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321/365 - Our Daily Challenge - "Light":
"The people living in darkness have seen a great Light". Matthew 4:16
I was very glad to get this topic today, mainly because of something my daughter told me Sunday. Her pastor (an artist) showed some slides of paintings of the madonna and child and pointed out something we've never noticed before...that in the earliest paintings the source of light was always the Christ child. How amazing, since scripture tells us Jesus is the Light of the world (John 8:12)! Ever since she shared that with me, I've been trying to think how I might portray that in a photograph. This is as close as I could get. (Light source was a small votive candle behind the manger...followed by a fair amount of post processing.) BTW...I noticed something new about this today that I've never paid attention to before. Jesus' body is stretched out much as it is depicted on most crucifix. How poignant.
The nativity was given to me about 30 years ago by my aunt. There are about 10 other figures, but I chose to capture a more intimate scene. At any rate, my aunt is an artist and created 6 unique sets that year, one for each of my siblings and my parents. The wooden stable was a gift from my mom and dad which they bought in Jerusalem...hand crafted from olive wood. I love unpacking these every Christmas.
Listening to Point of Grace this morning ("Let there be Light") - www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hGxigjD_Pg
Nikon D5000, 35mm
Better on black...Please hit L.
Textures Only ~ Competition #88
Challenge image by ~Brenda-Starr~
Background with thanks to pareeerica
Model with thanks to Lady-Death-Stock
Texture 1 & texture 2 are my own.
59/365 Photo Manipulations Project
**This is my art work, not your free stock resource. Please respect my license.
If posting to your website or bog, please credit me as the artist.**
This is one of my primary sources for the theme Earth, Air, Fire and Water. After exploring the topic of reflections further I became more interested and inspired by how water looks in reflected light. I found an artist named Elana Kalis who captures photographs from an underwater point of view with different themes in each. I like how an object or person can look completely different from an underwater perspective. I was very inspired by Elana's work so decided to try and take some of my own. I used a DSLR camera to take these photographs which I thought worked very well as I was able to capture every detail with the water, including the reflections and bubbles, and also within the model's face and emotion.
Another thing that interests me is the surface of water, I like how ripples look in a photograph and how they make an image look more intriguing. When taking my underwater images I made the model open their eyes and have their hair down so it could float out by itself creating what I think is a great effect. I feel my photoshoot went very well I am am very happy with the result I have. I like how an emotion or storyline could be put to any one of my photo's and would link in well. For example most of my images are almost shocking and horror like. This is because they link in with drowning which is a very unpleasant or depressing thing to look at. After taking these images I feel I am very confident about what theme my final piece should be about. I am definitely looking towards underwater photography for it also as I feel it looks very interesting and has a great shock factor. Also, it links in nicely with the given theme of Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
Diamond Light Source ("Diamond") is the UK's national synchrotron science facility located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. Its purpose is to produce intense beams of light whose special characteristics are useful in many areas of scientific research. In particular it can be used to investigate the structure and properties of a wide range of materials from proteins (to provide information for designing new and better drugs), and engineering components (such as a fan blade from an aero-engine) to conservation of archeological artifacts (for example Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose).
Diamond was built at Chilton near Didcot in Oxfordshire, UK, next to the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). It produced its first user beam towards the end of January 2007, and was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 19 October 2007.
Diamond generates synchrotron light at wavelengths ranging from X-rays to the far infrared. This is also known as synchrotron radiation and is the electromagnetic radiation emitted by charged particles travelling near the speed of light. It is used in a huge variety of experiments to study the structure and behaviour of many different types of matter.
The particles Diamond uses are electrons travelling at an energy of 3 GeV round a 561.6 m circumference storage ring. The ring is not circular, but is shaped as a forty-eight-sided polygon, using a 'double bend achromat' magnet configuration in which two bending magnets are placed in each of 24 cells. As the electrons pass through specially designed magnets at each vertex, their sudden change of direction causes them to emit an exceptionally bright beam of electro-magnetic radiation. This is the synchrotron light used for experiments.
Being under the spot light one day,
and fall in the shadow lately.
Being rich as a king, and become homeless.
Healthy one day, and die another one.
There is always a light for you,
whatever you do.
Source: Digital image.
Set: ELL01.
Date: 1961.
Photographer: Mr R.L. Ellis.
Used here by his very kind permission.
Local Studies, Swindon Central Library.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_California_Adventure
Disney California Adventure Park, commonly referred to as Disney California Adventure, California Adventure, or DCA, is a theme park located in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products division. The 72-acre (29 ha) park is themed after the history and culture of California, which celebrates the fun and adventure of the state through the use of various Disney, Pixar and Marvel properties. The park opened on February 8, 2001 as Disney's California Adventure Park, and it is the second of two theme parks built at the Disneyland Resort complex, after Disneyland Park.
The concept of a theme park dedicated to California arose from a meeting of Disney executives in 1995, following the cancellation of the WestCOT project. Construction of the park began in 1998 and was completed by early 2001. Disney initially projected high attendance rates at the new park, however, a series of preview openings held in January 2001 led to negative reviews, and after the park officially opened to the public on February 8, 2001, the company's attendance projections were never met. Disney spent the next several years incrementally adding new rides, shows, and attractions, and implementing other promotions aimed at boosting attendance. In 2007, Disney announced a major expansion of the park as well as a major overhaul of a significant portion of the park. Construction lasted for five years and was completed in stages, culminating with the opening of Buena Vista Street and Cars Land in June 2012.
According to the Themed Entertainment Association, the park hosted approximately 9.6 million guests in 2017, making it the 13th-most visited theme park in the world that year.
Source: Scan of an original postcard.
Set: MID01.
Postmark: used but illegible.
Date: c1905.
Repository: From the collection of Mr Tim Midwinter (MID01).
Used here by his very kind permission.
Local Studies at Swindon Central Library.
The Anomaly is Unmapped
The anomaly represents a crucial, unmapped energy signature located deep in space adjacent to the entry of the hazardous Necropolis Corridor. This is a treacherous region of space bordering the vast and largely unexplored Kelpian Expanse. For the beleaguered crew of the Subi spacecraft, this enigmatic signature is more than just a navigational curiosity; it embodies a desperate hope and a potential, albeit perilous, path of survival. Their current trajectory places them in dire straits, with resources dwindling and the looming threat of the Necropolis Corridor's inherent dangers closing in. The anomaly, therefore, is not merely a distant beacon but a tangible, albeit uncertain, opportunity to escape their predicament and secure their future. Its precise nature and potential uses remain a mystery. Yet, the very existence of such a powerful and unrecorded energy source offers a tantalising possibility of reprieve from an otherwise inescapable doom.
Podcast:
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www.facebook.com/watch/100063480315046/1020837046583872/
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#art #Spacestation #scifi #fictionalworld #story #arthouse #futuristic #spaceadventure #Sanctuary #Revitalisation #Retro #art #metaart
(Explore in/out, 3/12/2013) Thank you very much for the visit and comments. Cheers.
European honey bees over Easter lilies.
Easter Lily Cactus
Family: Cactaceae (Cactus Family)
Scientific Name: Echinopsis mammillosa Gürke 1907
Origin: Tarija, Bolivia
Common Names: Easter Lily Cactus
Echinopsis mamillosa was first described in 1907 by the German botanist Max Gürke. E. silvatica F.Ritter was included in E. mamillosa as the subspecies silvatica by Pierre Braun and E. Esteves Pereira in 1995.
Description: Solitary spherical to columnar cactus, 10-25cm in diameter and 7-30 cm tall or more, depending on the variety. There are a number of varieties that differ with flower color, dimension and spination.
Stem: Large and globular, with many ribs divided into low rounded tubercles.
Flowers: Up to 20 cm long, 10 cm wide. Typically the species has white nocturnal flowers to attract moth pollinators. Large, but the flowers may be white with rose colored tips, purple or deep red. The flowers of this species are characterized by relatively short floral tube scales and unusual seeds.
Blooming season: This species will produce flowers in the summer when only 8 cm in diameter. The blossoms open at night and last about 24 hours.
(Sources: Wikipedia and www.cactus-art.biz )
__________________________________________
© All rights reserved.
This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded,
displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic,
mechanical, photocopying & recording without my written consent.
donaueschingen
black forest/schwartzwald
the spring, regarded as the source of danube/donau
is the spiritual source
the physical source of most rivers is difficult to define
take a moment to ZOOM in...
....and you will see how nature has painted the spirit of the donau
Source: Digital image.
Set: ELL01.
Date: ?
Photographer/copyright: Mr R.L. Ellis.
Repository: From the collection of Mr R.L. Ellis.
Used here by his very kind permission.
This image is of a scow schooner similar to that built by Charles Bailey at Auckland, New Zealand in 1882. The vessel is the Kauri with what appears to be logs of kauri pine on the deck.
After a long period of operation along the New Zealand coast the Paris was bought by three brothers, Josiah, Thomas and Henry Miles of Forster; she operated along the NSW coast until she capsized in 1912.
DETAILS:
ON 094267
Type: Scow Schooner
Year Built: 1892
Builder: Charles Bailey, Auckland
Launched: December 1892
Reg Auckland: 2/1893
Reg Sydney: 51/1900
Length: 86.5 ft
Breadth: 23.7 ft
Depth: 5.1 ft
Tonnage: (n.b. 1 shipping ton = 100 cubic feet)
-Gross – 79.34 tons
-Deductions – 2.05 tons (centreboard casing)
-Net or Register – 77.29 tons (218.73 cu. m.)
OWNERS
1892 - P. Arnaud (M.O.), D.H. Ross (Messrs Ross and Ansenne) and J. Young (Auckland)
1895 - Paul Arnaud (Auckland)
1899 – Unknown Queensland party
1900 - Josiah Miles, Thomas Miles & Henry Miles (Forster)
LAUNCH AND INVOLVEMENT IN THE TIMBER CARRYING TRADE
The scow schooner Paris was built for a group of interested parties by well-known shipbuilder Charles Bailey of Customs Street West, Auckland, New Zealand. She was launched in December 1892 and registered in early 1893.
The Paris “was reckoned to be the best of her class of vessel sailing out of Auckland, special care having been taken not only as regards the construction of the vessel, but also as to the class of also timber used in her building, all the material being of the highest class. Since her launching she has been engaged in the timber-carrying trade, and on this occasion was under charter to Messrs. Cashmore Bros., of Cabbage Bay, to convey a cargo of timber to Mohaka, Hawke's Bay.” NEW ZEALAND HERALD, VOLUME XXXI, ISSUE 9628, 28 SEPTEMBER 1894
PARIS ASHORE MOHAKA RIVER – BELIEVED WRECKED - SEPTEMBER 1894
“Auckland This day. ' The scow Paris, owned by Captain Paul Arnaud, D. H. Boss, and J. Young, has gone ashore at the North Spit, Mohaka River, and is filling up with shingle, and there is no prospect of getting her off. The sea is breaking over the vessel. The Paris is quite a new boat of her class, engaged in taking timber to Hawke's Bay. She had on board Capt. Hansen, of Napier, as coastal ' pilot. The vessel is insured in the • National and North Queensland office for £800.” THAMES STAR, VOLUME XXV, ISSUE 4854, 28 SEPTEMBER 1894
“The Scow Paris, Captain Arnaud, 70 tons, is ashore at the northern spit of Mohaka River. She left Napier for Mohaka last Tuesday, and had been in port some weeks awaiting a favourable opportunity to make the passage. The vessel had on board four extra hands, including Captain Hansen. The cargo was to have been rafted ashore as the vessel was not able to get into the river. There was on board 60,000 feet of kauri timber for Messrs Glendinning and Griffiths for the Mohaka bridge contract.” COLONIST, VOLUME XXXVII, ISSUE 8059, 2 OCTOBER 1894
FLOATED OFF IN NOVEMBER 1894
“Yesterday morning the scow Paris arrived from the Mohaka River, Hawke's Bay, after an exceedingly boisterous trip, during which she had to put in for shelter at Gisborne and Hick's Bay. It will be remembered that the vessel went ashore in the Mohaka River some weeks ago, having on board a cargo of timber from this port and Cabbage Bay. After considerable exertions, the vessel was floated off the beach, and temporary repairs effected to the rudder-post, etc., and a start made for Auckland. The weather coming on very bad, the vessel ran in to Gisborne, and as soon as it moderated, sailed again, but had to run for Hick's Bay, where she remained until the 16th instant, when the passage was resumed, the scow arriving yesterday morning. She is not much damaged from going ashore, and will be placed on the slip, in order to have everything remedied.” NEW ZEALAND HERALD, VOLUME XXXI, ISSUE 9677, 24 NOVEMBER 1894
SOLD TO CAPTAIN PAUL ARNAUD 1895
“Messrs. Ross & Ansenne, and J. Young have disposed of their interests in the scow Paris to Captain Paul Arnaud, who has been in charge of the vessel since she was launched.” NEW ZEALAND HERALD, VOLUME XXXII, ISSUE 9725, 22 JANUARY 1895
PUT UP FOR SALE
In February 1898 she was put up for sale by agents E.F. BROAD.
“SCHOONER PARIS for SALE , 78 tons register, carries 140 tons, or 40,000 super feet of timber on 4ft. 6in. draught, for full particulars apply E F. BROAD,
343 Kent-street, Sydney.”The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) Mon 27 Feb 1899
RE-LOCATED TO AUSTRALIA AND PUT UP FOR CHARTER
On 1st October 1898 she was reported to be re-located to Sydney.
“The scow Paris, which has arrived at Sydney, from New Zealand, has been chartered for the New South Wales coastal trade.” NEW ZEALAND HERALD, VOLUME XXXV, ISSUE 10879, 10 OCTOBER 1898
TIMBER FOR SYDNEY.
The scow Paris, from Tararua, N.Z., arrived on Saturday [1st October] with 78,000ft. timber for the Kauri Timber Co. This vessel is under charter for the coastal trade.” Daily Commercial News and Shipping List (Sydney, NSW : 1891 - 1954) Wed 5 Oct 1898
SOLD TO QUEENSLAND INTERESTS - COMMENCED TRADING TO BURKETOWN
SHIPPING SALES.
“The scow Paris, has been sold subject to approval to Queensland buyers, and was yesterday taken into Drake's Dock for sighting. She afterwards proceeds from here to
Burketown with general cargo.” Daily Commercial News and Shipping List (Sydney, NSW : 1891 - 1954) Fri 28 Jul 1899
SOLD TO JOSIAH, THOMAS AND HENRY MILES
In 1900 the Register of British Shipping records the movement of the Register to Sydney and notes the new owners as at 30th October 1900 were three brothers; Josiah Miles and Thomas Miles (sawmill owners) and Henry Miles (shipbuilder) of Forster.
No record of the sale has been discovered in press reports.
NARROW ESCAPE IN SYDNEY HARBOUR
“An exciting incident occurred in Sydney Harbour on Tuesday night, last week, when the well-known schooner Paris, of 77 tons, narrowly escaped being cut in halves by the big interstate passenger liner Wyandra. The Paris, with a cargo of hardwood timber, loaded at Cape Hawke, had not long entered the port, and was lying becalmed between the beacon light and Lang's Point, on the eastern side of the channel, when the A.U.S.N, liner Wyandra, outward bound for Queensland ports, was suddenly noticed steaming directly for the craft. The alarmed sailors of the Paris shouted at the top of their voices, and their cries brought all the passengers of the Wyandra on deck. By this time the steamer was almost on top of the schooner, and intense excitement prevailed. The commander of the Wyandra immediately gave the order to stop the engines, quickly followed by instructions to go full speed astern. The Wyandra was brought up only just in time, for as she passed the schooner with the way still on her she grazed the Paris on the port quarter. The hands on the Paris then procured poles, by means of which they pushed the schooner clear of the steamer.” The Manning River Times and Advocate for the Northern Coast Districts of New South Wales (Taree, NSW : 1898 - 1954) - Saturday 1 December 1906
VESSEL THOUGHT TO BE THE PARIS CAPSIZED
SUPPOSED LOSS OF SCOW PARIS
CREW BELIEVED TO HAVE PERISHED.
SYDNEY, February Tuesday13.
“The well-known scow Paris has apparently been lost with all hands. This morning the Navigation Department at Newcastle received telephone messages from the officer at Swansea that the overturned hull of a small vessel had been seen floating about four miles off shore and that subsequently a party had set out from Swansea to the capsized vessel but could find no signs of life. The party could not ascertain the name of the vessel, but it is thought to be the Paris, a timber scow trading between Cape Hawke and Newcastle.
A boat was found washed upon Nine Mile Beach, north of Lake Macquarie entrance, by the Swansea police today, and the circumstance seems to point to the likelihood that the officers and crew had sought to reach shore, but the boat capsized in the high seas running on yesterday and Sunday (11th).
The pilot steamer Ajax left Newcastle at noon and this afternoon was towing the derelict to Newcastle. The crew- of the Paris were:”
James (or Richard) Farrell, master.
Alexander Muirhead, 43 years, Scotland, mate
B. Hamilton, 53 years, Finland, cook
and seaman. A.(Gus.) Olsen, 49 years, Sweden, A.B.
N. P. Peterson, A.B.” The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) View title info Wed 14 Feb 1912
IDENTITY CONFIRMED WHEN NAMEPLATE FOUND
“THE DERELICT SCOW, IDENTIFIED AS PARIS.
NAME-BOARD PICKED UP.
NEWCASTLE, Thursday. — Information reached the navigation authorities this morning that the name-board of the scow Paris had been picked up on Merewethcr Beach on Sunday last, two days before the derelict was reported off Catherine-hill Bay.
This morning the Acting-Deputy Superintendent of Navigation (Captain Cummings) received a telephone message from the City Electrician (Mr. Allbutt), who resides at Merewethcr, stating that he had just ascertained that a board bearing the name Paris had been found by some boys, who, however, had not attached any importance to the discovery, and had not mentioned it. Captain Cummings at once sent for the board, and it is now in his office. Obviously it is a bulwark board torn from the ship's side, and screwed on is another shorter board with the name Paris cut into it, and painted white on a black background. The board has been newly tarred on the outside, and the inside is painted a light brown. The discovery of the board removes the last lingering doubt regarding the identity of the derelict found floating off Catherine-hill Bay. The Paris, as was surmised, must have met with disaster not far from Newcastle on Friday [9th], when a severe storm raged along the coast.” The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930) Fri 16 Feb 1912
DERELICT TAKEN IN TOW TOWARDS NEWCASTLE – BROKE FROM TOW
With concerns that the derelict Paris was a shipping hazard she was towed towards Newcastle by the pilot steamer Ajax. Unfortunately, the towline broke and the derelict vessel was washed ashore on the beach adjacent to the northern breakwall of Lake Macquarie. It appears that, some months later, attempts were made to right the vessel and tow it into Lake Macquarie; the outcome final is unknown. The following report describes the event.
THE SCOW PARIS.
“A salvage party from Sydney has succeeded in righting the derelict scow Paris and towed it into Lake Macquarie. On February 13 the scow, drifting bottom upwards, was observed in the vicinity of Catherine Hill.
She had left Cape Hawke some days prior to that, and apparently was caught in a squall, which capsized her, and the crew were drowned. The pilot steamer Ajax went out to tow the derelict out of the track of navigation, but it broke adrift.” Daily Commercial News and Shipping List (Sydney, NSW : 1891 - 1954) Fri 17 May 1912
ATTEMPT TO BLOW UP DERELICT THE DERELICT PARIS
NEWCASTLE. Saturday.
Later on an officer of the Works Department was sent from Sydney to blow the derelict up, but it drifted on to the beach near Lake Macquarie Heads, and remained there until the successful salvage party righted it. Repairs are, it is understood, to be put in hand immediately. Daily Commercial News and Shipping List (Sydney, NSW : 1891 - 1954) Fri 17 May 1912
The Government steamer Burunda has left for Catherine Hill Bay for the purpose of destroying the derelict Paris. An officer of the Public Works Department is in charge of operations, and the owner of the Paris accompanies the party. It is proposed to blow the wreck to pieces with dynamite. The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954) Sat 17 Feb 1912
Image Source: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, 1-W1147, photographer Henry Winkelmann
Enhanement Philip Pope
Acknowledgements. The assistance of Mori Flapan (Mori Flapan boatregister) by providing access to his extensive database is greatly appreciated.
GREAT LAKES MANNING RIVER SHIPPING, NSW - Flickr Group --> Alphabetical Boat Index --> Boat builders Index --> Tags List
Source: Scan of a postcard from our image collection.
Image: P...
Date: Unknown.
Postmark: Unused.
Publisher: G. Cox, Printer & Stationer, Post Office, Gorse Hill Swindon.
Repository: Local Studies at Swindon Central Library.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis
St. Louis is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers, on the western bank of the latter. As of 2020, the city proper had a population of around 301,500, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which extends into Illinois, had an estimated population of over 2.8 million, making it the largest metropolitan area in Missouri, the second-largest in Illinois, the seventh-largest in the Great Lakes Megalopolis, and the 20th-largest in the United States.
Before European settlement, the area was a regional center of Native American Mississippian culture. St. Louis was founded on February 14, 1764, by French fur traders Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent, Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, who named it for Louis IX of France. In 1764, following France's defeat in the Seven Years' War, the area was ceded to Spain. In 1800, it was retroceded to France, which sold it three years later to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase; the city was then the point of embarkation for the Corps of Discovery on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In the 19th century, St. Louis became a major port on the Mississippi River; from 1870 until the 1920 census, it was the fourth-largest city in the country. It separated from St. Louis County in 1877, becoming an independent city and limiting its own political boundaries. St. Louis had a brief run as a world-class city in the early 20th century. In 1904, it hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the Summer Olympics.
A "Gamma" global city with a metropolitan GDP of more than $160 billion in 2017, metropolitan St. Louis has a diverse economy with strengths in the service, manufacturing, trade, transportation, and tourism industries. It is home to nine of the ten Fortune 500 companies based in Missouri. Major companies headquartered or with significant operations in the city include Ameren Corporation, Peabody Energy, Nestlé Purina PetCare, Anheuser-Busch, Wells Fargo Advisors, Stifel Financial, Spire, Inc., MilliporeSigma, FleishmanHillard, Square, Inc., U.S. Bank, Anthem BlueCross and Blue Shield, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Centene Corporation, and Express Scripts.
Major research universities include Saint Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis. The Washington University Medical Center in the Central West End neighborhood hosts an agglomeration of medical and pharmaceutical institutions, including Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
St. Louis has three professional sports teams: the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball, the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, and the St. Louis BattleHawks of the newly formed XFL. In 2019, the city was awarded a Major League Soccer franchise, St. Louis City SC, which is expected to begin play upon the completion of a 22,500-seat stadium in the city's Downtown West neighborhood in 2023. Among the city's notable sights is the 630-foot (192 m) Gateway Arch in the downtown area. St. Louis is also home to the St. Louis Zoo and the Missouri Botanical Garden, which has the second-largest herbarium in North America.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Louis_Art_Museum
The Saint Louis Art Museum is one of the principal U.S. art museums, with paintings, sculptures, cultural objects, and ancient masterpieces from all corners of the world. Its three-story building stands in Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri, where it is visited by up to a half million people every year. Admission is free through a subsidy from the cultural tax district for St. Louis City and County.
In addition to the featured exhibitions, the museum offers rotating exhibitions and installations. These include the Currents series, which features contemporary artists, as well as regular exhibitions of new media art and works on paper.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Park_(St._Louis)
Forest Park is a public park in western St. Louis, Missouri. It is a prominent civic center and covers 1,326 acres (5.37 km2). Opened in 1876, more than a decade after its proposal, the park has hosted several significant events, including the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 and the 1904 Summer Olympics. Bounded by Washington University in St. Louis, Skinker Boulevard, Lindell Boulevard, Kingshighway Boulevard, and Oakland Avenue, it is known as the "Heart of St. Louis" and features a variety of attractions, including the St. Louis Zoo, the St. Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum, and the St. Louis Science Center.
Since the early 2000s, it has carried out a $100 million restoration through a public-private partnership aided by its Master Plan. Changes have extended to improving landscaping and habitat as well. The park's acreage includes meadows and trees and a variety of ponds, manmade lakes, and freshwater streams. For several years, the park has been restoring prairie and wetlands areas of the park. It has reduced flooding and attracted a much greater variety of birds and wildlife, which have settled in the new natural habitats.
Myspace | Facebook | Twitter | Blog|PS3 I.D- BloodInTheBokah
so this past weekend i did 4 photo shoots out of 5 scheduled. this one was of Sources a super heavy metal band from sarasota. and big thankx to all the Von Wolfe guys and Aaron/Danner for assisting on all these shoots and holding lights/setting up/breaking down.
-Sources from sarasota FL
-Von Wolfe from daytona FL
-Beware The Neverending from Valdosta GA my home town btw
-Tetrarch from Atlanta GA
-live shots for Axis,Sources,actions speak louder
busy busy...
Strobist
-ab1600 thru octabox boomed left held by jessie
-ab800 thru giant softbox left for fill
5d mrk ii
35mm L usm
_________________________________________________________________
ALL IMAGES ©OPYWRITTEN BY Evan Dell Photography NONE ARE TO BE USED WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena
Siena (in English sometimes spelled Sienna; Latin: Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008. Siena is famous for its cuisine, art, museums, medieval cityscape and the Palio, a horse race held twice a year.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_del_Mangia
The Torre del Mangia is a tower in Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. Built in 1338-1348, it is located in the Piazza del Campo, Siena's premier square, adjacent to the Palazzo Pubblico (Town Hall). When built it was one of the tallest secular towers in medieval Italy. At 102 m, it is second tallest after Cremona's Torrazzo (112 m (367 ft)) the Asinelli tower in Bologna at 97 m being third.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Pubblico
The Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) is a palace in Siena, Tuscany, central Italy. Construction began in 1297 to serve as the seat of the Republic of Siena's government, which consisted of the Podestà and Council of Nine, the elected officials who performed executive functions (and judicial ones in secular matters).
Created For~Make It Interesting Challenge #2
With Kind Thanks to ~
Original Source~mctrent
Background & Tiger~ sharegfx.
Source: Scan of an original black and white postcard.
Image: HAL01.
Date: 1920s? (The Fiat 501 was produced between 1919 and 1926).
From the collection of Mr. Neal H. Adair.
Used here by their very kind permission.
Local Studies at Swindon Central Library.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy
Normandy (French: Normandie, Norman: Normaundie, from Old French Normanz, plural of Normant, originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is one of the 18 regions of France, roughly referring to the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy is divided into five administrative departments: Calvados, Eure, Manche, Orne, and Seine-Maritime. It covers 30,627 square kilometres (11,825 sq mi), comprising roughly 5% of the territory of metropolitan France. Its population of 3.37 million accounts for around 5% of the population of France. The inhabitants of Normandy are known as Normans, and the region is the historic homeland of the Norman language.
The historical region of Normandy comprised the present-day region of Normandy, as well as small areas now part of the departments of Mayenne and Sarthe. The Channel Islands (French: Îles Anglo-Normandes) are also historically part of Normandy; they cover 194 km² and comprise two bailiwicks: Guernsey and Jersey, which are British Crown dependencies over which Queen Elizabeth II reigns as Duke of Normandy.
Normandy's name comes from the settlement of the territory by mainly Danish and Norwegian Vikings ("Northmen") from the 9th century, and confirmed by treaty in the 10th century between King Charles III of France and the Viking jarl Rollo. For a century and a half following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by Norman and Frankish rulers.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux
Bayeux is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France.
Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England. It is also known as the first major town secured by the Allies during Operation Overlord. Charles de Gaulle made two famous speeches in this town.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings
The Normandy landings were the landing operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of German-occupied France (and later Europe) from Nazi control, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.
Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on D-Day was far from ideal and the operation had to be delayed 24 hours; a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks as the invasion planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and the time of day that meant only a few days each month were deemed suitable. Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces and of developing fortifications along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an Allied invasion.
The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 US, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France at 06:30. The target 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their intended positions, particularly at Utah and Omaha. The men landed under heavy fire from gun emplacements overlooking the beaches, and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods, and barbed wire, making the work of the beach-clearing teams difficult and dangerous. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs. At Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled, using specialised tanks.
The Allies failed to achieve any of their goals on the first day. Carentan, St. Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, a major objective, was not captured until 21 July. Only two of the beaches (Juno and Gold) were linked on the first day, and all five beachheads were not connected until 12 June; however, the operation gained a foothold which the Allies gradually expanded over the coming months. German casualties on D-Day have been estimated at 4,000 to 9,000 men. Allied casualties were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead.
Museums, memorials, and war cemeteries in the area now host many visitors each year.
Source: www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/memorial-museum-battle-of-normand...
The Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy uses 2,300m² of exhibition space to present the military operations which took place in the Battle of Normandy during the summer of 1944.
Opened in 1981, the museum is situated in the heart of one of the strategic sites of the Battle of Normandy – Bayeux, the first town in mainland France to be liberated on 7 June 1944. In the heart of the town’s “memorial centre”, named Liberty Alley, the museum is located close to the memorial garden for war correspondents and the British cemetery.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_City,_South_Dakota
Rapid City is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western South Dakota, on the Black Hills' eastern slope. The population was 74,703 as of the 2020 Census.
Known as the "Gateway to the Black Hills" and the "City of Presidents" because of the life-size bronze president statues downtown, Rapid City is split by a low mountain ridge that divides the city's western and eastern parts. Ellsworth Air Force Base is on the city's outskirts. Camp Rapid, part of the South Dakota Army National Guard, is in the city's western part.
Rapid City is home to such attractions as Art Alley, Dinosaur Park, the City of Presidents walking tour, Chapel in the Hills, Storybook Island, and Main Street Square. The historic "Old West" town of Deadwood is nearby. In the neighboring Black Hills are the tourist attractions of Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, and the museum at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. To the city's east is Badlands National Park.
Source: www.visittheusa.com/destination/rapid-city
Where a rugged landscape surrounds charm and culture
While Rapid City is best known for its proximity to national parks and enormous mountain carvings, including Mount Rushmore just 40 kilometers away, visitors to the heart of this Black Hills destination will be enthralled by a plethora of outdoor adventures, a charming and historic downtown and a salute to American Indian heritage in southwestern South Dakota.
The Famous Faces
Make Rapid City your headquarters for short jaunts to six national parks – Badlands National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Jewel Cave National Monument, Wind Cave National Park, Minuteman Missile Silo National Park and Mount Rushmore National Memorial – as well as Crazy Horse Memorial.
No trip here would be complete without seeing the heads of four U.S. presidents, each about 18 meters tall, carved into granite on the side of Mount Rushmore. Once there, you’ll see why the sculpture, which took 14 years to complete, attracts nearly 3 million people a year. Nearby, work continues in the Black Hills on another mountain carving, this one of the famous Lakota warrior Crazy Horse astride his horse, that will become the world’s largest sculpture upon completion. The memorial serves to preserve the culture of North American Indians.
Find out more about the area at The Journey Museum & Learning Center, which features exhibits tracing some 2.5 billion years of history, from the earliest rock formations to Native American cultures and Western frontier exploration.
Large-Scale Outdoor Adventures
Options are plentiful for people who enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, rock climbing, wildlife viewing and off-the-beaten-path exploration. Traipse through all of those national parks and see a variety of landscapes, including mountains, hills, canyons, valleys, creeks and lakes.
Take in the natural beauty of the Black Hills National Forest and all of its hidden gems, including the Stratobowl clearing that was home base for historic balloon flights. Venture into Custer State Park, where the Wildlife Loop takes visitors through 29 kilometers of hills and grasslands, home to more than 1,300 free-roaming bison. Stop in the Wildlife Station Visitor Center to learn what other types of wildlife you might encounter. Sites along the George S. Mickelson Trail – a Black Hills rail trail route that is about 175 kilometers long – include tunnels, bridges and 15 trail heads.
A City of Culture
In addition to the prominent Native American arts and culture, Rapid City has become known for its culinary, winery and brewery scene as well as history tied to the original settlers. The Sculpture Project: Passage of Wind and Water is a five-year public art initiative with sculptor Masayuki Nagase working during the summer months to carve by hand granite sculptures in Main Street Square. As you tour the city, look for the City of Presidents, life-size bronze statues of 43 former U.S. presidents, including the famous four that are also on Mount Rushmore.
Comfort is key in Rapid City, which features smaller boutique hotels, larger hotel chains, vacation rentals, camping and bed-and-breakfast establishments. Perhaps you will find a place with a history that includes some of the nation’s presidents.
Source: www.artalleyrc.com/
Here in the heart of Rapid City, a unique place exists; a functioning alley that hums with the urban street sounds of delivery and garbage trucks and a backbeat of shaking spray paint cans.
The walls feature truly unique works of art, personal and political expressions about community and global issues. It has a fickle nature and is constantly changing, sometimes, many times a day. It has become a sacred place for many - artists, locals and tourists. It is a place where you can get lost in the art - and also found.
Art Alley, located between 6th and 7th, and Main and Saint Joseph Streets in Rapid City, emerged as an organic, community gallery in 2003. In the beginning artists hung largely canvas artworks on the walls, and over time, evolved to painting directly on the walls.
A group of passionate artists and community members worked with city officials to nurture this organic art form, and Art Alley was born.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis"
(South Dakota) "داكوتا الجنوبية" "南达科他州" "Dakota du Sud" "दक्षिण डकोटा" "サウスダコタ" "사우스다코타" "Южная Дакота" "Dakota del Sur"
(Rapid City) "رابيد سيتي" "拉皮德城" "Ville rapide" "रैपिड सिटी" "ラピッドシティ" "래피드시티" "Рапид Сити" "Ciudad rápida"
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona
Barcelona is a city in Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within city limits, its urban area extends to numerous neighbouring municipalities within the Province of Barcelona and is home to around 4.8 million people, making it the sixth most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, Madrid, the Ruhr area and Milan. It is one of the largest metropolises on the Mediterranean Sea, located on the coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs, and bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range, the tallest peak of which is 512 metres (1,680 feet) high.
Founded as a Roman city, in the Middle Ages Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona continued to be an important city in the Crown of Aragon as an economic and administrative centre of this Crown and the capital of the Principality of Catalonia. Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean are located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions and also many international sport tournaments.
Barcelona is one of the world's leading tourist, economic, trade fair and cultural centres, and its influence in commerce, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. It is a major cultural and economic centre in southwestern Europe, 24th in the world (before Zürich, after Frankfurt) and a financial centre. In 2008 it was the fourth most economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union and 35th in the world with GDP amounting to €177 billion. In 2012 Barcelona had a GDP of $170 billion; and it was leading Spain in employment rate in that moment.
In 2009 the city was ranked Europe's third and one of the world's most successful as a city brand. In the same year the city was ranked Europe's fourth best city for business and fastest improving European city, with growth improved by 17% per year, and the city has been experiencing strong and renewed growth for the past three years. Since 2011 Barcelona has been a leading smart city in Europe. Barcelona is a transport hub, with the Port of Barcelona being one of Europe's principal seaports and busiest European passenger port, an international airport, Barcelona–El Prat Airport, which handles over 50 million passengers per year, an extensive motorway network, and a high-speed rail line with a link to France and the rest of Europe.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museu_Nacional_d%27Art_de_Catalunya
The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (English: "National Art Museum of Catalonia"), abbreviated as MNAC, is the national museum of Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on Montjuïc hill at the end of Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina, near Pl Espanya, the museum is especially notable for its outstanding collection of romanesque church paintings, and for Catalan art and design from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including modernisme and noucentisme. The museum is housed in the Palau Nacional, a huge, Italian-style building dating to 1929. The Palau Nacional, which has housed the Museu d'Art de Catalunya since 1934, was declared a national museum in 1990 under the Museums Law passed by the Catalan Government. That same year, a thorough renovation process was launched to refurbish the site, based on plans drawn up by the architects Gae Aulenti and Enric Steegmann, who were later joined in the undertaking by Josep Benedito. The Oval Hall was reopened in 1992 on the occasion of the Olympic Games, and the various collections were installed and opened over the period from 1995 (when the Romanesque Art section was reopened) to 2004. The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (Museu Nacional) was officially inaugurated on 16 December 2004. It is one of the largest museums in Spain.
Source: Scan of a slide from our collection.
Image: P...
Date: April 1977.
Copyright: © 1977 SBC.
Repository: Local Studies, Swindon Central Library.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, pronounced [tsʰépìːʔ ǹtsɪ̀skɑ̀ìː], meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the Utah–Arizona state line. The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies.
Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Famed director John Ford used the location for a number of his Westerns. Film critic Keith Phipps wrote that "its five square miles [13 km2] have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West".
Sourc: navajonationparks.org/navajo-tribal-parks/monument-valley/
History
Before human existence, the Park was once a lowland basin. For hundreds of millions of years, materials that eroded from the early Rock Mountains deposited layer upon layer of sediment which cemented a slow and gentle uplift, generated by ceaseless pressure from below the surface, elevating these horizontal strata quite uniformly one to three miles above sea level. What was once a basin became a plateau.
Natural forces of wind and water that eroded the land spent the last 50 million years cutting into and peeling away at the surface of the plateau. The simple wearing down of altering layers of soft and hard rock slowly revealed the natural wonders of Monument Valley today.
From the visitor center, you see the world-famous panorama of the Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte. You can also purchase guided tours from Navajo tour operators, who take you down into the valley in Jeeps for a narrated cruise through these mythical formations. Places such as Ear of the Wind and other landmarks can only be accessed via guided tours. During the summer months, the visitor center also features Haskenneini Restaurant, which specializes in both native Navajo and American cuisines, and a film/snack/souvenir shop. There are year-round restroom facilities. One mile before the center, numerous Navajo vendors sell arts, crafts, native food, and souvenirs at roadside stands.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Utah) "يوتا" "犹他州" "יוטה" "यूटा" "ユタ州" "유타" "Юта"
(Monument Valley) "وادي النصب التذكاري" "纪念碑谷" "Vallée des monuments" "מוניומנט ואלי" "स्मारक घाटी" "モニュメントバレー" "모뉴먼트 밸리" "Долина Монументов" "Valle de los Monumentos"
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin
Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3,723,914 (2018) inhabitants make it the second most populous city proper of the European Union after London. The city is one of Germany's 16 federal states. It is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, and contiguous with its capital, Potsdam. The two cities are at the center of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which is, with 6,004,857 (2015) inhabitants and an area of 30,370 square km, Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions.
Berlin straddles the banks of the River Spree, which flows into the River Havel (a tributary of the River Elbe) in the western borough of Spandau. Among the city's main topographical features are the many lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs formed by the Spree, Havel, and Dahme rivers (the largest of which is Lake Müggelsee). Due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. About one-third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers, canals and lakes. The city lies in the Central German dialect area, the Berlin dialect being a variant of the Lusatian-New Marchian dialects.
First documented in the 13th century and situated at the crossing of two important historic trade routes, Berlin became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417–1701), the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), and the Third Reich (1933–1945). Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world. After World War II and its subsequent occupation by the victorious countries, the city was divided; West Berlin became a de facto West German exclave, surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989) and East German territory. East Berlin was declared capital of East Germany, while Bonn became the West German capital. Following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all of Germany.
Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media and science. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations and convention venues. Berlin serves as a continental hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination. Significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics.
Berlin is home to world-renowned universities, orchestras, museums, and entertainment venues, and is host to many sporting events. Its Zoological Garden is the most visited zoo in Europe and one of the most popular worldwide. With the world's oldest large-scale movie studio complex, Berlin is an increasingly popular location for international film productions. The city is well known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts and a very high quality of living. Since the 2000s Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall
The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), starting on 13 August 1961, the Wall cut off (by land) West Berlin from virtually all of surrounding East Germany and East Berlin until government officials opened it in November 1989. Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and finished in 1992. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, accompanied by a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc portrayed the Wall as protecting its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany.
GDR authorities officially referred to the Berlin Wall as the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart (German: Antifaschistischer Schutzwall). The West Berlin city government sometimes referred to it as the "Wall of Shame", a term coined by mayor Willy Brandt in reference to the Wall's restriction on freedom of movement. Along with the separate and much longer Inner German border (IGB), which demarcated the border between East and West Germany, it came to symbolize physically the "Iron Curtain" that separated Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War.
Before the Wall's erection, 3.5 million East Germans circumvented Eastern Bloc emigration restrictions and defected from the GDR, many by crossing over the border from East Berlin into West Berlin; from there they could then travel to West Germany and to other Western European countries. Between 1961 and 1989 the Wall prevented almost all such emigration. During this period over 100,000 people attempted to escape and over 5,000 people succeeded in escaping over the Wall, with an estimated death toll ranging from 136 to more than 200 in and around Berlin.
In 1989 a series of revolutions in nearby Eastern Bloc countries—Poland and Hungary in particular—caused a chain reaction in East Germany that ultimately resulted in the demise of the Wall. After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, euphoric people and souvenir hunters chipped away parts of the Wall; the governments later used industrial equipment to remove most of what was left.[6] The "fall of the Berlin Wall" paved the way for German reunification, which formally took place on 3 October 1990.
Here is the source of this part of Small Creek. There looks to be quite a bit more on the other side to explore.
5 exposures bracketed and merged to HDR in Lightroom CC.
The Watcher in the woods
Pursuing the Posh
A Cat Burglar Saga
From the files of Chatwick University Criminology Department.
C.B. Case Study 13 , File B
Subset Source: Journal
Subject “Harley Q” -- Real name?
ORIGINATION STORY:
flic.kr/p/BcnW2J
Synopsis:
The young lady was approaching sweet sixteen if I estimated accurately. She was clad in a tailored dress of bronze velvet that shone richly over her lithe figure. Her long blonde hair tied in back, flickered like a horses’’ tail. She had come bounding from a ladies powder chamber, one of several located at either end of the grand ballroom that sat off the formal dining rooms.
I fell in step behind her, watching as her splendid jewelry bounced merrily as she pranced along like some untried colt, sorry filly. Her pearls were lovely things, a matched set, double strands all, real diamond clasps, shone gleaming with a pristine whiteness that reminded me of fresh snow.
The pearls were a sweet lure, of that there was no doubt; but apologies if I am prattling n a bit about them, for after all, what is a jewel thief who fails to notice a ladies jewels? A starving bugger, that’s who.
Now I have found out during my times here on the earth that I can make quite a profit from burgling the safes of wealthy ladies whilst they slept peacefully within their fancy chambres. But I had started out walking my morally tainted chosen path by picking the pockets of the unwary along the way. It was my fate to eventually discover the delightfully chilling sensation that was experienced when lifting the very jewels displayed by unsuspecting female targets. And this was still my guilty pleasure, to the point that I would still take that far riskier venture of lifting worn jewelry whenever opportunity arose, which was quite often in my travelled circles.
So, that is why I habitually started to follow this meandering youth, only because of her jewels, which I found to be quite vexing. Especially her earrings, a dangling set held to her ears by genuine diamond studded hinge clasps. I had seldom attempted sets of worn earrings, not for the lack of desire, and with this one’s head just reaching me chest, it was a very tempting prospect to try and pluck em both off just to see?
Fortunately, for her (not me), this pretty miss was a bit too young for my standards to make any attempt to lift from her any of the swinging pearls, earrings or otherwise. I do prefer my marks to be a bit older, a bit wiser, a bit more of a challenge to my abilities, thank you very much! Besides, I had already had my eye on a few other, challenging female prospects wearing some rather nice pieces in their own right. Including one sapphire laden Lass in a silky frock that had greatly provoked my attentiveness.
So I just followed this young one while she skirted the ballroom and entered a dining area. There she rejoined, what were quite obviously, her parents.
There were, it appeared, just the three of them, no older jewel laden siblings in sight. But, speaking of appearances, the Mother certainly presented a rather nice one, and so I stopped to drink it all in.
The mother/wife was fluidly clad in an all so elegant purple satin number, poured rather snugly along her still quite lovely figure. Said figure had been made even more eye catching (especially for me) by being emblazon with a matching set of jewels, all set with small 1 caret white diamonds, encircling her neck, wrists and fingers with energetic ripples of fiery colour.
She was with her husband, a distinguished looking gent in tails who may have passed as a Barrister, for which all I knew he was. Now Sandwiched in between was their charming young daughter, who was happily chatting away without a care in the world. Her pristine pearls still dangling, mocking me it would seem, to just make the one exception and attempt to take them home with me. I just smiled to wickedly to myself, maybe someday I would I promised them, once their young mistress had grown up a bit, then we would see who was mocking whom from the wickets!
But I did not dwell too long on such thought’s , or on the pretty family either, for, like I have revealed, I had other fish frying, and only am mentioning this particular incident because of what would occur in two days hence. So after a bit I turned and began wandering off.
But then, speaking of starving jewel thieves, I observed at the precise moment I turned away, a most stunning red head wearing a long black gown that fluttered about, here and there, in a most alluring fashion. She was making a beeline towards the very same powder chamber I had just passed. She was obviously in a rush to reach it, and once I laid my eyes on the pearls she was wearing, I moved towards her in an equally purposeful stride. I intercepted her, letting her bump against me, as I stepped on the hem of her long gown. She stopped abruptly, and I momentarily placed an arm around her smooth waist, steadying her as I apologized and begged the ladies pardon for my clumsiness.
She begrudgingly accepted my apologies, and I watched as she scurried off, having already pocketed the pearled bracelet I had slipped from her red satin gloved wrist, and made my own path. I smirked to myself that the bracelet was some consolation for not having an unscrupulous go for the pearls that had hung around the young daughter’s throat, hung from her ears, and encircled one petite wrist, as I stole one last look back towards the pretty families’ table.
I walked away, turning my attentions back to relocating a certain lady elegantly wearing a silky frock, displaying those magnificent sapphires. I was watching, waiting for her to leave, in order to follow to her next stop, eventually hoping to be led to her last, having decided to acquire the fair damsel’s collection of jewels enmasse!
***** Two productive evenings later ****************
It was at a wedding reception the 2 evenings later that I again, quite un-expectantly, spied the Barrister and his entourage.
I had been having a delightful chat with the newly minted wife of the titled Scion of a rather old family. I had won the sweepstakes of receiving a dance with the charming Miss. But alas my chat was cut short as she was whisked away to dance with yet another admirer. I watched as she swept off, my hand reaching into me breast pocket, fingering a still warm diamond brooch. That jewel had been merrily dangling down from her satin gowns’ cleavage, over shadowed by her ample bosom. As we had danced, I had managed to work open its silvery clasp, and lift the brooch cleanly away. My hidden vest pocket also contained at the time a rather pretty ring with a blue carbuncle surrounded by sparkly diamonds. Said ring had been wrapped around the finger of a rather vexing long raven haired lass. I had admired the silken dress she was wearing, and as she had happily swirled and twirled to give me a better look, I had taken the opportunity to relieve her finger of its burden. Since I was only allowing meself a couple of prospects with an affair this small, I now made my way, leisurely, contentedly, towards an exit (stage right as they say in the trades).
But, no sooner had I put me back to the dance floor, than whom do I spy across the room? That rather delightful miss with a long blonde ponytail, who was now dressed elegantly in cream lace, that I had spied at dinner a few evenings back. It was the very same young lady, wearing the same set of mocking white pearls, and as I discreetly draw near, I soon spied her parents.
The “Barrister” was dapper in crisp white shirt and tux, with a fancy gold pocket watch and fob at his waist. The daughter’s look alike mother was now smartly encased in a fitted red gown that shimmered delightfully as it swished about. She was also wearing a nice display of brite emeralds to boot.
This time I took closer notice of the Mothers Jeweles. Between the emeralds today and the diamonds the night before, this lady in red could be a nice meal ticket if the stars were aligned properly. And so it turned out they very happily (for me) did.
With a few discreet questions from some acquaintances quickly garnered for just such information, I found out where my “Barrister” and his family were spending their late evenings asleep. It so happened that they were staying in a penthouse suite 3 floors above my own modest single. So instead of leaving the reception to scout out a way to gain easy access to their rooms, I could stay and enjoy myself, already being all too familiar with the place. Which I did, later acquiring a gold jeweled bracelet from a charming maiden attired delightfully in teal satin, who had kept flaunting her jewels in me face as she told me all about her perfect self. Another jewel added for my growing collection of the evening.
Now, don’t ask me why I was so familiar with my hotels’ penthouse suites, being a cat burglar, the reasons should be quite clear! So when the pretty family left the reception early, around 9 pm returning to their rooms, I was able to follow them with less discretion then I usually do, but still with growing eager anticipation. Also, even more remarkably, they were in bed and asleep by 10:30 pm, which allowed me a much earlier window of opportunity than I had grown accustomed to having.
And so it was, that soon after the stroke of midnight, with the happy family deep in their slumbers that I, wearing my black burgling attire, climbed onto the balcony of their rooms. After jimmying open the double glass doors with my Fairborn dagger, I found myself in a small sitting room. Carefully allowing my torch to search around I spied a door on the far end. Opening it cautiously, the first thing I see are the daughters pricey pearls piled loosely on a vanity by the bed where she lay sleeping, dressed in white, looking ever so like the angel she is. I picked up the necklace of pearls, eyeing them as I watch the slumbering figure on the bed. But I passed the pretty things up, for even though I am a thief by nature, I do possess some scruples, albeit maybe a little warped! Besides, those taunting pearls had led me to the small treasure trove that was awaiting me in her Mothers’ chambers. So with a silent thanks, I replaced them upon the vanity, and move off…
The parents were found in the next room, soundly sleeping off their alcohol induced haze. The mother was draped over her husband, fetchingly clad in a long satin nightdress that looked almost like an evening gown. Her vulgarly large wedding diamonds flickered pleasantly from her finger as I let my torch sneak up along her shimmering figure. On the bed stand laid the “Barristers” gold watch and a rather pleasing selection of his wife’s gold “day” jewelry, but I passed the lot up, my eyes looking for the good stuff that would be snuggled inside the small room safe that I knew would be behind a false door in one side of the oak dresser ( having already discovered that fact a year previously in a different room of the same hotel)!
I went directly to it, and opening the cabinet door, began to use my finely attuned skills to crack it. It was a simple American lock and only took me a minute to have open. I than emptied the small collection of jewel cases ( lovely things) placing them into my small sack. I also find inside the mothers small clutch purse made expensively of red silk and rhinestones, that had been at her side all evening. Out of curiosity (why in the safe?) I placed it inside my bag with the jewels. After checking that the parents were still out cold, I closed the safe, flickering my torch around one last time, it settles upon her red gown, and its emerald rhinestone clips coming blazing into lively flame. I passed on them, and headed back out towards the door. I had almost regained it, and my freedom, when the husband let out a loud snort, and I heard rustling going on in the bed behind me. I froze and carefully looked back. Neither had woken, but the wife had turned onto her side, and her left hand was now hanging limply over the side of the bed. I watched as the diamonds set in the gold ring encircling her slender finger blazed into life (the ring was somewhat loose I keenly noticed)! Blimey, there was enough dosh in the value of that ring that would have paid for all the expenses of the Cardiff C.C. for an entire season, perhaps 2! But, Bird in the Hand, I am always telling meself, so I left the pretty thing dangling there, and finished my careful retreat. I made it out without further incident.
Passing the daughters room ( and her pearls again), I checked in. The young filly was still was sound asleep in her own pleasant dreams, her taunting pile of pearls still on the vanity, where they would remain. I regained the balcony and slipping over, made my way down to the window of my own room.
Back in my room I empty my sack, the pile of jewels flickering in a frenzy of colours. I admire the little darlings briefly before stashing them. I than pick up the purse and open it. Inside amongst the usual feminy items, I found a letter. Looking at it my heart, already beating quickly from the exhilaration of being on the prowl, skipped one beat, for it was addressed to the lady whose jewels I now possessed, and it was an address of an area I knew quite well. I thought about her address, the house she presumably shared with husband and daughter, the house which should be empty seeing its owners were sleeping just three floors above me. A house that was little over an hour away, only about ¾ of that hour by driving my Lotus. It was a house that I figuratively knew; being in the same neighborhood (relatively speaking) of a house I had reconnoitered and quite lucratively burgled the previous spring.
It was perfect. While the family was asleep snug in their beds here, I could reach their abode, with its jewel laden safe ( they all had jewel laden safes in that area), ½ hour to creep the place, an hour to do the job proper and I would be back in time to catch a two hour kip and be checked out and on my way before the pretty family have had breakfast. It, bears repeating, was perfect.
I looked at the envelope, was its contents that valuable that she felt the need to lock it up. More than mildly curious, I pulled it out and read it. It was from someone named Samuel. In no uncertain terms, he was informing the lady that for only ₤5000 sterling he would leave for the States and never bother her Daughter Claire again. I thought of the young girl asleep in the suite I had just left. What kind of Scoundrel would lure a young girl like that into his clutches with the intent of extorting her parents! For a moment I pondered this bit of information, before deciding that the opportunity was too ripe to pass up just because I felt a small twinge of compassion. Besides, if the parents could afford to cough up a cool 5 thousand, they weren’t hurting in the financial department.
I changed, and quickly gathered my things and headed out quietly via a back entrance. Placing my burgle kit (containing the ladies jewels) into the boot of me two seater, I fired up the lotus’s engine and was off on my little undertaking!
A half hour away I turned down a little used rutty road/path. Pulling over I grabbed my burgle kit and headed down to some ancient stone ruins. Checking to make sure none of my warning snares had been tripped, I entered a small stone building. Going down into one of its old, crumbling basements, I uncovered a small cubby and added the jewels to the growing collection of my recent takings.
Included in the collection were sets of pearls burgled from a coach stop overnight room occupied by a pair of fairly insufferable spinster sisters. Other burgled items were a rather pretty , if not vulgarly large, diamond set obtained from a naive damsel who thought hiding them under the pillow she slept on was safer than a safe, (always happy to enlighten someone upon the error of their ways that’s me), and of course the sapphires that the lass in the silky frock had been wearing 2 nights previous ( along with some rather nice sets of rubies and diamond adorned amethysts that had lain in the same safe, located above her soundly sleeping figure! ) The rest of the lot consisted of items I had “picked up” while on the prowl: a nice collection of brooches, rings, bracelets, and an eye-catching sapphire pendent hanging from a diamonded chain.
I than closed everything up, rechecked my warning snares, and headed back to my Lotus.
Another 30 minutes and I had reached my destination.
The house itself was pretty secluded, located by an intersection of two lanes. I drove its perimeter than doubling back found a pull off. I backed up and turned down and off the road hiding the small sports car in a grove of pines.
Already wearing some of my burglar attire, (black military trousers and sweater), I placed a hood over my head, pulled out my small kit, fastening a torch and military knife to my belt, I was off. The house appeared to be deserted, I found the servants quarters located at the back of the house over a small barn, the only cars were a small sports car in a shed, and a roadster sitting out front. A large garden surrounded by hedges lay to the west of the house, a larger Tudor, with several porches and balconies. Using the hedges as cover, I shimmed up an old tree located by a balcony, and slipping onto the balcony proper, I made my way to the door. Shimmed the latch with my Fairborn commando knife, and then entered into a side bedroom. I was looking for the master suite, and this was not it, the daughter’s by all appearances. I spied a small ornate silver box on a table, but passed it up , on the search for bigger game!
Turning on my torch I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. At the end was a set of double mahogany doors and this is where I set my sights. Along the hallway wall were several rather nice paintings (not copies) and I let the pool of my light flicker along them. Included in the lot was a small painting of a young fox, half asleep, eyeing something in the distance? I stood for precious seconds admiring it, and then turned my attention to the mahogany doors. They were not locked, and I cautiously, very slowly, opened one. Pay dirt! A large empty canopied bed stood in the middle of the room, a love seat to one side, a settee on the other, and directly across from the bed a large ornate sideboard with mirror. Along one side of the wall was a series of chains with different rooms labelled underneath, presumably connected to bells in those rooms. It definitely belonged to the mistress of the house, and, hopefully, her jewels.
I let my light flow over the room, avoiding the window and glass door that led out onto another balcony. I soon spotted the location of the safe; it was behind an old painting of a Harlequin. Said Harlequin was standing on a black and white checked tile floor, as he looked inquisitively into his own reflection from an ornate wall mirror. The painting was located on the wall between the corner and the intricately carved oak sideboard. I slid back the painting on its hinges, exposing the small safe.
It was exactly the same safe as their neighbors, the ones I had burgled clean in the spring. Quickly getting to work I spin the tumblers, listening intently for the correct paths of clicks. Bingo! , it opened up like a dream. Inside I found a bonanza of about a dozen small jewel cases handedly printed with the jewelers names (Cartier and Tiffany’s amongst them! ) I quickly open and empty their contents into my kit, pouring out a delightfully pricey array of colorful gems of all types and styles. Replacing the empty cartons, I rummage around, finding a small stack of gold and silver coins and a couple of bundles of notes, currency of the realm. I favorably pocket the lot.
Suddenly I freeze, hearing the unmistakable sounds of muffled giggling from down the corridor. Closing the safe and picture I back off and hide inside a closet, wishing I had had the foresight to have opened the balcony door to see if that had offered escape, but I had been so sure I would be alone that evening that I had let me guard slacken a bit. I hoped that whoever it was they were heading off to bed.
They were off to bed, problem was it was the bed in the room I was in for which they were heading. I heard the door open, and from the crack in the closet door, I saw a young couple come in, tipsy and fondling the heck out of one another. The female was obviously an older daughter of the house, a mini version of the mother and her sister. She was resplendent in a long flowing cream satin evening gown; her paramour was a beady eyed, weasely faced chap in loose fitting tux and tails. It must have been his roadster outside; the couple must have been snogging in the garden, and drinking wine, judging from the smell and the way they were acting. Again I kicked myself for not checking the grounds more thoroughly. But why hadn’t the bloody twit of a daughter been at the wedding with her family where she belonged? But a bit later I was to reason that if she had, I would have been tempted to lift a diamond bracelet, and me path may have ended there. Missing out entirely, the opportunity to burgle the contents of 2 bedroom safes, master and penthouse!
They headed right to the bed, (doing it on the parents bed, and old cracker that was) the lady not even taking off her long satin gloves, just falling onto the bed with her doe wide eyes gleaming, while her beady eyed lover was falling all over her. Oh god! Samuel, I heard her mummer in passion. My eyes were opened, this must be the daughter Claire, and the beady eyed bloke was the infamous Samuel. Now it made a little more sense, but not any less wicked. I watched them in a new light, my mind going a full mile a minute trying to see a way out of the situation. . “Si vous voulez faire rire Dieu , faire des plans” I muttered an old saying in French, chastising myself inwardly for taking on such a gamble rushed for time.
Now, I am certainly no voyeur, and my belief that some things private, are, well private! But actually, in this instance, there was no choice. I tried not to watch, but the couple’s raw, animal like lovemaking and all its trimmings were happening just feet away. I began to amuse myself by watching the flashy show put on by the daughter’s sparkling jewels and the fluidly movement of her shiny, slinking gown as they were caught in the moonlight that streamed thru the glass of the balcony door. It was the type of show that engrosses any jewel thief worth his salt (hell, any bloke worth his salt for that matter). My mind also kept going back to the letter that I had found in the red silk purse and I hoped that a way would open to cause “Mr.” Samuel some sort of grief.
Beady eyes comes onto her, driving her mind off everything but what he is doing, as her eyes are closed tight, his are open, looking about. I slink in a little more into the shadows, keeping his face in my view. Occasionally a white satin gloved hand appears, rings and bracelets sparkling in a frenzied flickering as her fingers grip his face. Suddenly his eyes open wide as he looks towards the painting of the Harlequin. Cripes I mutter as I look there also, for on the floor lies a diamond bracelet, the fancy bugger must have slipped out as I scurried to my hole. I prepare to bolt like a fox hiding close to where the hounds are heading (my mind went to the painting of the watchful fox in the hallway outside the bedroom).
But beady eyes says nothing..
He finished the job, with her squealing like a piglet, before she slumps back exhaustedly onto the bed. Her eyes were closed, her breathing became heavier as she lost all drink induced conscious. I watched as her lover’s half closed eye stayed focused on the bracelet, as he listened to her breathing become heavier. When he was sure she was asleep he slipped off and heading to the vanity scooped up the bracelet and placed it inside a pocket of his tux’s vest. He then crawls back next to her, gently fingering her diamond rings before (finally) joining her into heavy, wine induced sleep alongside.
It seemed like hours, but the whole episode, by me watch, lasted only a ¾ of hour, but it was a precious time I could ill afford to have lost atoll.
I was running late, but knew what I had to do next. Walking over to the pair I watched them for a few seconds, plotting my next course of action. Her jewels were flickering nicely in the moon’s light.
I reached down an lifting ever so gently one still gloved lifeless feminine hand, I slipped off a couple of sparkly rings from satin clad fingers, and unfastened a tight cuff bracelet emblazon with diamonds from around her wrist. Then I lifted the other hand, easily gliding off another brace of glistening rings from her fingers, and a second diamonded bracelet from her limp wrist. Than lifting her necklace of diamonds, I pulled it gently around admiring the way they rippled fire along her throat, till its jeweled clasp was exposed. Then I slowly pry open the jeweled clasp, and slipped the necklace away, watching it sway in the moonlight like a glistening snake. They were both still out cold, It wasn’t really very much of a challenge, not that I was complaining mind you.
I happily pocketed the lot, except for a cheaper ring. I swapped that ring for the diamond bracelet in Samuel’s vest pocket, hoping that the outcome would prove interesting. In the process of placing the ring in the Sammy boy’s vest, I came across his fat pocketbook, which I gladly lifted and added to the collection in my own now bulging pocket.
I then left the room, leaving quietly by stepping upon the soles of my feet. As I pass the small painting of the watching fox, I pull it off and stick it into my kit, a bonus for me extra worries. I than slip back through the daughter’s bedroom, its door now slightly ajar.
In a corner of the room lay the small silvery jewelry case I had passed up earlier thinking it was the younger daughters. But, I hesitated, wondering to which daughter the room belonged, for someone had slightly opened the door for a reason? I shook my head, no chances. But, wait a minute, I grinned as my thoughts grew ever more pleasing. I walked over to the small table that held the ornate silver jewel case (casket was what my Gram had called hers), above it was a small picture of the family daughters in full riding regalia, the older daughter, Claire, had a small pin of a fox in her shiny white satin caveat.
I bent down and opening the small case. There on top was the fox pin, glittering with brownish Sardonyx gemstones and bright red ruby eyes. I plucked it up and added it to my sparkling collection. Then I admired the shimmery collection of gold and pearled jewelry (no lowly silver for this lass). Selecting the better ones I placed them with the fox pin and the Mothers jewels in my kit, then scooping out the rest, I placed them in unceremoniously in a side pocket.
I then went back out the balcony and down the tree. I headed over to the roadster out front and taking out a few of the lesser jewels I had scooped into me pocket, and I began placing them in and underneath the passenger seat of the vehicle.
Finished I admired my handiwork, then looking leisurely around, let out a deep sigh of absolute relief, mixed with exquisite feelings of pleasure of an adventuer winningly pulled off, before melting off into the shadows of the woods. I soon reached my lotus, gunned the engine to life, and then proceeded to slowly drive off without headlights until I reach the main road.
I once again stopped at my hidden cubby and deposited my burglar’s kit and purloined jewels with the rest of my stash, reset my snares, and headed quickly back to the hotel.
I reached my destination just at cock crow, went upstairs and finished packing. It was later than I had anticipated, so no kip for the sinners. I just loaded my luggage into the boot of the two seater, checked my key in at the desk, settled my bill, and headed for a quick breakfast.
But I wasn’t quick enough, for about halfway through my breakfast The “Barrister” and his family came down to have the same. They appeared to be calm, so I knew that my activities earlier that morning had not been exposed yet.
I pushed aside my almost finished plate and standing, walked past them, allowing the daughter, who was clad in a silky skirt and matching satiny top, and wearing those taunting white pearls of hers, to bump into me as she pranced to their table. Steady girl I says, catching her as I eye for the last time her dangling jewelry. So sorry sir, she replied apologetically. I complimented her parents on their charming daughter. The father, in a formal suit and tie, grunts his thanks. The mother, in a scintillatingly swishing long red skirt, and heavy cream silk blouse, blushes prettily. I look over her plentiful “everyday” jewelry as I take their leave. What she was wearing for a normal day of activates was expensive enough to catch any thief’s desire to acquire.
As I walked away, a vision of her walking the streets, dressed as she was, back in Dickens London formed in my thoughts. She attracted the notice of a small street urchin, his devious heart pounding as he left huis vigil from the wall he had been leaning against too closely follow her as she swished by. Catching up to her in the hopes of brushing against her and with a sorry ma’am, walk away with some of it.
This was actually from a memory of mine ( long after Dickens time though) about an incident I had witnessed while working at my old uncles “eel and mash” shop.
A finely decked out young couple (the long haired lady wearing pearls as it so happened) had been inside the shop and finishing their meal, had walked out across the street. A street youth had been hanging out by the shop and had followed them across the street close on their heels. They all turned a corner, so I never knew what had happened, if anything ( which I sincerely doubted)! But that image had plagued many an unsettling adolescent dream with images of finely dressed ladies bending down to a begging young grimy faced lad, well ringed fingers and bracelets jangling as a coin was offered, gold lockets or pearls swaying out from tightly satin clad breasts to just within the reach of his grubby fingers….
I have come to believes that it was the seeds planted in my mind by those dreams that may have very well guided and nudged me onto the course I have continued following to this day.
So, naturally I guess, as I walked away my train of thoughts took a similar course as those dreams/nightmares. I imagined the mother I had just left, walking along a street alone, dressed as she was last evening, the jewels that were now in a cold small cubby, once again upon her figure, glittering their fiery beacon. Then suddenly her daughter, dressed as she was now, was strolling alongside her. The street urchin I had seen that morning so long ago was here also, following close, eyeing the ladies reflected jewels in a storefront window as they walked past……
But at that point in my daydream I realized that I had reached and was standing beside my two seater, and shaking my head clear of such thoughts (once again, sadly not seeing the outcome) I happily hopped over the door and into the driver’s seat, firing up the engine, and quite eagerly pulled away from the hotel and roared down the road.
I stopped by my secret cubby, and without haste, fully on the alert, made my way down to the basement. I collected my stash and made it back to the Lotus without incident. Lighting me pipe, I smiled to meself, promising a nice stiff one once I got back to the abode. I pulled away, slowly, cheerfully, driving down the warm sunlit road. I was now on to new quests, filled with promises of many lucrative acquisitions.
One of those quests was wrapped around a young lady in Soho, who recently had inherited a jewellery collection worth ₤25,000 which she loved wearing out in public, flaunting the richly jeweled pieces all about whenever she could. The quite, almost vulgarly rich, young lass had so many Beaus seeking her affections that she was being invited out almost weekly out to some special dress up affair. This all made her overly ripe for the plucking by some jewelry procurement minded thief. And being one meself, a jewel thief that is, I intended to be the first in line.
Once I returned home, I first visited my London banks strongbox to deposit my newly acquired ” glittering with fire” trophies to let them “cool” down a bit. Then I made sure the Yard received an anonymous post. Said post containing a red silk evening clutch, inside which was beady eyes’ pocketbook( sans money) along with the letter incriminating one certain rogish gent by the name of Samuel for attempting extortion of 5000 pounds sterling from the fair Claire’s Mother. I know how the chaps in the inspector’s squad so love a mystery!
And so, for now dear journal, I bid farewell, adieu.
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Si vous voulez faire rire Dieu , faire des plans
Roughly translated:
If you want to make God laugh, Make plans
Courtesy of Chatwick University Archives
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Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin
Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. It is on the east coast of Ireland, in the province of Leinster, at the mouth of the River Liffey, and is bordered on the south by the Wicklow Mountains. It has an urban area population of 1,173,179, while the population of the Dublin Region (formerly County Dublin), as of 2016, was 1,347,359, and the population of the Greater Dublin area was 1,904,806.
There is archaeological debate regarding precisely where Dublin was established by the Gaels in or before the 7th century AD. Later expanded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin, the city became Ireland's principal settlement following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800. Following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland.
Dublin is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration and industry. As of 2018 the city was listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) as a global city, with a ranking of "Alpha −", which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world.
Source: Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha%27penny_Bridge
The Ha'penny Bridge (Irish: Droichead na Leathphingine, or Droichead na Life), known later for a time as the Penny Ha'penny Bridge, and officially the Liffey Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge built in May 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. Made of cast iron, the bridge was cast in Shropshire, England.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Liffey
The River Liffey (Irish: An Life) is a river in Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water and a range of recreational activities.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_City,_South_Dakota
Rapid City is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western South Dakota, on the Black Hills' eastern slope. The population was 74,703 as of the 2020 Census.
Known as the "Gateway to the Black Hills" and the "City of Presidents" because of the life-size bronze president statues downtown, Rapid City is split by a low mountain ridge that divides the city's western and eastern parts. Ellsworth Air Force Base is on the city's outskirts. Camp Rapid, part of the South Dakota Army National Guard, is in the city's western part.
Rapid City is home to such attractions as Art Alley, Dinosaur Park, the City of Presidents walking tour, Chapel in the Hills, Storybook Island, and Main Street Square. The historic "Old West" town of Deadwood is nearby. In the neighboring Black Hills are the tourist attractions of Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, and the museum at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. To the city's east is Badlands National Park.
Source: www.visittheusa.com/destination/rapid-city
Where a rugged landscape surrounds charm and culture
While Rapid City is best known for its proximity to national parks and enormous mountain carvings, including Mount Rushmore just 40 kilometers away, visitors to the heart of this Black Hills destination will be enthralled by a plethora of outdoor adventures, a charming and historic downtown and a salute to American Indian heritage in southwestern South Dakota.
The Famous Faces
Make Rapid City your headquarters for short jaunts to six national parks – Badlands National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Jewel Cave National Monument, Wind Cave National Park, Minuteman Missile Silo National Park and Mount Rushmore National Memorial – as well as Crazy Horse Memorial.
No trip here would be complete without seeing the heads of four U.S. presidents, each about 18 meters tall, carved into granite on the side of Mount Rushmore. Once there, you’ll see why the sculpture, which took 14 years to complete, attracts nearly 3 million people a year. Nearby, work continues in the Black Hills on another mountain carving, this one of the famous Lakota warrior Crazy Horse astride his horse, that will become the world’s largest sculpture upon completion. The memorial serves to preserve the culture of North American Indians.
Find out more about the area at The Journey Museum & Learning Center, which features exhibits tracing some 2.5 billion years of history, from the earliest rock formations to Native American cultures and Western frontier exploration.
Large-Scale Outdoor Adventures
Options are plentiful for people who enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, rock climbing, wildlife viewing and off-the-beaten-path exploration. Traipse through all of those national parks and see a variety of landscapes, including mountains, hills, canyons, valleys, creeks and lakes.
Take in the natural beauty of the Black Hills National Forest and all of its hidden gems, including the Stratobowl clearing that was home base for historic balloon flights. Venture into Custer State Park, where the Wildlife Loop takes visitors through 29 kilometers of hills and grasslands, home to more than 1,300 free-roaming bison. Stop in the Wildlife Station Visitor Center to learn what other types of wildlife you might encounter. Sites along the George S. Mickelson Trail – a Black Hills rail trail route that is about 175 kilometers long – include tunnels, bridges and 15 trail heads.
A City of Culture
In addition to the prominent Native American arts and culture, Rapid City has become known for its culinary, winery and brewery scene as well as history tied to the original settlers. The Sculpture Project: Passage of Wind and Water is a five-year public art initiative with sculptor Masayuki Nagase working during the summer months to carve by hand granite sculptures in Main Street Square. As you tour the city, look for the City of Presidents, life-size bronze statues of 43 former U.S. presidents, including the famous four that are also on Mount Rushmore.
Comfort is key in Rapid City, which features smaller boutique hotels, larger hotel chains, vacation rentals, camping and bed-and-breakfast establishments. Perhaps you will find a place with a history that includes some of the nation’s presidents.
Source: motionunlimitedmuseum.com/about-us/
MOTION UNLIMITED MUSEUM is the heart and soul of Bill and Peggy Napoli. From the time Bill was 9 years old and owned his very first 1940 Ford pickup, his goal was to own and operate a fine automobile museum and build cars’ trucks, and motorcycles. Not just a dingy old bunch of buildings full of dirty old cars, but a beautiful place to showcase the antique and classic cars and motorcycles Bill and Peggy have painstakingly restored themselves since they married in 1969.
From the 1933 Dodge Sedan Delivery that took 8 years to rebuild, to the 1925 Studebaker Motor Home, to the Harley Davidson with Side Car equipped with a TV, all the vehicles in the museum show their touch of detail, and love only true enthusiasts have for their collection.
Bill and Peggy have filled 18,000 square feet of buildings with toys, pedal cars, pedal tractors, gas pumps, signs, pictures, and thousands of other pieces of memorabilia along with the antique and classic cars and motorcycles. Stop and read the stories, lots of history!
Bill and Peggy do all their own restoration and custom work, including body and paint, upholstery, mechanical work, and finish detail. They always have at least 3-5 projects in the process of building.
There are over 100 cars for sale at Motion Unlimited Museum and Classic Car Lot at any one time, and Yes, they will sell vehicles from their collection.
The museum is constantly evolving and changing. So, whenever you come to visit, you will see new and exciting things each time. You’re invited to come to spend your vacation in the Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota and visit one of the most unique collections anywhere. Who knows, you might also buy the vehicle of your dreams during your visit!
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis"
(South Dakota) "داكوتا الجنوبية" "南达科他州" "Dakota du Sud" "दक्षिण डकोटा" "サウスダコタ" "사우스다코타" "Южная Дакота" "Dakota del Sur"
(Rapid City) "رابيد سيتي" "拉皮德城" "Ville rapide" "रैपिड सिटी" "ラピッドシティ" "래피드시티" "Рапид Сити" "Ciudad rápida"