Very significant enlargement and crop...playing around a bit to show detail.

This house is mostly fallen in now. It's declined significantly over the past few years, but it was once a stately mansion in south Georgia.

Taken with my Holga 120N using Ilford HP5 film

This Ferrari was owned by the son of the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

"The 1956/7 500 TRC was an altered version of the successful 500 TR of the previous year. The most significant changes were made to comply with Annex C of the International Racing Code, resulting in the "C" added to the model's name. In order to follow these regulations, Ferrari widened the cockpit, added a passenger side door, fitted a full width windscreen with wipers, installed a 120 liters (32 U.S. gal) fuel tank and even added a stowable convertible top. The Scaglietti-built body, while similar to that of the 500 TR, had a lower hood and slightly reshaped wheel arches and fenders. Another change from the 500 TR was the longer 2,350 mm (93 in) wheelbase, derived from the 860 Monza. Suspension featured coil springs all around with a live rear axle. Like the 500 TR, the car weighed only 680 kg (1,500 lb), and produced 180 hp (132 kW). Ferrari manufactured a total of 19 500 TRC chassis between 1956 and 1957. This model was the last 4-cylinder racing car built by Ferrari.

Even though this model was never raced by Scuderia Ferrari as a works car, 500 TRCs were successfully raced by independent teams and drivers. At the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans, a 500 TRC finished 7th overall, claiming victory in the 2,000 cc class. Another 500 TRC claimed a 2,000 cc class win at the 1958 Targa Florio.

Two 500 TRC chassis were upgraded by factory to 2.5-litre specification, creating the very rare 625 TRC model. They were both owned and raced by John von Neumann, owner of the Ferrari Representatives of California dealership. S/n 0672MDTR was further fitted with the 3.4 L 860 Monza engine, just to be refitted once more in 1958, this time with a 3.0 L 250 TR unit. S/n 0680MDTR was sold on May 12, 2012 at RM Sotheby's auction in Monaco for €5 million.

Cité de l'Automobile, Musée national de l’automobile, Collection Schlumpf is an automobile museum located in Mulhouse, France, and built around the Schlumpf Collection of classic automobiles. It has the largest displayed collection of automobiles and contains the largest and most comprehensive collection of Bugatti motor vehicles in the world.

Brothers Hans and Fritz Schlumpf were Swiss citizens born in Italy, but after their mother Jeanne was widowed, she moved the family to her home town of Mulhouse in Alsace, France. The two brothers, who were later described as having a "Schlumpf obsession", were devoted to their mother.

In 1935 the Schlumpf brothers founded a limited company which focused on producing spun woollen products. By 1940, at the time of the German invasion of France, 34-year-old Fritz was the chairman of a spinning mill in Malmerspach. After World War II, the two brothers devoted their time to obsessively growing their business, and became wealthy.

Mulhouse (pronounced [myluz]; Alsatian: Milhüsa or Milhüse, [mɪlˈyːzə]; German: Mülhausen; meaning mill house) is a subprefecture of the Haut-Rhin department in the Grand Est region of Eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 109,443 in 2017 in the commune and 285,121 inhabitants in 2016 in the urban area, it is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace after Strasbourg. Mulhouse is the principal commune of the 39 communes which make up the communauté d'agglomération of Mulhouse Alsace Agglomération (m2A, population 272,712).

Mulhouse is famous for its museums, especially the Cité de l'Automobile (also known as the Musée national de l'automobile, 'National Museum of the Automobile') and the Cité du Train (also known as Musée Français du Chemin de Fer, 'French Museum of the Railway'), respectively the largest automobile and railway museums in the world. An industrial town nicknamed "the French Manchester", Mulhouse is also the main seat of the Upper Alsace University, where the secretariat of the European Physical Society is found.

Alsace (/ælˈsæs/, also US: /ælˈseɪs, ˈælsæs/; French: [alzas]; Low Alemannic German/Alsatian: 's Elsàss [ˈɛlsɑs]; German: Elsass [ˈɛlzas]; Latin: Alsatia) is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2017, it had a population of 1,889,589.

Until 1871, Alsace included the area now known as the Territoire de Belfort, which formed its southernmost part. From 1982 to 2016, Alsace was the smallest administrative région in metropolitan France, consisting of the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin departments. Territorial reform passed by the French Parliament in 2014 resulted in the merger of the Alsace administrative region with Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine to form Grand Est. Due to protests it was decided in 2019 that Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin would form the future European Collectivity of Alsace in 2021.

Alsatian is an Alemannic dialect closely related to Swabian and Swiss German, although since World War II most Alsatians primarily speak French. Internal and international migration since 1945 has also changed the ethnolinguistic composition of Alsace. For more than 300 years, from the Thirty Years' War to World War II, the political status of Alsace was heavily contested between France and various German states in wars and diplomatic conferences. The economic and cultural capital of Alsace, as well as its largest city, is Strasbourg, which sits right on the contemporary German international border. The city is the seat of several international organisations and bodies." - info from Wikipedia.

During the summer of 2018 I went on my first ever cycling tour. On my own I cycled from Strasbourg, France to Geneva, Switzerland passing through the major cities of Switzerland. In total I cycled 1,185 km over the course of 16 days and took more than 8,000 photos.

Now on Instagram.

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

Veolia made a significant investment in 39 new vehicles for its South Wales fleet in 2007. These comprised six MCV Evolution-bodied MAN 14.220s, six Plaxton Primos, 11 Optare Solos of various lengths, five Plaxton Centro-bodied VDL SB200s and 11 similar bodied Volvo B7RLEs, all carrying CN07 and CN57 plates. This largely coincided with the assumption of a large contract for Powys CC, though the new stock was spread across all depots.

At the time, Crofty depot held the Swansea Council contract for the Gower network, which required six vehicles, supplied by the Council. However, the company's own vehicles acted as back up. This was the case in this April 2008 shot of MAN CN07 FSD seen approaching the turning point in Llangennith when operating Service 115, which links the villages in the north and south of the Peninsula. The tip of Worm's Head at Rhossili is just visible in the distance.

She passed to Watts of Bonvilston in 2011

www.flickr.com/photos/129716166@N03/24380810185/in/photol...

and then to Faresaver of Chippenham in 2013, where she presumably ended her days.

The itinerary changed significantly our last two days due to inclement weather, and the fact that our guide became ill.

Unfortunately, I am not sure at all where these images were taken, but I can tell you the wind was so fierce that I found it almost impossible to keep my balance! It was strange to me that the water actually seemed to flatten out with such strong gales.

Not long after, we called it a day. Such is life on these islands.

Significantly smaller than the original, this "maquette" stands at about 3m tall, including the plinth, as opposed to the original at about 20m tall. Still quite striking though.

Significant rain Saturday night covered the iris with water droplets. Photographed in my flower garden. Most of my iris were passed down from my grandfather to my mother, and now to me. I believe that I have them correctly identified, but don't know the names of several. Any help will be appreciated. Most of the iris that I have were hybridized and purchased in the 1970's although a few that my grandfather first planted may be from the 1950's and 1960's. My mother may have purchased a few of them in the 1980's. IMG_8231

Significant erosion after the recent rain, but the ancient rocks protect the land.

NSW, Australia

73/365

Dunedin, NOVA ZELANDA 2023

Sacred Heart Basilica, located in North East Valley, is one of the most significant Roman Catholic churches in Dunedin, New Zealand. Designed by F.W. Petre, its construction began in 1889 and was completed in 1905, although the front façade wasn't finalized until later. It is notable for its Neo-Romanesque architecture, which sets it apart from many other Gothic churches in the city. The building features an impressive dome, a spacious nave, and a beautiful interior with intricate details. The basilica has served as a vital spiritual hub for the local Catholic community for over a century, hosting numerous events and services.

In the background Virgo the flagship of Star Cruises.

Princes Pier is a 580 metre long historic pier on Port Phillip, in Princes Pier, adjacent to Station Pier in Port Phillip Bay, is one of Melbourne’s most important cultural assets both as an exemplar of a pre-containerised shipping facility and as a place rich in Australia’s wartime, maritime and multicultural history. Words by Steve Brown, design director, NDYLIGHT.

Built between 1912 and 1915, it was constructed by the Melbourne Harbour Trust as a second railway pier in Port Melbourne, The pier was designed to handle both cargo and passengers, and also boasted office accommodation for customs officers and shipping companies as well as waiting room for passengers with moveable gangways making it safer and more comfortable to board or disembark.

Originally known as 'New Railway Pier', it was renamed Princes Pier in 1921 in honour of the royal visit by the Prince of Wales. The pier’s iconic two-level timber Gatehouse was added in 1935 to enable better monitoring of cargo and traffic on to and off of the pier.

Princes Pier is a heritage listed structure, and was the departure point for Australian troops during the First and Second World Wars, and also the arrival point for American troops during the Second World War. In a significant peacetime role, it was the first landing point in Australia for post-war migrants — more than one million between 1947 and 1969.

After the containerization boom and the last of the migrant ships in 1969 the pier became run-down and was decommissioned in 1985. It suffered severe deterioration over the next two decades, until in 2006 the Victorian Government decided Princes Pier would not be left to rot and committed $34 million to its restoration.

I was looking forward to go out with xinapray to do some early morning low-light shooting. We went out to Golden Gardens Park, in Seattle, WA, when it was still quite dark, found a nice spot on the beach and had to realize that there won’t be any beautiful sunrise that day. I believe I was still able to learn a lot.

Some additional remarks:

-I would like to tell you that this is straight out of camera but I had to correct a 3 degree tilt (using a tripod – how embarrassing),

-I had to crop quite significantly to get a composition I like,

-I worked on quite some layers on the curves to get the light and the contrast the way I want it (and to further reduce the noise of a 30 sec exposure)

-I felt I needed to do a b/w conversion.

-Thanks for the use of the ND-filter, Ray (it really helped a lot)

I hope you like it (and the two other versions of that morning too).

For a better version of the same rocks I suggest having a look at Ray’s Swirls taken that same morning.

These photos are for you, Ray!

Please consider having a look in Large and on Black

The City National Bank Building is significant because its exterior represents an excellent example of the Commercial style of architecture in downtown Miami. The appearance of the building’s exterior also contains elements of the NeoClassical mode and characterizes a popular architectural trend of the 1920s in South Florida. The City National Bank Building is architecturally noteworthy as a unique record of early twentieth century commercial design in Miami as evidenced through the building’s façade composition, the open loggia, and the classically inspired decorative ornamentation.

The building is historically significant for its associations with the commercial development of Miami at the height of the

Boom. The appearance of the City National Bank Building represents an effort by its designers to provide a distinctive commercial image. The façade of the building serves as a visual reminder of Miami’s Boom years, when architects in the recently established metropolis were seeking a design identity through the utilization of easily recognizable architectural styles.

The visual composition of the City National Bank Building is also significant because it exemplifies the work of Hampton and Ehmann in Miami. The building’s scale and articulation of the façade makes it one of the most imposing examples of the firm’s designs in Miami. Martin Luther Hampton and E.A. Ehmann executed a number of designs in downtown Miami throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. Most of the firm’s work was executed in a “Spanish style” such as the Mediterranean Revival or the Masonry Vernacular.

The architecture of the City National Bank Building represents the diversity of styles and building types that the architectural firm was capable of handling. The original owner of the building was the Miami Bank and Trust Company which seems to have collapsed with the Bust of 1926. As the building was nearing completion, it was taken over by the J.C. Penney City National Bank and Trust Company and named the “City National Bank Building.” In 1930, after the failure of the J.C. Penney City National Bank and Trust Company, the building was acquired by the Florida National Bank and was known by that name until that institution moved into the Alfred I. duPont Building.

The building’s name was then changed to the Langford Building after the man who built it. The construction of the building marks one of the earliest instances when the financing of a major building was undertaken by out-of-state capital. In this case, the Mississippi Valley Trust Company of St. Louis made a loan of $600,000 on the property in 1925. In 2012 the building was sold and renovated to become a boutique Langford Hotel.

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:

historicpreservationmiami.com/pdfs/City%20National%20Bank...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_National_Bank_Building_(Miami,_Florida)

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

The pineapple (Ananas Comosus) is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae.

ETYMOLOGY: The first reference in English to the pineapple fruit was the 1568 translation from the French of André Thevet's The New Found World, or Antarctike where he refers to a Hoyriri, a fruit cultivated and eaten by the Tupinambá people, living near modern Rio de Janeiro, and now believed to be a pineapple.

Later in the same English translation, he describes the same fruit as a "Nana made in the manner of a Pine apple", where he used another Tupi word nanas, meaning 'excellent fruit'.

OLD WORLD INTRODUCTION: While the pineapple fascinated Europeans as a fruit of colonialism, it was not successfully cultivated in Europe until Pieter de la Court (1664–1739) developed greenhouse horticulture near Leiden.

Pineapple plants were distributed from the Netherlands to English gardeners in 1719 and French ones in 1730.

MEDICINAL: Among the medicinal properties of the fruit, the most notable is that of bromelain, which helps metabolize food.

It is also a diuretic, slightly antiseptic, detoxifying, antacid and vermifuge.

Its use has been studied as an aid in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica, and obesity control.

PRODUCTION: Today, pineapple is the second largest tropical fruit crop in terms of volume, surpassed only by banana (Musa paradisiaca).

The main producers are Costa Rica, Brazil, the Philippines, Indonesia and India, which account for 50% of production. Other important producers are Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Thailand and China. The most important cultivar is the so-called 'smooth Cayenne', originally from French Guiana. (Source: Wikipedia)

ANANAS COMOSUS (PIÑA), 2025

La piña (Ananas comosus) es una planta tropical con un fruto comestible; es la planta económicamente más importante de la familia Bromeliaceae.

ETIMOLOGÍA: La primera referencia en inglés a la piña fue la traducción de 1568 del francés de The New Found World, or Antarctike de André Thevet, donde se refiere a un Hoyriri, una fruta cultivada y consumida por el pueblo tupinambá, que vivía cerca de la actual Río de Janeiro, y que ahora se cree que es una piña.

Más adelante, en la misma traducción al inglés, describe la misma fruta como una "Nana hecha a la manera de una piña", donde utilizó otra palabra tupí, nanas, que significa 'fruta excelente'.

INTRODUCCIÓN AL VIEJO MUNDO: Si bien la piña fascinó a los europeos como fruto del colonialismo, no se cultivó con éxito en Europa hasta que Pieter de la Court (1664-1739) desarrolló la horticultura de invernadero cerca de Leiden.

Las plantas de piña fueron distribuidas desde los Países Bajos a los jardineros ingleses en 1719 y a los franceses en 1730.

MEDICINAL: Entre las propiedades medicinales del fruto, la más notable es la de la bromelina, que ayuda a metabolizar los alimentos.

Es también diurético, ligeramente antiséptico, desintoxicante, antiácido y vermífugo.

Se ha estudiado su uso como auxiliar en el tratamiento de la artritis reumatoide, la ciática, y el control de la obesidad.

PRODUCCION: Hoy la piña es el segundo cultivo frutal tropical en volumen, sólo superado por el plátano (Musa paradisiaca).

Los principales productores son Costa Rica, Brasil, Filipinas, Indonesia, India, que concentran el 50 % de la producción. Otros productores de relieve son Kenia, México, Nigeria, Tailandia y China. El cultivar más importante es el llamado 'smooth Cayenne', originario de la Guayana Francesa. (Fuente: Wikipedia)

Raqchi is a significant Inca archaeological site near Cusco, Peru, famous for the massive Temple of Wiracocha, dedicated to the creator god, featuring unique adobe walls with stone bases, circular columns, and one of the largest Inca roofs ever. The complex includes residential quarters (living houses, barracks), circular food storehouses (colcas), water fountains, and terraces, showing a well-planned religious and administrative center on the Inca road system.

A significant place utilized by the Snuneymuxw people for thousands of years and traditionally known as Saysutshun, Newcastle Island is a wondrous escape from the bustling urban center of Nanaimo just across the harbour.

Alongside the strong First Nations presence and culture on the island, it is also home to many rich histories which include coal mining, a sandstone quarry, and herring salteries, all of which make Newcastle Island a must-see eco-tourism destination for those visiting Nanaimo.

Jordan is a concentration of historical places, and even if you drive just downtown for a causal weekend, you end up in a Roman amphitheater that dates back to 138 CE.

Last weekend, we decided to drive around Amman, capturing no further than 30km. We ended up seeing 3 significant historical places, including the Baptism Site on Jordan river, where Jesus was baptized, Mount Nebo, where Moses received the 10 testaments from God, and Madaba – the old city of Mosaics.

First off with Mount Nebo...

{Edited from Wikipedia}

“Mount Nebo is an elevated ridge in Jordan, approximately 817 metres (2,680 ft)above sea level, mentioned in the Bible as the place where Moseswas granted a view of the Promised Land. The view from the summit provides a panorama of the Holy Land and, to the north, a more limited one of the valley of the River Jordan. The West Bank city of Jericho is usually visible from the summit, as is Jerusalemon a very clear day.

According to the final chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Israel, that he would never enter, and to die; he was buried in an unknown valley location in Moab.

According to Christian tradition, Moses was buried on the mountain, although his place of burial is not specified. Some Islamic traditions also stated the same, although there is a grave of Moses located at Maqam El-Nabi Musa, south of Jericho and 20 km east of Jerusalem in the Judean wilderness. Scholars continue to dispute whether the mountain currently known as Nebo is the same as the mountain referred to in Deuteronomy.

On the highest point of the mountain, the remains of a Byzantine church and monastery were discovered in 1933.The church was first constructed in the second half of the 4th century to commemorate the place of Moses' death. The church design follows a typical basilica pattern. It was enlarged in the late fifth century A.D. and rebuilt in A.D. 597. The church is first mentioned in an account of a pilgrimage made by a lady Aetheria in A.D. 394. Six tombs have been found hollowed from the natural rock beneath the mosaic-covered floor of the church. In the modern chapel presbytery, built to protect the site and provide worship space, remnants of mosaic floors from different periods can be seen. The earliest of these is a panel with a braided cross presently placed on the east end of the south wall.”

This photo shows part of the mosaics of the Byzantine church. There is nothing much preserved from what used to be the church. Currently, they’re building a new church and at the time we visited the construction was ongoing.

Thanks for your visit and have a great day!

The Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida, is an architecturally and historically significant building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Capitol is at the intersection of Apalachee Parkway and South Monroe Street in downtown Tallahassee, Florida.

The Historic Capitol, sometimes called "The Old Capitol," built in 1845, was threatened with demolition in the late 1970s when the new capitol building was built. Having been restored to its 1902-version in 1982, the Historic Capitol is directly behind the new Capitol building. Its restored space includes the Governor's Suite, Supreme Court, House of Representatives and Senate chambers, rotunda, and halls. Its adapted space contains a museum exhibiting the state's political history, the Florida Historic Capitol Museum, which is managed by the Florida Legislature. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed the Historic Capitol Building (Restoration) on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.

The New Tower houses executive and legislative offices and the chambers of the Florida Legislature (consisting of the Florida Senate and Florida House of Representatives).

The buildings are universally, though informally, known as the Old Capitol and the New Capitol; the former is sometimes called the Historic Capitol, or also, confusingly, the Florida State Capitol. The latter was its official name prior to the construction of the New Capitol in 1977, and was so called by the National Park Service even after the New Capitol was operating. Its legal name today, however, is the Florida Historic Capitol Museum. The New Capitol, as a whole, does not have a legal name. When it was planned, the Capitol Complex (which is a legal name) was going to consist of the House and Senate chambers, and the twenty-two-story office building.

Credit for the data above is given to the following website:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_State_Capitol#Architecture_...

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

The glacier unfurled like a great, white expanse of forgotten time, its contours soft yet relentless, shimmering under the high New Zealand sun. A solitary figure moved across its surface, dwarfed by the immensity of the Southern Alps, their presence barely more significant than a breath exhaled into the void. Above, the sky arched in an almost blinding clarity, cobalt bruised with faint wisps of cloud that curled and dispersed like half-formed thoughts.

Poseidon Peak loomed behind the camera’s view, unseen but felt—a pull at the edges of perception, a monolith of raw presence waiting beyond the wanderer's slow progress. Around the ice, ancient ridges clawed upward, their surfaces raw and fractured, their grey-black faces streaked with veins of stubborn snow and the occasional gleam of exposed ice, blue as trapped lightning. At their feet, pools of glacial meltwater gathered like forgotten tears, impossibly bright, as if the earth itself had summoned the color to defy the starkness of its surroundings.

The snow, rippled by winds that spoke in cryptic tongues, seemed alive in its stillness. Each step of the wanderer left a mark, a fleeting impression in a world that would erase it in moments. The air was sharp and unyielding, laden with a silence that felt both oppressive and sacred, the kind of silence that compels you to listen for things not meant to be heard.

This place was no sanctuary, no shelter for fragile human thoughts. The peaks did not stand guard; they did not care to. Their forms rose in jagged defiance of time, not as sentinels but as monuments to a world that existed long before words, before people, before the idea of anything smaller than the universe itself. Their power was neither welcoming nor hostile—it simply was, vast and undeniable, like the weight of eternity pressing down on the present moment.

Yet in this austere and unyielding place, beauty unfolded with startling intimacy. The way the light slipped between the edges of fractured rock and dusted the icy surface with an almost imperceptible shimmer. The particular shade of the snow—both blindingly white and faintly blue—hinted at secrets locked within its cold depths. The pools, tucked among the boulders, seemed otherworldly in their perfection, their turquoise glow as vivid and surreal as a dream remembered at dawn.

Perhaps the wanderer moved not toward Poseidon Peak but into the heart of something less tangible—a confrontation with the limits of the self. Here, every step was a conversation with the earth, every breath a measure of one’s place in a world both infinite and indifferent. The mountains did not answer. They only existed, immutable and vast, their silence louder than any reply.

***

If this image speaks to you—if the solitude of the glacier, the silent wisdom of the mountains, and the delicate beauty of this untamed place stir something deep within—know that this is but one glimpse of a much larger journey. Through my lens and words, I seek to share the raw, unfiltered essence of wild places like this, where the boundaries between the external and the internal dissolve. You are invited to visit my website - www.coronaviking.com, where more stories, images, and reflections from this and other remote corners of the world await. Explore the profound connection between nature, art, and the human spirit...

There has been a significant lack of snowfall across the Twin Cities this winter resulting in a lack of winter photography opportunities.

Today we received around 3 inches of snow and since I had a rare Saturday off from work I decided to walk around the neighborhood and grab a shot of a snow covered pine tree.

Such a beautiful sight!

Beautiful ironwork on a cast iron brazier in the southernmost of four the courtyards in the Yonghe Temple in Beijing.

A site of both mass tourism and intense religious devotion, the Yonghe Temple is one of Beijing’s most significant historical landmarks, and a great survival of the golden age of peace and prosperity that marked the early part of the Qing Dynasty in the late 17th and 18th Centuries.

The Yonghe Temple (Chinese: 雍和宮 or yōnghé gōng, “Palace of Peace and Harmony”), also known as the Yonghe Lamasery, or popularly as the Lama Temple, is a temple and monastery of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism located on 12 Yonghegong Street, Beijing’s Dongcheng Borough, around 4 km north-east of the Forbidden City. The building and artwork of the temple is a combination of Han Chinese and Tibetan styles. This building is one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in China proper. The current abbot is Lama Hu Xuefeng. Yonghe Temple was the highest Buddhist temple in the country during the middle and late Qing dynasty.

Building work on the Yonghe Temple started in 1694 during the Qing dynasty on the site where an official residence for court eunuchs of the Ming dynasty originally stood. It was then converted into the residence of Yinzhen (Prince Yong), the fourth son of the Kangxi Emperor in 1702-3In 1711, Hongli, the fourth son of Yongzheng, the future Qianlong Emperor, was born in the East Academy in this building.

Prince Yong ascended the throne as the Yongzheng Emperor in 1722, and the palace was renamed the ‘Palace of Peace and Harmony’ (雍和宫). After the Yongzheng Emperor’s death in 1735, his coffin was placed in the temple from 1735 to 1737. In 1744, the Qianlong Emperor issued an edict of converting the Palace of Peace and Harmony into a lamasery.

Subsequently, the monastery became a residence for large numbers of Tibetan Buddhist monks from Mongolia and Tibet, and so the Yonghe Lamasery became the national centre of Lama administration. Since 1792, with the foundation of the Golden Urn, the Yonghe Temple also became a place for the Qing dynasty to exert control over the Tibetan and Mongolian lama reincarnations.

The temple was the site of an armed revolt against the Chinese Nationalist government in 1929.

After the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949, the temple was declared a national monument and closed for the following 32 years. It is said to have survived the Cultural Revolution due to the intervention of Premier Zhou Enlai. Reopened to the public in 1981, it is today both a functioning temple and highly popular tourist attraction in the city.

This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia.

First met Carré back in '08, a year I consider significant as it was when I had begun getting serious about photography, was shooting all the time, was making a concerted effort to reach out to people on & offline for shoots.

Seems like forever ago.

And yet I don't know how different she and I are from when we first met. She's still playing music (these days on the east coast), I'm still taking pictures, we both still bond over the disdain we have for society at large. Our complaints aren't that much different, our joys are pretty much the same.

I went back, before posting this, and looked at those first photos I took of her. People I've known for a long time, it's a gas taking a gander at how they've changed physically as time's gone by.

Some folks I caught at their best, then watched them...move away from that point.

Then there's Carré, who, like me, is blessed with exotic genes that retard the aging process until we're at least in our fifties. Then one day we just Become Old, probably within minutes.

She's leaner, her face is more mature, but more beautiful for it. There's more confidence in her walk. More experience.

We're both making some of the same mistakes as when we met, but, hopefully, less often.

Ah time...

Grey Heron at sunrise. I unfortunately accidentally underexposed the heron by a significant amount (had seen a Barn Owl a few minutes earlier|) but this meant I kept the subtle colours on the water and recovered the detail in his feathers (up to a point) in Photoshop.

Taken at RSPB Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk.

It tells us something significant of the times to know that Thomas Monds was the son of a convict. When a convict (who had been transported from Britain in the early 19th century - very often as a life sentence) was released from his imprisonment, he was enititled to a "Ticket of Leave".

A Ticket of Leave was a document of parole issued to convicts who had shown they could now be trusted with some freedoms. In many cases these former convicts ended up becoming important figures in the development of Australia. One of the most famous is the former forger Francis Greenway of Old Sydney Town, who became one of the colony's finest architects under Governor Macquarie.

We don't know much about Thomas Monds senior, but we do know that his son became one of the most successful businessmen in colonial Van Dieman's Land, and that the company he built still runs to this day in Launceston. To me, that highlights a capacity for forgiveness that we rarely see even today. Most former prisoners today struggle to even get work. And what a waste this is to our society!

PHOTO NOTE: There's a lot of foliage in this shot, but in the left-hand foreground you will note some extremely healthy blackberry bushes. There are quite a few tasty blackberries amid the thorns.

A remote and significant cave high on the Mynydd Llangynidr moorland, on the very edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales.

A plaque at the cave entrance says "Pikes and possibly other weapons were secretly made and stockpiled in these caves during the summer of 1839. They were subsequently carried by Tredegar Chartists on the great march to seize Newport, 3rd-5th November 1839. This became the greatest armed clash between Government and British people in the nineteenth century and resulted in over twenty deaths and the last mass treason trial in British history. This plaque was placed here by Tredegar Town Council to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the insurrection which eventually helped win democratic rights for all British people."

collage by me

Horus is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists.These various forms may possibly be different manifestations of the same multi-layered deity in which certain attributes or syncretic relationships are emphasized, not necessarily in opposition but complementary to one another, consistent with how the Ancient Egyptians viewed the multiple facets of reality. He was most often depicted as a falcon, most likely a lanner falcon or peregrine falcon, or as a man with a falcon head.

The earliest recorded form of Horus is the tutelary deity of Nekhen in Upper Egypt, who is the first known national god, specifically related to the ruling pharaoh who in time came to be regarded as a manifestation of Horus in life and Osiris in death.The most commonly encountered family relationship describes Horus as the son of Isis and Osiris, and he plays a key role in the Osiris myth as Osiris's heir and the rival to Set, the murderer of Osiris. In another tradition Hathor is regarded as his mother and sometimes as his wife. Horus served many functions, most notably being a god of kingship and the sky.

(from Wikipedia)

Western wing of the Château de Hautefort with the château’s gateway, Dordogne, France

Some background information:

The Château de Hautefort (in English: "Hautefort Castle") is situated on a plateau in the northern part of the French department of Dordogne. It overlooks the village of Hautefort and is located approximately 34 kilometers (21 miles) northeast of the town of Périgueux. The building complex is the largest Baroque castle in southwestern France and one of the most significant castles in the Périgord region. Located in the far eastern part of the White Périgord (in French: "Périgord blanc"), the castle was classified as a historic monument in 1958. Since 1967, its French formal gardens and the landscaped park have also been listed as historic monuments.

As early as the 9th century, a fortress was located at the site of the present-day Hautefort Castle, belonging to the viscounts of Limoges. In 1030, the castle became the property of Guy de Lastours after he defeated the rebellious viscounts at Arnac on behalf of the Count of Périgord. Following his death in 1046, his sole daughter Aloaarz brought the property into her marriage with Aymar de Laron, who adopted the Lastours name.

Through the marriage of Agnes de Lastours in 1160, the castle passed to the family of her husband, Constantin de Born. Constantin and his brother Bertran de Born, quarreled over the castle, as they supported opposing factions of the English princes Henry the Young King and Richard the Lionheart. Bertran sided with Prince Henry, while Constantin aligned himself with Richard's camp. In 1182, Bertran managed to expel Constantin from the castle, but in the following year, after Henry's death, Richard the Lionheart laid siege to the fortress. After eight days, he captured it, took Bertran prisoner, and demolished the fortifications.

However, King Henry II of England granted Bertran his freedom and even restored the castle to him. In 1184, the rebuilding of the castle began. By 1196, Bertran retired to the Cistercian Abbey of Dalon and became a monk, while the grounds passed to his son. At that time, the structure consisted of a large donjon and several smaller towers connected by curtain walls and battlements.

In the course of the Hundred Years' War, English soldiers occupied the castle in 1355 and forced its owners to recognize the English king as their liege lord. However, in 1406, the castle returned to French control. Shortly before, the last male representative of the family, Bertrand, had died, and the property passed to his sole daughter, Marthe. Her son Antoine, from her second marriage to Hélie de Gontaut, adopted the name of the Hautefort lordship when he became the new lord of the castle. In 1588, the northwestern entrance wing of the castle was altered and fortified – perhaps influenced by the French Wars of Religion. This renovation likely replaced a less defensible Renaissance-style structure.

In 1614, under François de Hautefort, the seigneurie was elevated to a marquisate. Accordingly, he sought to replace the outdated structure with a representative château. In 1633, the marquis commissioned Nicolas Rambourg, an architect from Périgueux, to undertake a major renovation of the estate. When François passed away in 1640, the work was far from complete, leaving the task of continuing the project to his successor, his grandson Jacques-François. Jacques-François' sister, Marie, gained fame at the Parisian royal court as the platonic companion of King Louis XIII.

The death of Nicolas Rambourg in 1649 temporarily halted construction, but in 1651, the inauguration of a château chapel on the ground floor of the new logis was celebrated. In 1669, the marquis resumed the renovation project, enlisting the Parisian architect Jean Maigret. Maigret completed the château as a symmetrical three-wing complex in the style of classical Baroque, adding the current south tower and relocating the chapel there in 1670. Although the second marquis died in 1680, Maigret's work on the château continued until 1695. During the renovations, the defensive elements that had still been present at the beginning of the 17th century were gradually dismantled.

During the French Revolution, the citizens of Hautefort prevented the château's destruction. From 1793 to 1795, the estate was used as a prison. But after the revolutionary period, Sigismonde Charlotte Louise de Hautefort, the daughter of the last marquis, Louis Frédéric Emmanuel, regained control of the family seat. In 1853, the redesign of the château's gardens was commissioned and the plans were drawn up by Paul de Lavenne, one of the most renowned landscape architects in France at the time. He reimagined the baroque gardens on the terraces surrounding the château and designed a large English landscape garden with broad sightlines into the surrounding countryside.

After the death of Maxence de Hautefort in 1887, his second wife sold the estate in 1890 to wealthy industrialist Bertrand Artigues. Artigues undertook various restoration projects and demolished the old outbuildings to the northwest of the château. Despite these efforts, the structural condition of the château remained poor. After Bertrand Artigues passed away in 1908, his heirs sold the château in 1913 to a real estate speculator. Between then and 1925, the speculator sold off all the furnishings and interior elements, including paneling and parquet floors. Subsequently, the parceled estate was sold off piece by piece.

In 1929, Baron Henry de Bastard and his wife Simone, the daughter of banker and patron David David-Weill, purchased the château. They began extensive restoration work in 1930, which continued until 1965. The couple undertook a complete restoration of both the interior and exterior of the buildings and also worked to restore the baroque garden parterres based on historical plans. While the flowerbeds were replanted, the design created by Paul de Lavenne was preserved.

After the death of the baron in 1957, his widow opened the château to the public. However, this decision proved disastrous for the estate. In 1968, a major fire broke out, caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette butt from a visitor. The fire devastated the main northeastern wing, including its interiors and furnishings. Only the side wings with their round towers at the ends remained intact. But the baroness wasted no time and began restoration work as early as September of the same year. Using old photographs, the destroyed wing and its rooms were faithfully reconstructed and refurnished.

Today, the Château de Hautefort, along with its park and large sections of the French gardens, can be visited for an admission fee. Visitors can explore the interior rooms, including the grand reception hall, the château lord’s bedroom, Marie de Hautefort’s room in the Louis Quinze style, the chapel, and the kitchen. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the palace has also served as a film location for several productions. The last one was the movie "Ever After" from 1998, starring Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston.

The Union Trust Company Bank building stands at 200 Collinsville Avenue in downtown East St. Louis, Illinois. Designed by architect Thomas Imbs for banker August Schlafly and completed between 1922 and 1926, it is locally significant under Criterion C of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) for Architecture. The building is an excellent example of early 20th century Classical Revival style bank design and is the last of its kind in East St. Louis. This style, associated with permanence and trust, took hold in the late 19th century as bankers sought to regain public confidence after the Panic of 1893. Thirty years later, these associations were magnified in tumultuous East St. Louis where public morality was at an all-time low after its most recent series of political and social disasters. The Union Trust Company Bank building embodied Schlafly’s recent role as civic leader and signaled the city’s economic recovery by spurring badly-needed investment downtown. The period of significance is from 1922 to 1926, spanning the year the building opened to the public through the construction of its interior mezzanine according to Imbs’ original design.

The Union Trust Company Bank was added to the NRHP on May 27, 2014. All the information above along with much, much more was found on original documents submitted for listing consideration that can be viewed here:

npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/d2109df8-d0f1-4e6c-906...

Three bracketed photos were taken with a handheld Nikon D7200 and combined with Photomatix Pro to create this HDR image. Additional adjustments were made in Photoshop CS6.

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11

The best way to view my photostream is through Flickriver with the following link: www.flickriver.com/photos/photojourney57/

This is the first image I have taken using my brothers camera.

He tragically took his own life in May of this year and he left his camera gear to me. It took an awful lot just to get the camera out of his camera bag that still smells of him and his aftershave.

Although he had only been taking pictures for around eight years, he was a very gifted photographer, technically and artistically, something I will never ever be able to come close to. I know I will never be as talented as he was and my heart was heavy knowing that he was the last person to use his camera gear, and I felt like I shouldnt be touching his stuff. Its difficult to explain and I miss him so much.

He was such a wonderful human being and everyone who knew him loved him.

For all of our lives, trains have been the focus of our hobby. I have come to realise that there is no future in railway photography for me, and I must look to other things for inspiration.

I hope he likes what I have found and recorded today, and what I will record in the future. I am sure he will be with me wherever I go and what ever I do.

The following images are from my hometown of Tamworth in Staffordshire and featured astonishing work from various artists that took part in the "Wall Battle 2021" - which was part of Tamworth Urban Arts Fest.

The artist behind this piece is Chunkxx

My photos from now on are my tribute to you Mike.

Michael Hurley 7th April 1977 - 16th May 2021. Always in my thoughts and heart x

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Purbeck

The Isle of Purbeck, not a true island but a peninsula, is in the county of Dorset, England. It is bordered by the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well defined, with some medieval sources placing it at Flower's Barrow above Worbarrow Bay.[1] The most southerly point is St Alban's Head (archaically St. Aldhelm's Head). It is suffering erosion problems along the coast.

The whole of the Isle of Purbeck lies within the local government district of Purbeck, which is named after it. However the district extends significantly further north and west than the traditional boundary of the Isle of Purbeck along the River Frome.

In terms of natural landscape areas, the southern part of the Isle of Purbeck and the coastal strip as far as Ringstead Bay in the west, have been designated as National Character Area 136 - South Purbeck by Natural England. To the north are the Dorset Heaths and to the west, the Weymouth Lowlands.[

Geology

The geology of the Isle is complex. It has a discordant coastline along the east and concordant coastline along the south. The northern part is Eocene clay (Barton Beds), including significant deposits of Purbeck Ball Clay. Where the land rises to the sea there are several parallel strata of Jurassic rocks, including Portland limestone and the Purbeck beds. The latter include Purbeck Marble, a particularly hard limestone that can be polished (though mineralogically, it is not marble). A ridge of Cretaceous chalk runs along the peninsula creating the Purbeck Hills, part of the Southern England Chalk Formation that includes Salisbury Plain, the Dorset Downs and the Isle of Wight. The cliffs here are some of the most spectacular in England, and of great geological interest, both for the rock types and variety of landforms, notably Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, and the coast is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site because of the unique geology.

In the past quarrying of limestone was particularly concentrated around the western side of Swanage, the villages of Worth Matravers and Langton Matravers, and the cliffs along the coast between Swanage and St. Aldhelm's Head. The "caves" at Tilly Whim are former quarries, and Dancing Ledge, Seacombe and Winspit are other cliff-edge quarries. Stone was removed from the cliff quarries either by sea, or using horse carts to transport large blocks to Swanage. Many of England's most famous cathedrals are adorned with Purbeck marble, and much of London was rebuilt in Portland and Purbeck stone after the Great Fire of London.

By contrast, the principal ball clay workings were in the area between Corfe Castle and Wareham. Originally the clay was taken by pack horse to wharves on the River Frome and the south side of Poole Harbour. However in the first half of the 19th century the pack horses were replaced by horse-drawn tramways. With the coming of the railway from Wareham to Swanage, most ball clay was dispatched by rail, often to the Potteries district of Staffordshire.

Quarrying still takes place in Purbeck, with both Purbeck Ball Clay and limestones being transported from the area by road. There are now no functioning quarries of Purbeck Marble.

Wild flowers

The isle has the highest number of species of native and anciently introduced wild flowers of any area of comparable size in Britain.[3] This is largely due to the varied geology. The species most frequently sought is Early Spider Orchid (Ophrys sphegodes), which in Britain, is most common in Purbeck. Nearly 50,000 flowering spikes were counted in 2009. Late April is the best time, and the largest population is usually in the field to the west of Dancing Ledge. Smaller numbers can be seen on a shorter walk in Durlston Country Park. This orchid is the logo of the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Cowslip meadows (Primula veris and Primula deorum) are at their best shortly afterwards and Durlston Country Park has several large ones.

In early May several woods have carpets of Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum). King's Wood and Studland Wood, both owned by the National Trust, are good examples. At around the same time and later some Downs have carpets of yellow Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa) and blue Chalk Milkwort (Polygala calcarea). In late May the field near Old Harry Rocks has a carpet of yellow Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria).

Blue and white flowers of Sheep's bit (Jasione montana) and pink and flowers of Sea Bindweed (Calystegia soldanella) lend colour to Studland dunes in June. Both Heath Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata) and Southern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) are frequent on Corfe Common that month, and Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) and Purple Betony (Stachys officinalis) flowers add colour to the Common in July.

Dorset Heath (Erica ciliaris), the county flower, can be found in July and August in large numbers, especially on and around Hartland Moor, in damper parts of the heathland. Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum) gives displays of yellow flowers there in early July. Marsh Gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe) is found less frequently in similar areas from mid August to mid September.[3]

Roman, Saxon and Norman

A number of Romano-British sites have been discovered and studied on the Isle of Purbeck, including a villa at Bucknowle Farm near Corfe Castle, excavated between 1976 and 1991.[4] The Kimmeridge shale of the isle was worked extensively during the Roman period, into jewellery, decorative panels and furniture.[5]

At the extreme southern tip of Purbeck is St Aldhelm's Chapel which is Norman work but built on a Pre-Conquest Christian site marked with a circular earthwork and some graves. In 1957 the body of a 13th century woman was found buried NNE of the chapel which suggests there may have been a hermitage in the area. In 2000 the whole chapel site was declared a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The precise function of the chapel building is disputed with suggestions that it may have been a religious retreat, a chantry for the souls of sailors who had drowned off St Aldhelm's Head or even a lighthouse or warning bell to warn sailors. Victorian restoration work of the chapel found signs that a beacon may have adorned the roof. The present cross on the roof is Victorian.

The town of Wareham retains its Saxon earth embankment wall and it churches have Saxon origins. One of these, St Martins-on-the-Walls was built in 1030 and today contains traces of medieval and later wall paintings.

At Corfe Castle village is the great castle which gives the village its modern name. The castle commands the strategic gap in the Purbeck Ridge. The present castle dates from after the Conquest of 1066 but this may replace Saxon work as the village was the place where Saxon King Edward the Martyr had been murdered in 978. The supposed place of his murder is traditionally on, or near, the castle mound. Corfe was one of the first English castles to be built in stone - at a time when earth and timber were the norm. This may have been due to the plentiful supply of good building stone in Purbeck.

Sir John Bankes bought the castle in 1635, and was the owner during the English Civil War. His wife, Lady Mary Bankes, led the defence of the castle when it was twice besieged by Parliamentarian forces. The first siege, in 1643, was unsuccessful, but by 1645 Corfe was one of the last remaining royalist strongholds in Southern England and fell to a siege ending in an assault. In March that year Corfe Castle was demolished ('slighted') on Parliament's orders. Owned by the National Trust, the castle is open to the public. It is protected as a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The isle

A large part of the district is now designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), but a portion of the coast around Worbarrow Bay and the ghost village of Tyneham is still, after nearly 60 years, in the possession of the Ministry of Defence who use it as a training area. Lulworth Ranges are part of the Armoured Fighting Vehicles Gunnery School at Lulworth Camp. Tanks and other armoured vehicles are used in this area and shells are fired. Due to safety reasons, right of entry is only given when the army ranges are not in operation. Large red flags are flown and flashing warning lamps on Bindon Hill and St Alban's Head are lit when the ranges are in use.[6] At such times the entrance gates are locked and wardens patrol the area.

Other places of note are:

Swanage, at the eastern end of the peninsula, is a seaside resort. At one time it was linked by a branch railway line from Wareham; this was closed in 1972, but has now reopened as the Swanage Railway, a heritage railway.

Studland: This is a seaside village in its own sandy bay. Nearby, lying off-shore from The Foreland (also Handfast Point), are the chalk stacks named Old Harry Rocks: Old Harry and his Wife.

Poole Harbour is popular with yachtsmen; it contains Brownsea Island, the site of the first-ever Scout camp.

Corfe Castle is in the centre of the isle, with its picturesque village named after it.

Langton Matravers, which was once the home of several boys preparatory schools until 2007 when the Old Malthouse closed.

Kimmeridge Bay, with its fossil-rich Jurassic shale cliffs, and site of the oldest continually working oil well in the world.

Heavy rain and poor weather hit the Isle of Man yesterday with some significant flooding and debris seen on many major and minor roads. Perhaps one of the most spectacular visual scenes was found in Lower Laxey where the bridge over the river Laksaa, near to the harbour, gave way just as Isle of Man Transport East Lancs bodied Dennis Trident 20 (HMN 245J) was passing over it, resulting in the bus falling into the river. Whilst the bridge is served by a bus route, there are no scheduled services outside the peak summer season and it is thought the bus was having to get to Laxey promenade to turn due to being diverted as a result of Glen Road being closed due to debris. It is understood no injuries were suffered.

The historic Old Laxey or Monk's Bridge is thought to be medieval in origin, widened at least twice during the 1800's to meet then modern demands and, transport wise, is most notable for at one stage having a small tram or wagonway pass over it, to enable washed ore and workings mined at the Great Laxey Mine to access the harbour for onward shipment.

Lower Laxey - Thursday, December 3, 2015

Eggenberg Palace (German: Schloss Eggenberg) in Graz is the most significant Baroque palace complex in Styria. With its preserved accouterments, the extensive scenic gardens as well as some additional collections from the Universalmuseum Joanneum housed in the palace and park, Schloss Eggenberg counts among the most valuable cultural assets of Austria. Eggenberg Palace is situated at an elevation of 381 meters. With its construction and accouterment history, it exhibits the vicissitude and patronage of the one-time mightiest dynasty in Styria, the House of Eggenberg. In 2010, Schloss Eggenberg was recognized for its significance to cultural history in an expansion to the listing of the Graz Historic Old Town among UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites.

The palace lies on the western edge of the Styrian capital of Graz in the Eggenberg district. The northern corner of the palace grounds features the Planetary Garden and Lapidarium of Roman stonework as well as the entrance to the new Archeological Museum, which houses the Cult Wagon of Strettweg. The palace houses the numismatic collection, located in the former rooms of Balthasar Eggenberger, owner of the imperial minting license and operations in the Late Middle Ages, and the show collection of the Alte Galerie, a collection of medieval through early modern period artworks spanning five centuries of European art history.

A significant snow storm hit Vancouver last night. It was a mess this morning but it looks real pretty on the North Shore mountains right now.

This is the picture I just used for the annual Christmas cards for family further afield

Soon, too soon, the leaves will color and fall. There is a significant symbolism in the seasons, like there is in all of creation. From the scriptures, "...this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God" (Alma 34:32) and "in an hour when ye think not the summer shall be past, and the harvest ended, and your souls not saved." Doctrine & Covenants 45:2 (see also Jeremiah 8:19-20).

*** Prints and galleries: danielhopkins.com/p/i-2SCXsWw ***

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Griffon Hoverwork have developed a new model of hovercraft called the 12000TD. The new craft is the most technically advanced and modern hovercraft available today, offering better fuel efficiency, low emissions and significantly less noise.

Hovertravel, is the first company to operate the new model of hovercraft, investing in two new passenger hovercraft to replace their ageing fleet, the two craft named 'Solent Flyer' and 'Island Flyer'. As the world's longest running commercial hovercraft operator, Hovertravel operate between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, making 70 journeys a day across the Solent.

The 22.4m craft is driven by two diesel engines that provide integrated lift and forward thrust and is capable of carrying 80 passengers or 12 tons of cargo, achieving a top speed of 50 knots.

Hovertravel is a ferry company operating from Southsea, Portsmouth to Ryde, Isle of Wight, UK. It is the only passenger hovercraft company currently operating in Britain since Hoverspeed stopped using its craft in favour of catamarans and ceasing all ferry operations in 2005.

Hovertravel is now the world's oldest hovercraft operator, and this service is believed to be unique in western Europe. Hovertravel has claimed that it is the world's only commercial passenger hovercraft service. The operator's principal service operates between Southsea Common on the English mainland and Ryde Transport Interchange on the Isle of Wight: the crossing time of less than 10 minutes makes it the fastest route across The Solent from land to land. This service commenced operations in 1965, Hovertravel currently operates two 12000TD hovercraft on a single route between Ryde and Southsea. Additionally, Hovertravel has frequently operated other routes throughout the United Kingdom, typically as charter services.

www.griffonhoverwork.com/news/latest-news/new-12000td.aspx

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovertravel

Our first snowfall of the season was significant. It was almost hard to spot this lady.

Historically significant building....Tour Perret (English: Perret Tower) is a 29-storey, 110 m (360 ft) residential skyscraper in Amiens, France. It has been described as France's first skyscraper, and was registered as a historic monument in 1975.

Its building was part of a large scale reconstruction project helmed by architect Auguste Perret in the Place Alphone-Fiquet neighborhood, which also involved a rebuild of the nearby railway station.The design phase started as early as 1942, following extensive damages suffered by downtown Amiens during World War II.[8] Perret intended it as an office building before authorities overruled him.

Originally measuring 104 metre,[8] Tour Perret was the highest, and the first 100-plus metre skyscraper built in France, although it was not the highest in Western Europe, as it has sometimes been written.The building actually fell slightly short of its intended height as its topmost part, a belfry adorned with a monumental clock, was never built due to delays and cost overruns.

In 2005, the tower was finally completed with a so-called Sablier de lumière (English: Hourglass of Light) designed by architect Thierry Van de Wyngaert. It is a cube made of 192 active glass pannels whose transparency can be electrically adjusted, illuminated by twelve circular neon lamps which project different colors depending on the time of day. In 2017, the lighting system was redesigned and simplified for cost and practicality The cube's addition brought the height of the building up to 110 metre.

Jaguars are the largest of South America's big cats. Today significant numbers of jaguars are found only in remote regions of South and Central America—particularly in the Amazon Basin.

These beautiful and powerful beasts were prominent in ancient Native American cultures. In some traditions the Jaguar God of the Night was the formidable lord of the underworld. The name jaguar is derived from the Native American word yaguar, which means "he who kills with one leap."

Unlike many other cats, jaguars do not avoid water; in fact, they are quite good swimmers. Rivers provide prey in the form of fish, turtles, or caimans—small, alligatorlike animals. Jaguars also eat larger animals such as deer, peccaries, capybaras, and tapirs. They sometimes climb trees to prepare an ambush, killing their prey with one powerful bite.

Most jaguars are tan or orange with distinctive black spots, dubbed "rosettes" because they are shaped like roses. Some jaguars are so dark they appear to be spotless, though their markings can be seen on closer inspection.

Jaguars live alone and define territories of many square miles by marking with their waste or clawing trees.

Females have litters of one to four cubs, which are blind and helpless at birth. The mother stays with them and defends them fiercely from any animal that may approach—even their own father. Young jaguars learn to hunt by living with their mothers for two years or more.

Jaguars are persecuted as predators, being viewed as a menace to domestic cattle. They are hunted for sport and for the fur trade. Also, jaguars are threatened by the loss of habitat due to deforestation. Within their range they are regionally extinct in Uruguay and El Salvador and have been eliminated from many of the drier areas of the north.

Stockmann Helsinki Centre is a culturally significant business building and department store located in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. It is one of many department stores owned by the Stockmann corporation. It is the largest department store in the Nordic countries in terms of area and total sales. The store is known for carrying all the internationally recognised luxury brands, and Stockmann's enjoys a reputation as the primary high-end department store in Finland. Stockmann Delicatessen, the food and beverage department located at the basement level, is renowned for the quality and choice of its foodstuffs. The Stockmann logo represents a set of escalators, which are commonly, but wrongly believed represent the first escalators in Finland. The first escalators in Finland were installed in the Forum department store, Turku (1926).

In 2017, Stockmann Helsinki Centre was the fifth largest department store in Europe with area of 50,500 square meters.

Especially the clock at the main entrance, colloquially "Stockan kello" ("Stocka's clock"), has become a symbol of Helsinkian city culture as a popular meeting place.

The Art Nouveau facade of the Argos house.

Valter Thomé and his brother won the architecture competition for the department store in 1916. The Thomé brothers were killed in the Finnish Civil War. The building was built in 1930, and the task was then given to Sigurd Frosterus who had been on the second place in the original competition.[1] The department store was designed in nordic Art Deco style.[2] It is part of the Gazelle block in the district of Kluuvi. The new expansion of the building is based on Sigurd Frosterus's plans.

(Wikipedia)

One moment winter story.

Lakhta .This small village on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, about 15 km northwest of the city, is home to human settlements on the banks of the Neva. It was on the territory of Lakhta that the remains of a man’s parking site of three thousand years ago were found.

In official documents, a settlement named Lakhta dates back to 1500. The name is derived from the Finnish-speaking word lahti - "bay". This is one of the few settlements that has not changed its name throughout its 500-year history. Also known as Laches, Lahes-by, Lahes and was originally inhabited by Izhora. In the last decades of the 15th century, Lakhta was a village (which indicates a significant population) and was the center of the eponymous grand-parish volost, which was part of the Spassko-Gorodensky graveyard of the Orekhovsky district of the Vodskaya Pyatina. In the village, there were 10 courtyards with 20 people (married men). In Lakhta, on average, there were 2 families per yard, and the total population of the village probably reached 75 people.

From the notes on the margins of the Swedish scribe book of the Spassky graveyard of 1640, it follows that the lands along the lower reaches of the Neva River and parts of the Gulf of Finland, including Lakhta Karelskaya, Perekulya (from the Finnish “back village”, probably because of its position relative to Lakhti) and Konduy Lakhtinsky, were royal by letter of honor on January 15, 1638 transferred to the possession of the Stockholm dignitary, Rickschulz general Bernhard Sten von Stenhausen, a Dutchman by birth. On October 31, 1648, the Swedish government granted these lands to the city of Nyuen (Nyenschanz). With the arrival of the Swedes in Prievye, Lakhta was settled by the Finns, who until the middle of the 20th century made up the vast majority of the villagers.

On December 22, 1766, Catherine 2 granted Lakhta Manor, which was then in the Office of the Chancellery from the buildings of palaces and gardens, "in which and in her villages with courtyards 208 souls," her favorite Count Orlov. Not later than 1768, Count J.A. Bruce took over the estate. In 1788, Lakhta Manor was listed behind him with wooden services on a dry land (high place) and the villages Lakhta, Dubki, Lisiy Nos and Konnaya belonging to it also on dry land, in those villages of male peasants 238 souls. On May 1, 1813, Lakhta passed into the possession of the landowners of the Yakovlevs. On October 5, 1844, Count A.I. Stenbok-Fermor entered into the possession of the Lakhtinsky estate, which then had 255 male souls. This clan was the owner of the estate until 1912, when its last representative got into debt and noble custody was established over the estate. On October 4, 1913, in order to pay off his debts, he was forced to go for corporatization, and the Lakhta estate passed into the ownership of the Joint Stock Company “Lakhta” of Count Stenbock-Fermor and Co.

After the revolution, Lakhta was left on its own for a while, here on the former estate of the counts Stenbock-Fermorov on May 19, 1919, the Lakhta excursion station was opened, which existed there until 1932. In the early 1920s, sand mining began on Lakhta beaches, and the abandoned and dilapidated peat plant of the Lakhta estate in 1922 took over the Oblzemotdel and put it into operation after major repairs. In 1963, the village of Lakhta was included in the Zhdanovsky (Primorsky) district of Leningrad (St. Petersburg).

At the beginning of Lakhtinsky Prospekt, on the banks of the Lakhtinsky spill, there was the village of Rakhilax (Rahilax-hof, Rahila, Rokhnovo). Most likely, under this name only one or several courtyards are designated. There is an assumption that the name of the village was formed from the Finnish raahata - “drag, drag,” because there could be a place for transportation through the isthmus of the Lakhtinsky spill (we should not forget that not only the bridge over the channel connecting the spill with the Gulf of Finland was not yet here, the duct itself was many times wider than the current one). The search book of the Spassko-Gorodensky graveyard of 1573, describing the Lakhta lands, mentions that there were 2 lodges in the “Rovgunov” village, from which we can conclude that we are talking about the village of Rohilaks, which the Russian scribes remade into a more understandable to them Rovgunovo. The village was empty in Swedish time and was counted as a wasteland of the village of Lahta.

On the banks of the Lakhtinsky spill, near the confluence of the Yuntolovka River, from the 17th century there existed the village of Bobylka (Bobylskaya), which merged into the village of Olgino only at the beginning of the 20th century, but was found on maps until the 1930s. It is probably the Search Book that mentions it Spassko-Gorodensky churchyard in 1573 as a village "in Lakhta in Perekui", behind which there was 1 obzh. With the arrival of the Swedes by royal letter on January 15, 1638, the village was transferred to the possession of the Stockholm dignitary, Rickshaw General Bernhard Sten von Stenhausen, a Dutchman by birth. On October 31, 1648, the Swedish government granted Lahti lands to the city of Nyuen (Nyenschanz). On the Swedish map of the 1670s, in the place of the village of Bobylsky, the village of Lahakeülä is marked (küla - the village (Fin.)). The village could subsequently be called Bobyl from the Russian word "bobyl."

The owners of Bobylskaya were both Count Orlov, and Count Y. A. Bruce, and the landowners Yakovlev. In 1844, Count A.I. Stenbok-Fermor entered into the possession of the Lakhtinsky estate (which included the village of Bobyl). This family was the owner of the estate until 1913, when the owners, in order to pay off their debts, had to go for corporatization, and the Lakhta estate was transferred to the ownership of the Lakhta Joint-Stock Company of Count Stenbock-Fermor and Co. By the middle of the 20th century, the village merged with the village of Lakhta.

The name Konnaya Lakhta (Konnaya) has been known since the 16th century, although earlier it sounded like Konduya (Konduya Lakhtinskaya) or just Kondu (from the Finnish kontu - courtyard, manor). Subsequently, this name was replaced by the more familiar Russian ear with the word "Horse". In the Search Book of the Spassko-Gorodensky Pogost in 1573, it is mentioned as the village "on Kovdui", where 1 obzh was listed, which indicates that there most likely was one yard. On January 15, 1638, together with neighboring villages, it was transferred to the possession of the Stockholm dignitary, Rickschulz General Bernhard Steen von Stenhausen, of Dutch origin. On October 31, 1648, the Swedish government granted these lands to the city of Nyuen (Nyenschanz). In a deed of gift, Konduya Lakhtinskaya is called a village, which indicates a noticeable increase in its population. Later, on the Swedish map of the 1670s, on the site of the present Horse Lahti, the village of Konda-bai is marked (by - village (sv)).

The owners of Konnaya Lakhta, as well as the villages of Bobylskaya and Lakhta, were in turn Count Orlov, Count Ya. A. Bruce, and the landowners Yakovlev. In 1844, Count A.I. Stenbok-Fermor entered the possession of the Lakhta estate (which included Konnaya Lakhta. This family was the owner of the estate until 1913, when the owners had to go to corporations to pay off their debts, and the Lakhta estate became the property of Lakhta Joint Stock Company of Count Stenbock-Fermor and Co. In 1963, Horse Lahta was included in the Zhdanov (Primorsky) district of Leningrad (St. Petersburg).

As the dacha village of Olgino appeared at the end of the 19th century and initially consisted of both Olgin itself and the villages of Vladimirovka (now part of Lisiy Nos) and Aleksandrovka. In the first half of the 18th century, this territory was part of the Verpelev palace estate, which in the second half of the 18th century was granted to Count G. G. Orlov, then it was owned by the family of landowners the Yakovlevs, in the middle of the 19th century the estate was transferred to the counts of Stenbock-Fermor. In 1905 A.V. Stenbok-Fermor, the then owner of Lakhta lands, divided the lands around Lakhta into separate plots with the intention of selling them profitably for dachas. So there were the villages of Olgino (named after the wife of Olga Platonovna), Vladimirovka (in honor of the father of the owner; the coastal part of the modern village of Lisy Nos) and Alexandrov or Aleksandrovskaya (in honor of Alexander Vladimirovich himself). It is likely that on the site of the village was the village of Olushino (Olushino odhe) - a search book of the Spassko-Gorodensky churchyard in 1573 mentions that there were 1 obzh in the village of Olushkov’s, which suggests that at least one residential the yard. On behalf of Olushka (Olpherius). Most likely, the village was deserted in Swedish time and then was already listed as a wasteland belonging to the village of Lahta. Thus, the name of the village could be given in harmony with the name of the mistress and the old name of the village.

The villages were planned among a sparse pine forest (the layout was preserved almost unchanged), so there were more amenities for living and spending time there than in Lakhta. A park was set up here, a summer theater, a sports ("gymnastic") playground, a tennis court, and a yacht club were arranged.

In the 1910s about 150 winter cottages were built in Olgino, many of which are striking monuments of "summer cottage" architecture. In 1963, the village of Olgino was included in the Zhdanovsky (Primorsky) district of Leningrad (St. Petersburg).

Near Olgino, in the area of ​​the Dubki park, there was a small village Verpeleva (Verpelevo), which consisted of only a few yards. In the first half of the XVIII century. this territory was part of the palace estate "Verpeleva", which in the second half of the XVIII century. It was granted to Count G. G. Orlov, then passed to the Counts of Stenbock-Fermor. The village has not existed for a long time, but the entire reed-covered peninsula (barely protruding above the water of the Verpier-Luda peninsula (Verper Luda (from the Finnish luoto - “small rocky island”)) still existed, and there was another spelling the name of this island is Var Pala Ludo).

Kamenka. The Novgorod scribal book mentions two villages in the Lakhta region with a similar name, referring to the possessions of Selivan Zakharov, son of Okhten, with his son and 5 other co-owners. On the lands of this small patrimony, which, unlike the estate was inherited, peasants lived in 3 villages, including: the village "Kamenka in Lakhta near the sea" in 5 yards with 5 people and arable land in 1,5 obzhi, the village "on Kamenka "in 2 courtyards with 2 people and arable land in 1 obzhu. For the use of land, the peasants paid the owners of the patrimony 16 money and gave 1/3 of the rye harvest. Thus, in the 16th century on the Kamenka River (another name for the Kiviyoki River, which is the literal translation of kivi - "stone", joki - "river") there was one large village of Kamenka near its confluence with the Lakhtinsky spill and the second, smaller, somewhere upstream. On the drawing of Izhora land in 1705, a village under this name is depicted in the area of ​​the modern village of Kamenka. The village of Kamennaya in the middle reaches of Kamenka and on the map of 1792 is designated. Other name options are Kaumenkka, Kiviaja.

In the second half of the 18th century, Kamenka became a vacation spot for Russian Germans. Here in 1865, German colonists founded their "daughter" colony on leased land. Since then, the village has received the name Kamenka Colony (so called until the 1930s). In 1892, a colony near the village of Volkovo "budded" from it. The inhabitants of both colonies belonged to the Novo-Saratov parish and since 1871 had a prayer house in Kamenka, which was visited by 250 people. He maintained a school for 40 students. The house was closed in 1935 and later demolished.

Currently, Kamenka exists as a holiday village, located along the road to Levashovo. Since 1961 - in the city, part of the planning area in the North-West, from the mid-1990s. built up with multi-storey residential buildings and cottages.

Volkovo. The settlement is about southeast of the village of Kamenka - on the old road to Kamenka, on the bank of a stream that flows into Kamenka between the village of Kamenka and the Shuvalovsky quarry. In 1892, a German colony emerged on the territory of the village, "budding" from a nearby colony in the village of Kamenka. The origin of Volkovo is not clear, the village is found only on maps of 1912, 1930, 1939, 1943. and probably appeared no earlier than the 19th century.

Kolomyagi. Scribe books of the XV — XVI centuries and Swedish plans testify that small settlements already existed on the site of Kolomyag. Most likely, these were first Izhora or Karelian, then Finnish farms, which were empty during the hostilities of the late XVII century.

The name "Kolomyag" connoisseurs decipher in different ways. Some say that it came from the "colo" - in Finnish cave and "pulp" - a hill, a hill. The village is located on the hills, and such an interpretation is quite acceptable. Others look for the root of the name in the Finnish word "koaa" - bark - and believe that trees were processed here after felling. Another version of the origin of the name from the Finnish "kello" is the bell, and it is associated not with the feature of the mountain, but with the "bell on the mountain" - a tower with a signal bell standing on a hill.

The owners of Kolomyazhsky lands were Admiral General A.I. Osterman, Count A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, a family of Volkonsky. In 1789, the Volkonskys sold these lands to retired colonel Sergei Savvich Yakovlev. On his estate S. S. Yakovlev built a manor and lived in it with his wife and seven daughters. The once-Finnish population of Kolomyag was “Russified” by that time - it was made up of descendants of serfs resettled by Osterman and Bestuzhev-Rumin from their villages in Central Russia (natives of the Volga and Galich) and Ukraine. Then the name "Kellomyaki" began to sound in Russian fashion - "Kolomyagi", although later the old name also existed, especially among local Finns. And not without reason the indigenous Kolomozhites associate their origin with the Volga places, and the southern half of the village is now called “Galician”.

Yakovlev died in 1818. Five years after his death, a division of the territory of the manor was made. The village of Kolomyagi was divided in half between two of his daughters. The border was the Bezymyanny stream. The southeastern part of the village of Kolomyagi beyond Bezymyanny creek and a plot on the banks of the Bolshaya Nevka passed to the daughter Ekaterina Sergeevna Avdulina.

Daughter Yakovleva Elena Sergeevna - the wife of General Alexei Petrovich Nikitin, a hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, who was awarded the highest military orders and twice a gold sword with the inscription "For courage", died early, leaving her daughter Elizabeth. The northwestern part of Kolomyag inherited the young Elizabeth, so this part of Kolomyag was practically inherited by the father of Yakovlev’s granddaughter, Count A.P. Nikitin, who in 1832 became the owner of the entire village. It is his name that is stored in the names of the streets - 1st and 2nd Nikitinsky and Novo-Nikitinsky. The new owner built a stone mansion on the estate’s estate - an excellent example of classicism of the first third of the 19th century, which became his country house and has survived to this day and has been occupied until recently by the Nursing Home. It is believed that this mansion was built according to the project of the famous architect A.I. Melnikov. The severity and modesty of the architectural appearance of the facades and residential chambers of the Nikitin mansion was opposed by the splendor of ceremonial interiors, in particular the two-light dance hall with choirs for musicians. Unfortunately, with repeated alterations and repairs, many details of the decor and stucco emblems of the owners disappeared. Only two photographs of the 1920s and preserved fragments of ornamental molding and paintings on the walls and ceiling show the past richness of the decorative decoration of this architectural monument. The mansion was surrounded by a small park. In it stood a stone pagan woman brought from the southern steppes of Russia (transferred to the Hermitage), and a pond with a plakun waterfall was built. Near the pond there was a "walk of love" from the "paradise" apple trees - it was called so because the bride and groom passed through it after the wedding. Here, in the shadow of these apple trees, young lovers made appointments.

Under the Orlov-Denisov opposite the mansion (now Main Street, 29), the structures of an agricultural farm were erected, partially preserved to this day, and the greenhouse. Behind the farm were the master's fields. On them, as the New Time newspaper reported in August 1880, they tested the reaping and shearing machines brought from America.

In the 19th century, the provincial surveyor Zaitsev submitted for approval the highway called the Kolomyagskoye Shosse. The route was supposed to connect the village, gradually gaining fame as a summer residence of the "middle arm", with St. Petersburg. The construction of the road ended in the 1840s, and then horse-drawn and country-house crafts became the most important articles of peasant income. In addition, peasants either built small dachas in their yards, or rented their huts for the summer. Located away from the roads, surrounded by fields, the village was chosen by multi-family citizens.

The income from the summer cottage industry increased from year to year, which was facilitated by the summer movement of omnibuses that opened on the new highway from the City Council building. They walked four times a day, each accommodated 16 people, the fare cost 15 kopecks. Even when the Finnish Railway with the nearest Udelnaya station came into operation in 1870, the highway remained the main access road through which public carriages pulled by a trio of horses ran from the Stroganov (now Ushakovsky) bridge.

A pair of unidentified Southeastern class 375 "Electrostar" EMUs (one a four-car, the other a three-car) set off westwards from Dover.

I'd come to Kent to photograph ex-Fragonset 31459 with the saloon Caroline, which I did - in dull conditions - west of Faversham. I then came down to the coast and walked up onto the cliffs for a second attempt, but the train did not appear (I still don't know what happened, as this was in the dark ages before Realtime Trains and the like!), although I did manage some quite pleasant shots of units in sun (most were four-car sets - this was the longest I photographed).

The Port of Dover is in the background, with car ferries at Eastern Docks. Western Docks was off to the right, but the docks here are no longer rail served as a result of the opening of the Channel Tunnel - although the port still sees plenty of road freight. Sea France was the name used by the French part of the Sealink operation after the companies went their separate ways in 1996, but it remained a subsidiary of SNCF (French Railways). However, it ceased trading in 2012, after going into liquidation following a significant loss of traffic to the Channel Tunnel over several years.

To see my non-transport pictures, visit www.flickr.com/photos/137275498@N03/.

The next significant castle Avalon Waterways Impression cruised by was Schönburg.

Schönburg sits above the medieval town of Oberwesel in the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, Rhineland-Palatinate.

Ferdinand Freiligrath once called it “the most beautiful refuge of the Rhine romanticism”.

Today Schönburg Castle lives up to its name and accommodates an upscale hotel. If you have just one castle hotel along the Rhine in which to sleep, this is that special choice, so they say.

Since 1957 the Hüttl family have been living in the castle on a long-term lease; they operate the hotel and restaurant.

Schönburg Castle was first mentioned in history between the years 911 and 1166.

In 1149 the castle was temporarily a British Empire Castle and came into possession of Frederick Schönburg a general in the army under English king William III. Schönburg castle was put to the torch by the French in 1689, and the family died out 30 years later.

Since 1885 Schönburg has been rebuilt bit by bit.

Ellsworth County

Kansas

(thanks Scott Branine for your help)

Today marks a significant milestone today on Flickr.

5 million views!!!

That one significant morning, when we least expect it, we wake and the full impact of the benign incomprehensibility of the universe floods us and our experience of life becomes non-local and omnipresent. One of these days ....

View Large on Black.

A significant delay of around 6 hours meant that this wonderful aircraft arrived from Windhoek via Frankfurt in daylight for one of the very few times. It was scheduled to arrive at LHR in the dark and then day stop before departing after dark. This photo was selected by Just Planes as the cover for their Air Namibia 747 DVD

Maybe the most significant symbol of Thessaloniki.

Fairly significant atmospheric turbulance last night so couldnt pull much detail out of Mars images.

Mars is starting to get smaller again - just 19 arcseconds here.

Celestron C9.25 inch SCT scope with Baader VIP x2 Barlow.

ZWO EFW Filter wheel. Luminosity Filter.

ZWO ADC - +/- 1

ZWO ASI 224 MC colour camera.

Acquired with FireCapture.

The detail map is taken from the BAA Mars Mapper 2020/2021 here: secure18.prositehosting.co.uk/secure_ssl/BAA/mars.html#

-----------------------------------

Camera=ZWO ASI224MC

Filter=L

Profile=Mars

Diameter=18.99"

Magnitude=-1.95

CM=274.2° (during mid of capture)

FocalLength=4800mm

Resolution=0.16"

Filename=2020-11-06-2057_6-L-Mars.ser

Date=061120

Start(UT)=205716.762

Duration=43.093s

Frames captured=5000

File type=SER

ROI=352x344

FPS (avg.)=116

Shutter=8.613ms

Gain=228 (38%)

HighSpeed=on

Gamma=83

Histogram=23%

Limit=5000 Frames

Sensor temperature=14.8°C

Focuser position=25370

This building has been significantly altered since I last photographed it. Particularly strange is that the owner removed all of the brick and stonework that made the façade of this building so fetching and then simplistically echoed it in contemporary materials.

Here is my April 2007 photograph of the building for comparison. There's been some tree growth in the spot where I took the 2007 photograph, so I couldn't get the framing perfectly aligned.

And, yes, that's the actual color of the sky.