs. Young Offenders

The heat just got turned up in this feud. The re-united Young Offenders have the most established tag team in GPW - The Mil-Anfield Connection firmly in their sights and not to mention the tag team trophy. These two teams met in September this year where there was no clear winner decided after the match ended in a draw. There will be NO excuses this time to not find a winner. This, for the first time in our history will be a 2/3 Falls Match for the tag team titles. A winner HAS to be decided, but who will it be? A truley epic encounter is in our midst as Jiggy Walker & "The Model" Danny Hope try to cling onto the championship that has defined them as a team and "Dangerous" Damon Leigh & Joey Hayes, The Young Offenders chase the title that one of the most popular tag teams in Europe have never held. Can the re-united friends overcome the well established unit that is The Mil-Anfield Connection? Or can the well oiled duo of the Mil-Anfield do what they've been doing all year and win again?

GPW British Title No.1 Contenders Match

Harry Doogle vs. Juice vs. Dylan Roberts vs. Chris Echo

After an eye catchingly good year from rookie Dylan Roberts, he has been included in this battle to earn a shot at the British Title. With a burning desire to win and the fans firmly behind him, Roberts could well mark his arrival onto the main roster by becoming the No.1 Contender and going for gold here. However, his opponents wont give him an easy ride. In a wonderful CC-08 tournament, no one impressed more than WKD's Chris Echo. Echo reached the CC-08 finals with two broken wrists and proved he is ready to take a step up. His previous attempts for British gold have been thwarted by the foreign legion numbers of the Eastern Bloc, is he ready to prove again that he is worthy of being No.1 Contender and finally lift the British title? Juice, the current CC8 champion has been as impressive as ever in singles competition this year, but can he compete in this match with 3 others all vying to be No.1 Contender? Also replacing Jervis Cottonbelly due to injury is Harry Doogle as a last minute entry could one half of the next gen score the upset win? , but with so many possible outcomes who will leave with the plaudits and go on to challenge for the British Title next year?

Lumberjack Match

Si Valour vs. Heresy

A violent and personal feud that has lasted all year long finally comes to a head in what promises to be a violent Lumberjack Match. Ever since brutalising Valour and cutting off all his hair, Heresy has, in some form or other dodged the challenge of Valour. Heresy claimed not to have lost his bottle or be running scared of the 2007 Break Out Star, yet during their Bull Rope clash at GPW: "V" where the two were tied to one another, Heresy still managed to find a way of escaping and creating distance between him and Valour. This time, in a special Lumberjack Match, no matter where either man go - there will be no escape. All lumberjacks will be at the ready to ensure neither man can escape the others clutches and a clear winner, one way or the other will HAVE to be decided. There will be nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide, no matter where they look. Heresy has been one step ahead of Valour all year, is this where he runs out of excuses, or can the master manipulator manipulate another win?

West German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 4719 Photo: Arthur Grimm.

Heinz Drache (1923-2002) was the most in-vogue screen cop of post-war German cinema. He first established his reputation in the role of the charismatic Inspector Yates in Francis Durbridge's TV miniseries Das Halstuch (1962) and continued in the same vein apprehending villains in a series of Edgar Wallace Krimis such as Der Zinker/The Squeaker (1963) and Der Hexer/The Mysterious Magician (1964). He appeared in 42 films between 1953 and 2002.

Heinz Drache was born in Essen, Germany, in 1923. Heinz did his schooling at the Alfred-Krupp-Gymnasium in Essen-Holsterhausen. He began his acting career in the theatre and acted in Nuremberg, Düsseldorf and Berlin. In Berlin, he met Gustaf Gründgens. This later brought him to Düsseldorf, where Drache was contracted for a role in Friedrich von Schiller's 'Die Räuber' (The Robbers) and in the play 'Der Schatten', which premiered in 1947. His colleagues included Käthe Gold, Marianne Hoppe, Gustav Knuth and Elisabeth Flickenschildt. As early as the 1950s, Drache starred in numerous films and television productions. He gained fame in the 1960s in crime films based on Edgar Wallace. The first was Der Rächer/The Avenger (Karl Anton, 1960) with Ingrid van Bergen. Film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film two and a half out of four stars, calling it "[an] Above-par shocker". Soon followed more Wallace adaptations such as Die Tür mit den sieben Schlössern/The Door with Seven Locks (Alfred Vohrer, 1962), Der Zinker/The Squeaker (Alfred Vohrer, 1963) and Der Hexer/The Mysterious Magician (Alfred Vohrer, 1964). In 1962, he also co-starred with Albert Lieven on television in the six-part blockbuster Das Halstuch/The Scarf (Hans Quest, 1962), based on a novel by Francis Durbridge. Because of his popularity, Drache received the Golden Bravo Otto as the most popular TV star in the 1962 readers' poll of the youth magazine BRAVO. Apart from the Krimi films he also starred in the British family film Sandy the Seal (Robert Lynn, 1965/1968) with Marianne Koch. The film was shot in South Africa in Technicolor and Techniscope II with sequences shot on Seal Island, South Africa. He also appeared in the British/West German co-production of The Brides of Fu Manchu/Die 13 Sklavinnen des Dr. Fu Man Chu (Don Sharp, 1966). This adventure crime film was based on the fictional Chinese villain Dr. Fu Manchu, created by Sax Rohmer and played by Christopher Lee.

Since 1946, Heinz Drache worked intensively as a radio play actor, mainly at NWDR Cologne and WDR. He was one of the lead actors in the radio plays 'Das kurze glückliche Leben des Francis Macomber' (1951) based on Ernest Hemingway or in 'Der Untertan' (1971) based on Heinrich Mann. Drache worked as a voice actor and dubbed such Hollywood stars as Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, Frank Sinatra, Sean Connery and Richard Widmark. He also worked on German versions of Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) as the voice of Robert Duvall and The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949) as the voice of Trevor Howard. From 1985 to 1989, he also was inspector Bülow in six episodes of the popular Krimi series Tatort/Crime Scene. 'Don Flanello' was Drache's nickname because of his preference for tailored suits. His last screen role was in the TV film Die Kristallprinzessin/The Crystal Princess (Rolf von Sydow, 2002) with Denise Zich and Anja Kruse. Heinz Drache was married to Rosemarie Eveline Nordmann from 1957 till his death. They had three children. His daughter Angelika, born in 1948, was from an earlier relationship with actress Edith Teichmann. Heinz Drache passed away in 2002 at the age of 79. He died of lung cancer in a Berlin hospital after several months of illness. His grave is in the Dahlem in veld cemetery.

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Japan seems to have a bit of a poor reputation among its foreign residents for having paedophillic tendencies based upon the Japanese preference for young female stars (see comments here for example some of which I have translated below). Is this reputation fair? The graphs on the left from Kenrick and Keefe (1992) for Americans, top, and Oda (2000), based on analyses of lonely hearts advertisements show that Japanese have only a slight preference for younger women in the case of older Japanese men. American 50-somethings advertise for women over about 35 whereas Japanese 50 sometimes (8 years later) advertised for women over 30. At younger male ages the differences in age preference between Japanese and Americans is minimal.

What then of the prevalence of very young women appearing as scantily clad "idols" on Japanese television and in magazines? The important difference may be that they are not real. Buunk, Dijkstra., Kenrick, and Warntjes (2001) surveyed Americans to regarding their stated minimum age preferences for marriage partners, relationship partners, someone with whom one could fall in love, partners in a causal affair and sexual fantasy partners. They found that only those males in their twenties saw women below twenty as a potential partner even in a fantasy (approximately 18). Bearing in mind that the average age of AKB48 was approximately 22 years, they would seem on that basis of appropriate age for a US band. The average age of the HTK28 idol group based in Fukuoka was however 13.8 at their formation and 16.6 more recently. This is lower than any of the stated ages in the above American male focused research (Buunk, Dijkstra., Kenrick, and Warntjes, 2001) .

An important point may be however that Japanese "idol" groups stress their purity -- they are fired if they have a relationship -- and it is argued that they may be thought of under the literal meaning of "idol," an object of veneration or worship, and not a potential partner of any kind. On the other hand however, the particular appeal of the recent spate of XYZ48 idol groups is that they appear on stages and even shake hands with their fans. They have brought a greater degree of reality to the idol genre (Nishio, 2013, p90). Even so this may mean that simply, like shrine visiting, the fans now can get up close to their idols in the literal sense. It may still be the case that they are not seen as partners in any kind of fantasy, but that they are in a sense child gods. Indeed the depiction of children as gods in Japanese festivals has a long tradition.

The truth is that I do not have data on the extent to which fans of idols see them purely as objects of veneration or partners but the difference in attitudes reflects a massive difference in cultures.

www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment/view/one-finali...

11歳のAKBメンバーが登場したことについての英語話者のコメント

No. Wrong. Stop. Now.　いや！悪い！止めろ！今！

twelve years old do those creepy predatory bikini pics　12歳でビキニ姿の卑怯で強奪的な写真も撮る

Sick...病気

The utter debasement of a child.子供の心を踏み潰している

what the f. are the parents thinking?　両氏は何を考えているだろう？

Disgusting! This is soft kiddy porn. If the fans were the same age it would not be a problem but the fans are older men!　ぞっとする！これはソフトな児童ポルノ。ファンが同じ年齢ならまだしも、しかしファンがおやじだ。

The peadophiles who watch these girls will be so happy!

AKBを見るのは、小児愛者・子どもを性的に虐待する犯罪者で

喜びそうだ

Stepping up the ante from "quite very creepy" to "incredibly creepy".かなりキモイから、驚くほどキモイへ

Paedogeddon is upon us　小児性愛の悪と善の最終決戦開始前

お取り下げご希望でありましたら、コメント欄、またはnihonbunka.comのメールリンクからご連絡ください。

Kenrick, D. T., & Keefe, R. C. (1992). Age preferences in mates reflect sex differences in human reproductive strategies. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 15(01), 75-91.

西尾久美子. (2013). エンターテイメント事業の比較分析: 宝塚歌劇と AKB48.

小田亮. (2000). 日本人における配偶相手の好みにみられる性差: 結婚相手募集広告の分析から.

Buunk, B. P., Dijkstra, P., Kenrick, D. T., & Warntjes, A. (2001). Age preferences for mates as related to gender, own age, and involvement level. Evolution and Human Behavior, 22(4), 241-250.

Paimpont forest, also known as Brocéliande, is in the French commune of Paimpont, near the city of Rennes in Brittany. As Brocéliande it had a reputation in the Medieval imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It is the setting of a number of adventures in Arthurian legend, notably Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and locals claim the tree in which the Lady of the Lake supposedly imprisoned Merlin can still be seen today. Other legendary places said to lie within the forest include the Val sans Retour, the tomb of Merlin, the Fountain of Youth, and Hotié de Vivianne (castle of the Lady of the Lake). The medieval chronicler Wace visited the forest but left disappointed:

"...I went there in search of marvels; I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool."

For those living close to Paimpont, the Arthurian legend is very strong. Many names in the legend can be translated into Breton or French, for example the name Lancelot translates as "wanderer" or "vagabond" in Breton. There is also a strong influence from the Druids, and all around Brittany are standing stones or alignments, the most famous of which are nearby at Carnac; a group of the alignments at Kerlescan are nicknamed "the soldiers of Arthur."

Paimpont is a forest of broadleaf trees, oaks and beeches mainly, with areas of conifers either inside after clear-felling or on the periphery as transition with the moor, for example towards the west in the sector of Tréhorenteuc and the Val-sans-Retour (= Valley of no Return) which was devastated by several fires in particular in 1976, a year of great drought. It occupies mainly the territory of the commune of Paimpont, but extends to bordering communes, mainly Guer and Beignon in the south, Saint-Péran in the northeast, and Concoret in north. The forest of Paimpont is the largest remnant of an ancient forest occupying Argoat, the interior region of Brittany. It was more often called the forest of Brécélien, but its ancient character and other qualities underlined by many authors decided on its name of "forest of Brocéliande," tallying of the adventures of the legend of the Round Table. This flattering designation was reinforced by the birth of the Pays de Brocéliande at the end of the 20th century, an institution intended to facilitate the development of the communes of the west of the département.

The relative altitude of the forested massif contributes to give it a climate close to the oceanic climate of the coasts of Finistere. This mode, where west and south-west winds carry of clouds and regular rain supports the vegetation, dominates. The surplus of water feeds the many brooks occupying the bottoms of small valleys before flowing into the river Aff, then the Vilaine, to the area around Redon in the south of the department. The highest point is at 256 m in the western part called Haute forêt. Altitude decreases regularly while offering viewpoints towards the department of Morbihan; viewpoints which one finds the equivalents in the north on the commune of Mauron, port of the Côtes-d'Armor. It is not far from there that the Paimpont Biological Station of the University of Rennes 1, built in 1966 and 1967, dominates the lake of Chatenay. The varied forest and its surroundings constitute a framework favorable to many training courses in which the Rennes 1 biology students as well as foreign researchers take part. These buildings can accommodate approximately 70 people, and researchers work all the year on subjects generally very far away from the local biotope such as behavior of primates, represented by Cercopithecus, whose cries are familiar for the area but surprising to the walker little accustomed to this exotic fauna. The first researchers lengthily studied the ecology of the Armorican moors, the grounds, and the hydrology.

The forest belongs mainly to owners who maintain it and exploit it for timber and hunting; only in the north-eastern part, a small part (10%) is "domanial" and is managed by the National Forestry Commission. This situation prevents freedom of movement in the forest even with the access to the borough and its pond. The owners, however, signed a convention authorizing, from April 1 to the end of September, the use of some hiking trails in the forest. Among the responsibilities of the forest guards are watching for behaviors that threaten the forest, its flora, and its fauna. For example, behaviors that pose the risk of fire, and those that endanger the game, like dogs running loose. The gathering of mushrooms is not absolutely prohibited, but it is only tolerated near the approved trails. Because of its importance before the French Revolution, the forest was the responsibility of a royal jurisdiction called the National Forestry Commission, as the traditional jurisdictions of the seigneurs did not occupying itself with forest management. The wood was excessively exploited for the power supply of the charcoal blast furnaces for the nearby industry, at least in the 17th and 18th centuries; the assignment of the trees of first choice to the navy was a marginal role.

An extract of the files of the correctional court of Montfort:

"Having left the forging mills of Paimpont on Monday morning, he passed by the workshop of the carpenter who was far away from the forging mills but in the middle of the forest, he drank there with Julien Auffray his cousin and foreman of the carpenters." (Foreman of the carpenters and sawyers on contract to the naval yards elsewhere). Auffray interrogation, 1826.

The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of Great Britain, especially those focused on King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The 12th century French poet Jean Bodel created the name in the following lines of his epic Chanson de Saisnes:

Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant,

De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.

The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the "matter of Rome", and the tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "matter of France". While Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, other lesser-known legendary history of Great Britain, including the stories of Brutus of Britain, Old King Cole, King Lear, and Gogmagog, is also included in the Matter of Britain: see Legendary Kings of the Britons.

Legendary history of Britain

It could be said that the legendary history of Britain was created in part to form a body of patriotic myth for the island. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature.

The Historia Britonum, the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Britain, may have been devised to create a distinguished genealogy for a number of Welsh princes in the 9th century. Traditionally attributed to Nennius, its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to the diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War, and thus provided raw material which later mythographers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Michael Drayton, and John Milton could draw upon, linking the settlement of Britain to the heroic age of Greek literature, for their several and diverse literary purposes. As such, this material could be used for patriotic mythmaking just as Virgil linked the mythical founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid. Geoffrey of Monmouth also introduced the fanciful claim that the Trinovantes, reported by Tacitus as dwelling in the area of London, had a name he interpreted as Troi-novant, "New Troy".

More speculative claims link Celtic mythology with several of the rulers and incidents compiled by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniæ. It has been suggested, for instance, that Leir of Britain, who later became Shakespeare's King Lear, was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr (see also the Irish sea-god Lir). Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron (cf. the Irish goddess Mórrígan). Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century, and have been questioned in more recent years.

William Shakespeare seems to have been deeply interested in the legendary history of Britain, and to have been familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline. It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material, and perhaps directed him to read Geoffrey of Monmouth[citation needed]. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth. A Welsh schoolmaster appears as the character Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Other early authors also drew from the early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots, for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Picts and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabhran especially incorporates elements of both those histories.

The Arthurian cycle

"Parsifal before the Castle of the Grail" - inspired by Richard Wagner's Opera Parsifal - painted in Weimar Germany 1928 by Hans Werner Schmidt (1859-1950)

The Arthurian literary cycle is the best known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot, usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail; some succeed (Galahad, Percival), and others fail (Lancelot).

The medieval tale of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love, such as Lancelot and Guinevere, or Tristan and Iseult. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, early twentieth century reconstructed versions.

Additionally, it is possible to read the Arthurian literature in general, and that concerned with the Grail tradition in particular, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth (a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others).

Sources wikipedia

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Willow Grove Day Camp is located at 3400 Davisville Road in Willow Grove, PA. Our camp has been serving the Willow Grove, Lower Bucks County, and Philadelphia areas for over 50 years. Our long standing relationship with the community and our reputation speaks for itself!

For more information on how your child can join our summer day camp or find out what else our wonderful camp has to offer please visit our website at: willowgrovedaycamp.com/about.html

Paimpont forest, also known as Brocéliande, is in the French commune of Paimpont, near the city of Rennes in Brittany. As Brocéliande it had a reputation in the Medieval imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It is the setting of a number of adventures in Arthurian legend, notably Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and locals claim the tree in which the Lady of the Lake supposedly imprisoned Merlin can still be seen today. Other legendary places said to lie within the forest include the Val sans Retour, the tomb of Merlin, the Fountain of Youth, and Hotié de Vivianne (castle of the Lady of the Lake). The medieval chronicler Wace visited the forest but left disappointed:

"...I went there in search of marvels; I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool."

For those living close to Paimpont, the Arthurian legend is very strong. Many names in the legend can be translated into Breton or French, for example the name Lancelot translates as "wanderer" or "vagabond" in Breton. There is also a strong influence from the Druids, and all around Brittany are standing stones or alignments, the most famous of which are nearby at Carnac; a group of the alignments at Kerlescan are nicknamed "the soldiers of Arthur."

Paimpont is a forest of broadleaf trees, oaks and beeches mainly, with areas of conifers either inside after clear-felling or on the periphery as transition with the moor, for example towards the west in the sector of Tréhorenteuc and the Val-sans-Retour (= Valley of no Return) which was devastated by several fires in particular in 1976, a year of great drought. It occupies mainly the territory of the commune of Paimpont, but extends to bordering communes, mainly Guer and Beignon in the south, Saint-Péran in the northeast, and Concoret in north. The forest of Paimpont is the largest remnant of an ancient forest occupying Argoat, the interior region of Brittany. It was more often called the forest of Brécélien, but its ancient character and other qualities underlined by many authors decided on its name of "forest of Brocéliande," tallying of the adventures of the legend of the Round Table. This flattering designation was reinforced by the birth of the Pays de Brocéliande at the end of the 20th century, an institution intended to facilitate the development of the communes of the west of the département.

The relative altitude of the forested massif contributes to give it a climate close to the oceanic climate of the coasts of Finistere. This mode, where west and south-west winds carry of clouds and regular rain supports the vegetation, dominates. The surplus of water feeds the many brooks occupying the bottoms of small valleys before flowing into the river Aff, then the Vilaine, to the area around Redon in the south of the department. The highest point is at 256 m in the western part called Haute forêt. Altitude decreases regularly while offering viewpoints towards the department of Morbihan; viewpoints which one finds the equivalents in the north on the commune of Mauron, port of the Côtes-d'Armor. It is not far from there that the Paimpont Biological Station of the University of Rennes 1, built in 1966 and 1967, dominates the lake of Chatenay. The varied forest and its surroundings constitute a framework favorable to many training courses in which the Rennes 1 biology students as well as foreign researchers take part. These buildings can accommodate approximately 70 people, and researchers work all the year on subjects generally very far away from the local biotope such as behavior of primates, represented by Cercopithecus, whose cries are familiar for the area but surprising to the walker little accustomed to this exotic fauna. The first researchers lengthily studied the ecology of the Armorican moors, the grounds, and the hydrology.

The forest belongs mainly to owners who maintain it and exploit it for timber and hunting; only in the north-eastern part, a small part (10%) is "domanial" and is managed by the National Forestry Commission. This situation prevents freedom of movement in the forest even with the access to the borough and its pond. The owners, however, signed a convention authorizing, from April 1 to the end of September, the use of some hiking trails in the forest. Among the responsibilities of the forest guards are watching for behaviors that threaten the forest, its flora, and its fauna. For example, behaviors that pose the risk of fire, and those that endanger the game, like dogs running loose. The gathering of mushrooms is not absolutely prohibited, but it is only tolerated near the approved trails. Because of its importance before the French Revolution, the forest was the responsibility of a royal jurisdiction called the National Forestry Commission, as the traditional jurisdictions of the seigneurs did not occupying itself with forest management. The wood was excessively exploited for the power supply of the charcoal blast furnaces for the nearby industry, at least in the 17th and 18th centuries; the assignment of the trees of first choice to the navy was a marginal role.

An extract of the files of the correctional court of Montfort:

"Having left the forging mills of Paimpont on Monday morning, he passed by the workshop of the carpenter who was far away from the forging mills but in the middle of the forest, he drank there with Julien Auffray his cousin and foreman of the carpenters." (Foreman of the carpenters and sawyers on contract to the naval yards elsewhere). Auffray interrogation, 1826.

The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of Great Britain, especially those focused on King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The 12th century French poet Jean Bodel created the name in the following lines of his epic Chanson de Saisnes:

Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant,

De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.

The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the "matter of Rome", and the tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "matter of France". While Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, other lesser-known legendary history of Great Britain, including the stories of Brutus of Britain, Old King Cole, King Lear, and Gogmagog, is also included in the Matter of Britain: see Legendary Kings of the Britons.

Legendary history of Britain

It could be said that the legendary history of Britain was created in part to form a body of patriotic myth for the island. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature.

The Historia Britonum, the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Britain, may have been devised to create a distinguished genealogy for a number of Welsh princes in the 9th century. Traditionally attributed to Nennius, its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to the diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War, and thus provided raw material which later mythographers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Michael Drayton, and John Milton could draw upon, linking the settlement of Britain to the heroic age of Greek literature, for their several and diverse literary purposes. As such, this material could be used for patriotic mythmaking just as Virgil linked the mythical founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid. Geoffrey of Monmouth also introduced the fanciful claim that the Trinovantes, reported by Tacitus as dwelling in the area of London, had a name he interpreted as Troi-novant, "New Troy".

More speculative claims link Celtic mythology with several of the rulers and incidents compiled by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniæ. It has been suggested, for instance, that Leir of Britain, who later became Shakespeare's King Lear, was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr (see also the Irish sea-god Lir). Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron (cf. the Irish goddess Mórrígan). Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century, and have been questioned in more recent years.

William Shakespeare seems to have been deeply interested in the legendary history of Britain, and to have been familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline. It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material, and perhaps directed him to read Geoffrey of Monmouth[citation needed]. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth. A Welsh schoolmaster appears as the character Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Other early authors also drew from the early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots, for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Picts and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabhran especially incorporates elements of both those histories.

The Arthurian cycle

"Parsifal before the Castle of the Grail" - inspired by Richard Wagner's Opera Parsifal - painted in Weimar Germany 1928 by Hans Werner Schmidt (1859-1950)

The Arthurian literary cycle is the best known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot, usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail; some succeed (Galahad, Percival), and others fail (Lancelot).

The medieval tale of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love, such as Lancelot and Guinevere, or Tristan and Iseult. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, early twentieth century reconstructed versions.

Additionally, it is possible to read the Arthurian literature in general, and that concerned with the Grail tradition in particular, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth (a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others).

Sources wikipedia

Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. It is located approximately 3 miles (5 kilometres) south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, near to the village of Aldfield. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 407 years becoming one of the wealthiest monasteries in England until its dissolution in 1539 under the order of Henry VIII.

The abbey is a Grade I listed building owned by the National Trust and part of the designated Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Foundation

After a dispute and riot in 1132 at the Benedictine house of St Mary's Abbey, in York, 13 monks were expelled (among them Saint Robert of Newminster) and, after unsuccessful attempts to form a new monastery were taken under the protection of Thurstan, Archbishop of York. He provided them with land in the valley of the River Skell, a tributary of the Ure. The enclosed valley had all the natural features needed for the creation of a monastery, providing shelter from the weather, stone and timber for building, and a supply of running water. After enduring a harsh winter in 1133, the monks applied to join the Cistercian order which since the end of the previous century was a fast-growing reform movement that by the beginning of the 13th century was to have over 500 houses. So it was that in 1135, Fountains became the second Cistercian house in northern England, after Rievaulx. The Fountains monks became subject to Clairvaux Abbey, in Burgundy which was under the rule of St Bernard. Under the guidance of Geoffrey of Ainai, a monk sent from Clairvaux, the group learned how to celebrate the seven Canonical Hours according to Cistercian usage and were shown how to construct wooden buildings in accordance with Cistercian practice.

Consolidation

After Henry Murdac was elected abbot in 1143, the small stone church and timber claustral buildings were replaced. Within three years, an aisled nave had been added to the stone church, and the first permanent claustral buildings built in stone and roofed in tile had been completed.

In 1146 an angry mob, annoyed at Murdac for his role in opposing the election of William FitzHerbert as archbishop of York, attacked the abbey and burnt down all but the church and some surrounding buildings.The community recovered swiftly from the attack and founded four daughter houses. Henry Murdac resigned as abbot in 1147 upon becoming the Archbishop of York and was replaced first by Maurice, Abbot of Rievaulx then, on the resignation of Maurice, by Thorald. Thorald was forced by Henry Murdac to resign after two years in office. The next abbot, Richard, held the post until his death in 1170 and restored the abbey's stability and prosperity. In 20 years as abbot, he supervised a huge building programme which involved completing repairs to the damaged church and building more accommodation for the increasing number of recruits. Only the chapter house was completed before he died and the work was ably continued by his successor, Robert of Pipewell, under whose rule the abbey gained a reputation for caring for the needy.

The next abbot was William, who presided over the abbey from 1180 to 1190 and he was succeeded by Ralph Haget, who had entered Fountains at the age of 30 as a novice, after pursuing a military career. During the European famine of 1194 Haget ordered the construction of shelters in the vicinity of the abbey and provided daily food rations to the poor enhancing the abbey's reputation for caring for the poor and attracting more grants from wealthy benefactors.

In the first half of the 13th century Fountains increased in reputation and prosperity under the next three abbots, John of York (1203–1211), John of Hessle (1211–1220) and John of Kent (1220–1247). They were burdened with an inordinate amount of administrative duties and increasing demands for money in taxation and levies but managed to complete another massive expansion of the abbey's buildings. This included enlarging the church and building an infirmary.

Difficulties

In the second half of the 13th century the abbey was in more straitened circumstances. It was presided over by eleven abbots, and became financially unstable largely due to forward selling its wool crop, and the abbey was criticised for its dire material and physical state when it was visited by Archbishop John le Romeyn in 1294. The run of disasters that befell the community continued into the early 14th century when northern England was invaded by the Scots and there were further demands for taxes. The culmination of these misfortunes was the Black Death of 1348–1349. The loss of manpower and income due to the ravages of the plague was almost ruinous.

A further complication arose as a result of the Papal Schism of 1378–1409. Fountains Abbey along with other English Cistercian houses was told to break off any contact with the mother house of Citeaux, which supported a rival pope. This resulted in the abbots forming their own chapter to rule the order in England and consequently they became increasingly involved in internecine politics. In 1410, following the death of Abbot Burley of Fountains, the community was riven by several years of turmoil over the election of his successor. Contending candidates John Ripon, Abbot of Meaux, and Roger Frank, a monk of Fountains were locked in conflict until 1415 when Ripon was finally appointed, ruling until his death in 1434. Under abbots John Greenwell (1442–1471), Thomas Swinton (1471–8), John Darnton (1478–95), who undertook some much needed restoration of the fabric of the abbey, including notable work on the church, and Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) Fountains regained stability and prosperity.

At Abbot Huby's death he was succeeded by William Thirsk who was accused by the royal commissioners of immorality and inadequacy and was dismissed as abbot. He was replaced by Marmaduke Bradley, a monk of the abbey who had reported Thirsk's supposed offences, testified against him and offered the authorities six hundred marks for the post of abbot. In 1539 it was Bradley who surrendered the abbey when its seizure was ordered under Henry VIII at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

The abbey precinct covered 70 acres (28 ha) surrounded by an 11-foot (3.4 m) wall built in the 13th century, some parts of which are visible to the south and west of the abbey. The area consists of three concentric zones cut by the River Skell flowing from west to east across the site. The church and claustral buildings stand at the centre of the precinct north of the Skell, the inner court containing the domestic buildings stretches down to the river and the outer court housing the industrial and agricultural buildings lies on the river's south bank. The early abbey buildings were added to and altered over time, causing deviations from the strict Cistercian type. Outside the walls were the abbey's granges.[citation needed]

The original abbey church was built of wood and "was probably" two stories high; it was, however, quickly replaced in stone. The church was damaged in the attack on the abbey in 1146 and was rebuilt, in a larger scale, on the same site. Building work was completed c.1170.[11] This structure, completed around 1170, was 300 ft (91 m) long and had 11 bays in the side aisles. A lantern tower was added at the crossing of the church in the late 12th century. The presbytery at the eastern end of the church was much altered in the 13th century. The church's greatly lengthened choir, commenced by Abbot John of York, 1203–11, and carried on by his successor terminates, like that of Durham Cathedral, in an eastern transept, the work of Abbot John of Kent, 1220–47. The 160-foot-tall (49 m) tower, which was added not long before the dissolution, by Abbot Huby, 1494–1526, is in an unusual position at the northern end of the north transept and bears Huby's motto 'Soli Deo Honor et Gloria'. The sacristry adjoined the south transept.

The cloister, which had arcading of black marble from Nidderdale and white sandstone, is in the centre of the precinct and to the south of the church. The three-aisled chapter-house and parlour open from the eastern walk of the cloister and the refectory, with the kitchen and buttery attached, are at right angles to its southern walk. Parallel with the western walk is an immense vaulted substructure serving as cellars and store-rooms, which supported the dormitory of the conversi (lay brothers) above. This building extended across the river and at its south-west corner were the latrines, built above the swiftly flowing stream. The monks' dormitory was in its usual position above the chapter-house, to the south of the transept. Peculiarities of this arrangement include the position of the kitchen, between the refectory and calefactory, and of the infirmary above the river to the west, adjoining the guest-houses.

The abbot's house, one of the largest in all of England,is located to the east of the latrine block, where portions of it are suspended on arches over the River Skell.It was built in the mid-twelfth century as a modest single-storey structure, then, from the fourteenth century, underwent extensive expansion and remodelling to end up in the 16th century as a grand dwelling with fine bay windows and grand fireplaces. The great hall was an expansive room 52 by 21 metres (171 by 69 ft).

Among other apartments, for the designation of which see the ground-plan, was a domestic oratory or chapel,

1⁄2-by-23-foot (14 by 7 m), and a kitchen, 50-by-38-foot (15 by 12 m)

Medieval monasteries were sustained by landed estates that were given to them as endowments and from which they derived an income from rents. They were the gifts of the founder and subsequent patrons, but some were purchased from cash revenues. At the outset, the Cistercian order rejected gifts of mills and rents, churches with tithes and feudal manors as they did not accord with their belief in monastic purity, because they involved contact with laymen. When Archbishop Thurstan founded the abbey he gave the community 260 acres (110 ha) of land at Sutton north of the abbey and 200 acres (81 ha) at Herleshowe to provide support while the abbey became established. In the early years the abbey struggled to maintain itself because further gifts were not forthcoming and Thurstan could not help further because the lands he administered were not his own, but part of the diocesan estate. After a few years of impoverished struggle to establish the abbey, the monks were joined by Hugh, a former dean of York Minster, a rich man who brought a considerable fortune as well as furniture and books to start the library.

By 1135 the monks had acquired only another 260 acres (110 ha) at Cayton, given by Eustace fitzJohn of Knaresborough "for the building of the abbey". Shortly after the fire of 1146, the monks had established granges at Sutton, Cayton, Cowton Moor, Warsill, Dacre and Aldburgh all within 6 mi (10 km) of Fountains. In the 1140s the water mill was built on the abbey site making it possible for the grain from the granges to be brought to the abbey for milling.Tannery waste from this time has been excavated on the site.

Further estates were assembled in two phases, between 1140 and 1160 then 1174 and 1175, from piecemeal acquisitions of land. Some of the lands were grants from benefactors but others were purchased from gifts of money to the abbey. Roger de Mowbray granted vast areas of Nidderdale and William de Percy and his tenants granted substantial estates in Craven which included Malham Moor and the fishery in Malham Tarn. After 1203 the abbots consolidated the abbey's lands by renting out more distant areas that the monks could not easily farm themselves, and exchanging and purchasing lands that complemented their existing estates. Fountains' holdings both in Yorkshire and beyond had reached their maximum extent by 1265, when they were an efficient and very profitable estate. Their estates were linked in a network of individual granges which provided staging posts to the most distant ones. They had urban properties in York, Yarm, Grimsby, Scarborough and Boston from which to conduct export and market trading and their other commercial interests included mining, quarrying, iron-smelting, fishing and milling.

The Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 was a factor that led to a downturn in the prosperity of the abbey in the early fourteenth century. Areas of the north of England as far south as York were looted by the Scots. Then the number of lay-brothers being recruited to the order reduced considerably. The abbey chose to take advantage of the relaxation of the edict on leasing property that had been enacted by the General Chapter of the order in 1208 and leased some of their properties. Others were staffed by hired labour and remained in hand under the supervision of bailiffs. In 1535 Fountains had an interest in 138 vills and the total taxable income of the Fountains estate was £1,115, making it the richest Cistercian monastery in England.

After the Dissolution

The Gresham family crest

The Abbey buildings and over 500 acres (200 ha) of land were sold by the Crown, on 1 October 1540, to Sir Richard Gresham, at the time a Member of Parliament and former Lord Mayor of London, the father of Sir Thomas Gresham. It was Richard Gresham who had supplied Cardinal Wolsey with the tapestries for his new house of Hampton Court and who paid for the Cardinal's funeral.

Gresham sold some of the fabric of the site, stone, timber, lead, as building materials to help to defray the cost of purchase. The site was acquired in 1597 by Sir Stephen Proctor, who used stone from the monastic complex to build Fountains Hall. Between 1627 and 1767 the estate was owned by the Messenger family who sold it to William Aislaby who was responsible for combining it with the Studley Royal Estate.

Burials

Roger de Mowbray, 1st Baron Mowbray

John de Mowbray, 2nd Baron Mowbray

Abbot Marmaduke Huby (d. 1526)

Rose (daughter of Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester), wife of Roger de Mowbray, 1st Baron Mowbray

Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy

William II de Percy, 3rd feudal baron of Topcliffe

Becoming a World Heritage Site

The archaeological excavation of the site was begun under the supervision of John Richard Walbran, a Ripon antiquary who, in 1846, had published a paper On the Necessity of clearing out the Conventual Church of Fountains.In 1966 the Abbey was placed in the guardianship of the Department of the Environment and the estate was purchased by the West Riding County Council who transferred ownership to the North Yorkshire County Council in 1974. The National Trust bought the 674-acre (273 ha) Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal estate from North Yorkshire County Council in 1983. In 1986 the parkland in which the abbey is situated and the abbey was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It was recognised for fulfilling the criteria of being a masterpiece of human creative genius, and an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates significant stages in human history. Fountains Abbey is owned by the National Trust and maintained by English Heritage. The trust owns Studley Royal Park, Fountains Hall, to which there is partial public access, and St Mary's Church, designed by William Burges and built around 1873, all of which are significant features of the World Heritage Site.

The Porter's Lodge, which was once the gatehouse to the abbey, houses a modern exhibition area with displays about the history of Fountains Abbey and how the monks lived.

In January 2010, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal became two of the first National Trust properties to be included in Google Street View, using the Google Trike.

Film location

Fountains Abbey was used as a film location by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark for their single "Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)" during the cold winter of December 1981. In 1980, Hollywood also came to the site to film the final scenes to the film Omen III: The Final Conflict.Other productions filmed on location at the abbey are the films Life at the Top, The Secret Garden, The History Boys, TV series Flambards, A History of Britain, Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, Cathedral, Antiques Roadshow and the game show Treasure Hunt. The BBC Television series 'Gunpowder' (2017) used Fountains Abbey as a location.

Building a reputation strategy. Reviews sites are going social

Modera Giancarlo Carniani - Coordinatore BTO - Buy Tourism Online e Co-Founder BTO Educational

Si è parlato di Reputation e dintorni con un gruppo di personaggi che di questo argomento sono stati in grado di portare un vero contributo. Quindi, reputazione, che vuol dire non solo recensioni......

Bravi, non era facile.

Nel panel:

Michele Aggiato - ZOOVER

Giulia Eremita - TRIVAGO

Roberto Frua - TRIPADVISOR

RJ Friedlander - REVIEWPRO

Georg Ziegler - HOLIDAYCHECK

BTO - BUY TOURISM ONLINE 2010

III^ [ Scintillante ] Edizione

18-19 Novembre 2010

Stazione Leopolda – Firenze

www.buytourismonline.com

Il programma scientifico della III^ Edizione di BTO - Buy Tourism Online è stato affidato alle amorevoli cure di BTO Educational

www.btoeducational.it

Tutto in SOLD OUT

2.911 i partecipanti, 44 relatori, 42 FREE Training Session con 2.810 partecipanti, 112 giornalisti accredidati, 60 tra Bloggers e Evangelists 2.0, 4 Televisioni impegnate durante l'evento, i media partners Wired.it e intoscana.it, grazie grazie a ObiettivoTre, al MarketPlace 38 Portali Online, al Club degli Espositori 39 aziende, l'hashtag più twittato in Italia il 18 e 19 Novembre #bto2010, la diretta più seguita al mondo Giovedì 18 Novembre su Livestream.com BTO - Buy Tourism Online 2010 Day ONE, la diretta più seguita al mondo il Venerdì 19 Novembre su Livestream.com BTO - Buy Tourism Online 2010 Day TWO, i minuti su Livestream.com visti dalla somma degli utenti durante il live streaming dell'evento 965.420, dibattiti, keynote e interviste registrate in Main Hall 17 ore.

A big big special thanks to Roberta Milano.

La più ammirata Monica Fabris, il più saggio Rodolfo Baggio, il miglior inglese parlato quello di Giulia Eremita, la più fastidiosa Costanza G., la più canticchiata Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint, la più tedesca Renate Goergen, il più inglese Jerome Touze, il più americano Josiah Mackenzie, la più gradita sorpresa gli amici di Web [Travel] Marketing, quello con più tesi Gianluca Diegoli, il più gradito ritorno Patrick Landman, i più coraggiosi i 6 Speakers per un Giorno, il più diretto Claudio Velardi, i più "complicati" gli amici di Zoes.it, il più in tutto Max Ulivieri, il più e basta Marco Monty Montemagno, il più amato da tutti Paolo Iabichino aka IABicus, il più "cattivo" Roberto Frua - TripAdvisor, il più buono Max Ventimiglia, la più dolce Elena Tubaro, il più ermetico Roberto Brenner - Google, il rubino più prezioso [ per noi di BTO Educational ] Elena Grassi - Expedia, quello sempre con l'ipad Mirko Lalli, la Blogger sempre più "famosa" Nelli, il più straordinario Professor Dimitrios Buhails, il più fotografato Matteo Renzi, il più bravo tappabuchi Paolo Chiappini, i più social i Bloggers, chi c'è mancato di più il cartello We Love Internet, il più bevuto caffè quello della Casa del Moka, i più tecnici Expomeeting, i più pazienti e disponibili i ragazzi e le ragazze del Prof. Eliodoro, il più appetitoso Lo Scalco, i più straordinariamente professionali i Crews, le Training più affollate Augmendy, Zoover e Google Advanced......

Building a reputation strategy. Reviews sites are going social

Modera Giancarlo Carniani - Coordinatore BTO - Buy Tourism Online e Co-Founder BTO Educational

Si è parlato di Reputation e dintorni con un gruppo di personaggi che di questo argomento sono stati in grado di portare un vero contributo. Quindi, reputazione, che vuol dire non solo recensioni......

Bravi, non era facile.

Nel panel:

Michele Aggiato - ZOOVER

Giulia Eremita - TRIVAGO

Roberto Frua - TRIPADVISOR

RJ Friedlander - REVIEWPRO

Georg Ziegler - HOLIDAYCHECK

BTO - BUY TOURISM ONLINE 2010

III^ [ Scintillante ] Edizione

18-19 Novembre 2010

Stazione Leopolda – Firenze

www.buytourismonline.com

Il programma scientifico della III^ Edizione di BTO - Buy Tourism Online è stato affidato alle amorevoli cure di BTO Educational

www.btoeducational.it

Tutto in SOLD OUT

2.911 i partecipanti, 44 relatori, 42 FREE Training Session con 2.810 partecipanti, 112 giornalisti accredidati, 60 tra Bloggers e Evangelists 2.0, 4 Televisioni impegnate durante l'evento, i media partners Wired.it e intoscana.it, grazie grazie a ObiettivoTre, al MarketPlace 38 Portali Online, al Club degli Espositori 39 aziende, l'hashtag più twittato in Italia il 18 e 19 Novembre #bto2010, la diretta più seguita al mondo Giovedì 18 Novembre su Livestream.com BTO - Buy Tourism Online 2010 Day ONE, la diretta più seguita al mondo il Venerdì 19 Novembre su Livestream.com BTO - Buy Tourism Online 2010 Day TWO, i minuti su Livestream.com visti dalla somma degli utenti durante il live streaming dell'evento 965.420, dibattiti, keynote e interviste registrate in Main Hall 17 ore.

A big big special thanks to Roberta Milano.

La più ammirata Monica Fabris, il più saggio Rodolfo Baggio, il miglior inglese parlato quello di Giulia Eremita, la più fastidiosa Costanza G., la più canticchiata Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint, la più tedesca Renate Goergen, il più inglese Jerome Touze, il più americano Josiah Mackenzie, la più gradita sorpresa gli amici di Web [Travel] Marketing, quello con più tesi Gianluca Diegoli, il più gradito ritorno Patrick Landman, i più coraggiosi i 6 Speakers per un Giorno, il più diretto Claudio Velardi, i più "complicati" gli amici di Zoes.it, il più in tutto Max Ulivieri, il più e basta Marco Monty Montemagno, il più amato da tutti Paolo Iabichino aka IABicus, il più "cattivo" Roberto Frua - TripAdvisor, il più buono Max Ventimiglia, la più dolce Elena Tubaro, il più ermetico Roberto Brenner - Google, il rubino più prezioso [ per noi di BTO Educational ] Elena Grassi - Expedia, quello sempre con l'ipad Mirko Lalli, la Blogger sempre più "famosa" Nelli, il più straordinario Professor Dimitrios Buhails, il più fotografato Matteo Renzi, il più bravo tappabuchi Paolo Chiappini, i più social i Bloggers, chi c'è mancato di più il cartello We Love Internet, il più bevuto caffè quello della Casa del Moka, i più tecnici Expomeeting, i più pazienti e disponibili i ragazzi e le ragazze del Prof. Eliodoro, il più appetitoso Lo Scalco, i più straordinariamente professionali i Crews, le Training più affollate Augmendy, Zoover e Google Advanced......

Volvo has long had a reputation for cars that are at the apex of safety innovation. For decades though, this safety was wrapped up in a brick. Enough so, that you’d be forgiven for thinking that Volvos could never have been sexy. If there is one car though, that can dispel that myth on its own, it would be the P1800 Coupe of 1961.

The shape could easily be forgiven as a classic Italian GT, and indeed, Swede Pelle Petterson, designer of the P1800 was mentored by Pietro Frua of Ghia.

The P1800 had a relatively long life, production ceasing in 1973. Nearing the end of its production cycle, it received a additional body style, the ES, which was configured as a Shooting-Brake (a 2-door wagon). The variant had its origins in two concepts by Coggiola and Frua, though they were each considered to be too futuristic, and in-house designer Jan Wilsgaard’s proposal, known as the Beach Car was put into production.

Though quirky, the P1800 ES lines would be strongly echoed on both the Volvo 480 of 1986 and the C30 of 2006. The featured glass tailgate being particularly prominent.

Romary's had quite a reputation as a manufacturer of specialist biscuits and indeed it is said that they continued to be made until the early 1980s because HM Queen enjoyed them - they are now unavailable. Romary's were founded by Alfred Romary in Tunbridge Wells in 1862 as biscuit makers and his fame spread when, in 1876, Queen Victoria visited the shop and so they gained a coveted Royal Warrant.

They became noted for 'fine' biscuits, especially their wafers. In 1926 they became a limited company in 1926 when they were bought out by a Mr. Lane. At some point, possibly prior to 1932, they became associated with another 'town' biscuit maker, the Norwich based Freeman's whose Norwich Hollow Biscuits continued to be produced. In 1935 they were acquired by York based Rowntree's and the bulk of production moved to a new bakery in Tunbridge Wells. Rowntree's closed the Kent sites in 1958 and it is possible there was a lull in production as it appears to have been 1963 before production was restarted in the Rowntree's Glasgow factory - apparently to honour the desires of HM The Queen! Sadly they stopped manufacturing in 1981 and since then Rowntree's and the recipes have vanished into the vast maw of Nestlé.

Romary's also had high standards of publicity and package design as can be seen here in an advert produced at the Curwen Press.

Building a reputation strategy. Reviews sites are going social

Modera Giancarlo Carniani - Coordinatore BTO - Buy Tourism Online e Co-Founder BTO Educational

Si è parlato di Reputation e dintorni con un gruppo di personaggi che di questo argomento sono stati in grado di portare un vero contributo. Quindi, reputazione, che vuol dire non solo recensioni......

Bravi, non era facile.

Nel panel:

Michele Aggiato - ZOOVER

Giulia Eremita - TRIVAGO

Roberto Frua - TRIPADVISOR

RJ Friedlander - REVIEWPRO

Georg Ziegler - HOLIDAYCHECK

BTO - BUY TOURISM ONLINE 2010

III^ [ Scintillante ] Edizione

18-19 Novembre 2010

Stazione Leopolda – Firenze

www.buytourismonline.com

Il programma scientifico della III^ Edizione di BTO - Buy Tourism Online è stato affidato alle amorevoli cure di BTO Educational

www.btoeducational.it

Tutto in SOLD OUT

2.911 i partecipanti, 44 relatori, 42 FREE Training Session con 2.810 partecipanti, 112 giornalisti accredidati, 60 tra Bloggers e Evangelists 2.0, 4 Televisioni impegnate durante l'evento, i media partners Wired.it e intoscana.it, grazie grazie a ObiettivoTre, al MarketPlace 38 Portali Online, al Club degli Espositori 39 aziende, l'hashtag più twittato in Italia il 18 e 19 Novembre #bto2010, la diretta più seguita al mondo Giovedì 18 Novembre su Livestream.com BTO - Buy Tourism Online 2010 Day ONE, la diretta più seguita al mondo il Venerdì 19 Novembre su Livestream.com BTO - Buy Tourism Online 2010 Day TWO, i minuti su Livestream.com visti dalla somma degli utenti durante il live streaming dell'evento 965.420, dibattiti, keynote e interviste registrate in Main Hall 17 ore.

A big big special thanks to Roberta Milano.

La più ammirata Monica Fabris, il più saggio Rodolfo Baggio, il miglior inglese parlato quello di Giulia Eremita, la più fastidiosa Costanza G., la più canticchiata Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint, la più tedesca Renate Goergen, il più inglese Jerome Touze, il più americano Josiah Mackenzie, la più gradita sorpresa gli amici di Web [Travel] Marketing, quello con più tesi Gianluca Diegoli, il più gradito ritorno Patrick Landman, i più coraggiosi i 6 Speakers per un Giorno, il più diretto Claudio Velardi, i più "complicati" gli amici di Zoes.it, il più in tutto Max Ulivieri, il più e basta Marco Monty Montemagno, il più amato da tutti Paolo Iabichino aka IABicus, il più "cattivo" Roberto Frua - TripAdvisor, il più buono Max Ventimiglia, la più dolce Elena Tubaro, il più ermetico Roberto Brenner - Google, il rubino più prezioso [ per noi di BTO Educational ] Elena Grassi - Expedia, quello sempre con l'ipad Mirko Lalli, la Blogger sempre più "famosa" Nelli, il più straordinario Professor Dimitrios Buhails, il più fotografato Matteo Renzi, il più bravo tappabuchi Paolo Chiappini, i più social i Bloggers, chi c'è mancato di più il cartello We Love Internet, il più bevuto caffè quello della Casa del Moka, i più tecnici Expomeeting, i più pazienti e disponibili i ragazzi e le ragazze del Prof. Eliodoro, il più appetitoso Lo Scalco, i più straordinariamente professionali i Crews, le Training più affollate Augmendy, Zoover e Google Advanced......

Flickriver

In the Baltic Sea northeast of Stralsund, Germany’s largest island is a natural paradise of white beaches, rugged chalk cliffs, beech forests, and sprawling meadows. Ancient stone burial sites and monuments scattered about the island bear witness to Rügen’s stone age past. In the 5th century, the Slavs pushed out the Teutonic tribes inhabiting the island, only to be converted to Christianity by the Danes 500 years later. Briefly under Swedish control, Rügen eventually became part of Prussia. Prince Wilhelm Malte I introduced bathing tourism to the island in the early 1800s, and by the beginning of the 20th century, the island had established itself as a favorite destination for nobility. Famous people (of good reputation or not) like Bismark, Einstein, Thomas Mann, Hitler and Erich Honecker had Rügen island as a preferred holiday place.

***

Situatǎ în Marea Balticǎ, la nord de Stralsund, cea mai mare insulǎ a Germaniei este un adevǎrat paradis natural cu plaje albe, coaste abrupte din cretǎ, pǎduri la malul mǎrii şi câmpii întinse. Necropolele şi monumentele antice descoperite aratǎ cǎ insula a fost locuitǎ încǎ din epoca de piatrǎ. In secolul al V-lea d.Ch., slavii au ocupat insula alungând populaţia localǎ formatǎ din triburile teutone, pentru a fi la rândul lor convertiţi la creştinism de danezi, 500 de ani mai târziu. O vreme insula a fost stǎpânitǎ de suedezi, fiind apoi anexatǎ Prusiei. La inceputul secolului al XIX-lea, Prinţul Wilhelm Malte I a introdus turismul balnear în Rügen, insula devenind o destinaţie favoritǎ a nobilimii. Ulterior, insula a devenit locul preferat de vacanţǎ al unor personalitǎţi celebre (cu reputaţie mai bunǎ sau mai rea) cum ar fi Bismark, Einstein, Thomas Mann, Hitler şi Erich Honecker.

Source:

www.letsgo.com/15398-germany-travel-guides-mecklenburg-vo...; www.lonelyplanet.com

Directed by Curtis Bernhardt

Building a reputation strategy. Reviews sites are going social

Modera Giancarlo Carniani - Coordinatore BTO - Buy Tourism Online e Co-Founder BTO Educational

Si è parlato di Reputation e dintorni con un gruppo di personaggi che di questo argomento sono stati in grado di portare un vero contributo. Quindi, reputazione, che vuol dire non solo recensioni......

Bravi, non era facile.

Nel panel:

Michele Aggiato - ZOOVER

Giulia Eremita - TRIVAGO

Roberto Frua - TRIPADVISOR

RJ Friedlander - REVIEWPRO

Georg Ziegler - HOLIDAYCHECK

BTO - BUY TOURISM ONLINE 2010

III^ [ Scintillante ] Edizione

18-19 Novembre 2010

Stazione Leopolda – Firenze

www.buytourismonline.com

Il programma scientifico della III^ Edizione di BTO - Buy Tourism Online è stato affidato alle amorevoli cure di BTO Educational

www.btoeducational.it

Tutto in SOLD OUT

2.911 i partecipanti, 44 relatori, 42 FREE Training Session con 2.810 partecipanti, 112 giornalisti accredidati, 60 tra Bloggers e Evangelists 2.0, 4 Televisioni impegnate durante l'evento, i media partners Wired.it e intoscana.it, grazie grazie a ObiettivoTre, al MarketPlace 38 Portali Online, al Club degli Espositori 39 aziende, l'hashtag più twittato in Italia il 18 e 19 Novembre #bto2010, la diretta più seguita al mondo Giovedì 18 Novembre su Livestream.com BTO - Buy Tourism Online 2010 Day ONE, la diretta più seguita al mondo il Venerdì 19 Novembre su Livestream.com BTO - Buy Tourism Online 2010 Day TWO, i minuti su Livestream.com visti dalla somma degli utenti durante il live streaming dell'evento 965.420, dibattiti, keynote e interviste registrate in Main Hall 17 ore.

A big big special thanks to Roberta Milano.

La più ammirata Monica Fabris, il più saggio Rodolfo Baggio, il miglior inglese parlato quello di Giulia Eremita, la più fastidiosa Costanza G., la più canticchiata Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint, la più tedesca Renate Goergen, il più inglese Jerome Touze, il più americano Josiah Mackenzie, la più gradita sorpresa gli amici di Web [Travel] Marketing, quello con più tesi Gianluca Diegoli, il più gradito ritorno Patrick Landman, i più coraggiosi i 6 Speakers per un Giorno, il più diretto Claudio Velardi, i più "complicati" gli amici di Zoes.it, il più in tutto Max Ulivieri, il più e basta Marco Monty Montemagno, il più amato da tutti Paolo Iabichino aka IABicus, il più "cattivo" Roberto Frua - TripAdvisor, il più buono Max Ventimiglia, la più dolce Elena Tubaro, il più ermetico Roberto Brenner - Google, il rubino più prezioso [ per noi di BTO Educational ] Elena Grassi - Expedia, quello sempre con l'ipad Mirko Lalli, la Blogger sempre più "famosa" Nelli, il più straordinario Professor Dimitrios Buhails, il più fotografato Matteo Renzi, il più bravo tappabuchi Paolo Chiappini, i più social i Bloggers, chi c'è mancato di più il cartello We Love Internet, il più bevuto caffè quello della Casa del Moka, i più tecnici Expomeeting, i più pazienti e disponibili i ragazzi e le ragazze del Prof. Eliodoro, il più appetitoso Lo Scalco, i più straordinariamente professionali i Crews, le Training più affollate Augmendy, Zoover e Google Advanced......

Paimpont forest, also known as Brocéliande, is in the French commune of Paimpont, near the city of Rennes in Brittany. As Brocéliande it had a reputation in the Medieval imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It is the setting of a number of adventures in Arthurian legend, notably Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and locals claim the tree in which the Lady of the Lake supposedly imprisoned Merlin can still be seen today. Other legendary places said to lie within the forest include the Val sans Retour, the tomb of Merlin, the Fountain of Youth, and Hotié de Vivianne (castle of the Lady of the Lake). The medieval chronicler Wace visited the forest but left disappointed:

"...I went there in search of marvels; I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool."

For those living close to Paimpont, the Arthurian legend is very strong. Many names in the legend can be translated into Breton or French, for example the name Lancelot translates as "wanderer" or "vagabond" in Breton. There is also a strong influence from the Druids, and all around Brittany are standing stones or alignments, the most famous of which are nearby at Carnac; a group of the alignments at Kerlescan are nicknamed "the soldiers of Arthur."

Paimpont is a forest of broadleaf trees, oaks and beeches mainly, with areas of conifers either inside after clear-felling or on the periphery as transition with the moor, for example towards the west in the sector of Tréhorenteuc and the Val-sans-Retour (= Valley of no Return) which was devastated by several fires in particular in 1976, a year of great drought. It occupies mainly the territory of the commune of Paimpont, but extends to bordering communes, mainly Guer and Beignon in the south, Saint-Péran in the northeast, and Concoret in north. The forest of Paimpont is the largest remnant of an ancient forest occupying Argoat, the interior region of Brittany. It was more often called the forest of Brécélien, but its ancient character and other qualities underlined by many authors decided on its name of "forest of Brocéliande," tallying of the adventures of the legend of the Round Table. This flattering designation was reinforced by the birth of the Pays de Brocéliande at the end of the 20th century, an institution intended to facilitate the development of the communes of the west of the département.

The relative altitude of the forested massif contributes to give it a climate close to the oceanic climate of the coasts of Finistere. This mode, where west and south-west winds carry of clouds and regular rain supports the vegetation, dominates. The surplus of water feeds the many brooks occupying the bottoms of small valleys before flowing into the river Aff, then the Vilaine, to the area around Redon in the south of the department. The highest point is at 256 m in the western part called Haute forêt. Altitude decreases regularly while offering viewpoints towards the department of Morbihan; viewpoints which one finds the equivalents in the north on the commune of Mauron, port of the Côtes-d'Armor. It is not far from there that the Paimpont Biological Station of the University of Rennes 1, built in 1966 and 1967, dominates the lake of Chatenay. The varied forest and its surroundings constitute a framework favorable to many training courses in which the Rennes 1 biology students as well as foreign researchers take part. These buildings can accommodate approximately 70 people, and researchers work all the year on subjects generally very far away from the local biotope such as behavior of primates, represented by Cercopithecus, whose cries are familiar for the area but surprising to the walker little accustomed to this exotic fauna. The first researchers lengthily studied the ecology of the Armorican moors, the grounds, and the hydrology.

The forest belongs mainly to owners who maintain it and exploit it for timber and hunting; only in the north-eastern part, a small part (10%) is "domanial" and is managed by the National Forestry Commission. This situation prevents freedom of movement in the forest even with the access to the borough and its pond. The owners, however, signed a convention authorizing, from April 1 to the end of September, the use of some hiking trails in the forest. Among the responsibilities of the forest guards are watching for behaviors that threaten the forest, its flora, and its fauna. For example, behaviors that pose the risk of fire, and those that endanger the game, like dogs running loose. The gathering of mushrooms is not absolutely prohibited, but it is only tolerated near the approved trails. Because of its importance before the French Revolution, the forest was the responsibility of a royal jurisdiction called the National Forestry Commission, as the traditional jurisdictions of the seigneurs did not occupying itself with forest management. The wood was excessively exploited for the power supply of the charcoal blast furnaces for the nearby industry, at least in the 17th and 18th centuries; the assignment of the trees of first choice to the navy was a marginal role.

An extract of the files of the correctional court of Montfort:

"Having left the forging mills of Paimpont on Monday morning, he passed by the workshop of the carpenter who was far away from the forging mills but in the middle of the forest, he drank there with Julien Auffray his cousin and foreman of the carpenters." (Foreman of the carpenters and sawyers on contract to the naval yards elsewhere). Auffray interrogation, 1826.

The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of Great Britain, especially those focused on King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The 12th century French poet Jean Bodel created the name in the following lines of his epic Chanson de Saisnes:

Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant,

De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.

The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the "matter of Rome", and the tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "matter of France". While Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, other lesser-known legendary history of Great Britain, including the stories of Brutus of Britain, Old King Cole, King Lear, and Gogmagog, is also included in the Matter of Britain: see Legendary Kings of the Britons.

Legendary history of Britain

It could be said that the legendary history of Britain was created in part to form a body of patriotic myth for the island. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature.

The Historia Britonum, the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Britain, may have been devised to create a distinguished genealogy for a number of Welsh princes in the 9th century. Traditionally attributed to Nennius, its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to the diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War, and thus provided raw material which later mythographers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Michael Drayton, and John Milton could draw upon, linking the settlement of Britain to the heroic age of Greek literature, for their several and diverse literary purposes. As such, this material could be used for patriotic mythmaking just as Virgil linked the mythical founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid. Geoffrey of Monmouth also introduced the fanciful claim that the Trinovantes, reported by Tacitus as dwelling in the area of London, had a name he interpreted as Troi-novant, "New Troy".

More speculative claims link Celtic mythology with several of the rulers and incidents compiled by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniæ. It has been suggested, for instance, that Leir of Britain, who later became Shakespeare's King Lear, was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr (see also the Irish sea-god Lir). Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron (cf. the Irish goddess Mórrígan). Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century, and have been questioned in more recent years.

William Shakespeare seems to have been deeply interested in the legendary history of Britain, and to have been familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline. It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material, and perhaps directed him to read Geoffrey of Monmouth[citation needed]. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth. A Welsh schoolmaster appears as the character Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Other early authors also drew from the early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots, for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Picts and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabhran especially incorporates elements of both those histories.

The Arthurian cycle

"Parsifal before the Castle of the Grail" - inspired by Richard Wagner's Opera Parsifal - painted in Weimar Germany 1928 by Hans Werner Schmidt (1859-1950)

The Arthurian literary cycle is the best known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot, usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail; some succeed (Galahad, Percival), and others fail (Lancelot).

The medieval tale of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love, such as Lancelot and Guinevere, or Tristan and Iseult. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, early twentieth century reconstructed versions.

Additionally, it is possible to read the Arthurian literature in general, and that concerned with the Grail tradition in particular, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth (a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others).

Sources wikipedia

Paimpont forest, also known as Brocéliande, is in the French commune of Paimpont, near the city of Rennes in Brittany. As Brocéliande it had a reputation in the Medieval imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It is the setting of a number of adventures in Arthurian legend, notably Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and locals claim the tree in which the Lady of the Lake supposedly imprisoned Merlin can still be seen today. Other legendary places said to lie within the forest include the Val sans Retour, the tomb of Merlin, the Fountain of Youth, and Hotié de Vivianne (castle of the Lady of the Lake). The medieval chronicler Wace visited the forest but left disappointed:

"...I went there in search of marvels; I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool."

For those living close to Paimpont, the Arthurian legend is very strong. Many names in the legend can be translated into Breton or French, for example the name Lancelot translates as "wanderer" or "vagabond" in Breton. There is also a strong influence from the Druids, and all around Brittany are standing stones or alignments, the most famous of which are nearby at Carnac; a group of the alignments at Kerlescan are nicknamed "the soldiers of Arthur."

Paimpont is a forest of broadleaf trees, oaks and beeches mainly, with areas of conifers either inside after clear-felling or on the periphery as transition with the moor, for example towards the west in the sector of Tréhorenteuc and the Val-sans-Retour (= Valley of no Return) which was devastated by several fires in particular in 1976, a year of great drought. It occupies mainly the territory of the commune of Paimpont, but extends to bordering communes, mainly Guer and Beignon in the south, Saint-Péran in the northeast, and Concoret in north. The forest of Paimpont is the largest remnant of an ancient forest occupying Argoat, the interior region of Brittany. It was more often called the forest of Brécélien, but its ancient character and other qualities underlined by many authors decided on its name of "forest of Brocéliande," tallying of the adventures of the legend of the Round Table. This flattering designation was reinforced by the birth of the Pays de Brocéliande at the end of the 20th century, an institution intended to facilitate the development of the communes of the west of the département.

The relative altitude of the forested massif contributes to give it a climate close to the oceanic climate of the coasts of Finistere. This mode, where west and south-west winds carry of clouds and regular rain supports the vegetation, dominates. The surplus of water feeds the many brooks occupying the bottoms of small valleys before flowing into the river Aff, then the Vilaine, to the area around Redon in the south of the department. The highest point is at 256 m in the western part called Haute forêt. Altitude decreases regularly while offering viewpoints towards the department of Morbihan; viewpoints which one finds the equivalents in the north on the commune of Mauron, port of the Côtes-d'Armor. It is not far from there that the Paimpont Biological Station of the University of Rennes 1, built in 1966 and 1967, dominates the lake of Chatenay. The varied forest and its surroundings constitute a framework favorable to many training courses in which the Rennes 1 biology students as well as foreign researchers take part. These buildings can accommodate approximately 70 people, and researchers work all the year on subjects generally very far away from the local biotope such as behavior of primates, represented by Cercopithecus, whose cries are familiar for the area but surprising to the walker little accustomed to this exotic fauna. The first researchers lengthily studied the ecology of the Armorican moors, the grounds, and the hydrology.

The forest belongs mainly to owners who maintain it and exploit it for timber and hunting; only in the north-eastern part, a small part (10%) is "domanial" and is managed by the National Forestry Commission. This situation prevents freedom of movement in the forest even with the access to the borough and its pond. The owners, however, signed a convention authorizing, from April 1 to the end of September, the use of some hiking trails in the forest. Among the responsibilities of the forest guards are watching for behaviors that threaten the forest, its flora, and its fauna. For example, behaviors that pose the risk of fire, and those that endanger the game, like dogs running loose. The gathering of mushrooms is not absolutely prohibited, but it is only tolerated near the approved trails. Because of its importance before the French Revolution, the forest was the responsibility of a royal jurisdiction called the National Forestry Commission, as the traditional jurisdictions of the seigneurs did not occupying itself with forest management. The wood was excessively exploited for the power supply of the charcoal blast furnaces for the nearby industry, at least in the 17th and 18th centuries; the assignment of the trees of first choice to the navy was a marginal role.

An extract of the files of the correctional court of Montfort:

"Having left the forging mills of Paimpont on Monday morning, he passed by the workshop of the carpenter who was far away from the forging mills but in the middle of the forest, he drank there with Julien Auffray his cousin and foreman of the carpenters." (Foreman of the carpenters and sawyers on contract to the naval yards elsewhere). Auffray interrogation, 1826.

The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of Great Britain, especially those focused on King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The 12th century French poet Jean Bodel created the name in the following lines of his epic Chanson de Saisnes:

Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant,

De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.

The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the "matter of Rome", and the tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "matter of France". While Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, other lesser-known legendary history of Great Britain, including the stories of Brutus of Britain, Old King Cole, King Lear, and Gogmagog, is also included in the Matter of Britain: see Legendary Kings of the Britons.

Legendary history of Britain

It could be said that the legendary history of Britain was created in part to form a body of patriotic myth for the island. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature.

The Historia Britonum, the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Britain, may have been devised to create a distinguished genealogy for a number of Welsh princes in the 9th century. Traditionally attributed to Nennius, its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to the diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War, and thus provided raw material which later mythographers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Michael Drayton, and John Milton could draw upon, linking the settlement of Britain to the heroic age of Greek literature, for their several and diverse literary purposes. As such, this material could be used for patriotic mythmaking just as Virgil linked the mythical founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid. Geoffrey of Monmouth also introduced the fanciful claim that the Trinovantes, reported by Tacitus as dwelling in the area of London, had a name he interpreted as Troi-novant, "New Troy".

More speculative claims link Celtic mythology with several of the rulers and incidents compiled by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniæ. It has been suggested, for instance, that Leir of Britain, who later became Shakespeare's King Lear, was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr (see also the Irish sea-god Lir). Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron (cf. the Irish goddess Mórrígan). Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century, and have been questioned in more recent years.

William Shakespeare seems to have been deeply interested in the legendary history of Britain, and to have been familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline. It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material, and perhaps directed him to read Geoffrey of Monmouth[citation needed]. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth. A Welsh schoolmaster appears as the character Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Other early authors also drew from the early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots, for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Picts and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabhran especially incorporates elements of both those histories.

The Arthurian cycle

"Parsifal before the Castle of the Grail" - inspired by Richard Wagner's Opera Parsifal - painted in Weimar Germany 1928 by Hans Werner Schmidt (1859-1950)

The Arthurian literary cycle is the best known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot, usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail; some succeed (Galahad, Percival), and others fail (Lancelot).

The medieval tale of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love, such as Lancelot and Guinevere, or Tristan and Iseult. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, early twentieth century reconstructed versions.

Additionally, it is possible to read the Arthurian literature in general, and that concerned with the Grail tradition in particular, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth (a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others).

Sources wikipedia

Italian ice cream makers have a good reputation in the Netherlands. Even when they are not from Italian origin ice cream sellers would write so on their shop windows and vans.

From Tonino Roma I can't tell...

1282 kgs.

Max. pay load 1083 kgs.

Amsterdam-N., Buiksloterweg, June 2, 2013.

© 2013 Sander Toonen Amsterdam | All Rights Reserved

Aberdeen buses have a reputation for passing to Scotland East after withdrawal in the granite city in a tradition dating back to the Atlanteans over 20 years ago when it was Midland Bluebird.

One of the earlier withdrawals from Aberdeen was the short lived Scania L94 fleet delivered between 1998-9. These were withdrawn in 2001 and swapped for similar aged Volvo B10BLEs with Glasgow and Manchester. Those with Glasgow have now been withdrawn while Manchester has cascades there's out to lower margin operations.

Scotland East now have 565/6, the latter now in the Central area operations and seen here on the 24 to Glasgow in Bannockburn.

When these were new they were used on the 22 and select runs on the 12, 14/15, 19 to provide some low floor operation for wheelchair users and to provide better competition on routes that Stagecoach competed on the main corridor.

566 must be coming the end of its life and must be a candidate for withdrawal when Scotland East undoubtedly receives more Aberdeen cast off B10BLEs when the Wright Streetlites are delivered later in the financial year.

May 5, 2014 - The building was built in 1913 by local hotelier, politician and businessman William Henry Sheppard, a former mayor of Strathcona, after he had purchased land in Groat Estates to expand his brewery company. Chicago architect Bernard Barthel was hired to design the building, who had built a reputation for designing breweries modelled on the castles of his German homeland. The building cost $250,000 to construct.

The brewery was sold to Fritz Sick of Lethbridge in 1927, and acquired by Molson in 1958.

In 1961, the company built a decorative building meant to resemble a fur trade fort in front of the brewery. Named Molson House, it was used as a hospitality lounge to entertain customers.[1] In April 2008, Molson-Coors, the owner of the site, offered to give the building away to any organization that would pay to move it off the property. The building was dismantled and moved in 2011 after it was bought by an anonymous Edmonton family.

Molson closed the brewery in August 2007 due to an ongoing worker's strike, the shift in consumer preferences from bottled to canned beer and the company’s loss of a contract to brew the Foster's Group brand. As a result of the closure, 136 people were laid off.

Currently, there are plans to redevelop the site that will integrate the former brewery with residential, retail and commercial space.

- source: wikipedia

Paimpont forest, also known as Brocéliande, is in the French commune of Paimpont, near the city of Rennes in Brittany. As Brocéliande it had a reputation in the Medieval imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It is the setting of a number of adventures in Arthurian legend, notably Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and locals claim the tree in which the Lady of the Lake supposedly imprisoned Merlin can still be seen today. Other legendary places said to lie within the forest include the Val sans Retour, the tomb of Merlin, the Fountain of Youth, and Hotié de Vivianne (castle of the Lady of the Lake). The medieval chronicler Wace visited the forest but left disappointed:

"...I went there in search of marvels; I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool."

For those living close to Paimpont, the Arthurian legend is very strong. Many names in the legend can be translated into Breton or French, for example the name Lancelot translates as "wanderer" or "vagabond" in Breton. There is also a strong influence from the Druids, and all around Brittany are standing stones or alignments, the most famous of which are nearby at Carnac; a group of the alignments at Kerlescan are nicknamed "the soldiers of Arthur."

Paimpont is a forest of broadleaf trees, oaks and beeches mainly, with areas of conifers either inside after clear-felling or on the periphery as transition with the moor, for example towards the west in the sector of Tréhorenteuc and the Val-sans-Retour (= Valley of no Return) which was devastated by several fires in particular in 1976, a year of great drought. It occupies mainly the territory of the commune of Paimpont, but extends to bordering communes, mainly Guer and Beignon in the south, Saint-Péran in the northeast, and Concoret in north. The forest of Paimpont is the largest remnant of an ancient forest occupying Argoat, the interior region of Brittany. It was more often called the forest of Brécélien, but its ancient character and other qualities underlined by many authors decided on its name of "forest of Brocéliande," tallying of the adventures of the legend of the Round Table. This flattering designation was reinforced by the birth of the Pays de Brocéliande at the end of the 20th century, an institution intended to facilitate the development of the communes of the west of the département.

The relative altitude of the forested massif contributes to give it a climate close to the oceanic climate of the coasts of Finistere. This mode, where west and south-west winds carry of clouds and regular rain supports the vegetation, dominates. The surplus of water feeds the many brooks occupying the bottoms of small valleys before flowing into the river Aff, then the Vilaine, to the area around Redon in the south of the department. The highest point is at 256 m in the western part called Haute forêt. Altitude decreases regularly while offering viewpoints towards the department of Morbihan; viewpoints which one finds the equivalents in the north on the commune of Mauron, port of the Côtes-d'Armor. It is not far from there that the Paimpont Biological Station of the University of Rennes 1, built in 1966 and 1967, dominates the lake of Chatenay. The varied forest and its surroundings constitute a framework favorable to many training courses in which the Rennes 1 biology students as well as foreign researchers take part. These buildings can accommodate approximately 70 people, and researchers work all the year on subjects generally very far away from the local biotope such as behavior of primates, represented by Cercopithecus, whose cries are familiar for the area but surprising to the walker little accustomed to this exotic fauna. The first researchers lengthily studied the ecology of the Armorican moors, the grounds, and the hydrology.

The forest belongs mainly to owners who maintain it and exploit it for timber and hunting; only in the north-eastern part, a small part (10%) is "domanial" and is managed by the National Forestry Commission. This situation prevents freedom of movement in the forest even with the access to the borough and its pond. The owners, however, signed a convention authorizing, from April 1 to the end of September, the use of some hiking trails in the forest. Among the responsibilities of the forest guards are watching for behaviors that threaten the forest, its flora, and its fauna. For example, behaviors that pose the risk of fire, and those that endanger the game, like dogs running loose. The gathering of mushrooms is not absolutely prohibited, but it is only tolerated near the approved trails. Because of its importance before the French Revolution, the forest was the responsibility of a royal jurisdiction called the National Forestry Commission, as the traditional jurisdictions of the seigneurs did not occupying itself with forest management. The wood was excessively exploited for the power supply of the charcoal blast furnaces for the nearby industry, at least in the 17th and 18th centuries; the assignment of the trees of first choice to the navy was a marginal role.

An extract of the files of the correctional court of Montfort:

"Having left the forging mills of Paimpont on Monday morning, he passed by the workshop of the carpenter who was far away from the forging mills but in the middle of the forest, he drank there with Julien Auffray his cousin and foreman of the carpenters." (Foreman of the carpenters and sawyers on contract to the naval yards elsewhere). Auffray interrogation, 1826.

The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of Great Britain, especially those focused on King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The 12th century French poet Jean Bodel created the name in the following lines of his epic Chanson de Saisnes:

Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant,

De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.

The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the "matter of Rome", and the tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "matter of France". While Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, other lesser-known legendary history of Great Britain, including the stories of Brutus of Britain, Old King Cole, King Lear, and Gogmagog, is also included in the Matter of Britain: see Legendary Kings of the Britons.

Legendary history of Britain

It could be said that the legendary history of Britain was created in part to form a body of patriotic myth for the island. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature.

The Historia Britonum, the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Britain, may have been devised to create a distinguished genealogy for a number of Welsh princes in the 9th century. Traditionally attributed to Nennius, its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to the diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War, and thus provided raw material which later mythographers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Michael Drayton, and John Milton could draw upon, linking the settlement of Britain to the heroic age of Greek literature, for their several and diverse literary purposes. As such, this material could be used for patriotic mythmaking just as Virgil linked the mythical founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid. Geoffrey of Monmouth also introduced the fanciful claim that the Trinovantes, reported by Tacitus as dwelling in the area of London, had a name he interpreted as Troi-novant, "New Troy".

More speculative claims link Celtic mythology with several of the rulers and incidents compiled by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniæ. It has been suggested, for instance, that Leir of Britain, who later became Shakespeare's King Lear, was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr (see also the Irish sea-god Lir). Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron (cf. the Irish goddess Mórrígan). Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century, and have been questioned in more recent years.

William Shakespeare seems to have been deeply interested in the legendary history of Britain, and to have been familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline. It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material, and perhaps directed him to read Geoffrey of Monmouth[citation needed]. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth. A Welsh schoolmaster appears as the character Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Other early authors also drew from the early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots, for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Picts and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabhran especially incorporates elements of both those histories.

The Arthurian cycle

"Parsifal before the Castle of the Grail" - inspired by Richard Wagner's Opera Parsifal - painted in Weimar Germany 1928 by Hans Werner Schmidt (1859-1950)

The Arthurian literary cycle is the best known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot, usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail; some succeed (Galahad, Percival), and others fail (Lancelot).

The medieval tale of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love, such as Lancelot and Guinevere, or Tristan and Iseult. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, early twentieth century reconstructed versions.

Additionally, it is possible to read the Arthurian literature in general, and that concerned with the Grail tradition in particular, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth (a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others).

Sources wikipedia

Paimpont forest, also known as Brocéliande, is in the French commune of Paimpont, near the city of Rennes in Brittany. As Brocéliande it had a reputation in the Medieval imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It is the setting of a number of adventures in Arthurian legend, notably Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and locals claim the tree in which the Lady of the Lake supposedly imprisoned Merlin can still be seen today. Other legendary places said to lie within the forest include the Val sans Retour, the tomb of Merlin, the Fountain of Youth, and Hotié de Vivianne (castle of the Lady of the Lake). The medieval chronicler Wace visited the forest but left disappointed:

"...I went there in search of marvels; I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool."

For those living close to Paimpont, the Arthurian legend is very strong. Many names in the legend can be translated into Breton or French, for example the name Lancelot translates as "wanderer" or "vagabond" in Breton. There is also a strong influence from the Druids, and all around Brittany are standing stones or alignments, the most famous of which are nearby at Carnac; a group of the alignments at Kerlescan are nicknamed "the soldiers of Arthur."

Paimpont is a forest of broadleaf trees, oaks and beeches mainly, with areas of conifers either inside after clear-felling or on the periphery as transition with the moor, for example towards the west in the sector of Tréhorenteuc and the Val-sans-Retour (= Valley of no Return) which was devastated by several fires in particular in 1976, a year of great drought. It occupies mainly the territory of the commune of Paimpont, but extends to bordering communes, mainly Guer and Beignon in the south, Saint-Péran in the northeast, and Concoret in north. The forest of Paimpont is the largest remnant of an ancient forest occupying Argoat, the interior region of Brittany. It was more often called the forest of Brécélien, but its ancient character and other qualities underlined by many authors decided on its name of "forest of Brocéliande," tallying of the adventures of the legend of the Round Table. This flattering designation was reinforced by the birth of the Pays de Brocéliande at the end of the 20th century, an institution intended to facilitate the development of the communes of the west of the département.

The relative altitude of the forested massif contributes to give it a climate close to the oceanic climate of the coasts of Finistere. This mode, where west and south-west winds carry of clouds and regular rain supports the vegetation, dominates. The surplus of water feeds the many brooks occupying the bottoms of small valleys before flowing into the river Aff, then the Vilaine, to the area around Redon in the south of the department. The highest point is at 256 m in the western part called Haute forêt. Altitude decreases regularly while offering viewpoints towards the department of Morbihan; viewpoints which one finds the equivalents in the north on the commune of Mauron, port of the Côtes-d'Armor. It is not far from there that the Paimpont Biological Station of the University of Rennes 1, built in 1966 and 1967, dominates the lake of Chatenay. The varied forest and its surroundings constitute a framework favorable to many training courses in which the Rennes 1 biology students as well as foreign researchers take part. These buildings can accommodate approximately 70 people, and researchers work all the year on subjects generally very far away from the local biotope such as behavior of primates, represented by Cercopithecus, whose cries are familiar for the area but surprising to the walker little accustomed to this exotic fauna. The first researchers lengthily studied the ecology of the Armorican moors, the grounds, and the hydrology.

The forest belongs mainly to owners who maintain it and exploit it for timber and hunting; only in the north-eastern part, a small part (10%) is "domanial" and is managed by the National Forestry Commission. This situation prevents freedom of movement in the forest even with the access to the borough and its pond. The owners, however, signed a convention authorizing, from April 1 to the end of September, the use of some hiking trails in the forest. Among the responsibilities of the forest guards are watching for behaviors that threaten the forest, its flora, and its fauna. For example, behaviors that pose the risk of fire, and those that endanger the game, like dogs running loose. The gathering of mushrooms is not absolutely prohibited, but it is only tolerated near the approved trails. Because of its importance before the French Revolution, the forest was the responsibility of a royal jurisdiction called the National Forestry Commission, as the traditional jurisdictions of the seigneurs did not occupying itself with forest management. The wood was excessively exploited for the power supply of the charcoal blast furnaces for the nearby industry, at least in the 17th and 18th centuries; the assignment of the trees of first choice to the navy was a marginal role.

An extract of the files of the correctional court of Montfort:

"Having left the forging mills of Paimpont on Monday morning, he passed by the workshop of the carpenter who was far away from the forging mills but in the middle of the forest, he drank there with Julien Auffray his cousin and foreman of the carpenters." (Foreman of the carpenters and sawyers on contract to the naval yards elsewhere). Auffray interrogation, 1826.

The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of Great Britain, especially those focused on King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The 12th century French poet Jean Bodel created the name in the following lines of his epic Chanson de Saisnes:

Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant,

De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.

The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the "matter of Rome", and the tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "matter of France". While Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, other lesser-known legendary history of Great Britain, including the stories of Brutus of Britain, Old King Cole, King Lear, and Gogmagog, is also included in the Matter of Britain: see Legendary Kings of the Britons.

Legendary history of Britain

It could be said that the legendary history of Britain was created in part to form a body of patriotic myth for the island. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature.

The Historia Britonum, the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Britain, may have been devised to create a distinguished genealogy for a number of Welsh princes in the 9th century. Traditionally attributed to Nennius, its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to the diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War, and thus provided raw material which later mythographers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Michael Drayton, and John Milton could draw upon, linking the settlement of Britain to the heroic age of Greek literature, for their several and diverse literary purposes. As such, this material could be used for patriotic mythmaking just as Virgil linked the mythical founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid. Geoffrey of Monmouth also introduced the fanciful claim that the Trinovantes, reported by Tacitus as dwelling in the area of London, had a name he interpreted as Troi-novant, "New Troy".

More speculative claims link Celtic mythology with several of the rulers and incidents compiled by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniæ. It has been suggested, for instance, that Leir of Britain, who later became Shakespeare's King Lear, was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr (see also the Irish sea-god Lir). Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron (cf. the Irish goddess Mórrígan). Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century, and have been questioned in more recent years.

William Shakespeare seems to have been deeply interested in the legendary history of Britain, and to have been familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline. It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material, and perhaps directed him to read Geoffrey of Monmouth[citation needed]. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth. A Welsh schoolmaster appears as the character Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Other early authors also drew from the early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots, for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Picts and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabhran especially incorporates elements of both those histories.

The Arthurian cycle

"Parsifal before the Castle of the Grail" - inspired by Richard Wagner's Opera Parsifal - painted in Weimar Germany 1928 by Hans Werner Schmidt (1859-1950)

The Arthurian literary cycle is the best known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot, usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail; some succeed (Galahad, Percival), and others fail (Lancelot).

The medieval tale of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love, such as Lancelot and Guinevere, or Tristan and Iseult. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, early twentieth century reconstructed versions.

Additionally, it is possible to read the Arthurian literature in general, and that concerned with the Grail tradition in particular, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth (a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others).

Sources wikipedia

Paimpont forest, also known as Brocéliande, is in the French commune of Paimpont, near the city of Rennes in Brittany. As Brocéliande it had a reputation in the Medieval imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It is the setting of a number of adventures in Arthurian legend, notably Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and locals claim the tree in which the Lady of the Lake supposedly imprisoned Merlin can still be seen today. Other legendary places said to lie within the forest include the Val sans Retour, the tomb of Merlin, the Fountain of Youth, and Hotié de Vivianne (castle of the Lady of the Lake). The medieval chronicler Wace visited the forest but left disappointed:

"...I went there in search of marvels; I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool."

For those living close to Paimpont, the Arthurian legend is very strong. Many names in the legend can be translated into Breton or French, for example the name Lancelot translates as "wanderer" or "vagabond" in Breton. There is also a strong influence from the Druids, and all around Brittany are standing stones or alignments, the most famous of which are nearby at Carnac; a group of the alignments at Kerlescan are nicknamed "the soldiers of Arthur."

Paimpont is a forest of broadleaf trees, oaks and beeches mainly, with areas of conifers either inside after clear-felling or on the periphery as transition with the moor, for example towards the west in the sector of Tréhorenteuc and the Val-sans-Retour (= Valley of no Return) which was devastated by several fires in particular in 1976, a year of great drought. It occupies mainly the territory of the commune of Paimpont, but extends to bordering communes, mainly Guer and Beignon in the south, Saint-Péran in the northeast, and Concoret in north. The forest of Paimpont is the largest remnant of an ancient forest occupying Argoat, the interior region of Brittany. It was more often called the forest of Brécélien, but its ancient character and other qualities underlined by many authors decided on its name of "forest of Brocéliande," tallying of the adventures of the legend of the Round Table. This flattering designation was reinforced by the birth of the Pays de Brocéliande at the end of the 20th century, an institution intended to facilitate the development of the communes of the west of the département.

The relative altitude of the forested massif contributes to give it a climate close to the oceanic climate of the coasts of Finistere. This mode, where west and south-west winds carry of clouds and regular rain supports the vegetation, dominates. The surplus of water feeds the many brooks occupying the bottoms of small valleys before flowing into the river Aff, then the Vilaine, to the area around Redon in the south of the department. The highest point is at 256 m in the western part called Haute forêt. Altitude decreases regularly while offering viewpoints towards the department of Morbihan; viewpoints which one finds the equivalents in the north on the commune of Mauron, port of the Côtes-d'Armor. It is not far from there that the Paimpont Biological Station of the University of Rennes 1, built in 1966 and 1967, dominates the lake of Chatenay. The varied forest and its surroundings constitute a framework favorable to many training courses in which the Rennes 1 biology students as well as foreign researchers take part. These buildings can accommodate approximately 70 people, and researchers work all the year on subjects generally very far away from the local biotope such as behavior of primates, represented by Cercopithecus, whose cries are familiar for the area but surprising to the walker little accustomed to this exotic fauna. The first researchers lengthily studied the ecology of the Armorican moors, the grounds, and the hydrology.

The forest belongs mainly to owners who maintain it and exploit it for timber and hunting; only in the north-eastern part, a small part (10%) is "domanial" and is managed by the National Forestry Commission. This situation prevents freedom of movement in the forest even with the access to the borough and its pond. The owners, however, signed a convention authorizing, from April 1 to the end of September, the use of some hiking trails in the forest. Among the responsibilities of the forest guards are watching for behaviors that threaten the forest, its flora, and its fauna. For example, behaviors that pose the risk of fire, and those that endanger the game, like dogs running loose. The gathering of mushrooms is not absolutely prohibited, but it is only tolerated near the approved trails. Because of its importance before the French Revolution, the forest was the responsibility of a royal jurisdiction called the National Forestry Commission, as the traditional jurisdictions of the seigneurs did not occupying itself with forest management. The wood was excessively exploited for the power supply of the charcoal blast furnaces for the nearby industry, at least in the 17th and 18th centuries; the assignment of the trees of first choice to the navy was a marginal role.

An extract of the files of the correctional court of Montfort:

"Having left the forging mills of Paimpont on Monday morning, he passed by the workshop of the carpenter who was far away from the forging mills but in the middle of the forest, he drank there with Julien Auffray his cousin and foreman of the carpenters." (Foreman of the carpenters and sawyers on contract to the naval yards elsewhere). Auffray interrogation, 1826.

The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of Great Britain, especially those focused on King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The 12th century French poet Jean Bodel created the name in the following lines of his epic Chanson de Saisnes:

Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant,

De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.

The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the "matter of Rome", and the tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "matter of France". While Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, other lesser-known legendary history of Great Britain, including the stories of Brutus of Britain, Old King Cole, King Lear, and Gogmagog, is also included in the Matter of Britain: see Legendary Kings of the Britons.

Legendary history of Britain

It could be said that the legendary history of Britain was created in part to form a body of patriotic myth for the island. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature.

The Historia Britonum, the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Britain, may have been devised to create a distinguished genealogy for a number of Welsh princes in the 9th century. Traditionally attributed to Nennius, its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to the diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War, and thus provided raw material which later mythographers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Michael Drayton, and John Milton could draw upon, linking the settlement of Britain to the heroic age of Greek literature, for their several and diverse literary purposes. As such, this material could be used for patriotic mythmaking just as Virgil linked the mythical founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid. Geoffrey of Monmouth also introduced the fanciful claim that the Trinovantes, reported by Tacitus as dwelling in the area of London, had a name he interpreted as Troi-novant, "New Troy".

More speculative claims link Celtic mythology with several of the rulers and incidents compiled by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniæ. It has been suggested, for instance, that Leir of Britain, who later became Shakespeare's King Lear, was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr (see also the Irish sea-god Lir). Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron (cf. the Irish goddess Mórrígan). Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century, and have been questioned in more recent years.

William Shakespeare seems to have been deeply interested in the legendary history of Britain, and to have been familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline. It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material, and perhaps directed him to read Geoffrey of Monmouth[citation needed]. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth. A Welsh schoolmaster appears as the character Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Other early authors also drew from the early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots, for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Picts and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabhran especially incorporates elements of both those histories.

The Arthurian cycle

"Parsifal before the Castle of the Grail" - inspired by Richard Wagner's Opera Parsifal - painted in Weimar Germany 1928 by Hans Werner Schmidt (1859-1950)

The Arthurian literary cycle is the best known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot, usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail; some succeed (Galahad, Percival), and others fail (Lancelot).

The medieval tale of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love, such as Lancelot and Guinevere, or Tristan and Iseult. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, early twentieth century reconstructed versions.

Additionally, it is possible to read the Arthurian literature in general, and that concerned with the Grail tradition in particular, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth (a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others).

Sources wikipedia

People seem to love or hate Taylor Swift. There is nothing in between with her. This picture was taken at Target last Friday, (November 10, 2017), just a few hours after her latest album, reputation was released.

Building a reputation strategy. Reviews sites are going social

Modera Giancarlo Carniani - Coordinatore BTO - Buy Tourism Online e Co-Founder BTO Educational

Si è parlato di Reputation e dintorni con un gruppo di personaggi che di questo argomento sono stati in grado di portare un vero contributo. Quindi, reputazione, che vuol dire non solo recensioni......

Bravi, non era facile.

Nel panel:

Michele Aggiato - ZOOVER

Giulia Eremita - TRIVAGO

Roberto Frua - TRIPADVISOR

RJ Friedlander - REVIEWPRO

Georg Ziegler - HOLIDAYCHECK

BTO - BUY TOURISM ONLINE 2010

III^ [ Scintillante ] Edizione

18-19 Novembre 2010

Stazione Leopolda – Firenze

www.buytourismonline.com

Il programma scientifico della III^ Edizione di BTO - Buy Tourism Online è stato affidato alle amorevoli cure di BTO Educational

www.btoeducational.it

Tutto in SOLD OUT

2.911 i partecipanti, 44 relatori, 42 FREE Training Session con 2.810 partecipanti, 112 giornalisti accredidati, 60 tra Bloggers e Evangelists 2.0, 4 Televisioni impegnate durante l'evento, i media partners Wired.it e intoscana.it, grazie grazie a ObiettivoTre, al MarketPlace 38 Portali Online, al Club degli Espositori 39 aziende, l'hashtag più twittato in Italia il 18 e 19 Novembre #bto2010, la diretta più seguita al mondo Giovedì 18 Novembre su Livestream.com BTO - Buy Tourism Online 2010 Day ONE, la diretta più seguita al mondo il Venerdì 19 Novembre su Livestream.com BTO - Buy Tourism Online 2010 Day TWO, i minuti su Livestream.com visti dalla somma degli utenti durante il live streaming dell'evento 965.420, dibattiti, keynote e interviste registrate in Main Hall 17 ore.

A big big special thanks to Roberta Milano.

La più ammirata Monica Fabris, il più saggio Rodolfo Baggio, il miglior inglese parlato quello di Giulia Eremita, la più fastidiosa Costanza G., la più canticchiata Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint, la più tedesca Renate Goergen, il più inglese Jerome Touze, il più americano Josiah Mackenzie, la più gradita sorpresa gli amici di Web [Travel] Marketing, quello con più tesi Gianluca Diegoli, il più gradito ritorno Patrick Landman, i più coraggiosi i 6 Speakers per un Giorno, il più diretto Claudio Velardi, i più "complicati" gli amici di Zoes.it, il più in tutto Max Ulivieri, il più e basta Marco Monty Montemagno, il più amato da tutti Paolo Iabichino aka IABicus, il più "cattivo" Roberto Frua - TripAdvisor, il più buono Max Ventimiglia, la più dolce Elena Tubaro, il più ermetico Roberto Brenner - Google, il rubino più prezioso [ per noi di BTO Educational ] Elena Grassi - Expedia, quello sempre con l'ipad Mirko Lalli, la Blogger sempre più "famosa" Nelli, il più straordinario Professor Dimitrios Buhails, il più fotografato Matteo Renzi, il più bravo tappabuchi Paolo Chiappini, i più social i Bloggers, chi c'è mancato di più il cartello We Love Internet, il più bevuto caffè quello della Casa del Moka, i più tecnici Expomeeting, i più pazienti e disponibili i ragazzi e le ragazze del Prof. Eliodoro, il più appetitoso Lo Scalco, i più straordinariamente professionali i Crews, le Training più affollate Augmendy, Zoover e Google Advanced......

www.WorldSustainability.Org

www.RepublicOfConscience.com

www.SustainabilitySymbol.com

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Show your courage, commitment and support – Send us a 3 Finger Photo of yourself, and a brief explanation of your skills and how you want to use your skills to create a Caring Currency for a better world. Don’t forget to smile_\!/

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Building a reputation strategy. Reviews sites are going social

Modera Giancarlo Carniani - Coordinatore BTO - Buy Tourism Online e Co-Founder BTO Educational

Si è parlato di Reputation e dintorni con un gruppo di personaggi che di questo argomento sono stati in grado di portare un vero contributo. Quindi, reputazione, che vuol dire non solo recensioni......

Bravi, non era facile.

Nel panel:

Michele Aggiato - ZOOVER

Giulia Eremita - TRIVAGO

Roberto Frua - TRIPADVISOR

RJ Friedlander - REVIEWPRO

Georg Ziegler - HOLIDAYCHECK

BTO - BUY TOURISM ONLINE 2010

III^ [ Scintillante ] Edizione

18-19 Novembre 2010

Stazione Leopolda – Firenze

www.buytourismonline.com

Il programma scientifico della III^ Edizione di BTO - Buy Tourism Online è stato affidato alle amorevoli cure di BTO Educational

www.btoeducational.it

Tutto in SOLD OUT

2.911 i partecipanti, 44 relatori, 42 FREE Training Session con 2.810 partecipanti, 112 giornalisti accredidati, 60 tra Bloggers e Evangelists 2.0, 4 Televisioni impegnate durante l'evento, i media partners Wired.it e intoscana.it, grazie grazie a ObiettivoTre, al MarketPlace 38 Portali Online, al Club degli Espositori 39 aziende, l'hashtag più twittato in Italia il 18 e 19 Novembre #bto2010, la diretta più seguita al mondo Giovedì 18 Novembre su Livestream.com BTO - Buy Tourism Online 2010 Day ONE, la diretta più seguita al mondo il Venerdì 19 Novembre su Livestream.com BTO - Buy Tourism Online 2010 Day TWO, i minuti su Livestream.com visti dalla somma degli utenti durante il live streaming dell'evento 965.420, dibattiti, keynote e interviste registrate in Main Hall 17 ore.

A big big special thanks to Roberta Milano.

La più ammirata Monica Fabris, il più saggio Rodolfo Baggio, il miglior inglese parlato quello di Giulia Eremita, la più fastidiosa Costanza G., la più canticchiata Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint, la più tedesca Renate Goergen, il più inglese Jerome Touze, il più americano Josiah Mackenzie, la più gradita sorpresa gli amici di Web [Travel] Marketing, quello con più tesi Gianluca Diegoli, il più gradito ritorno Patrick Landman, i più coraggiosi i 6 Speakers per un Giorno, il più diretto Claudio Velardi, i più "complicati" gli amici di Zoes.it, il più in tutto Max Ulivieri, il più e basta Marco Monty Montemagno, il più amato da tutti Paolo Iabichino aka IABicus, il più "cattivo" Roberto Frua - TripAdvisor, il più buono Max Ventimiglia, la più dolce Elena Tubaro, il più ermetico Roberto Brenner - Google, il rubino più prezioso [ per noi di BTO Educational ] Elena Grassi - Expedia, quello sempre con l'ipad Mirko Lalli, la Blogger sempre più "famosa" Nelli, il più straordinario Professor Dimitrios Buhails, il più fotografato Matteo Renzi, il più bravo tappabuchi Paolo Chiappini, i più social i Bloggers, chi c'è mancato di più il cartello We Love Internet, il più bevuto caffè quello della Casa del Moka, i più tecnici Expomeeting, i più pazienti e disponibili i ragazzi e le ragazze del Prof. Eliodoro, il più appetitoso Lo Scalco, i più straordinariamente professionali i Crews, le Training più affollate Augmendy, Zoover e Google Advanced......

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Founded during the Gallo-Roman period, the citadel derives its reputation from its 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long double surrounding walls interspersed by 52 towers.[1] The town has about 2,500 years of history and has been occupied in different ages by Romans, Visigoths, Saracens, and Crusaders. At the beginning of its history it was a Gaulish settlement then in the 3rd century A.D., the Romans decided to transform it into a fortified town.[2] The Roman defences were in place by 333 AD, when the town is described as a castellum. The original walls were supported by between 34 and 40 towers, spaced from 18 to 30 metres apart along the curtain wall. Each tower was semicircular in plan and about 14 metres tall. There were probably 40 main entrances to the town.

The Gallo-Roman walls were rebuilt during the town's occupation by the Visigoths in the 5th and 6th centuries, but the original structure remained in place.

Bernard Aton IV Trencavel, vicomte of Albi, Nîmes, and Béziers, introduced a period of prosperity for the city with numerous construction projects. During this period, a new sect known as Catharism sprang up in Languedoc. In 1096, the vicomte of Trencavel authorized the construction of the basilica of Saint-Nazaire with the blessing of Pope Urban II. In 1107, the citizens rejected his sovereignty and called on Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona to remove him. However, with the help of Bertrand, Count of Toulouse, Bernard Aton regains control of the Cité. In 1120, there is a second revolt, but Bernard Aton re-establishes order a few years later. In 1130, he starts construction of a palace for himself and restoration of the Gallo-Roman fortifications. The Cité of Carcassonne is surrounded by a complete fortification for the first time..

At this time, the city has a large population of 3 to 4 thousand, including the residents of the two settlements below the walls of the Cité: the bourg Saint-Vincent on the north, and the bourg Saint-Michel south of the Narbon gate.

In 1208, Pope Innocent III calls on the barons of the north to mount a crusade against the Cathars, beginning the Albigensian Crusade. The Count of Toulouse, accused of heresy, and his principal vassal, the Vicomte of Trencavel, are the main target of this attack. On 1 August 1209, the Cité is besieged by the crusaders. Raimond-Roger Trencavel surrenders quickly on the 15th of August in exchange for the lives of the citizens. The town around the Cité is destroyed, and the citizens driven out. The vicomte dies of dysentery in his own chateau on 10 November 1209.

His lands are given to Simon de Montfort, the leader of the crusaders. When he dies in 1218 at the siege of Toulouse, his son, Amaury de Montfort, takes possession of the Cité, but is unable to maintain it. He cedes it to Louis VIII of France, but Raymond VII of Toulouse and the counts of Foix ally themselves against him. In 1224, Raimond II Trencavel retakes the Cité. However, Louis VIII launches another crusade in 1226. From that time forth, the Cité becomes a royal domain. A period of terror ensues, with numerous massacres and the Inquisition.

After 1226, an additional line of fortifications was added outside of the Roman walls. The town was finally annexed to the kingdom of France in 1247 A.D. It provided a strong French frontier between France and the Crown of Aragon. During this period, the inner, Roman walls were largely demolished and replaced, while the new outer walls were reinforced and extended to the south. The new towers built during this work were mainly circular, but two were square. Construction continued into the reign of King Philip IV in the early 14th century.[3]

In 1659, after the Treaty of the Pyrenees, the province of Roussillon became a part of France, and the town lost its military significance.[4] Fortifications were abandoned and the town became one of the economic centres of France, concentrating on the woolen textile industry.

In 1849 the French government decided that the city fortifications should be demolished. This decision was strongly opposed by the local people. Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille and Prosper Mérimée, an eminent archaeologist and historian, led a campaign to preserve the fortress as a historical monument. The government later reversed its decision and in 1853 restoration work began. The architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was charged with renovating the fortress.[5] Viollet-le-Duc's work was criticised during his lifetime as inappropriate to the

Image from Global Bitcoin Summit, Beijing:

First introduction of the Caring Currency -

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Ecosystem?

We live in ecosystems - Cultural, Financial and Environmental…they’re all related and interdependent. Actually, everything is dependent on our Environmental Ecosystem, because without food, water and air there is no human culture or opportunity to do business and support the human world we’ve created. Caring Currency will fill the gaps and connect the dots, making our lives meaningful.

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Smart people realize that money is only money. You can’t eat or drink it. You can’t have a conversation with it, and as much as we need it and want it, it distorts our perspectives and controls our lives in many negative ways. The pursuit of money alone hurts us and the planet we depend on.

Caring Currency is a financial business on the BLOCKCHAIN – the home of the Republic Of Conscience.

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Hard to define in old terms, nothing comparable to the Republic Of Conscience has existed until the connectivity of the internet and accounting of the BLOCKCHAIN made it possible… Old financial terms and structures that existed prior to the BLOCKCHAIN and Bitcoin – Money, Security, medium of exchange etc. will be naturally updated to freely serve people around the world in new ways.

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With a variety of fun coin names like KuaiLeBi (Happy Coin) and DUCKeCOIN, Caring Currency is (1.) first meant to bring light-hearted fun and smiles to people’s faces and make their lives and relationships happier, and (2.) secondly, exercise the practice of giving back to society, building generosity, social cohesion and harmony. (3.) Thirdly, give the masses practical, technical experience with virtualcurrency, wallets and transferring values through the BLOCKCHAIN.

INVESTMENT

What is most important to you? Money or Friends?

I have a question for you… can you buy friends?

Some people think they can, but the quality of those friendships are always very poor.

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HOW YOU CAN LEAD A HAPPIER, HEALTHIER, MORE MEANINGFUL LIFE

Take CARE of yourself,

Invest in yourself…

YOUR NETWORK - Join the leaders of the new world based on the BLOCKCHAIN...

YOUR EXPERTISE – the BLOCKCHAIN is less than 5 years old, you know more than most people!

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We are developing a new way to “buy friends” and gain respect – winning their hearts and minds through appreciation and “gifting” through the Caring Currency ecosystem.

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Show your courage, commitment and support – Send us a 3 Finger Photo of yourself, and a brief explanation of your skills and how you want to use your skills to create a Caring Currency for a better world. Don’t forget to smile_\!/

Paimpont forest, also known as Brocéliande, is in the French commune of Paimpont, near the city of Rennes in Brittany. As Brocéliande it had a reputation in the Medieval imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It is the setting of a number of adventures in Arthurian legend, notably Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and locals claim the tree in which the Lady of the Lake supposedly imprisoned Merlin can still be seen today. Other legendary places said to lie within the forest include the Val sans Retour, the tomb of Merlin, the Fountain of Youth, and Hotié de Vivianne (castle of the Lady of the Lake). The medieval chronicler Wace visited the forest but left disappointed:

"...I went there in search of marvels; I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool."

For those living close to Paimpont, the Arthurian legend is very strong. Many names in the legend can be translated into Breton or French, for example the name Lancelot translates as "wanderer" or "vagabond" in Breton. There is also a strong influence from the Druids, and all around Brittany are standing stones or alignments, the most famous of which are nearby at Carnac; a group of the alignments at Kerlescan are nicknamed "the soldiers of Arthur."

Paimpont is a forest of broadleaf trees, oaks and beeches mainly, with areas of conifers either inside after clear-felling or on the periphery as transition with the moor, for example towards the west in the sector of Tréhorenteuc and the Val-sans-Retour (= Valley of no Return) which was devastated by several fires in particular in 1976, a year of great drought. It occupies mainly the territory of the commune of Paimpont, but extends to bordering communes, mainly Guer and Beignon in the south, Saint-Péran in the northeast, and Concoret in north. The forest of Paimpont is the largest remnant of an ancient forest occupying Argoat, the interior region of Brittany. It was more often called the forest of Brécélien, but its ancient character and other qualities underlined by many authors decided on its name of "forest of Brocéliande," tallying of the adventures of the legend of the Round Table. This flattering designation was reinforced by the birth of the Pays de Brocéliande at the end of the 20th century, an institution intended to facilitate the development of the communes of the west of the département.

The relative altitude of the forested massif contributes to give it a climate close to the oceanic climate of the coasts of Finistere. This mode, where west and south-west winds carry of clouds and regular rain supports the vegetation, dominates. The surplus of water feeds the many brooks occupying the bottoms of small valleys before flowing into the river Aff, then the Vilaine, to the area around Redon in the south of the department. The highest point is at 256 m in the western part called Haute forêt. Altitude decreases regularly while offering viewpoints towards the department of Morbihan; viewpoints which one finds the equivalents in the north on the commune of Mauron, port of the Côtes-d'Armor. It is not far from there that the Paimpont Biological Station of the University of Rennes 1, built in 1966 and 1967, dominates the lake of Chatenay. The varied forest and its surroundings constitute a framework favorable to many training courses in which the Rennes 1 biology students as well as foreign researchers take part. These buildings can accommodate approximately 70 people, and researchers work all the year on subjects generally very far away from the local biotope such as behavior of primates, represented by Cercopithecus, whose cries are familiar for the area but surprising to the walker little accustomed to this exotic fauna. The first researchers lengthily studied the ecology of the Armorican moors, the grounds, and the hydrology.

The forest belongs mainly to owners who maintain it and exploit it for timber and hunting; only in the north-eastern part, a small part (10%) is "domanial" and is managed by the National Forestry Commission. This situation prevents freedom of movement in the forest even with the access to the borough and its pond. The owners, however, signed a convention authorizing, from April 1 to the end of September, the use of some hiking trails in the forest. Among the responsibilities of the forest guards are watching for behaviors that threaten the forest, its flora, and its fauna. For example, behaviors that pose the risk of fire, and those that endanger the game, like dogs running loose. The gathering of mushrooms is not absolutely prohibited, but it is only tolerated near the approved trails. Because of its importance before the French Revolution, the forest was the responsibility of a royal jurisdiction called the National Forestry Commission, as the traditional jurisdictions of the seigneurs did not occupying itself with forest management. The wood was excessively exploited for the power supply of the charcoal blast furnaces for the nearby industry, at least in the 17th and 18th centuries; the assignment of the trees of first choice to the navy was a marginal role.

An extract of the files of the correctional court of Montfort:

"Having left the forging mills of Paimpont on Monday morning, he passed by the workshop of the carpenter who was far away from the forging mills but in the middle of the forest, he drank there with Julien Auffray his cousin and foreman of the carpenters." (Foreman of the carpenters and sawyers on contract to the naval yards elsewhere). Auffray interrogation, 1826.

The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of Great Britain, especially those focused on King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The 12th century French poet Jean Bodel created the name in the following lines of his epic Chanson de Saisnes:

Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant,

De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant.

The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the "matter of Rome", and the tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "matter of France". While Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, other lesser-known legendary history of Great Britain, including the stories of Brutus of Britain, Old King Cole, King Lear, and Gogmagog, is also included in the Matter of Britain: see Legendary Kings of the Britons.

Legendary history of Britain

It could be said that the legendary history of Britain was created in part to form a body of patriotic myth for the island. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature.

The Historia Britonum, the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Britain, may have been devised to create a distinguished genealogy for a number of Welsh princes in the 9th century. Traditionally attributed to Nennius, its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to the diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War, and thus provided raw material which later mythographers such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Michael Drayton, and John Milton could draw upon, linking the settlement of Britain to the heroic age of Greek literature, for their several and diverse literary purposes. As such, this material could be used for patriotic mythmaking just as Virgil linked the mythical founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid. Geoffrey of Monmouth also introduced the fanciful claim that the Trinovantes, reported by Tacitus as dwelling in the area of London, had a name he interpreted as Troi-novant, "New Troy".

More speculative claims link Celtic mythology with several of the rulers and incidents compiled by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniæ. It has been suggested, for instance, that Leir of Britain, who later became Shakespeare's King Lear, was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr (see also the Irish sea-god Lir). Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron (cf. the Irish goddess Mórrígan). Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century, and have been questioned in more recent years.

William Shakespeare seems to have been deeply interested in the legendary history of Britain, and to have been familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline. It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material, and perhaps directed him to read Geoffrey of Monmouth[citation needed]. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth. A Welsh schoolmaster appears as the character Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Other early authors also drew from the early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots, for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Picts and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabhran especially incorporates elements of both those histories.

The Arthurian cycle

"Parsifal before the Castle of the Grail" - inspired by Richard Wagner's Opera Parsifal - painted in Weimar Germany 1928 by Hans Werner Schmidt (1859-1950)

The Arthurian literary cycle is the best known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot, usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail; some succeed (Galahad, Percival), and others fail (Lancelot).

The medieval tale of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love, such as Lancelot and Guinevere, or Tristan and Iseult. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, early twentieth century reconstructed versions.

Additionally, it is possible to read the Arthurian literature in general, and that concerned with the Grail tradition in particular, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth (a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others).

Sources wikipedia

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