Since 2016 the California Higway Patrol is using a large number of Dodge Chargers with Police Package. Seen here at the 2019 San Francisco Auto Show.

Since i've returned from camp my minds been going back through the memories. "/ I miss my friends.

I've started a book.

So far it's incredible.

 

Explore #44

Personal best.

The since 9/11 artwork in Stratford London, this was constructed using mangled steel beams from the World Trade Centre

Headed into town for the first time since Saturday night (we went out to the Royal Academy of Arts to see American Gothic); on my way to the Ian Allan bookshop to pick up a birthday card.

 

I'm reading Portraits of Violence at this time. That's what I'm doing to make sense of things. I picked a copy up at Foyles in the railway station.

www.version3point1.co.uk/blog/2017/6/5/currently-reading-...

 

Processed with VSCO with e5 preset.

 

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I discovered this lovely Victorian house earlier this week. I have since learned that it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The information below comes from the National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form.

npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/da02787d-5a69-4348-8f9d-b...

 

I have omitted the detailed descriptions of the building's elevations, windows, doors and roof. I've also cut tedious details about the pool house and the landscaping. It is worth noting, however, that in 1980, the house was served by a curved driveway that extended all the way to the front steps. It is no longer there and, in fact, there is no access to house from N. Willamette Boulevard.

 

I gather that high expectations that the house would be restored, which go back to the 1980s, have yet to be realized. The first thing I would do is repaint the house, because otherwise it's akin to a piece of fine furniture that's been left out to weather on the front yard.

 

Introduction

The John Mock House is one of Portland's best-preserved examples of Queen Anne/Victorian architecture. It is excellently situated above the Willamette River and was designed and built by unknown person or persons on the site of two previous Mock houses, the oldest dating from 1853.

 

The interior is superbly detailed and is substantially unaltered from its original state. The Mock House has been continuously associated with persons and events vital to the evolution of Portland's architectural, political and cultural heritage and deserves recognition by the National Register.

 

Biographical Information About Past Owners

 

1. John Mock's Parents

In 1833 Henry Arnold Mock and his wife, Maria Elizabeth Meyer, emigrated to America from Germany. Settling in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, five years later on October 4, 1838, Maria gave birth to the couple's only child, John. In Mechanicsburg, Henry engaged in several occupations including that of a sailor, farmer, and shoemaker. By 1844, he had saved enough money to move his family to Platte County, Missouri, and purchase a forty-acre farm. There the family settled and worked the land for eight years.

 

In the spring of 1852, lured into the westward migration, Henry Mock sold his farm, packed both his family and his most valued worldly possessions into a wagon, and began their journey across the Great Plains to Oregon. By this time, John was fourteen years old and a man by pioneer standards. He proved himself particularly adept in the handling of the family's four-yoke oxen wagon, often with two additional cows hitched up. In fact, John was so skillful at driving the team that all six original animals survived the Plains crossing.

 

In the late summer of 1852, the Mock family arrived in The Dalles, Oregon. There they sold two of their oxen, loaded the wagon on a river scow, and drifted down the Columbia River. John, however, stayed behind, and drove the remaining oxen and cows overland, where he met his parents at the Upper Cascades. Here they disembarked from the scow and proceeded further down the river by wagon to the Lower Cascades. At the Lower Cascades, Henry and Maria again boarded the scow, John drove the oxen and cows overland, and by early fall both groups arrived in Sandy, Oregon. In Sandy, the family reloaded the wagon and made their way to Portland, arriving in October 1852.

 

The Mock family's first three weeks in Portland were spent camping in Sullivan's Gulch. Turning their cattle loose in order to graze, the animals ran off during an unwatched moment. In the search that followed, the Mocks stumbled upon what is now St. John's, where they met Dr. Charles Staples, Portland's first practicing and properly educated physician.

 

Dr. Staples convinced the family to occupy a house on his property and weather the winter storms there. Henry, Maria, and John remained guests of Dr. Staples until the spring of 1853, when, with the advice of Dr. Staples, Henry Mock took up a donation land claim of 317 acres in the vicinity of what is now the University of Portland. That claim included what are today’s North Portland neighborhoods of University Park, Mock’s Crest and Mock’s Bottom. With the aid of neighbors, the Mock's built their first log cabin, which was the family home until 1874.

 

2. John Mock

During his first four years in Portland, John Mock cleared, worked, and helped further develop the family farm. Yet, by 1857 and at the age of eighteen, John left home for a career in mining and running a pack train. Taking advantage of his pioneer experiences, John was apparently successful as both a miner and "mule skinner."

 

However, after six years he returned to his Portland home, lived with his mother and father, and began again to work the farm.

In 1867, Maria Elizabeth Mock died. At this point, John purchased the farm from his aging and apparently disheartened father. Gathering his savings, Henry Arnold returned to his native Germany where he was promptly swindled out of his small fortune. He was thus forced to return to the U.S., where he lived with his son John until 1883, when he died at the age of ninety-one.

 

On August 4, 1874, John Mock married Mary M. Sunderland, originally of Iowa. John immediately began the construction of a new family cabin of hewn log. Finished in the same year, the cabin was much more spacious and thus able to house an ever growing family. Included were his wife, Mary; his father, Henry; his oldest daughter, Mary Elizabeth; hisonly son, John Benjamin; his second daughter, Lillie Catherine;and his last child, Margaret Alice.

 

Tragically, in 1889, the Mock family cabin burned down, along with virtually all of the family's possessions. As a result, John Mock initiated the construction of the house that still stands today, known as Mock's residence. Completed in 1894, John Mock lived there until 1918, when he died.

 

John Mock, as one of the founders of Portland, was originally well known for his pioneering efforts in raising livestock and mining in the local area. Later, as a City Councilman, he was instrumental in developing and initiating a street-railway system that reached out to the St. John's area. Moreover, John Mock donated large tracks of land to the city for the implementation of a street system which led to the development of a fine residentia lcommunity. Finally, near the end of his life, John Mock donated the land for the building of Columbia University, presently the University of Portland.

 

Both Mock's Crest, near the University, and Mock's Bottom, near Swan Island, are named for John Mock, acknowledging his contribution to Portland as one of its original pioneers and most active and concerned of citizens.

 

3. Owners After John Mock's Death

After John Mock's death, the present home was subsequently owned and occupied by his children and in-laws at various times: Margaret Alice Mock, the youngest child who remained single her entire life, and who was noted for the creation of a generous scholarship fund for graduating senior at Roosevelt High School; Lillie Catherine (Mock) Amos, the second daughter of John Mock, and wife of the well-known physician and famous prohibitionist Dr. William F. Amos; Mary Elizabeth (Mock) Yeon, the eldest Mock child and wife of John B. Yeon.

 

Mr. Yeon was a well-known Oregon logger, builder, real estate developer, and is considered the "father of the Columbia River Highway." John B. Yeon is the grandfather of the noted architect, John Yeon.

 

In the mid-1950's, the family sold the Mock home to Harold LaDuke, for which the LaDuke Terrace addition is named.

 

4. The Owners in 1980

The Mock House is now owned and occupied by Mr. Lewis E. Alexander, and his wife, Fern T. Alexander. Both are Native Americans and hail from Oklahoma.

 

Mr. Alexander is of the Creek-Seminole people and Mrs. Alexander is of Oto-Missouria origin. Presently, Mr. Alexander is the Executive Director of the Portland Urban Indian Council, Inc., providing a variety of social services for the local Native American population.

 

In the recent past, Mr. Alexander has served both the Schrunk and Goldschmidt administrations in the Mayor's Office. Between 1970 and 1972, he was Manpower Coordinator for the City of Portland, in which he served as the Mayor's staff advisor on all manpower and related programs. Further, he was Chairperson of the Mayor's Manpower Area Planning Council and was instrumental in codifying and developing a program of evaluating the City's Manpower planning problems. Mr. Alexander has remained active in Indian cultural affairs throughout his life.

 

Former President of New Mexico Council of AmericanIndians, and presently a member of several other regional and national Indian organizations, in 1974, he was selected the administrative coordinator for the "Native American's Earth" presentation at Expo '74 in Spokane, and was an active member of Expo '74's general manager's staff,

 

In 1968, Mrs. Alexander was named the American Indian of the Year and travelled to Washington, D.C. to receive the honor. During the administration of President Kennedy, she was appointed "counselor" to the Department of the Interior in regards to Indian affairs~a position Mrs. Alexander still remains active in today. Like her husband, she is very active in local, regional, and national Indian affairs and participates in several related organizations. Presently, Mrs. Alexander is the

Chairperson and the Director of Communications for the North American Indian Woman's Association of Oregon.

 

Description of the House

The interior of the Mock's Residence consists of a 1,500 square foot basement; a 2,000 square foot first floor a 1,900 square foot second floor; and an attic with 1,000 usable square feet. The basement is used as a laundry room and recreational area, whereas the attic, though largely unfinished, has one insulated room for storage purposes.

 

1. The First Floor

The first floor was originally designed to and presently serves as the family living area. Likewise, the second floor was designed expressly for individual sleeping and dressing rooms, and remains so today.

 

The entry hall allows access from the front porch through the main doors to the main hall-foyer. The entry is 6' x 5'6" and contains an inner pair of 8' high doors, with stained glass inserts, that separate it from the hall-foyer. The floor is surfaced in ceramic tile, and the doors and wainscoting are natural-finish hardwood panels. The main hall-foyer is irregular in shape, approximately 22' x 8'6" in size. The floors are fully carpeted and the ceiling is textured with a cut crystal chandelier. The walls are painted, yet all doors and the accompanying wood decor are of natural finish.

 

An open curved stairway leads to the second floor. The newel post and rails are carved hardwood and given a natural finish.

 

Between the entry hall and stairway is an 8' x 5'6" cloakroom. It has hanging space for clothing on both sides and a sit down storage bench. This walk-in cloakroom is fully carpeted and has a half rounded stained glass window facing the front yard.

 

To the left of the entry hall as one enters the hall-foyer, is the sitting room. Measuring 14' x 17', one enters the sitting room through a 5' x 8' pocket door from the hall-foyer. The room has a textured ceiling, painted walls, and a bowed front window stretching the full width of the room. The sitting room is fully carpeted.

 

The living room, originally the parlor and music room, is to the right of the hall-foyer and is entered through a pair of 5' x 8' pocketed doors. The room is irregular in shape, yet averages 29' x 14' in size. A high cased opening topped with fancy spindle work and a cut out lyre separates the south nine feet of the room. This section of the living room is lined with built-in bookcases, except for the window areas.

 

The fireplace at the north end of the room is surrounded by a natural finish oak mantle and side sections with a beveled edge plate glass mirror back. It has a ceramic tile face and an iron plate fire screen with adjustable vents. The ceiling is textured, the walls are painted, and the floor is carpeted.

 

One gains access to the dining room via a 4' x 8' high pocket door at the north end of the living room. The ceiling was hand-painted by New York artist Charles Ammann in 1930. The chandelier has eight branches and is of Victorian design. The fixture was originally gas fueled, but has since been converted to electricity. The fireplace, at the southern end of the room, is similar in styling to the one in the living room. It has a ceramic face and hearth, an iron plate fire screen, and a natural finish oak wood mantle. However, the side shelves have more spindle work and there is a smaller mirror. The northern wall has a scenic mural of the "Villa d'Este." Painted in moss green and blue, it was done by an unknown artist at an unknown date. The woodwork in the room is largely painted in satin enamel, excepting the spindle work, the doors, and the dado inserts. The remaining walls are likewise painted and the floor is carpeted. The dining room measures 19' x 14'.

 

The breakfast room, presently serving as an informal bar, opens off of the dining room through a high cased opening topped by fine wood spindle work. Facing the east, the room is walled by two full sides of glass windows taking full advantage of the sun during the first half of the day. The remaining two walls and ceiling are painted to compliment the dining room, and the floor is completely surfaced with ceramic tile. The breakfast room measures 6' x 10'.

 

At the north end of the hall-foyer is the center hall. Measuring 3' x 10', it has a dropped ceiling topped with a fancy wood spindle work. The floor is carpeted, the walls are painted, and the center hall leads one to the main floor bathroom and to the office.

 

The office is 10' x 8'6" and has a dropped ceiling. This room does not reflect the architectural period of the house as do the other rooms. The office has wainscote-height paneling and built-in cabinets shelves. The floor is carpeted.

 

The main floor bathroom measures 7'6" x 15'. It has a built-in vanity with a large mirror and double swag lights, the ceiling is original hand painted, and has a wall-hung water closet. The bathroom has been fitted by a modern toilet and 4'6"tub with an overhead shower.

 

The kitchen is a modern "U"-shaped design with several built-in appliances. One can enter the kitchen from the rear hall or from the pantry via the dining room. The kitchen is 12' x 16'6", it has a 9' kitchen bar with an eating shelf and a 7'6" nook with space for a small kitchen table. The room is well lighted and fully carpeted.

 

The pantry is located between the dining room and kitchen and has access to both. The walls are lined with upper and lower cabinets for storage, and there is an open counter space. The pantry is carpeted and opens up on to the back porch.

 

The rear stair is three feet wide and leads off the rear hallway to the second floor central hallway. Given a natural wood finish, it has one landing and winders that provide for a ninety-degree turn.

 

2. The Second Floor

The second floor consists of a main hallway, a small rear hall, a bathroom, a master bedroom, and five additional bedrooms. All the rooms on this floor have wood panel doors with transom lights above each.

 

The main hallway averages 8'6" x 12' and opens off the main stairway from the first floor hall-foyer. The hallway runs north and south and thus divides the second floor into east and west sections. At the southern end of the hallway is a stained glass insert door leading onto the front balcony. The hall carpet is the same as that of the main floor: a gold acrilan over a 70-ounce foam pad with a high/low tip sheared pattern.

 

The rear hall, located at the north end of the second floor, ranges from four to five feet in width. Carpeted, it leads to the rear stairway which, in turn, takes one down to the first floor, providing easy access to the pantry and kitchen.

 

The master bedroom is irregular in shape, yet average 24' x 14' in size. It has ivory colored wallpaper, ivory colored woodwork finish, and a pink wool carpet. Both windows in the room are boxed out. The east window is an Austrian shade with over drapes and valances in green and gold antique satin. The front corner windows have draw sheers, with a draw drapes valance. The front corner window seat is covered with green crushed velvet.

 

The master bedroom has its own bathroom, while the remaining five bedrooms share the hallway bathroom. The master bedroom bathroom is now a modern facility with tiled floor and walls. Entering through café doors, the bathroom contains a marble-top vanity, a 3' x 4'6" shower, and a hung water closet.

 

Within the entry-hall of the master bedroom are the original hall lights above a large framed mirror. Further centered in the sitting area hangs a Maria Theresa cut crystal chandelier.

 

The remaining five bedrooms range in size from as large as 18'6" x 10'6" to as small as 12' x 8'. Located on both sides of the main hall, they now serve as guest rooms for visiting friends and relatives.

 

The northeast bedroom has double closets- and an off-white acrylic carpet, and washable pink wallpaper; the southwest bedroom' has two windows with a view of the city, a connecting door with the west-center bedroom, the walls are painted, and retains its original carpet; the west-center bedroom, adjoining the southwest bedroom, has painted walls, a wool blue carpet, and a set of boxed out windows with stained glass; the northwest bedroom is painted and is floored with a green nylon carpet; the final bedroom also serves as a linen storage room. With its original carpet, this bedroom has an entire wall devoted to storage containing doors and drawers. Further, the room has a walk-in closet with drawers and shelves for more storage.

 

The hallway bathroom is for the occupants of the five subordinate bedrooms. Measuring 8'x9' in size, it is a completely new and modern facility excepting its original six foot long bathtub.

 

The upper-half story serves as an attic for the Mock House. It is basically unfinished except for one room with a 1,000 square foot area. Serving as a storage room, it is insulated, contains several storage cabinets, and usually remains locked.

 

Of further interest: In 1971, a four-ton Rheem central air-conditioning unit was installed. It serves the entire main floor, the master bedroom, and two more bedrooms on the second floor.

 

The system's installation was an amazing feat, in that first it could be installed at all in a structure such as Mock's Residence, and second; that it was accomplished without compromising the home's appearance.

 

npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/da02787d-5a69-4348-8f9d-b...

 

Since getting my Gocco (still too scared to touch it yet) I've been thinking about screen printing patterns...any opinions?

LTS since 1986

Since I can't quite get an over-under to work out at Genoa, I'll take this one of SOO 4435 and 4409 coming over the Mississippi River bridge between Savanna, IL, and Sabula, IA, as a small boat shoots underneath.

 

This was the Clinton local (now called B60) of 6-14-13, which came across to pick up its cars off the causeway siding.

Since we still had the ingredients for another Stromboli and Pizza, that's what I made for our dinner. Used the 2nd Trader Joe's Garlic & Herb pizza dough for the Stromboli. And thawed one of three frozen pizza crusts we had in our freezer.

 

Our house

Knoxville, Tennessee

Tuesday, September 24th, 2024

 

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Since it was confirmed during the set visits to Justice League that the movie wouldn't be a “part 1” as previously confirmed. In my opinion, I think that it’s a great idea to save Darkseid to a later film to get rid the Thanos comparaisons (even though DARKSEID CAME FIRST but whatever…). Anyways, now that Justice League 2 is not going to follow the whole Darkseid storyline, I wanted to share a few of my thoughts on what I would like to see!

 

Ok so first off, I have absolutely no doubt that Green Lantern will be in Justice League 2. I mean, it awkward enough that he’s not in the first one. I don’t care which Green Lantern would be in Justice League 2, but if I had to pick, I’d say Hal Jordan so it’ll fit into my Green Lantern Corps idea. Now I’d only like to see one more hero join the team, and that would be Martian Manhunter. Martian Manhunter NEEDS to be in the DCEU, he’s such a perfect character for this universe with his tragic storyline. He’d he could have some amazing scenes with him and Superman. Superman’s character would build so much because of Martian Manhunter, I always love it when Superman helps Martian Manhunter adjust to earth life. Basically, I just want him to have that Christmas dinner with Clark and Martha like in the Justice League cartoon! :)

 

Now let’s talk villains. Because of the inclusions of Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, I was thinking of more intergalactic villains to tie them in. My first choice for villains is Starro. Now I bet people would think Starro would be a completely interesting villain, but hear me out. I think it be really cool if they adapted the Final Frontier storyline, but replace “The Center” with Starro, I don’t know. Starro was one of the first villains that the JLA faced, so I think it would be pretty cool if we saw him on the big screen. I mean, if we’re going to see Ego the Living Planet, Starro’s not too absurd, right? My next choice is Brainiac, but I have a pretty good feeling that DC’s saving him for Man of Steel 2, but maybe he’d survive that movie and then face the Justice League! My last choice for a villain is the white martians, but the only reason why I’m hesitant is because it’d be another alien invasion, which is what we’re probably going to get in the first Justice League.

 

As for storylines, I know I said before that I’d like the villains to be more intergalactic to give a reason to Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, but they can still introduce them without tying them to the villain, but I think it’d be badass if they adapted the Tower of Babel storyline! Now if you haven’t read the comic or have seen Justice League: Doom, the Tower of Babel is when Ra's al Ghul (or the Legion of Doom in the animated movie) steal information on how to defeat the whole Justice League from Batman. I think this storyline is ripe for a cinematic adaptation, it'd be cool to see the Legion of Doom approach for this movie like they did with the animated one. They could have Lex Luthor gather one of each of the League's villains and have them take out their counterparts. Plus, who doesn’t want to see how Batman would take out the Justice League?

 

Anyways, those are my thoughts on Justice League 2, but the real question is, what do you guys want to see in the sequel to Justice League? Leave your ideas down in the comments and let’s discuss! Also, make sure to leave recommendations in the comments of other future movies you’d like me to give my ideas on!

I feel weak. Since I was shot. But it ain’t my first time. All the scars are there.

 

Sometimes I hated being invisible. Sometimes I don’t. The more magic you know, revelation comes after revelation, what’s the worse to come? I’m not a Brit, but I sure know how bad it is to be one in this time and age. The death of my partner still haunts me, since his blood transfusion that gave me powers.

 

Work has pushed back any form of strict ties—save for the friendships with the team, and I’m the one in charge of financial assets and insecurities, maybe because I’m the one man capable of handling it. Sure, he may be the least tolerant, but I’ve found myself growing to like Callan a lot. He’s changed ostensibly in small ways. We’ve spent lots of time together, more so partnering up in finding artifacts to being chased by demons…

 

Back to my line of duty, it’d be stupid thinking that equipment wouldn’t be worth pennies? It does, even with my ties on the black market, you’ve got to know the fine line. And there’s also the recent drama of the Vampire Queen, I might have spent up my savings for a shitty prosecutor. Fuck.

 

My body aches, but I have to put up a fight. There’s no room for rest, and I barely had any since the Vertex dudes shot me. Now, they’re a mixed bag of shit, the mutated ones, and the humans, who could do it again with altered weapons.

 

Florence: “Come at me, you bastard.”

Vertex Commander: “I’d like to end this with a duel of cutlasses.”

Florence: “Fine. You’re downright horrid anyways—I knew when to quit.”

Vertex Commander: “If you weren’t such a stuck up of a whore, I’d respect you better.”

Florence: “I fought tooth and nail, you wanker. But when you came after my sister, I threw everything away so that I could protect her”

Vertex Commander: “Bad timing, bad choices. You were never fit or qualified. Now that I’ve sealed the deals, you’re definitely going on death row. The system is the best for dealing with you peasants. No, you fucking rascals…”

 

The former captain retracts her shotgun at her back, and draws her brandished cutlass, engaging the commander, who also made one but it’s a dark emerald rapier . He’s quite bloodthirsty, I can see it in the eyes; a personal vendetta that is power.

 

And this is how the novelty of the fight change. So much going on. The old man in charge, rushing with antidotes, Rowena taking the damage like she would, Luc forming occult spells alongside Magnus. Thanks to Koles ‘connection’ to this so called Judge Creek…lord knows what kind of a breed is he. The image of his transformation at the courthouse still scares me

 

I really wanted a normal day for once. I fucking get it, slaughterhouse at court. Tried for accountability breaches. It just never ends. But complaining won’t ever get the job done. I would have to keep on trying.

 

In the heat of the moment, I still did anyways. I run to a safer corner as the street fights keep playing out. Right next to where Cal is, still battle hardened, alone while the rest engage in chases amongst destruction.

 

Terry: “Cal, I just want to confess”

Callan: “This is the worst time to ask me out…actually, if the world were less shitty--but right now, I don’t give a damn if I like you.”

Terry: “Have you been reading my mind or..”

Callan: “You wanna say it, just say it.”

Terry: “I’m outta fucking context, but I like you. I really do.”

Callan: “Since when?”

Terry: “Since the early missions. I know, I owe you a pint. You favour Johnny Walker. And when I hauled your ass a few times out of pubs, well, let’s say it was an attraction.”

Callan: “The feeling’s mutual. I was really concerned when you got shot. Look, I’m not that kinda playboy anymore. Shed that just for the sake of making weapons…I’m struggling with love too; despite the old shenanigans and how I’m with the ladies, I’m comfortable around you the most. If you’re serious, and dead set on it, we can—”

 

I lean forward to his Cal for a kiss. He doesn’t hold back, but pulls away quickly to shoot a mutated prowler. Cal says we’re gonna definitely gonna talk later. He seems to be lost in the moment, yet not distracted by my quick advancements.

 

Feels like I’ve gotten some weight off my chest. I swallow the bitter taste in my tongue, as I turn invisible once more, charging towards a horde of Vertex officers.

 

Then he appears.

 

***

Ever since class 88s took over this Ford automotive service I have wanted to capture it on the Gospel Oak - Barking line but as it is normally passing this very station when I arrive at Stratford on the first available train on a cheap day ticket I have never managed it. However due to a number of factors working in my favour I managed it yesterday and by a stroke of luck my chosen location also coincided with the edge of the thick black cloud evident on my journey here and clear blue skies. The initial favourable factor is that the first train from Colchester that a cheap day ticket is available on changed in the summer to the 08.03 from Norwich to Liverpool Street which is due into Stratford at 09.48 rather than the previous arrival at 10.07 on the service from Ipswich. That almost 20 minute difference and an 18 minute late start for this train yesterday put me in with a shouting chance. However the Norwich was a minute late leaving Colchester but fortunately arrived at Stratford on time which enabled me to just make the plus one connection into the 09.42 Liverpool Street - Shenfield which arrived simultaneously. A lung busting run via the subway saw me arrive on the platform as the doors were closing on the 345 and I just managed to leap on in the nick of time. Without making that connection the best I could have managed was a shot in the gloom at Wanstead Park.

Seedy part of Tokyo with sex shops etc. If you've seen sin city then you'll appreciate this being called seedy city.

Wilton Candy Kitchen - go there & sample their food!

Since we're neighbors let's be friends

Beepo Says, Remember to Use The Magic Words...

PLEASE! AND THANK YOU!

 

CAPA-014310

Six Years Ago: The East End

 

Perched on the fire escape, Eric Needham chapped gently on his apartment's window. “Linda, can we talk?”

 

No response. He figured that may have been the case. Since he had caught her using again, their relationship had been... Well, ‘strained’ didn’t exactly cover it. But with every dealer he took off the streets, Eric was certain he was making a brighter future for them, for their son. Mikey wouldn’t have to grow up like he did. Mikey wouldn’t have to do the things that Eric had to.

 

Behind the glass, he could make out his girlfriend’s unmoving silhouette on the sofa, his son sitting on the ground beside her.

 

No, not sitting… Lying; sprawled out across the ground. Eric’s eyes widened and a sense of dread washed over him. 'God, please, not them too.'

 

He punched through the glass window, paying no attention to the shards tearing his hand open as he entered the room. He rushed to Mikey first, his eyes drawn to an overturned bowl of cereal and the white powder on the ground beside him. ‘The cereal… He’d put the smack in the cereal… Must have thought it was sugar, I mean, why wouldn’t he?’

 

‘Please… Please God, let there be a pulse,’ he begged, shaking Mikey’s still body frantically. He turned to Linda next, his face twisted with anger and sorrow.

 

“Do you know what you’ve done?!” he shook her. “Do you know what-”

 

His lip twitched. Tears streaming down his fear, he huddled his family together and wept. Not just for his family, but for the death of a normal life.

 

Now:

 

Sionis Warehouse: South Gotham

 

Jenna’s head was spinning. She could just hear Franco arguing with Ferris. She tried to move but found herself unable to; her wrist was wrapped in cold metal: Handcuffs, pinning her to a steel pipe.

 

“You brought the girl?” Ferris was complaining. “Sloppy, Davey. Sloppy. Fortunately, I can work with sloppy.”

 

Franco ruffled his hair awkwardly. “They got Rosso.”

 

“Eh. No real loss.”

 

“You think? If they find out what he did for me, we’re both dead.”

 

“You’re dead anyway," Jenna spat.

 

“Ah! The sleeping beauty awakes,” Ferris cocked his head to one side.

 

“When Gar gets here-”

 

Ferris flicked his finger on her forehead. “When ‘Gar’ gets here, we’re gonna blast him full of lead. Heh. This girl of yours must be real handy with those lips, Davey, ‘cause I can’t figure out why else you’d let her keep flapping ‘em.”

 

Six Years Ago: Dixon Docks

 

The henchmen all wore grotesque masks, loading pallets onto a group of large semi-trucks. One, in a rubber elephant mask, was talking to the others. “There was some killing on Third and Milton. Nasty stuff: had the lieutenants real spooked. Strung him up like a fly.”

 

“Was it The Bat?” a henchman in a chicken mask asked.

 

“Was it the-? The Bat don’t kill, moron. Everybody knows that,” a third, in a pink bear mask, chided the second.

 

“Ain’t what I heard. Heard there was this guy; The KGBeast; a high-profile Russian hitman or mercenary or something? Bat trapped him in a sewer, left him to starve to death,” a fourth in an astronaut helmet chimed in.

 

“That’s horsecrap. He’d have let the cops know where to pick him up, the Commissioner at least. They’re tight,” a goon in a white rabbit mask stated.

 

“Nah, man. This Beast guy? Killed 130 people, good half of them were innocents. You don’t fuck with innocents. Not with The Bat,” the astronaut claimed.

 

“Bull! I’ve met the Beast. He works with the bosses now and then. You’re talking outta your ass,” the bear masked henchman frowned. “It’s probably that new guy, the-”

 

He didn’t finish his sentence. A strand of red webbing latched itself around his neck and raised him off the ground. His legs flailed helplessly for what seemed like an eternity and then, snap. The body went limp.

 

“What the fuck was that?!”

 

“Holy crap, he’s dead!”

 

The Rabbit fired his machine gun into the rafters, hoping to weed out the assailant. Screams echoed throughout the warehouse. “Come on out, you son of a bitch! You’re outnumbered.”

 

Something rolled across the ground towards him, shattering his confidence: A bloodied chicken mask, the head still inside. The Rabbit stepped backwards, colliding with an upside-down body; a disembowelled corpse in an elephant mask, pinned to the wall by that same red webbing. Before the Rabbit could call for help, a serrated blade tore his throat open.

 

“This is fucked, man!” the astronaut panicked. “There were at least twenty other guys in here, where the hell are they?”

 

He tripped over the chicken’s headless body, falling to the ground. A figure in an orange mask and several layers of body armour grabbed him by his lapels and pulled him close.

 

“Who are you working for?” the figure asked.

 

“I don’t-! I can’t-!” the Astronaut stammered.

 

“This warehouse is the biggest heroin plant in the city now talk!"

 

"I can't! He'll kill me!"

 

"I'LL KILL YOU! NOW, WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?!” the Black Spider roared.

 

"The Black Mask,” the goon spluttered. “We’re working for the Black Mask!”

 

Before the goon could divulge more information, an armoured fist intervened, flooring Needham. The assailant was dressed in a suit of purple and grey armour, a single red visor across his eyes. Their gloves buzzed with yellow sparks. Needham hadn’t met this one before.

 

“No-no-no-no, please! I didn’t tell him nothing! I swear to Chri-”

 

The goon’s shout of protest was muffled by the Lightning Bug’s hand around his mouth. The gauntlet crackled with yellow electricity and lightning shot through the goon’s body, burning them from the inside. The body glowed with brilliant light, and then with a final muffled shriek: the light went out. Lightning Bug slackened his grip, and a charred corpse crumpled to the ground, smoke rising from the mouth of the blackened body. Beneath his mask, the Lightning Bug smirked: now he could turn his attention back to the intruder

 

As he approached, lightning dragged along the grated floor and railings, every metal surface a death trap beneath the Bug’s boots. So, Needham had to stick to the air; narrowly dodging a blast of yellow electricity, he leapt off the narrow walkway, firing a web at the wooden rafters to keep himself airborne. Recognising the Spider’s strategy, Lightning Bug shot at the rafters; as the blast found its mark, the wooden supports caught fire, the flames carrying down across the walls.

 

Needham lost his balance when the Bug struck the beams and fell into a pile of wooden crates. Shaking the wooden splinters off his person, Needham fired another web, carrying him onto the opposite end of the gantry. Aiming for the Bug’s visor, Needham grabbed a machine gun from a fallen False Facer and opened fire. The Bug raised his arm out in front of his face and used his gauntlet to shield his eyes, aiming to outlast Needham’s ammunition. And sure enough, the clip was emptied before it could penetrate the Bug’s armour.

 

As the fire intensified, the sprinkler systems kicked into gear; the water sizzling as it battered down onto the Bug’s armour. Needham discarded the gun, and firing two more webs, he brought a large crane down on top of the Bug. ‘The roof was going to cave in any minute,’ he realised. 'And soon the cops would be here.' Needham fired a web up at the open skylight, and swung out into the night, hoping the flames would finish the Bug off. But as he left, an armoured fist broke free from the debris.

 

The Gotham Royal Hotel

 

Lobby: Ground Floor

 

Time went on, and the remaining Misfits reunited in the lobby. The group’s attention was momentarily drawn to the window; the reporters had started to gather outside, taking pictures and forcibly extracting statements from the irritated witnesses and handcuffed prisoners. From inside the lobby, Sharpe stuck his tongue out at Jack Ryder, and pulled down the curtains. Mayo was slowly waltzing around the lobby. Bridget, who had arrived with Chuck, Kuttler and Ten, kept her distance from the group.

Chuck’s head was resting on the check-in desk, his arms sprawled out in front of him. Beside him, a sorrowful Rigger lay the broken hilt of his katana on the countertop, lamenting the weapon’s loss. Ten sat on his right, wearing a sling around his injured shoulder. Blake joined them last; a series of white bandages wrapped around his bare chest. Smiling, he plopped a quartet of glasses down beside them. “Drink,” he encouraged the trio, pouring a generous amount of dark liquid into each glass.

Chuck smiled back. “Cheers,” he toasted his teammates.

 

As they drank, Flannegan approached the group, dressed in an ugly, dark green raincoat.

 

“You’re leaving?” Chuck asked.

 

“Job’s done, isn’t it?” Flannegan challenged him.

 

"Unbelievable…” Chuck voiced his disapproval but knew there was little point in keeping Flannegan here against his will. Flannegan saluted the group, and took the remainder of the bottle for himself, tucking it under his overcoat.

 

Kuttler was sitting at the bottom of the staircase, pressing an ice pack against his bruised forehead. He lowered the ice pack from his forehead and rolled his eyes: Sionis was strutting down the marble staircase, Li by his side. Needham stood at the entrance, his arms folded and his back leaning against the door in defiance of the new arrival.

 

“What a dutiful bunch you all are. Can’t imagine how anyone got past you,” Sionis addressed the room of downtrodden C-Listers.

 

“That said..." he cleared his throat as if the words were painful to admit: "Thank you.” Clearly, he had been prompted by Li.

 

Mayo scratched his forehead as he struggled to make sense of the unexpected compliment. “But we ruined everything. A bunch of people died. The damages to the hotel-”

 

Sionis flapped his hand at him dismissively. “Oh, I know. But I’m insured on all of that. Well, not the men, but those are replaceable. Good work people, I hope I never have to see any of you again.”

 

The latter comment seemed to be directed at Kuttler specifically, as Sionis came to a stop at his side, paying no attention to the Black Spider's judgemental glare. “Oh, elevator’s back online, yeah?” he growled at him.

 

“They’re pre-programmed to shut down in the event of a fire,” Kuttler claimed.

 

“While occupied?” Sionis asked.

 

“It’s your building,” Kuttler challenged him, lowering his purple-tinted glasses. “We had no way to know Carson was coming,”

 

Sionis eyed him up and down, unsatisfied with his response. “Smartass,” he snarled, shoving him aside. "And you, kid, you on their side now?" he examined Bridget.

 

"Play nice," Needham warned, a hand rested by his sheathed blade. For the first time that night, Sionis noticed him.

 

"That's right, I forgot we had a Bat-Chaperone with us,” he raised his arms in the air. As he made a beeline for the check-in desk, Chuck looked down into his glass, avoiding eye contact.

 

“Doubt there’s any point asking the blind man…” Sionis stood intrusively close to Chuck. “So, how about you? You see Tiger Shark pass by here, Kite-Man?” he asked.

 

Chuck’s back straightened, and he turned to Sionis stone-faced.

 

“Who?”

 

Sionis took a step back. If he had eyebrows, he’d have surely raised one. “Well, aren’t you a grumpy little bastard tonight... You hit your head? Maybe fly into my desk headfirst?”

 

As tensions began to mount, Li stepped between the pair, handing Sionis his tablet. “Sir, you’ll want a look at this. The security footage from the 13th floor.”

 

As Sionis glanced at the recording, his eyes narrowed. “What am I supposed to be looking at?”

 

“Just keep watching,” Li said calmly. As the footage played, a familiar man wearing a wolf-like helmet and purple suit walked into focus and pressed a button on the nearby keypad.

 

“Ferris-?” Sionis grimaced. “What the hell was he up to-?”

 

As he finished inputting the code, the wall slid out, and Ferris disappeared behind it, the wall closing back up behind him.

 

“I told you it wasn’t Day,” Li finished, his tone suggesting he felt vindicated.

 

“I wish I could say I was happy for you…” Sionis murmured. “Wait a minute,” he gestured to the corner of the screen. “The time stamp… This happened two hours before Day attacked,” he glared at Li, waiting for his explanation.

 

“If I might suggest something... Kuttler is a tech genius. The only way someone; Krill, Day; could bypass his systems is if they already had the security codes. Or knew someone who did.”

 

“And?”

 

“Ferris knew something was going down. That’s why he left the party prematurely.”

 

“Well,” Sionis scoffed. “It’s a hell of a theory.”

 

“It is. But I do my research,” Li spoke, swiping his fingers across the tablet to another photo. “This was taken outside the Thompkins Homeless Center. And that’s Ferris, sat across from Abner Krill.”

 

Sionis gritted his teeth. “Is there anyone who doesn’t want to kill me?” he snarled.

 

“Nope." Needham’s arms stayed folded.

 

Sionis growled, as he swung back around. “Hey, Misfits, maybe I could still use you.”

 

“Are you serious?” Chuck asked. “Drury’s gone. Have someone else do your dirty work.”

 

“Well, that would be nice, Kite-Man. However, you may not have noticed, but all my employees seem to be betraying me!"

 

As if on cue, the stairwell door swung open, and Garfield Lynns staggered into the lobby; his shirt drenched in sweat, his face bruised and swollen, and covered in still damp blood.

 

Joey's eyes widened. "Gar!"

 

"Here, take it easy, Garfield," Reardon advised him, offering him his seat at the desk.

 

"Woah," Sharpe whistled. "You look like shit! Like, more than usual. Like, think how bad you must look now if on your best day, you look like a shaved testi-"

 

"Gar, what happened?" Chuck asked, expressing concern as Lynns collapsed onto the stool beside him and drank his half full glass of alcohol.

 

"Gar, where's Jenna?" Joey asked anxiously. "Gar?"

 

Gar didn't respond. His eyes appeared to stare off into nowhere. “He took her," he said finally, his jaw slackening. "I tried to stop him, but he took her."

 

“Who? Franco?” Joey asked. That got Sionis’ attention, whose previous reaction to the conversation had been one of pure apathy.

 

"Franco did that?” Sharpe gestured to Gar’s wounds. “I’ll be honest, between this and the car crash, I think you might be losing your touch.”

 

"No, not him... His assistant… bodyguard. He is… was a metahuman. A blood monster. Took him out with a Molotov but... By that point, Franco had already sealed the upstairs passage."

 

“Cool,” Sharpe and Mayo nodded in admiration. The former, stuck his head around the door Gar had come through, hoping to catch a glimpse of the 'blood monster.'

 

“That tunnel, where does it come out?” Gar asked Li frantically.

 

“One of our old warehouses, South Gotham, I think. You said it was a blood monster?” he asked Gar.

 

“What?” Gar asked, failing to see the relevancy. “Yeah, some kinda bloodbender. Like, from Avatar. Have you seen Avatar?”

 

“No.”

 

“Well, I have. Blame Rigger.”

 

“I shall.”

 

“You shouldn’t, it’s a good show!” Joey interjected.

 

“It’s fine," Gar conceded, realising he was getting off-topic. "This guy made me beat myself within an inch of my life, made Jenna watch, healed Franco’s injuries… Bloodwork, he said his name was.”

 

“And where is he now?”

 

Gar paused. “He’s splattered across the east stairwell.

 

“Aw, that’s not a monster!” Sharpe complained loudly as he re-entered the lobby. “That’s just a pile of blood.”

 

Li and Sionis looked at each other.

 

Li swallowed. “Sir… You don’t think-?”

 

“I want Franco's blood tested," Sionis ordered. “Dig up any files we have on Blackgate, including his connection to Gaige, and find out when his correspondence with Ferris first began; I need to know if they were conspiring before we lifted his exile...”

 

"That may take time," Li stated. "We'd need to find an uncorrupted blood sample, run it against the one we received from Blackgate."

 

"Franco took a polka dot to the stomach earlier," Gar stated. "I'd start there."

 

"Hmff," Sionis grunted. "Richardson's still on the take," he reminded his assistant. "Have him swipe a sample from upstairs. While we wait, I want you to surround the South Warehouse. No one in or out, capiche?”

 

“That may prove difficult. If Franco indeed got to Ferris, while he was exiled on another continent, he may have also enlisted your captains. We’re talking about a full-scale power play.”

 

“Then we’ll do it.”

 

Sionis tilted his head back. "Hm?"

 

Gar had risen from the stool and stepped between Sionis and Li. “We’ll take the job,” he clarified.

 

"Now, Gar, wait a minute-" Chuck protested, following him as he offered Sionis his hand.

 

"Bookworm’s right. You can't trust your own guys. Franco could've already bought them off. But you can trust me, because there ain’t nothing I wouldn’t do to protect that woman.”

 

“Well, aren’t you the romantic.” Sionis smirked as he accepted the handshake. “You remember Iron-Hat Ferris, I take it?”

 

Behind them, Blake laughed. “’Iron-Hat?’ What does he do, haunt abandoned fairgrounds for the insurance money?”

 

“Didn’t realise we were taking pointers from the Catman.”

 

“You’re not coming,” Gar shook his head. “Not with that stab wound. Ten neither. And Mayo... Not Mayo."

 

“Hold that thought,” Sionis’ phone buzzed, and he rolled his eyes. “Penguin.” He turned his head to the quarrelling Misfits. “I have to take this. Mingle among yourselves," he said patronisingly, as he left the room, followed by Li.

 

As Sionis departed, Joey shook his head. “That man deserves a fiery death...” he muttered.

 

“Yes,” Reardon murmured in agreement. “And for some reason, we prevented one.”

 

"What's your problem?" Gar glared at Chuck.

 

"My problem?" Chuck squinted.

 

“Franco has Jenna. Jenna! This might be my only chance of getting her back. Why are you trying to mess that up?”

 

"Why? Because we're not his personal kill squad. Look, Julian was one of us, as were the rest of the Outcasts; to an extent, but I draw the line with Franco and this Ferris guy. That's mob business and I don't want to see any more of us caught in the crossfire."

 

“And you'd leave Jenna to die instead?” Gar spluttered in indignation. "Isn't she one of us?"

 

Chuck sighed. “That’s not what I’m saying! But God, Gar, at least think it through. You do what you’re planning, if you kill Franco, do you really think she can love you? You’re being used. You’ll be little more than Sionis’ executioner. Again.”

 

"You don’t understand! I love her!”

 

"Of course, I understand, but she’s a grown woman. A grown woman, who, I might add, managed to hit Carson with a car.”

 

“To be fair though, who hasn’t,” Sharpe interjected.

 

“Just have faith in her! Give her some credit, please," Chuck urged.

 

"It's not just mob business."

 

"What?" Chuck stared at Bridget.

 

"It's not just mob business,” she repeated, a little unsure of herself.

 

“Go on," Needham encouraged her. "It's alright."

 

Bridget turned to Gar. “Dad followed Carpenter home one night. He was looking for you; must’ve thought that she’d lead him to you and Walker. But he found Franco instead. I guess they developed some kind of understanding, because, well they’re both still breathing. Tonight, Franco phoned dad out of the blue. Said he knew where to find Drury. And his friends.”

 

“Franco phoned him? Not Jules?” Blake asked.

 

Bridget scratched her arm. “Uh-uh. Day thought Dad was beneath him. He was always bragging about these secret partners of his. Seemed to think they were going to take over the city.”

 

“Drury,” Gar whispered. He looked ashamed, disgusted that he hadn’t noticed his best friend’s absence. “Where is Drury?”

 

The Misfits looked at each other guiltily. Ten swallowed. “You don’t know?”

 

Six Years Ago: Dixon Docks

 

Roman Sionis stood by the harbour. Smoke was still billowing from the charred warehouse. His warehouse. “30 men dead. 30. The East End operation is fucked…” he gritted his teeth. “What the hell happened exactly?” he asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

 

A man in a violet mask and a red suit and cape stepped forward. “Per the Bug’s account, this was the work of one man; calls himself Black Spider. He’s been active for a couple of years, never been worth our time; went after street dealers, the small stuff,” he explained.

 

“And? What changed?”

 

James Carter lowered his notepad. “We’re still working on that, sir. Still, it’s not uncommon for these types to get reckless, or cocky. Take down one street thug and they think they’re invincible all of a sudden. The Bug said he likely died in the blaze. We’re checking the river for a body. It’ll turn up soon enough.”

 

Sionis reached into his pocket and opened a bottle of his prescription heart medication. “30... Shit. You’re the PI, right? Gaige’s,” he inquired, swallowing a handful of orange pills.

 

“Incognito,” the red suited man introduced himself.

 

Sionis snorted derisively. “Yeah, with that cape?”

 

The Gotham Royal Hotel:

 

Room 792: Floor 25

 

A lone GCPD officer, Richardson, shone a torch at the wall. What looked to be Walker’s signature cocoon formula was peeling off the wall. A good chunk of the residue appeared to have been removed somehow, eaten, the cop suspected. And whatever the webbing had held, was gone

 

Six Years Ago: Sionis’ Penthouse. Diamond District

 

Sionis poured a bottle of scotch into a pair of glasses, offering a tumbler to his guest first. The guest declined, instead retrieving a thin cigarette from a pouch in his dark grey utility belt. Sionis shrugged, and after chugging down his whiskey, got down to business: “You come highly recommended from a… mutual friend of ours. Can’t say I’ve ever held his opinion in high regard, but my boys vouch for you. That kid, Joseph, he’s the one who set up the initial meet between me and your... manager.”

 

“He’s not my manager,” the guest frowned, flicking his lighter on and off compulsively.

 

“Well, he hyped you up plenty.”

 

“That’s just Drury. He exaggerates.”

 

“Yeah, no shit,” Sionis inhaled. “Joseph... is getting cold feet. Guess that mess in the East End was too much for him to handle: bit of a softie, that one... I take it you saw the news?”

 

The guest, dressed in a dark grey jumpsuit and a bandolier lined with explosives around his torso, smiled thinly. “Saw your warehouse up in smoke, if that’s what you mean. Helluva blaze. Wish I’d been there in person.”

 

“You and me both,” Sionis glared at him. “That little... accident cost me a dozen of my best guys. High earners. I need someone to pick up the slack, recoup our losses. That gonna be you, Lynns?”

 

The guest closed his lighter suddenly. “Please, sir. Call me Firefly.”

 

The Gotham Royal Hotel

 

Lobby: Ground Floor

 

Gar sat back down as he processed this. Franco sent Carson. Carson, who Drury had sacrificed his freedom to take down. He remembered the look Drury gave him in that hallway, a non-verbal plea to find Jenna, to be happy. And his hand formed a fist.

 

“That settles it.”

 

The Misfits looked at Gar.

 

“Franco’s just given me two reasons to kill him.”

 

“I’m in,” Rigger patted him on the back, tucking the broken katana into its sheath. “A guy’s gotta have his wingman.”

 

Gar nodded appreciatively, then turned to Chuck, gesturing to Blake and Reardon. “Those two need a doctor. Can I count on you to be their designated driver?”

 

Chuck nodded hesitantly. “Sharpe says he knows a guy.”

 

The two stared at each other as realization washed over them.

 

“The lizard?”

 

“The lizard.”

 

Gar scoffed, then turned to Joey. “Suit up.”

 

“Already have!” he beamed back as he ripped his shirt open, revealing the red and yellow fireproof spandex beneath.

 

Needham’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been wearing that the whole time?”

 

Gar scratched his scalp. “Christ. You must smell like an old boot...”

 

“Like my pop’s old flip flops!”

 

~-~

 

“Oswald, this had better be good,” Sionis drawled into his phone. As Cobblepot spoke, Sionis’ eyes widened. “What?” he snapped.

 

Li watched from the side, concerned.

 

“Where? Yes, I’ll be there. Tell White to meet me there.”

 

“Sir?” Li tilted his head to one side.

 

Sionis didn’t elaborate. Instead, he swung around, placing a hand around his assistant’s arm.

 

"You still got that gun I gave you?" he asked. His tone was one of uncharacteristic concern.

 

Li nodded, gesturing to the bulge behind his tweed jacket.

 

"Good,” Sionis’ head swayed from side to side. And without another word, he stepped into the awaiting black limousine.

 

~-~

 

Li re-entered the Royal alone, his coat damp from the snow outside. “Have we reached a consensus?” he asked the group.

 

“Chuck here is gonna take care of our wounded,” Gar stated, “So Joey and I are all you’ve got.”

 

...

 

“Very well,” Li said, although he was clearly disappointed with this turn of events. “But be aware: Henry Ferris is not to be underestimated. He is a ruthless, unrepentant monster."

 

“Yeah, um, your boss is Black Mask. All things considered, isn’t that a little hypothetical?" Blake scratched his head.

 

"Hypocritical," Kuttler corrected him.

 

“You don’t understand,” Li shook his head. “Upon his return, I did some digging; research into the circumstances behind his exile, behind that mask he wears... Six years ago, Henry Ferris increased the potency of our drugs, and distributed them among poor neighbourhoods. Black neighbourhoods.”

 

‘Six years...’ Needham thought to himself, as he was filled with dread. ‘It wasn’t an accident...’ He remembered little Mikey on the floor, an overturned bowl of cereal at his side. Linda, her face white, stained with vomit. The still hot spoon on the table… The bag of heroin spilled across the sofa and along the floor...

 

‘It wasn’t an accident.’

 

Suddenly he leapt to his feet and grabbed Li by his collar. “Did you say six years?”

 

Six Years Ago: The Monarch’s Court

 

“Henry Ferris. You stand before the High Table, today, on July 14th, 2013, accused of the reckless endangerment of our assets and of drawing unwanted attention to our East End operations. How do you plead?” the red-suited man at the end of the table asked.

 

“How do I plead?” the accused repeated, a bewildered look upon his chiselled face. “This is a joke, right?”

 

“Hardly,” the man in the striped scuba suit snarled.

 

“Uh, should I repeat the question-?” the speaker asked his superiors.

 

“I heard you fine, Incognito,” Ferris responded. “I’m just confused. Confused why I’m on some sham trial and not shaking hands with the big bosses; No offense, pirate; in the Falcone penthouse.”

 

Ferris ran his finger along his crooked nose. “If I’m guilty of anything, and I do mean ‘if,’ it’s of maintaining the high standards that you’ve all let slip in Falcone’s absence. If the Roman were here-”

 

“He’s not,” the scuba-suited enforcer spat.

 

“If the Roman were here, I can guarantee you all that he’d be thanking me for purifying that disgusting, dirty little corner of Gotham.”

 

“Enough.” The man to Carter’s right raised his hand, a golden crown atop his head. “I’ve heard enough. 30 of our own men dead. 42 of our buyers dead from a modified supply of heroin you approved without our consent.”

 

“Drugs kill, who knew?” Ferris whistled.

 

“Enough!” The Monarch spat. “If you want to draw attention to yourself like a demented court jester, to hue and cry, then so be it. But you shall do so on my terms.”

 

The large man behind Ferris placed his hand on his shoulder, forcing Ferris to his knees.

 

“Rhino, you sack of shit-” he protested, spit flying from his mouth. “What the hell is this?!”

 

The Monarch rose from his throne, holding an iron mask in his hand. It was green in colour, with pointed ears attached to either side. “This, is a mask of shame. Rather popular in the 16th century… It’s also known as The Gossiper’s Bridle, used to punish women accused of witchcraft and so forth. It’s archaic, barbaric, needlessly cruel… And I’m sure it will fit you like a glove.”

 

Since coming back from holiday early Feb, there's been a lot of life issues to deal with. I buried myself in my knitting, the only thing that made me feel relaxed. Now my husband will be made redundant later in the year, our rent has just increased so still more to cope with. But it shouldn't stop me from adding pictures to Flickr and connecting, I need to stop hiding away.

Thank you to those friends that missed me and left messages here.

If you like my work and wanna show it by inviting me to one of your groups, you are very welcome to do that, but please do not leave any graphic logos! I'll delete them.

 

Quote by: St. Augustine

140 432-6 stored since 17/03/2014 with its last Verl expired on 07/09/2014.

 

Taken from the high level by the stored eLoks Rostock Seehafen 20/09/2015.

 

HISTORY:

 

Built as E 40 432 by Henschel & Sohn at their Kassel Works and delivered to DB's Dortmund Bbf on 15/11/1963 (Works No. 30665).

 

Renumbered when UICs came in on 1 January 1968, it became 140 432-6.

 

Over its 50 year working life with DB, it was based at many depots:

Dortmund (4 times)

Offenburg

Heidelberg

Hagen-Eckesey

Augsburg

Osnabrück Hbf

Oberhausen-Osterfeld Süd

Frankfurt (Main) 1 (1991 to 1999)

Mannheim (1999 to 2002)

Seelze (2002 to 2014)

 

All the allocations up to Oberhausen-Osterfeld Süd were before October 1970, when it then came back to Dortmund for the last time and stayed 21 years.

 

Its last DB overhaul was 2006 at Dessau (REV IS700 LD X 07/09/2006).

 

It was switched off on 17/03/2014 when the DB 140s were being wound down, even though it still had 5 months left on its 2nd Verl).

 

Sent to Rostock Seehafen it was stored in the Rbf next to the Works and sold in September 2015 to BYB - BayernBahn GmbH, Nördlingen.

 

It was overhauled at BYB's Nördlingen Works on 23/02/2016 and has been active with BYB ever since.

 

23/10/2023 UPDATE:

 

140 432-6 has had a a 2nd and last Verl extension through to 05/02/2024 and past its 61st birthday.

 

We will find out after that if they will overhaul it again, store it for parts, scrap it or sell it.

...since it's Wednesday.

 

I used a Flypaper Fly Edge in the processing.

HBW everyone.

Since 2017 I have wanted to renovate two as artist cottages over weekends - a quiet getaway,

time just runs away

since 2 weeks the swarm of starlings is daily in our garden

Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Catholic church in Chartres, France, about 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Mostly constructed between 1194 and 1220, it stands on the site of at least five cathedrals that have occupied the site since the Diocese of Chartres was formed as an episcopal see in the 4th century. It is one of the best-known and most influential examples of High Gothic and Classic Gothic architecture, It stands on Romanesque basements, while its north spire is more recent (1507–1513) and is built in the more ornate Flamboyant style.

 

Long renowned as "one of the most beautiful and historically significant cathedrals in all of Europe," it was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979, which called it "the high point of French Gothic art" and a "masterpiece".

 

The cathedral is well-preserved and well-restored: the majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century. The building's exterior is dominated by heavy flying buttresses which allowed the architects to increase the window size significantly, while the west end is dominated by two contrasting spires – a 105-metre (349 ft) plain pyramid completed around 1160 and a 113-metre (377 ft) early 16th-century Flamboyant spire on top of an older tower. Equally notable are the three great façades, each adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives.

 

Since at least the 12th century the cathedral has been an important destination for travellers. It attracts large numbers of Christian pilgrims, many of whom come to venerate its famous relic, the Sancta Camisa, said to be the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary at Christ's birth, as well as large numbers of secular tourists who come to admire the cathedral's architecture and art. A venerated Black Madonna enshrined within was crowned by Pope Pius IX on 31 May 1855.

 

History

At least five cathedrals have stood on this site, each replacing an earlier building damaged by war or fire. The first church dated from no later than the 4th century and was located at the base of a Gallo-Roman wall; this was put to the torch in 743 on the orders of the Duke of Aquitaine. The second church on the site was set on fire by Danish pirates in 858. This was then reconstructed and enlarged by Bishop Gislebert, but was itself destroyed by fire in 1020. A vestige of this church, now known as Saint Lubin Chapel, remains, underneath the apse of the present cathedral. It took its name from Lubinus, the mid-6th-century Bishop of Chartres. It is lower than the rest of the crypt and may have been the shrine of a local saint, prior to the church's rededication to the Virgin Mary.

 

In 962 the church was damaged by another fire and was reconstructed yet again. A more serious fire broke out on 7 September 1020, after which Bishop Fulbert (bishop from 1006 to 1028) decided to build a new cathedral. He appealed to the royal houses of Europe, and received generous donations for the rebuilding, including a gift from Cnut the Great, King of Norway, Denmark and much of England. The new cathedral was constructed atop and around the remains of the 9th-century church. It consisted of an ambulatory around the earlier chapel, surrounded by three large chapels with Romanesque barrel vault and groin vault ceilings, which still exist. On top of this structure he built the upper church, 108 meters long and 34 meters wide. The rebuilding proceeded in phases over the next century, culminating in 1145 in a display of public enthusiasm dubbed the "Cult of the Carts" – one of several such incidents recorded during the period. It was claimed that during this religious outburst, a crowd of more than a thousand penitents dragged carts filled with building supplies and provisions including stones, wood, grain, etc. to the site.

 

In 1134, another fire in the town damaged the façade and the bell tower of the cathedral. Construction had already begun on the north tower in the mid-1120s, which was capped with a wooden spire around 1142. The site for the south tower was occupied by the Hotel Dieu that was damaged in the fire. Excavations for that tower were begun straight away. As it rose the sculpture for the Royal Portal (most of which had been carved beforehand) was integrated with the walls of the south tower. The square of the tower was changed to an octagon for the spire just after the Second Crusade. It was finished about 1165 and reached a height of 105 metres or 345 feet, one of the highest in Europe. There was a narthex between the towers and a chapel devoted to Saint Michael. Traces of the vaults and the shafts which supported them are still visible in the western two bays. The stained glass in the three lancet windows over the portals dates from some time before 1145. The Royal Portal on the west façade, between the towers, the primary entrance to the cathedral, was probably finished a year or so after 1140.

 

Fire and reconstruction (1194–1260)

On the night of 10 June 1194, another major fire devastated the cathedral. Only the crypt, the towers, and the new façade survived. The cathedral was already known throughout Europe as a pilgrimage destination, due to the reputed relics of the Virgin Mary that it contained. A legate of the Pope happened to be in Chartres at the time of the fire, and spread the word. Funds were collected from royal and noble patrons across Europe, as well as small donations from ordinary people. Reconstruction began almost immediately. Some portions of the building had survived, including the two towers and the Royal Portal on the west end, and these were incorporated into the new cathedral.

 

The nave, aisles, and lower levels of the transepts of the new cathedral were probably completed first, then the choir and chapels of the apse; then the upper parts of the transept. By 1220 the roof was in place. The major portions of the new cathedral, with its stained glass and sculpture, were largely finished within just twenty-five years, extraordinarily rapid for the time. The cathedral was formally re-consecrated in October 1260, in the presence of King Louis IX of France, whose coat of arms can be seen painted on a boss at the entrance to the apse, although this was added in the 14th century.

 

Later modifications (13th–18th centuries) and the coronation of Relatively few changes were made after this time. An additional seven spires were proposed in the original plans, but these were never built. In 1326, a new two-storey chapel, dedicated to Saint Piatus of Tournai, displaying his relics, was added to the apse. The upper floor of this chapel was accessed by a staircase opening onto the ambulatory. (The chapel is normally closed to visitors, although it occasionally houses temporary exhibitions.) Another chapel was opened in 1417 by Louis, Count of Vendôme, who had been captured by the English at the Battle of Agincourt and fought alongside Joan of Arc at the siege of Orléans. It is located in the fifth bay of the south aisle and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Its highly ornate Flamboyant Gothic style contrasts with the earlier chapels.

 

In 1506, lightning destroyed the north spire, which was rebuilt in the 'Flamboyant' style from 1507 to 1513 by architect Jean Texier. When he finished this, he began constructing a new jubé or Rood screen that separated the ceremonial choir space from the nave, where the worshippers sat.

 

On 27 February 1594, King Henry IV of France was crowned in Chartres Cathedral, rather than the traditional Reims Cathedral, since both Paris and Reims were occupied at the time by the Catholic League. The ceremony took place in the choir of the church, after which the King and the Bishop mounted the rood screen to be seen by the crowd in the nave. After the ceremony and a mass, they moved to the residence of the bishop next to the cathedral for a banquet.

 

In 1753, further modifications were made to the interior to adapt it to new theological practices. The stone pillars were covered with stucco, and the tapestries which hung behind the stalls were replaced by marble reliefs. The rood screen that separated the liturgical choir from the nave was torn down and the present stalls were built. At the same time, some of the stained glass in the clerestory was removed and replaced with grisaille windows, greatly increasing the light on the high altar in the center of the church.[citation needed]

 

French Revolution and 19th century

Early in the French Revolution a mob attacked and began to destroy the sculpture on the north porch, but was stopped by a larger crowd of townspeople. The local Revolutionary Committee decided to destroy the cathedral via explosives and asked a local architect to find the best place to set the explosions. He saved the building by pointing out that the vast amount of rubble from the demolished building would so clog the streets it would take years to clear away. The cathedral, like Notre Dame de Paris and other major cathedrals, became the property of the French State and worship was halted until the time of Napoleon, but it was not further damaged.

 

In 1836, due to the negligence of workmen, a fire began which destroyed the lead-covered wooden roof and the two belfries, but the building structure and the stained glass were untouched. The old roof was replaced by a copper-covered roof on an iron frame. At the time, the framework over the crossing had the largest span of any iron-framed construction in Europe.

 

World War II

The Second World War, in France, was a battle between the Allies and Axis powers of Germany and Italy. In July 1944, the British and Canadians found themselves restrained just south of Caen. The Americans and their five divisions planned an alternative route to the Germans. While some Americans headed west and south, others found themselves in a sweep east of Caen that led them behind the frontline of the German forces. Hitler ordered the German commissioner, Kluge, to head west to cut off the Americans. This ultimately led the Allies to Chartres in mid-August 1944.

 

On August 16, 1944, the cathedral was saved from destruction thanks to the American colonel Welborn Barton Griffith Jr. (1901–1944), who questioned the order he was given to target the cathedral. The Americans believed that the steeples and towers were being used as an observation post for German artillery.

 

Griffith, accompanied by a volunteer soldier, instead decided to go and verify whether or not the Germans were using the cathedral. Griffith could see that the cathedral was empty, so he had the cathedral bells ring as a signal for the Americans not to shoot. Upon hearing the bells, the American command rescinded the order to fire. Colonel Griffith died in combat action that same day, in the town of Lèves, near Chartres. He was posthumously decorated with the Croix de Guerre avec Palme (War Cross 1939–1945), the Légion d'Honneur (Legion of Honour) and the Ordre National du Mérite (National Order of Merit) of the French government and the Distinguished Service Cross of the American government

 

2009 restoration

In 2009, the Monuments Historiques division of the French Ministry of Culture began an $18.5-million program of works at the cathedral, cleaning the inside and outside, protecting the stained glass with a coating, and cleaning and painting the inside masonry creamy-white with trompe-l'œil marbling and gilded detailing, as it may have looked in the 13th century. This has been a subject of controversy (see below).

 

Liturgy

The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres of the Diocese of Chartres. The diocese is part of the ecclesiastical province of Tours.

 

Every evening since the events of 11 September 2001, Vespers are sung by the Chemin Neuf Community.

 

Timeline

743 – First mention of a cathedral in Chartres in a text

c. 876 – Charles the Bald gives the cathedral an important sacred relic, the veil of the Virgin, making it an important pilgrimage destination.

1020 – Fire damages cathedral. Bishop Fulbert begins reconstruction.

1030 – New cathedral dedicated by Bishop Thierry, successor to Fulbert

1134 – Construction of the Royal Portal

1170 – Completion of south bell tower

1194 – Fire destroys much of city and a large part of the cathedral, but spares the crypt and the new façade. Fund-raising and rebuilding begins immediately.

1221 – New vaults are completed. The chapter takes possession of the new choir.

1210–1250 – Major installation of stained glass windows in choir and nave installed

1260 – Consecration of the new cathedral in presence of Louis IX (Saint Louis). Roof built over chevet, transept and nave

1270–1280 – Sacristy completed

1324–1353 – Construction of the chapel of Saint Piat

1417 – Chapel of the Annunciation completed

1507–1513 – North tower, damaged by a fire, is rebuilt in Flamboyant Gothic style

1513 – Work begins on the choir tower by Jehan de Beuce

1520- Pavillon de l'Horloge clock tower loge begun on the north side

1594 – Since Reims Cathedral is occupied by the Catholic League, coronation of King Henry IV of France held in Chartres

1789 – Following French Revolution, church property seized and Catholic worship forbidden

1792 – Cathedral treasury confiscated by revolutionary government

1802 – Church restored to the Catholic Church for its exclusive use

1805 – Restoration of church begins

1836 – Fire destroys the roof beams and roof. They are replaced with a metal structure and copper roof

1840 – Cathedral classified a national historical monument

1857 – Completion of Notre-Dame-du-Pilier

1908 – Cathedral granted status of basilica

1979 – Cathedral is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site

1992 – New main altar by the Georgian-French sculptor Goudji installed in choir

1994 – Cathedral celebrates 800th anniversary of first reconstruction

2009 – New restoration campaign, including cleaning and repainting walls to recreate original light colors and atmosphere

 

Statistics

Length: 130 metres (430 ft)

Width: 32 metres (105 ft) / 46 metres (151 ft)

Nave: height 37 metres (121 ft); width 16.4 metres (54 ft)

Ground area: 10,875 square metres (117,060 sq ft)

Height of south-west tower: 105 metres (344 ft)

Height of north-west tower: 113 metres (371 ft)

176 stained-glass windows

Choir enclosure: 200 statues in 41 scenes

 

The plan, like other Gothic cathedrals, is in the form of a cross and was determined by the shape and size of the 11th-century Romanesque cathedral, whose crypt and vestiges are underneath it. A two-bay narthex at the western end opens into a seven bay nave leading to the crossing, from which wide transepts extend three bays each to north and south. East of the crossing are four rectangular bays terminating in a semicircular apse. The nave and transepts are flanked by single aisles, broadening to a double-aisled ambulatory around the choir and apse. From the ambulatory three deep semi-circular chapels radiate (overlying the deep chapels of Fulbert's 11th-century crypt).

 

While the floor plan was traditional, the elevation was bolder and more original, thanks to the use of the flying buttress to support the upper walls. This was the first known use in a Gothic cathedral. These heavy columns of stone were joined to the walls by double stone arches, and reinforced by columns, like the spokes of a wheel. Each of these columns is made from a single piece of stone. The arches press against the walls, counterbalancing the outward thrust from the rib vaults over the cathedral interior. These vaults were also innovative, having just four compartments, unlike the six-part vaults of earlier Gothic churches. They were lighter and could cross a greater distance. Since the flying buttresses were experimental, the architect prudently added additional buttresses concealed under roofs of the aisles.

 

The elevations of earlier Gothic cathedrals usually had four levels to give them solidity; an arcade of massive columns on the ground floor, supporting a wide arched tribune gallery or tribune, below a narrower arcade triforium; then, under the roof, the higher and thinner walls, or clerestory, where the windows were. Thanks to the buttresses, the architects of Chartres could eliminate the gallery entirely, make the triforium very narrow, and have much more room for windows above. Chartres was not the first cathedral to use this innovation, but it used it much more consistently and effectively throughout. This buttressing plan was adopted by the other major 13th-century cathedrals, notably Amiens Cathedral and Reims Cathedral.

 

Another architectural innovation at Chartres was the design of the massive piers or pillars on the ground floor which receive the weight of the roof through the thin stone ribs of vaults above. The weight of the roof is carried by the thin stone ribs of the vaults outwards to the walls, where it is counterbalanced by the flying buttresses, and downwards, first through columns made of ribs joined together, then by alternating round and octagonal solid cored piers, each of which bundles together four half-columns. This pier design, known as pilier cantonné, was strong, simple, and elegant, and permitted the large stained glass windows of the clerestory, or upper level.

 

Although the sculpture on the portals at Chartres is generally of a high standard, the various carved elements inside, such as the capitals and string courses, are relatively poorly finished (when compared for example with those at Reims or Soissons) – the reason is simply that the portals were carved from the finest Parisian limestone, or ' 'calcaire' ', while the internal capitals were carved from the local "Berchères stone", that is hard to work and can be brittle.

 

The two towers were built at different times, during the Gothic period, and have different heights and decoration. The north tower was begun in 1134, to replace a Romanesque tower that was damaged by fire. It was completed in 1150 and originally was just two stories high, with a lead-covered roof. The south tower was begun in about 1144 and was finished in 1150. It was more ambitious, and has an octagonal masonry spire on a square tower, and reaches a height of 105 meters. It was built without an interior wooden framework; the flat stone sides narrow progressively to the pinnacle, and heavy stone pyramids around the base give it additional support.

 

The two towers survived the devastating fire of 1194, which destroyed most of the cathedral except the west façade and crypt. As the cathedral was rebuilt, the famous west rose window was installed between the two towers (13th century), and in 1507, the architect Jean Texier (also sometimes known as Jehan de Beauce) designed a spire for the north tower, to give it a height and appearance closer to that of the south tower. This work was completed in 1513. The north tower is in a more decorative Flamboyant Gothic style, with pinnacles and buttresses. It reaches a height of 113 meters, just above the south tower. Plans were made for the addition of seven more spires around the cathedral, but these were abandoned.

 

At the base of the north tower is a small structure which contains a Renaissance-era twenty-four-hour clock with a polychrome face, constructed in 1520 by Jean Texier. The face of the clock is eighteen feet in diameter.

 

A fire in 1836 destroyed the roof and belfries of the cathedral, and melted the bells, but did not damage the structure below or the stained glass. The timber beams under the roof were replaced with an iron framework covered with copper plates.

 

The portals and their sculpture

The cathedral has three great portals or entrances, opening into the nave from the west and into the transepts from north and south. The portals are richly decorated with sculptures, which rendered biblical stories and theological ideas visible for both the educated clergy and layfolk who may not have had access to textual learning. Each of the three portals on the west façade (made 1145–55) focuses on a different aspect of Christ's role in the world; on the right, his earthly Incarnation, on the left, his Ascension or his existence before his Incarnation (the era "ante legem"), and, in the center, his Second Coming, initiating the End of Time. The statuary of the Chartres portals is considered among the finest existing Gothic sculpture.

 

One of the few parts of the cathedral to survive the 1194 fire, the Portail royal was integrated into the new cathedral. Opening on to the parvis (the large square in front of the cathedral where markets were held), the two lateral doors would have been the first entry point for most visitors to Chartres, as they remain today. The central door is only opened for the entry of processions on major festivals, of which the most important is the Adventus or installation of a new bishop. The harmonious appearance of the façade results in part from the relative proportions of the central and lateral portals, whose widths are in the ratio 10:7 – one of the common medieval approximations of the square root of 2.

 

As well as their basic functions of providing access to the interior, portals are the main locations for sculpted images on the Gothic cathedral and it is on the west façade at Chartres that this practice began to develop into a visual summa or encyclopedia of theological knowledge. Each of the three portals focuses on a different aspect of Christ's role in salvation history; his earthly incarnation on the right, his Ascension or existence before the Incarnation on the left, and his Second Coming (the Theophanic Vision) in the center.

 

Above the right portal, the lintel is carved in two registers with (lower) the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Annunciation to the Shepherds and (upper) the Presentation in the Temple. Above this the tympanum shows the Virgin and Child enthroned in the Sedes sapientiae pose. Surrounding the tympanum, as a reminder of the glory days of the School of Chartres, the archivolts are carved with some very distinctive personifications of the Seven Liberal Arts as well as the classical authors and philosophers most closely associated with them.

 

The left portal is more enigmatic and art historians still argue over the correct identification. The tympanum shows Christ standing on a cloud, apparently supported by two angels. Some see this as a depiction of the Ascension of Christ (in which case the figures on the lower lintel would represent the disciples witnessing the event) while others see it as representing the Parousia, or Second Coming of Christ (in which case the lintel figures could be either the prophets who foresaw that event or else the 'Men of Galilee' mentioned in Acts 1:9-11). The presence of angels in the upper lintel, descending from a cloud and apparently shouting to those below, would seem to support the latter interpretation. The archivolts contain the signs of the zodiac and the labours of the months – standard references to the cyclical nature of time which appear in many Gothic portals.

 

The central portal is a more conventional representation of the End of Time as described in the Book of Revelation. In the center of the tympanum is Christ within a mandorla, surrounded by the four symbols of the evangelists (the Tetramorph). The lintel shows the Twelve Apostles while the archivolts show the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse.

 

Although the upper parts of the three portals are treated separately, two sculptural elements run horizontally across the façade, uniting its different parts. Most obvious are the jamb statues affixed to the columns flanking the doorways – tall, slender standing figures of kings and queens from whom the Portail royal derived its name. Although in the 18th and 19th century these figures were mistakenly identified as the Merovingian monarchs of France (thus attracting the opprobrium of Revolutionary iconoclasts) they almost certainly represent the kings and queens of the Old Testament – another standard iconographical feature of Gothic portals.

 

Less obvious than the jamb statues but far more intricately carved is the frieze that stretches all across the façade in the sculpted capitals on top of the jamb columns. Carved into these capitals is a very lengthy narrative depicting the life of the Virgin and the life and Passion of Christ.

 

The statuary of the north transept portals is devoted to the Old Testament, and the events leading up to the birth of Christ, with particular emphasis on the Virgin Mary. The glorification of Mary in the center, the incarnation of her son on the left and Old Testament prefigurations and prophecies on the right. One major exception to this scheme is the presence of large statues of St Modesta (a local martyr) and St Potentian on the north west corner of the porch, close to a small doorway where pilgrims visiting the crypt (where their relics were stored) would once have emerged.

 

As well as the main sculptural areas around the portals themselves, the deep porches are filled with other carvings depicting a range of subjects including local saints, Old Testament narratives, naturalistic foliage, fantastical beasts, Labours of the Months and personifications of the 'active and contemplative lives' (the vita activa and vita contemplativa). The personifications of the vita activa (directly overhead, just inside the inside of the left hand porch) are of particular interest for their meticulous depictions of the various stages in the preparation of flax – an important cash crop in the area during the Middle Ages.

 

The south portal, which was added later than the others, in the 13th century, is devoted to events after the Crucifixion of Christ, and particularly to the Christian martyrs. The decoration of the central bay concentrates on the Last Judgemnt and the Apostles; the left bay on the lives of martyrs; and the right bay is devoted to confessor saints. This arrangement is repeated in the stained glass windows of the apse. The arches and columns of the porch are lavishly decorated with sculpture representing the labours of the months, the signs of the zodiac, and statues representing the virtues and vices. On top of the porch, between the gables, are pinnacles in the arcades with statues of eighteen Kings, beginning with King David, representing the lineage of Christ, and linking the Old Testament and the New.

 

While most of the sculpture of the cathedral portrayed saints, apostles and other Biblical figures, such as the angel holding a sundial on the south façade, other sculpture at Chartres was designed to warn the faithful. These works include statues of assorted monsters and demons. Some of these figures, such as gargoyles, also had a practical function; these served as rain spouts to project water far away from the walls. Others, like the chimera and the strix, were designed to show the consequences of disregarding Biblical teachings.

 

The nave, or main space for the congregation, was designed especially to receive pilgrims, who would often sleep in the church. The floor is slightly tilted so that it could be washed out with water each morning. The rooms on either side of Royal Portal still have traces of construction of the earlier Romanesque building. The nave itself was built after the fire, beginning in 1194. The floor of the nave also has a labyrinth in the pavement (see labyrinth section below). The two rows of alternating octagonal and round pillars on either side of the nave receive part of the weight of the roof through the thin stone ribs descending from the vaults above. The rest of the weight is distributed by the vaults outwards to the walls, supported by flying buttresses.

 

The statue of Mary and the infant Christ, called Our Lady of the Pillar, replaces a 16th-century statue which was burned by the Revolutionaries in 1793.

 

Stained glass windows

See also: Stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral

One of the most distinctive features of Chartres Cathedral is the stained glass, both for its quantity and quality. There are 167 windows, including rose windows, round oculi, and tall, pointed lancet windows. The architecture of the cathedral, with its innovative combination of rib vaults and flying buttresses, permitted the construction of much higher and thinner walls, particularly at the top clerestory level, allowing more and larger windows. Also, Chartres contains fewer plain or grisaille windows than later cathedrals, and more windows with densely stained glass panels, making the interior of Chartres darker but the colour of the light deeper and richer.

 

These are the oldest windows in the cathedral. The right window, the Jesse Window, depicts the genealogy of Christ. The middle window depicts the life of Christ, and the left window depicts the Passion of Christ, from the Transfiguration and Last Supper to the Resurrection. All three of these windows were originally made around 1145 but were restored in the early 13th century and again in the 19th.

 

The other 12th-century window, perhaps the most famous at Chartres, is the "Notre-Dame de la Belle-Verrière", or "The Blue Virgin". It is found in the first bay of the choir after the south transept. Most windows are made up of around 25 to 30 individual panels showing distinct episodes within the narrative; only Notre-Dame de la Belle-Verrière includes a larger image made up of multiple panels. This window is actually a composite; the upper part, showing the Virgin and Child surrounded by adoring angels, dates from around 1180 and was probably positioned at the center of the apse in the earlier building. The Virgin is depicted wearing a blue robe and sitting in a frontal pose on a throne, with the Christ Child seated on her lap raising his hand in blessing. This composition, known as the Sedes sapientiae ("Throne of Wisdom"), which also appears on the Portail royal, is based on the famous cult figure kept in the crypt. The lower part of the window, showing scenes from the infancy of Christ, dates from the main glazing campaign around 1225.

 

The cathedral has three large rose windows. The western rose (c. 1215, 12 m in diameter) shows the Last Judgment – a traditional theme for west façades. A central oculus showing Christ as the Judge is surrounded by an inner ring of twelve paired roundels containing angels and the Elders of the Apocalypse and an outer ring of 12 roundels showing the dead emerging from their tombs and the angels blowing trumpets to summon them to judgment.

 

The north transept rose (10.5 m diameter, c. 1235), like much of the sculpture in the north porch beneath it, is dedicated to the Virgin. The central oculus shows the Virgin and Child and is surrounded by twelve small petal-shaped windows, four with doves (the 'Four Gifts of the Spirit'), the rest with adoring angels carrying candlesticks. Beyond this is a ring of twelve diamond-shaped openings containing the Old Testament Kings of Judah, another ring of smaller lozenges containing the arms of France and Castille, and finally a ring of semicircles containing Old Testament Prophets holding scrolls. The presence of the arms of the French king (yellow fleurs-de-lis on a blue background) and of his mother, Blanche of Castile (yellow castles on a red background) are taken as a sign of royal patronage for this window. Beneath the rose itself are five tall lancet windows (7.5 m high) showing, in the center, the Virgin as an infant held by her mother, St Anne – the same subject as the trumeau in the portal beneath it. Flanking this lancet are four more containing Old Testament figures. Each of these standing figures is shown symbolically triumphing over an enemy depicted in the base of the lancet beneath them – David over Saul, Aaron over Pharaoh, St Anne over Synagoga, etc.

 

The south transept rose (10.5 m diameter, made c. 1225–30) is dedicated to Christ, who is shown in the central oculus, right hand raised in benediction, surrounded by adoring angels. Two outer rings of twelve circles each contain the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse, crowned and carrying phials and musical instruments. The central lancet beneath the rose shows the Virgin carrying the infant Christ. Either side of this are four lancets showing the four evangelists sitting on the shoulders of four prophets – a rare literal illustration of the theological principle that the New Testament builds upon the Old Testament. This window was a donation of the Mauclerc family, the Counts of Dreux-Bretagne, who are depicted with their arms in the bases of the lancets.

 

Each bay of the aisles and the choir ambulatory contains one large lancet window, most of them roughly 8.1m high by 2.2m wide. The subjects depicted in these windows, made between 1205 and 1235, include stories from the Old and New Testament and the Lives of the Saints as well as typological cycles and symbolic images such as the signs of the zodiac and labours of the months. One of the most famous examples is the Good Samaritan parable.

 

Several of the windows at Chartres include images of local tradesmen or labourers in the lowest two or three panels, often with details of their equipment and working methods. Traditionally it was claimed that these images represented the guilds of the donors who paid for the windows. In recent years however this view has largely been discounted, not least because each window would have cost around as much as a large mansion house to make – while most of the labourers depicted would have been subsistence workers with little or no disposable income. Furthermore, although they became powerful and wealthy organisations in the later medieval period, none of these trade guilds had actually been founded when the glass was being made in the early 13th century. Another possible explanation is that the cathedral clergy wanted to emphasise the universal reach of the Church, particularly at a time when their relationship with the local community was often a troubled one.

 

Clerestory windows

Because of their greater distance from the viewer, the windows in the clerestory generally adopt simpler, bolder designs. Most feature the standing figure of a saint or Apostle in the upper two-thirds, often with one or two simplified narrative scenes in the lower part, either to help identify the figure or else to remind the viewer of some key event in their life. Whereas the lower windows in the nave arcades and the ambulatory consist of one simple lancet per bay, the clerestory windows are each made up of a pair of lancets with a plate-traceried rose window above. The nave and transept clerestory windows mainly depict saints and Old Testament prophets. Those in the choir depict the kings of France and Castile and members of the local nobility in the straight bays, while the windows in the apse hemicycle show those Old Testament prophets who foresaw the virgin birth, flanking scenes of the Annunciation, Visitation and Nativity in the axial window.

 

Later windows

On the whole, Chartres' windows have been remarkably fortunate. The medieval glass largely escaped harm during the Huguenot iconoclasm and the religious wars of the 16th century although the west rose sustained damage from artillery fire in 1591. The relative darkness of the interior seems to have been a problem for some. A few windows were replaced with much lighter grisaille glass in the 14th century to improve illumination, particularly on the north side and several more were replaced with clear glass in 1753 as part of the reforms to liturgical practice that also led to the removal of the jubé (rood screen). The installation of the Vendôme Chapel between two buttresses of the nave in the early 15th century resulted in the loss of one more lancet window, though it did allow for the insertion of a fine late-Gothic window with donor portraits of Louis de Bourbon and his family witnessing the Coronation of the Virgin with assorted saints.

 

Although estimates vary (depending on how one counts compound or grouped windows) approximately 152 of the original 176 stained glass windows survive – far more than any other medieval cathedral anywhere in the world.

 

Like most medieval buildings, the windows at Chartres suffered badly from the corrosive effects of atmospheric acids during the Industrial Revolution and thereafter. The majority of windows were cleaned and restored by the famous local workshop Atelier Lorin at the end of the 19th century, but they continued to deteriorate. During World War II most of the stained glass was removed from the cathedral and stored in the surrounding countryside to protect it from damage. At the close of the war the windows were taken out of storage and reinstalled. Since then, an ongoing programme of conservation has been underway and isothermal secondary glazing was gradually installed on the exterior to protect the windows from further damage.

 

The small Saint Lubin Crypt, under the choir of the cathedral, was constructed in the 9th century and is the oldest part of the building. It is surrounded by a much larger crypt, the Saint Fulbert Crypt, which was completed in 1025, five years after the fire that destroyed most of the older cathedral. It is U-shaped and 230 meters long, next to the crypts of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and Canterbury Cathedral. It is the largest crypt in Europe and serves as the foundation of the cathedral above.

 

The corridors and chapels of the crypt are covered with Romanesque barrel vaults, groin vaults where two barrel vaults meet at right angles, and a few more modern Gothic rib-vaults.

 

One notable feature of the crypt is the Well of the Saints-Forts. The well is thirty-three metres deep and is probably of Celtic origin. According to legend, Quirinus, the Roman magistrate of the Gallo-Roman town, had the early Christian martyrs thrown down the well. A statue of one of the martyrs, Modeste, is featured among the sculpture on the North Portico.

 

Another notable feature is the Our Lady of the Crypt Chapel. A reliquary here contains a fragment of the reputed veil of the Virgin Mary, which was donated to the cathedral in 876 by Charles the Bald, the grandson of Charlemagne. The silk veil was divided into pieces during the French Revolution. The largest piece is shown in one of the ambulatory chapels above. and the small Shrine of Our Lady of the Crypt. The altar of the chapel is carved from a single block of limestone from the Berchères quarry, the source of most of the stone of the cathedral. The fresco on the wall dates from about 1200 and depicts the Virgin Mary on her throne. The Three Kings are to her left, and the Apostles Savinien and Potentien to her right. The chapel also has a modern stained glass window, the Mary, Door to Heaven Window, made by Henri Guérin, made by cementing together thick slabs of stained glass.

 

The high ornamental stone screen that separates the choir from the ambulatory was put in place between the 16th and 18th century, to adapt the church to a change in liturgy. It was built in the late Flamboyant Gothic and then the Renaissance style. The screen has forty niches along the ambulatory filled with statues by prominent sculptors telling the life of Christ. The last statues were put in place in 1714.

 

The buffet, or wooden case of the grand organ of the cathedral is among the oldest in France. It was first built in the 14th century, rebuilt in 1475, and enlarged in 1542. Both the organ and the tribune have been classified as separate historic monuments since 1840.

 

The organ is placed in the nave at the crossing of the south transept, sixteen meters above the floor of the nave, in close proximity to the choir, to assure the best sound quality throughout the cathedral. The whole case is fifteen meters high, with the top of its central tower thirty meters above the floor of the nave. The case was rebuilt during the Renaissance, and largely took its present form. Closer study of the case by the Ministry of Culture showed that the early case was covered with polychrome painting; yellow ochre under a varnish of reddish brown in earlier layer, and later by a brighter yellow on white. This study also showed that the mechanism was in very poor condition, and urgently needed reconstruction.

 

A major rebuilding and enlargement of the organ instrument took place in 1969–71, both to restore the ageing mechanism, and to add new keys and functions. The case was also restored, with the cost paid entirely by the French State, as was part of the cost of restoring the organ itself. As a result of this, and after further work on the organ in 1996, the instrument has 70 stops, totaling of over 4000 pipes.

 

The labyrinth (early 1200s) is a famous feature of the cathedral, located on the floor in the center of the nave. Labyrinths were found in almost all Gothic cathedrals, though most were later removed since they distracted from the religious services in the nave. They symbolized the long winding path towards salvation. Unlike mazes, there was only a single path that could be followed. On certain days the chairs of the nave are removed so that visiting pilgrims can follow the labyrinth. Copies of the Chartres labyrinth are found at other churches and cathedrals, including Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. Artist Kent Bellows depicts a direct reference to the labyrinth, which he renders in the background of at least one of his artworks; Mandala, 1990, Pencil on paper, 18 x 19 1/2 in.

 

The Chapel of Saint Piatus of Tournai was a later addition to the cathedral, built in 1326, close to the apse at the east end of the cathedral. It contained a collection of reputed relics from the saint, who was bishop of Tournai in modern-day Belgium in the third century. Martyred by the Romans, who cut off the top of his skull, he is depicted in stained glass and sculpture holding the fragment of his skull in his hands. The chapel has a flat chevet and two circular towers. Inside are four bays, in a harmonious style, since it was built all at the same time. It also contains a notable collection of 14th-century stained glass. The lower floor was used as a chapter house, or meeting place for official functions, and the top floor was connected to the cathedral by an open stairway.

 

The sacristy, across from the north portal of the cathedral, was built in the second half of the 13th century. The bishop's palace, also to the north, is built of brick and stone, and dates to the 17th century. A gateway from the period of Louis XV leads to the palace and also gives access to the terraced gardens, which offer of good view of the cathedral, particularly the chevet of the cathedral at the east end, with its radiating chapels built over the earlier Romanesque vaults. The lower garden also has a labyrinth of hedges.

 

Construction

Work was begun on the Royal Portal with the south lintel around 1136 and with all its sculpture installed up to 1141. Opinions are uncertain as the sizes and styles of the figures vary and some elements, such as the lintel over the right-hand portal, have clearly been cut down to fit the available spaces. The sculpture was originally designed for these portals, but the layouts were changed by successive masters, see careful lithic analysis by John James. Either way, most of the carving follows the exceptionally high standard typical of this period and exercised a strong influence on the subsequent development of Gothic portal design.

 

Some of the masters have been identified by John James, and drafts of these studies have been published on the web site of the International Center of Medieval Art, New York.

 

On 10 June 1194, another fire caused extensive damage to Fulbert's cathedral. The true extent of the damage is unknown, though the fact that the lead cames holding the west windows together survived the conflagration intact suggests contemporary accounts of the terrible devastation may have been exaggerated. Either way, the opportunity was taken to begin a complete rebuilding of the choir and nave in the latest style. The undamaged western towers and façade were incorporated into the new works, as was the earlier crypt, effectively limiting the designers of the new building to the same general plan as its predecessor. In fact, the present building is only marginally longer than Fulbert's cathedral.

 

One of the features of Chartres cathedral is the speed with which it was built – a factor which helped contribute to the consistency of its design. Even though there were innumerable changes to the details, the plan remains consistent. The major change occurred six years after work began when the seven deep chapels around the choir opening off a single ambulatory were turned into shallow recesses opening off a double-aisled ambulatory.

 

Australian architectural historian John James, who made a detailed study of the cathedral, has estimated that there were about 300 men working on the site at any one time, although it has to be acknowledged that current knowledge of working practices at this time is somewhat limited. Normally medieval churches were built from east to west so that the choir could be completed first and put into use (with a temporary wall sealing off the west end) while the crossing and nave were completed. Canon Delaporte argued that building work started at the crossing and proceeded outwards from there, but the evidence in the stonework itself is unequivocal, especially within the level of the triforium: the nave was at all times more advanced than ambulatory bays of the choir, and this has been confirmed by dendrochronology.

 

The builders were not working on a clean site; they would have had to clear back the rubble and surviving parts of the old church as they built the new. Work nevertheless progressed rapidly: the south porch with most of its sculpture was installed by 1210, and by 1215 the north porch and the west rose window were completed. The nave high vaults were erected in the 1220s, the canons moved into their new stalls in 1221 under a temporary roof at the level of the clerestory, and the transept roses were erected over the next two decades. The high vaults over the choir were not built until the last years of the 1250s, as was rediscovered in the first decade of the 21st century.

 

Restoration

From 1997 until 2018, the exterior of the cathedral underwent an extensive cleaning, that also included many of the interior walls and the sculpture. The statement of purpose declared, "the restoration aims not only to clean and maintains the structure but also to offer an insight into what the cathedral would have looked like in the 13th century." The walls and sculpture, blackened by soot and age, again became white. The celebrated Black Madonna statue was cleaned, and her face was found to be white under the soot. The project went further; the walls in the nave were painted white and shades of yellow and beige, to recreate an idea of the earlier medieval decoration. However, the restoration also brought sharp criticism. The architectural critic of the New York Times, Martin Filler, called it "a scandalous desecration of a cultural holy place." He also noted that the bright white walls made it more difficult to appreciate the colours of the stained glass windows, and declared that the work violated international conservation protocols, in particular, the 1964 Charter of Venice of which France is a signatory. The president of the Friends of Chartres Cathedral Isabelle Paillot defended the restoration work as necessary to prevent the building from crumbling.

 

The School of Chartres

At the beginning of the 11th century, Bishop Fulbert besides rebuilding the cathedral, established Chartres as a cathedral school, an important center of religious scholarship and theology. He attracted important theologians, including Thierry of Chartres, William of Conches and the Englishman John of Salisbury. These men were at the forefront of the intense intellectual rethinking that culminated in what is now known as the twelfth-century renaissance, pioneering the Scholastic philosophy that came to dominate medieval thinking throughout Europe. By the mid-12th century, the role of Chartres had waned, as it was replaced by the University of Paris as the leading school of theology. The primary activity of Chartres became pilgrimages.

 

Social and economic context

As with any medieval bishopric, Chartres Cathedral was the most important building in the town – the center of its economy, its most famous landmark and the focal point of many activities that in modern towns are provided for by specialised civic buildings. In the Middle Ages, the cathedral functioned as a kind of marketplace, with different commercial activities centred on the different portals, particularly during the regular fairs. Textiles were sold around the north transept, while meat, vegetable and fuel sellers congregated around the south porch. Money-changers (an essential service at a time when each town or region had its own currency) had their benches, or banques, near the west portals and also in the nave itself.[citation needed] Wine sellers plied their trade in the nave to avoid taxes until, sometime in the 13th century, an ordinance forbade this. The ordinance assigned to the wine-sellers part of the crypt, where they could avoid the count's taxes without disturbing worshippers. Workers of various professions gathered in particular locations around the cathedral awaiting offers of work.

 

Although the town of Chartres was under the judicial and tax authority of the Counts of Blois, the area immediately surrounding the cathedral, known as the cloître, was in effect a free-trade zone governed by the church authorities, who were entitled to the taxes from all commercial activity taking place there. As well as greatly increasing the cathedral's income, throughout the 12th and 13th centuries this led to regular disputes, often violent, between the bishops, the chapter and the civic authorities – particularly when serfs belonging to the counts transferred their trade (and taxes) to the cathedral. In 1258, after a series of bloody riots instigated by the count's officials, the chapter finally gained permission from the King to seal off the area of the cloître and lock the gates each night.

 

Pilgrimages and the legend of the Sancta Camisa

Even before the Gothic cathedral was built, Chartres was a place of pilgrimage, albeit on a much smaller scale. During the Merovingian and early Carolingian eras, the main focus of devotion for pilgrims was a well (now located in the north side of Fulbert's crypt), known as the Puits des Saints-Forts, or the 'Well of the Strong Saints', into which it was believed the bodies of various local Early-Christian martyrs (including saints Piat, Chéron, Modesta and Potentianus) had been tossed.

 

Chartres became a site for the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 876 the cathedral acquired the Sancta Camisa, believed to be the tunic worn by Mary at the time of Christ's birth. According to legend, the relic was given to the cathedral by Charlemagne who received it as a gift from Emperor Constantine VI during a crusade to Jerusalem. However, as Charlemagne's crusade is fiction, the legend lacks historical merit and was probably invented in the 11th century to authenticate relics at the Abbey of St Denis. In fact, the Sancta Camisa was a gift to the cathedral from Charles the Bald and there is no evidence for its being an important object of pilgrimage prior to the 12th century. In 1194, when the cathedral was struck by lightning, and the east spire was lost, the Sancta Camisa was thought lost, too. However, it was found three days later, protected by priests, who fled behind iron trapdoors when the fire broke out.

 

Some research suggests that depictions in the cathedral, e.g. Mary's infertile parents Joachim and Anne, harken back to the pre-Christian cult of a fertility goddess, and women would come to the well at this location in order to pray for their children and that some refer to that past. Chartres historian and expert Malcolm Miller rejected the claims of pre-cathedral, Celtic, ceremonies and buildings on the site in a documentary. However, the widespread belief[citation needed] that the cathedral was also the site of a pre-Christian druidical sect who worshipped a "Virgin who will give birth" is purely a late-medieval invention.

 

By the end of the 12th century, the church had become one of the most important popular pilgrimage destinations in Europe. There were four great fairs which coincided with the main feast days of the Virgin Mary: the Presentation, the Annunciation, the Assumption and the Nativity. The fairs were held in the area administered by the cathedral and were attended by many of the pilgrims in town to see the cloak of the Virgin. Specific pilgrimages were also held in response to outbreaks of disease. When ergotism (more popularly known in the Middle Ages as "St. Anthony's fire") afflicted many victims, the crypt of the original church became a hospital to care for the sick.

 

Today Chartres continues to attract large numbers of pilgrims, many of whom come to walk slowly around the labyrinth, their heads bowed in prayer – a devotional practice that the cathedral authorities accommodate by removing the chairs from the nave on Fridays from Lent to All Saints' Day (except for Good Friday).

 

Orson Welles famously used Chartres as a visual backdrop and inspiration for a montage sequence in his film F For Fake. Welles' semi-autobiographical narration spoke to the power of art in culture and how the work itself may be more important than the identity of its creators. Feeling that the beauty of Chartres and its unknown artisans and architects epitomized this sentiment, Welles, standing outside the cathedral and looking at it, eulogizes:

 

Now this has been standing here for centuries. The premier work of man perhaps in the whole western world and it's without a signature: Chartres.

 

A celebration to God's glory and to the dignity of man. All that's left most artists seem to feel these days, is man. Naked, poor, forked radish. There aren't any celebrations. Ours, the scientists keep telling us, is a universe, which is disposable. You know it might be just this one anonymous glory of all things, this rich stone forest, this epic chant, this gaiety, this grand choiring shout of affirmation, which we choose when all our cities are dust, to stand intact, to mark where we have been, to testify to what we had it in us, to accomplish.

 

Our works in stone, in paint, in print are spared, some of them for a few decades, or a millennium or two, but everything must finally fall in war or wear away into the ultimate and universal ash. The triumphs and the frauds, the treasures and the fakes. A fact of life. We're going to die. "Be of good heart," cry the dead artists out of the living past. Our songs will all be silenced – but what of it? Go on singing. Maybe a man's name doesn't matter all that much.

 

(Church bells peal...)

 

Joseph Campbell references his spiritual experience in The Power of Myth:

 

I'm back in the Middle Ages. I'm back in the world that I was brought up in as a child, the Roman Catholic spiritual-image world, and it is magnificent ... That cathedral talks to me about the spiritual information of the world. It's a place for meditation, just walking around, just sitting, just looking at those beautiful things.

 

Joris-Karl Huysmans includes detailed interpretation of the symbolism underlying the art of Chartres Cathedral in his 1898 semi-autobiographical novel La cathédrale.

 

Chartres was the primary basis for the fictional cathedral in David Macaulay's Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction and the animated special based on this book.

 

Chartres was an important setting in the religious thriller Gospel Truths by J. G. Sandom. The book used the cathedral's architecture and history as clues in the search for a lost Gospel.

 

The cathedral is featured in the television travel series The Naked Pilgrim; presenter Brian Sewell explores the cathedral and discusses its famous relic – the nativity cloak said to have been worn by the Virgin Mary.

 

Popular action-adventure video game Assassin's Creed features a climbable cathedral modelled heavily on the Chartres Cathedral.

 

Chartres Cathedral and, especially, its labyrinth are featured in the novels Labyrinth and The City of Tears by Kate Mosse, who was educated in and is a resident of Chartres' twin city Chichester.

 

Chartres Light Celebration

One of the attractions at the Chartres Cathedral is the Chartres Light Celebration, when not only is the cathedral lit, but so are many buildings throughout the town, as a celebration of electrification.

 

Chartres is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about 90 km (56 mi) southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as defined by the INSEE), 38,534 of whom lived in the city (commune) of Chartres proper.

 

Chartres is famous worldwide for its cathedral. Mostly constructed between 1193 and 1250, this Gothic cathedral is in an exceptional state of preservation. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century. Part of the old town, including most of the library associated with the School of Chartres, was destroyed by Allied bombs in 1944.

 

History

Chartres was one of the principal towns in Gaul of the Carnutes, a Celtic tribe. In the Gallo-Roman period, it was called Autricum, name derived from the river Autura (Eure), and afterwards civitas Carnutum, "city of the Carnutes", from which Chartres got its name. The city was raided and burned down by the Norsemen in 858, and once again besieged, this time unsuccessfully, by them in 911.

 

During the Middle Ages, it was the most important town of the Beauce. It gave its name to a county which was held by the counts of Blois, and the counts of Champagne, and afterwards by the House of Châtillon, a member of which sold it to the Crown in 1286.

 

In 1417, during the Hundred Years' War, Chartres fell into the hands of the English, from whom it was recovered in 1432. In 1528, it was raised to the rank of a duchy by Francis I.

 

In 1568, during the Wars of Religion, Chartres was unsuccessfully besieged by the Huguenot leader, the Prince of Condé. It was finally taken by the royal troops of Henry IV on 19 April 1591. On Sunday, 27 February 1594, the cathedral of Chartres was the site of the coronation of Henry IV after he converted to the Catholic faith, the only king of France whose coronation ceremony was not performed in Reims.

 

In 1674, Louis XIV raised Chartres from a duchy to a duchy peerage in favor of his nephew, Duke Philippe II of Orléans. The title of Duke of Chartres was hereditary in the House of Orléans, and given to the eldest son of the Duke of Orléans.

 

In the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War, Chartres was seized by the Germans on 2 October 1870, and continued during the rest of the war to be an important centre of operations.

 

In World War II, the city suffered heavy damage by bombing and during the battle of Chartres in August 1944, but its cathedral was spared by an American Army officer who challenged the order to destroy it. On 16 August 1944, Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr. questioned the necessity of destroying the cathedral and volunteered to go behind enemy lines to find out whether the Germans were using it as an observation post. With his driver, Griffith proceeded to the cathedral and, after searching it all the way up its bell tower, confirmed to Headquarters that it was empty of Germans. The order to destroy the cathedral was withdrawn.

 

Colonel Griffith was killed in action later on that day in the town of Lèves, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 miles) north of Chartres. For his heroic action both at Chartres and Lèves, Colonel Griffith received, posthumously, several decorations awarded by the President of the United States and the U.S. Military, and also from the French government.

 

Following deep reconnaissance missions in the region by the 3rd Cavalry Group and units of the 1139 Engineer Combat Group, and after heavy fighting in and around the city, Chartres was liberated, on 18 August 1944, by the U.S. 5th Infantry and 7th Armored Divisions belonging to the XX Corps of the U.S. Third Army commanded by General George S. Patton.

 

Geography

Chartres is built on a hill on the left bank of the river Eure. Its renowned medieval cathedral is at the top of the hill, and its two spires are visible from miles away across the flat surrounding lands. To the southeast stretches the fertile plain of Beauce, the "granary of France", of which the town is the commercial centre.

 

Main sights

Chartres is best known for its cathedral, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, which is considered one of the finest and best preserved Gothic cathedrals in France and in Europe. Its historical and cultural importance has been recognized by its inclusion on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

 

It was built on the site of the former Chartres cathedral of Romanesque architecture, which was destroyed by fire in 1194 (that former cathedral had been built on the ruins of an ancient Celtic temple, later replaced by a Roman temple). Begun in 1205, the construction of Notre-Dame de Chartres was completed 66 years later.

 

The stained glass windows of the cathedral were financed by guilds of merchants and craftsmen, and by wealthy noblemen, whose names appear at the bottom.

 

It is not known how the famous and unique blue, bleu de Chartres, of the glass was created, and it has been impossible to replicate it. The French author Michel Pastoureau says that it could also be called bleu de Saint-Denis.

 

The Église Saint-Pierre de Chartres was the church of the Benedictine Abbaye Saint-Père-en-Vallée, founded in the 7th century by queen Balthild. At time of its construction, the abbey was outside the walls of the city. It contains fine stained glass and, formerly, twelve representations of the apostles in enamel, created about 1547 by Léonard Limosin, which now can be seen in the fine arts museum.

 

Other noteworthy churches of Chartres are Saint-Aignan (13th, 16th and 17th centuries), and Saint-Martin-au-Val (12th century), inside the Saint-Brice hospital.

 

Museums

Musée des Beaux-Arts, Fine arts museum, housed in the former episcopal palace adjacent to the cathedral.

Le Centre international du vitrail, a workshop-museum and cultural center devoted to stained glass art, located 50 metres (160 feet) from the cathedral.

Conservatoire du machinisme et des pratiques agricoles, an agricultural museum.

Musée le grenier de l'histoire, history museum specializing in military uniforms and accoutrements, in Lèves, a suburb of Chartres.

Muséum des sciences naturelles et de la préhistoire, Natural science and Prehistory Museum (closed since 2015).

Other sights

 

The Eure river running through Chartres

The river Eure, which at this point divides into three branches, is crossed by several bridges, some of them ancient, and is fringed in places by remains of the old fortifications, of which the Porte Guillaume (14th century), a gateway flanked by towers, was the most complete specimen, until destroyed by the retreating German army in the night of 15 to 16 August 1944. The steep, narrow streets of the old town contrast with the wide, shady boulevards which encircle it and separate it from the suburbs. The "parc André-Gagnon" or "Clos St. Jean", a pleasant park, lies to the north-west, and squares and open spaces are numerous.

 

Part of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) is a building of the 17th century called Hôtel de Montescot. The Maison Canoniale dating back to the 13th century, and several medieval and Renaissance houses, are of interest.

 

There is a statue of General Marceau (1769–1796), a native of Chartres and a general during the French Revolution.

 

La Maison Picassiette, a house decorated inside and out with mosaics of shards of broken china and pottery, is also worth a visit.

 

Economy

Chartres is one of the most important market towns in the region of Beauce (known as "the granary of France").

 

Historically, game pies and other delicacies of Chartres were well known, and the industries also included flour-milling, brewing, distilling, iron-founding, leather manufacture, perfumes, dyeing, stained glass, billiard requisites and hosiery. More recently, businesses include the manufacture of electronic equipment and car accessories.[citation needed]

 

Since 1976 the fashion and perfumes company Puig has had a production plant in this commune.

 

Transport

The Gare de Chartres railway station offers frequent services to Paris, and a few daily connections to Le Mans, Nogent-le-Rotrou and Courtalain. The A11 motorway connects Chartres with Paris and Le Mans.

 

Sport

Chartres is home to two semi-professio

Entitled The Great Wall Of China [1907] H Ponting. [RESTORED] I repaired spots and small defects, adjusted contrast, tonality, and adding a sepia tone.

 

Ponting's placement of a person (or in this case, persons) somewhere in the foreground was a de rigueur photographic technique of the day. It was done primarily to add a human element and to provide a sense of scale to the scene.

 

The Great Wall of China 萬里長城 is a misnomer (at least in its English translation, the Chinese meaning is more along the lines of "ten thousand Li long city"). It would be more accurate to describe it as the Great Walls of China, as they are the remnants from a historic series of stone and earthen barriers. Erected throughout northern China, they were mostly built and revised over two thousand years between the 5th century BC and the 16th century. Origins of each wall section from various times were contingent upon their political and military needs in accordance to their dynastic periods.

 

The oldest, original walls were constructed for the purposes of protecting against Xiongnu nomadic incursions into the areas occupied by the various disparate states that were to later form China. After the Qin consolidation, these separate structures were then integrated into an almost continuous whole, mostly using rammed earth structures. Unfortunately, little of that wall actually exists today. The majority of the wall that still remains (ie the one that we have generally come to know) was built during the Ming dynasty, which relied more heavily on integration of brick and masonry work. History, legends and myths about the Great Wall abound. In the last hundred year or so, industrialization and modernization of the areas which the wall passes through has endangered it as entire sections were destroyed to reclaim construction materials. Other sections were refurbished, in some cases rebuilt using modern engineering, and have seen heavy use as tourist attractions; still others have been entirely overgrown or reclaimed by nature. Reportedly, less than 30 percent of the wall remains intact. Nevertheless, it is considered to be one of the most important historic constructions of man and specific parts of it was listed since 1987 as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

 

The present wall starts from Shanhaiguan, dipping into the Bohai Sea in the east, and ends at Xinjiang's Lop Nur in the west, following along the southern border of the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia. The most comprehensive survey to date has determined that the wall as currently recognized covers a distance of 8,851.8 km (or 5,500.3 miles), consisting of 6,259.6 km (3,889.5 miles) actual wall, combined with various other structures like trenches and natural defensive barriers of impassable hills and rivers. Contrary to popular myth, you cannot see the wall from outer space or the moon.

 

The Great Wall varies from tourist trap (like the section at Badaling, near Beijing) to extreme, off the beaten path wilderness. Certain sections are so dangerous that it would be suicidal to attempt ascending unless one has special climbing equipment with a technical and advanced mountaineering support team. Try as I might, I was not able to gather any real statistics on Great Wall related accidents or deaths, which is unusual as every tourist location has accidents. In any case, I suspect that the PRC government doesn't really want to keep such statistics to begin with.

 

In another forum dedicated to just information about the Great Wall, one writer told of how one tourist was killed, and offered some safety tips:

 

www.greatwallforum.com/forum/great-wall-china-general-inf...

A boatman at work at Buringanga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Since February is Heart Health Month and I missed Wear Red Day, I thought I would still take advantage of all the dolls I still have dressed in red.

 

Lady Aurelia Grey and Victoire Roux

Since been scrapped.

Down 1st street capping lames

  

Since 2006 Hyundai is no longer selling the Elantra in most European markets. So this fifth generation model with German plates is quite unique. It was built from 2010 until 2015.

If you like my work and wanna show it by inviting me to one of your groups, you are very welcome to do that, but please do not leave any graphic logos! I'll delete them.

Kalkaska Feed & Supply

Kalkaska, Michigan

 

It was a hotel from 1861 to 1912 and converted to a feed store in 1912 by William Phinney.

 

Mermaid Set Fatpack

Inspired by mermaids, a beautiful dress that you can wear to a costume party!

⚛ Hud 20 color!

-Gen X Classic/ Gen X Curvy – Kara -Kupra – Lara – Lara X - Legacy – Reborn/ Waifu

⚛Primfeed: www.primfeed.com/drangbot.resident

⚛Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/drangsao/

⚛Marketplace: marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/177289

⚛ Drang Ceo: Dᴏᴋʏ Cʀoss (d0ky)

⚛ Personal Primfeed: www.primfeed.com/d0kyresident

 

Since this Friday and until February, there is a Porsche 70th Anniversary exhibition @ Autoworld Bruxelles.

 

Porsche created the 959 to compete in Gruppe B rallying but it never did. The series was cancelled because people got killed and it became too dangerous. They shifted to Dakar. The #186 car won Dakar in 1986. This #185, driven by Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur, was 2nd. The 959 also competed in the 24h of Le Mans and won in it's class.

 

Since 1912

View On Black

 

Eastern Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong

Since the new update was pushed out today it broke my F4SE and my looksmenu extras. Leanne is missing her Red hair and some other things on her preset. Going to take a break from FO for a while till a new F4SE comes out and new Looksmenu update to go with it.

 

The Beyond Chapter 1 Beta starts tomorrow for Elite Dangerous so I plan on doing that for a while.

Gallery Event

Kevin Ermitage carrying Miyoko Inouye on his shoulders, after a fine morning of salamander-catching -- a most excellent way to spend a summer!

ENGLISH

 

Since yesterday users based in Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong or Korea can't turn off their SafeSearch filter. This is effectively censoring flickr.com for users with Yahoo IDs from those countries. More on SafeSearch here: www.flickr.com/help/filters/

 

Fav this picture, download it and post it on your account, tag it thinkflickrthink, add it to www.flickr.com/groups/againstcensorship/ - let's make it show up all over the place.

 

Original Version: farm2.static.flickr.com/1299/543864623_7aadef1e69_o.jpg

More infos (mostly german):

- www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/91085

- www.flickr.com/groups/404938@N23/discuss/72157600347681500/

- www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/42597/

 

More pictures from the campaign: www.flickr.com/photos/tags/thinkflickrthink/

 

A good example of what's censored and what not: flickr.com/photos/probek/544172155/

 

Forum discussion: www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/42597/

 

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GERMAN

 

flickr sperrt uns aus! Und auch dich!

Seit gestern werden für deutsche Nutzer keine Bilder mehr angezeigt, die als 'moderate' oder 'restricted' markiert sind! Es gibt keine Moeglichkeit das umzustellen - das ist eine grobe Unverschämtheit und Frechheit von flickr!

 

Lade dieses Bild runter und poste es in deinem Account, tagge es thinkflickrthink und poste es auf www.flickr.com/groups/againstcensorship/! Lass uns das Bild überall auf flickr verteilen und es in 'Interestingness' heben!! So geht es nicht!

Original Version: farm2.static.flickr.com/1299/543864623_7aadef1e69_o.jpg

Weitere Infos:

- www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/91085

- www.flickr.com/groups/404938@N23/discuss/72157600347681500/

- www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/42597/

 

Note: If your Yahoo! ID is based in Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong or Korea you will only be able to view safe content based on your local Terms of Service so won’t be able to turn SafeSearch off.

 

Mehr thinkflickrthink Bilder: www.flickr.com/photos/tags/thinkflickrthink/

 

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This picture is taken from www.flickr.com/photos/atomtigerzoo/543864623/

As if you needed another reason not to want to be my friend.

 

I can't help but rock out when Since U Been Gone (cover) by ADTR comes on.

 

Reppin' The Hit and You Me At Six.

 

I freakin' love The Hit and You Me At Six.

I wish you understoooddddd.

So I've been collecting custom minifigures since June (and official Lego minifigures for about a year) but before I started my collection i decided to look into the custom scene a bit. There were so many figures out there that it seemed like quite an expensive hobby so i set myself a goal. If i could find between 5-10 figures that I felt i couldn't be without, i would start collecting.

These are those figures and It's taken me these last 6 months to acquire all of them.

Along the way i've discovered other custom makers that I was unaware of such as minifigures.pl and Custom Bricks who i hope to own figures from very shortly and completely new customisers have popped up since I started my collection such as Muddy River figs (Iggs02), Phoenix custom bricks and Brickinator Customs Who are all doing fantastic work.

 

I've met some great people on here who love collecting as much as i do and i'd like to thank aaclapham especially for being the first person to welcome me into the community when i first set up my Flickr account and for answering all my annoying questions even before that :).

A big thanks to everyone since who has been so kind and welcoming (especially those added) and i look forward to seeing what 2014 has in store for all of us!

   

Since the Elfs finished making the toys for this year, they get to take a break until next year.

Since January 1st 2010, I have been taking and uploading one square picture each day.

 

Each month I make a 5x5 mosaic, so a few images will be dropped to leave a nice neat 25.