View allAll Photos Tagged Reputation
“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
Abraham Lincoln
Well Daisy, all I can say is that if your biggest concern is what the neighbors might think of you....you DEFINETELY chose the wrong path in life. 😜
Yeah, I know that apron could use a good pressing. But this one isn't on Daisy. We got it that morning, and there wasn't time to put it right. Not to worry...it's all good now. 😉
Chassis n° AV35499
Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais 2020
Bonhams
Parijs - Paris
Frankrijk - France
February 2020
Estimated : € 800.000 - 1.100.000
Sold for € 879.750
Talbot's reputation for producing highly effective competition cars owed a lot to the efforts of the Tolworth based motor dealership and racing preparation specialists, Fox & Nicholl, which looked after the works team from the beginning of 1930 to the end of 1932. The Fox & Nicholl Talbot 90s had dominated the 3-Litre class in prestigious international events such as the Le Mans 24-Hour race, despite displacing only 2.3 litres. For 1931, designer Georges Roesch produced a new car with a full 3-litre engine, which was lighter than its 2.3-litre predecessor and featured much larger valves in a staggered layout, giving improved breathing. This engine was fitted to a lighter and lower chassis, the new model being the AV105.
Famously registered 'GO 51' to 'GO 54' consecutively, the four Fox & Nicholl Talbot 105s enjoyed an outstanding run of successes during the 1931 and 1932 seasons. Highlights of the latter included 1st, 2nd and 3rd in class at the Brooklands 'Double Twelve' in 1931; 3rd overall at Le Mans and 1st un-supercharged car in 1931 and 1932; 1st, 2nd and 3rd in class in the Brooklands 500 in 1931 and 1st and 2nd in 1932; and 1st and 2nd in class at the TT in 1931 and 1932. There was also a glorious failure in the Mille Miglia in 1932 when a lone entry crashed after 900 miles when in 4th place overall.
In addition to its racetrack successes, the AV105 proved to be a formidable rally car. Roesch had always tested his cars in the Alps so it was no surprise when journalist Humfrey Symons borrowed an example to compete in the 1931 Coupe des Alpes (Alpine Rally). He lost no marks and won a Coupe des Glaciers, the highest possible award for a single entry.
The following year a more serious bid was mounted and a team of three tourer-bodied AV105s were prepared for the 1932 event by Fox and Nicholl. These cars were extremely successful, finishing without any penalties, and winning the Coupe des Alpes outright. Another AV105 team, this time with paired down cycle winged four-seater bodies, the famous 'BGH' cars, repeated the feat in 1934. The latter were the ultimate development of the competition Talbot and as such arguably represent the ultimate pre-war British racing sports car. By far the most developed of the three 'BGH' works cars was 'BGH 23' (sold by Bonhams in 2014) and the only other competition car that Talbot built to the same specification was 'AYL 2' offered here.
'AYL 2' was constructed at around the same time as the 'BGH' Alpine cars in 1934. It was ordered new by Dr E J H Roth, who was a leading Harley Street consultant and keen Talbot racer, having previously competed successfully with a 90 at Brooklands. Roth now wanted an even quicker Talbot to challenge for outright wins at the famed Surrey track, and saw the potential in a 'BGH'-style car. As such, the body was to the same general outline as the works Alpine team cars of 1934 but more pared down for track racing, being slightly narrower, with no hood fitted, the area this would normally reside in being panelled over. No windscreen was fitted and initially no passenger's side door, while the specification also included Zeiss headlamps, a Brooklands exhaust system, and André Telecontrol shock absorbers. As such, the car is widely regarded as a semi-works example.
Painted green with matching wheels, 'AYL 2' appeared for the first time at a Brooklands race meeting on 13th October 1934 and was raced by Roth in two races that day. Following this initial visit, Roth continued to race the car successfully at Brooklands, scoring a win in April 1935.
For the 1936 season, with Dr Roth in search of still greater performance and success at the track, 'AYL 2' was up-rated to single-seater specification with a new body manufactured by the famed ERA company of racing voiturette fame. For the BRDC 500-mile race of 1936, the car was prepared with works support to include the installation of the new 3.3-litre 110-type engine. It was driven in this, the most important Brooklands race of the year, by two of the best Brooklands drivers available, Chris Staniland (the 2nd quickest man ever to lap the circuit) and W M 'Mike' Couper. The latter was Talbot's crack 'works' Brooklands driver, famously piloting 'BGH 23' to many successes at the Surrey track. In single-seater form, 'AYL 2' never fulfilled its apparent potential; it is thought this was due to difficult handling caused by poor installation of the rear shock absorbers.
This period of the car's life, when it was fitted with the larger 110 engine, is nevertheless important, since 'AYL 2' is one of only two competition Talbots (the other being 'BGH 23') fitted with this engine in period. As a result, it is eligible today to run this larger and more powerful engine.
When 'AYL 2' was converted to a single-seater, its original sports car body was fitted in 1936 to an almost new Talbot AV105, registration number 'JJ 93'. The body would remain on this car for many years, unmodified apart from the useful addition of a passenger-side door and a windscreen.
In the 1950s, 'AYL 2', by now with its single seater body modified to two-seater configuration (and reregistered as 'JKJ 869' to take advantage of cheaper tax), passed through the trade (see advertisements on file) before being purchased by Arthur Archer, the highly respected Talbot restorer. By this time the original cylinder block was badly damaged; Archer scrapped the block but kept the rest of the car as a potential source of spares. Fortunately Archer never needed the spares and sold the car as a dismantled project to fellow Talbot specialist Ian Polson in 1975. He in turn sold the still dismantled project to John Ward, who rebuilt it using a replica body to the original pattern, as delivered to Dr Roth in 1934. Subsequently, 'AYL 2' was purchased by well-known long-term Talbot collector Nicholas Ward of Northern Ireland, Ward was able to purchase the remaining original parts that Archer had retained, and reunited the car with its original registration number.
Throughout this time the original 1934 team car-style body from 'AYL 2' had remained in good order, fitted to 'JJ 93' as mentioned above. Finally, in 2010, renowned Talbot collector and entrant John Ruston was able to purchase 'AYL 2' from Nicholas Ward and 'JJ 93' from its then owner Paul Wignall. 'AYL 2' was then reunited with its original body, as well as important original components such as road equipment and seats.
While owned by John Ruston and prepared and driven by Gareth Burnett, 'AYL 2' was again hugely successful both on road and track, exactly as its manufacturers had intended, winning two of the most highly regarded pre-war rally and race events: Plateau 1 overall at the Le Mans Classic in 2012 and the prestigious Flying Scotsman rally outright in 2013.
Following brief ownership by well-known German collector Michael Hinderer (who raced the car at the Goodwood Revival in 2015), 'AYL 2' was purchased by the current owner in 2017. A highly successful pre-war rally entrant, he wanted a car that would be equally at home on the rally stages as on the racetrack, and which was eligible for all of the world's great historic motoring events. 'AYL 2' has fitted the bill uniquely well. To ensure the car performed as well as possible, at time of purchase the engine was rebuilt around a new 110 cylinder block by Gareth Burnett. While in the vendor's ownership, the Flying Scotsman rally, Mille Miglia and Le Mans Classic were all completed successfully.
Being a man that likes his cars to drive and present as well as possible, the owner dispatched 'AYL 2' to Talbot specialist I S Polson at the end of the 2018 season with the brief to get the car running and driving on road and track to its very best capabilities. To this end the car was gone through from stem to stern. Works carried out included a complete rewire, top-end engine overhaul, remaking of the floor and associated brackets, re-fitting an original type radiator, re-plumbing the cooling system, rebuilding the seats, re-mounting the body, and overhauling the shock absorbers together with countless other smaller jobs (see invoices on file for circa £80,000). As such, the car only requires final set-up for a new owner to enjoy.
'AYL 2' is only offered for sale because a change in his plans means the owner will not be able to use the car as much as he feels an historic competition car of this quality deserves. A proven winner, this strong and successful post-Vintage thoroughbred is eligible to compete in all the world's best pre-war races and rallies, where its competition record speaks for itself. In the right hands, it is surely a car to be reckoned with, or in less skilled but equally enthusiastic hands, is a ticket for the very best the motoring world has to offer, just as it was for Dr Roth when new. Offered with current FIA HTP papers.
Participants enjoy some relaxing yoga with instructor Anna at the Dowd YMCA's Taylor Swift: Reputation Party.
There was a selection of world famous small common cars shown in the London Science Museum. The first in the row was this Hino which still wears its original Japanese license number here.
It was quite dark in this corner. Therefore this pic isn't sharp.
The Hino Company had a good reputation for their vans, lorries and other utility vehicles. With the 1962-1964 first Contessa they started production of passenger cars.
This 1964-1971 Hino Contessa MK2 was designed by Giovanni Michelotti. It was the first Japanese post-war international body styling commission ever done. Two years later was the launch of the famous 1966-1972 Mazda 1500 Saloon, another great Japanese project of Michelotti.
1251cc water-cooled rear engine,
960 kg.
Production Contessa MK2: 1964-1971.
See also: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/online_science/explore_our_colle...
London, Knightsbridge, Exhibition Road, March 3, 2016.
© 2016 Sander Toonen Amsterdam | All Rights Reserved
“A spy!?! You want me to trust...to rest my reputation on the word of...a spy?” Sir Caelan Munro’s first reaction to his archer’s suggestion had been a mixture of frustration and disgust. But Tavish had wisely pointed out how little they really knew about the Magic Isles, how perilous an amphibious landing was in a strange land, with magic, and the reality of their situation soon set in.
Their assigned expedition leader, Lord Bajads, knew little of the enemy and also showed no interest in discovering anything about their invasion point, the northernmost beach on the Island of Lost Souls. “We can easily defeat anything these Outlaw scum can bring to the fight!” Bajads declared, even though they only had a total of 59 effective soldiers on the roll. As a minor noble clan, the Munro family owed support for the war, so Caelan led a very small force of 15 well-armed men for the King’s call to arms, but they were assigned to follow Lord Bajads and his retinue, like it or not.
Two days later here were Caelan and Tavish at the Bull’s Head Tavern in Durrough Harbor meeting a “reformed Outlaw” turned spy, who would only use the name, “Mort.”
Tavish had found Mort, how he wouldn’t say. The archer was shrewd and crafty, but he had friends in low places to be sure.
Mort had insisted on a public place. “People with somethin’ to hide meet in secret. We’re just havin’ some ale together.”
“Don’t kid yourself,” Caelan stated coldly, “I wouldn’t be seen with you if we didn’t need this information.”
“And I wouldn’t be seen with ye if I didn’t need the money,” Mort replied gulping his ale. “Speakin’ of which, 30 Draken if you please.”
“I don’t please. Try 10.”
Mort stopped, put down his ale and started to walk. Tavish stopped him. “We need this. How about 15 now, and 15 when we get back if the information is good.”
“Ye mean IF ye get back. I know what yer facin’, remember.”
Caelan reluctantly laid 10 Draken on the table and tapped the map. Mort was about to speak when suddenly three Loreesi burst out of the tavern staggering-drunk. One of them was so far gone he stumbled over the first stool he came to, his helmet clanking across the pier. Caelan frowned, glanced at Tavish, who rolled his eyes. They knew each other so well nothing needed to be said. Once the unruly Loreesi had drifted away, Mort spoke one word.
“Valtyr.”
“And what is Valtyr, some kind of dragon?”
“Not a dragon. A wizard,” Mort said in a sinister tone, “Jens Valtyr. The ice wizard.”
Caelan wasn’t impressed. He frowned, and glanced at a column of Lenfels marching to the dock to load up on small boats waiting to ferrying them out to the ships.
“I have heard of fools who pretend to be wizards who couldn’t conjure up a hairball, let alone something harmful.”
Mort leaned forward, very serious, and stated flatly, “Valtyr can turn a man into a block of ice with his own hands. He can give a dozen men bone-chillin’ shiverin’ with just one spell, so they can’t hold onto their weapons. And then his outlaws move in for the easy kill.”
“And how do you know all this?” Caelan asked accusingly. He then watched as Mort pulled back slowly, disconcerted, and unconsciously rubbed the side of his face.
“I would rather not say,” Mort said, and then Caelan noticed scarring on that side of his face, of a type he had seen before on Garheim soldiers. Frostbite.
Tavish leaned forward and placed 5 more Draken in front of the spy, asking, “How do we defeat him?”
Mort laughed, “That metal armor ye got’s no good to yer, for all the money ye spent on it. Wood. Leather, rubbed with fat. And stay light on yer feet, so’s ye can dance away from the spells.” He swallowed the last of his ale, scooping up the money. “15 more if ye get back. Oh, and if ye get lucky, they say he’s got a fortune in silver in his tower. Not that ye will live to see it.”
As he was about to walk away Tavish asked, “Anything else?”
Before disappearing around the corner Mort snorted, “Dress warm-like.”
Caelan thought a while and turned to his archer. “Believe him?”
Tavish looked grim, “Yes I do. I would not have arranged the meeting if I had any serious doubt.”
More thinking. Finally Sir Caelan told him, “Find me the largest hard-wood shields you can get for our men. Oh, and some leather armor too if it will fit.”
“And some fat,” Tavish added.
“Well I wasn’t going to mention that part…”
.......................
For Lands of Classic-Castle Global Challenge 3 Phase 1 entry
He's says that I have an ego, that's out of control.
I call it a broken heart from his dagger so cruel.
historywillabsolvemike.blogspot.com/
EAST SIDE CONFIDENTIAL
part two: Confusion on the Heels of Chaos
"I was once, if I remember correctly, present at a gathering of madmen."
- Roberto Bolaño
Conjoined twins sharing a vital organ are destined to die simultaneously. Frank "Turk" Jaworski and the Open Kitchen took the same exit. Their departure marked the end of an era, one that was an anachronism by the time of its disappearance. The Open Kitchen was a small space unaffected by linear time. Within the confines of its walls, time sputtered and stalled somewhere in the mid-fifties due to a defect in the time/space continuum. The Open Kitchen was a unique experience. It could never be duplicated. No one in their right mind would even attempt such a folly. The bar was the three dimensional manifestation of Turk's personality. Bill Curry opened the Copabanana not long after the Open Kitchen closed. Change was inevitable after so many years of stasis. Only one element remained the same. All hell continued to break loose at the same address.
The Copabanana was entirely different from the Open Kitchen. It featured a fully stocked bar, not just cans of Schmidt's and cheap booze. Every element of Turk's bar was completely erased by the new owner. The Copa yanked the clock violently into the present. Unlike the dictatorial reign of Turk, Bill Curry preferred a laissez faire approach toward running his bar. As long as the behavior of his clientele didn't jeopardize his liquor license, he was quite tolerant of borderline behavior. It was easier and more profitable to ignore everything but major transgressions. All Curry required from his customers was a modicum of discretion and no blatant acts of lawlessness. Considering the clientele and the staff, even this small concession was a challenge. Society was changing in the late seventies and early eighties. These changes were responsible for a more open sexual atmosphere. The birth control pill was in widespread use and sexually transmitted diseases were not yet identified as being permanent or fatal As a result the sexual revolution was in full swing. South Street swung a bit further than other neighborhoods. The area had a reputation for embracing creative, eccentric and marginal behavior. It consequently attracted a diverse range of humanity, all bent in some fashion. Styles that attracted attention uptown or in the suburbs were met with a jaundiced eye on South Street. The bizarre was not only accepted, it was embraced on South Street. Normal became weird. In the words of Hunter S. Thompson, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." If we weren't professionals, we were damn good amateurs.
No one went to the Open Kitchen to meet women. There were none. Turk didn't ban them, he just did nothing to encourage their patronage. He didn't really encourage anyone to frequent the place. He was more interested in making sure that irritating people stayed out. If they irked him he kicked them out with alacrity. These exclusions had nothing at all to do with race. Most of his clientele was black. He banished people from all walks of life with equanimity. The limited drink selections offered, Turk's brusque manner and the fact that the kitchen was never open at the Open Kitchen discouraged errant tourists. It attracted a loyal clientele of cynical and grizzled veterans, all male. Anyone that frequented the place played by Turk's rules or went elsewhere. It is only logical that women would avoid a bar owned by a proprietor with a reputation for jamming a chrome-plated 45 in someone's face on a fairly regular basis. The Open Kitchen was an acquired taste. It was Turk's personal fiefdom and he didn't seem to be interested in profit. Bill Curry was primarily interested in running a profitable business. He realized that tolerance was profitable in this fringe neighborhood.
This specific evening exceeded the standards of chaos in a chaotic time period. A large group of us attended an art opening that night. I forget the exhibition and the name of the gallery but it doesn't matter. We all agreed to meet at the Copabanana afterwards. In hindsight it was a questionable decision. Some of us had to work the next day, me for example, but immediate gratification almost always overruled good sense. The entire crew was on the charming side of drunk by the time we left the gallery. That state would prove impossible to maintain as the night wore on. Collectively we lacked basic impulse control on a good day. The odds were against this unfolding as an evening of quiet reflection considering the cast of characters and the quantity of alcohol consumed. Although we operated in the shadows of the culture industry, this was not a group of gentile aesthetes and dilettantes. Drunk, our behavior was reminiscent of orangutans on unauthorized leave from the zoo. Any gains we made within the art system were immediately erased by transgressive acts. We repeatedly snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory. If good behavior was the price of success, it was much too high a price to pay given our disinterest in the game and our contempt for rules.
Our tactics were more street than salon. One night in the Khyber I was at the urinal taking a piss and some fucking idiot said to me, "Oh, you're Michael Macfeat, the guy who paints the crazy things and does the crazy things." I punched him in the mouth, zipped up and returned to the bar.
Most of the exhibiting artists and our friends went to the Copabanana that evening. My father and his friend Rocco were at the exhibition and they decided to join us for cocktails. It was not unusual for Al to socialize with us. He was always up for a few drinks and the pursuit of pleasure. In fact pleasure was his sole motivation in life. To their credit, none of my friends' fathers behaved like Al. He was a unique individual and often not in a good way.
My father was fun to go out with although growing up with him was a nightmare. He was good company and charming. It made it easier to forgive his faults. On the other hand he was also a larcenous bastard. If it wasn't screwed down he would steal it. If it was he brought a screwdriver. He could be quite entertaining and he was generous when he had the means. Al would never let any of us pay for anything when we went out. Considering the limited funds at my disposal it would have been self-defeating to refuse his largesse. He wouldn't come around if he didn't have cash. As is often the case with gamblers, his finances were tied to his luck so he wasn't around much. His absences lasted long enough to ensure he would be welcomed back.
His friend Rocco was no stranger. Rocco always carried a pistol with him although I was never sure why he felt the need. He was a rather large man and quite capable of handling himself without it. He made no display of the weapon but the gun sometimes created an unmistakable bulge under his clothing. Hanging around with Rocco taught me to look for signals that a man was armed. Despite the firearm, Rocco was gregarious and a fun to be around. His gun was an accepted fact, like his size. Certainly no one had the balls to question him about the pistol.
Once inside the Copa, Rocco and my father insisted on paying for everyone's drinks. It became an expensive night for those two spendthrifts. A rather large entourage followed us to the bar and took full advantage of the offer. From experience, I knew that these displays of wild extravagance usually meant that a scam or a bet had born fruit. Apparently they both reaped the benefits of some lucrative caper since they were squandering money like drunken stock brokers with expense accounts. I knew that these windfall profits often came at some else's expense. Some unseen loser was probably back in New Jersey, licking his wounds and cursing his bad luck. Fuck it. Free drinks were free drinks. I learned to ignore the source of Al's funds. It wasn't worth wasting time thinking about it.
Funded by their (presumably) ill gotten gains, multiple cocktails began piling up on both floors for our pleasure. Free cocktails might sound lovely in the abstract but in reality they almost always prove to be a mistake. Paying for drinks sometimes helps one keep excessive spending in perspective; not always but sometimes. Considering the Rogues Gallery in the Copa that night, excess was preordained. The drinks were free but they certainly did nothing to promote good behavior in this group of errant primates.
Fueled by the seemingly endless flow of alcohol, the evening began its slow descent into anarchy. People went between floors in search of some anticipated but indefinable amusement. Both floors had multiple cocktails at our disposal so these migrations weren't for entertainment purposes only. Fortunately I had a good relationship with the manager of the bar so she left us to our own devices. She had incredible eyes, large and mesmerizing. Granted, I was easily mesmerized back then.
One of the women from our group took umbrage to something or another (either real or imagined) and noisily stormed out of the bar. She had a reputation for pulling a Houdini when drunk. We had all seen this routine before and knew that pursuit was an exercise in futility. I wish I could forget who she was. She later claimed to walk back to New Jersey over the Ben Franklin Bridge. An attractive woman surviving an evening stroll through the city of Camden was unimaginable. Camden led the nation in per capita murders. At the time it was one of the most lawless cities in America and it remains so. Whether this trek actually happened or not was irrelevant. Fact and fiction blurred on evenings such as these. At any rate, no one batted an eye about the sudden departure. It was old hat and it meant more free alcohol for the rest of us.
My father, quite inebriated by this time, got it into his thick skull that one of our friends was pregnant. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. She was just a big-boned girl. Understandably, my father's comments horrified her. At an early age men are trained to avoid asking about a woman's weight and age. It wasn't as if Al didn't have extensive experience with the opposite sex. His success with women was legendary. Unfortunately his common sense and discretion went south this particular evening. Either he forgot or he just didn't give a fuck, I am not sure which. Al didn't stop at one comment about her perceived delicate condition. Oh no, he went on and on about it. If only he made these comments behind her back it would have been less embarrassing for everyone. He was quite direct in his interrogation and he was relentless. Al spent an excruciating amount of time trying to get her to confess to being pregnant. It was the height of absurdity for a man who would confess to nothing, even when caught red handed, would have the audacity to demand a confession from anyone else. Whatever his motivation, he was tenacious. With the singularity of mind that drunks often exhibit he was fixated on the subject. This horror-show went on for what felt like an eternity. Graced with the attention span of a two year old, Al tired of the game and moved on to the other equally absurd delusions.
To deflect the poor girl's attention away from my father's abuse, a close friend asked the girl for her telephone number. Her mood brightened at the prospect of potential romance with this handsome rake. I knew that this bastard had no intention of ever calling her (in fact he never did) but she felt a bit better about herself, however fleetingly.
Cocktails flowed without end, an alcoholic version of the nearby Delaware River. Whatever decorum we could muster was simply to ensure that it continued unabated. Kevin, our friend Mike and I retired to the upstairs bar. It was less crowded up there and I needed a break from my father's lunacy. It was obvious that our luck couldn't hold out forever. As inevitable and unwelcome as my hangover the next day, my father and Rocco were bound to notice our absence. In much too short a time they did.
At the opposite end of the bar was an attractive woman sitting by herself and wearing a white fur coat. She was a few years older than Kevin and I but that was irrelevant. Her style wasn't right, it was much too flashy. Her wardrobe was all shiny and sparkly, like a human disco ball. Her clothes identified her as a South Philadelphia native. Their style signified a certain attitude and told us that we couldn't get there from here. From across the bar it was obvious that it was a clash of sensibilities. The stylistic soundtrack was the Clash's White Riot at our end of the bar and It's Raining Men at the other. She looked like a materialistic pain in the ass. Never one to fight battles that I couldn't win I settled into my Tanqueray and tonics and let sleeping dogs lie.
Unfortunately not everyone followed my prudent example. Rocco and Al gravitated to her. They still lived some low rent Rat Pack version of the past. Contemporary clues held little meaning to them. Even if they understood the clues, as far as they were concerned they were free to ignore them. In that sense they were anarchists. They did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted as long as their funds held out. They began chatting her up as if either of them had a chance with her. The fucked up thing is that from a cursory glance it appeared that they might. Either she enjoyed the company which was hard to imagine or she was plying them for drinks, a more likely scenario. It was impossible for me to care. These two clowns were on a mission and it was best to leave it alone. I kept one eye on the conversation as one does passing an accident on the other side of the highway. I didn't really want to see the carnage but it was fascinating on some morbid level. I was disinterested in hearing the actual conversation. It was bound to be all lies and I had heard enough of the sound of my father's voice for one evening. She was physically fit so at least Al wouldn't ask her if she was pregnant. That provided me some small comfort.
My father could be exceptionally charming when he saw fit to make the effort. His guile with women was legendary and taken for granted. It was unthinkable to leave my girlfriends with him for any length of time. Even if he didn't snake me it was in the realm of the possible. He was that charming, that devious and his wiles with women were unaffected by any wide age discrepancy. The woman had as much chance as a wounded zebra run to ground by a hyena. Al could never be trusted with women or money. He was treacherous on both fronts.
Kevin, our friend Mike and I were at the near end of the bar still practicing our drinking. It was going pretty well if oblivion was the goal. We were regulars at the bar so we were familiar with the bartender. He and I had a mutual interest in Soldier of Fortune magazine. We had little else in common so the discussion usually began and ended on that topic. He wasn't a bad guy but he was wound a bit too tight. If I remember correctly he was also in a twelve step program, which at the time I perceived as a symptom of insanity. His interest in the magazine far exceeded my own, however. He was short but he actually aspired to become a mercenary. That seemed nuts to me but it didn't matter. He took care of us, we took care of him and if the conversation lagged we could always discuss the engineering merits and dependability of the AK47. Even drinks on the house have a price. My curiosity about Soldier of Fortune concerned the international politics that kept mercenaries employed. I also used the magazine as source material in my artwork. Occasionally an article about the Irish Republican Army would appear but I had no fucking desire to join them. It never hurt to have a friendly bartender in your corner so I finessed the conversations as best I could. I did suspect that he was nuts and that one day he might explode into a one man orgy of violence so I kept a respectful distance.
He came over to our end of the bar but not to bring us drinks or talk about Soldier of Fortune. As an avid gun enthusiast he probably noticed the tell-tale lump under Rocco's shirt. He said quietly, "You know the woman that those two older guys are talking to? She isn't what they think she is." We weren't entirely sure what he meant. In my case I was drunk and my powers of deduction were as impaired as the rest of me. She looked presentable from a distance if you could ignore her sense of style. If the implication was that she was a prostitute, I doubted that either Rocco or my dad would perceive that as a negative. Perhaps things would be less complicated for the three of them if they had crime in common. "Is she a working girl?" He replied in a whisper, "No, she's a transvestite." Kevin and I swiveled our heads to our right in unison. A more critical analysis of this changeling confirmed his assessment. Curiously, these two drunken reprobates seemed completely oblivious to the situation at hand, despite having a closer view of her. This could not end well. As was often the case with Mike, he was in the Men's Room at the crucial moment and missed the bartender's warning.
In the process of writing this, I considered the possibility that Kevin and I had overreacted and had misread the threat assessment. That doesn't explain the two pirates chatted her up but God knows what the fuck they were talking about. It didn't look to us like they knew the score but maybe they did. Perhaps Al and Rocco found the conversation comical. It seemed plausible. I am so often wrong that I never discount the possibility. The situation seemed to us to have all of the ingredients of a perfect storm.
I brought the subject up with Kevin recently for the first time in years. I asked him for his general impression of the evening. He said, "Fuck, I was just glad that no one got shot." My later and more benevolent analysis of the situation began to crumble with his answer but I pressed on. "Kevin, is it possible that we were overreacting and that Al and Rocco knew that they were talking to a transvestite?" "No man" he said, "not a fucking chance." I asked him a question that I knew, if answered contrary to my revisionist theory, would collapse the whole theoretical house of cards that I hoped to construct. "You don't really think that they would have shot her, do you?" "As drunk as those two idiots were that night? I'm certain of it. There is plenty about that evening I don't remember but I do remember being relieved that no one got shot." His view reinforced my original fear that we had been staring into the dark abyss of violence.
Despite being hedonists, both Al and Rocco were old school and ignorant of the subtler developments in contemporary social mores. We decided that it would be wrong to withhold the truth. There was a possibility that nothing would happen if we left them to their own devices but we didn't trust fate. I hoped that no one would get shot but on the other hand they were quite drunk. Getting hit over the head with a gun or thrown down a flight of stairs would be enough of a disaster. Rocco was always sociable but an underlying violence lurked beneath his affable demeanor. He was a criminal, after all, or he would not have been running around with my father. He was also quite large, drunk and armed. If the shit hit the fan with Rocco there was fuck-all Kevin and I could do about it. We were experienced at fighting in tandem but there was nothing two hyenas could do against a drunk and armed mastodon.
Our friend Mike was useless in violent situations. He had a quick tongue, a bad attitude and nothing to back either quality up. He was also a functional junkie. His indiscretions may have been the result of his habit or an inability to maintain it at times. It wasn't unusual to get drawn into fights due to Mike's rapier wit and his inability or unwillingness to fight. Just a few weeks before he stood idly by and watched a close friend of ours take a hellacious beating at the hands of four men. Michael could watch his friends get pummeled but his friends couldn't, even knowing that he was wrong and deserved a severe ass kicking. It ran contrary to code, whether he ascribed to it or not. Although he was smart and funny, he was a liability at worst and no help at his best. He couldn't be trusted so our only option was to leave him out of it.
My father's temper was inescapable growing up. He never hit me until I was sixteen and I returned the favor by hitting him over the head with a lamp. He did act violently toward others, however. He was 6' 1" tall and rangy. Once he dove across the bar at Hannigan's (at 69th and Ludlow, across from the Tower Theater) and strangled a customer until the man croaked an apology. Al was in his fifties at the time. His speed and brutality amazed me. I never heard what precipitated the attack but it may have been a gambling debt. The poor bastard had no chance. He was probably as shocked as I was. I couldn't trust Al not to be violent if he felt provoked.
Kevin and I were aware that our intervention might have a negative effect. They were behaving themselves at present but the truth could potentially upset this convivial equilibrium. Al and Rocco were very drunk and past the point of reason. Two drunken reprobates, a pistol and a transvestite seemed a recipe for disaster.
We got a lucky break. Rocco and my father lacked focus in their drunken state. They eventually headed downstairs in pursuit of new and improved entertainment. Had the transvestite had lost her luster? There was no way of knowing. Kevin and I weighed our options and we decided that they all sucked. We felt that the situation needed to be addressed before they reversed field. With any luck they would be too drunk, too complacent and too lazy to go back upstairs after getting the news. By the time we located the two bastards their condition had noticeably deteriorated. They were talking and laughing loudly and it was hard to get a word in edgewise. We eventually found an opening and explained the situation as diplomatically as possible. To our horror they rebuffed us. They acted like we were nuts! They told us to fuck off and dismissed us like insolent children. Is it possible that they knew that they were dealing with a shape-shifter? These two hooligans were inscrutable at the best of times so it was difficult to determine what they knew or didn't know. People whose professions demand deception learn to present a blank expression.
We truly had no qualms concerning the sexual predilection of the transvestite. We lacked morals ourselves so her morality was not in question. No one faulted her for running her game for free drinks if that's what she was doing. Each to their own. Live and let live. The problem was that these two drunks were capable of losing their minds and we were unable to influence them. The other problem was my own inebriated state. It made my threat analysis (and everything else) a bit suspect.
After our failed attempt at disaster control we returned to the upstairs bar. Perhaps we would have better luck with the third party in this bizarre triangle. Once upstairs, the first thing that we noticed was that our buddy Mike had changed seats. He was now at the far end of the bar and engaged in witty repartee with the transvestite. We did not fucking need another complication at that moment. Now we had to explain the situation to this ass-clown before we approached Miss Thing with a plan. We went to the far end of the bar and shoehorned ourselves into their conversation. At close quarters her artifice of deception paled considerably, maybe it was the Adam's apple. One of us distracted the transvestite while the other debriefed Mike. He took the news surprisingly well. He took it too well in fact. He said he didn't care what she was, he was having fun and that we should leave him the fuck alone. That was the third person to tell us to fuck off in ten minutes and it was getting a bit tedious. Imparting the truth to these three fools was a thankless job. It was not unusual for a quiet evening on the town to turn into a three ring circus. This night had no hopes of being a quiet evening from jump street considering the personnel. Kevin and I were not very experienced at calming situations down. We were much better at escalation. Everyone else in the equation had by this time made it very clear that they thought we were assholes. Of course they were right. We were assholes, just not for the reasons that they thought we were assholes. We had good intentions even if our analysis and strategy sucked ass.
With Mike (somewhat) sorted or at least informed, we turned our attention to this obscure object of desire. We explained that her lifestyle choices were of no concern to us. We applauded her courage to pursue her dreams. We had no issues with transvestites whatsoever. Our only concern was that the two mature gents might not act so maturely if push came to shove. All we wanted was to avoid trouble, trouble that could result in the expulsion from a favored watering hole and/or arrest. She smiled slyly and cooed, "I can take care of myself." We retorted, "Uh…no you fucking can't." We explained that these two old gents were not exactly docile and at least one of them had a concealed weapon. They were much too drunk to expect even semi-rational behavior from them. Rocco and Al weren't exactly enlightened individuals. We strongly advised her a change of venue, at least temporarily. After a brief period of resistance she agreed to leave after we offered her cash. How much cash it took to get rid of her is lost in the black hole of memory. She exited through the door on the first floor, still resplendent in fur and glitter. She was a spectacle, an artificial Christmas tree walking in high heels. Despite the small size of the bar, Al and Rocco were too plastered to even notice her flamboyant exit.
We had no further contact with the Al and Rocco that night and the subject was too bizarre to bring up later. They were so drunk that it is possible that they forgot by morning. I am surprised that I remember as much as I do about the incident. After our objective was reached I lost interest in the matter. Problem solved. It was as if she never existed. At least we thought that was true until we spoke to Mike again.
He berated us for causing her to leave. "I liked her," he whined about his loss like a Catholic school girl with skinned knees. Kevin and I just looked at each other in disbelief, shook our heads and walked away. Actually, we didn't give a fuck if Mike left with her or not. That was his business. He was an odd bird anyway. We were simply trying to protect her from the other two fools. Their breed of dinosaur was nearly extinct but they were still dangerous. Neither of them were particularly forward thinking in the realm of sexual politics or any other politics for that matter. We solved the problem by paying her off but now Mike was bitching. Fuck him. I fought enough fights for that little bastard that he should have been more appreciative of our efforts, even if he disagreed with the results or our approach. I repressed the urge to backhand him.
There was nothing left for us to do now but resume our cocktail consumption. Memory abandons me beyond this point. The trip home is a complete mystery. I am quite sure that I didn't walk. It was enough of a challenge to remain upright in that state. I was so drunk that I had as much chance of flying as I did driving home. I would have crashed the car before I ever got in it.
Defying even my own optimistic and delusional expectations I reported for work the next day, late and hungover as fuck. If I wasn't still drunk I might have called out sick. I was usually in trouble on this job for various serial indiscretions. It must have been pretty damn important for me to show up or I doubt I would have made it. Although drunk on the morning drive I negotiated it without incident.
When I got near the job I stopped at a roadside stand for a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a long roll. It was my Saturday morning ritual. My boss always brought his shit-bag dog to work, an untrained an intact male Vizsla. It was red and it had a pronounced knot on the top of its head that made it look as stupid as it actually was. I love dogs but I couldn't stand this fucking cur. If you didn't protect yourself it would jump up on you and smack you right in the balls. I spent the majority of every working day with my hand covering my crotch. It isn't a good look and it makes a lousy first impression. People familiar with the dog understood. Most of our regular customers came in holding their packages as a defensive tactic. It must have looked weird seeing everyone standing around clutching their yarbles. The dog was relentless and would jump up if you made eye contact. It happened all day long. I smacked it on multiple occasions. With no one else reinforcing the discipline and partly due to the dog's sub-par intelligence it had no affect. Training the useless piece of shit would have helped but my boss felt that training and spaying a dog violated its freedom. He preferred his dogs in a near feral state. I can only think of one other dog that I hated this much. I preferred dogs that bit me to dogs that punched me in the testicles on the regular. But the dog was the least of my problems that morning. I was hungover and insanely hungry. I proceeded to unwrap my sandwich and attack it voraciously. While taking an order from a customer, I foolishly dropped the hand holding the sandwich to my side. The Vizsla swiped it right out of my hand! I lost it!
I am not proud of it now but I punched the dog as hard as I could, right on its bumpy noggin. It fell to the floor as if shot. It remained unconscious for a few seconds. Until that moment I had no idea that it was possible to knock a dog out. Fortunately my boss was in his office when this happened. He eventually came out to investigate the clamor but he was on the phone with a customer at the time of the incident. When he finally got to the counter the dog had recovered enough to stand up but it was wobbling on its long, skinny legs. Although vertical it was still on queer street. I admitted that I smacked the dog but I didn't tell him that I knocked it out. He knew that my version of the story lacked credibility but, to the Visla's credit, the dog never ratted me out and I did not get fired. Not two minutes after things had calmed down the dog jumped up and tried to smack me in the nuts. I was beginning to feel besieged. As the day droned on the hangover escalated. It was unbearable. I was too hungover to even eat lunch. Unlike large chunks the previous twenty-four hours, the memory of the hangover remains quite vivid.
Around 11:00 the business phone rang and I reluctantly answered it. I had no interest in speaking to anyone, let alone our bone-head customers. It wasn't a customer though, it was a collect call from a jail in Atlantic City. I accepted the charges. It was difficult to predict the morning getting any worse but it did. My father was on the phone. He was still so fucked up that it was impossible to understand a word he said. It literally sounded to me like he was speaking Chinese. Al was laughing maniacally through the entire unintelligible conversation. There was no laughing on my end of the phone at all. I was hungover, irritable, hungry and I had just knocked a fucking dog out. I didn't need any more challenges to my patience. These two clowns were a pain in the ass. The old man really pissed me off by speaking in tongues. Gibberish was totally unacceptable in my fragile condition. Without pointing out his linguistic failure, I asked him if Rocco was available to speak. Fortunately Rocco got on the phone and was slightly more coherent than my father. He said that they had been arrested in Atlantic City. I shuddered to imagine their long drive there. They were both post-verbal before they left the bar! How could either of them have driven for an hour in that condition? Now they had a plan and to my horror the plan involved me. They wanted me to leave work, drive to Atlantic City and post bail for them. The idea was ludicrous. I had no desire to see either them anytime soon let alone be responsible for their release from jail. I felt sick. I also had no ready cash after the previous night of debauchery, despite the fact that the drinks were free. Either I was a very sporty tipper the night before or I gave all of my money away in tips and bribes or I lost all of it on the barroom floor. The reason for my poverty was a moot point. It didn't matter why. I was flat broke. I spent my last few dollars on a sandwich that had been scarfed up by a dog as useless as tits on a bull.
There was only one option as far as I was concerned. I told them to go fuck themselves, sleep it off in the drunk tank and come up with a plan that did not involve me. I had neither the desire nor the wherewithal to pick them up. I had no compassion for them whatsoever. I was penniless. They got arrested on their own merits. They could get themselves bailed out the same way. Jail seemed like a swell place for those two jerk-offs. Fuck you. No.
Later I asked my father about the arrest. Neither he nor Rocco would talk about it. To this day I don't know what happened. It didn't make sense that they would stonewall me over a simple DUI. They were quite open about far more scandalous matters. The only thing they volunteered was that Rocco's uncle bailed them out. Whatever the reason for their incarceration, there was never any talk of a court appearance and neither of them ever became long term guests of the state of New Jersey. Perhaps Rocco's uncle had connections. It is useless to speculate. They are both dead and the truth died with them.
Every once in a while I would ask Al about it, just to see if he if he would let his guard down and come clean. Sometimes I brought it up just to break his balls. My father discussed the events preceding the arrest but never directly about the arrest itself. It amazed me that he had any memories of the night at all. Over a period of years he steadfastly refused to give me a straight answer. This was no surprise, Getting the truth out of my father was like collecting rain water with a sieve. It was an act of abject futility.
Obfuscation and evasiveness were my father's forte. He was impossible to pin down. It was useless to pursue a topic with him once the nonsense started. He would give you irrelevant answers as long as you had the stamina to ask pertinent questions. Lying was a tool to him, like a weed-whacker or a hammer. I am sure that the Atlantic City police quickly tired of his machinations and found his bullshit annoying but their contact with him was relatively brief compared to mine. I grew up with him and share his DNA. Both of these concepts are sobering.
Michael Macfeat 12/24/12
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 1380. Photo: Paramount.
Mexican-American actor Anthony Quinn (1915-2001) started as a contract player at Paramount, where he mainly played villains and ethnic types. He became disenchanted with his career and did not renew his Paramount contract. Instead, he returned to the stage and replaced Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway. This performance made his reputation and boosted his film career. For his role as Brando's brother in Viva Zapata! (Elia Kazan, 1952), Quinn won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. He gave his greatest performance as the circus strongman in Federico Fellini's masterpiece La Strada (1954). Quinn won his second Supporting Actor Oscar in 1957 for his portrayal of Paul Gauguin in Lust for Life (Vincente Minnelli, 1956), opposite Kirk Douglas as Vincent van Gogh. Over the next decade Quinn lived in Italy alternated between Hollywood and the European cinema.
Antonio Rudolfo Oaxaca Quinn was born in 1915, in Chihuahua, Mexico. His parents were Manuela (Oaxaca) and Francisco Quinn. After starting life in extremely modest circumstances in Mexico, his family moved to Los Angeles, where his father became an assistant cameraman at Selig Film Studios. Quinn often accompanied his father to work, and became acquainted with such stars as Tom Mix and John Barrymore, with whom he kept up the friendship into adulthood. He attended Polytechnic High School and later Belmont High, but eventually dropped out. The young Quinn boxed which stood him in good stead as a stage actor, when he played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire. He won a scholarship to study architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright at the great architect's studio, Taliesin, in Arizona. Quinn was close to Wright, who encouraged him when he decided to give acting a try. After a brief apprenticeship on stage, Quinn hit Hollywood. He made his film debut with a character role in the crime drama Parole! (Lew Landers, 1936). Quinn picked up a variety of small roles in several films at Paramount, including a Cheyenne Indian in The Plainsman (1936), which was directed by his future father-in-law, Cecil B. DeMille. As a contract player at Paramount, Quinn mainly played villains and ethnic types, such as a gangster in the crime drama Dangerous to Know (Robert Florey, 1938), a Chinese gangster in Island of Lost Men (Kurt Neumann, 1939) and an Arab chieftain in the Bing Crosby-Bob Hope vehicle Road to Morocco (David Butler, 1942). He also played the sympathetic Crazy Horse in They Died with Their Boots On (Raoul Walsh, 1941) with Errol Flynn. As a Mexican national (he did not become an American citizen until 1947), he was exempt from the draft. With many actors in the service fighting World War II, Quinn was able to move up into better supporting roles. He had married DeMille's daughter Katherine DeMille, which afforded him entrance to the top circles of Hollywood society. He became disenchanted with playing supporting parts as Chief Yellow Hand in Buffalo Bill (William A. Wellman, 1944) and a Chinese in China Sky (China Sky (Ray Enright, 1945). His first lead was the Indian farmer Charlie Eagle in Black Gold (Phil Karlson, 1947) opposite his wife, Katherine DeMille. By 1947, he had appeared in more than fifty films and was still not a major star. He did not renew his Paramount contract despite the advice of others, including his father-in-law whom Quinn felt never accepted him due to his Mexican roots. Instead, he returned to the stage. His portrayal of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire in Chicago and on Broadway, where he replaced Marlon Brando, made his reputation. However, IMDb also gives another explanation for his move to the stage: “Became a naturalized United States citizen in 1947, just before he was ‘gray-listed’ for his association with Communists such as screenwriter John Howard Lawson and what were termed ‘fellow travelers’, though he himself was never called before the House Un-American Activities Committee. When warned of his gray-listing by 20th Century-Fox boss Darryl F. Zanuck (a liberal), Quinn decided to go on the Broadway stage where there was no blacklist rather than go through the process of refuting the suspicions.”
Anthony Quinn’s success on Broadway boosted his film career. He returned to the cinema in The Brave Bulls (Robert Rossen, 1951). Director Elia Kazan cast him as Marlon Brando's brother in his biographical film of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, Viva Zapata! (1952). Quinn won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for 1952, making him the first Mexican-American to win an Oscar. It was not to be his lone appearance in the winner's circle: he won his second Supporting Actor Oscar five years later for his portrayal of painter Paul Gauguin in Vincente Minnelli's biographical film of Vincent van Gogh, Lust for Life (1956), opposite Kirk Douglas. Over the next decade Quinn lived in Italy and became a major figure in world cinema, as many studios shot films in Italy to take advantage of the lower costs. He appeared in several Italian films, giving one of his greatest performances as the dim-witted, thuggish and volatile circus strongman who brutalizes the sweet soul played by Giulietta Masina in her husband Federico Fellini's masterpiece La Strada (1954). Alternating between Europe and Hollywood, Quinn built his reputation and entered the front rank of character actors and character leads. He received his third Oscar nomination (and first for Best Actor) for Wild Is the Wind (George Cukor, 1957). Quinn starred in The Savage Innocents 1959 as Inuk, an Eskimo who finds himself caught between two clashing cultures. He played a Greek resistance fighter against the Nazi occupation in the monster hit The Guns of Navarone (J. Lee Thompson, 1961) and received kudos for his portrayal of a once-great boxer on his way down in Requiem for a Heavyweight (Ralph Nelson, 1962). Back on Broadway, he was nominated for the 1961 Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) for Becket. He returned to the cinema to play ethnic parts, such as an Arab warlord in David Lean's masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and he played the eponymous lead in the Sword-and-sandal blockbuster Barabbas (Richard Fleischer, 1961) opposite Silvana Mangano. Two years later he reached the zenith of his career, playing Zorba in Alexis Zorbas/Zorba the Greek (Michael Cacoyannis, 1964)), which brought him his fourth, and last, Oscar nomination as Best Actor. The 1960s were kind to him: he played character leads in such major films as The Shoes of the Fisherman (Michael Anderson, 1968) opposite Laurence Olivier, and The Secret of Santa Vittoria (Stanley Kramer, 1969), with Anna Magnani. However, his appearance in the title role in the film adaptation of John Fowles' novel, The Magus (Guy Green, 1968), did nothing to save the film, which was one of that decade's notorious turkeys.
The following decade saw Anthony Quinn slip back into playing ethnic types again. He starred as the Hispanic mayor of a rapidly growing city in Southwest United States in the TV series The Man and the City (1971). IMDb writes about an interesting incident: “Around 1972, he announced his desire to play Henry Cristophe, the 19th-century emperor of Haiti. Upon this announcement, several prominent black actors, including Ossie Davis and Ellen Holly, stated that they were opposed to a ‘white man’ playing ‘black’. Davis stated, ‘My black children need black heroes on which to model their behavior. Henry Cristophe is an authentic black hero. Tony, for all my admiration of him as a talent, will do himself and my children a great disservice if he encourages them to believe that only a white man, and Tony is white to my children, is capable of playing a black hero.’” Quinn’s career lost its momentum during the 1970s. Aside from playing a thinly disguised Aristotle Onassis in the cinematic roman-a-clef The Greek Tycoon (J. Lee Thompson, 1978), his other major roles of the decade were as Hamza in the controversial The Message/Mohammad, Messenger of God (Moustapha Akkad, 1976), as the Italian patriarch in L'eredità Ferramonti/The Inheritance (Mauro Bolognini, 1976) opposite Dominique Sanda, yet another Arab in Caravans (James Fargo, 1978) and a Mexican patriarch in The Children of Sanchez (Hall Bartlett, 1978) with Dolores Del Rio. In 1983 he reprised his most famous role, Zorba the Greek, on Broadway in the revival of the musical Zorba, for 362 performances. Though his film career slowed during the 1990s, he continued to work steadily in films and television. Anthony Quinn lived out the latter years of his life in Bristol, Rhode Island, where he spent most of his time painting and sculpting. In 2001, he died in a hospital in Boston from pneumonia and respiratory failure linked to his battle with lung cancer. Quinn was 86 years old. He was married three times. After divorcing Katherine DeMille in 1965, he married Jolanda Addolori (1966-1997) and Kathy Benvin (1997-2001). He had ten children, five with DeMille, three with Addolori, and two with Benvin.
Sources: Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Pedro Borges (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Local author Fiona Barnett in the Edinburgh Bookshop, signing copies of her new novel, The Dark Between the Trees, and the bookshop ladder (a tradition in the EB! We have so many author signatures all over the big, wheeled ladder!)
The novel, just published by Rebellion Publishing, is a superbly creepy and atmospheric slice of British folk-horror (think Blood on Satan's Claw mixed with A Field in England), split into two times; a group of parliamentary soldiers ambushed during the Civil War and forced into the Deep, Dark Woods (which, of course, have a bad reputation), and a modern day expedition of women scholars trying to retrace the route of the men lost 400 years before.
Highly recommended reading for the long, dark nights of autumn and winter! My review is here www.woolamaloo.org.uk/reviews-atmospheric-folk-horror-in-...
Aboriginal Occupation:
Prior to European settlement the Blue Mountains was the home of many autonomous Aboriginal groups who lived and moved around the region. There are six distinct tribal groups who have traditional rights and custodial responsibilities for the indigenous heritage of the region that are: the Darug, the Gandangurra, the Wanaruah, the Wiradjuri, the Darkinjung and the Tharawal.
Evidence of Aboriginal occupation and custodianship of the country within Blue Mountains National Park dates back to possibly 22,000 years B.P. The Blue Mountains contain a large number of significant sites which capture the relationship that Aboriginal people have had with country for thousands of generations.
The rich and varied evidence of traditional occupation of the reserves include archaeological deposits in open sites and rock shelters, stone implements, factory sites for tool production, axe grinding grooves and extensive art-work, including drawn, painted and stencilled images. Tracks and figurative motifs dominate the art sites. Motifs include anthropomorphic figures, animals, hand stencils and tracks of birds and kangaroos.
European Settlement:
Katoomba initially developed in a fashion quite distinct from the other Blue Mountains townships along the 1860s railway line. From 1874 onwards trains halted at The Crushers, in the vicinity of the later station, not for passengers but for stone quarried near the later court-house.
The first settlement in the area was two kilometres to the south-west of the railway, near Katoomba Falls, where John Britty North opened a coal-mine complex in the Jamison Valley in 1878.
There was a village near the top of Katoomba Falls and another village grew up deep down in the valley itself close to the base of the Falls, just below where the Scenic Railway ends today.
North built a private tramway from the top of the incline near Katoomba Falls to join the main western railway line at what is now known as Shell Corner, a kilometre west of the present station.
All this diverted attention away from the current core area of the urban development, the area on either side of Katoomba Street, that essential north-south connecting link between the railway and Echo Point.
This area around Katoomba Street was within the large land-holding of James Henry Neale, a master butcher and Sydney politician, who had been a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1864 until 1874. In 1877 Neale built a country retreat called Froma on what is now the new Cultural Centre site on the east side of Parke Street.
In 1881 Neale sold his interest in central Katoomba, including the house, to Frederick Clissold. Clissold, a wool-merchant resident in the Sydney suburb of Ashfield, immediately sub-divided the land, creating and naming the modern street system.
Parke, Katoomba and Lurline Streets were created, running north-south, while Waratah Street ran east-west and defined the southern edge of the initial commercial centre of the new town. The Great Western Highway and the railway defined the northern limit.
Katoomba changed rapidly; it started as only two industrial halts on the railway, with stone for railway works at one and at the other a private tramway leading down to a coal-mine and two mining villages.
Then it became a characteristic Mountains town relating to a proper railway station, as the 78 allotments created in 1881 were, over two decades, purchased and developed.
During this period from the 1880s up to the First World War, the whole area below the Carrington, quite close to the railway station, along Katoomba, Parke and Lurline Streets, became a busy commercial precinct, dominated by shops, services and a cluster of guesthouses, tempered by a remarkable number of churches (Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic and Congregationalist) along with their halls and manses.
The influx of seasonal tourists and the increasing number of permanent residents who serviced the tourists created a need for local services, so the area between the station and Waratah Street gradually filled up with shops, restaurants, cafes, two theatres and public utilities, such as the post office and the public school.
There was still a lot of free space in 1906, captured in a marvellous photograph showing south Katoomba from the most spectacular of the early consolidations, the Great Western Hotel of 1882, better known as the Carrington, on its spacious hill-top site. Froma was still there in 1906, just below the Carrington although it was demolished six years later.
Between Froma and Katoomba Street, the site of the later Paragon was a large, empty space, which remained undeveloped until 1909, when William Newlind built four shops on the vacant Katoomba Street block.
Newlind had built the four shops as a speculation and three of them were soon bought as an investment by the Anglican rector of St Hilda's, just across the street. These were all retail shops until 1916 when one was converted into refreshment rooms, called The Paragon.
This was just at the beginning of a new phenomenon in Australian country towns, the Greek cafe. From the early 1910s onwards a number of emigres from Greece, often with experience of the United States, created a new cafe experience in cities and towns throughout Australia.
The Greek cafe was 'essentially an evolutionary amalgam' of the Greek coffee-house and the American-oyster saloon and soda parlour with the familiar fare of the existing British-Australian steak-houses. The names of the cafes, Californian, Golden Gate, Niagara on the one hand and Acropolis, Parthenon, Paragon on the other, reflected the shared inheritance.
In Katoomba a drapery store built at 92 Bathurst Road near the station about 1905 was converted in 1917 to a Greek cafe called the Acropolis and soon rechristened the Niagara to emphasise its trendy American drinks.
This is the Australian environment which a fifteen-year-old Greek boy called Zacharias Theodore 'Jack' Simos found when he migrated from Greece in 1912. He found work in Greek cafes in Sydney, Windsor and in Tenterfield.
By 1916 he was in Katoomba, where in a brief partnership with Demetruos Sophios he became a fruiterer and a confectioner, opening his own premises in Katoomba called the Paragon Cafe and Oyster Palace.
The Paragon and adjoining shopfronts (63-69) Katoomba Street) is located on Lot 21 of land in Katoomba owned by James Neale and subdivided in the 1880s. The lot was purchased by William Newlind in 1886. Four shops, nos. 63 to 69, were built on Newlind's land in 1909. The three to the north, nos 63 to 67, including the future Paragon, were all owned in 1911 by the Rev. John Russell, who was the Anglican rector of St Hilda's across the street from 1902 until 1913. Since Russell did not own the fourth shop, it is likely that he was not responsible for building on the site but merely bought existing new shops as an investment. He retained ownership of the properties until 1924. From this date Russell maintained only one investment property in Katoomba: No.100-102 Katoomba Street. It is believed the income from the shops was an important part of Russell's income, particularly after Russell went to Sydney as senior curate to the rector of St James.
Russell leased the shops as three separate entities. By 1914 No. 63 was leased by a jeweller, L.P. Goldstein. He bought the freehold from Russell in 1924. The shop was later occupied by another jeweller, H. Lloyd. Jewellers have continued to occupy the shop for most of its history. No. 65 was leased by Russell to a series of shopkeepers - Sullivan in 1914-6 and Dagon from 1917 to 1919. By 1923 he had leased it to Zacharias Simos as refreshment rooms called The Paragon, and in 1924 Zacharias Simos purchased both nos. 65 and 67 from Russell.
Simos was a Greek migrant who had arrived in Sydney early in the century. He migrated to Sydney in 1912 and like many of his countrymen worked in Greek cafes and other food related businesses in NSW. His arrival in Sydney predated the post world war one arrival of many young men from countries such as Greece and Italy after the United States began limiting the numbers of southern Europeans it allowed into the country. Many of the young men paid their way to Australia and found work in the food industry.
Zacharias Simos worked in Sydney and Tenterfield for the first four years before setting up a business at Windsor where he sold ham and eggs next door to a skating rink and sold vegetables door to door. During this time he saved his money and learned English sufficiently well to establish himself as a confectioner in Katoomba. During this time he worked as a caterer. Zacharias Simos was naturalised in 1921 and bought a commercial property at 110-114 Katoomba Street owned by Miss Kelly and previously run by a Mrs Banning. Three years later he purchased the refreshment rooms at 65 and 67 Katoomba Street.
In 1925 Zacharias Simos employed H. & E. Sidgreaves, the shop-fitting firm responsible for the design of Washington H. Soul's Sydney pharmacies, to convert the interior of the cafe premises on classical (Art Deco) lines. A soda fountain, of the finest Moruya marble, and booths of Queensland maple were installed as were the timber-panelled walls decorated with alabaster friezes depicting classical Greek figures. The fine and intact leadlight shopfronts which characterise the building were probably included in this work and have become an important part of the architectural character of Katoomba Street. The street contains many other fine examples of glazed shopfronts from the 1920s and it has been suggested that together they may be the largest extant collection of 1920s leadlight shopfronts in NSW and comparable to Canowindra in the central west of NSW.
Upstairs in 1925 was the industrial side of the enterprise, not open to the public. There was a bakehouse, a large refrigeration plant for the ice-cream made on the premises and a new 'sweet factory', with a gas boiler and a forced-air draught for cooling the chocolate.
The technology of the chocolaterie is well documented, although the equipment was dismantled a decade ago. The chocolate-making equipment is still stored upstairs and on April 10, 2013 members of the Australian Society for the History of Engineering & Technology (ASHET) committee inspected and photographed the various items.
This industrial dimension to the Paragon is of exceptional importance. Chocolate-making at the Paragon had been of a high order ever since Zacharias Simos had been joined by his two brothers: George was a master confectioner and they were trading as Simos Brothers by 1926.
Originally, Zacharias Simos lived above the shop, in that part of the upstairs rabbit-warren overlooking Katoomba Street which was not used for making chocolates or for baking cakes.
The bakery and the chocolaterie which gave The Paragon so much of its distinction were located upstairs from the mid-1920s, so the products which gave the place such well-deserved fame were made on site.
The earlier chocolate-making machinery and some of the baking equipment was dismantled and stored in a short corridor upstairs about ten years ago, but a historic photograph at the Paragon today shows every item in use forty years ago.
The equipment has been assessed by members of Australian Society for the History of Engineering and Technology. It is striking how international it all is. The Simos brothers took some trouble to acquire the best available machinery. Small and Shattell Pty Ltd, Melbourne-based engineers who specialised in baking equipment, along with Star Machinery of Alexandria, are among the few Australian firms patronised.
A major French firm, Kstner frres of Lyon, had been making bakery equipment for the world for fifty years. There is also another piece of equipment from the firm when it was located not in Lyons but in Paris and Aubervilliers. America, with which the Simos had strong connections, was not overlooked. Metal piping was made by Walworth of Boston.
The confectionery equipment was made by the prestigious firm BCH. What became the major modern firm called BCH had originated in the mid-nineteenth century in the separate works of William Brierley, Luke Collier and Thomas Hartley. Luke Collier was a specialist confectioner from 1835; Brierley was a brass-founder, specialising in confectionery work from 1844 onwards; and Hartley was also an independent specialist in chocolate-making. The Brierley and Collier firms amalgamated in 1913 and this firm joined forces with the Hartley family in 1924. Operating out of Rochdale in England the Brierley-Collier-Hartley firm went from strength to strength and finally became BCH. Simos seems to have ordered this equipment from BCH in the decade after the final amalgamation of 1924.
In 1929 Zacharias returned to Kythera and spent a year in Europe observing trends in confectionery manufacture and cafe culture. He also arranged to import new ingredients and learned about presentation and packaging. On Kythera he met and courted Mary (Maria) Panaretos (1912-2001). She had been born on 20 June 1912 at Elkton, Maryland, United States of America, where her parents were cafe proprietors who regularly spent the summer months on Kythera. Mary and Zacharias married there on 30 January 1930 and reached Katoomba later that year.
Zacharias Simos and his wife set about turning the Paragon into a high class refreshment room. The popular Katoomba landmark Orphan Rock became his trademark, an image of the 'stand-alone' excellence to which he aspired. Mary became an identifiable figure at the Paragon. She was generous and cultured, and always on hand to welcome visitors and press chocolates into the hands of children.
Zacharias also began planning two large extensions at the rear of his cafe: the banquet hall (1934), influenced by pre-Columbian decoration, and the blue room (1936), in 'ocean liner' style, with mirrored walls and sprung dance floor. The design of the 1925 and 1930s interiors has generally been attributed to Henry Eli White who was also responsible for buildings such as the Vanderbilt Flats in Elizabeth Bay and a variety of theatres throughout Australia. However, there has been some suggestion that some of the work at The Paragon may be attributed to George Newton Kenworthy. Some archived drawings show them as being produced in Kenworthy's office. This is supported by the fact that Kenworthy worked in White's office in the second half of the 1920s and opened his own office in the early 1930s. Henry White closed his practice in the early years of the 1930s and did not continue to practice architecture.
In the late 1930s Zacharias and Mary bought vacant land on what is now Cliff Drive down at Echo Point and in 1940 they commissioned G.N. Kenworthy, the architect of the State Ballroom in Sydney, who had also worked on the State Theatre, to design a Functionalist house, which they called Olympus. Despite some additions to the upper frontage in the 1980s, the house and its important outbuildings, (garage, pergola, summer-house, fuel store), have retained a great deal of integrity. This is the necessary corollary to the Paragon, blending perfectly with the developed facade of the famous cafe.
In the early post war years a decorative relief sculpture by Otto Steen depicting various characters from Greek mythology was installed in the Dining Room. He was a student of Raynor Hoff who created the sculptures for the ANZAC War Memorial in the Sydney. Steen worked with Hoff at the memorial. Steen's other decorative works include those in two major Sydney buildings in the 1930s - the Trocadero in George Street and the AWA Building in York Street. He was also responsible for the relief sculptures at Everglades, Leura. Steen is now considered one of the twentieth century's accomplished sculptors who made a significant contribution to NSW's interwar and post war heritage.
The Paragon gained a wide reputation. Its ice creams were originally hand churned and frozen with American ammonia freezing machines and sundaes blended with syrups and fruit ingredients, often specially imported. The art deco ambience attracted devoted customers. With the help of his brothers Peter and George, bread, cakes and pastries were manufactured on the premises, as well as chocolates and other confectioneries sold in exquisitely designed and coloured boxes. In this period the Blue Mountains was among NSW's most important holiday and recreation centres and Katoomba was a focal point of this activity. The Paragon also catered to more adult tastes and would later be described as one of the smartest cocktail bars in the art deco style in Australia.
The shop at number 69 was bought in the 1930s by Mary Simos so that the three shops, nos. 65, 67, and 69, were all in the Simos family control (Rate Books). The shop at no.69 had a different owner when constructed in 1909, Reuben S. Hofman. Hofman appears to have used it as his own draper's shop. After his retirement, Hofman leased no.69 initially to E. Luce, also a draper, in the early 1920s, but it became a confectioner's in the mid-1920s, competing with the Paragon.
The Simos' primary residence was Olympus; they also maintained a home in Sydney at Centennial Park. Zacharias devoted many hours to his garden - meaning the Paragon always had fresh flowers - loved music, played the violin and was a keen fisherman and backgammon player. Enjoying travel, he visited Europe, the U.S.A. and Kythera several times. He was a foundation member of Katoomba Rotary Club, which for many years held its meetings in the Paragon.
Zacharias died on 15 November 1976 in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, and was buried in Randwick cemetery following a funeral at St George's Greek Orthodox Church, Rose Bay. His wife, carried on as manager of The Paragon until 1987. The cafe was sold in 2000. Mary Simos died on 15 May 2001 at Rose Bay and was buried beside her husband.
The tea-room has remained as a remarkably intact example of Interwar Art Deco.
Robyn Parker has been the proprietor of the Paragon since May 2011 and is working to regain its original splendour. She played an important role in having the site listed on the NSW State Heritage Register.
H. & E. SIDGREAVES
Harry and Ernest Sidgreaves established a modest retail shopfitting workshop in Sydney's Surry Hills in 1917 and were later joined by their father John and youngest brother Harold. They moved their factory to Redfern in the early 1920's where the company carried on business until 1984 when it relocated to Silverwater. Sidgreaves undertook much shopfront construction during the interwar period in Sydney and surrounds. This included one of their most celebrated early works, a streamlined shopfront for G. A. Zink and Son in Oxford Street, East Sydney, 1938.
In 2005, the Company relocated to larger and more contemporary offices in Annandale where it remains today. Throughout the 90+ year history of the Company, Sidgreaves has specialised in all areas of interior refurbishment from major department stores, specialty retailers, financial institutions and commercial offices through to hotels, clubs and pharmacies. In the 21st century Sidgreaves ranks many national and international companies amongst its clients in Australia including Burberry, Versace, Jimmy Choo, Saba and Sheridan.
OTTO STEEN
Otto Seen studied at the Royal Academy, Copenhagen under Utzon Frank 1923-1925. He studied under Raynor Hoff at East Sydney Technical College from 1928-1930 and worked as Hoff's assistant on the ANZAC memorial. As Hoff's student, Steen was part of perhaps the only instance of coherent (European) group production of sculpture in Australia. The unity of style and subject matter of the sculptures created by Hoff and his students was so great that the works have been designated as part of 'the Hoff School". The theme of Greek mythology in Steen's work at The Paragon reflected the influence of his work as a member of the Hoff School with its classicist tendencies. It was a local decision made on behalf of the local community with input from appropriate experts. Steen completed reliefs at King George V Hospital in Sydney (1941) as well as those at the Trocadero, Sydney, 1936 (frieze), the AWA building, Sydney, 1939 (mosaic, relief), Everglades and The Paragon.
HENRY WHITE
Henry White was born in New Zealand. He established himself as a theatre architect in Christchurch from 1905. By 1915 he was building theatres in Australia, placing himself in an ideal position for the theatre boom of the 1920s. He adapted American architects John Eberson's 'atmospheric' style which was supposed to evoke an exotic garden or courtyard and used Spanish, Moorish, Venetian and Indian Motifs. His Sydney theatres included the Capital, the State Theatre, the St James (for the Fullers) and the Majestic (Elizabethan) at Newtown. He also designed the Bunnerong Power Station and the Civic Theatre and City Hall at Newcastle. The Depression marked the end of White's architectural career. He won a competition to design a college in Auckland but plans were shelved. He closed his office in favour of farming in New Zealand. The venture failed and he returned to Sydney in 1937. A number of commissions at this time failed to go ahead.
GEORGE NEWTON KENWORTHY
Like Henry White, Kenworthy was well known for his theatre architecture. Kenworthy's works include the Cremorne Orpheum and the Royal Hotel, Orange. He spent a period of time working in the offices of Henry White before branching out on his own.
Source: New South Wales Heritage Register.
Lucas was a brilliant businessman who rose to the top of his industry through his cunning and ruthless tactics. He had a reputation for being a master of deception and manipulation, always telling people what they wanted to hear, regardless of the truth.
As the CEO of his company, Lucas was in charge of making important decisions that affected the lives of thousands of employees and the financial success of the company. However, his habit of lying and manipulating soon caught up with him.
Lucas would make promises to investors, clients, and employees that he knew he couldn't keep. He would exaggerate the company's successes and downplay its failures. He would take credit for other people's work and blame others when things went wrong.
Despite his reputation for lying, Lucas managed to maintain his position for years, thanks to his ability to charm and manipulate others. But as the company's financial situation started to decline, people began to question his leadership. Employees were frustrated with the lack of transparency, and investors were losing faith in the company's future.
As the situation worsened, Lucas continued to lie and deceive, making bold promises to turn things around. However, his lies were finally exposed when the company's finances were audited, and it was revealed that he had been cooking the books to hide the true extent of the company's losses....but he just get the next job and all workers lost their jobs.....
A chill with no frills atmosphere. It is open 24 hours, so it attracts an assortment of customers, from lunch and dinner customers to late-night crowds like partiers on weekends, late-night shift workers, truck drivers, and early risers. We are expecting a snowstorm to start tonight. Waffle House has a reputation for staying open during severe weather. I wonder if this one will uphold that reputation and remain open for 24 hours tonight. If so, I hope the workers receive some big tips.
.
.
If the Magpie were an exotic, rare bird, people would rave about them, travel distances to view them, crave them in their private collections, but because it is a common, thriving bird with a green status of least concern on the UK conservation lists, it is perceived as a thief, can be very noisy and flays songbird chicks on your lawn it's a different story! Well, I adore these beautiful, cheeky, playful, intelligent and on occasions shockingly ruthless and violent birds, and love them for the colour and attitude they bring to my garden and local woodlands....
So there!
YOU GOT A BAD REPUTATION!
Let's be honest, in Public relations terms, the Eurasian Magpie has something of a problem with it's image as a thief, a murderer of innocent baby birds and a voracious predator. In history too it's not all been an easy ride.
"One for Sorrow" is a traditional children's nursery rhyme about magpies dating back originally to the Sixteenth century. According to an old superstition, the number of magpies seen tells if one will have bad or good luck. The rhyme was first recorded around 1780 in a note in John Brand's (Church of England clergyman and antiquarian), 'Observations on Popular Antiquities' on Lincolnshire with the lyric:
One for sorrow,
Two for mirth,
Three for a funeral
And four for birth
In 1846, Michael Aislabie Denham a collector of folklore and merchant released 'Proverbs and Popular Saying of the Seasons' in London with an extended version:
One for sorrow,
Two for mirth
Three for a funeral,
Four for birth
Five for heaven
Six for hell
Seven for the devil, his own self
And we all in the UK remember the children's TV show Magpie, which ran from 1968 to 1980 and featured an entirely new version of the rhyme in an opening song recorded by 'Spencer davis group' under the alias of 'The murgatroyd band', featuring the lines:
One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told
Eight's a wish and
Nine a kiss
Ten is a bird you must not miss.
In 1815, two French playwrights, Theodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caigniez wrote a historical melodram called La Pie Voleuse, in which a servant is sentenced to death for stealing silverware from her master, when the real thief is his pet magpie. The play opened on 29th April 1815 Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. Moved by the Parisian urban myth, Gioachino Rossini set his opera La gazza ladra 'The thieving Magpie' to the same story. Thus, the poor Magpie's reputation would be forever set!
Two hundred years later in tests, it was found that Magpies were not generally drawn to shiny objects and only two out of over sixty birds took items left in shiny piles by their food. This backs up many previous and subsequent tests that prove conclusively that Magpies are not uniformally thieves, and that there is no evidence of shiny objects ever being found in a magpie nest. Kleptomania and inquisitiveness are of course two entirely different things. As for killing baby birds and destroying local population of starlings, blackbirds and pigeons... again there is no scientific evidence that this has ever been the case, and it's proven that domestic cats are a bigger threat to songbirds. Nature has a balance and each species plays it's part.
A CLOSER LOOK
The Eurasian Magpie or Common Magpie (Pica pica) is a resident breeding bird found throughout the Northern part of the Eurasian continent and is often referred to simply as Magpie in Europe, the only other Magpie being the Iberian magpie (Cyanopica cooki) which can only be found in the Iberian Peninsula.
An omnivore which eats berries, grains, caterpillars and small mammals, young birds and eggs, insects, scraps, carrion,grain,acorns and vegetables, it is highly adaptable and will incorporate a vast array of foods into it's diet. It can vary in length from 17.3-18.1 inches with a wingspan of 20.5-23.6 inches and it's tail makes up more than half it's length. Viewed as manly black and white, it actually has a head, neck and breast of gloss black, with a metallic green and violet sheen and gloss black with green or purple wings. Males tend to be larger than females, by sometimes more than twenty per cent, males weighing 210-272g compared to 182-214g of the females.
Magpies were originally referred to mas 'Pies', a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'pointed' in reference to their beaks or tails and 'Mag' actually dates back to the Sixteenth century being the shortened abbreviation for the name 'Margaret' which was once used as a term for women in general. The Pies call was said to resemble 'the idle chattering of women', and so the name became 'Mag pie'. The term 'Pie' used as a reference dates back even further to the thirteenth century, whilst 'pied' was first recorded in 1552 as a reference to birds resembling a Magpie with black and white plumage.
The Magpie was first described and illustrated by Zurich born Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner in his book 'Historia animalium (History of the Animals)', published at Zurich in 1551–1558 and 1587. Carl Linnaeeus, a Swedish born botonist, zoologist, taxonomist and physician and known as the father of modern taxonomy, included the species in the 10th edition of 'Systema Naturae under the name 'Corvus pica'. The separate genus 'Pica' was first noted by French Zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760, Pica being the classical Latin word for this Magpie.
In 2000, the North American Black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia) became it's own species after the American Ornithologists Union decided that studies of vocalization and behaviour placed the Black-billed closer to the Yellow-billed magpie (Pica nuttalli) than to the Eurasian magpie. The Yellow-billed magpie has a yellow beak and streak around the eye.
There are seven sub species of Magpies found throughout the world:
European, Eurasian or common Magpie (Pica pica) found in the British isles, Russia, Southern Scandinavia and Mediterranean.
Iberian Magpie ( Pica melanotos) found in the Iberian Peninsula, Siberia and first noted in 1857.
Northern Magpie (Pica fennorum) found in Northern Scandinavia and North western Russia and first noted in 1927.
Russian Magpie (Pica bactriana)found in Siberia, Caucasus, Iraq, Iran, Central Asia and Pakistan and first noted in 1850.
Kamchatkan magpie (Pica camtschatica) found in the northern Sea of Okhotsk and the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East and first noted in 1884.
Others include Pica leucoptera and the separate species of Pica mauritanica, Pica asirensis, Pica serica and Pica bottanensis.
INTELLIGENCE
The Eurasian Magpie is believed to be not only among the most intelligent of bird species but also the most intelligent of all animals, it's Nidopallium (the region of the avian brain used mostly for executive functions and other higher cognitive tasks), is relatively the same approximate size as those in Humans and chimpanzees, with a brain to body mass ratio equal to Great apes and Cetaceans (Aquatic mammals of the order Cetacea).
They have been observed by one Japanese university campus, waiting at traffic lights and placing tough nuts in front of the wheels of stationary traffic. As the lights change and vehicles move away, the shells are crushed. They are accomplished food cache thieves as I have observed in my own garden where Magpies made several false raids on the food stores held by a dominant pair of Carrion Crows (Corvus corone) in my birdbath, before making a real attack. Magpies also work in pairs and use decoy tactics for this purpose, the female in my garden drawing the attention of the crows and flying off with them in hot pursuit, only for the male to nip in and grab the food to rendezvous back at their nest! They even have the ability to learn from their own burglary efforts and guard their own food cache against others.
Like crows, Magpies will attend a funeral for their dead. Often a single bird will call for others on finding a dead magpie. Anything up to forty responders have been recorded, gathering around the dead bird for up to fifteen minutes before leaving. On occasions they have been observed laying wreaths of grass like flowers. They have been recorded 'showing happiness or joy' when playing, and are highly social. They are also fond of stealing shiny objects or items which interest them.
Magpies are capable of passing the self recognition 'Mirror self recognition MSR' test' or 'Mark test', developed in 1970 by American psychologist Gordon Gallup Jn. Yellow spots were placed on some magpie throats and three out of five birds spotted these marks in the mirror and tried to remove them. That confirms that they understand and recognise a reflection of themselves in the mirror, a test successfully passed by only a handful of other animals including the great apes (including us humans), just one single Asiatic elephant, dolphins, Orcas and the Cleaner Wrasse (a marine fish).
Magpies have demonstrated abilities in the game 'hide and seek' comparable to those of human children aged around 5 years, and in some tests they have managed to fashion simple tools from metal or wood to use as retrieval tools for food in human made puzzles, outsmarting seven year old children performing those same tests.
Results published in the journal 'Nature', by researchers from the University of Western Australia and the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, on work that began in 2013 studying the behaviour of 56 wild magpies, individually tagged, living in 14 territorial groups of between three and 12 birds in the Perth suburb of Guildford. Those studies found magpies living in larger groups appeared to be smarter than those in smaller groups, and also that clever female birds seemed to make better mothers, with a higher success rate when it came to both hatching their eggs and raising their young. The findings seemed to back up the 'social intelligence hypothesis' that posits intelligence in animals evolved in response to the demands of living in complex social systems according to Study co-author Dr Benjamin Ashton.
So there we have it, a brief look at the Eurasian, common or just simply Magpie, pie, or 'those bleedin' black and white things!' as my mum and dad always refer to them. Public opinion will no doubt never be swayed, but to my eyes they are magnificent birds with anabilty to please and shock, to entertain, to brighten my day and to bring nature to my daily life. My time with magpies is never dull, never predictable, never boring. I love the little beauties!
Paul Williams June 8th 2021
©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
.
.
©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
.
.
I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 39.000+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.
***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on June 11th 2021
CREATIVE RF gty.im/1322331837 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**
This photograph became my 5,046th frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.
©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
.
.
Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty one metres at 13:01pm on a mixed afternoon of sunshine and passing rain showers on Wednesday 26th May 2021, off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.
Here we see an adult Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica), standing on a stone birdbath during one of those fleeting showers. Found throughout the Northern part of the Eurasian continent, it is also known as the Common Magpie, and is part of the Holarctic radiation of monochrome magpies. They can measure up to 18 inches in length with a 25 inch wingspan, and have a life expectancy of up to 3.7 years. They are also amongst the most intelligent birds and all non human animals.
.
.
Nikon D850 Focal length 600mm Shutter speed: 1/500s Aperture f/6.3 iso125 Tripod mounted with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON and position 3. Image area FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW L (14 bit uncompressed) Size L (8256 x 5504) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (4790k) Colour space: Adobe RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)
Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Manfrotto MT057C3-G Carbon fiber Geared tripod 3 sections. Neewer Carbon Fiber Gimble tripod head 10088736 with Arca Swiss standard quick release plate. Neewer 9996 Arca Swiss release plate P860 x2.Jessops Tripod bag. Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.
.
.
LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.01s
LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.61s
ALTITUDE: 54.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 89.9MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 42.00MB
.
.
PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
To the north of Cap Corse, Barcaggio beach has gained a reputation as a getaway that should not be ignored. It has an expanse of fine sand, dunes that rank among the biggest on the island, the occasional cow and a panoramic view of the isle of La Giraglia, which is home to local sailors all year round.
The land between Macinaggio and Barcaggio, on the extreme end of Corsica, belongs to a protected area called the Site de la Capandula: a wonderful area to explore on foot, which boasts some fantastic beaches. Known as the “sacred promontory” by the Romans for its Christian settlements, the end of the cape also has many chapels in ruin like Santa Maria, near Macinaggio.
-----
We spent a day hiking between the village of Barcaggio and Santa Maria ruins in the northernmost part of Corsica island; this is truly a place to hide and enjoy some solitary walking.
A fine son of Norfolk.
----------------------------------------------------------
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, KB (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of decisive naval victories, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was wounded several times in combat, losing one arm in the unsuccessful attempt to conquer Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the sight in one eye in Corsica. He was shot and killed during his final victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Nelson was born into a moderately prosperous Norfolk family and joined the navy through the influence of his uncle, Maurice Suckling. He rose rapidly through the ranks and served with leading naval commanders of the period before obtaining his own command in 1778. He developed a reputation in the service through his personal valour and firm grasp of tactics but suffered periods of illness and unemployment after the end of the American War of Independence. The outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars allowed Nelson to return to service, where he was particularly active in the Mediterranean. He fought in several minor engagements off Toulon and was important in the capture of Corsica and subsequent diplomatic duties with the Italian states. In 1797, he distinguished himself while in command of HMS Captain at the Battle of Cape St Vincent.
Shortly after the battle, Nelson took part in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where his attack was defeated and he was badly wounded, losing his right arm, and was forced to return to England to recuperate. The following year, he won a decisive victory over the French at the Battle of the Nile and remained in the Mediterranean to support the Kingdom of Naples against a French invasion. In 1801, he was dispatched to the Baltic and won another victory, this time over the Danes at the Battle of Copenhagen. He subsequently commanded the blockade of the French and Spanish fleets at Toulon and, after their escape, chased them to the West Indies and back but failed to bring them to battle. After a brief return to England, he took over the Cádiz blockade in 1805. On 21 October 1805, the Franco-Spanish fleet came out of port, and Nelson's fleet engaged them at the Battle of Trafalgar. The battle was Britain's greatest naval victory, but during the action Nelson, aboard HMS Victory, was fatally wounded by a French sharpshooter. His body was brought back to England where he was accorded a state funeral.
Nelson's death at Trafalgar secured his position as one of Britain's most heroic figures. The significance of the victory and his death during the battle led to his signal, "England expects that every man will do his duty", being regularly quoted, paraphrased and referenced up to the modern day. Numerous monuments, including Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, and the Nelson Monument in Edinburgh, have been created in his memory and his legacy remains highly influential.
Horatio Nelson was born on 29 September 1758 in a rectory in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, England, the sixth of eleven children of the Reverend Edmund Nelson and his wife Catherine Suckling.[1] He was named after his godfather Horatio Walpole (1723–1809) then 2nd Baron Walpole, of Wolterton.[2] His mother, who died on 26 December 1767 when he was nine years old, was a grandniece of Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, the de facto first Prime Minister of Great Britain.[3] She lived in the village of Barsham, Suffolk, and married the Reverend Edmund Nelson at Beccles church, Suffolk, in 1749. Nelson's aunt, Alice Nelson was the wife of Reverend Robert Rolfe, Rector of Hilborough, Norfolk and grandmother of Sir Robert Monsey Rolfe.[4] Rolfe twice served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain.
Nelson attended Paston Grammar School, North Walsham, until he was 12 years old, and also attended King Edward VI’s Grammar School in Norwich. His naval career began on 1 January 1771, when he reported to the third-rate HMS Raisonnable as an ordinary seaman and coxswain under his maternal uncle, Captain Maurice Suckling, who commanded the vessel. Shortly after reporting aboard, Nelson was appointed a midshipman and began officer training. Early in his service, Nelson discovered that he suffered from seasickness, a chronic complaint that dogged him for the rest of his life.
HMS Raisonnable had been commissioned during a period of tension with Spain, but when this passed, Suckling was transferred to the Nore guardship HMS Triumph and Nelson was dispatched to serve aboard the West Indiamen of the merchant shipping firm of Hibbert, Purrier and Horton, in order to gain experience at sea.[6] In this capacity he twice crossed the Atlantic, before returning to serve under his uncle as the commander of Suckling's longboat, which carried men and dispatches to and from the shore. Nelson then learned of a planned expedition under the command of Constantine Phipps, intended to survey a passage in the Arctic by which it was hoped that India could be reached: the fabled Northwest Passage. At his nephew's request, Suckling arranged for Nelson to join the expedition as coxswain[7] to Commander Lutwidge aboard the converted bomb vessel HMS Carcass. The expedition reached within ten degrees of the North Pole, but, unable to find a way through the dense ice floes, was forced to turn back. By 1800 Lutwidge began to circulate a story that while the ship had been trapped in the ice, Nelson had seen and pursued a polar bear, before being ordered to return to the ship. Lutwidge's later version, in 1809, reported that Nelson and a companion had given chase to the bear, but on being questioned why, replied that "I wished, Sir, to get the skin for my father."[8]
Nelson briefly returned to the Triumph after the expedition's return to Britain in September 1773. Suckling then arranged for his transfer to HMS Seahorse, one of two ships about to sail for the East Indies.
Nelson sailed for the East Indies on 19 November 1773 and arrived at the British outpost at Madras on 25 May 1774.[11] Nelson and the Seahorse spent the rest of the year cruising off the coast and escorting merchantmen. With the outbreak of the First Anglo-Maratha War, the British fleet operated in support of the East India Company and in early 1775 the Seahorse was dispatched to carry a cargo of the company's money to Bombay. On 19 February two of Hyder Ali's ketches attacked the Seahorse, which drove them off after a brief exchange of fire. This was Nelson's first experience of battle.[12] The rest of the year he spent escorting convoys, during which he continued to develop his navigation and ship handling skills. In early 1776 Nelson contracted malaria and became seriously ill. He was discharged from the Seahorse on 14 March and returned to England aboard HMS Dolphin.[13] Nelson spent the six-month voyage recuperating and had almost recovered by the time he arrived in Britain in September 1776. His patron, Suckling, had risen to the post of Comptroller of the Navy in 1775, and used his influence to help Nelson gain further promotion.[3][14] Nelson was appointed acting lieutenant aboard HMS Worcester, which was about to sail to Gibraltar.[15]
The Worcester, under the command of Captain Mark Robinson, sailed as a convoy escort on 3 December and returned with another convoy in April 1777.[16] Nelson then travelled to London to take his lieutenant's examination on 9 April; his examining board consisted of Captains John Campbell, Abraham North, and his uncle, Maurice Suckling. Nelson passed, and the next day received his commission and an appointment to HMS Lowestoffe, which was preparing to sail to Jamaica under Captain William Locker.[17] She sailed on 16 May, arrived on 19 July, and after reprovisioning, carried out several cruises in Caribbean waters. After the outbreak of the American War of Independence the Lowestoffe took several prizes, one of which was taken into Navy service as the tender Little Lucy. Nelson asked for and was given command of her, and took her on two cruises of his own.[18] As well as giving him his first taste of command, it gave Nelson the opportunity to explore his fledgling interest in science. During his first cruise, Nelson led an expeditionary party to the Caicos Islands,[19] where he made detailed notes of the wildlife and in particular a bird—now believed to be the white-necked jacobin.[20] Locker, impressed by Nelson's abilities, recommended him to the new commander-in-chief at Jamaica, Sir Peter Parker. Parker duly took Nelson onto his flagship, HMS Bristol.[21] The entry of the French into the war, in support of the Americans, meant further targets for Parker's fleet and it took a large number of prizes towards the end of 1778, which brought Nelson an estimated £400 in prize money. Parker subsequently appointed him as Master and Commander of the brig HMS Badger on 8 December.[22]
Nelson and the Badger spent most of 1779 cruising off the Central American coast, ranging as far as the British settlements at British Honduras and Nicaragua, but without much success at interception of enemy prizes.[23] On his return to Port Royal he learned that Parker had promoted him to post-captain on 11 June, and intended to give him another command. Nelson handed over the Badger to Cuthbert Collingwood while he awaited the arrival of his new ship, the 28-gun frigate HMS Hinchinbrook,[a] newly captured from the French.[24] While Nelson waited, news reached Parker that a French fleet under the command of Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing, was approaching Jamaica. Parker hastily organized his defences and placed Nelson in command of Fort Charles, which covered the approaches to Kingston.[25] D'Estaing instead headed north, and the anticipated invasion never materialised. Nelson duly took command of the Hinchinbrook on 1 September.[26]
The Hinchinbrook sailed from Port Royal on 5 October 1779 and, in company with other British ships, proceeded to capture a number of American prizes.[27] On his return to Jamaica in December, Nelson began to be troubled by a recurrent attack of malaria, but remained in the West Indies in order to take part in Major-General John Dalling's attempt to capture the Spanish colonies in Central America, including an assault on the Inmaculada Concepción Fort, also called Castillo Viejo, on the San Juan River in Nicaragua.[28] The Hinchinbrook sailed from Jamaica in February 1780, as an escort for Dalling's invasion force. After sailing up the mouth of the San Juan River, Nelson with some one thousand men and four small four-pounder cannons, obtained the surrender of Castillo Viejo and its 160 Spanish defenders after a two-week siege.[29] The British blew up the fort when they evacuated six months later after massive deaths due to disease and Nelson was praised for his efforts.[30] Parker recalled Nelson and gave him command of the 44-gun frigate HMS Janus.[31] Nelson had however fallen seriously ill in the jungles of Costa Rica, probably from a recurrence of malaria, and was unable to take command. During his time of convalescence he was nursed by a black "doctoress" named Cubah Cornwallis, the mistress of a fellow captain, William Cornwallis.[32] He was discharged in August and returned to Britain aboard HMS Lion,[33] arriving in late November. Nelson gradually recovered over several months, and soon began agitating for a command. He was appointed to the frigate HMS Albemarle on 15 August 1781.
Nelson received orders on 23 October to take the newly refitted Albemarle to sea. He was instructed to collect an inbound convoy of the Russia Company at Elsinore, and escort them back to Britain. For this operation, the Admiralty placed the frigates HMS Argo and HMS Enterprise under his command.[35] Nelson successfully organised the convoy and escorted it into British waters. He then left the convoy to return to port, but severe storms hampered him.[36] Gales almost wrecked Albemarle as she was a poorly designed ship and an earlier accident had left her damaged, but Nelson eventually brought her into Portsmouth in February 1782.[37] There the Admiralty ordered him to fit the Albemarle for sea and join the escort for a convoy collecting at Cork to sail for Quebec.[38] Nelson arrived off Newfoundland with the convoy in late May, then detached on a cruise to hunt American privateers. Nelson was generally unsuccessful; he succeeded only in retaking several captured British merchant ships and capturing a number of small fishing boats and assorted craft.[39]
In August he had a narrow escape from a far superior French force under Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil, only evading them after a prolonged chase.[40] Nelson arrived at Quebec on 18 September.[41] He sailed again as part of the escort for a convoy to New York. He arrived in mid-November and reported to Admiral Samuel Hood, commander of the New York station.[42] At Nelson's request, Hood transferred him to his fleet and Albemarle sailed in company with Hood, bound for the West Indies.[43] On their arrival, the British fleet took up position off Jamaica to await the arrival of de Vaudreuil's force. Nelson and the Albemarle were ordered to scout the numerous passages for signs of the enemy, but it became clear by early 1783 that the French had eluded Hood.[44] During his scouting operations, Nelson had developed a plan to assault the French garrison of the Turks Islands. Commanding a small flotilla of frigates and smaller vessels, he landed a force of 167 seamen and marines early on the morning of 8 March under a supporting bombardment.[45] The French were found to be heavily entrenched and after several hours Nelson called off the assault. Several of the officers involved criticised Nelson, but Hood does not appear to have reprimanded him.[46] Nelson spent the rest of the war cruising in the West Indies, where he captured a number of French and Spanish prizes.[47] After news of the peace reached Hood, Nelson returned to Britain in late June 1783.
Nelson visited France in late 1783, stayed with acquaintances at Saint-Omer, and briefly attempted to learn French. He returned to England in January 1784, and attended court as part of Lord Hood's entourage.[49] Influenced by the factional politics of the time, he contemplated standing for Parliament as a supporter of William Pitt, but was unable to find a seat.[50]
In 1784 he received command of the frigate HMS Boreas with the assignment to enforce the Navigation Acts in the vicinity of Antigua.[51] The Acts were unpopular with both the Americans and the colonies.[52] Nelson served on the station under Admiral Sir Richard Hughes, and often came into conflict with his superior officer over their differing interpretation of the Acts.[53] The captains of the American vessels Nelson had seized sued him for illegal seizure. Because the merchants of the nearby island of Nevis supported the American claim, Nelson was in peril of imprisonment; he remained sequestered on Boreas for eight months, until the courts ruled in his favour.[54]
In the interim, Nelson met Frances "Fanny" Nisbet, a young widow from a Nevis plantation family.[55] Nelson and Nisbet were married at Montpelier Estate on the island of Nevis on 11 March 1787, shortly before the end of his tour of duty in the Caribbean.[56] The marriage was registered at Fig Tree Church in St John's Parish on Nevis. Nelson returned to England in July, with Fanny following later.
Nelson remained with Boreas until she was paid off in November that year.[58] He and Fanny then divided their time between Bath and London, occasionally visiting Nelson's relations in Norfolk. In 1788, they settled at Nelson's childhood home at Burnham Thorpe.[59] Now in reserve on half pay, he attempted to persuade the Admiralty and other senior figures he was acquainted with, such as Hood, to provide him with a command. He was unsuccessful as there were too few ships in the peacetime navy and Hood did not intercede on his behalf.[60] Nelson spent his time trying to find employment for former crew members, attending to family affairs, and cajoling contacts in the navy for a posting. In 1792 the French revolutionary government annexed the Austrian Netherlands (modern Belgium), which were traditionally preserved as a buffer state. The Admiralty recalled Nelson to service and gave him command of the 64-gun HMS Agamemnon in January 1793. On 1 February France declared war.
In May, 1793, Nelson sailed as part of a division under the command of Vice-Admiral William Hotham, joined later in the month by the rest of Lord Hood's fleet.[62] The force initially sailed to Gibraltar and, with the intention of establishing naval superiority in the Mediterranean, made their way to Toulon, anchoring off the port in July.[63] Toulon was largely under the control of moderate republicans and royalists, but was threatened by the forces of the National Convention, which were marching on the city. Short of supplies and doubting their ability to defend themselves, the city authorities requested that Hood take the city under his protection. Hood readily acquiesced and sent Nelson to carry dispatches to Sardinia and Naples requesting reinforcements.[64] After delivering the dispatches to Sardinia, Agamemnon arrived at Naples in early September. There Nelson met Ferdinand VI, King of Naples,[65] followed by the British ambassador to the kingdom, William Hamilton.[66] At some point during the negotiations for reinforcements, Nelson was introduced to Hamilton's new wife, Emma Hamilton.[67] The negotiations were successful, and 2,000 men and several ships were mustered by mid-September. Nelson put to sea in pursuit of a French frigate, but on failing to catch her, sailed for Leghorn, and then to Corsica.[68] He arrived at Toulon on 5 October, where he found that a large French army had occupied the hills surrounding the city and was bombarding it. Hood still hoped the city could be held if more reinforcements arrived, and sent Nelson to join a squadron operating off Cagliari.
Early on the morning of 22 October 1793, the Agamemnon sighted five sails. Nelson closed with them, and discovered they were a French squadron. Nelson promptly gave chase, firing on the 40-gun Melpomene.[70] He inflicted considerable damage but the remaining French ships turned to join the battle and, realising he was outnumbered, Nelson withdrew and continued to Cagliari, arriving on 24 October.[70] After making repairs Nelson and the Agamemnon sailed again on 26 October, bound for Tunis with a squadron under Commodore Robert Linzee. On arrival, Nelson was given command of a small squadron consisting of the Agamemnon, three frigates and a sloop, and ordered to blockade the French garrison on Corsica.[71] The fall of Toulon at the end of December 1793 severely damaged British fortunes in the Mediterranean. Hood had failed to make adequate provision for a withdrawal and 18 French ships-of-the-line fell into republican hands.[72] Nelson's mission to Corsica took on added significance, as it could provide the British a naval base close to the French coast.[72] Hood therefore reinforced Nelson with extra ships during January 1794.[73]
A British assault force landed on the island on 7 February, after which Nelson moved to intensify the blockade off Bastia. For the rest of the month he carried out raids along the coast and intercepted enemy shipping. By late February St Fiorenzo had fallen and British troops under Lieutenant-General David Dundas entered the outskirts of Bastia.[74] However Dundas merely assessed the enemy positions and then withdrew, arguing the French were too well entrenched to risk an assault. Nelson convinced Hood otherwise, but a protracted debate between the army and naval commanders meant that Nelson did not receive permission to proceed until late March. Nelson began to land guns from his ships and emplace them in the hills surrounding the town. On 11 April the British squadron entered the harbour and opened fire, whilst Nelson took command of the land forces and commenced bombardment.[75] After 45 days, the town surrendered.[76] Nelson subsequently prepared for an assault on Calvi, working in company with Lieutenant-General Charles Stuart.[77]
British forces landed at Calvi on 19 June, and immediately began moving guns ashore to occupy the heights surrounding the town. While Nelson directed a continuous bombardment of the enemy positions, Stuart's men began to advance . On 12 July Nelson was at one of the forward batteries early in the morning when a shot struck one of the sandbags protecting the position, spraying stones and sand. Nelson was struck by debris in his right eye and was forced to retire from the position, although his wound was soon bandaged and he returned to action.[78] By 18 July most of the enemy positions had been disabled, and that night Stuart, supported by Nelson, stormed the main defensive position and captured it. Repositioning their guns, the British brought Calvi under constant bombardment, and the town surrendered on 10 August.[79] However, Nelson's right eye had been irreparably damaged and he eventually lost sight in it.
After the occupation of Corsica, Hood ordered Nelson to open diplomatic relations with the city-state of Genoa, a strategically important potential ally.[81] Soon afterwards, Hood returned to England and was succeeded by Admiral William Hotham as commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. Nelson put into Leghorn, and while the Agamemnon underwent repairs, met with other naval officers at the port and entertained a brief affair with a local woman, Adelaide Correglia.[82] Hotham arrived with the rest of the fleet in December; Nelson and the Agamemnon sailed on a number of cruises with them in late 1794 and early 1795.[83]
On 8 March, news reached Hotham that the French fleet was at sea and heading for Corsica. He immediately set out to intercept them, and Nelson eagerly anticipated his first fleet action. The French were reluctant to engage and the two fleets shadowed each other throughout 12 March. The following day two of the French ships collided, allowing Nelson to engage the much larger 84-gun Ça Ira for two and a half hours until the arrival of two French ships forced Nelson to veer away, having inflicted heavy casualties and considerable damage.[84] The fleets continued to shadow each other before making contact again, on 14 March, in the Battle of Genoa. Nelson joined the other British ships in attacking the battered Ça Ira, now under tow from the Censeur. Heavily damaged, the two French ships were forced to surrender and Nelson took possession of the Censeur. Defeated at sea, the French abandoned their plan to invade Corsica and returned to port.
Nelson and the fleet remained in the Mediterranean throughout the summer. On 4 July the Agamemnon sailed from St Fiorenzo with a small force of frigates and sloops, bound for Genoa. On 6 July he ran into the French fleet and found himself pursued by several much larger ships-of-the-line. He retreated to St Fiorenzo, arriving just ahead of the pursuing French, who broke off as Nelson's signal guns alerted the British fleet in the harbour.[86] Hotham pursued the French to the Hyères Islands, but failed to bring them to a decisive action. A number of small engagements were fought but to Nelson's dismay, he saw little action.[86]
Nelson returned to operate out of Genoa, intercepting and inspecting merchants and cutting-out suspicious vessels in both enemy and neutral harbours.[87] He formulated ambitious plans for amphibious landings and naval assaults to frustrate the progress of the French Army of Italy that was now advancing on Genoa, but could excite little interest in Hotham.[88] In November Hotham was replaced by Sir Hyde Parker but the situation in Italy was rapidly deteriorating: the French were raiding around Genoa and strong Jacobin sentiment was rife within the city itself.[89] A large French assault at the end of November broke the allied lines, forcing a general retreat towards Genoa. Nelson's forces were able to cover the withdrawing army and prevent them being surrounded, but he had too few ships and men to materially alter the strategic situation, and the British were forced to withdraw from the Italian ports. Nelson returned to Corsica on 30 November, angry and depressed at the British failure and questioning his future in the navy.
In January 1796 the position of commander-in-chief of the fleet in the Mediterranean passed to Sir John Jervis, who appointed Nelson to exercise independent command over the ships blockading the French coast as a commodore.[91] Nelson spent the first half of the year conducting operations to frustrate French advances and bolster Britain's Italian allies. Despite some minor successes in intercepting small French warships, Nelson began to feel the British presence on the Italian peninsula was rapidly becoming useless.[92] In June the Agamemnon was sent back to Britain for repairs, and Nelson was appointed to the 74-gun HMS Captain.[92] In the same month, the French thrust towards Leghorn and were certain to capture the city. Nelson hurried there to oversee the evacuation of British nationals and transported them to Corsica, after which Jervis ordered him to blockade the newly captured French port.[93] In July he oversaw the occupation of Elba, but by September the Genoese had broken their neutrality to declare in favour of the French.[94] By October, the Genoese position and the continued French advances led the British to decide that the Mediterranean fleet could no longer be supplied; they ordered it to be evacuated to Gibraltar. Nelson helped oversee the withdrawal from Corsica, and by December 1796 was aboard the frigate HMS Minerve, covering the evacuation of the garrison at Elba. He then sailed for Gibraltar.[95]
During the passage, Nelson captured the Spanish frigate Santa Sabina and placed Lieutenants Jonathan Culverhouse and Thomas Hardy in charge of the captured vessel, taking the Spanish captain on board Minerve. Santa Sabina was part of a larger Spanish force, and the following morning two Spanish ships-of-the-line and a frigate were sighted closing fast. Unable to outrun them Nelson initially determined to fight but Culverhouse and Hardy raised the British colours and sailed northeast, drawing the Spanish ships after them until being captured, giving Nelson the opportunity to escape.[96] Nelson went on to rendezvous with the British fleet at Elba, where he spent Christmas.[97] He sailed for Gibraltar in late January, and after learning that the Spanish fleet had sailed from Cartagena, stopped just long enough to collect Hardy, Culverhouse, and the rest of the prize crew captured with Santa Sabina, before pressing on through the straits to join Sir John Jervis off Cadiz.
Nelson joined Jervis's fleet off Cape St Vincent, and reported the Spanish movements.[99] Jervis decided to give battle and the two fleets met on 14 February. Nelson found himself towards the rear of the British line and realised that it would be a long time before he could bring Captain into action.[99] Instead of continuing to follow the line, Nelson disobeyed orders and wore ship, breaking from the line and heading to engage the Spanish van, which consisted of the 112-gun San Josef, the 80-gun San Nicolas and the 130-gun Santísima Trinidad. Captain engaged all three, assisted by HMS Culloden which had come to Nelson's aid. After an hour of exchanging broadsides which left both Captain and Culloden heavily damaged, Nelson found himself alongside the San Nicolas. He led a boarding party across, crying "Westminster Abbey! or, glorious victory!" and forced her surrender.[100] San Josef attempted to come to the San Nicolas’s aid, but became entangled with her compatriot and was left immobile. Nelson led his party from the deck of the San Nicolas onto the San Josef and captured her as well.[99] As night fell, the Spanish fleet broke off and sailed for Cadiz. Four ships had surrendered to the British and two of them were Nelson's captures.[101]
Nelson was victorious, but had disobeyed direct orders. Jervis liked Nelson and so did not officially reprimand him,[101] but did not mention Nelson's actions in his official report of the battle.[102] He did write a private letter to George Spencer in which he said that Nelson "contributed very much to the fortune of the day".[101] Nelson also wrote several letters about his victory, reporting that his action was being referred to amongst the fleet as "Nelson's Patent Bridge for boarding first rates".[100] Nelson's account was later challenged by Rear-Admiral William Parker, who had been aboard HMS Prince George. Parker claimed that Nelson had been supported by several more ships than he acknowledged, and that the San Josef had already struck her colours by the time Nelson boarded her.[103] Nelson's account of his role prevailed, and the victory was well received in Britain: Jervis was made Earl St Vincent and Nelson was made a Knight of the Bath.[104][105] On 20 February, in a standard promotion according to his seniority and unrelated to the battle, he was promoted to Rear-Admiral of the Blue.
Nelson was given HMS Theseus as his flagship, and on 27 May 1797 was ordered to lie off Cadiz, monitoring the Spanish fleet and awaiting the arrival of Spanish treasure ships from the American colonies.[107] He carried out a bombardment and personally led an amphibious assault on 3 July. During the action Nelson's barge collided with that of the Spanish commander, and a hand-to-hand struggle ensued between the two crews. Twice Nelson was nearly cut down and both times his life was saved by a seaman named John Sykes who took the blows and was badly wounded. The British raiding force captured the Spanish boat and towed it back to the Theseus.[107][108] During this period Nelson developed a scheme to capture Santa Cruz de Tenerife, aiming to seize a large quantity of specie from the treasure ship Principe de Asturias, which was reported to have recently arrived.
The battle plan called for a combination of naval bombardments and an amphibious landing. The initial attempt was called off after adverse currents hampered the assault and the element of surprise was lost.[110] Nelson immediately ordered another assault but this was beaten back. He prepared for a third attempt, to take place during the night. Although he personally led one of the battalions, the operation ended in failure: the Spanish were better prepared than had been expected and had secured strong defensive positions.[111] Several of the boats failed to land at the correct positions in the confusion, while those that did were swept by gunfire and grapeshot. Nelson's boat reached its intended landing point but as he stepped ashore he was hit in the right arm by a musketball, which fractured his humerus bone in multiple places.[111] He was rowed back to the Theseus to be attended to by the surgeon - Thomas Eshelby.[112] On arriving on his ship he refused to be helped aboard, declaring "Let me alone! I have got my legs left and one arm."[111] He was taken to surgeon Eshelby, instructing him to prepare his instruments and "the sooner it was off the better".[111] Most of the right arm was amputated and within half an hour Nelson had returned to issuing orders to his captains.[113] Years later he would excuse himself to Commodore John Thomas Duckworth for not writing longer letters due to not being naturally left-handed.[114] He developed the sensation of Phantom Limb in his lost arm later on and declared that he had 'found the direct evidence of the existence of soul'.[115]
Meanwhile a force under Sir Thomas Troubridge had fought their way to the main square but could go no further. Unable to return to the fleet because their boats had been sunk, Troubridge was forced to enter into negotiations with the Spanish commander, and the British were subsequently allowed to withdraw.[116] The expedition had failed to achieve any of its objectives and had left a quarter of the landing force dead or wounded.[116][117] The squadron remained off Tenerife for a further three days and by 16 August had rejoined Jervis's fleet off Cadiz. Despondently Nelson wrote to Jervis: "A left-handed Admiral will never again be considered as useful, therefore the sooner I get to a very humble cottage the better, and make room for a better man to serve the state".[118] He returned to England aboard HMS Seahorse, arriving at Spithead on 1 September. He was met with a hero's welcome: the British public had lionised Nelson after Cape St Vincent and his wound earned him sympathy.[119] They refused to attribute the defeat at Tenerife to him, preferring instead to blame poor planning on the part of St Vincent, the Secretary at War or even William Pitt.
Nelson returned to Bath with Fanny, before moving to London in October to seek expert medical attention concerning his amputated arm. Whilst in London news reached him that Admiral Duncan had defeated the Dutch fleet at the Battle of Camperdown.[120] Nelson exclaimed that he would have given his other arm to have been present.[120] He spent the last months of 1797 recuperating in London, during which he was awarded the Freedom of the City of London and an annual pension of £1,000 a year. He used the money to buy Round Wood Farm near Ipswich, and intended to retire there with Fanny.[121] Despite his plans, Nelson was never to live there.[121]
Although surgeons had been unable to remove the central ligature in his amputated arm, which had caused considerable inflammation and poisoning, in early December it came out of its own accord and Nelson rapidly began to recover. Eager to return to sea, he began agitating for a command and was promised the 80-gun HMS Foudroyant. As she was not yet ready for sea, Nelson was instead given command of the 74-gun HMS Vanguard, to which he appointed Edward Berry as his flag captain.[122] French activities in the Mediterranean theatre were raising concern among the Admiralty: Napoleon was gathering forces in Southern France but the destination of his army was unknown. Nelson and the Vanguard were to be dispatched to Cadiz to reinforce the fleet. On 28 March 1798, Nelson hoisted his flag and sailed to join Earl St Vincent. St Vincent sent him on to Toulon with a small force to reconnoitre French activities.
Nelson passed through the Straits of Gibraltar and took up position off Toulon by 17 May, but his squadron was dispersed and blown southwards by a strong gale that struck the area on 20 May.[124] While the British were battling the storm, Napoleon had sailed with his invasion fleet under the command of Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers. Nelson, having been reinforced with a number of ships from St Vincent, went in pursuit.[125] He began searching the Italian coast for Napoleon's fleet, but was hampered by a lack of frigates that could operate as fast scouts. Napoleon had already arrived at Malta and, after a show of force, secured the island's surrender.[126] Nelson followed him there, but the French had already left. After a conference with his captains, he decided Egypt was Napoleon's most likely destination and headed for Alexandria. On his arrival on 28 June, though, he found no sign of the French; dismayed, he withdrew and began searching to the east of the port. While he was absent, Napoleon's fleet arrived on 1 July and landed their forces unopposed.[127]
Brueys then anchored his fleet in Aboukir Bay, ready to support Napoleon if required.[128] Nelson meanwhile had crossed the Mediterranean again in a fruitless attempt to locate the French and had returned to Naples to re-provision.[129] He sailed again, intending to search the seas off Cyprus, but decided to pass Alexandria again for a final check. In doing so his force captured a French merchant, which provided the first news of the French fleet: they had passed south-east of Crete a month before, heading to Alexandria.[130] Nelson hurried to the port but again found it empty of the French. Searching along the coast, he finally discovered the French fleet in Aboukir Bay on 1 August 1798.
Nelson immediately prepared for battle, repeating a sentiment he had expressed at the battle of Cape St Vincent that "Before this time tomorrow, I shall have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey."[132] It was late by the time the British arrived and the French, anchored in a strong position with a combined firepower greater than that of Nelson's fleet, did not expect them to attack.[133] Nelson however immediately ordered his ships to advance. The French line was anchored close to a line of shoals, in the belief that this would secure their port side from attack; Brueys had assumed the British would follow convention and attack his centre from the starboard side. However, Captain Thomas Foley aboard HMS Goliath discovered a gap between the shoals and the French ships, and took Goliath into the channel. The unprepared French found themselves attacked on both sides, the British fleet splitting, with some following Foley and others passing down the starboard side of the French line.
The British fleet was soon heavily engaged, passing down the French line and engaging their ships one by one. Nelson on Vanguard personally engaged Spartiate, also coming under fire from Aquilon. At about eight o'clock, he was with Berry on the quarter-deck when a piece of French shot struck him in his forehead. He fell to the deck, a flap of torn skin obscuring his good eye. Blinded and half stunned, he felt sure he would die and cried out "I am killed. Remember me to my wife." He was taken below to be seen by the surgeon.[135] After examining Nelson, the surgeon pronounced the wound non-threatening and applied a temporary bandage.[136]
The French van, pounded by British fire from both sides, had begun to surrender, and the victorious British ships continued to move down the line, bringing Brueys's 118-gun flagship Orient under constant heavy fire. Orient caught fire under this bombardment, and later exploded. Nelson briefly came on deck to direct the battle, but returned to the surgeon after watching the destruction of Orient.[137]
The Battle of the Nile was a major blow to Napoleon's ambitions in the east. The fleet had been destroyed: Orient, another ship and two frigates had been burnt, seven 74-gun ships and two 80-gun ships had been captured, and only two ships-of-the-line and two frigates escaped,[138] while the forces Napoleon had brought to Egypt were stranded.[134] Napoleon attacked north along the Mediterranean coast, but Turkish defenders supported by Captain Sir Sidney Smith defeated his army at the Siege of Acre. Napoleon then left his army and sailed back to France, evading detection by British ships. Given its strategic importance, some historians regard Nelson's achievement at the Nile as the most significant of his career, even greater than that at Trafalgar seven years later.
Nelson wrote dispatches to the Admiralty and oversaw temporary repairs to the Vanguard, before sailing to Naples where he was met with enthusiastic celebrations.[140] The King of Naples, in company with the Hamiltons, greeted him in person when he arrived at the port and William Hamilton invited Nelson to stay at their house.[141] Celebrations were held in honour of Nelson's birthday that September, and he attended a banquet at the Hamiltons', where other officers had begun to notice his attention to Emma. Jervis himself had begun to grow concerned about reports of Nelson's behaviour, but in early October word of Nelson's victory had reached London. The First Lord of the Admiralty, Earl Spencer, fainted on hearing the news.[142] Scenes of celebration erupted across the country, balls and victory feasts were held and church bells were rung. The City of London awarded Nelson and his captains with swords, whilst the King ordered them to be presented with special medals. The Tsar of Russia sent him a gift, and Selim III, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, awarded Nelson the Order of the Turkish Crescent for his role in restoring Ottoman rule in Egypt. Lord Hood, after a conversation with the Prime Minister, told Fanny that Nelson would likely be given a Viscountcy, similar to Jervis's earldom after Cape St Vincent and Duncan's viscountcy after Camperdown.[143] Earl Spencer however demurred, arguing that as Nelson had only been detached in command of a squadron, rather than being the commander in chief of the fleet, such an award would create an unwelcome precedent. Instead, Nelson received the title Baron Nelson of the Nile.
Nelson was dismayed by Spencer's decision, and declared that he would rather have received no title than that of a mere barony.[145] He was however cheered by the attention showered on him by the citizens of Naples, the prestige accorded him by the kingdom's elite, and the comforts he received at the Hamiltons' residence. He made frequent visits to attend functions in his honour, or to tour nearby attractions with Emma, with whom he had by now fallen deeply in love, almost constantly at his side.[146] Orders arrived from the Admiralty to blockade the French forces in Alexandria and Malta, a task Nelson delegated to his captains, Samuel Hood and Alexander Ball. Despite enjoying his lifestyle in Naples Nelson began to think of returning to England,[146] but King Ferdinand of Naples, after a long period of pressure from his wife Maria Carolina of Austria and Sir William Hamilton, finally agreed to declare war on France. The Neapolitan army, led by the Austrian General Mack and supported by Nelson's fleet, retook Rome from the French in late November, but the French regrouped outside the city and, after being reinforced, routed the Neapolitans. In disarray, the Neapolitan army fled back to Naples, with the pursuing French close behind.[147] Nelson hastily organised the evacuation of the Royal Family, several nobles and the British nationals, including the Hamiltons. The evacuation got under way on 23 December and sailed through heavy gales before reaching the safety of Palermo on 26 December.[148]
With the departure of the Royal Family, Naples descended into anarchy and news reached Palermo in January that the French had entered the city under General Championnet and proclaimed the Parthenopaean Republic.[149] Nelson was promoted to Rear Admiral of the Red on 14 February 1799,[150] and was occupied for several months in blockading Naples, while a popular counter-revolutionary force under Cardinal Ruffo known as the Sanfedisti marched to retake the city. In late June Ruffo's army entered Naples, forcing the French and their supporters to withdraw to the city's fortifications as rioting and looting broke out amongst the ill-disciplined Neapolitan troops.[151] Dismayed by the bloodshed, Ruffo agreed to a general amnesty with the Jacobin forces that allowed them safe conduct to France. Nelson, now aboard the Foudroyant, was outraged, and backed by King Ferdinand he insisted that the rebels must surrender unconditionally.[152] He took those who had surrendered under the amnesty under armed guard, including the former Admiral Francesco Caracciolo, who had commanded the Neapolitan navy under King Ferdinand but had changed sides during the brief Jacobin rule.[153] Nelson ordered his trial by court-martial and refused Caracciolo's request that it be held by British officers, nor was Caracciolo allowed to summon witnesses in his defence. Caracciolo was tried by royalist Neapolitan officers and sentenced to death. He asked to be shot rather than hanged, but Nelson, following the wishes of Queen Maria Carolina (a close friend of his mistress, Lady Hamilton) also refused this request and even ignored the court's request to allow 24 hours for Caracciolo to prepare himself. Caracciolo was hanged aboard the Neapolitan frigate Minerva at 5 o'clock the same afternoon.[154] Nelson kept the Jacobins imprisoned and approved of a wave of further executions, refusing to intervene despite pleas for clemency from the Hamiltons and the Queen of Naples.[155] When transports were finally allowed to carry the Jacobins to France, less than a third were still alive.[156] On 13 August 1799, King Ferdinand gave Nelson the newly created Dukedom of Bronté in the Kingdom of Sicily, in perpetual property, enclosing the Maniace Castle, the accompanying Abbey, and the land and the city of Bronte, this as a reward for his support of the monarchy.[157]
Nelson returned to Palermo in August and in September became the senior officer in the Mediterranean after Jervis' successor Lord Keith left to chase the French and Spanish fleets into the Atlantic.[158] Nelson spent the rest of 1799 at the Neapolitan court but put to sea again in February 1800 after Lord Keith's return. On 18 February Généreux, a survivor of the Nile, was sighted and Nelson gave chase, capturing her after a short battle and winning Keith's approval.[159] Nelson had a difficult relationship with his superior officer: he was gaining a reputation for insubordination, having initially refused to send ships when Keith requested them and on occasion returning to Palermo without orders, pleading poor health.[160] Keith's reports, and rumours of Nelson's close relationship with Emma Hamilton, were also circulating in London, and Earl Spencer wrote a pointed letter suggesting that he return home:
You will be more likely to recover your health and strength in England than in any inactive situation at a foreign Court, however pleasing the respect and gratitude shown to you for your services may be.
The recall of Sir William Hamilton to Britain was a further incentive for Nelson to return, although he and the Hamiltons initially sailed from Naples on a brief cruise around Malta aboard the Foudroyant in April 1800. It was on this voyage that Horatio and Emma's illegitimate daughter Horatia was probably conceived.[162] After the cruise, Nelson conveyed the Queen of Naples and her suite to Leghorn. On his arrival, Nelson shifted his flag to HMS Alexander, but again disobeyed Keith's orders by refusing to join the main fleet. Keith came to Leghorn in person to demand an explanation, and refused to be moved by the Queen's pleas to allow her to be conveyed in a British ship.[163] In the face of Keith's demands, Nelson reluctantly struck his flag and bowed to Emma Hamilton's request to return to England by land.[164]
Nelson, the Hamiltons and several other British travellers left Leghorn for Florence on 13 July. They made stops at Trieste and Vienna, spending three weeks in the latter where they were entertained by the local nobility and heard the Missa in Angustiis by Haydn that now bears Nelson's name.[165] By September they were in Prague, and later called at Dresden, Dessau and Hamburg, from where they caught a packet ship to Great Yarmouth, arriving on 6 November.[166] Nelson was given a hero's welcome and after being sworn in as a freeman of the borough and received the massed crowd's applause. He subsequently made his way to London, arriving on 9 November. He attended court and was guest of honour at a number of banquets and balls. It was during this period that Fanny Nelson and Emma Hamilton met for the first time. During this period, Nelson was reported as being cold and distant to his wife and his attention to Emma became the subject of gossip.[167] With the marriage breaking down, Nelson began to hate even being in the same room as Fanny. Events came to a head around Christmas, when according to Nelson's solicitor, Fanny issued an ultimatum on whether he was to choose her or Emma. Nelson replied:
I love you sincerely but I cannot forget my obligations to Lady Hamilton or speak of her otherwise than with affection and admiration.[168]
The two never lived together again after this.
Shortly after his arrival in England Nelson was appointed to be second-in-command of the Channel Fleet under Lord St Vincent.[169] He was promoted to Vice Admiral of the Blue on 1 January 1801,[170] and travelled to Plymouth, where on 22 January he was granted the freedom of the city, and on 29 January Emma gave birth to their daughter, Horatia.[171] Nelson was delighted, but subsequently disappointed when he was instructed to move his flag from HMS San Josef to HMS St George in preparation for a planned expedition to the Baltic.[172] Tired of British ships imposing a blockade against French trade and stopping and searching their merchants, the Russian, Prussian, Danish and Swedish governments had formed an alliance to break the blockade. Nelson joined Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's fleet at Yarmouth, from where they sailed for the Danish coast in March. On their arrival Parker was inclined to blockade the Danish and control the entrance to the Baltic, but Nelson urged a pre-emptive attack on the Danish fleet at harbour in Copenhagen.[173] He convinced Parker to allow him to make an assault, and was given significant reinforcements. Parker himself would wait in the Kattegat, covering Nelson's fleet in case of the arrival of the Swedish or Russian fleets.
On the morning of 2 April 1801, Nelson began to advance into Copenhagen harbour. The battle began badly for the British, with HMS Agamemnon, HMS Bellona and HMS Russell running aground, and the rest of the fleet encountering heavier fire from the Danish shore batteries than had been anticipated. Parker sent the signal for Nelson to withdraw, reasoning:
I will make the signal for recall for Nelson's sake. If he is in a condition to continue the action he will disregard it; if he is not, it will be an excuse for his retreat and no blame can be attached to him.[175]
Nelson, directing action aboard HMS Elephant, was informed of the signal by the signal lieutenant, Frederick Langford, but angrily responded: 'I told you to look out on the Danish commodore and let me know when he surrendered. Keep your eyes fixed on him.'[176] He then turned to his flag captain, Thomas Foley, and said 'You know, Foley, I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes.' He raised the telescope to his blind eye, and said 'I really do not see the signal.'[176][177] The battle lasted three hours, leaving both Danish and British fleets heavily damaged. At length Nelson dispatched a letter to the Danish commander, Crown Prince Frederick, calling for a truce, which the Prince accepted.[178] Parker approved of Nelson's actions in retrospect, and Nelson was given the honour of going into Copenhagen the next day to open formal negotiations.[179][180] At a banquet that evening he told Prince Frederick that the battle had been the most severe he had ever been in.[181] The outcome of the battle and several weeks of ensuing negotiations was a 14-week armistice, and on Parker's recall in May, Nelson became commander-in-chief in the Baltic Sea.[182] As a reward for the victory, he was created Viscount Nelson of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe in the County of Norfolk, on 19 May 1801.[183] In addition, on 4 August 1801, he was created Baron Nelson, of the Nile and of Hilborough in the County of Norfolk, this time with a special remainder to his father and sisters.[184][185] Nelson subsequently sailed to the Russian naval base at Reval in May, and there learned that the pact of armed neutrality was to be disbanded. Satisfied with the outcome of the expedition, he returned to England, arriving on 1 July.
Nelson was appointed commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet and given the first-rate HMS Victory as his flagship. He joined her at Portsmouth, where he received orders to sail to Malta and take command of a squadron there before joining the blockade of Toulon.[192] Nelson arrived off Toulon in July 1803 and spent the next year and a half enforcing the blockade. He was promoted to Vice Admiral of the White while still at sea, on 23 April 1804.[193] In January 1805 the French fleet, under Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, escaped Toulon and eluded the blockading British. Nelson set off in pursuit but after searching the eastern Mediterranean he learned that the French had been blown back into Toulon.[194] Villeneuve managed to break out a second time in April, and this time succeeded in passing through the Strait of Gibraltar and into the Atlantic, bound for the West Indies.[194]
Nelson gave chase, but after arriving in the Caribbean spent June in a fruitless search for the fleet. Villeneuve had briefly cruised around the islands before heading back to Europe, in contravention of Napoleon's orders.[195] The returning French fleet was intercepted by a British fleet under Sir Robert Calder and engaged in the Battle of Cape Finisterre, but managed to reach Ferrol with only minor losses.[196] Nelson returned to Gibraltar at the end of July, and travelled from there to England, dismayed at his failure to bring the French to battle and expecting to be censured.[197] To his surprise he was given a rapturous reception from crowds who had gathered to view his arrival, while senior British officials congratulated him for sustaining the close pursuit and credited him for saving the West Indies from a French invasion.[197] Nelson briefly stayed in London, where he was cheered wherever he went, before visiting Merton to see Emma, arriving in late August. He entertained a number of his friends and relations there over the coming month, and began plans for a grand engagement with the enemy fleet, one that would surprise his foes by forcing a pell-mell battle on them.[198]
Captain Henry Blackwood arrived at Merton early on 2 September, bringing news that the French and Spanish fleets had combined and were currently at anchor in Cádiz. Nelson hurried to London where he met with cabinet ministers and was given command of the fleet blockading Cádiz. It was while attending one of these meetings on 12 September, with Lord Castlereagh the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, that Nelson and Major General Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, met briefly in a waiting room. Wellington was waiting to be debriefed on his Indian operations, and Nelson on his chase and future plans. Wellington later recalled, 'He (Nelson) entered at once into conversation with me, if I can call it conversation, for it was almost all on his side and all about himself and, in reality, a style so vain and so silly as to surprise and almost disgust me.'[199] However, after a few minutes Nelson left the room and having been told who his companion was, returned and entered into an earnest and intelligent discussion with the young Wellesley which lasted for a quarter of an hour, on the war, the state of the colonies and the geopolitical situation, that left a marked impression upon Wellesley. This was the only meeting between the two men.
Nelson returned briefly to Merton to set his affairs in order and bid farewell to Emma, before travelling back to London and then on to Portsmouth, arriving there early in the morning of 14 September. He breakfasted at the George Inn with his friends George Rose, the Vice-President of the Board of Trade, and George Canning, the Treasurer of the Navy. During the breakfast word spread of Nelson's presence at the inn and a large crowd of well wishers gathered. They accompanied Nelson to his barge and cheered him off, which Nelson acknowledged by raising his hat. Nelson was recorded as having turned to his colleague and stated, "I had their huzzas before: I have their hearts now".[200][201][202] Robert Southey reported that of the onlookers for Nelson's walk to the dock, "Many were in tears and many knelt down before him and blessed him as he passed".[203]
Victory joined the British fleet off Cádiz on 27 September, Nelson taking over from Rear-Admiral Collingwood.[204] He spent the following weeks preparing and refining his tactics for the anticipated battle and dining with his captains to ensure they understood his intentions.[205] Nelson had devised a plan of attack that anticipated the allied fleet would form up in a traditional line of battle. Drawing on his own experience from the Nile and Copenhagen, and the examples of Duncan at Camperdown and Rodney at the Saintes, Nelson decided to split his fleet into squadrons rather than forming it into a similar line parallel to the enemy.[206] These squadrons would then cut the enemy's line in a number of places, allowing a pell-mell battle to develop in which the British ships could overwhelm and destroy parts of their opponents' formation, before the unengaged enemy ships could come to their aid.
The combined French and Spanish fleet under Villeneuve's command numbered 33 ships of the line. Napoleon Bonaparte had intended for Villeneuve to sail into the English Channel and cover the planned invasion of Britain, but the entry of Austria and Russia into the war forced Napoleon to call off the planned invasion and transfer troops to Germany. Villeneuve had been reluctant to risk an engagement with the British, and this reluctance led Napoleon to order Vice-Admiral François Rosily to go to Cádiz and take command of the fleet, sail it into the Mediterranean to land troops at Naples, before making port at Toulon.[204] Villeneuve decided to sail the fleet out before his successor arrived.[204] On 20 October 1805 the fleet was sighted making its way out of harbour by patrolling British frigates, and Nelson was informed that they appeared to be heading to the west.[207]
The Battle of Trafalgar by J. M. W. Turner (oil on canvas, 1822–1824) shows the last three letters of the signal, "England expects that every man will do his duty" flying from Victory.
At four o'clock in the morning of 21 October Nelson ordered the Victory to turn towards the approaching enemy fleet, and signalled the rest of his force to battle stations. He then went below and made his will, before returning to the quarterdeck to carry out an inspection.[208] Despite having 27 ships to Villeneuve's 33, Nelson was confident of success, declaring that he would not be satisfied with taking fewer than 20 prizes.[208] He returned briefly to his cabin to write a final prayer, after which he joined Victory’s signal lieutenant, John Pasco.
Mr Pasco, I wish to say to the fleet "England confides that every man will do his duty". You must be quick, for I have one more signal to make, which is for close action.[209]
Pasco suggested changing 'confides' to 'expects', which being in the Signal Book, could be signalled by the use of a single flag, whereas 'confides' would have to spelt out letter by letter. Nelson agreed, and the signal was hoisted.[209]
As the fleets converged, the Victory’s captain, Thomas Hardy suggested that Nelson remove the decorations on his coat, so that he would not be so easily identified by enemy sharpshooters. Nelson replied that it was too late 'to be shifting a coat', adding that they were 'military orders and he did not fear to show them to the enemy'.[210] Captain Henry Blackwood, of the frigate HMS Euryalus, suggested Nelson come aboard his ship to better observe the battle. Nelson refused, and also turned down Hardy's suggestion to let Eliab Harvey's HMS Temeraire come ahead of the Victory and lead the line into battle.
Victory came under fire, initially passing wide, but then with greater accuracy as the distances decreased. A cannonball struck and killed Nelson's secretary, John Scott, nearly cutting him in two. Hardy's clerk took over, but he too was almost immediately killed. Victory’s wheel was shot away, and another cannonball cut down eight marines. Hardy, standing next to Nelson on the quarterdeck, had his shoe buckle dented by a splinter. Nelson observed 'this is too warm work to last long'.[211] The Victory had by now reached the enemy line, and Hardy asked Nelson which ship to engage first. Nelson told him to take his pick, and Hardy moved Victory across the stern of the 80-gun French flagship Bucentaure.[211] Victory then came under fire from the 74-gun Redoutable, lying off the Bucentaure’s stern, and the 130-gun Santísima Trinidad. As sharpshooters from the enemy ships fired onto Victory’s deck from their rigging, Nelson and Hardy continued to walk about, directing and giving orders.
Shortly after one o'clock, Hardy realised that Nelson was not by his side. He turned to see Nelson kneeling on the deck, supporting himself with his hand, before falling onto his side. Hardy rushed to him, at which point Nelson smiled
Hardy, I do believe they have done it at last… my backbone is shot through.[211]
He had been hit by a marksman from the Redoutable, firing at a range of 50 feet (15 m). The bullet had entered his left shoulder, passed through his spine at the sixth and seventh thoracic vertebrae, and lodged two inches (5 cm) below his right shoulder blade in the muscles of his back.
Nelson was carried below by sergeant-major of marines Robert Adair and two seamen. As he was being carried down, he asked them to pause while he gave some advice to a midshipman on the handling of the tiller.[212] He then draped a handkerchief over his face to avoid causing alarm amongst the crew. He was taken to the surgeon William Beatty, telling him
You can do nothing for me. I have but a short time to live. My back is shot through.[213]
Nelson was made comfortable, fanned and brought lemonade and watered wine to drink after he complained of feeling hot and thirsty. He asked several times to see Hardy, who was on deck supervising the battle, and asked Beatty to remember him to Emma, his daughter and his friends.[213]
Hardy came belowdecks to see Nelson just after half-past two, and informed him that a number of enemy ships had surrendered. Nelson told him that he was sure to die, and begged him to pass his possessions to Emma.[214] With Nelson at this point were the chaplain Alexander Scott, the purser Walter Burke, Nelson's steward, Chevalier, and Beatty. Nelson, fearing that a gale was blowing up, instructed Hardy to be sure to anchor. After reminding him to "take care of poor Lady Hamilton", Nelson said "Kiss me, Hardy".[214] Beatty recorded that Hardy knelt and kissed Nelson on the cheek. He then stood for a minute or two before kissing him on the forehead. Nelson asked, "Who is that?", and on hearing that it was Hardy, he replied "God bless you, Hardy."[214] By now very weak, Nelson continued to murmur instructions to Burke and Scott, "fan, fan … rub, rub … drink, drink." Beatty heard Nelson murmur, "Thank God I have done my duty", and when he returned, Nelson's voice had faded and his pulse was very weak.[214] He looked up as Beatty took his pulse, then closed his eyes. Scott, who remained by Nelson as he died, recorded his last words as "God and my country".[215] Nelson died at half-past four, three hours after he had been shot.
Nelson's body was placed in a cask of brandy mixed with camphor and myrrh, which was then lashed to the Victory's mainmast and placed under guard.[216] Victory was towed to Gibraltar after the battle, and on arrival the body was transferred to a lead-lined coffin filled with spirits of wine.[216] Collingwood's dispatches about the battle were carried to England aboard HMS Pickle, and when the news arrived in London, a messenger was sent to Merton Place to bring the news of Nelson's death to Emma Hamilton. She later recalled,
They brought me word, Mr Whitby from the Admiralty. "Show him in directly", I said. He came in, and with a pale countenance and faint voice, said, "We have gained a great Victory." – "Never mind your Victory", I said. "My letters – give me my letters" – Captain Whitby was unable to speak – tears in his eyes and a deathly paleness over his face made me comprehend him. I believe I gave a scream and fell back, and for ten hours I could neither speak nor shed a tear.[217]
King George III, on receiving the news, is alleged to have said, in tears, "We have lost more than we have gained."[218] The Times reported
We do not know whether we should mourn or rejoice. The country has gained the most splendid and decisive Victory that has ever graced the naval annals of England; but it has been dearly purchased.[218]
The first tribute to Nelson was fittingly offered at sea by sailors of Vice-Admiral Dmitry Senyavin's passing Russian squadron, which saluted on learning of the death.
Nelson's body was unloaded from the Victory at the Nore. It was conveyed upriver in Commander Grey's yacht Chatham to Greenwich and placed in a lead coffin, and that in another wooden one, made from the mast of L'Orient which had been salvaged after the Battle of the Nile. He lay in state in the Painted Hall at Greenwich for three days, before being taken upriver aboard a barge, accompanied by Lord Hood, chief mourner Sir Peter Parker, and the Prince of Wales.[220] The Prince of Wales at first announced his intention to attend the funeral as chief mourner, but later attended in a private capaci
Fiat has a well-known reputation in manufacturing small minivans. Besides its own developed 600 Multipla several independent coach builders presented all kinds of minivans on a Fiat 600 or 600 Multipla basis in the second half of the 1950s.
This Siata-Abarth 600 M is a good example of a Fiat 600 Multipla based minivan.
This passenger van was designed by Giovanni Michelotti (1921-1980).
633 cc L4 rear engine (from Fiat 600).
C. 800 kg.
Max. payload: c. 400 kg.
Production Fiat 600: 1955-1969 (in Italy).
Production Fiat 600 Multipla: 1956-1967.
Production Siata-Abarth 600 M: 1956- .
Fiat publicity photo.
Original photographer, place and date unknown.
Image found in: Alessandro Sannia - Il Grande Libro delle Giardinette Fiat e altre Familiari Italiane, Giorgio Nada Editore, Vimodrone, 2007.
Halfweg, March 29, 2024.
© 2024 Sander Toonen Halfweg | All Rights Reserved
British postcard in the 'Film Shots' series by Film Weekly. Photo: Paramount. Sylvia Sidney and Donald Cook in Jennie Gerhardt (Marion Gering, 1933).
Sylvia Sidney (1910-1999) was an American stage, screen, and film actress whose career spanned over 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s, such as An American Tragedy (1931), City Streets (1931), Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage (1936), and Fritz Lang's Fury (1936) and You Only Live Once (1937). She later gained attention for her role as Juno, a caseworker in the afterlife, in Tim Burton's film Beetlejuice (1988), and she was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973).
Sylvia Sidney was born Sophia Kosow in 1910 in the Bronx, New York. She was the daughter of Rebecca (née Saperstein), a Romanian Jew, and Victor Kosow, a Russian Jewish immigrant who worked as a clothing salesman. Her parents divorced by 1915, and she was adopted by her stepfather Sigmund Sidney, a dentist. Her mother became a dressmaker and renamed herself, Beatrice Sidney. Now using the surname Sidney, Sylvia became an actress at the age of 15 as a way of overcoming shyness. She became a student of the Theater Guild's School for Acting. One school production was held at a Broadway theatre and in the audience, there was a critic from the New York Times who had nothing but rave reviews for the young Miss Sidney. On the strength of her performance in New York, Sylvia appeared in a play at the famed Poli Theater in Washington, D.C. More stage productions followed. In 1926, she was seen by a Hollywood talent scout in the production 'Crime' and made her first film appearance later that year in Broadway Nights (1927). During the Depression, she appeared in a string of films, often playing the girlfriend or sister of a gangster. 1931 saw her appear in five films, of which, City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931), made her a star. The sad-eyed Sylvia made a tremendous impact and her screen career was off a running. Among her other films, that year were: An American Tragedy (Josef von Sternberg, 1931), and Street Scene (King Vidor, 1931). She co-starred with Fredric March in Merrilly We Go To Hell (1932). Her other films included Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage (1936), Fritz Lang's Fury (1936) and You Only Live Once (1937), Dead End (William Wyler, 1937), and The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (Henry Hathaway, 1936), an early three-strip Technicolor film. She appeared with Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Henry Fonda, Joel McCrea, Fredric March, George Raft, and Cary Grant. During this period, she developed a reputation for being difficult to work with. At the time of making Sabotage with Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney was one of the highest-paid actresses in the industry, earning $10,000 per week—earning a total of $80,000 for Sabotage.
During the 1940s, the career of Sylvia Sidney diminished somewhat. In The Searching Wind (William Dieterle, 1946), Sidney played a newspaper reporter with convictions who was the alter ego of playwright Lillian Hellman. The film was based on a Broadway play but it just didn't transfer well onto the big screen. The film was widely considered to be too serious and flopped. The following year, she appeared in another flop, Love From A Stranger (Richard Whorf, 1947). In 1949, exhibitors voted her "box-office poison". In 1952, she played the role of Fantine in Les Misérables (Lewis Milestone, 1952), and her performance was praised and allowed her opportunities to develop as a character actress. Only three more films followed that decade. There were no films throughout the 1960s. On TV, she appeared three times on the anthology drama series Playhouse 90 (1956-1960). In 1957, she appeared as Lulu Morgan, mother of singer Helen Morgan in the episode The Helen Morgan Story (George Roy Hill, 1957) featuring Polly Bergen. Four months later, Sidney rejoined her former co-star Bergen on the premiere of the short-lived The Polly Bergen Show (1957-1958). She also worked in television during the 1960s on such programs as Route 66 (1961-1964), The Defenders (1962), and My Three Sons (1969). In 1973, Sylvia returned to the big screen in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (Gilbert Cates, 1973), starring Joanne Woodward. She received an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role. As an elderly woman, Sidney continued to play supporting screen roles and was identifiable by her husky voice, the result of cigarette smoking. She was the formidable Miss Coral in the film version of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (Anthony Page, 1977) and later was cast as Aidan Quinn's grandmother in the television production of An Early Frost (John Erman, 1985) for which she won a Golden Globe Award. She played Aunt Marion in Damien: Omen II (Don Taylor, 1978) opposite William Holden and Lee Grant. Sidney also had key roles as Juno in the mega-hit Beetlejuice (1988) directed by longtime Sidney fan Tim Burton, and Used People (Beeban Kidron, 1992). Her final role was in Mars Attacks! (1996), another film by Tim Burton, in which she played an elderly woman whose beloved records by Slim Whitman help stop an alien invasion from Mars.
On television, Sylvia Sidney appeared in the pilot episode of WKRP in Cincinnati (1978) as the imperious owner of the radio station, and she appeared in a memorable episode of Thirtysomething (1989) as Melissa's tough grandmother, who wanted to leave her granddaughter the family dress business, though Melissa (Melanie Mayron) wanted a career as a photographer. She also was featured on Starsky & Hutch (1976), The Love Boat (1981), Magnum, P.I. (1983), and Trapper John, M.D.(1984). Her Broadway career spanned five decades, from her debut performance as a graduate of the Theatre Guild School in 1926 at age 15, in the three-act fantasy Prunella to the Tennessee Williams play Vieux Carré in 1977. In 1982, Sidney was awarded the George Eastman Award by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film. In 1998 she appeared as the crotchety travel clerk Clia at the beginning of each episode in the short-lived revival of the classic TV series Fantasy Island. Sylvia Sidney died in 1999, from esophageal cancer at the Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, a month before her 89th birthday. Her remains were cremated. Sidney was married three times. She first married publisher Bennett Cerf in 1935, but the couple divorced six months later in 1936. She later married actor and acting teacher Luther Adler in 1938, by whom she had her only child, a son Jacob (1939–1987), who died of Lou Gehrig's disease while his mother was still alive. Adler and Sidney divorced in 1946. In 1947, she married radio producer and announcer Carlton Alsop. They divorced in 1951.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Further enhancing the Cadillac Motor Car Company's reputation for engineering leadership, the introduction of the innovative new eight-cylinder Model 51 marked Cadillac's first application of the V8 in standard production, mass-produced vehicle. Since that debut, the V8 engine has continued to remain as Cadillac's standard powerplant since, for an ‘unbroken span of more than 65 years'.
Cadillac chose to replace its outdated four-cylinder Model 30 with the 1915 V-8 Type 51. The model 30 had been running for four years and it was considered by some to be outdated, though it had an outstanding reputation for both durability and reliability. In 1914 sales for Cadillac plummeted, possibly due to other luxury makers were running with sixes. The Model 51 V8 was introduced by Cadillac founder Henry M. Leyland and featured an amazing 70 hp and a water-cooled V8 engine.
As the Edwardian Era was coming to a close, the elegance and innocence of that time was manufactured into the 'Landaulette' model. The stylish transformable coupe made the Model 51 a legend as it featured sophistication and style. Cadillac advertised the Model 51 as 'The Penalty of Leadership' in an ad campaign that wowed consumers. The Model 51 was produced in significant numbers and became a Cadillac trademark for decades.
For years Leyland had been experimenting with a variety of engine types, and as a result of all of his hard research, he came to the conclusion that V8 would be much more popular than a six. The compact nature of the v-type design also appealed to Leyland and in some instance the long crankshaft that characterized the inline sixes had a tendency to ‘whip at high rpm'. At the time, most luxury models had moved on to much more powerful six-cylinder engines, but Cadillac continued to sport its mundane four cylinder engine. The Model 51 was then debuted by the luxury department, powered by eight cylinders that wowed the public.
The V8 was a strange and unique design for those days, and many people hadn't even seen such an engine. Two French manufacturers had developed V8's more than a decade previously and had utilized them to power racing machines. In America, as early as 1906 Howard Marmon had demonstrated an air-cooled V8. In 1910 the French firm of DeDion had marketed a production V8. The Cadillac Model 51 offered the first commercially available V8 engine in 1914.
The Model 30 was the original vehicle that included an all-new Delco system and an electric start. No more were drivers concerned with jamming a thumb or breaking a limb when cranking their cars. Unfortunately, though the Model 51 was impressive, but it paled deeply when placed alongside the 1912 Cadillac Model 30. This top-of-the-line Cadillac was the most expensive vehicle that GM produced, and at 1921, the Model 51 was priced at $5,190.
During the 1915 model year alone, Cadillac produced more than 13,000 units of the Model 51, which was a very impressive number for the first year on the market. The Cadillac Roadster, the four-passenger Cadillac Salon, the five-passenger touring car, and the Cadillac Seven-Passenger vehicle were all priced at $1,975, while the Cadillac Coupe was priced at $2,500, the Sedan for five-passengers at $2,800, the standard Cadillac Limousine was priced at $3,450 and the top-line vehicle, the formal 'Berlin Limousine' was sold at $3,600.
[Text taken from Conceptcarz.com]
www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z16349/Cadillac-Model-51.aspx
This Lego miniland-scale 1915 Cadillac Type 51 Tourer has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 88th Build Challenge, - "Let's go Break Some records", - for vehicles that set the bar (high or low) for any number of vehicles statistics or records. Or for a vehicle which achieves a notable first. In the case of the Cadillac Type 51 - this model was the first production car V8 engine.
Participants enjoy some relaxing yoga with instructor Anna at the Dowd YMCA's Taylor Swift: Reputation Party.
Devil's Pulpit
A strange rock with a sinister reputation lurks within the crimson waters of this Scottish glen.
Blood-red water courses through Finnich Glen, a majestic sliver of Scotland, and surges around a strange rock with a sinister reputation.
The name “the Devil’s Pulpit” originally referred to the mushroom-shaped rock that sometimes pokes above the rushing stream. Some say the rock is where the Devil stood to address his followers, the crimson current swirling at his feet. Others say Druids held secret meetings there, hidden from sight within the shadows of the gorge’s looming walls. Still more tell tales of witches using the rock as an execution block.
However, over time, many people began referring to all of Finnich Gorge as “the Devil’s Pulpit.” It’s still a fitting name, as the red water certainly gives the whole place an eerie, almost sinister aura, though its color actually isn’t the work of the Devil at all. It’s merely a result of the underlying red sandstone.
But this doesn’t make the gorge feel any less otherwordly. Climbing down the slippery steps—of course referred to at the Devil’s Steps—and entering this realm of verdant moss-covered rocks and ruby-toned water reveals an enchanting world, where thin beams of sunlight shine spotlights the gurgling stream.
The gorge also had a small role in the series Outlander as the site of Liar’s Spring.
When The Ritz first opened its doors on 25th May 1906, it was considered one of the greatest hotels in the world. Conceived by the famous hotelier César Ritz with the aim of becoming the ultimate destination for guests looking to stay at the most luxurious hotel in the land, no expense was spared on its opulent interiors and lavish furnishings.
Quickly gaining a reputation as London’s most prestigious hotel, it attracted a host of both famous and fashionable guests.
During its early years, the hotel enjoyed the patronage of The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) who was a loyal client of César Ritz and is reputed to have said; “Where Ritz goes, I go”.
Other iconic figures include Pavlova, the Russian Prima Ballerina who danced at The Ritz in 1912, the Aga Khan and Paul Getty had suites, and Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower and Charles de Gaulle met in the Marie Antoinette Suite to discuss operations during the Second World War.
Lady Diana Cooper, who lived in Arlington Street, recalled that The Ritz was the first hotel, which allowed young unmarried women to go unchaperoned. For more information see: www.theritzlondon.com/the-ritz-experience/history/
I am starting to develop a reputation around here for my ill thought out exploits, and so I considered hard before posting my adventures associated with shooting this tranquil looking scene.
I've been wanting to get to the ocean with my two 8X ND filters and shoot some really real long exposures, and since a fellow flickr friend Jason came down this week to the bay area I thought this would be a great opportunity to show him one of my favorite beaches along the north bay. When we arrived, the sun was just beginning to set and so I quickly headed towards the south end of the cove while Jason stayed in the mid section of the beach.
There was a lot of spray coming off the waves, and there was one storm cell just a little off throwing some moisture our way. This combination proved to be bad for shooting long exposures. At length I decided to take shelter behind this rock and try my hand at getting something, which as you can see worked well.
But the stacks at the south end were calling to me, so I climbed the hillside and found my way down to a small hidden portion of beach surrounded by cliffs. I planted my tripod into the sand and found the spray to be three times as bad. To top it off, sneaker waves would happen every now and then, causing me to take my camera up mid shot, to protect it from the oncoming surge. By the time I gave up, I was soaked. I decided to walk along the cliff strewn shoreline… bad idea… the waves caught me waist deep several times and I wondered aloud about my sanity in so choosing this rout as I held all my camera equipment over my head as the waves were bashing along the cliffs directly to my right.
The hot bath I took at home two hours later didn't even warm me. I'm still kind of feeling chilled.
Participants enjoy some relaxing yoga with instructor Anna at the Dowd YMCA's Taylor Swift: Reputation Party.
Lake Ogle, in Brown County State Park, Indiana, says good morning on July 6.
I've heard much about Brown County. A one day outing showed it lives up to it's reputation.
n° 2 of 9
Chassis n° ZHWEB3ZD5FLA03002
RM Sotheby's
Place Vauban
Parijs - Paris
Frankrijk - France
February 2020
Estimated : € 4.500.000 - 5.500.000
Unsold (Highest bid : € 3.950.000)
Looking to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary, Lamborghini unveiled the Veneno at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. Perhaps the most outlandish automobile ever produced from a company built on a reputation of creating wildly designed automobiles, the Veneno caused a fanfare when it was unveiled, making Ferrari’s LaFerrari, unveiled that year at Geneva as well, look almost pedestrian in comparison.
The designers at the Centro Stile Lamborghini pushed design to its limits, working to maximise downforce by increase handling stability through fast corners. With form truly following function, each crisp line serves to provide minimal drag and channel air to cool its engine. Carbon fibre plays a crucial role in its construction, with the car’s carbon monocoque visible within the car around its central tunnel and door stills.
Aside from its wild bodywork, the Veneno boasts Lamborghini’s naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V-12 engine tuned to produce 750 bhp. Providing 50 horsepower more than the original Aventador LP700-4, this increase in power was thanks to enlarging air intakes to the engine and modifying the exhaust. Capable of sprinting to 100 km/h from a standstill in 2.9 seconds, top speed is quoted by Lamborghini as being a staggering 355 km/h.
However, with only four Venenos produced (three built for a trio of very fortunate customers and one retained by Lamborghini themselves), it was instantly apparent that the demand was there for further ‘few-off’ Lamborghinis. The following year a roadster version of the Veneno was announced in a setting equally as thrilling as the car itself, onboard the Italian Navy’s aircraft carrier Cavour docked in Abu Dhabi in 2014.
Performance of the Veneno roadster remains identical to that of its closed sibling, despite the roadster being 50 kg heavier due to reinforcement of its chassis. Tipping the scales at just 1,490 kg, this gives the Veneno roadster a power-to-weight ratio of just 1.99 kg per horsepower. A true roadster, no roof was offered, making for a truly exhilarating driving experience. Nine examples were built, with each one being spoken for before the car was unveiled to the public.
Of those nine Veneno roadsters, this example was the second to leave the factory, and it was bought from the first owner by a member of the House of Saud, the royal family of Saudi Arabia. Finished in a Matte Black over an interior trimmed in lime green and black leather, the car also boasts lime-green pinstriping on the exterior, adding a touch of contrast and personality to its fighter-jet-like bodywork. Since departing Sant’Agata, the car has travelled just 450 km from new and remains in virtually as-new condition both inside and out.
Set to be a future classic and undoubtedly one of the most desirable Lamborghinis ever built, it is clear that the Veneno’s design will continue to influence Lamborghini’s regular production cars for years to come. This would be a centrepiece of any collection of 21st-century hypercars.
the other day, i was talking to my friends who told me they dont understand photography, and i was trying to explain to them the importance of it, but they just didnt understand. so i'll ask you(: why do you think photography is important? why do we have it? whats the point? for me.. photography is a way to express myself and it is important because there is always a meaning behind a photo and a story to tell..
.
.
THE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PIGEONS AND THE MYTHS SURROUNDING THEIR BAD REPUTATION
The Feral pigeon (Columba livia) gets a really bad name thanks to a whole bunch of popular misconceptions. Labelled as sky rats, flying ashtrays, rats with wings, there is even a name for extreme fear of them, peristerophobia. Some say they spread communicable disease to humans, a myth banded by pest control companies making money out of extermination, and although they can naturally carry some disease like tuberculosis (just like many other bird species), being able to breed up to six times per year and being so commonly seen has lead to the belief that they cause damage and drive other species away (again, no scientific evidence supports this). Seen as a plague by mankind, who is... er... the biggest plague on the planet after all and more likely to infect pigeons with his own germs!
Being common these days seems to make some animals less appealing than others, and yet the pigeon is culturally and historically significant and utterly beautiful in terms of plumage. When was the last time you took the time to spend a few moments in the company of these gorgeous, fascinating birds, or talked to one.... Well do so soon, your life will be all the better for such interactions.
In world terms, Pigeons represent peace and good, symbolizing Prosperity and fertility, luck, fortune, peace and harmony, love and devotion and beauty and piety. It is believed that the Pigeon totem as your animal spirit guide will enter a good persons life after a period of suffering or hurt, restoring faith and the good in their world. It will symbolize Love and kindness, sacrifice and devotion, calmness and tranquility. Their presence in dreams can have significant meaning if the dream is of catching one, killing one, a pigeon falling in the sky, finding a dead pigeon etc. Pablo Ruiz Picasso's 1949 lithograph on paper 'La Colombe', shows a white dove on a black background, widely considered a sign of peace. It was used to illustrate a poster at the 1949 Paris Peace Congress, and is now house in the Tate Gallery, London. The Lithograph went on to become a renowned international iconographic image referred to as 'The dove of peace'. The dove was in fact a Milanese pigeon which had been gifted to Picasso by friend and fellow artist Henri Émile Benoît Matisse.
They are a wild ancestor of domestic world pigeons. A common sight in UK gardens, and traditionally seen on London postcards of Piccadilly circus until the feeding of pigeons was banned around the year 2000, they can weigh up to 370g (8-13oz) with a wingspan of 34cms. There are approximately 550,000 breeding pairs in the UK, and they are protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and happily on the Green status for conservation
With a name taken from the Latin word for Dove, there are around 350 recorded types of pigeon, the commonest being the Feral pigeon with an estimated European population of around 15 million. Feral pigeons are also called city doves, city pigeons, or street pigeons. They make up part of the group of columbiformes which includes the now extinct Dodo to which they are closely related. Wild pigeons live in coastal areas, whilst feral pigeons are more urban, and more often than not found in close proximity to mankind. Feral pigeons have a lifespan usually of between three to five years, much longer in captivity. Pigeons have an incredibly close link to mankind
Technically they are: Kingdom:Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class:Aves Order: Columbiformes
Family:Columbidae Genus:Columba Species:C. livia Subspecies:C. l. domestica
In the UK, Pigeons are covered under the "General Licences" and therefore it is illegal to kill them or destroy pigeon nests for any reason other than those listed under the general licences. They can be humanely culled by the land owner or their agent for a variety of reasons (mainly crop protection). At commercial premises where I worked for many years, Pigeons and babies were professionally killed on a regular basis, shot with high powered air rifles and then heads dipped into an acid substance... it was very bloody and extremely unpleasant to witness!
They are possibly the first domesticated animal in history and Charles Robert Darwin was one of the first and most famous pigeon breeder, who recognised their beauty and abilities and place in the natural order of things. On board HMS Beagle, he sailed from Plymouth Sound on 27th December 1831 under the command of Captain Robert FitzRoy. Scheduled for a two year voyage, it actually returned on 2nd October 1836. He published his work, 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life', in 1859 and it has long been considered the foundation of evolutionary biology. In the opening of the work, Darwin began with 'fancy pigeons' which were becoming fashionable to own and exhibit in London at the time. By crossbreeding the many different species of fancy pigeon, Darwin showed that, contrary to a commonly held belief that there were two different species which spawned the multitude of domestic pigeons, they actually all came from one wild species: the Rock Dove (Columba livia).
Nathan Mayer Rothschild developed a system of communication faster than those of most governments at that time. It is believed that he used carrier pigeons and semaphore to communicate across the English Channel. Following the Battle of Waterloo he used this system to stunning effect. Through a clever stratagem, and foreknowledge of the outcome at Waterloo, Rothschild made an immense fortune by manipulating the London stock market. In the early 1800s the Rothschild family set up a network of pigeon lofts throughout Europe using homing pigeons to carry information between its financial houses.
This proved to be the fastest and most efficient method of communication at that time, and the speed of the service and the ability to send and receive information ahead of the competition helped the Rothschild family amass a fortune, which still exists today. There are medals from 1870 commemorating the pigeon post in Paris.
Pigeons are highly intelligent, one of the few birds who can actually recognise themselves in a mirror, tests proving that they were capable of identifying themselves over other pigeons in photographs even with a five to seven second delay and they could even recognize humans in photographs as well. Proving that their self cognitive abilities were higher than a three year old child (who struggled with photographic recognition of a two second delay), pigeons were trained to discriminate real-time self-image using mirrors as well as videotaped self-image, and proved that pigeons can recognize video images that reflect their movements as self-image. They proved themselves capable of being able to learn the alphabet in trials. They have been used to predict the weather with hearing far superior to that of humans in the very low frequency range that allows them to detect incoming storms not yet on the radar.
They can assist in message delivery, help in search and rescue missions and even carry wartime messages across enemy lines, dating back to Greek and Roman times, and then forwards to both World Wars by the British Intelligence.
During the first world war, pigeons were dropped from an aeroplane in batches in harnesses with parachutes in order to send and retrieve messages from the resistance. A male pigeon in 1918 named Cher Ami was awarded the Croix de Guerre, an honour bestowed on foreign troops by the French Army, after saving 194 US troops who were pinned down by enemy fire. Despite being shot several times, he still managed to deliver the message attached to him. In history pigeons have been recorded as far back as 3000BC and records show that in the 5th Century AD, both Egypt and Syria used them to send and receive messages. Greek poet Anacreon wrote poems of his tame pigeon over 2000 years ago in which he described the bird's role in carrying a love letter to the poet's lover and how the bird drank from his cup and ate from his hand.
Some scholars believe that man's connections with pigeons go as far back as Neolithic man 10,000 years ago. An archaeological discovery of lifelike pigeon images beside the figurines of the Mother goddess, dating from the Bronze Age (2400-1500 BC) in Sumerian Mesopotamia, links to worship also in Crete where the Goddess was depicted with Doves upon her head. Pigeons were also sacrificed to Aphrodite (Venus), the Goddess of love in Greco-Roman culture. The Dove was also the symbol of Demeter (Ceres). Astarte, goddess of fertility and love was often times depicted with a pigeon in ancient Phoenician tradition and Ishtar, mother to the Sumerian people also. Goddesses Aphrodite and Venus from Greek and Roman culture were similarly often depicted with symbolic pigeons. They are highly revered in religions including Hindi where it was believed that pigeons were messengers of deity of death, Yama. Also in Muslim and Sikh traditions as well as Christianity. Some Sikhs will ceremoniously feed pigeons in honour of Guru Gobind Singh, a high priest who was renowned as a friend to pigeons. The Old Testament dove of Noah and the New Testament dove of the Holy Spirit are the ancestors of the dovecote birds of the past and today’s urban pigeons. In China, it is believed that with the coming of Spring, a Sparrow hawk would transform into a pigeon and vice versa, repeating the opposite transformation at the end of the season.
Pigeons have been recorded flying at more than 92mph and the average speed is around 78mph, they can also reach altitudes of 6,000 feet. Contrary to the rumour mill, pigeons are very clean birds and very little evidence exists to show that they can spread disease to humans.
Generally pigeons mate for life and are monogamous, both incubate and care for their young, and they are amazingly social creatures found in large groups. Pigeons have also saved lives on sinking ships by being released to alert nearby people, and some pigeons have received honours and awards for their part in saving lives. They have been trained to save lives at sea by recognising the red and yellow life jackets of victims, and even being able to view the UV spectrum. They can use landmarks to recognise and retrace routes, and use the sun as as a guide and an internal magnetic compass.
During a study in 2016, four pigeons built up a vocabulary of between 26 and 58 written English words, they could identify visual patterns and therefore tell them apart. The birds could even identify words they hadn't seen before.
Researchers at University of California Davis Medical Center put 16 pigeons in a room with magnified biopsies of potential breast cancers. If the pigeons correctly identified them as either benign or malignant, they got a treat, Once trained, their percentages of correctly identifying the biopsies was between 85-99% accurate.
Pigeons have been recorded regularly using the subway in the United states of America, hoping on and off subway cars and seeming to understand the direction of the journey. They also on occasions perform aerial backflips, seemingly just for fun. They see the world with five spectral bands, a kaleidoscope of colour compared to humans triple system of colour perception.
These are magnificent birds that so often fall victim to mankind's prejudice and dislike. Take a look at their ornate, beautiful plumage, the many markings and differences in coloration, and think about their history and the incredible journey they have made through the centuries.
Give them some love, they have certainly earned it!
Paul Williams May 2021
©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
.
.
Photograph taken at an altitude of Eleven metres, at 10:41am on Tuesday June 4th 2019, on a an overcast and drizzle filled morning off Birdcage Walk and Horse Guards Road in the grounds of St James's Park. Situated in the City Of Westminster, the Park spans twenty three Hectares and is the oldest of the Royal Parks of London, with a variety of visiting and nesting birds that include Ducks, Canada Geese and Pelicans.
Here we see a beautiful and amazingly friendly Rock Dove (Columba Livia), a relative of the town and feral pigeon, identified by it's ash grey wings with black bands. Interbreeding with Stock and Rock Doves and feral pigeons is commonplace, thus wild rock doves in the purest form are now rare.
.
.
Nikon D850 Focal length: 84mm Shot in 1.2 Crop mode so 70mm Shutter speed: 1/160s Aperture: f/16.0 iso1000 RAW (14 bit uncompressed file) Image size L 6880 x 4584 FX Hand held with Nikkor VR Vibration (Normal) selected . Colour space Adobe RGB. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. Focus mode AF-C focus 51 point with 3-D tracking AF Area mode: single Exposure mode: Manual exposure. Matrix metering. ISO Sensitivity: Auto. Auto 1 white balance. Nikon Distortion control on. Vignette control Normal. Active D-lighting on Automatic. High ISO Noise Reduction: On. Picture control: Auto with Sharpening A+1.00.
Nikkor AF-P 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E. Hoya UHC 67mm UV(C) filter. Nikon EN-EL15a battery. Matin quick release neckstrap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag. Nikon GP-1 GPS module.
.
.
LATITUDE: N 51d 30m 9.19s
LONGITUDE: W 0d 8m 7.48s
ALTITUDE: 8.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 90.40MB NEF FILE SIZE: 65.4MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 15.20MB
.
.
PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.017 (20/3/18) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit (Version 1.2.11 15/03/2018). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit (Version 1.4.7 15/03/2018). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 1.3.2 15/03/2018). Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
My Portarit Study of Taylor Swift's album cover 'Reputation' , it was a good practise ! Watch the process on
Youtube : youtu.be/1y6Vl2nVrts
Fiat has a well-known reputation in manufacturing small minivans. Besides its own developed 600 Multipla several independent coach builders presented all kinds of minivans on a Fiat 600 or 600 Multipla basis in the second half of the 1950s.
The Fiat 850 Familiare was a factory developed minivan on the basis of the 850 Berlina. It replaced the outdated 1956-1967 Fiat 600 Multipla.
This 850T was for sale in Forli, Italy since July 21, 2017.
Found on Catawiki.
Original photographer, place and date unknown.
843 cc L4 petrol rear engine.
C. 950 kg.
Production Fiat 850 Berlina: May 1964-1972.
Production Fiat 850T Furgone: May 1964-1976.
Production Fiat 850T Familiare: May 1964-1976.
Production 850T Familiare this version: May 1964-1970.
Original old Italian reg. number (Province of Bari, Italy).
Amsterdam, screenshot, July 23, 2017.
© 2017 Sander Toonen Amsterdam/Halfweg | All Rights Reserved
Further enhancing the Cadillac Motor Car Company's reputation for engineering leadership, the introduction of the innovative new eight-cylinder Model 51 marked Cadillac's first application of the V8 in standard production, mass-produced vehicle. Since that debut, the V8 engine has continued to remain as Cadillac's standard powerplant since, for an ‘unbroken span of more than 65 years'.
Cadillac chose to replace its outdated four-cylinder Model 30 with the 1915 V-8 Type 51. The model 30 had been running for four years and it was considered by some to be outdated, though it had an outstanding reputation for both durability and reliability. In 1914 sales for Cadillac plummeted, possibly due to other luxury makers were running with sixes. The Model 51 V8 was introduced by Cadillac founder Henry M. Leyland and featured an amazing 70 hp and a water-cooled V8 engine.
As the Edwardian Era was coming to a close, the elegance and innocence of that time was manufactured into the 'Landaulette' model. The stylish transformable coupe made the Model 51 a legend as it featured sophistication and style. Cadillac advertised the Model 51 as 'The Penalty of Leadership' in an ad campaign that wowed consumers. The Model 51 was produced in significant numbers and became a Cadillac trademark for decades.
For years Leyland had been experimenting with a variety of engine types, and as a result of all of his hard research, he came to the conclusion that V8 would be much more popular than a six. The compact nature of the v-type design also appealed to Leyland and in some instance the long crankshaft that characterized the inline sixes had a tendency to ‘whip at high rpm'. At the time, most luxury models had moved on to much more powerful six-cylinder engines, but Cadillac continued to sport its mundane four cylinder engine. The Model 51 was then debuted by the luxury department, powered by eight cylinders that wowed the public.
The V8 was a strange and unique design for those days, and many people hadn't even seen such an engine. Two French manufacturers had developed V8's more than a decade previously and had utilized them to power racing machines. In America, as early as 1906 Howard Marmon had demonstrated an air-cooled V8. In 1910 the French firm of DeDion had marketed a production V8. The Cadillac Model 51 offered the first commercially available V8 engine in 1914.
The Model 30 was the original vehicle that included an all-new Delco system and an electric start. No more were drivers concerned with jamming a thumb or breaking a limb when cranking their cars. Unfortunately, though the Model 51 was impressive, but it paled deeply when placed alongside the 1912 Cadillac Model 30. This top-of-the-line Cadillac was the most expensive vehicle that GM produced, and at 1921, the Model 51 was priced at $5,190.
During the 1915 model year alone, Cadillac produced more than 13,000 units of the Model 51, which was a very impressive number for the first year on the market. The Cadillac Roadster, the four-passenger Cadillac Salon, the five-passenger touring car, and the Cadillac Seven-Passenger vehicle were all priced at $1,975, while the Cadillac Coupe was priced at $2,500, the Sedan for five-passengers at $2,800, the standard Cadillac Limousine was priced at $3,450 and the top-line vehicle, the formal 'Berlin Limousine' was sold at $3,600.
[Text taken from Conceptcarz.com]
www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z16349/Cadillac-Model-51.aspx
This Lego miniland-scale 1915 Cadillac Type 51 Tourer has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 88th Build Challenge, - "Let's go Break Some records", - for vehicles that set the bar (high or low) for any number of vehicles statistics or records. Or for a vehicle which achieves a notable first. In the case of the Cadillac Type 51 - this model was the first production car V8 engine.
“A spy!?! You want me to trust...to rest my reputation on the word of...a spy?” Sir Caelan Munro’s first reaction to his archer’s suggestion had been a mixture of frustration and disgust. But Tavish had wisely pointed out how little they really knew about the Magic Isles, how perilous an amphibious landing was in a strange land, with magic, and the reality of their situation soon set in.
Their assigned expedition leader, Lord Bajads, knew little of the enemy and also showed no interest in discovering anything about their invasion point, the northernmost beach on the Island of Lost Souls. “We can easily defeat anything these Outlaw scum can bring to the fight!” Bajads declared, even though they only had a total of 59 effective soldiers on the roll. As a minor noble clan, the Munro family owed support for the war, so Caelan led a very small force of 15 well-armed men for the King’s call to arms, but they were assigned to follow Lord Bajads and his retinue, like it or not.
Two days later here were Caelan and Tavish at the Bull’s Head Tavern in Durrough Harbor meeting a “reformed Outlaw” turned spy, who would only use the name, “Mort.”
Tavish had found Mort, how he wouldn’t say. The archer was shrewd and crafty, but he had friends in low places to be sure.
Mort had insisted on a public place. “People with somethin’ to hide meet in secret. We’re just havin’ some ale together.”
“Don’t kid yourself,” Caelan stated coldly, “I wouldn’t be seen with you if we didn’t need this information.”
“And I wouldn’t be seen with ye if I didn’t need the money,” Mort replied gulping his ale. “Speakin’ of which, 30 Draken if you please.”
“I don’t please. Try 10.”
Mort stopped, put down his ale and started to walk. Tavish stopped him. “We need this. How about 15 now, and 15 when we get back if the information is good.”
“Ye mean IF ye get back. I know what yer facin’, remember.”
Caelan reluctantly laid 10 Draken on the table and tapped the map. Mort was about to speak when suddenly three Loreesi burst out of the tavern staggering-drunk. One of them was so far gone he stumbled over the first stool he came to, his helmet clanking across the pier. Caelan frowned, glanced at Tavish, who rolled his eyes. They knew each other so well nothing needed to be said. Once the unruly Loreesi had drifted away, Mort spoke one word.
“Valtyr.”
“And what is Valtyr, some kind of dragon?”
“Not a dragon. A wizard,” Mort said in a sinister tone, “Jens Valtyr. The ice wizard.”
Caelan wasn’t impressed. He frowned, and glanced at a column of Lenfels marching to the dock to load up on small boats waiting to ferrying them out to the ships.
“I have heard of fools who pretend to be wizards who couldn’t conjure up a hairball, let alone something harmful.”
Mort leaned forward, very serious, and stated flatly, “Valtyr can turn a man into a block of ice with his own hands. He can give a dozen men bone-chillin’ shiverin’ with just one spell, so they can’t hold onto their weapons. And then his outlaws move in for the easy kill.”
“And how do you know all this?” Caelan asked accusingly. He then watched as Mort pulled back slowly, disconcerted, and unconsciously rubbed the side of his face.
“I would rather not say,” Mort said, and then Caelan noticed scarring on that side of his face, of a type he had seen before on Garheim soldiers. Frostbite.
Tavish leaned forward and placed 5 more Draken in front of the spy, asking, “How do we defeat him?”
Mort laughed, “That metal armor ye got’s no good to yer, for all the money ye spent on it. Wood. Leather, rubbed with fat. And stay light on yer feet, so’s ye can dance away from the spells.” He swallowed the last of his ale, scooping up the money. “15 more if ye get back. Oh, and if ye get lucky, they say he’s got a fortune in silver in his tower. Not that ye will live to see it.”
As he was about to walk away Tavish asked, “Anything else?”
Before disappearing around the corner Mort snorted, “Dress warm-like.”
Caelan thought a while and turned to his archer. “Believe him?”
Tavish looked grim, “Yes I do. I would not have arranged the meeting if I had any serious doubt.”
More thinking. Finally Sir Caelan told him, “Find me the largest hard-wood shields you can get for our men. Oh, and some leather armor too if it will fit.”
“And some fat,” Tavish added.
“Well I wasn’t going to mention that part…”
.......................
For Lands of Classic-Castle Global Challenge 3 Phase 1 entry
Participants enjoy some relaxing yoga with instructor Anna at the Dowd YMCA's Taylor Swift: Reputation Party.
Chassis n° 4607
Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais 2020
Bonhams
Parijs - Paris
Frankrijk - France
February 2020
Estimated : € 1.050.000 - 1.400.000
Sold for € 870.000
All the sophistication of Ettore Bugatti's famously thoughtful design ethic is embodied within this wonderfully well-presented ex-works racing Bugatti Type 39, as manufactured at the charismatic Molsheim factory in 1925...
Mr Bugatti built his reputation upon creating rapid and reliable motor cars endowed with competitively powerful engines in light, compact, and nimble chassis. Above all he clearly grasped the over-riding importance of a high power-to-weight ratio in contrast to some other quality car constructors to whom overall weight seemed irrelevant compared to achieving the highest possible power not necessarily out there on the open road, nor race circuit, but in the engine test-house...
While combining in so many of his sporting models high power, minimal mass and a good-handling, driveable chassis, Ettore Bugatti also manufactured most of them in sufficient numbers to attract, and to satisfy, broad demand from a moneyed and dashingly competition-minded market.
In 1924 Mr Bugatti had launched his 2-litre Type 35 design, and by 1925 the Type 39 followed to comply with maximum 1500cc Voiturette racing regulations – effectively the Formula 2 of the time. Use of a short-stroke crankshaft in the straight-8 cylinder engine provided bore and stroke measurements of 60mm x 66mm, displacing 1493cc. Possibly Mr Bugatti was anticipating the overall Grand Prix capacity limit rule change for 1926-27 which would cut maximum permitted engine capacity from 2-litres to 1½.
The Type 39s made their debut in the Grand Prix de Tourisme at Montlhéry south of Paris, France, in June 1925. The four new works team cars promptly finished 1-2-3-4 in their class, and in 3rd place was '4607' now offered here, driven by Giulio Foresti.
Of course the pinnacle of road racing competition during the 1920s was the Grand Prix arena, and when the1925 Italian Grand Prix at Monza Autodrome was run concurrently with the 1500cc Gran Premio delle Vetturette the Bugatti company contested it with a full team of five Type 39s.
The race was run over 80 laps of the Milanese Autodrome's 10km combined road and high-speed track. Bugatti's team captain was Bartolomeo 'Meo' Costantini, teamed to drive with Jules Goux, Pierre de Vizcaya, Count Carlo Masetti and Count Aymo Maggi, who was replacing Ferdinand de Vizcaya, the Spanish banker – and backer of the Bugatti company - who arrived late from Barcelona. And when Count Masetti had to stand down due to a leg injury, it was Giulio Foresti who took his place to drive '4607' in the long race...
As the Gran Premio developed, the Bugattis not only dominated the Voiturette category but also climbed the leader board amongst the full 2-litre Grand Prix cars. Finally – after 5hrs 44mins 40.91secs to be precise (the Italian lap-scorers immensely proud of their then-new hundredth-second timing equipment) the Gran Premio delle Vetturette was decided with Costantini's Bugatti Type 39 winning from the sister cars of Ferdinand de Vizcaya and Giulio Foresti, respectively 2nd and 3rd. Pierre de Vizcaya's Type 39 placed fourth while Jules Goux's engine had failed after 64 of the 80 laps. Overall, the Bugatti Type 39s had proved so fast and reliable that Costantini finished the Grand Prix 3rd overall, Ferdinand de Vizcaya 6th and Foresti in '4607' now offered here, 7th.
A record survives of this car and its sister '4604' both being sold soon after to the British importer, Colonel Sorel in London, and it is thought that Giulio Foresti – an accomplished 'wheeler-dealer' in his own right – then found an eager buyer for the pair – one A.V.Turner - in Australia, although alternative reference suggests that '4607' was imported there by prominent Vauxhall driver Boyd Edkins.
On June 19, 1926, the car certainly appeared upon Sydney's high-banked Maroubra Speedway driven by a friend and colleague of Edkins, Dick Clarke. While the Type 39s – or 'Monzas' as they became known in Australia – became particularly noted for their wonderfully high-pitched exhaust note, they were not well-suited to Maroubra, since they were over-geared for the tight Speedway. Clarke was still able to win a heat there on September 4, 1926, and '4607' lapped the speedbowl at 86mph. At Penrith Clarke won a heat and a semi-final before taking 2nd and 3rd places in two further events. Then back at Maroubra for the January, 1927 meeting Clarke won two heats and took 2nd in a final.
The car later passed to 20-year-old Sid Cox, son of a wealthy building magnate. The young man also had a Bugatti Type 40 which he used as a tender when he took '4607' to Philip Island, Melbourne, Victoria, to race in the 1928 Australian Grand Prix. With friend Ken McKinney alongside him Sid Cox practised for the great race only for bronze filings to be found in the oil filter, a sign that the power unit's bronze roller-bearing cages were failing. On race day, sure enough, '4607's engine broke a connecting rod.
A new crankcase and sump were bought for the car, but the old sump was used in the rebuild, mated to the new crankcase. Cox then sold '4607' to poster-artist Reg St John who became noted for maintaining the Bugatti in utterly pristine, highly polished and well-cherished condition. He reportedly used it to parade up and down Swanston Street, Melbourne, admiring his reflection in the shop windows. And why not?
However, Australian racer Carl Junker then acquired the car and – with Reg Nutt as his riding mechanic – he entered it in the 1931 Australian GP again at Philip Island. They were running second behind Hope Bartlett's Bugatti Type 37A on the penultimate lap when its engine failed, Junker and Nutt joyously inheriting outright Grand Prix victory for '4607'. Ernie Nutt had tuned the car and he would recall that Junker used 7,000rpm through the gears, '4607' achieving 55mph in 1st, 72mph in 2nd and 103mph in 3rd.
Racing again in the 1932 Australian GP, Junker improved his lap times but fell victim to spark-plug trouble which meant he could finish only 5th. Completing the long race ahead of him that day was Merton Wreford in his Brescia Bugatti, and he later bought '4607' from Junker, reputedly after it had suffered another engine failure.
Mert Wreford fixed the problem and then entered the Type 39 in the 1933 Australian GP in which he found himself confronted by Carl Junker in the sister 1925 Bugatti 'Monza' – chassis '4604'. These two Type 39s proved to be the class of that Grand Prix field and after Junker's engine blew-up, Wreford moved into the lead, only for '4607's engine to fail on the third-last lap. Evidently the two broken 'Monzas' were left parked together at trackside – but Mert Wreford had recorded the race's fastest lap.
A new owner was then found for '4607' in specialist Jack Day of the Ajax Pump Works who fitted '4607' with his own 'Day' supercharger, driven from the crankshaft nose. He made his debut with the supercharged car in the August, 1933, Frankston hill-climb. But when the forced-induction experiment disappointed, Jack Day removed the Bugatti engine and fitted instead a Ford V8. This Type 39 thus became the first Australian special to be powered by a 'black iron' American Ford V8. The resultant Day Special proved very successful through 1936, setting new hill-climb records at Mitcham and Rob Roy. Reg Nutt raced the car in monoposto form at Phillip Island, 1937, and in the South Australian GP in 1938.
After World War 2, Bondi Beach surf life-saver, water-skier and amateur wrestler 'Gelignite' Jack Murray bought '4607' in its Day Special form from Jack Day, the price £1,100.
'Gelignite Jack' would earn his nickname from blowing up rural dunnies with sticks of gelignite during the RedeX Round Australia Trials. Every man needs a hobby....
The car "was given the full Murray red paint and chrome treatment" and in it he set fastest time and finished 5th on handicap in the 1946 New South Wales GP at Bathurst. Returning there n 1947 he was tipped to win, but failed to finish. The car was clocked at 106mph. At the 1948 Bathurst 100 the Day Special was recorded at 117mph and placed 3rd on handicap in the over 1500cc class. Overheating often afflicted the car in its Ford V8-engined form, but 'Gelignite Jack' continued to campaign the ageing special into 1954 when he was an amazing 4th fastest and 7th on handicap at the Bathurst Easter Meeting.
Subsequently the car survived in storage at Murray's Bondi garage, until he sold it – accompanied by a mass of related Bugatti components – to marque enthusiast Ted Lobb. While the original Type 39 chassis survived within the Day Special, Ted Lobb also had its original engine 'No 7' – which was fitted in his sister car '4604' – so now he also owned the blown-up engine 'No 6' – originally in '4604' – from Jack Day. Around 1974, Ted Lobb sold the Day Special and engine 'No 6' plus numerous other related Bugatti parts to Bob King, who later decided to rebuild '4607' to its 1925 Italian Grand Prix 'Monza' form.
He would later write: "The monumental rebuild was completed in the early 1980s, using a Type 39 crankshaft which came from Lance Dixon's Type 51A '4847'. The crankshaft – numbered '27' – was in perfect ex-factory condition, all parts carrying matching factory numbers. A gearbox casing was obtained in England from Ian Preston. The differential is Type 38, suitably altered, from the Nuttbug (BC4)". He concluded "'4607' was sold to Art Valdez of California in 1986...".
This restored Bugatti Type 39 was then shipped to Bangkok, Thailand, in time for new owner Art Valdez to drive it in the December 5, 1987, Prince 'Bira' commemorative Bangkok Grand Prix meeting. Anton Perera reported in 'The Nation' newspaper: "There in the parade was the oldest car of them all, a Bugatti Type 39 – all of 62 years with a 1493cc engine. And didn't the smooth engine purr with noise, indicating that it could be a danger on the 2.5km Pattaya Circuit next week...Yes, the 1931 Australian Grand Prix winner looked in perfectly good trim and ready to turn on the speed..."
John Fitzpatrick of the Australian Bugatti Register later reported how at Pattaya, where the Vintage race "ended an absolutely magical fortnight...Art Valdez was euphoric after his first race in a GP Bugatti...as Neil Corner wrote recently '...To have your GP Bugatti motoring well is to live with the gods...'".
The car was preserved within Mr Valdez's Californian ownership until in April 1993 he telephoned former owner Bob King to declare his intention to sell it. However, it was not until 2017 that the car subsequently passed from Art Valdez into the ownership of the present vendor.
Today '4607' presents very well indeed, having recently benefited from a mechanical inspection, strip-down and rebuilt by Tony Ditheridge's renowned Hawker Racing concern in Milden, Suffolk, England. This work included thorough cleaning and re-commissioning - even to the extent of fitting new valve springs. This ex-works Bugatti warhorse was then unleashed successor on the open road. Now, subject to the usual inspections and personal set-up adjustments, '4607' is poised for an active 2020 motoring season.
The car is accompanied by a comprehensive historical overview and inspection report compiled by the highly respected British Bugatti specialists David Sewell and Mark Morris.
In summary they confirm that "Type 39 chassis '4607' presents itself today as a recognised and well recorded example of the 8-cylinder GP Bugatti". They continue: "One key factor that must be recorded is that the major components are of Molsheim manufacture". The chassis frame is No 61 – while they report that the Molsheim lower (engine) crankcase is '7' ex-'4604' – the Molsheim upper (engine) crankcase is '114' – the Molsheim cambox 'No 7' – the Molsheim gearbox 'No 113' – the Molsheim gearbox lid No '856' – while the Molsheim rear axle centre casing has been modified from that of a touring car, ratio 12x54, 'No 284'.
So here BONHAMS is delighted to commend to the market this Bugatti Type 39 – the eminently useable (and potentially so enjoyable – and so raceable) winner of the 1931 Australian Grand Prix – and previously works driver Giulio Foresti's works team car, with third place in the 1925 Grand Prix de Tourism –third place in the 1925 Italian Gran Premio delle Vetturette at Monza – and 7th in the overall Italian Grand Prix, all so prominent within its history.
Just one decisive bid, and this fine example of Le Pur Sang – which such a jam-packed history on both road and track - could be yours...
Reiterlesmarkt (in English: "Market of the little rider") on the market place in the medieval old town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, seen from the Old Guildhall, Franconia (Bavaria)
Some background information:
The Reiterlesmarkt is a Christmas market, which looks back on more than 500 years of tradition. It was already held in the 15th century to accompany Advent festivities. The stalls on Reiterlesmarkt are grouped around the guildhall on the market place and the streets branching off. Here you can get German mulled wine, grilled sausages, all sorts of Christmas decoration and of course the famous Rothenburg snowballs, which are palm-sized round short pastries and a sweet local specialty.
The name Reiterlesmarkt, which means "Market of the little rider", derives from the Rothenburg Rider, a mythological figure that originates in the dark age. At that time the rider was believed to be a mounted messenger from netherworld who hurtled through the air in the winters, having the souls of decedents with himself. Therefore the little rider used to frighten the townspeople in medieval times. But sometime the disrepute of the Rothenburg Rider gradually changed into good reputation and the people started to reckon him as a friendly herald of the pre-Christmas season, which he still is supposed to be nowadays.
Today the Reiterlesmarkt is visited by many tourists from all over the world. Although Rothenburg attracts many visitors all year round, this Christmas market in a medieval atmosphere seems to be a very special and popular tourist attraction, in particular in the eyes of citizens of the USA, Japan, China, Russia and all parts of Western Europe.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a small town in the district of Ansbach in Middle Franconia. It has about 11,000 residents and is well known for its perfectly preserved medieval old town, which is a popular destination for tourists from around the world. Rothenburg is part of the so-called Romantic Road through southern Germany.
Rothenburg’s history dates back to the year 950 at least, when the Count of Cornburg-Rothenburg constructed the weir system in today’s castle garden. In 1070 his successors built Rothenburg castle on a plateau high above the River Tauber. After the Counts of the Comburg-Rothenburg dynasty had died out in 1116, emperor Heinrich V appointed his own nephew Konrad von Hohenstaufen as the new owner of the Comburg-Rothenburg properties.
In 1142, Konrad von Hohenstaufen, who had become Konrad III in 1138, King oft he Holy Roman Empire, extended Rothenburg castle on the grounds of today’s castle garden. Subsequently the city of Rothenburg was founded in 1170. Its centre was the market place and St. James' Church, which can be seen in the middle of this photo. In the 13th century walls and towers were built. Parts of this oldest fortification like the White Tower and the Markus Tower with the Roeder Arch are still preserved.
In 1274 Rothenburg was accorded privileges as a Free Imperial City by King Rudolf of Habsburg. At that time the town already had a considerable Jewish community. But in the course of the so-called Rintfleisch Massacres in 1298 almost the whole Jewish community (about 450 people) was killed. In the following years Jews resettled in Rothenburg, but in 1520 they were again dislodged.
However after becoming a Free Imperial City Rothenburg expanded. Its citizens and the Knights of the Hinterland built the Franciscan Monastery and also the Holy Ghost Hospital, whilst the Holy Blood pilgrimage attracted many pilgrims to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, at the time one of the 20 largest cities of the Holy Roman Empire. Nowadays Rothenburg is located on the Way of St James resp. the Camino de Santiago trail, which goes to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
In 1356 the Staufer Castle of Rothenburg was destroyed by an earthquake. Its last remnant today is the chapel of St Blaise.
In 1579 the city of Rothenburg became Protestant, when the town fathers signed the Lutheran Formula of Concord. This Protestant religious orientation led to a siege by the Catholic League's forces under their commander Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, in 1631 in the course of the Thirty Years’ War. Tilly wanted to quarter his army of roughly 60,000 mercenaries in the city, but Rothenburg didn’t allow him entrance and decided to defend itself instead. However the Catholic forces were able to capture the town and Tilly gave Rothenburg’s then mayor Georg Nusch the choice either to empty a huge mug containing 3.25 litres of wine in one gulp or to face the city’s complete destruction. What Tilly didn’t consider possible, happened: Rothenburg’s mayor succeeded in emptying the mug and the city escaped from being destroyed. This scene, which was so important for Rothenburg, is re-enacted annually during the so-called “Master’s Drink” festival.
Nevertheless the town was left poor and empty. It was also unable to recover after the Black Death had killed many of its citizens in 1634. So without any money or power left, Rothenburg stopped growing and thus preserved its medieval state.
In 1803 the town became a part of Bavaria. Romanticism artists of the 1880s like Carl Spitzweg rediscovered Rothenburg, bringing tourism to the town, and laws were created to save the town from major changes.
That’s why Rothenburg ob der Tauber has still preserved its unified medieval appearance and aspires to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the years ahead.
Participants enjoy an intense arms/abs workout with instructor Holly at the Dowd YMCA's Taylor Swift: Reputation Party.
This is an advert for Crossley Motors, who were based in Gorton (Manchester) and later at Errwood Park (Stockport). They built well-crafted if idiosyncratic buses and coaches with a reputation for a smooth ride and some weakness in engine design.
All that changed in the war years when Crossley's chief designer found himself in Switzerland recovering from Tuberculosis, with time on his hands to shape Crossley's postwar offering. The results, which appeared in prototype form in 1944, was the Crossley DD42 (double deck) and SD42 (single deck) design. The new model rode well, was lovely to drive and went like a bomb. Demonstrations inevitably resulted in orders, partly because the chassis was good and partly because it was clear that in the postwar era many older buses would need replacing.
But there was a problem: while in Switzerland the designer had become familiar with the work of Swiss company Saurer, and the cylinder head was very similar to the Saurer design: so similar that it infringed Saurer patents. When confronting this problem, the Managing Director of Crossley could have paid a licence fee to Saurer; but he refused to do so, and instead ordered a redesign of the cylinder head to avoid the Saurer patents.
The result was that the demonstrator (with the Saurer head) performed admirably; the Crossley head, made with tortuous passages in an attempt to bypass the patents, was weak and asthmatic. The result was that customers were disappointed and repeat orders didn't often come: and the company soon found itself owned by competitors AEC. The new management had a new 'downdraught' head produced, and this is why the advert refers to an 'improved design of cylinder head. But the damage had been done, and the end of Crossley buses was in sight as owners AEC pulled the plug in order to use the Errwood Park site for specialist machining and coachwork.
But even that didn't last long, and by 1958 the Crossley factory was closing down for good. There are, thankfully, a few Crossleys still in existence and the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester has four. Three of these are DD42 models, two with the downdraught cylinder head and one with the 'avoid Saurer patents' one.
If you'd like to know more about the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester and its collection of vintage buses, go to www.gmts.co.uk.
© Greater Manchester Transport Society. All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction is strictly prohibited and may result in action being taken to protect the intellectual property interests of the Society.