My friend Ibnu reminded me it is Chinese New Year Monday.......I was born in the year of the snake......what is your sign???

Magazine spread graphic design project. Uses photos I shot while attending Aqua Night, which was a fashion event focused on hairstyles hosted at the Walnut Room in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thanks to all participants.

My goal was to further use the Müller-Brockman grid that I derived from a 1963 LOOK magazine, achieving a vintage look and feel from a modern setting, while giving selected shots from the event a context.

See this spread full size.

See more in the Aqua Night set.

Text from the "article" found on this page spread is reproduced below:

AQUA NIGHT GRAPHIC DESIGN PROJECT

I was invited to Aqua Night, an event that focused on fantasy, fashion hairstyles. The event was hosted at the Walnut Room, a lounge/club in Philadelphia.

I figured it would be fairly dark, so I decided to shoot with my CV 35mm f/1.2 lens—bringing my SF-24D flash (and sync cord) along, just in case it would be needed.

I arrived at the event start time—meaning two-and-a-half hours early—and took time to inventory possible shooting scenarios: Places to shoot and also lighting conditions. Ambient light was poor, averaging an EV of 2 or 3 at ISO 320.

Pre-event, the models staged in a side alcove downstairs—I shot a bit of this area and the models getting touchups and wardrobe adjustments. I also dug out the flash—even f/1.2 wasn’t enough to overcome the lack of light.

The event itself, including a fast runway walk to show off the styles, happened in the main Walnut Room lounge. I elected to not shoot the runway work because I didn’t like the clutter in the frame—any shots I took wouldn’t convincingly look like runway.

That left post-event portraiture. However, conditions for portraiture were problematic because of the event’s guests being, well, guests—wandering in and out of frame. However, I’d scouted the unused forward lounge area. It was unoccupied, had a gigantic mirror, and was perfect for a “show the hair from the front and the back at the same time” concept. So I settled on that. (BTW, thanks, Phillip, for directing models forward to the shooting area I’d selected.)

I shot for about 25 minutes. Light was put into the scene by a hand-held, off-camera flash, which I bounced off of the bank of windows, camera left. Intensity and direction of light was controlled by pivoting the flash in my hand, shooting a test, and then refining angle. TTL mode was used to balance the scene’s light. The models were patient throughout the process—I had about 120 seconds, give or take, with each model and pair of models.

This set was really screaming at me for context—so I decided to select a few key photos to get at the concept of the shooting and then make this spread.

Layout of this spread was completed via InDesign, using a custom-made Müller-Brockmann grid, which I had designed to be based on LOOK magazine dimensions, content ratios, and typography. It was a carry-over from my previous LOOK magazine project work—I’m not yet done with this kind of grid and look. One more chance to learn.

I built the vintage page background from a few different scans, creating (via Photoshop) an unbroken surface that could be used in the page spreads. The shadowing and lighting effects for the pages—which give the optical illusion of page solidity and depth—were developed on a previous project and further adapted for use here.

Black and white shots were treated using TrueGrain and Tri-X Pan grain, with filters as needed to bump intensity/density of luminosity.

Color photos were treated by using a layering effect in InDesign, compositing the color photo over Tri-X Pan treated black-and-white versions of the same photos. This layering of photos—provided the balance of the compositing is correct—emulates the tonality and “color character” of 1960s film stock, as displayed on vintage paper.

Last, this project wouldn’t have been possible without the work of everyone who made the event a success—hairstylist, makeup artist, wardrobe stylist, event organizers, all the models, and a general community effort. Well done, worth shooting.

—Will Stotler, June 2011

MODELS:

SELINA NICOLE CLIETTE (MM# PENDING)

AQUASIA DAVIS (MM#2222579)

Special thanks to JohnnyG1955 for sharing the below info

www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyg1955/sets/72157604152348131/...

The parish of the Holy Rosary is the seventh oldest mission in the City of Leeds, with the first Church and School of the Holy Rosary built in Barrack Street in 1886 as a Chapel-of-Ease to St Anne’s Cathedral.

As the area from Sheepscar up to Moortown was developed, the population of the parish increased until in 1927 the first steps were taken to build a new church. Rev Canon Mitchell invited architects to submit plans for a new church with Marten & Burnett chosen as the architects for the building. A site was bought on Chapeltown Road in 1930 and then in 1935 test holes were dug in what was then the garden of Ashbourne House on Chapeltown Road. The foundation stone was laid on May 3rd 1936 by Canon Hawkswell. The church was completed at a cost of over £13,000, with Ashbourne House becoming the Presbytery of the new church.

The first mass was celebrated on September 30th 1937 by The Bishop of Leeds, Bishop Henry John Poskitt with Bishop Shine of Middlesbrough. Father Ward was the first priest in the parish.

Among the priests at the first mass in the new church in 1937 was a young priest who had been ordained in Ireland for the Leeds Diocese the previous year. In 1951, this priest, Canon P. O’Meara, became the first Parish Priest of the Holy Rosary, a position he held until his death in 1985. There is a commemorative plaque to Canon O’Meara in the church.

The first priest to be ordained from the Holy Rosary Parish was Father Gerald Creasey who was ordained in 1961.

In 1987 Father James Leavy instigated renovations to the church including: the relocation of the altar, removal of the communion rails, the font being moved to the chancel steps and the shortening of the nave creating a community room between the narthex and the main body of the church. The front of the original organ was retained above the community room and a new altar of Yorkshire Stone was created in the side chapel.

In 1989 the Presbytery, occupying what had been Ashbourne House, was split in two. The part nearest the church became the new presbytery and the House of Light took over the other half. At this time the presbytery was refurbished. The hall underneath the church was leased out to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance at this time.

The parish feast day is on October 7th, the feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

William Marshall, the last abbot of Kirkstall Abbey to die in office, came from what is now the Holy Rosary parish. He built the tower of Kirkstall Abbey in 1527, just twelve years before his successor, John Ripley, the 27th and last Abbot, had the sad duty of surrendering the Abbey to King Henry VIII. That the remains of the tower are still visible after 430 years is proof of the solidity of its construction, and a memorial to one who might be considered an early parishioner.

For more about the history of Kirkstall Abbey see:

www.leeds.gov.uk/kirkstallabbey/Kirkstall_Abbey/History.aspx

Another that could be seen as an early parishioner is William Scott of Scott Hall. Scott Hall was situated in Potternewton, just about where Scott Hall Place is now. This had been the home of the Scott family who had originated from Scotland. When the last of the family line died, the hall was demolished and the land was quarried, with the stone used for many Leeds buildings. When the quarry was worked out it was filled in and is now the playing fields on Scott Hall Road. When the A61 was built in the 1930s, it was named Scott Hall as a reminder of the former land use.

William Scott left a “parcel of land” on the corner of Vicar Lane and Kirkgate to the Parish Priest of Leeds Parish Church in 1470, on which a modest mansion was built. The site existed for almost 400 years and was known as Vicar’s Croft, until it was bought in 1857 by the Leeds Corporation and is now the home of the Leeds Markets.

An aerial view of the Church its surroundings can be found at:

www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20021127_4...

Sources:

Silver Jubilee brochure for Holy Rosary Church, Leeds 1937-1962, can be downloaded from here.

www.movinghere.org.uk/search/catalogue.asp?catphase=short...

Gilleghan J (1990) Worship North and East of Leeds, Kingsway Press

The Diocese of Leeds

www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/

Leeds in The Catholic Encyclopedia in 1913:

en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Leeds

The Diocese of Leeds on Wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese_of_Leeds

For more about the history of Kirkstall Abbey see:

www.leeds.gov.uk/kirkstallabbey/Kirkstall_Abbey/History.aspx

Corfe Castle

Corfe Castle, Dorset, United Kingdom

Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates back to the 11th century and commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The first phase was one of the earliest castles in England to be built using stone when the majority were built with earth and timber. Corfe Castle underwent major structural changes in the 12th and 13th centuries.

In 1572, Corfe Castle left the Crown's control when Elizabeth I sold it to Sir Christopher Hatton. 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 on Parliament's orders. Owned by the National Trust, the castle is open to the public and in 2010 received around 190,000 visitors. It is protected as a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Corfe Castle was built on a steep hill in a gap in a long line of chalk hills, created by two streams eroding the rock on either side. The name Corfe derives from the Old English ceorfan, meaning 'a cutting', referring to the gap. The construction of the medieval castle means that little is known about previous activity on the hill. However, there are postholes belonging to a Saxon hall on the site.The hall may be where Edward the Martyr was assassinated in 978.

A castle was founded at Corfe on England's south coast soon after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The royal forest of Purbeck, where William the Conqueror enjoyed hunting, was established in the area.Between 1066 and 1087 William established 36 such castles in England. Sitting as it does on a hill top, Corfe Castle is one of the classic images of a medieval castle, however despite popular imagination, occupying the highest point in the landscape was not the typical position of a medieval castle. In England, a minority are located on hilltops, but most are in valleys; many were near important transport routes such as river crossings.

Unusually for castles built in the 11th century, Corfe was partially constructed from stone indicating it was of particularly high status. A stone wall was built around the hill top, creating an inner ward or enclosure. There were two further enclosures: one to the west, and one that extended south (the outer bailey); in contrast to the inner bailey, these were surrounded by palisades made from timber. At the time, the vast majority of castles in England were built using earth and timber, and it was not until the 12th century that many began to be rebuilt in stone. The Domesday Book records one castle in Dorset; the entry, which reads "Of the manor of Kingston the King has one hide on which he built Wareham castle", is thought to refer to Corfe rather than the timber castle at Wareham. There are 48 castles directly mentioned in the Domesday Book, although not all those in existence at the time were recorded. Assuming that Corfe is the castle in question, it is one of four the Domesday Book attributes to William the Conqueror; the survey explicitly mentions seven people as having built castles, of which William was the most prolific.

Corfe's keep dates from the early 12th century.

In the early 12th century, Henry I began the construction of a stone keep at Corfe. Progressing at a rate of 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 ft) per year for the best part of a decade, the work was complete by 1105. The chalk of the hill Corfe Castle was built on was an unsuitable building material, and instead Purbeck limestone quarried a few miles away was used. By the reign of King Stephen (1135–1154) Corfe Castle was already a strong fortress with a keep and inner enclosure, both built in stone. In 1139, during the civil war of Stephen's reign, Corfe withstood a siege by the king. It is thought that he built a siege castle to facilitate the siege and that a series of earthworks about 290 metres (320 yd) south-south-west of Corfe Castle mark the site of the fortification.

The south-west gatehouse, which allowed access from the outer bailey to the west bailey, dates from the mid 13th century.

During the reign of Henry II Corfe Castle was probably not significantly changed, and records from Richard I's reign indicate maintenance rather than significant new building work. In contrast, extensive construction of other towers, halls and walls occurred during the reigns of John and Henry III, both of whom kept Eleanor, rightful Duchess of Brittany, in confinement ar Corfe. It was probably during John's reign that the Gloriette in the inner bailey was built. The Pipe Rolls, records of royal expenditure, show that between 1201 and 1204 over £750 was spent at the castle, probably on rebuilding the defences of the west bailey with £275 spent on constructing the Gloriette. The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England noted the link between periods of unrest and building at Corfe. In the early years of his reign John faced lost Normandy to the French, and in further building work at Corfe coincided with the political disturbances later in his reign. At least £500 was spent between 1212 and 1214 and may have been focused on the defences of the outer bailey.[15] R. Allen Brown noted that in John's reign "it would seem that though a fortress of the first order might cost more than £7,000, a medium castle of reasonable strength might be built for less than £2,000". The Pipe Rolls show that John spent over £17,000 on 95 castles during his reign spread; he spent over £500 at nine of them, of which Corfe was one. Additional records show that John spent over £1,400 at Corfe Castle.

One of the secondary roles of castles was to act as a storage facility, as demonstrated by Corfe Castle; in 1224 Henry III sent to Corfe for 15,000 crossbow bolts to be used in the siege of Bedford Castle. Following John's work, Henry III also spent over £1,000 on Corfe Castle, in particular the years 1235 and 1236 saw £362 spent on the keep. While construction was under-way, a camp to accommodate the workers was established outside the castle. Over time, this grew into a settlement in its own right and in 1247 was granted a market and fair by royal permission. It was Henry III who ordered in 1244 that Corfe's keep should be whitewashed. Four years previously, he also ordered that the keep of the Tower of London should be whitewashed, and it therefore became known as the White Tower.

In December 1460, during the Wars of the Roses Edmund Beaufort and his army marched from the castle destined for the Battle of Wakefield. During the march the army split at Exeter so the cavalry could reach the north quicker, and on 16 December 1460 some of his men became embroiled in the Battle of Worksop, Nottinghamshire. Beaufort and the Lancastrians won the skirmish.

Post-medieval

The castle remained a royal fortress until sold by Elizabeth I in 1572 to her Lord Chancellor, Sir Christopher Hatton. Ralph Treswell, Hatton's steward, drafted a series of plans of the castle; the documents are the oldest surviving survey of the castle.

Lady Mary Bankes defended the castle during two sieges in the English Civil War.

The castle was bought by Sir John Bankes, Attorney General to Charles I, in 1635. The English Civil War broke out in 1642, and by 1643 most of Dorset was under Parliamentarian control. While Bankes was in Oxford with the king, his men held Corfe Castle in the royal cause. During this time his wife, Lady Mary Bankes, resided at the castle with their children. Parliamentarian forces planned to infiltrate the castle's garrison by joining a hunting party from the garrison on a May Day hunt, however they were unsuccessful. The Parliamentarians gave orders that anyone joining the garrison would have their house burned and that no supplies were to reach the castle. Initially defended by just five people, Lady Bankes was able to get food through and swell the garrison to 80. The Parliamentarian forces numbered between 500 and 600 and began a more thorough siege; it went on for six weeks until Lady Bankes was relieved by Royalist forces. During the siege the defenders suffered two casualties while there were at least 100 deaths among the besieging force.

In the 17th century Corfe Castle was demolished by order of parliament.

The Parliamentarians were in the ascendency so that by 1645 Corfe Castle was one of a few remaining strongholds in southern England that remained under royal control. Consequently it was besieged by a force under the command of a Colonel Bingham. One of the garrison's officers, Colonel Pitman, colluded with Bingham. Pitman proposed that he should go to Somerset to and bring back a hundred men as reinforcements, however the troops he returned with were Parliamentarians in disguise. Once inside, they waited until the besieging force attacked before making a move, so that the defenders were attacked from without and within at the same time. Corfe Castle was captured and Lady Bankes and the garrison were allowed to leave. In March that year, Parliament voted to slight (demolish) the castle, giving it its present appearance. In the 17th century many castles in England were in a state of decline, but the war saw them pressed into use as fortresses one more time. Parliament ordered the slighting of many of these fortifications, but the solidity of their walls meant that complete demolition was often impractical. A minority were repaired after the war, but most were left as ruins. Corfe Castle provided a ready supply of building material, and its stones were reused by the villagers.

After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the Bankes family regained their properties. Rather than rebuild or replace the ruined castle they chose to build a new house at Kingston Lacy on their other Dorset estate near Wimborne Minster.

The first archaeological excavations were carried out in 1883. No further archaeological work was carried out on the site until the 1950s. Between 1986 and 1997 excavations were carried out, jointly funded by the National Trust and English Heritage. Corfe castle is considered to be the inspiration for Enid Blyton's Kirrin Island, which had its own similar castle. It was used as a shooting location for the 1957 film Five on a Treasure Island (film).

Corfe Castle is on a hill overlooking the village which bears its name

Corfe Castle's outer gatehouse

In the 1980s, Ralph Bankes bequeathed the entire Bankes estate to the National Trust, including Corfe Castle, much of the village of Corfe, the family home at Kingston Lacy, and substantial property and land holdings elsewhere in the area. In the summer 2006, the dangerous condition of the keep caused it to be closed to visitors, who could only visit the walls and inner bailey. The National Trust undertook an extensive conservation project on the castle, and the keep was re-opened to visitors in 2008, and the work completed the following year.

During the restoration work, an "appearance" door was found in the keep, designed for Henry I. The National Trust claims that this indicates that the castle would have been one of the most important in England at the time.

The castle is a Grade I listed building, and recognised as an internationally important structure. It is also a Scheduled Monument, a "nationally important" historic building and archaeological site which has been given protection against unauthorised change. The earthworks known as "The Rings", thought to be the remains of a 12th-century motte-and-bailey castle built during a siege of Corfe are also scheduled. In 2006, Corfe Castle was the National Trust's tenth most-visited historic house with 173,829 visitors. According to figures released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, the number of visitors in 2010 had risen to nearly 190,000.

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

This photo taken to What remains of the old castle gate on the island of Malacca in Malaysia.

One Tours the Super Star Virgo Cruise

summer 2007

=======================

Camera: Canon EOS 5D

Lens: Canon EF 24- 105 f/4 IS L

Focal Length: 24mm

Aperture: f/11

Shutter: 1/320

ISO: 200

Exposure: manual

Special thanks to JohnnyG1955 for sharing the below info

www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyg1955/sets/72157604152348131/...

The parish of the Holy Rosary is the seventh oldest mission in the City of Leeds, with the first Church and School of the Holy Rosary built in Barrack Street in 1886 as a Chapel-of-Ease to St Anne’s Cathedral.

As the area from Sheepscar up to Moortown was developed, the population of the parish increased until in 1927 the first steps were taken to build a new church. Rev Canon Mitchell invited architects to submit plans for a new church with Marten & Burnett chosen as the architects for the building. A site was bought on Chapeltown Road in 1930 and then in 1935 test holes were dug in what was then the garden of Ashbourne House on Chapeltown Road. The foundation stone was laid on May 3rd 1936 by Canon Hawkswell. The church was completed at a cost of over £13,000, with Ashbourne House becoming the Presbytery of the new church.

The first mass was celebrated on September 30th 1937 by The Bishop of Leeds, Bishop Henry John Poskitt with Bishop Shine of Middlesbrough. Father Ward was the first priest in the parish.

Among the priests at the first mass in the new church in 1937 was a young priest who had been ordained in Ireland for the Leeds Diocese the previous year. In 1951, this priest, Canon P. O’Meara, became the first Parish Priest of the Holy Rosary, a position he held until his death in 1985. There is a commemorative plaque to Canon O’Meara in the church.

The first priest to be ordained from the Holy Rosary Parish was Father Gerald Creasey who was ordained in 1961.

In 1987 Father James Leavy instigated renovations to the church including: the relocation of the altar, removal of the communion rails, the font being moved to the chancel steps and the shortening of the nave creating a community room between the narthex and the main body of the church. The front of the original organ was retained above the community room and a new altar of Yorkshire Stone was created in the side chapel.

In 1989 the Presbytery, occupying what had been Ashbourne House, was split in two. The part nearest the church became the new presbytery and the House of Light took over the other half. At this time the presbytery was refurbished. The hall underneath the church was leased out to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance at this time.

The parish feast day is on October 7th, the feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

William Marshall, the last abbot of Kirkstall Abbey to die in office, came from what is now the Holy Rosary parish. He built the tower of Kirkstall Abbey in 1527, just twelve years before his successor, John Ripley, the 27th and last Abbot, had the sad duty of surrendering the Abbey to King Henry VIII. That the remains of the tower are still visible after 430 years is proof of the solidity of its construction, and a memorial to one who might be considered an early parishioner.

For more about the history of Kirkstall Abbey see:

www.leeds.gov.uk/kirkstallabbey/Kirkstall_Abbey/History.aspx

Another that could be seen as an early parishioner is William Scott of Scott Hall. Scott Hall was situated in Potternewton, just about where Scott Hall Place is now. This had been the home of the Scott family who had originated from Scotland. When the last of the family line died, the hall was demolished and the land was quarried, with the stone used for many Leeds buildings. When the quarry was worked out it was filled in and is now the playing fields on Scott Hall Road. When the A61 was built in the 1930s, it was named Scott Hall as a reminder of the former land use.

William Scott left a “parcel of land” on the corner of Vicar Lane and Kirkgate to the Parish Priest of Leeds Parish Church in 1470, on which a modest mansion was built. The site existed for almost 400 years and was known as Vicar’s Croft, until it was bought in 1857 by the Leeds Corporation and is now the home of the Leeds Markets.

An aerial view of the Church its surroundings can be found at:

www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20021127_4...

Sources:

Silver Jubilee brochure for Holy Rosary Church, Leeds 1937-1962, can be downloaded from here.

www.movinghere.org.uk/search/catalogue.asp?catphase=short...

Gilleghan J (1990) Worship North and East of Leeds, Kingsway Press

The Diocese of Leeds

www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/

Leeds in The Catholic Encyclopedia in 1913:

en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Leeds

The Diocese of Leeds on Wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese_of_Leeds

For more about the history of Kirkstall Abbey see:

www.leeds.gov.uk/kirkstallabbey/Kirkstall_Abbey/History.aspx

The Postcard

A postally unused Kromo Series postcard that was published by B & D of London EC, Pictorial Postcard Pioneers. The card, which has a divided back, was printed in Saxony.

Transbordeur Bridges

A transbordeur (UK: Transporter) bridge has two tall metal pylons with a horizontal travel way fixed high above the river. A gondola (or platform) is suspended from a shuttle, usually powered by electricity, that runs along the travel way.

The gondola provides transport across the river, while the bridge itself still allows large ship traffic, such as sailing ships, to pass up and down the river. At least twenty-two transbordeur bridges have been built around the world, seven being in France (Bordeaux, Brest, Marseille, Nantes, Rochefort, Rouen, and a miniature one at Montceau-les-Mines). Five were also built in the UK.

Transbordeur bridges have their origin in the need to cross rivers used as maritime highways by sea-going sailing ships, particularly in port towns where providing the long approach ramp required for a very high road deck was impractical. The transbordeur bridge provided an elegant and efficient solution to this problem.

Ferdinand Arnodin

The transbordeur bridge design is generally regarded as being invented by Ferdinand Arnodin, a French industrial engineer who had previously specialised in cable-suspended bridges. He designed about 25 such bridges, inventing their spirally-wound double torsion steel wire ropes, as well as several other improvements to bridge safety and solidity.

The first of this new generation of suspension bridges built by Arnodin was the Pont de Saint Ilpize, Haut-Loire, completed in 1879. It still exists, having been repaired in 2004.

Arnodin was responsible for nine of the eighteen known transbordeur bridges to be built at the end of the 19th. century and early part of the 20th. century.

Destruction of the Rouen Transbordeur

The Rouen Transbordeur was built in 1899. It had a span of 140 m and a pylon height of 70 m. It was destroyed on the 9th. June 1940 by French troops in order to slow the German advance.

The Newport Transporter Bridge

The Newport Transporter Bridge (Welsh: Pont Gludo Casnewydd) crosses the River Usk in Newport, South East Wales. The bridge is the lowest crossing on the River Usk, and is a Grade I listed structure.

It is one of fewer than 10 transporter bridges that remain in use worldwide. It is one of only two operational transporter bridges in Great Britain, the other being the Tees Transporter Bridge.

Crossing fees are currently (2023):

Adult Single – £1.50

Adult Return – £2.00

Child Single – 50p

Child Return – £1.00

Day Ticket (including unlimited trips on the gondola and walking across the top of the bridge) – £4.00.

History of the Newport Transporter Bridge

The bridge was designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin. It was built in 1906 and opened by Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar, on the 12th. September 1906.

Newport Museum holds a silver cigar cutter which was presented to Viscount Tredegar on the day of the opening, as a memento of the occasion.

Design and Principal Dimensions of the Newport Transporter

The design was chosen because the river banks are very low at the desired crossing point (a few miles south of the city centre) which meant that an ordinary bridge would need a very long approach ramp to attain sufficient height to allow ships to pass under, and a ferry could not be used during low tide at the site.

The towers are 73.6 metres (241.5 ft) high, and the height to the underside of the main girder truss above the road level is 49.97 m (163.9 ft).

The span between the centres of the towers is 196.56 m (644.9 ft). Power to propel the transporter platform or gondola is provided by two 35 hp (26.1 kW) electric motors; these drive a large winch, situated in an elevated winding house at the eastern end of the bridge.

The winch is sufficient to drive the gondola through its total travel at a speed of 3 metres per second (9.8 ft/s). The gondola carries motor vehicles, including buses and multi sized lorries, as well as cyclists and pedestrians.

When compared with Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge, the Newport Transporter is 5 m (16 ft) taller, but 23 m (75 ft) less in overall length. It also utilizes approximately 1,400 tons of steel compared to 2,600 tons used to construct Middlesbrough's Transporter (not accounting for steel used in foundations or concrete anchors).

This difference in weight is mainly due to the Newport bridge making use of cables to support and induce tension into its structure to a far greater extent than the Middlesbrough bridge.

The bridge is considered an iconic symbol of the city of Newport, particularly as a mark of its industrial heritage.

As well as a working transport link, the bridge is also open as a tourist attraction – visitors can climb the towers and walk across the upper deck for a small charge.

The bridge forms part of the classified highway network, and is also where route 4 of the National Cycle Network crosses the River Usk and route 47 begins.

The transporter was the focal point of the local millennium celebrations of 2000, where fireworks were fired from its length, and has been featured in several movies and television shows.

It was the centre-piece of the Crow Point Festival in September 2006 to celebrate its centenary. It is used for charity events such as sponsored abseils.

Refurbishment of the Newport Transporter

The bridge was shut down in 1985 because of wear and tear. Following a £3 million refurbishment, it reopened in 1995. However service was suspended again in December 2008 with the bridge facing a £2 million repair bill.

The repair was financed by grants from the Welsh Government, Newport City Council and Cadw. It re-opened on the 30th. July 2010.

Appearances of the Newport Transporter in Popular Media

The transporter bridge provided the setting for some scenes in the 1959 British crime drama film Tiger Bay, which was set in Cardiff and therefore gave audiences the impression that the bridge was in Cardiff and not Newport.

The bridge also appears in the 1972 experimental film The Other Side of the Underneath by Jane Arden, and features extensively in the 1996 video for the song "Talk to Me" by Newport band 60 Ft. Dolls.

The Newport Transporter Visitor Centre

The Visitor Centre is located on the west bank, and features exhibits on the history of the bridge, its construction and other transporter bridges around the world.

The centre features a painting of David Pearce, the former undefeated Welsh and British Heavyweight Boxing Champion 1983–1985. Pearce used to run up the steps of the Transporter Bridge during his training.

The centre is generally open at weekends, but it is currently closed until Summer 2024, while extensive restoration of the bridge structure is performed and a new visitor centre is constructed.

The black Camera is a Ensign. Made in Houghtons LTD. Briitish, London. The littler camera is a No 2 Brownie, Model F, Made in the U. S. A. by Eastman Kodak Co. Rochester, N. Y.

Houghton Ltd.: Ensign Camera, 2 1/4B

Manufacture: Houghton Ltd.

Location: London, England

Model: Ensign Camera

Category: Box Camera

Production Dates: 1900-1920

Film: Plates

Lens: n/a

.

Accessories: N/A

Description: The Ensign cameras are beautifully made and are built entirely of well-seasoned wood and metal. They are novel in construction and exceedingly easy to load. The whole of the spool winding mechanism being withdrawn from the outer case, thus greatly facilitating this operation. te strength and solidity of these cameras is greatly superior to that of other cmaeras of similar type.

www.historiccamera.com/cgi-bin/librarium/pm.cgi?action=di...

Some interesting history about the Ensign company can be found here,

www.ozcamera.com/ensign-box.html

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

Brownie No.2 USA model F green with blue strap

MANUFACTURER: Eastman Kodak Company

PLACE MANUFACTURED: US, NY, Rochester

TEXT ON STRAP: Brownie STRAP COLOR: green

INTRODUCTION DATE: Feb. 1924

PRODUCTION DATES:1929-1933

FILM TYPE: 120 rollfilm IMAGE SIZE: 2¼ x 3¼ inch.

STANDARD LENSES/SHUTTERS: meniscus lens, rotary shutter

Kodak hired Walter Dorwin Teague as Industrial Design Consultant the first changes he made was the introduction of the No. 2 and No. 2A cameras in five new colors.

Camera with blue strap on camera and case several are made like this.

Feb. 1924: Model F; aluminum case replaced card; tripod sockets added; no trigger guard; finer grained leatherette covering, Also manufactured in Canada by Canadian Kodak Co. ltd.

June 1929 - April 1933, available in blue. brown, gray, green, and red; a matching case was also available

www.browniecamera.nl/brownie_no_2_usa_model_f_green_w_blu...

History of Eastman Kodak can be found here,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastman_Kodak

Bauhaus Museum Weimar, Germany

German architect Heike Hanada designed a minimalist concrete museum to celebrate the Bauhaus in Weimar, where the design school was founded 100 years ago. The building is dedicated to the design school creates a physical cultural presence for the Bauhaus in the German city where it was based between 1919 and 1925. Located near the Nazi-era Gauforum square and the Neue Museum Weimar, the Bauhaus Museum is a simple five-storey concrete box broken only with its entrance and a couple of windows. The enclosing shell of light-grey concrete lends the cube stability and dynamic solidity. Equally spaced horizontal grooves run around the facades of the museum, with the words "bauhaus museum" repeated in a band near the top of the building. Hanada designed the museum to be a public building for the city and has attempted to clearly connect it to the neighbouring park. With elements such as plinths, fasciae, portals, stairways and a terrace to the park, the architecture incorporates classical themes that underscore its public character.

The museum contains 2,000 m2 of exhibition space, which will be used to display around 1,000 items from the Weimar Bauhaus collection. A shop and entrance hall is located on the ground floor, with a cafe and toilets below, and three floors dedicated to telling the story of the Bauhaus above. Each of the galleries overlooks double-height spaces and are accessed from a long ceremonial staircase that stretches the height of the building. The visitors ascend a succession of interchanging open spaces and staircases until they finally arrive at the top floor where they are presented with an unobstructed view of the park. The cascading staircases are encased by ceiling-high walls and function as free-standing, enclosed bodies in the interior space. The collection is arranged to inform visitors about the history of the design school, with the gallery on the first floor dedicated to its origins in Weimar and the Bauhaus manifesto that Walter Gropius wrote in 1919. The second floor has exhibits that show how these ideas were implemented, with galleries dedicated to each of the Bauhaus directors – Gropius, Hannes Meyer and Mies van der Rohe – at the top of the building.

The museum in Weimar has opened to coincide with the centenary of the Bauhaus, which was established in the city in 1919. The school was forced to relocate from Weimar to Dessau in 1925, where Gropius designed a new school building for the institution. Following a short time based in Berlin the school closed for good in 1933. Although only open for just over a decade, the Bauhaus is the most influential art and design school in history. The ideas and people associated with the school had an incredible impact on design and architecture, and to mark its centenary we created a series exploring its key works and figures.

Bauhaus Museum Weimar, Germany

German architect Heike Hanada designed a minimalist concrete museum to celebrate the Bauhaus in Weimar, where the design school was founded 100 years ago. The building is dedicated to the design school creates a physical cultural presence for the Bauhaus in the German city where it was based between 1919 and 1925. Located near the Nazi-era Gauforum square and the Neue Museum Weimar, the Bauhaus Museum is a simple five-storey concrete box broken only with its entrance and a couple of windows. The enclosing shell of light-grey concrete lends the cube stability and dynamic solidity. Equally spaced horizontal grooves run around the facades of the museum, with the words "bauhaus museum" repeated in a band near the top of the building. Hanada designed the museum to be a public building for the city and has attempted to clearly connect it to the neighbouring park. With elements such as plinths, fasciae, portals, stairways and a terrace to the park, the architecture incorporates classical themes that underscore its public character.

The museum contains 2,000 m2 of exhibition space, which will be used to display around 1,000 items from the Weimar Bauhaus collection. A shop and entrance hall is located on the ground floor, with a cafe and toilets below, and three floors dedicated to telling the story of the Bauhaus above. Each of the galleries overlooks double-height spaces and are accessed from a long ceremonial staircase that stretches the height of the building. The visitors ascend a succession of interchanging open spaces and staircases until they finally arrive at the top floor where they are presented with an unobstructed view of the park. The cascading staircases are encased by ceiling-high walls and function as free-standing, enclosed bodies in the interior space. The collection is arranged to inform visitors about the history of the design school, with the gallery on the first floor dedicated to its origins in Weimar and the Bauhaus manifesto that Walter Gropius wrote in 1919. The second floor has exhibits that show how these ideas were implemented, with galleries dedicated to each of the Bauhaus directors – Gropius, Hannes Meyer and Mies van der Rohe – at the top of the building.

The museum in Weimar has opened to coincide with the centenary of the Bauhaus, which was established in the city in 1919. The school was forced to relocate from Weimar to Dessau in 1925, where Gropius designed a new school building for the institution. Following a short time based in Berlin the school closed for good in 1933. Although only open for just over a decade, the Bauhaus is the most influential art and design school in history. The ideas and people associated with the school had an incredible impact on design and architecture, and to mark its centenary we created a series exploring its key works and figures.

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

In Roccalumera there is an ancient guard-tower which is commonly called Tower of Sollima, from the name of the noble family of Messina owner of the building in the XVI century.

The Tower is also called Saracen even if there are no recorded information about Arab origins of the building.

The structure, cylindrical shaped and about 13 metres high, showed a conical roof, two windows with modest size and a small door. It was part of the guard and defensive system of Ionian coast against danger of enemy invasions.Outposts communicated to each other by smoke signallings during the day and fire signallings in the night. In the cases of extreme emergency were rung at the same time also alarm bells: people were in this way alarmed and began to escape among near heights. The tower of Roccalumera was considered by the then military architects the best of the area both for its strategical position and the solidity of its structure.After the end of Arab incursions the structure has undergone many changes: windows and the door became larger and was built a wide battlemented terrace which took the place of the previous conical roof.

Antica torre di guardia che viene comunemente indicata come Torre di Sollima, dal nome della nobile famiglia messinese proprietaria della costruzione nel XVI secolo.La torre viene anche chiamata saracena sebbene non esistano notizie documentate sulle origini arabe dell'edificio.La costruzione, a forma cilindrica e alta circa tredici metri, presentava il tetto conico, due finestre di modeste dimensioni e una piccola porta. Essa faceva parte del sistema di guardia e di difesa della riviera ionica contro il pericolo di invasioni nemiche.Gli avamposti comunicavano tra loro attraverso segnalazioni col fumo di giorno e col fuoco di notte. Nei casi di estrema emergenza si suonavano contemporaneamente le campane d'allarme: la popolazione era così avvertita e cominciava la fuga tra le alture vicine.La torre di Roccalumera era considerata dagli architetti militari di allora la migliore della zona come posizione strategica e come solidità della struttura.Dopo la fine delle incursioni arabe la costruzione subì varie modifiche: le finestre e la porta diventarono molto più ampie e fu edificata una larga terrazza, corredata di merli, che sostituì il precedente tetto conico.Successivamente la torre di guardia diventò torre di trasmissione, ospitando un telegrafo a asta.

Roccalumera is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about 180 km east of Palermo and about 25 km southwest of Messina. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 4,145 and an area of 8.8 km².The municipality of Roccalumera contains the frazioni (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Allume and Sciglio.Roccalumera borders the following municipalities: Fiumedinisi, Furci Siculo, Mandanici, Nizza di Sicilia, Pagliara.

Roccalumera è un comune italiano di 4.252 abitanti della provincia di Messina in Sicilia.Aderisce all'Unione dei Comuni delle Valli joniche dei Peloritani.Il toponimo Roccalumera deriva da Roccae Alumeriae cioè Rocca dell'Allume, Rocca dal nome del proprietario feudale, Allume, per indicare le importanti miniere. Il primo nucleo dell'odierno abitato era dunque la borgata di Allume, che tuttavia esisteva già prima del 1610, essendo presente nell'abitato una chiesa in stile bizantino dedicata a San Michele Arcangelo (probabilmente risalente al 1100/1200). Nel 1530 risultano esistere ad Allume ben 115 case, di conseguenza è facile ipotizzare che in quel periodo ivi dimorassero almeno 350/400 abitanti. Possiamo ben dire che questo piccolo borgo traeva il suo sostentamento dalla produzione mineraria, ma anche da agricoltura, allevamento e pastorizia.Nel 1816, con l'abolizione del feudalesimo, il Marchesato di Rocca Alumarie divenne il comune di Roccalumera.A partire dal 1851 che si ebbe un grande incremento edilizio sul litorale, precisamente sulla vecchia trazzera che collegava Messina a Catania (l'attuale S.S. 114, detta anche Corso Umberto I). Molte famiglie aristocratiche di latifondisti provenienti dai paesi collinari circostanti (Pagliara, Locadi, Mandanici, Savoca, Fiumedinisi) si stabilirono lungo il corso principale del paese, edificandovi eleganti e sontuose residenze tuttora visibili; tra queste famiglie si ricordino i Mastroeni, gli Scuderi, gli Argiroffi, i Nicòtina, i Parisi, i De Luca e gli Interdonato. Insomma, si sviluppò l'abitato entro la conformazione che lo denota a tutt'oggi. Sorsero chiese, case, palazzi nobiliari e alcuni opifici dediti alla lavorazione della seta e degli agrumi ricavati negli ubertosi agrumeti locali. Roccalumera (come la vicina Santa Teresa di Riva) divenne un importante centro agricolo, artigianale e commerciale.

Del paese di Roccalumera è figlio Salvatore Quasimodo, premio Nobel per la letteratura: qui vi nacque e morì il padre, e qui nacquero e morirono i nonni paterni. La nonna Rosa Papandrea, originaria di Patrasso, è personaggio chiave al fine di comprendere la sua vena di grande traduttore dei classici, greci e latini. Qui ha ricevuto il battesimo il giorno 22 settembre 1901. A Roccalumera, sulla via Umberto I, sorgeva la casa familiare, edificata da nonno Vincenzo. Qui Salvatore Quasimodo visse per molti anni, venendo sempre ogni estate presso i nonni a fare i bagni nel limpido Mare Jonio, ed a giocare all'ombra della monumentale Torre Saracena. Vi tornava spesso per venire a trovare i parenti. Qui venne subito dopo il conseguimento del Premio Nobel per la letteratura nel 1959, a rendere omaggio all'anziano padre. Qui si conserva la memoria storica di famiglia attraverso la testimonianza viva dei suoi cari, pubblicata nel Parco Letterario Quasimodo e la possibilità di leggere e comprendere il Poeta nel tessuto del suo mondo interiore, in cui si trasfondono i modi di essere di questa famiglia e di questa Terra. A tutt'oggi Roccalumera è un ridente paese balneare, meta ogni anno di migliaia di turisti, richiamati anche dal Parco Letterario Quasimodo che sorge nella Antica Stazione Ferroviaria del paese, trasformata in museo-giardino con Caffè d'arte "QuasimodoExpress" , centro di orientamento, biblioteca e servizi multimediali, nonché nella Torre Saracena, di proprietà dell'agiata famiglia Mastroeni. (Informazioni sul sito www.parcoquasimodo.it) Il 14 dicembre 2009 il Consiglio Comunale di Roccalumera, in seduta solenne convocata nell'Antica Filanda, con voto unanime, ha conferito la cittadinanza onoraria postuma a Salvatore Quasimodo iscrivendo il Poeta nell'anagrafe cittadina, che solo la circostanza del momentaneo soggiorno a Modica per lavoro del padre aveva negato, essendo invece la famiglia di pieno titolo figlia della cittadina di Roccalumera.A Roccalumera sono ispirate liriche, tra le più belle del canto poetico moderno, quali "Vicolo", "Vicino ad una Torre Saracena", "Lettera alla madre" e "Al Padre". Qui Quasimodo ha tradotto testi e ha scritto versi. Nel Parco Letterario Quasimodo sono custoditi il suo studio, la sua sedia di lavoro e cimeli di grande valore. Nel Parco sono custodite interviste televisive del Poeta (concesse in esclusiva dalla RAI), la cerimonia integrale di consegna del Premio Nobel del 10 dicembre 1959 (concessa in esclusiva dalla televisione svedese), con un'installazione che pubblica i documenti desecretati solo quest'anno, (concessi dal Prof. Enrico Tiozzo, dell'Università di Goteborg) degli atti propedeutici alla determinazione di assegnare il Premio Nobel a Quasimodo, (con rivelazioni di grandissima importanza storica), il video della cittadinanza onoraria a Messina (concesso dalla famiglia Davoli), il registro del battesimo del Poeta, ed ora è in corso di allestimento la sezione della cerimonia della cittadinanza onoraria di Roccalumera.

Font : Wikipedia

Valentinian I. AD 364-375. 24 Miliaresia or 48 siliquae (Silver, 66mm, 104.30 g 5), Antioch, 369. D N VALENTINIANVS P F AVG Draped and cuirassed bust of Valentinian I to right, wearing pearl diadem with large jewel at the front. Rev. VOTIS/X/MVLTIS/XX within a laurel wreath ornamented with large disc bearing a star at the top; below, AN Unpublished, but cf. RIC 28ff. for miliarenses and siliquae struck on the same occasion. Unique and of the greatest importance. Minor marks and some porosity, otherwise, extremely fine.

This extraordinary item was the equivalent of two solidi and is the largest officially issued Roman coin preserved (larger sizes are known from literary sources, including gold pieces valued at 100 solidi - 450 grammes in weight). We can be sure that this piece was struck as a gift for a high ranking official as part of the celebration of the completion of Valentinian I’s and Valens’ quinquennalia (their first five years of reign), and the renewal of vows for a further five years. The large size and solidity of this coin reveal considerable signs of age, but the quality of the engraving is truly outstanding, with an obverse portrait of great power and nobility. While of the greatest rarity today, we have to assume that special coins like this would have been issued in considerable numbers as gifts for the many high dignitaries of the Empire; as noted above, we know that very much larger gold and silver pieces existed. Yet this piece is, in fact, the largest surviving Roman coin struck in precious metal - other than medals in bronze, no other Roman coin known today comes close to it in weight - and it helps give us an idea of the kind of munificent gifts the Roman emperors were capable of dispensing. When we read of officials being given several pounds of gold or silver, often in the form of large value coins or medals, we can gain an idea of what magnificent occasions the presentation ceremonies must have been. This piece almost certainly had to have been given to its recipient by either a very high official or the Emperor himself.

NOMOSTEFAF

From www.artic.edu/artexplorer/search.php?tab=2&resource=379:

Quick facts about the artist's paintings of his garden and pond.

During the last 25 years of Monet's life, he painted little else except waterscapes like this, which show the pond in his Japanese-style garden, and the water lilies that float on it. The earliest of these garden paintings show a Japanese bridge, trees, and sky as well as the pond. The view of water lilies here was very unconventional for its time. There is no horizon; the subject is the surface of the pond, which is at once a mirror of the sky above and a window into the world within the pool.

www.artic.edu/artexplorer-assets/resources/425.pdf

An exploration of Monet's water landscapes, painted between 1899 and the painter's death in 1926.

MONET'S WATER LANDSCAPES Twentieth-century art is inconceivable without Claude Monet's paintings of water lilies. They are, in many ways, as important in the history of artistic invention as the Analytic Cubism of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque or the decorative abstraction of Henri Matisse. Painted between 1899 and the painter's death in 1926, they are among the greatest "late" works in the history of art, rivaling those of Titian, Rembrandt, Chardin, and Cezanne as landmarks in the history of easel painting. Monet himself was aware of the importance of his paintings of water lilies and contributed a good deal to our understanding of them. Indeed, he was obsessed by these paintings, which he called "water landscapes" and he painted little else during the last twenty-five years of his life. Monet moved to his long, rustic farmhouse in Giverny in 1883. In 1890, he acquired more property and devoted himself to creating out of it an ideal garden, as distinct from the real, rural subjects he had painted and continued to paint until 1900. The garden was divided into two major parts: the flower garden near the house, and, in a swampy field, the water garden created by diverting a tributary of the Epte River. The flower garden was arranged in a rectilinear pattern of paths, while the water garden was completely curvilinear, encircling a peanut-shaped pond with a Japanese footbridge at the narrow focal point. The flower garden was useful as well as beautiful, providing flowers for the house and studio. The water garden's only purpose was to be beautiful.

The earliest series of water landscapes was painted in 1899 and 1900 and represents the Japanese footbridge from the larger end of the pond. In these paintings, including the Art Institute's Pool of Water Lilies, water lilies cover most of the surface of the pond and leave only small areas for actual reflections. The pictorial space of these early paintings is conventional — the horizon line is clearly fixed so that the water takes up the lower half of the pictorial field, while the bridge and trees that dominate the upper half act as a point of reference that makes the remainder of the space in the sunlit pool legible. These early water landscapes are bounded by trees at the end of the pool, keeping the viewer within the confines of Monet's ideal world. Monet became less and less concerned with conventional pictorial space in his transcription of the water garden. By 1904, the horizon line of the water landscapes had crept to the very top of the canvas, and, by 1906, when Water Lilies was painted, there was no horizon line at all. For Monet, the subject of the paintings increasingly became the surface of the water. At once a mirror of the world above and a window into the world within the pool, Monet's illusionistic surface was in every sense the ultimate pictorial surface.

Monet's paintings of his water garden did not follow a clear progression from conventional landscapes to radical treatments of the surface of both pond and canvas. Monet worked in fits and starts. Sometimes, his eyes troubled him, and he was unable to see correctly. At other times, he was overcome by bouts of depression, boredom, or self-doubt. These had a dramatic effect on his work. We know, for example, that he started a good many more paintings than he finished in his latter years and that he also destroyed works of art because of what he perceived to be their failures. In fact, the painter destroyed at least fifteen major paintings of the water garden just before they were to be exhibited at the Durand-Ruel gallery in Paris in 1908. Few painters of his generation demanded as much of their paintings as did Monet.

Monet's aim was not solely to create a viable pictorial surface. By 1910, he had transcended the conventional boundaries of easel painting and had begun to create immense decorations that culminated in the series of water lilies commissioned by the French government for two oval galleries in the Orangerie. Monet began the series in 1916 and worked on it until his death, creating a number of huge triptychs and other groups of canvases designed to be seen together. No longer was the painter interested in decorative series. Rather, he created immense, unified decorations.

The importance of these paintings cannot be overestimated. They were created at a time in the history of western painting when the conventions of representation, either of solid bodies in space or of illusionistic landscape space, were under scrutiny. It is amazing to be reminded that these canvases were painted nearly four years before Analytical Cubism changed forever concepts of the solidity of the figure in pictorial space, proving that the elderly Monet was as much a radical as the young Picasso or Braque.

The remarkable aspect of Monet's late decorative painting is its facture — the rugged, almost pock-marked surface that Monet had developed by 1916. The hearty spring flowers in Iris by the Pond emanate from a surface so complex and dense that it resembles a roughened plaster wall. Gone is the subtle interplay between the canvas and the painter's marks that was such an important part of Impressionist painting. Never completed, Iris by the Pond was in Monet's studio at the time of his death in 1926. Unlike many of his late canvases, it was not finished by another hand to make it saleable. Hence, when we stand before it, we can experience with remarkable authenticity the inner workings of the artist's mind as he struggled to push painting to a new, transcendent realm.

Bréton brut had as a style been established for a short while prior to this buildings inception, but it was its somewhat trend setting architect that gave widespread acceptability and validity to the movement. It captured the imagination of architects reacting against the recoil of New Humanism and restricted by the economics of the time.

The Unité d'Habitation built in Marseille, France in 1952 is absolutely of its time. Every tower block in the immediate vacinity appears to pay homage to the Unité, They are unashamed of their debt, aesthetic or otherwise, and yet even with benefit hindsight do not appear to be 'better buildings', mere pale imitations.

Steel being consumed in the war effort and the lack of skilled labour in France lead to the choice of concrete, with a more honest and rough finish. Banham says it is ever the more successful due to Corbusiers abandonment of the “pre-war fiction that reinforced concrete was a precise, ‘machine-age’ material”. This notion which had been maintained by extravagant and un-necessary means, such as “lavishing on it skilled labour and specialised equipment beyond anything the economics of the building industry normally permitted”. That is equipment that would give rise to the exacting edges and if these were not achieved then the “roughness and inaccuracies” were plastered over to give a more crisp image, hardly accepting the ‘realities of the situation’. The situation was firmly one of a “messy soup” with “dust, grits and slumpy aggregates, mixed and poured under conditions subject to the vagaries of weather and human fallibility”, hardly an image of high-technology.

The war had also changed Corbusiers perspective of technology’s place in architecture, compare for example the machine for living in, the Ville Savoye (Paris, 1929), compared with schemes such as (although later than the Unité) Notre Dame du Haut built at Ronchamp in 1954. The Unité had been described as “the first modern building that has room for cockroaches”, retort to Le Corbusier stating in a letter to Madame Savoye that “‘Home life today is being paralysed by the deplorable notion that we must have furniture” and that “This notion should be rooted out and replaced by that of equipment”. Banham in his book ‘The New Brutalism’ notes the Unité’s “originalities in sectional organisation”, with its rue Intérieure, apartments with double height spaces all of which in section span the entire width of the block. He also suggests “few buildings anywhere in the world had such a hold on the imagination of young architects especially in England”. Corbusier described his rough concrete style as béton brut, words which (rightly or wrongly) would come to be misinterpreted as representing the New Brutalist style as well as that of béton brut. The solidity of the Unité is furthered from mere concrete security by the setting back of “user-scale elements such as windows and doors” into the concrete frame of the building, giving a sense of a secondary boundary further to the superstructure of the building. As Banham describes it, a building where “word and building stand together in the psychological history of post-war architecture” . He attributes further its success to the “hard glare of the Mediterranean sun” . Something which does not quite translate so well in the greyer skies of Britain, something of the disappointment of driving a new car out of a showroom and home, notwithstanding your home being an equally apt setting.

Roof boss in the 14th century vault of the nave.

The attractive town of Tewkesbury has been dominated by its superb abbey church since the beginning of the 12th century, and we can be forever grateful to its townspeople for purchasing the monastic church in 1540 for £453 for use as their parish church, saving it from the fate that befell countless similar great churches across the land during the turmoil of the Dissolution. It reminds us both how lucky we are to still marvel at it today, yet also how great a loss to our heritage the period wrought when many more such buildings were so utterly plundered as to have gone without trace (the fate of the monastic buildings here and even the lady chapel of the church whose footings are laid out in the grass at the east end).

Tewkesbury Abbey is thus rightly celebrated as one of our greatest non-cathedral churches, and remarkably much of the original Norman church remains substantially intact, most apparently in the great central tower, a fine example of Romanesque architecture adorned with rows of blind-arcading. The west front is dominated by a massive Norman-arched recess (enclosing the somewhat later west window) and the nave and transepts remain largely as originally built, though this is less clear externally owing to the changes made to the windows, nearly all of which were enlarged in the 14th century in the Decorated Gothic style. This century also saw the complete rebuilding of the eastern limb of the church, of a form less common in England with radiating chapels surrounding the eastern apse of the choir (the central lady chapel sadly missing since 1540).

The interior reveals far more of the Romanesque structure with mighty columns supporting the round Norman arches of the nave arcades giving the building a great sense of solidity. The space is further enlivened by the changes made during the 14th century by the stunning vault over the nave (adorned with a rewarding series of figurative bosses) which sits surprisingly well with the Norman work below. Beyond the apsidal choir beckons, and both this and the space below the tower are enriched with stunningly complex vaulted ceilings (replete with further bosses and gilded metal stars), all ablaze with colour and gilding.

There is much to enjoy in glass here, most remarkably a complete set of 14th century glazing in the clerestorey of the choir, seven windows filled with saints and prophets (and most memorably two groups of knights in the westernmost windows on each side). A few of the figures have fared less well over the centuries but on the whole this is a wonderfully rare and well preserved scheme. There is much glass from the 19th century too, with an extensive scheme in the nave of good quality work by Hardman's, and more recently a pair of rich windows by Tom Denny were added in one of the polygonal chapels around the east end.

Some of the most memorable features are the monuments with many medieval tombs of note, primarily the effigies and chantry chapels of members of the Despenser family around the choir (two of the chantries being miniature architectural gems in their own right with exquisite fan-vaulting). In one of the apsidal chapels is the unusual cenotaph to Abbot Wakeman with his grisly cadaver effigy, a late medieval reminder of earthly mortality.

Tewkesbury Abbey is not to be missed and is every bit as rewarding as many of our cathedrals (superior in fact to all but the best). It is normally kept open and welcoming to visitors on a daily basis. I have also had the privilege of working on this great building several times over the years (as part of the team at the studio I once worked for), and have left my mark in glass in a few discreet places.

www.tewkesburyabbey.org.uk/

1992 Tetsuo HARADA

LE 38ème PARALLÈLE

1992s234-38th parallele-kajigawa-Japan

Hauteur 4 m, l’axe 20 m, dallage 25 m2

Granit rose de la Clarté

Kajigawa, Niigata, Japon

La ville de Kajigawa, au Japon, est située sur le 38ème parallèle (latitude). Cette ligne sépare la Corée du Nord de la Corée du Sud.

Tetsuo Harada a réalisé cette sculpture pour la paix et la réconciliation entre les deux Corée. Les deux blocs de la pyramide se rejoignent exactement au niveau du 38ème parallèle et sont unis par une spère.

Le Tricot de la Terre, porteur de paix et d’union, est également présent dans cette sculpture.

Comme Tetsuo Harada, la ville de Kajigawa et le Ministère de l’Equipement qui ont commandé cette sculpture, souhaitent exprimer ce message de paix. Ils invitent les autres villes du monde situées également sur le 38ème parallèle à exprimer cet espoir par la culture, l'art ou le sport.

La ville d’Athènes, également située sur le 38ème parallèle, a adopté ce thème “38ème parallèle, horizon” pour le programme artistique et culturel des Jeux olympiques de 2004. Le 38ème traverse : Italie, Espagne, Portugal, Turquie, Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Chine, Corée, Japon, Californie, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia.

1992

THE 38th PARALLEL

Height 4 m, axis 20 m, paving 25 m2

Pink Granite of Clarity

Kajigawa, Niigata, Japan

The city of Kajigawa, Japan, is located on the 38th parallel (latitude). This line separates North Korea from South Korea.

Tetsuo Harada created this sculpture for peace and reconciliation between the two Koreas. The two blocks of the pyramid meet exactly at the level of the 38th parallel and are joined by a marker.

The Knit of the Earth, bearer of peace and union, is also present in this sculpture.

As Tetsuo Harada, the city of Kajigawa and the Ministry of Equipment who commissioned this sculpture, wish to express this message of peace. They invite the other cities of the world also located on the 38th parallel to express this hope through culture, art or sport.

The city of Athens, also located on the 38th parallel, has adopted this theme "38th parallel, horizon" for the artistic and cultural programme of the 2004 Olympic Games. The 38th parallel runs through: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, China, Korea, Japan, California, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia.

1992 KAGIGAWA-NIIGATA (JAPON)

ASSOCIATION DE VILLE ET DE L’EQUIPEMENT

Le 38ème parallèle sépare la Corée de nord de celle du Sud. Ce lieu particulier devient dans la ville de Kagigawa le symbole de la Paix. Tetsuo HARADA semble tout à fait indiqué en y installant le Tricot de la Terre. Les liens du Tricot de la Terre se tournent vers cette sculpture, forte, pyramidale, rehaussée d’une très belle colonne de granit. La solidité et le temps semble imposer leur sérénité. On y vient à pied, en vélo, en voiture sur cet air destiné à la rencontre et au dialogue. Du train on l’aperçoit petite et de plus en plus grande avant de disparaître dans son écrin de verdure et de rizières. Plus qu’une simple destination le 38ème parallèle entoure la terre et se veut réunir les hommes de Paix. Athènes contribue à donner une suite ...

Sur le 38ème le programme est ouvert pour Hamonten (Chine), San Fransisco (USA), Sado (Japon).

1992 KAGIGAWA-NIIGATA (JAPAN)

CITY AND EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATION

The 38th parallel separates North and South Korea. This particular place becomes in the city of Kagigawa the symbol of Peace. Tetsuo HARADA seems quite appropriate by installing there the Knitting of the Earth. The links of the Knitwear of the Earth turn towards this sculpture, strong, pyramidal, raised by a very beautiful granite column. Solidity and time seem to impose their serenity. One comes there on foot, by bicycle, by car on this air intended for the meeting and the dialogue. From the train you can see it small and getting bigger and bigger before disappearing into its green and rice fields. More than a simple destination, the 38th parallel surrounds the earth and is intended to bring together men of Peace. Athens contributes to give a continuation ...

On the 38th the program is open for Hamonten (China), San Fransisco (USA), Sado (Japan) ...

————————

ASSOCIATION OF THE CITY AND THE EQUIPEMENT

The 38th parallel separtes North and South Korea. The sculpture represents in a way the union of both these countries. This particular site in Kagigawa city becomes symbol of Peace. Tetsuo Harada’s ideas and interests find a great deal of expression here, through the theme of the “Earth Weaving”. The links of the “Earth Weaving” head towards this sculpture, strong pyramidal, matched with an imposing granite column. The solidity and the permanence seem to surround the site with serenity. One can go there walking or by car, the area is dedicated to meetings ans dialogue. By train, one can catch the sight of it, slowly disappearing amongst the setting of greenery and paddy fields. More than a mere destination, th e38th parallel surrounds the earth and aims to unify men of peace. Athena contributes to giving a continuation...

One the theme of the 38th, opportunieies are to be found the Hamonten (China), San Francisco (USA), Sado (Japan)...

El paralelo 38 separa Korea del norte de Korea del sur. La escultura representa en cierta manera la union de estos dos paises. Tetsuo Harada parece completamente la persona indicada en este lugar para construir “La tejeduria de la tierra”. Los vinculos de La tejeduria de la tierra vuelven hara esta escultura, fuerte piramidal realjada par una manestuosa columna de granito. La solidez y la parecn imponer su serenidad. Se viene en este sitio destinado a los encuentros y al dialogo andando, en bicideta, en coche. Desde el tren se preda divisar pequerran mas y mas grande, rapidamente desapareciedo joyera de verdura y de arrozales. Mas que una simple destincion, “el 38 paralelo” rodea toto el planeta y quiere runir los hombres de paz. Alterras contribuye a dar una continuacion...

A proposito des 38 paralelo, los aportunidades quedan abiertas en Hamonten (China), San Francisco (Estados Unidos), Sado (Japon)...

A fairly simple MOC with a knight inspired aesthetic. One of my more fun characters to pose, and a build I'm generally happy with in terms of solidity and flow. I'm also pretty proud of the color blocking. This one, Minnix and Glaereth were all meant to be sister MOCs when they were originally created, hence them all having twin tails. They all quickly ended up with their own design styles though.

YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCb3RekZ8vQDRahrsvGd-cvg

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

Corfe Castle

Corfe Castle, Dorset, United Kingdom

Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates back to the 11th century and commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The first phase was one of the earliest castles in England to be built using stone when the majority were built with earth and timber. Corfe Castle underwent major structural changes in the 12th and 13th centuries.

In 1572, Corfe Castle left the Crown's control when Elizabeth I sold it to Sir Christopher Hatton. 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 on Parliament's orders. Owned by the National Trust, the castle is open to the public and in 2010 received around 190,000 visitors. It is protected as a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Corfe Castle was built on a steep hill in a gap in a long line of chalk hills, created by two streams eroding the rock on either side. The name Corfe derives from the Old English ceorfan, meaning 'a cutting', referring to the gap. The construction of the medieval castle means that little is known about previous activity on the hill. However, there are postholes belonging to a Saxon hall on the site.The hall may be where Edward the Martyr was assassinated in 978.

A castle was founded at Corfe on England's south coast soon after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The royal forest of Purbeck, where William the Conqueror enjoyed hunting, was established in the area.Between 1066 and 1087 William established 36 such castles in England. Sitting as it does on a hill top, Corfe Castle is one of the classic images of a medieval castle, however despite popular imagination, occupying the highest point in the landscape was not the typical position of a medieval castle. In England, a minority are located on hilltops, but most are in valleys; many were near important transport routes such as river crossings.

Unusually for castles built in the 11th century, Corfe was partially constructed from stone indicating it was of particularly high status. A stone wall was built around the hill top, creating an inner ward or enclosure. There were two further enclosures: one to the west, and one that extended south (the outer bailey); in contrast to the inner bailey, these were surrounded by palisades made from timber. At the time, the vast majority of castles in England were built using earth and timber, and it was not until the 12th century that many began to be rebuilt in stone. The Domesday Book records one castle in Dorset; the entry, which reads "Of the manor of Kingston the King has one hide on which he built Wareham castle", is thought to refer to Corfe rather than the timber castle at Wareham. There are 48 castles directly mentioned in the Domesday Book, although not all those in existence at the time were recorded. Assuming that Corfe is the castle in question, it is one of four the Domesday Book attributes to William the Conqueror; the survey explicitly mentions seven people as having built castles, of which William was the most prolific.

Corfe's keep dates from the early 12th century.

In the early 12th century, Henry I began the construction of a stone keep at Corfe. Progressing at a rate of 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 ft) per year for the best part of a decade, the work was complete by 1105. The chalk of the hill Corfe Castle was built on was an unsuitable building material, and instead Purbeck limestone quarried a few miles away was used. By the reign of King Stephen (1135–1154) Corfe Castle was already a strong fortress with a keep and inner enclosure, both built in stone. In 1139, during the civil war of Stephen's reign, Corfe withstood a siege by the king. It is thought that he built a siege castle to facilitate the siege and that a series of earthworks about 290 metres (320 yd) south-south-west of Corfe Castle mark the site of the fortification.

The south-west gatehouse, which allowed access from the outer bailey to the west bailey, dates from the mid 13th century.

During the reign of Henry II Corfe Castle was probably not significantly changed, and records from Richard I's reign indicate maintenance rather than significant new building work. In contrast, extensive construction of other towers, halls and walls occurred during the reigns of John and Henry III, both of whom kept Eleanor, rightful Duchess of Brittany, in confinement ar Corfe. It was probably during John's reign that the Gloriette in the inner bailey was built. The Pipe Rolls, records of royal expenditure, show that between 1201 and 1204 over £750 was spent at the castle, probably on rebuilding the defences of the west bailey with £275 spent on constructing the Gloriette. The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England noted the link between periods of unrest and building at Corfe. In the early years of his reign John faced lost Normandy to the French, and in further building work at Corfe coincided with the political disturbances later in his reign. At least £500 was spent between 1212 and 1214 and may have been focused on the defences of the outer bailey.[15] R. Allen Brown noted that in John's reign "it would seem that though a fortress of the first order might cost more than £7,000, a medium castle of reasonable strength might be built for less than £2,000". The Pipe Rolls show that John spent over £17,000 on 95 castles during his reign spread; he spent over £500 at nine of them, of which Corfe was one. Additional records show that John spent over £1,400 at Corfe Castle.

One of the secondary roles of castles was to act as a storage facility, as demonstrated by Corfe Castle; in 1224 Henry III sent to Corfe for 15,000 crossbow bolts to be used in the siege of Bedford Castle. Following John's work, Henry III also spent over £1,000 on Corfe Castle, in particular the years 1235 and 1236 saw £362 spent on the keep. While construction was under-way, a camp to accommodate the workers was established outside the castle. Over time, this grew into a settlement in its own right and in 1247 was granted a market and fair by royal permission. It was Henry III who ordered in 1244 that Corfe's keep should be whitewashed. Four years previously, he also ordered that the keep of the Tower of London should be whitewashed, and it therefore became known as the White Tower.

In December 1460, during the Wars of the Roses Edmund Beaufort and his army marched from the castle destined for the Battle of Wakefield. During the march the army split at Exeter so the cavalry could reach the north quicker, and on 16 December 1460 some of his men became embroiled in the Battle of Worksop, Nottinghamshire. Beaufort and the Lancastrians won the skirmish.

Post-medieval

The castle remained a royal fortress until sold by Elizabeth I in 1572 to her Lord Chancellor, Sir Christopher Hatton. Ralph Treswell, Hatton's steward, drafted a series of plans of the castle; the documents are the oldest surviving survey of the castle.

Lady Mary Bankes defended the castle during two sieges in the English Civil War.

The castle was bought by Sir John Bankes, Attorney General to Charles I, in 1635. The English Civil War broke out in 1642, and by 1643 most of Dorset was under Parliamentarian control. While Bankes was in Oxford with the king, his men held Corfe Castle in the royal cause. During this time his wife, Lady Mary Bankes, resided at the castle with their children. Parliamentarian forces planned to infiltrate the castle's garrison by joining a hunting party from the garrison on a May Day hunt, however they were unsuccessful. The Parliamentarians gave orders that anyone joining the garrison would have their house burned and that no supplies were to reach the castle. Initially defended by just five people, Lady Bankes was able to get food through and swell the garrison to 80. The Parliamentarian forces numbered between 500 and 600 and began a more thorough siege; it went on for six weeks until Lady Bankes was relieved by Royalist forces. During the siege the defenders suffered two casualties while there were at least 100 deaths among the besieging force.

In the 17th century Corfe Castle was demolished by order of parliament.

The Parliamentarians were in the ascendency so that by 1645 Corfe Castle was one of a few remaining strongholds in southern England that remained under royal control. Consequently it was besieged by a force under the command of a Colonel Bingham. One of the garrison's officers, Colonel Pitman, colluded with Bingham. Pitman proposed that he should go to Somerset to and bring back a hundred men as reinforcements, however the troops he returned with were Parliamentarians in disguise. Once inside, they waited until the besieging force attacked before making a move, so that the defenders were attacked from without and within at the same time. Corfe Castle was captured and Lady Bankes and the garrison were allowed to leave. In March that year, Parliament voted to slight (demolish) the castle, giving it its present appearance. In the 17th century many castles in England were in a state of decline, but the war saw them pressed into use as fortresses one more time. Parliament ordered the slighting of many of these fortifications, but the solidity of their walls meant that complete demolition was often impractical. A minority were repaired after the war, but most were left as ruins. Corfe Castle provided a ready supply of building material, and its stones were reused by the villagers.

After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the Bankes family regained their properties. Rather than rebuild or replace the ruined castle they chose to build a new house at Kingston Lacy on their other Dorset estate near Wimborne Minster.

The first archaeological excavations were carried out in 1883. No further archaeological work was carried out on the site until the 1950s. Between 1986 and 1997 excavations were carried out, jointly funded by the National Trust and English Heritage. Corfe castle is considered to be the inspiration for Enid Blyton's Kirrin Island, which had its own similar castle. It was used as a shooting location for the 1957 film Five on a Treasure Island (film).

Corfe Castle is on a hill overlooking the village which bears its name

Corfe Castle's outer gatehouse

In the 1980s, Ralph Bankes bequeathed the entire Bankes estate to the National Trust, including Corfe Castle, much of the village of Corfe, the family home at Kingston Lacy, and substantial property and land holdings elsewhere in the area. In the summer 2006, the dangerous condition of the keep caused it to be closed to visitors, who could only visit the walls and inner bailey. The National Trust undertook an extensive conservation project on the castle, and the keep was re-opened to visitors in 2008, and the work completed the following year.

During the restoration work, an "appearance" door was found in the keep, designed for Henry I. The National Trust claims that this indicates that the castle would have been one of the most important in England at the time.

The castle is a Grade I listed building, and recognised as an internationally important structure. It is also a Scheduled Monument, a "nationally important" historic building and archaeological site which has been given protection against unauthorised change. The earthworks known as "The Rings", thought to be the remains of a 12th-century motte-and-bailey castle built during a siege of Corfe are also scheduled. In 2006, Corfe Castle was the National Trust's tenth most-visited historic house with 173,829 visitors. According to figures released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, the number of visitors in 2010 had risen to nearly 190,000.

Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini number 892 (SN08 BXE) works Service 26 and great to see Marine depot getting a share of the weinrot und weiss Classic livery. This brings a welcome change for photographers who aspire to vary their locations.

Service 26 has its own distinctive 'Connect' livery of Castle Cement red-topping (301 to 315) and also the ten art-design Zoom to the Zoo vehicles 316-325. With a noticeable increase in Trident vehicles also appearing on this route, and now the new group of B9TL's in madder (from 891), it would appear the solidity of Connect Service 26 as a brand is breaking up a little.

Here 892 waits for its new driver at the traditional King's Road change-over, just where the former Portobello power station was once situated.

The pair of windows in St Catherine & St John the Baptist's chapel off the south ambulatory were reglazed in 2002 with stunning new glass by Tom Denny. They were created by to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the monks’ arrival at the Abbey, the theme being the Benedictine motto ‘to work is to pray’.

www.thomasdenny.co.uk/tewkesbury-abbey-two-windows

The attractive town of Tewkesbury has been dominated by its superb abbey church since the beginning of the 12th century, and we can be forever grateful to its townspeople for purchasing the monastic church in 1540 for £453 for use as their parish church, saving it from the fate that befell countless similar great churches across the land during the turmoil of the Dissolution. It reminds us both how lucky we are to still marvel at it today, yet also how great a loss to our heritage the period wrought when many more such buildings were so utterly plundered as to have gone without trace (the fate of the monastic buildings here and even the lady chapel of the church whose footings are laid out in the grass at the east end).

Tewkesbury Abbey is thus rightly celebrated as one of our greatest non-cathedral churches, and remarkably much of the original Norman church remains substantially intact, most apparently in the great central tower, a fine example of Romanesque architecture adorned with rows of blind-arcading. The west front is dominated by a massive Norman-arched recess (enclosing the somewhat later west window) and the nave and transepts remain largely as originally built, though this is less clear externally owing to the changes made to the windows, nearly all of which were enlarged in the 14th century in the Decorated Gothic style. This century also saw the complete rebuilding of the eastern limb of the church, of a form less common in England with radiating chapels surrounding the eastern apse of the choir (the central lady chapel sadly missing since 1540).

The interior reveals far more of the Romanesque structure with mighty columns supporting the round Norman arches of the nave arcades giving the building a great sense of solidity. The space is further enlivened by the changes made during the 14th century by the stunning vault over the nave (adorned with a rewarding series of figurative bosses) which sits surprisingly well with the Norman work below. Beyond the apsidal choir beckons, and both this and the space below the tower are enriched with stunningly complex vaulted ceilings (replete with further bosses and gilded metal stars), all ablaze with colour and gilding.

There is much to enjoy in glass here, most remarkably a complete set of 14th century glazing in the clerestorey of the choir, seven windows filled with saints and prophets (and most memorably two groups of knights in the westernmost windows on each side). A few of the figures have fared less well over the centuries but on the whole this is a wonderfully rare and well preserved scheme. There is much glass from the 19th century too, with an extensive scheme in the nave of good quality work by Hardman's, and more recently a pair of rich windows by Tom Denny were added in one of the polygonal chapels around the east end.

Some of the most memorable features are the monuments with many medieval tombs of note, primarily the effigies and chantry chapels of members of the Despenser family around the choir (two of the chantries being miniature architectural gems in their own right with exquisite fan-vaulting). In one of the apsidal chapels is the unusual cenotaph to Abbot Wakeman with his grisly cadaver effigy, a late medieval reminder of earthly mortality.

Tewkesbury Abbey is not to be missed and is every bit as rewarding as many of our cathedrals (superior in fact to all but the best). It is normally kept open and welcoming to visitors on a daily basis. I have also had the privilege of working on this great building several times over the years (as part of the team at the studio I once worked for), and have left my mark in glass in a few discreet places.

www.tewkesburyabbey.org.uk/

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

One of the real pleasures of Flickr is finding out so much more about the areas you thought you knew.

I have been to Wymondham a few times, delivered beer to a hotel (more of that another time) and a friend used to run the Railway Inn near the station, but I hadn't really explored the town.

But having seen a friend's shots, I really thought I should go back and look at it anew. And then there was this building, the Abbey Church with two towers, ruins and all the associated history.

Whatever you think of the works inside, it is as a complete building, something to leave me, at least, in awe at the beauty. Of course, it might not please everyone, but it does me.

Many thanks to Sarah and Richard for taking me here.

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

This massive church and its famous twin towers will be familiar to anyone who has ever been within five miles of Wymondham, pronounced Win-d'm; its presence always there above the roof tops, and still there on the horizon when the rooftops can no longer be seen. Closer to, it is like a mighty city on a hill. It is often referred to as Wymondham Abbey, which isn't entirely correct; but there was an Abbey here, and you can see a scattering of remains in the fields between the church and the river, gradually reduced over the centuries as the stone and rubble were taken away for use elsewhere.

We came to Wymondham on a day that was breathtakingly cold; although the temperature was hovering around freezing, there was a biting east wind that made it feel colder still. Hence, the clarity of the light in the photographs above. The top photograph, taken from the south on the far bank of the river, is worth a second glance, because it provides a number of clues as to how this extraordinary and magnificent building came to be the way it is today.

In the beginning, there was a Benedictine Priory, an offshoot of the Abbey of St Albans. It was founded here because, after the Conquest, William I granted the lands of Wymondham to the Duc d'Albini, and the Duke's brother was Abbot of St Albans. Part of the project consisted of building a massive Priory church, much bigger than the one you see today. In style, it was like the Abbey church of Bury St Edmund, or Ely Cathedral. It was a cruciform church about 70 metres long, and had twin west towers - you can see something similar today at Kings Lynn St Margaret. As at St Margaret, there was a third tower above the central crossing, the chancel extending a long way eastwards, and transepts that were as tall as the nave roof. It was completed during the 12th century.

You can see a surviving trace of the south-west tower in the photograph above. The base of its northern wall rises above the roofline at the western end of the clerestory, just beside the current west tower. The central crossing tower, however, was built to the east of the current east tower, the chancel extending eastwards beyond it.

D'Albini intended the church to serve the parish as well as the Priory, but this was not managed without recourse to the advice of Pope Innocent IV, who granted the people use of the nave and the north aisle, the Priory retaining the south aisle, transepts and chancel.

However, when the central crossing tower became unsafe in the late 14th century and had to be taken down, the Priory rebuilt it to the west of the crossing, actually within the nave. This is the east tower that you see today, now a shell. In turn, the parish extended the church further west, demolishing the two west towers and replacing them with the massive structure you see today. It really is huge; although it is not as tall as the church tower at Cromer, its solidity lends it a vastness not sensed there.

When the new east tower was built, the western face of it cut off the nave from the chancel, creating two separate spaces. When the west tower was built, it blocked off the former west window between the old towers. Because of this, Wymondham is the only medieval parish church in Norfolk, and one of the few in England, that has no window at either end.

Wymondham Priory became an Abbey in 1448, and seems to have lived its final century peaceably enough before being closed and asset-stripped by Henry VIII in the 1530s. The church then became solely the charge of the parish; the eastern parts, apart from the tower, were demolished.

Still without parapet or panelling, the west tower was never finished; but it features in the turbulent history of mid 16th century England because William Kett, one of the leaders of Kett's Rebellion, was hung from the top of it by Edward VI's thought police, a reminder of just how closely church and state became allied during the Reformation. It did give me pause for thought - hanging your enemy from a church tower seems such an obvious thing to do when you want to make a point. I wonder just how many more times it happened to less notable victims over the centuries, on church towers up and down the land?

You enter today through the great north porch, which is similar to that nearby at Hethersett, even to the extent of having an almost identical series of bosses. They depict rosary scenes in the life of Christ and the Blessed Virgin.

As I said, we came here on a spectacularly cold day, but I was delighted to discover that the interior of the church was heated, even on a Saturday. The church attracts a considerable number of visitors, as you might expect; but I still thought this was a nice gesture.

Wymondham church is above all else an architectural wonder; but in many ways this is a simple building, easy to explore and satisfying to visit. It has the feel of a small Anglican cathedral in that there is a pleasing mix of ancient Norman architecture and modern Anglican triumphalism; as in a cathedral, there are open spaces, and the old pews have been replaced with modern chairs, which almost always seems to work well. The glorious arcading, triforium and clerestory create a sense of great height; this, coupled with the lack of east or west windows, can make you feel rather boxed in, but I found I quite liked that; it made the place seem more intimate, despite its size.

The modern, triumphant feel to the place is largely owing to the vast reredos by Ninian Comper. This is generally considered to be his finest single work, and forms the parish war memorial. It was built and gilded during the 1920s and 1930s, and you have to say it is magnificent. It consists of three tiers of saints, with a glorious Christ in Majesty topping the tiers under the great tester. It was never completed; the space where the retable should be is now hidden by curtains.

The rood and beam, a bay to the west, is also Comper's work, and it is hard to conceive that work of this kind and to this scale will ever again be installed in an English church. The low sun, slanting through the south windows of the clerestory, picked out the gilding, and clever lighting from underneath helped to put Comper's vision of Heaven into practice. The row of candlesticks on the altar leaves you in no doubt in which wing of the Church of England Wymondham finds itself.

Comper's glory shouldn't distract you from the early 16th century facade above the sedilia. It is terracotta, and probably from the same workshop as the Bedingfield tombs at Oxborough. Here you see what might have happened to English church architecture if theReformation hadn't intervened. Looking west from the sanctuary, the original west window is clearly discernible, now home to the organ.

If Comper's work is a little rich for you, you may prefer the north aisle, which is wide enough to be a church in itself. Cleared of clutter, a few rows of chairs face a gorgeous early 20th century triptych depicting Mary and John at the foot of the cross. The Madonna and child towards the west is also Comper's, but the 1930s towering font cover on the typical East Anglian 15th century font is not; it is by Cecil Upcher. The south aisle is truncated, the eastern bays now curtained off; but here are the few medieval survivals in glass. From slightly later, but the other side of the Reformation divide, is an Elizabethan text on the arcade. It probably marks the point to which the pulpit was moved by the Anglicans in the 16th century.

St Mary and St Thomas of Canterbury is a church that it is easy to admire, and it certainly impressed me. Perhaps, it is not so easy a building to love. Inevitably, there is something rather urban in its grandeur, and even the warmth of the heating couldn't take the edge off the remoteness and anonymity you inevitably find in such a space.

However, the friendliness of the people on duty helped to make up for this. The area beneath the west tower has been converted into a shop, and the nice lady working there was very chatty and helpful. I have to say that I think it would concentrate my mind a bit, knowing that mighty weight was above me. The shop itself is good of its kind, selling books and religious items rather than just souvenirs, and more icons and rosaries than you would normally expect to find in an establishment of the Church of England.

The lady said that she was a Methodist really, and found the services rather formal, but she'd started coming to the Abbey because her daughter went there. "You ought to come, Mum, we're just like real Catholics!", she giggled, as she recalled her daughter's words. As a 'real Catholic' myself, I couldn't help thinking that we would have stripped out Comper's reredos long ago, and Masses would be accompanied by guitars and percussion, possibly with a modicum of clapping and the help of an overhead projector screen; but I kept my counsel.

Simon Knott, January 2006

www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/wymondham/wymondhamcofe.htm

If there's one place in London that merits an Art Deco Fair, it's Eltham Palace,

with its Art Deco entrance hall, created by the textile magnates the Courtaulds in 1936. The much-loved weekend fair is held twice a year - once in the summer and a second time in September - giving visitors the chance to buy original 1930s objects, from furniture and collectables to hats, handbags and jewellery. Browse the original 1930s objects, from jewellery to furniture while you take in the magnificent Art Deco surroundings of the Palace. Ticket price includes entry to Eltham Palace and gardens and you can see the house by guided tour.

About Eltham Palace

Restored by English Heritage, this fantastic house boasts Britain's finest Art Deco interior and offers visitors the chance to indulge in the opulence of 1930s Britain whilst at the same time experiencing the solidity and symbolism of medieval London. Eltham Palace began to evolve during the 15th century when Edward IV commissioned the Great Hall, which survives today as a testament to the craftsmanship of the period. More about Eltham Palace

www.londontown.com/LondonEvents/ArtDecoFair/d59a2/

Larger screen, clearer viewing the device’s bigger screen reduces the strain on your eyes, boosting comfort for a variety of tasks. Its Full HD display lets you lose yourself in immersive games and videos. And its thin bezel and large screen complement its eye-catching design. Solidity design its slim body is easy to grip and its convenient build means you can use it anywhere – on the sofa, in bed or at your desk. With premium metal on its top, its design is bound to turn heads.

ejobber.co.uk/product/Samsung-Chromebook-XE350XBA-39-6-cm...

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leitha lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

Ah! The Orion! Those of us of a certain age, and who grew up with Edinburgh's municipal bus services would well recall this style of MCW bus bodywork as Edinburgh bought many hundreds of these on Leyland chassis to replace the city's tram system in the mid-1950s. Lightweight they were - famously described as "monstrous masses of shivering tin" - and especially when viewed against the solidity of the steel and timber built tramcars they replaced. However they served the city well into the 1970s and many other operators bought these buses.

Walk down this road for ten minutes to reach Haymarket and the gateway to Edinburgh's west end. The buildings on the left are traditional tenement flat blocks, very commonin Scottish cities. Most of them (like my own one which is close by this scene) are Victorian. For a while last century they were out of fashion as people with more money moved out of the city to the boring suburbs, but now they are extremely sought after and have more than tripled in value since I bought mine a few years ago.

They also tend to last well because for the most part that stonework you see on the front there isn't simply a thin facing over brick, it is actually composed of huge blocks of sandstone. Closer to the city centre many older, Georgian buildings have also stood the test of time because the engineers and architects built them with big blocks of native Scottish stone. I like the feeling of solidity and history in my own humble little flat - its nothing special and yet I like the idea that when it was built Victoria was on the throne, horses and carts were still common on the street outside and we hadn't even learned to fly yet. Inside the common stairwells you can sometimes still see the old pipe fixtures for the original gas lighting.

The tall wall on the right divides Dalry Road from the local cemetery, which is now pretty much full and unused - the old graves in the centre have been deliberately allowed to become overgrown to provide a miniature urban wildlife sanctuary and when walking in there winter or summer you can hear rustling from the heavy undergrowth of small mammals and birds and occassionally even see a bat flying. Saddest memorial I've seen in there is to one soldier of a famous Scottish regiment who died in the First World War, the so-called War to End All Wars; below his name is the name of his son, serving in the same regiment and killed in the war that came after that. At the edge of the graveyard further up there is a former railway bridge which now carries a raised express road in and out of the city centre. You can see some pics of the graveyard in this set here: www.flickr.com/photos/woolamaloo_gazette/sets/72157600451....

River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.

These images were taken in the first week of November 2016.

These are the critical stabilisation works at the Silverbridge site, adjacent to the N11 dual-carriageway:

Back in November 2014, we observed bank stabilisation works here involving excavation, repair and building of a support wall structure -- carried out by JONS Construction on behalf of the National Roads Authority.

We would occasionally catch sight of this work in the distance. Quite an impressive little piece of structural engineering.

Having built a retaining concave wall, backfilled for solidity, they were also drilling, fixing and sealing ground anchors to pin the entire structure together.

flic.kr/p/paSU8U

Now we see that further works are being undertaken.

Word has it that extra ‘stabilisation work’ has to be done to protect the integrity of the riverbank. At the section here we can see that there’s not much space between the edge of the rock face and the Armco at the side of the dual-carriageway.

Have yet to determine what precisely that will entail. Serious work to reinforce the side access ramp down to the river.

The N11 carriageway runs adjacent to this sunken side of the riverbank -- barely 2 (large) paces divide the two. Even with twin strips of Armco along the roadside, it's perilously close. Traffic speeds along this stretch (maximum speed 100 kmp). Only needs a touch from a heavy vehicle to cause secondary impact, which (worst possible scenario) could result in something going airborne.

Working in these confined spaces puts a premium of safety and communication.

The guys have hard-filled a working shelf on the riverbed, to allow machinery access to the rockface. Obviously some serious drilling is called for before a form of extra 'pinning' is put in place.

They have sunk a series of hollowed tubes/casings -- obviously to form the foundations of a more extensive structure.

And some investigative work around the transverse buttress of the access bridge, parallel to the heavy-duty pipeline carrying water down from the Vartry reservoir.

At a (rough) guess -- I'd say the foundations were sunk to a depth of approx 4+m.

With such secure foundations in place, they would then look to construct a substantial bank of material, and/or retaining wall (similar to that in place further along the roadside bank).

=================================================

Previously the guys drilled and sunk 4+metre deep reinforced tubing and rods along a newly laid concrete base. Those stubs are now being used to attach steel rod cradles -- which, in turn, I believe will be filled with poured concrete. Variation on the method they've used elsewhere along this stretch of the river.

At this time of year, it's not a particularly nice place to be working in. The low, late sun never swings around sufficiently to light+warm this stretch. The day we were there, the air was barely above freezing point -- so, gotta be bloody cold down in that recess. No type of construction gear, or footwear, is going to keep the cold from seeping into your bones.

And, on a related point, it is a particularly tough spot for the inhabitants of the 3 traveller community dwellings adjacent to this work. Blood cold, and eternally damp.

Othon Friesz was a French artist of the Fauvist movement. It was while he was at the Lycée that he met his lifelong friend Raoul Dufy. He and Dufy studied at the Le Havre School of Fine Arts in 1895-96 and then went to Paris together. In Paris, Friesz met Henri Matisse, Albert Marquet, and Georges Rouault. Like them he rebelled against the academic teaching of Bonnat and became a member of the Fauves, exhibiting with them in 1907. The following year Friesz left Paris to return to Normandy and to a much more traditional style of painting, since he had discovered that his personal goals in painting were firmly rooted in the past. He returned to Paris in 1919 and remained there until his death in 1949, painting in a style completely removed from that of his earlier colleagues and his contemporaries. Having abandoned the lively arabesques and brilliant colors of his Fauve years, Friesz returned to the more sober palette he had learned in Le Havre from his professor Charles Lhuillier and to an early admiration for Poussin, Chardin, and Corot. He painted in a manner that respected Cézanne's ideas of logical composition, simple tonality, solidity of volume, and distinct separation of planes.

In Roccalumera there is an ancient guard-tower which is commonly called Tower of Sollima, from the name of the noble family of Messina owner of the building in the XVI century.The Tower is also called Saracen even if there are no recorded information about Arab origins of the building. The structure, cylindrical shaped and about 13 metres high, showed a conical roof, two windows with modest size and a small door. It was part of the guard and defensive system of Ionian coast against danger of enemy invasions.Outposts communicated to each other by smoke signallings during the day and fire signallings in the night. In the cases of extreme emergency were rung at the same time also alarm bells: people were in this way alarmed and began to escape among near heights. The tower of Roccalumera was considered by the then military architects the best of the area both for its strategical position and the solidity of its structure.After the end of Arab incursions the structure has undergone many changes: windows and the door became larger and was built a wide battlemented terrace which took the place of the previous conical roof.

Antica torre di guardia, comunemente detta “Torre Saracena”. La costruzione risale probabilmente all’inizio del ‘400 e non è improbabile che l’aggettivo “saracena” stia per significare “torre antica”.Le funzioni della torre, costruita nei pressi della spiaggia, erano di avvistamento, di prima difesa e all’occorrenza offriva rifugio ai contadini qualora ci fossero incursioni dei pirati. Le segnalazioni di pericolo si effettuavano di giorno con il fumo, e di notte con il fuoco acceso in apposite padelle. Alla torre si accedeva tramite una scala a corda. Scomparso il pericolo dei pirati, la torre fu adibita a torre telegrafo e metteva in comunicazione la contrada detta “Zia Paola”, nome derivato dalla locanda dove i viandanti solevano fermarsi per rifocillarsi, posta sulla Marina di Pagliara, con la cittadina di Barcellona, poco distante da Messina.el 1578 la “Torre saracena” presentava una struttura con un tetto conico, due lucernari sulla parte superiore, una porticina d’ingresso al di sopra della zoccolatura e, di fianco, alla stalla per il “cavallaio”, visibile ancora oggi.Dopo il 1830 furono aperte, nella parte superiore, due finestre a sesto acuto in pietra bianca e il tetto fu arricchito da una notevole merlatura che fungeva da terrazzo. La “Torre saracena” è divenuta nel tempo il simbolo di Roccalumera.Salvatore Quasimodo le fu particolarmente legato, dedicandole la poesia “Vicino ad una Torre Saracena per il fratello morto”, riprodotta su una lapide di marmo posta alla base della torre.

After the first black-and-white test film of my Rolleiflex 3.5F model-3 (or « K4F », see details given below), I decided to do a negative-color film with a roll of Kodak Ektar 100. I expected for some weather improvements but finally it was essentially overcast during the session giving a very soft light to the scene. The sun came after on my way back for a moment only.

For all the frames, the Rolleiflex was equipped with the Rollei RII protecting filters (UV) on both lenses and the taking lens additionally equipped with the Rollei RII original shade hood. The film was exposed for 100 ISO. Light-metering was done using a Minolta Autometer III equipped with a 10° finder for selective measures privileging the shadow areas or with the integrating white dome for incident light metering. The camera was held using the brand-new leather neck strap for the Rolleiflex that I received from China.

View Nr. 4: 1/125s, f/6.3 focusing @ 6m

Phoenix Canariensis, aux Grandes Serres Tropicales, March 25, 2025

Parc de la Tête d'Or

69006 Lyon

France

After the view #12 exposed, the film was fully rolled to the taking spool and was developed using the C41 protocol by a local laboratory service (one-hour service).

Digitizing was made using a Sony A7 camera (ILCE-7, 24MP) held on a Minolta vertical macro stative device and adapted to a Minolta MD Macro lens 1:3.5 f=50mm. The light source was a LED panel (approx. 4x5') CineStill Cine-lite fitted with film holder "Lobster" to maintain flat the film.

The RAW files obtained were inverted within the latest version available of Adobe software Lightroom Classic (14.2) and edited to the final jpeg pictures without intermediate file. They are presented either as printed files with frame or the full size JPEG together with some documentary smartphone pictures.

About the camera

I got this stunning Rolleiflex 3.5F from a French artist near Paris, France. The camera came in it original box and leather bag with accessories and a reference book year 1955. The whole kit is in a remarkable state of conservation.

The Rolleiflex 3.5F is the model-3 that Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke produced in about 50.000 units in Germany from 1960 to 1965. The Rolleiflex originates from 1928 for the very first model and was produced still in a limited number until the years 2000’s. The 3.5F model 3 was available etheir with a Schneider-Kreuznak Xenotar taking lens or the Call Zeiss Planar 1:3.5 f=75mm as this camera. The Rolleiflex, that was a quality reference for many professional photographers in the 50’s for the medium-format 6X6 camera’s. Many worked both with the Leica M3 (starting from 1954) as small-format 24x36mm camera and the Rolleiflex for other appliances. The Rolleiflex remained one of the most iconic and trusted camera of all the times.

This specific 3.5F is labelled on the right side with nice badge made of enameled brass « T » « Telos » that was the exclusive first French importer of Rollei to France until 1972.

The Rolleiflex 3,5 F model 3 is equipped with the Synchro-Compur central shutter MXV CR00 with cone-wheel differential. The distance scale is only in meters here with automatic DOF indication.

Serial number with ‘3,5F’ prefix on of top name shield.

I detailed the camera and accessories and studied carefully the user manual and the book to be more familiar with this beauty before waiting for a quiet moment to prepare for a test film. I did not trust the solidity of the old leather original neck strap to carry this precious machine on the field to avoid the real risk to drop the camera. I first used my modern Peak-Design Leach safe strap before using a Chinese nice remake of the original leather strap, reproducing even the famous « crocodile » connectors.

1992 Tetsuo HARADA

LE 38ème PARALLÈLE

Hauteur 4 m, l’axe 20 m, dallage 25 m2

Granit rose de la Clarté

Kajigawa, Niigata, Japon

La ville de Kajigawa, au Japon, est située sur le 38ème parallèle (latitude). Cette ligne sépare la Corée du Nord de la Corée du Sud.

Tetsuo Harada a réalisé cette sculpture pour la paix et la réconciliation entre les deux Corée. Les deux blocs de la pyramide se rejoignent exactement au niveau du 38ème parallèle et sont unis par une spère.

Le Tricot de la Terre, porteur de paix et d’union, est également présent dans cette sculpture.

Comme Tetsuo Harada, la ville de Kajigawa et le Ministère de l’Equipement qui ont commandé cette sculpture, souhaitent exprimer ce message de paix. Ils invitent les autres villes du monde situées également sur le 38ème parallèle à exprimer cet espoir par la culture, l'art ou le sport.

La ville d’Athènes, également située sur le 38ème parallèle, a adopté ce thème “38ème parallèle, horizon” pour le programme artistique et culturel des Jeux olympiques de 2004. Le 38ème traverse : Italie, Espagne, Portugal, Turquie, Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Chine, Corée, Japon, Californie, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia.

1992

THE 38th PARALLEL

Height 4 m, axis 20 m, paving 25 m2

Pink Granite of Clarity

Kajigawa, Niigata, Japan

The city of Kajigawa, Japan, is located on the 38th parallel (latitude). This line separates North Korea from South Korea.

Tetsuo Harada created this sculpture for peace and reconciliation between the two Koreas. The two blocks of the pyramid meet exactly at the level of the 38th parallel and are joined by a marker.

The Knit of the Earth, bearer of peace and union, is also present in this sculpture.

As Tetsuo Harada, the city of Kajigawa and the Ministry of Equipment who commissioned this sculpture, wish to express this message of peace. They invite the other cities of the world also located on the 38th parallel to express this hope through culture, art or sport.

The city of Athens, also located on the 38th parallel, has adopted this theme "38th parallel, horizon" for the artistic and cultural programme of the 2004 Olympic Games. The 38th parallel runs through: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, China, Korea, Japan, California, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia.

1992 KAGIGAWA-NIIGATA (JAPON)

ASSOCIATION DE VILLE ET DE L’EQUIPEMENT

Le 38ème parallèle sépare la Corée de nord de celle du Sud. Ce lieu particulier devient dans la ville de Kagigawa le symbole de la Paix. Tetsuo HARADA semble tout à fait indiqué en y installant le Tricot de la Terre. Les liens du Tricot de la Terre se tournent vers cette sculpture, forte, pyramidale, rehaussée d’une très belle colonne de granit. La solidité et le temps semble imposer leur sérénité. On y vient à pied, en vélo, en voiture sur cet air destiné à la rencontre et au dialogue. Du train on l’aperçoit petite et de plus en plus grande avant de disparaître dans son écrin de verdure et de rizières. Plus qu’une simple destination le 38ème parallèle entoure la terre et se veut réunir les hommes de Paix. Athènes contribue à donner une suite ...

Sur le 38ème le programme est ouvert pour Hamonten (Chine), San Fransisco (USA), Sado (Japon).

1992 KAGIGAWA-NIIGATA (JAPAN)

CITY AND EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATION

The 38th parallel separates North and South Korea. This particular place becomes in the city of Kagigawa the symbol of Peace. Tetsuo HARADA seems quite appropriate by installing there the Knitting of the Earth. The links of the Knitwear of the Earth turn towards this sculpture, strong, pyramidal, raised by a very beautiful granite column. Solidity and time seem to impose their serenity. One comes there on foot, by bicycle, by car on this air intended for the meeting and the dialogue. From the train you can see it small and getting bigger and bigger before disappearing into its green and rice fields. More than a simple destination, the 38th parallel surrounds the earth and is intended to bring together men of Peace. Athens contributes to give a continuation ...

On the 38th the program is open for Hamonten (China), San Fransisco (USA), Sado (Japan) ...

Beach St, George Town.

Built on the site of the old Central Police Station, this imposing bank building is located at the centre of European mercantile and government interests in Penang at the northern end of Beach Street. Its faces its great rival the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank. The architecture is grand and mixes the modern with the classical; rusticated arcades, two-storey Doric columns and the mass is crowned with a Parthenonic frieze. The use of granite stone reinforces the impression of solidity and reliability which have always been the hallmarks of bank architecture. Occupying over 20,000 square foot of space, it rises 24m (80m) and the Beach Street frontage measures 47m (154 ft). The architects were John McNeill and CG Boutcher from the Penang-based firm of Stark & McNeill.

The building was opened on 30 January 1930 (an auspicious date according to the Chinese calendar) by Mrs Gilman, the wife of the newly-arrived Resident Councillor for Penang. Upon cutting a ribbon using a pair of golden scissors, crackers exploded outside and a band played a lively tune. Mr Gilman thanked the manager and after a champagne toast, the guests spent a couple of hours inspecting the building and its vast banking hall, finding great curiosity in visiting the bank's strongrooms. The upper floors were occupied as offices by some of Penang's leading firms including the Eastern Smelting Company, the Penang Turf Club, Mansfield & Co and General Rubber Company.

Incorporated in London in 1853 following the granting of its Royal Charter, the Chartered Bank opened its first office in the Straits Settlements in Singapore in 1859. The Penang branch opened in 1875, after demands by local merchants in Penang for another bank to be opened to compete with the incumbent Standard Mercantile Bank who had offered unsatisfactory terms. The bank grew to be one of the leading British colonial banks in Asia, competing for business with its arch-rival, the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank. Along with its great rival, it issued standard currency notes for Malaya. As you can see, the successor of the Chartered Bank continues to use this historic building.

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

Martino Abellana (1914-1988)

Seascape

signed and dated 1984 (lower right)

oil on canvas

17” x 22” (43 cm x 55 cm)

Opening bid: P 100,000

Provenance:

Private Collection, Manila

Lot 40 of the Leon Gallery Auction on 9 September 2017. Please see leon-gallery.com/ for more details.

In his seascapes, Martino Abellana turns to a turbulent

subject, the seashore, capturing it in a sullen mood, the cold green water with waves, the sky vast and foreboding. He makes us feel the weight and power of the waves, the solidity of the rock, the impact of their collision. In another mood, he gives us the mighty rhythmic flow of the tides, and the radiance of dawn and sunset over moving waters. His brushstrokes are unique embodiments of the power, the danger and the beauty of the sea.

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

The eastern side of the famous ancient Roman temple, the Pantheon, seen from the side road leading from Piazza della Minerva into Piazza della Rotunda, Rome (Italy).

The Pantheon ('to all the gods') is one of Rome's great landmarks, but is nearly always photographed from the front (Piazza della Rotunda to the R), to show its large and impressive portico (and also much photographed for its interior). This view contrasts the plain solidity of the rotunda proper and its terracotta brick facing, with the great ornamental portico.

The Pantheon has a complex origin, having undergone several generations of rebuilding from the time of Agrippa in 27 BC to the time of Septimius Severus and Caracalla in 202. The building's present form as a rotunda with a great portico is often attributed to Hadrian's time but apparently was more likely due to Trajan's architect Apollodorus of Damascus around 120. The dome (out of sight here) is built of concrete and still holds the record for the largest concrete dome in the world. The rest of the structure is also built of concrete I believe, the rotunda proper being faced with terracotta brickwork. The portico has granite Corinthian columns and most other work in marble. The Pantheon has inspired other rotunda-shaped buildings all over the world.

----- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome

----------

LONDON - PARIS - CATANIA - ROME - LONDON ----- DAY 8

Photo from the eighth day of our crazy long distance rail trip from home (London) to Sicily. We had had an unscheduled but happy first night stopover in Paris because our Eurostar train out of London was badly delayed due to 'a fatality [unexplained - perhaps fortunately] on the train'. We therefore missed our onward sleeper train connection to Rome, so spent our second day in Paris. We left Paris that evening, on the equivalent sleeper train service a day later. We reached Rome during the third day, where we changed to a daytime train for Catania, Sicily, arriving there the same evening. Our fourth day was our first full day in Sicily, and we spent this in the centre of Catania itself. We spent our fifth day on an excursion to Mount Etna run by GeoEtnaExplorer. We chose this tour company because the guides are geologists. Our particular tour went high up on the flanks on the summit, but not to the summit proper. For this sixth day, our final full day in Sicily, we took the bus from Catania (our base) to Siracusa, in search of Ancient Greek remains, while also getting distracted by other interesting sights, and some excellent ice cream, at various points in the day. But perhaps the most spectacular thing was the huge thunderstorm which hit us in the early part of the afternoon. The seventh day was the start of our homeward journey, for which we took our sixth train of the trip, from Catania and ending with an overnight stop in Rome. We spent the eighth day on a long walk through the heart of Rome, where we hadn't been back since I worked there briefly many years ago, before continuing our way home to London by catching a sleeper train that evening to Paris.

By the end of the whole holiday trip we had seen things and sites from ancient Greek time to modern, so the trip felt like a mini Grand Tour. Or given the rich mythology of Sicily, Etna and the Straits of Messina (Odysseus, the Cyclops, Scylla & Charybdis, etc.) perhaps our trip was like a modern mini Odyssey of our times. Odysseus took ten years to get home. It took us ten trains - but no monsters.

----------

Photo

Darkroom Daze © Creative Commons.

If you would like to use or refer to this image, please attribute.

ID: DSC_6858

River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.

These images were taken during the second week of March 2017.

These are the critical stabilisation works at the Silverbridge site, adjacent to the N11 dual-carriageway:

Back in November 2014, we'd observed bank stabilisation works here involving excavation, repair and building of a support wall structure -- carried out by JONS Construction on behalf of the National Roads Authority.

We would occasionally catch sight of this work in the distance. Quite an impressive little piece of structural engineering.

Having built a retaining concave wall, backfilled for solidity, they were also drilling, fixing and sealing ground anchors to pin the entire structure together.

flic.kr/p/paSU8U

Now we see that further works are being undertaken.

Word has it that extra ‘stabilisation work’ had to be done to protect the integrity of the riverbank.

At the section here we can see that there’s not much space between the edge of the rock face and the Armco at the side of the dual-carriageway.

Have yet to determine what precisely that will entail. Serious work to reinforce the side access ramp down to the river.

The N11 carriageway runs adjacent to this sunken side of the riverbank -- barely 2 (large) paces divide the two. Even with twin strips of Armco along the roadside, it's perilously close. Traffic speeds along this stretch (maximum speed 100 kmp). Only needs a touch from a heavy vehicle to cause secondary impact, which (worst possible scenario) could result in something going airborne.

Working in these confined spaces puts a premium of safety and communication.

The guys have hard-filled a working shelf on the riverbed, to allow machinery access to the rockface. Obviously some serious drilling is called for before a form of extra 'pinning' is put in place.

They have sunk a series of hollowed tubes/casings -- obviously to form the foundations of a more extensive structure.

And some investigative work around the transverse buttress of the access bridge, parallel to the heavy-duty pipeline carrying water down from the Vartry reservoir.

At a (rough) guess -- I'd say the foundations were sunk to a depth of approx 4+m.

With such secure foundations in place, they would then look to construct a substantial bank of material, and/or retaining wall (similar to that in place further along the roadside bank).

=================================================

Previously the guys drilled and sunk 4+metre deep reinforced tubing and rods along a newly laid concrete base. Those stubs were then used to attach steel rod cradles -- which, in turn, were filled with poured concrete. Result - the wall quickly rises. Variation on the method they've used elsewhere along this stretch of the river.

A continuous stretch of protective wall has now been poured, and joined up with the section originally erected back in 2014.

As we can see from the side-on shot, the base of the wall has pre-cut openings for the retaining pins that have been driven into the side wall of the roadside cliff. These have been sealed and capped.

Progress has been rapid, the full stretch of wall is completed, and the guys are now working on back-filling the empty space between the protective wall and the roadside rock face. You don't just throw in a few trucks loads of soil and hope for the best. You load, layer, level and compress.

By now the guys had clearing away material used to build access ramps down into the riverbed.

The thought crossed had my mind -- in doing so (removing the stone-filled gabions etc,) are they potentially exposing the river bank on that side to erosion, slippage etc?

We know the destructive force of fast running waters. Hell, this is precisely why the protective works have been carried out along the rest of the stretch, down to the Bray Harbour. Unless they have other plans to stabilise it, what is going to be left here is loose soil -- very close to the access road into the halting site itself.

Now that we can see the cleaned, exposed riverbank, we can see a substantial bedrock. Clearly this is not liable to subsidence. And there evidence that sections of the slope had already been 'nailed' * to prevent slippage. But, in talking to the guys there, it would seem that further 'nailing' might be required later in the year.

Some repair/reinforcing work is going on here to protect the (old) buttress that supports the pipework carrying water to the Bray region.

*

Soil nailing is a construction technique that can be used as a remedial measure to treat unstable natural soil slopes or as a construction technique that allows the safe over-steepening of new or existing soil slopes.

The technique involves the insertion of relatively slender reinforcing elements into the slope – often general purpose reinforcing bars (rebar) although proprietary solid or hollow-system bars are also available.

Solid bars are usually installed into pre-drilled holes and then grouted into place using a separate grout line, whereas hollow bars may be drilled and grouted simultaneously by the use of a sacrificial drill bit and by pumping grout down the hollow bar as drilling progresses.

River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.

These images were taken during the second week of March 2017.

These are the critical stabilisation works at the Silverbridge site, adjacent to the N11 dual-carriageway:

Back in November 2014, we'd observed bank stabilisation works here involving excavation, repair and building of a support wall structure -- carried out by JONS Construction on behalf of the National Roads Authority.

We would occasionally catch sight of this work in the distance. Quite an impressive little piece of structural engineering.

Having built a retaining concave wall, backfilled for solidity, they were also drilling, fixing and sealing ground anchors to pin the entire structure together.

flic.kr/p/paSU8U

Now we see that further works are being undertaken.

Word has it that extra ‘stabilisation work’ had to be done to protect the integrity of the riverbank.

At the section here we can see that there’s not much space between the edge of the rock face and the Armco at the side of the dual-carriageway.

Have yet to determine what precisely that will entail. Serious work to reinforce the side access ramp down to the river.

The N11 carriageway runs adjacent to this sunken side of the riverbank -- barely 2 (large) paces divide the two. Even with twin strips of Armco along the roadside, it's perilously close. Traffic speeds along this stretch (maximum speed 100 kmp). Only needs a touch from a heavy vehicle to cause secondary impact, which (worst possible scenario) could result in something going airborne.

Working in these confined spaces puts a premium of safety and communication.

The guys have hard-filled a working shelf on the riverbed, to allow machinery access to the rockface. Obviously some serious drilling is called for before a form of extra 'pinning' is put in place.

They have sunk a series of hollowed tubes/casings -- obviously to form the foundations of a more extensive structure.

And some investigative work around the transverse buttress of the access bridge, parallel to the heavy-duty pipeline carrying water down from the Vartry reservoir.

At a (rough) guess -- I'd say the foundations were sunk to a depth of approx 4+m.

With such secure foundations in place, they would then look to construct a substantial bank of material, and/or retaining wall (similar to that in place further along the roadside bank).

=================================================

Previously the guys drilled and sunk 4+metre deep reinforced tubing and rods along a newly laid concrete base. Those stubs were then used to attach steel rod cradles -- which, in turn, were filled with poured concrete. Result - the wall quickly rises. Variation on the method they've used elsewhere along this stretch of the river.

A continuous stretch of protective wall has now been poured, and joined up with the section originally erected back in 2014.

As we can see from the side-on shot, the base of the wall has pre-cut openings for the retaining pins that have been driven into the side wall of the roadside cliff. These have been sealed and capped.

Progress has been rapid, the full stretch of wall is completed, and the guys are now working on back-filling the empty space between the protective wall and the roadside rock face. You don't just throw in a few trucks loads of soil and hope for the best. You load, layer, level and compress.

By now the guys had clearing away material used to build access ramps down into the riverbed.

The thought crossed had my mind -- in doing so (removing the stone-filled gabions etc,) are they potentially exposing the river bank on that side to erosion, slippage etc?

We know the destructive force of fast running waters. Hell, this is precisely why the protective works have been carried out along the rest of the stretch, down to the Bray Harbour. Unless they have other plans to stabilise it, what is going to be left here is loose soil -- very close to the access road into the halting site itself.

Now that we can see the cleaned, exposed riverbank, we can see a substantial bedrock. Clearly this is not liable to subsidence. And there evidence that sections of the slope had already been 'nailed' * to prevent slippage. But, in talking to the guys there, it would seem that further 'nailing' might be required later in the year.

Some repair/reinforcing work is going on here to protect the (old) buttress that supports the pipework carrying water to the Bray region.

*

Soil nailing is a construction technique that can be used as a remedial measure to treat unstable natural soil slopes or as a construction technique that allows the safe over-steepening of new or existing soil slopes.

The technique involves the insertion of relatively slender reinforcing elements into the slope – often general purpose reinforcing bars (rebar) although proprietary solid or hollow-system bars are also available.

Solid bars are usually installed into pre-drilled holes and then grouted into place using a separate grout line, whereas hollow bars may be drilled and grouted simultaneously by the use of a sacrificial drill bit and by pumping grout down the hollow bar as drilling progresses.

Ferstel

(Pictures you can see by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

Ferstel and Café Central, by Rudolf von Alt, left the men's alley (Herrengasse - Street of the Lords), right Strauchgasse

Danube mermaid fountain in a courtyard of the Palais Ferstel

Shopping arcade of the Freyung to Herrengasse

Entrance to Ferstel of the Freyung, right the Palais Harrach, left the palace Hardegg

The Ferstel is a building in the first district of Vienna, Inner City, with the addresses Strauchgasse 2-4, 14 Lord Street (Herrengasse) and Freyung 2. It was established as a national bank and stock exchange building, the denomination Palais is unhistoric.

History

In 1855, the entire estate between Freyung, Strauchgasse and Herrengasse was by Franz Xaver Imperial Count von Abensperg and Traun to the k.k. Privileged Austrian National Bank sold. This banking institution was previously domiciled in the Herrengasse 17/ Bankgasse. The progressive industrialization and the with it associated economic expansion also implied a rapid development of monetary transactions and banking, so that the current premises soon no longer have been sufficient. This problem could only be solved by a new building, in which also should be housed a stock exchange hall.

According to the desire of the then Governor of the National Bank, Franz von Pipitz, the new building was supposed to be carried out with strict observance of the economy and avoiding a worthless luxury with solidity and artistic as well as technical completion. The building should offer room for the National Bank, the stock market, a cafe and - a novel idea for Vienna - a bazaar.

The commissioned architect, Heinrich von Ferstel, demonstrated in the coping with the irregular surface area with highest conceivable effective use of space his state-of-the art talent. The practical requirements combine themselves with the actually artistic to a masterful composition. Ferstel has been able to lay out the rooms of the issuing bank, the two trading floors, the passage with the bazar and the coffee house in accordance with their intended purpose and at the same time to maintain a consistent style.

He was an advocate of the "Materialbaues" (material building) as it clearly is reflected in the ashlar building of the banking institution. Base, pillars and stairs were fashioned of Wöllersdorfer stone, façade elements such as balconies, cornices, structurings as well as stone banisters of the hard white stone of Emperor Kaiser quarry (Kaisersteinbruch), while the walls were made ​​of -Sankt Margarethen limestone. The inner rooms have been luxuriously formed, with wood paneling, leather wallpaper, Stuccolustro and rich ornamental painting.

The facade of the corner front Strauchgasse/Herrengasse received twelve sculptures by Hanns Gasser as decoration, they symbolized the peoples of the monarchy. The mighty round arch at the exit Freyung were closed with wrought-iron bare gates, because the first used locksmith could not meet the demands of Ferstel, the work was transferred to a silversmith.

1860 the National Bank and the stock exchange could move into the in 1859 completed construction. The following year was placed in the glass-covered passage the Danube mermaid fountain, whose design stems also of Ferstel. Anton von Fernkorn has created the sculptural decoration with an artistic sensitivity. Above the marble fountain basin rises a column crowned by a bronze statue, the Danube female with flowing hair, holding a fish in its hand. Below are arranged around the column three also in bronze cast figures: merchant, fisherman and shipbuilder, so those professions that have to do with the water. The total cost of the building, the interior included, amounted to the enormous sum of 1.897.600 guilders.

The originally planned use of the building remained only a few years preserved. The Stock Exchange with the premises no longer had sufficient space: in 1872 it moved to a provisional solution, 1877 at Schottenring a new Stock Exchange building opened. The National Bank moved 1925 into a yet 1913 planned, spacious new building.

The building was in Second World War battered gravely particularly on the main facade. In the 1960s was located in the former Stock Exchange a basketball training hall, the entire building appeared neglected.

1971 dealt the President of the Federal Monuments Office, Walter Frodl, with the severely war damaged banking and stock exchange building in Vienna. The Office for Technical Geology of Otto Casensky furnished an opinion on the stone facade. On the facade Freyung 2 a balcony was originally attached over the entire 15.4 m long front of hard Kaiserstein.

(Usage of Leith lime: Dependent from the consistence and structure of the Leitha lime the usage differed from „Reibsand“ till building material. The Leitha lime stone is a natural stone which can be formed easily and was desired als beautiful stone for buildings in Roman times. The usage of lime stone from Eggenburg in the Bronze age already was verified. This special attribute is the reason why the Leitha lime was taken from sculptors and masons.

The source of lime stone in the Leitha Mountains was important for Austria and especially for Vienna from the cultur historical point of view during the Renaissance and Baroque. At the 19th century the up to 150 stone quarries of the Leitha mountains got many orders form the construction work of the Vienna „Ring road“.

At many buildings of Graz, such as the castle at the Grazer castle hill, the old Joanneum and the Cottage, the Leitha lime stone was used.

Due to the fact that Leitha lime is bond on carbonate in the texture, the alteration through the actual sour rain is heavy. www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HKZ9_leithagebirge-leithak...)

This balcony was no longer present and only close to the facade were remnants of the tread plates and the supporting brackets recognizable. In July 1975, followed the reconstruction of the balcony and master stonemason Friedrich Opferkuh received the order to restore the old state am Leithagebirge received the order the old state - of Mannersdorfer stone, armoured concrete or artificial stone.

1975-1982, the building was renovated and re-opened the Café Central. Since then, the privately owned building is called Palais Ferstel. In the former stock exchange halls now meetings and presentations take place; the Café Central is utilizing one of the courtyards.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Ferstel

Corfe Castle

Corfe Castle, Dorset, United Kingdom

Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates back to the 11th century and commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The first phase was one of the earliest castles in England to be built using stone when the majority were built with earth and timber. Corfe Castle underwent major structural changes in the 12th and 13th centuries.

In 1572, Corfe Castle left the Crown's control when Elizabeth I sold it to Sir Christopher Hatton. 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 on Parliament's orders. Owned by the National Trust, the castle is open to the public and in 2010 received around 190,000 visitors. It is protected as a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Corfe Castle was built on a steep hill in a gap in a long line of chalk hills, created by two streams eroding the rock on either side. The name Corfe derives from the Old English ceorfan, meaning 'a cutting', referring to the gap. The construction of the medieval castle means that little is known about previous activity on the hill. However, there are postholes belonging to a Saxon hall on the site.The hall may be where Edward the Martyr was assassinated in 978.

A castle was founded at Corfe on England's south coast soon after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The royal forest of Purbeck, where William the Conqueror enjoyed hunting, was established in the area.Between 1066 and 1087 William established 36 such castles in England. Sitting as it does on a hill top, Corfe Castle is one of the classic images of a medieval castle, however despite popular imagination, occupying the highest point in the landscape was not the typical position of a medieval castle. In England, a minority are located on hilltops, but most are in valleys; many were near important transport routes such as river crossings.

Unusually for castles built in the 11th century, Corfe was partially constructed from stone indicating it was of particularly high status. A stone wall was built around the hill top, creating an inner ward or enclosure. There were two further enclosures: one to the west, and one that extended south (the outer bailey); in contrast to the inner bailey, these were surrounded by palisades made from timber. At the time, the vast majority of castles in England were built using earth and timber, and it was not until the 12th century that many began to be rebuilt in stone. The Domesday Book records one castle in Dorset; the entry, which reads "Of the manor of Kingston the King has one hide on which he built Wareham castle", is thought to refer to Corfe rather than the timber castle at Wareham. There are 48 castles directly mentioned in the Domesday Book, although not all those in existence at the time were recorded. Assuming that Corfe is the castle in question, it is one of four the Domesday Book attributes to William the Conqueror; the survey explicitly mentions seven people as having built castles, of which William was the most prolific.

Corfe's keep dates from the early 12th century.

In the early 12th century, Henry I began the construction of a stone keep at Corfe. Progressing at a rate of 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 ft) per year for the best part of a decade, the work was complete by 1105. The chalk of the hill Corfe Castle was built on was an unsuitable building material, and instead Purbeck limestone quarried a few miles away was used. By the reign of King Stephen (1135–1154) Corfe Castle was already a strong fortress with a keep and inner enclosure, both built in stone. In 1139, during the civil war of Stephen's reign, Corfe withstood a siege by the king. It is thought that he built a siege castle to facilitate the siege and that a series of earthworks about 290 metres (320 yd) south-south-west of Corfe Castle mark the site of the fortification.

The south-west gatehouse, which allowed access from the outer bailey to the west bailey, dates from the mid 13th century.

During the reign of Henry II Corfe Castle was probably not significantly changed, and records from Richard I's reign indicate maintenance rather than significant new building work. In contrast, extensive construction of other towers, halls and walls occurred during the reigns of John and Henry III, both of whom kept Eleanor, rightful Duchess of Brittany, in confinement ar Corfe. It was probably during John's reign that the Gloriette in the inner bailey was built. The Pipe Rolls, records of royal expenditure, show that between 1201 and 1204 over £750 was spent at the castle, probably on rebuilding the defences of the west bailey with £275 spent on constructing the Gloriette. The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England noted the link between periods of unrest and building at Corfe. In the early years of his reign John faced lost Normandy to the French, and in further building work at Corfe coincided with the political disturbances later in his reign. At least £500 was spent between 1212 and 1214 and may have been focused on the defences of the outer bailey.[15] R. Allen Brown noted that in John's reign "it would seem that though a fortress of the first order might cost more than £7,000, a medium castle of reasonable strength might be built for less than £2,000". The Pipe Rolls show that John spent over £17,000 on 95 castles during his reign spread; he spent over £500 at nine of them, of which Corfe was one. Additional records show that John spent over £1,400 at Corfe Castle.

One of the secondary roles of castles was to act as a storage facility, as demonstrated by Corfe Castle; in 1224 Henry III sent to Corfe for 15,000 crossbow bolts to be used in the siege of Bedford Castle. Following John's work, Henry III also spent over £1,000 on Corfe Castle, in particular the years 1235 and 1236 saw £362 spent on the keep. While construction was under-way, a camp to accommodate the workers was established outside the castle. Over time, this grew into a settlement in its own right and in 1247 was granted a market and fair by royal permission. It was Henry III who ordered in 1244 that Corfe's keep should be whitewashed. Four years previously, he also ordered that the keep of the Tower of London should be whitewashed, and it therefore became known as the White Tower.

In December 1460, during the Wars of the Roses Edmund Beaufort and his army marched from the castle destined for the Battle of Wakefield. During the march the army split at Exeter so the cavalry could reach the north quicker, and on 16 December 1460 some of his men became embroiled in the Battle of Worksop, Nottinghamshire. Beaufort and the Lancastrians won the skirmish.

Post-medieval

The castle remained a royal fortress until sold by Elizabeth I in 1572 to her Lord Chancellor, Sir Christopher Hatton. Ralph Treswell, Hatton's steward, drafted a series of plans of the castle; the documents are the oldest surviving survey of the castle.

Lady Mary Bankes defended the castle during two sieges in the English Civil War.

The castle was bought by Sir John Bankes, Attorney General to Charles I, in 1635. The English Civil War broke out in 1642, and by 1643 most of Dorset was under Parliamentarian control. While Bankes was in Oxford with the king, his men held Corfe Castle in the royal cause. During this time his wife, Lady Mary Bankes, resided at the castle with their children. Parliamentarian forces planned to infiltrate the castle's garrison by joining a hunting party from the garrison on a May Day hunt, however they were unsuccessful. The Parliamentarians gave orders that anyone joining the garrison would have their house burned and that no supplies were to reach the castle. Initially defended by just five people, Lady Bankes was able to get food through and swell the garrison to 80. The Parliamentarian forces numbered between 500 and 600 and began a more thorough siege; it went on for six weeks until Lady Bankes was relieved by Royalist forces. During the siege the defenders suffered two casualties while there were at least 100 deaths among the besieging force.

In the 17th century Corfe Castle was demolished by order of parliament.

The Parliamentarians were in the ascendency so that by 1645 Corfe Castle was one of a few remaining strongholds in southern England that remained under royal control. Consequently it was besieged by a force under the command of a Colonel Bingham. One of the garrison's officers, Colonel Pitman, colluded with Bingham. Pitman proposed that he should go to Somerset to and bring back a hundred men as reinforcements, however the troops he returned with were Parliamentarians in disguise. Once inside, they waited until the besieging force attacked before making a move, so that the defenders were attacked from without and within at the same time. Corfe Castle was captured and Lady Bankes and the garrison were allowed to leave. In March that year, Parliament voted to slight (demolish) the castle, giving it its present appearance. In the 17th century many castles in England were in a state of decline, but the war saw them pressed into use as fortresses one more time. Parliament ordered the slighting of many of these fortifications, but the solidity of their walls meant that complete demolition was often impractical. A minority were repaired after the war, but most were left as ruins. Corfe Castle provided a ready supply of building material, and its stones were reused by the villagers.

After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the Bankes family regained their properties. Rather than rebuild or replace the ruined castle they chose to build a new house at Kingston Lacy on their other Dorset estate near Wimborne Minster.

The first archaeological excavations were carried out in 1883. No further archaeological work was carried out on the site until the 1950s. Between 1986 and 1997 excavations were carried out, jointly funded by the National Trust and English Heritage. Corfe castle is considered to be the inspiration for Enid Blyton's Kirrin Island, which had its own similar castle. It was used as a shooting location for the 1957 film Five on a Treasure Island (film).

Corfe Castle is on a hill overlooking the village which bears its name

Corfe Castle's outer gatehouse

In the 1980s, Ralph Bankes bequeathed the entire Bankes estate to the National Trust, including Corfe Castle, much of the village of Corfe, the family home at Kingston Lacy, and substantial property and land holdings elsewhere in the area. In the summer 2006, the dangerous condition of the keep caused it to be closed to visitors, who could only visit the walls and inner bailey. The National Trust undertook an extensive conservation project on the castle, and the keep was re-opened to visitors in 2008, and the work completed the following year.

During the restoration work, an "appearance" door was found in the keep, designed for Henry I. The National Trust claims that this indicates that the castle would have been one of the most important in England at the time.

The castle is a Grade I listed building, and recognised as an internationally important structure. It is also a Scheduled Monument, a "nationally important" historic building and archaeological site which has been given protection against unauthorised change. The earthworks known as "The Rings", thought to be the remains of a 12th-century motte-and-bailey castle built during a siege of Corfe are also scheduled. In 2006, Corfe Castle was the National Trust's tenth most-visited historic house with 173,829 visitors. According to figures released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, the number of visitors in 2010 had risen to nearly 190,000.

I remember going down the pit

Changing into ‘pit clothes’at the pit-head baths

Sliding the lamp out from the charging rack

Handing my ‘dog-tag’ check to the onsetter

The pneumatic rush as the cage appeared

Bouncing on a limb-thick, greasy cable

The violence of its jaw-like gate opening

Inviting we, reluctant boys, to step in, trying

To keep step with its last oscillations

As we strode over the sucking gap

Between solidity and suspension

The gate sliding shut like a sentence

And then, the planet conjured from under us

(An analogy for the future of the industry)

To that free-fall plunge of Newton’s wit

I, never did though, laugh at it

But especially not, when I found out that

The same cable lifted out mine-cars, amounting

To hundreds of tons of coal and ‘muck’

Every shift of three, in twenty-four hours

This, with a system lacking the safety measures

And emergency brakes of every tall building

Elevator, ever built for everybody but miners

And definitely not, when I learned of the

Occasion the ascending cage overtook the cable

Following the winder’s over-zealous braking

Fell back, slicing through the hanging loop

Of life-line cable as if it were pasta, accelerating

Its burden, to an explosive terminus, hundreds of yards

Below, at a speed, I never did dare work out

Only coal, money and materials were lost that day

But learning of it, I lost something else, and the

Revelation that my life shared sanctity with coal

Every day, didn’t make the hoary, old joke

That NCB stood for . . . ‘No (beep) Bothered’

One bit funnier either

(NCB actually stood for National Coal Board . . . later changed to British Coal . . . later changed out of all recognition)

© Mike Laycock (Silversalt)

William Henry Moore (Plot - )

(October 19, 1872 – August 16, 1960)

Was a lawyer, author and Member of the Canadian House of Commons.

William Henry Moore was born in Stouffville, Markham Township, Ontario, on Oct 19 1872 to Rev. James Beach Moore and Hannah Elizabeth Greenwood. Moore was a direct descendant of Samuel Moore, an official in the 1670s in the American colony of East Jersey. He was also the great-great-grandson of Samuel Moore, a United Empire Loyalist and member of the Quaker movement, and the great-grand-nephew of three notable political leaders of the mid-1800s: Elias Moore, Reform M.P.P. during the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837; Enoch Moore, who was convicted of high treason for his role in those same rebellions; and, Lindley Murray Moore, President of the Rochester N.Y. Anti-Slavery Society in 1838. He graduated in Arts at the University of Toronto in 1894 and went on to post graduate studies in Political Science. While studying at Cornell Law School, he was admitted into one of the Greek letter organizations (fraternities). He then went to Osgoode Hall to study law. He married Christine Mabel Bertram in Toronto June 23, 1898 (daughter of George Hope Bertram, MP for Toronto Center).

In 1903, Moore was appointed assistant to the President of the Toronto Railway Company.

In 1913, Moore built a large stone house on the east side of the mouth of the Rouge River in what is now Toronto. The property consisted of 175 acres that he had purchased from the original patentee, William Holmes. He called the estate Moorlands and it was kept in the family until the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority expropriated it in the 1960s. It was opened to the public as the Petticoat Creek Conservation Area in 1975.

Moore worked as a distinguished barrister in Toronto and became a Kings Counsel. He became the Secretary of the Canadian National Railway Company.

In 1922, Moore was awarded an honorary LL.D. by the University of Ottawa. Other awards included Doctor of Letters and Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society.

Moore was avidly interested in economics. In 1926, he was appointed Chairman of the Tariff Board. In his diary entry of Saturday, October 26, 1929, then Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King wrote that he was "much impressed with [Moore's] knowledge of the tariff situation, etc." Moore held that position until 1930, when he was elected to the House of Commons for the riding of Ontario. Later, he would be chairman of the House of Commons Banking and Trade Committee. The French-Canadian journalist, Léopold Richer wrote of him in this role: One must see him in his role as the Chairman of the Banking and Trade Committee. Big and tall, a friendly giant, a thick trunk, sitting solidly in his chair, his legs stretched out, his arms on the armrests. His head gives the impression of solidity; without mincing his words, it doesn’t matter who is speaking, or what they are saying, he will give them their turn. He smokes almost continuously, sitting back in his chair, his pipe held in an enormous fist. His face remains impassive, he leads his listeners a little at a time, with long pauses for their benefit, handling interruptions peacefully. Then, he quietly calls members back to order, gives his opinion, allows others a chance to counter him, assuring all a common measure of justice. After a long session, he rises from his chair, his back hunched, with a tired demeanour, and retreats to the library to escape the petty quarrels.

Moore served in Parliament until April 16, 1945.

He died August 16, 1960 at the age of 87 years

At various times in his life, he was a director of Massey-Harris Co. Ltd., Canadian Colonial Airways Ltd., and Brazean Colliers Ltd.

According to Graham Fraser, Canada's sixth Commissioner of Official Languages, "William Moore was an improbable defender of French-language rights in Canada. He was, as he listed proudly in his biography, of United Empire Loyalist descent, and a farmer in Pickering, Ontario. ...In 1918, when World War I was still raging and in the aftermath of Regulation 17, which abolished French-language education in Ontario, Moore wrote a remarkable book entitled The Clash: A Study in Nationalities. In the book, he argued that British traditions called for bilingualism and inclusion, and shrewdly contrasted them with what he called the rigid Prussian approach."

River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.

These images were taken during the second week of March 2017.

HD 12 VV -

Articulated tandem roller with 2 vibratory drums.

HD 14 VV -

Articulated tandem roller with 2 vibratory drums.

These are the critical stabilisation works at the Silverbridge site, adjacent to the N11 dual-carriageway:

Back in November 2014, we'd observed bank stabilisation works here involving excavation, repair and building of a support wall structure -- carried out by JONS Construction on behalf of the National Roads Authority.

We would occasionally catch sight of this work in the distance. Quite an impressive little piece of structural engineering.

Having built a retaining concave wall, backfilled for solidity, they were also drilling, fixing and sealing ground anchors to pin the entire structure together.

flic.kr/p/paSU8U

Now we see that further works are being undertaken.

Word has it that extra ‘stabilisation work’ had to be done to protect the integrity of the riverbank.

At the section here we can see that there’s not much space between the edge of the rock face and the Armco at the side of the dual-carriageway.

Have yet to determine what precisely that will entail. Serious work to reinforce the side access ramp down to the river.

The N11 carriageway runs adjacent to this sunken side of the riverbank -- barely 2 (large) paces divide the two. Even with twin strips of Armco along the roadside, it's perilously close. Traffic speeds along this stretch (maximum speed 100 kmp). Only needs a touch from a heavy vehicle to cause secondary impact, which (worst possible scenario) could result in something going airborne.

Working in these confined spaces puts a premium of safety and communication.

The guys have hard-filled a working shelf on the riverbed, to allow machinery access to the rockface. Obviously some serious drilling is called for before a form of extra 'pinning' is put in place.

They have sunk a series of hollowed tubes/casings -- obviously to form the foundations of a more extensive structure.

And some investigative work around the transverse buttress of the access bridge, parallel to the heavy-duty pipeline carrying water down from the Vartry reservoir.

At a (rough) guess -- I'd say the foundations were sunk to a depth of approx 4+m.

With such secure foundations in place, they would then look to construct a substantial bank of material, and/or retaining wall (similar to that in place further along the roadside bank).

=================================================

Previously the guys drilled and sunk 4+metre deep reinforced tubing and rods along a newly laid concrete base. Those stubs were then used to attach steel rod cradles -- which, in turn, were filled with poured concrete. Result - the wall quickly rises. Variation on the method they've used elsewhere along this stretch of the river.

A continuous stretch of protective wall has now been poured, and joined up with the section originally erected back in 2014.

As we can see from the side-on shot, the base of the wall has pre-cut openings for the retaining pins that have been driven into the side wall of the roadside cliff. These have been sealed and capped.

Progress has been rapid, the full stretch of wall is completed, and the guys are now working on back-filling the empty space between the protective wall and the roadside rock face. You don't just throw in a few trucks loads of soil and hope for the best. You load, layer, level and compress.

By now the guys had clearing away material used to build access ramps down into the riverbed.

The thought crossed had my mind -- in doing so (removing the stone-filled gabions etc,) are they potentially exposing the river bank on that side to erosion, slippage etc?

We know the destructive force of fast running waters. Hell, this is precisely why the protective works have been carried out along the rest of the stretch, down to the Bray Harbour. Unless they have other plans to stabilise it, what is going to be left here is loose soil -- very close to the access road into the halting site itself.

Now that we can see the cleaned, exposed riverbank, we can see a substantial bedrock. Clearly this is not liable to subsidence. And there evidence that sections of the slope had already been 'nailed' * to prevent slippage. But, in talking to the guys there, it would seem that further 'nailing' might be required later in the year.

Some repair/reinforcing work is going on here to protect the (old) buttress that supports the pipework carrying water to the Bray region.

And, on the day I visited, intense activity was involved in repairing and laying new tarmacadam on the approach lane into the site. After a long period, during which very heavy machinery has chewed up the existing surface, it was necessary to restore the quality,

*

Soil nailing is a construction technique that can be used as a remedial measure to treat unstable natural soil slopes or as a construction technique that allows the safe over-steepening of new or existing soil slopes.

The technique involves the insertion of relatively slender reinforcing elements into the slope – often general purpose reinforcing bars (rebar) although proprietary solid or hollow-system bars are also available.

Solid bars are usually installed into pre-drilled holes and then grouted into place using a separate grout line, whereas hollow bars may be drilled and grouted simultaneously by the use of a sacrificial drill bit and by pumping grout down the hollow bar as drilling progresses.