View allAll Photos Tagged Sympathetic
Swan House was an award-winning, five star guest house in the heart of Hastings Old Town. Dating back to 1490, the interior had been sympathetically restored to an extremely high standard. Unfortunately it is no longer open for guests www.accessibilityguides.org/content/swan-house
nb This photo was technically difficult because the road in front of Swan House is very narrow so it was impossible to step back. I took and stitched 4 different photos together and tried to minimise the resulting distortion. All of the other pictures I have seen were taken from a sideward point of view
Twilight over Sedona originally horribly overexposed brought back from the brink by some new tools I have learnt doing some Lumenzia course work the past few weeks.
Sedona s a treasure and in tune with its surroundings and strictly enforced, all the town lighting is set up with special shielding to avoid light pollution into the skies.
We were truly amazed at the sheer number of houses that were in a location that you just couldn’t see due to sympathetic placement well designed landscaping and contour design building.
I am sure that even the paint color schemes are carefully regulated here, I know the local McDonald’s has to use green arches instead of yellow!
This picture was taken from the viewing platform at the Sky Ranch Lodge our hotel directly beside the airport sunset viewing platform.
The Sky Ranch is a homely old school hotel with a shuttle into anywhere downtown and pickup service friendly staff and an excellent grill located just across the street but the best part is the private sunset platform belonging to the hotel, unfortunately it started to pour not long after I set up my tripod……. :(
I took this with my D750 and Tamron SP 24-70mm 2.8 G2 Lens at 70mm 4s, f/13 ISO 100 processed in LR, PS +Lumenzia
Disclaimer: My style is a study of romantic realism as well as a work in progress.
humming WAVE GUIDES and beyond .....strong vibrating minds realigning frequencies, .....tuning the perfect pitch
I found this lovely statue on a wall of a church.
thanks for every one for views, faves, and comments.
Cochin (Inde) - Après avoir énergiquement frappé le linge sur le béton, on passe à l'essorage. Ici tout se fait à la main.
Ce n'est pas tout à fait vrai, car dans le bâtiment collectif de la communauté Dhobi-Wallah qui sert de salle de repassage, il y a une grosse essoreuse électrique. Mais elle ne sert qu'en période de mousson, lorsqu'il est impossible de faire sécher rapidement le linge à l'air libre en raison de l'humidité ambiante.
Malgré son air sévère, cet homme est tout à fait sympathique et habituellement très souriant. Là, il a été saisi en plein effort car l'essorage à la main demande beaucoup de force. Et il en rajoute un peu dans l’expression pour la photo.
Wringing
Cochin (India) - After having vigorously knocked the laundry on the concrete, we proceed to the wringing. Here everything is done by hand.
This is not entirely true, because in the collective building of the Dhobi-Wallah community which serves as an ironing room, there is a large electric wringer. But it is only useful in the monsoon season, when it is impossible to dry the laundry quickly in the open air due to the ambient humidity.
Despite his stern demeanor, this man is quite sympathetic and usually very smiling. There, it was seized in full effort because the hand wringing requires a lot of force. And he adds a bit of it to the expression for the photo.
Kodak Ektar 100 f/8 30s
Sydney Opera House from across Circular Quay, 20 minutes before sunrise.
Hasselblad Xpan remains a marvelous camera for travel, and a good match for the Leica TOOUG tripod. B-Mode on the Xpan is limited to 30 seconds maximum, so I usually calculate my exposure back from that. Forget Star trails, but usually good enough for most things that crop up on a trip.
For those who still travel with analog film in Australia, best be aware that security CT scanners are pretty much everywhere now and are definitely not film compatible, even with a lead bag. And the policy for visual and chemical inspection for film is no longer the case, no matter how polite the photographer: your film will be irradiated whether you carry-on or pack it in your luggage. I now purchase my film at my destination and post it before departure to the lab (in this case Ikigai in Melbourne). International destinations may still be OK (Japan is especially film-friendly) but be aware that the writing is well and truly on the wall and a sympathetic security inspection can no longer be relied upon…
Luddenden
This extensive mill complex is in an open setting on the hillside above Luddenden village. It was founded by John Murgatroyd & Son in 1847, it was named after the family house which had been built in 1645. It operated as a worsted spinning and manufacturing works. It was one of the largest concerns in the upper Calder valley. A road divides the site in half, the earliest building being on the right of the photograph. It was steam powered from the beginning, comprising of a three storey mill, an engine house and a tall chimney. An additional four storey mill was added around 1855. The mill expanded on to the opposite side of the road, on the left of picture, in 1863, and again during 1886 and 1887 under the supervision of the architect T. Lister Padgett of Halifax. The large single storey sheds with the saw tooth roofs were added to house combing and weaving machinery, whilst the multi storey buildings were used for preparation and spinning. At its peak it employed around 2000 people.
The mill was severely damaged by fire in February 1989, the building on the left was totally gutted. It has been sympathetically replaced by an apartment block, the whole mill complex is now residential or holiday rental accommodation. Prices range to purchase an apartment from around £190,000 to over £300,000 depending on the size.
Thank you for your visit and your comments, they are greatly appreciated.
“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.” ~ George Washington Carver
I confess I have been struggling a bit with this one. I wanted to capture the play of light, and perhaps put the 'Victorian' back into the 'Victoria Quarter' by attempting something remotely resembling 'Dickensian'. The composition, even though straightforward, also bugged me. In the end I plumped for the square frame to try and sympathetically accommodate the centred symmetry of the composition.
(too much information I know, but just in case anyone is vaguely interested..... :-))
Designed by renowned architect Berthold Lubetkin, George Loveless House and the neighbouring James Hammett House were two of the first to feature high level blocks using reinforced concrete. But over the years, the two blocks had fallen into disrepair and the external coatings, walkways, columns, decks, aggregate panels and mastic joints were in need of a serious refurbishment.
“George Loveless House and James Hammett House were built in 1957 and due to lack of investment over recent times, the appearance of the building had been affected,” commented Jamie Carswell, Director of Investment of Tower Hamlets Homes. “When Tower Hamlets Homes was set up in 2008 to manage the Tower Hamlets Council housing stock, both buildings were included on a programme of capital works. The concrete works helped to achieve a sympathetic restoration of the block and residents have been positive about the works. A range of products from Sika were selected.”
Within minutes of arriving here, the sun came out.
This place is magical like that.
A ten mile walk with an old friend, comfortable in each other's company to talk, or to remain silent.
The large Ash tree holds court,
sympathetic to the calling to the ancestors and earth spirits.
The name Tuesday derives from the Old English Tiwesdæg and literally means "Tiw's Day". Tiw is the Old English form of the Proto-Germanic god *Tîwaz, or Týr in Old Norse. *Tîwaz derives from the Proto-Indo-European base *dei-, *deyā-, *dīdyā-, meaning 'to shine', whence comes also such words as "deity". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuesday#:~:text=The%20name%20Tuesda....
Earlier in this Hyde Park series, I posted photos of the Brownlee House, an example of the American Foursquare. The Faulk-Frenke House is also an example of the Foursquare style of architecture. Houses in this classical style are built in a cube design with a veranda spanning the front and a pyramidal-shaped roof.
Built in 1917 by a cousin of John Henry Faulk, a well-known and controversial Austin commentator, the house went through a succession of owners until 1971 when Merle and Ginna Franke purchased it. At that time, it was in considerable need of repairs, and the use of space was not suited to modern-day living.
Franke's son, Steve, led a renovation during the 1980s and '90s. All the changes were made within the original framework and are sympathetic to the house's character. There are no additions—Steve simply reassigned space to different uses, sometimes realigning interior walls.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, the Hyde Park Historic District includes an eclectic mixture of architectural styles, from late 19th-century Queen Anne and Classical Revival homes to 20th-century bungalows and ranch houses. Additionally, many of the houses and buildings in Hyde Park have been designated City of Austin Historic Landmarks and Texas Historic Landmarks.
Source: 1994 Park Neighborhood Association Homes Tour Guide
More buildings inside the Italian Village of Portmeirion.
In 1925, Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis acquired the site which was to become Portmeirion. He had been searching for a suitable site for his proposed ideal village for several years and when he heard that the Aber Iâ estate near Penrhyndeudraeth was for sale, he did not hesitate to make an offer.
He wanted to show how a naturally beautiful location could be developed without spoiling it, and that one could actually enhance the natural background through sympathetic development. The Aber Iâ estate had everything he had hoped for as a site for his architectural experiment: steep cliffs overlooking a wide sandy estuary, woods, streams and a nucleus of old buildings.
But the history of Portmeirion started long before 1925. The construction of Castell Deudraeth was recorded in 1188 by Gerald of Wales, who wrote: "We crossed the Traeth mawr and the Traeth Bychan. These are two arms of the sea, one large and one small. Two stone castles have been built there recently. The one called Castell Deudraeth belongs to the sons of Cynan and is situated in the Eifionydd area, facing the northern Mountains."
Castell Deudraeth was referenced again by the 17th century philologist, geologist, natural historian and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, Edward Lhuyd in 1700. Lhuyd recorded the name as Aber Iâ, stating " The Castle of Aber Iâ yet stood in ruined form overlooking the south western extremity of the peninsula".
In 1861, Richard Richards wrote a description: "Neither man nor woman was there, only a number of foreign water-fowl on a tiny pond, and two monkeys, which by their cries evidently regarded me as an unwelcome intruder. The garden itself was a very fine one, the walls of which were netted all over with fruit trees...Aber Iâ, then, gentle reader, is a beautiful mansion on the shore of Traeth Bach, in Merionethshire."
When Williams-Ellis acquired the land in 1925 he wrote, "a neglected wilderness - long abandoned by those romantics who had realised the unique appeal and possibilities of this favoured promontory but who had been carried away by their grandiose landscaping...into sorrowful bankruptcy." Clough immediately changed the name from Aber Iâ (Glacial Estuary) to Portmeirion; Port because of the coastal location and Meirion as this is Welsh for Merioneth, the county in which it lay.
His first job was to extend and convert the old house on the shore into a grand hotel. The concept of a tightly grouped coastal village had already formed in Clough's mind some years before he found the perfect site and he had quite a well-defined vision for the village from the outset.
Portmeirion was built in two stages: from 1925 to 1939 the site was 'pegged-out' and its most distinctive buildings were erected. From 1954-76 he filled in the details. The second period was typically classical or Palladian in style in contrast to the Arts and Crafts style of his earlier work. Several buildings were salvaged from demolition sites, giving rise to Clough's description of the place as "a home for fallen buildings".
"An architect has strange pleasures," Clough wrote in 1924. "He will lie awake listening to the storm in the night and think how the rain is beating on his roofs, he will see the sun return and will think that it was for just such sunshine that his shadow-throwing mouldings were made."
The first article about Portmeirion appeared in The Architects' Journal (January 6 1926) with photographs of scale models and preliminary designs prepared by Clough to impress potential investors. In this article, John Rothenstein writes: "On the sea-coast of North Wales, quite near his own old home, Plas Brondanw, he has acquired what he believes to be an ideal site, and he is engaged upon plans and models for the laying out of an entire small township. The results of his scheme will be significant and should do much to shake the current notion that although houses must be designed with due care, towns may grow up by chance."
The Hotel Portmeirion officially opened for the Easter Weekend, on 2nd April 1926. The last building, the Tollgate, was built in Clough's 93rd year.
Saint-Leon-sur-Vezere is in the Vezere valley between Montignac and Les-Eyzies. It is a beautiful Medieval village, set in a curve in the Vézere River. It is a small village of houses in the attractive local stone joined by narrow meandering pathways and alleys. Remarkably for a village of this kind in this location, Saint-Leon-sur-Vezere has not been overly renovated - rather "sympathetically restored".
View from higher up.
In 1925, Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis acquired the site which was to become Portmeirion. He had been searching for a suitable site for his proposed ideal village for several years and when he heard that the Aber Iâ estate near Penrhyndeudraeth was for sale, he did not hesitate to make an offer.
He wanted to show how a naturally beautiful location could be developed without spoiling it, and that one could actually enhance the natural background through sympathetic development. The Aber Iâ estate had everything he had hoped for as a site for his architectural experiment: steep cliffs overlooking a wide sandy estuary, woods, streams and a nucleus of old buildings.
But the history of Portmeirion started long before 1925. The construction of Castell Deudraeth was recorded in 1188 by Gerald of Wales, who wrote: "We crossed the Traeth mawr and the Traeth Bychan. These are two arms of the sea, one large and one small. Two stone castles have been built there recently. The one called Castell Deudraeth belongs to the sons of Cynan and is situated in the Eifionydd area, facing the northern Mountains."
Castell Deudraeth was referenced again by the 17th century philologist, geologist, natural historian and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, Edward Lhuyd in 1700. Lhuyd recorded the name as Aber Iâ, stating " The Castle of Aber Iâ yet stood in ruined form overlooking the south western extremity of the peninsula".
In 1861, Richard Richards wrote a description: "Neither man nor woman was there, only a number of foreign water-fowl on a tiny pond, and two monkeys, which by their cries evidently regarded me as an unwelcome intruder. The garden itself was a very fine one, the walls of which were netted all over with fruit trees...Aber Iâ, then, gentle reader, is a beautiful mansion on the shore of Traeth Bach, in Merionethshire."
When Williams-Ellis acquired the land in 1925 he wrote, "a neglected wilderness - long abandoned by those romantics who had realised the unique appeal and possibilities of this favoured promontory but who had been carried away by their grandiose landscaping...into sorrowful bankruptcy." Clough immediately changed the name from Aber Iâ (Glacial Estuary) to Portmeirion; Port because of the coastal location and Meirion as this is Welsh for Merioneth, the county in which it lay.
His first job was to extend and convert the old house on the shore into a grand hotel. The concept of a tightly grouped coastal village had already formed in Clough's mind some years before he found the perfect site and he had quite a well-defined vision for the village from the outset.
Portmeirion was built in two stages: from 1925 to 1939 the site was 'pegged-out' and its most distinctive buildings were erected. From 1954-76 he filled in the details. The second period was typically classical or Palladian in style in contrast to the Arts and Crafts style of his earlier work. Several buildings were salvaged from demolition sites, giving rise to Clough's description of the place as "a home for fallen buildings".
"An architect has strange pleasures," Clough wrote in 1924. "He will lie awake listening to the storm in the night and think how the rain is beating on his roofs, he will see the sun return and will think that it was for just such sunshine that his shadow-throwing mouldings were made."
The first article about Portmeirion appeared in The Architects' Journal (January 6 1926) with photographs of scale models and preliminary designs prepared by Clough to impress potential investors. In this article, John Rothenstein writes: "On the sea-coast of North Wales, quite near his own old home, Plas Brondanw, he has acquired what he believes to be an ideal site, and he is engaged upon plans and models for the laying out of an entire small township. The results of his scheme will be significant and should do much to shake the current notion that although houses must be designed with due care, towns may grow up by chance."
The Hotel Portmeirion officially opened for the Easter Weekend, on 2nd April 1926. The last building, the Tollgate, was built in Clough's 93rd year.
Dieses sind die typischen Holzzäune auf Menorca. Praktisch, dass man die Äste so verwendet, wie sie gewachsen sind.So sympathisch! Happy fence Friday!
These are the typical wooden fences on Menorca. Practical, that you use the branches as they are grown. So sympathetic! HFF
From the bottom of my heart, with joy and sincere pleasure, I congratulate you on your birthday, my wonderful friend Adnan!! With all my heart I wish you to remain the same bright, sympathetic, noble person, a true man, worthy of all the benefits of this world. May your beloved beautiful family be proud of you and always be there for you, because this is the most precious thing in your life! I really hope you like this drawing.....!
Our life became so complicated lately and we all need to remember about the quality of being kind, sincere and sympathetic towards others.
For this exhibition I made some photos that show a little bit of my true feelings and emotions that are very common for other people, I guess. Insecurity, fear, despair, hope, happiness... I show how some human creations express humanity more than people themselves. They transmit humanity to a human to remind them who they are...
I hope you like it.
The opening party takes place on 6th of June at 12 pm SLT at the Kondor Art Square
Joins us for a dance, a glass of something or a conversation :)
Winter dawn at Darley Abbey Mills.
Darley Abbey Mills are a collection of historic mill buildings dating back to the late 1700’s. They are Listed and range from Grade I to Grade II and are a key part of the Derwent Valley Mills Heritage Site which runs from Derby to Matlock Bath.
The buildings have been sympathetically restored to create highly individual work places available to rent as offices, studios, showrooms, workshops and galleries.
Winter sunrise at Darley Abbey Mills.
Darley Abbey Mills are a collection of historic mill buildings dating back to the late 1700’s. They are Listed and range from Grade I to Grade II and are a key part of the Derwent Valley Mills Heritage Site which runs from Derby to Matlock Bath.
The buildings have been sympathetically restored to create highly individual work places available to rent as offices, studios, showrooms, workshops and galleries.
You have the same sympathetic approach to everybody. You be nice to everybody, basically :-)
Albert Watson
HGGT! Climate Change Matters! Resist the Ignorant Orange Clown and his Cabinet of Stooges and Buffoons!
acer, coral bark japanese maple, 'Gold Digger', j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, raleigh, north carolina
France; Brenne, Lignac 2/9/22
This single plant pops up in the garden every year. Quite a common species here, with sympathetic management they usually multiply over the years. Not this one!
Čumil is one of many statues in the Old Town of Bratislava.As for Čumil, there are a couple of theories about his name. Maybe his trying to get a look under the ladies’ skirts or perhaps he’s a typical communist-era worker who works little and watches a lot? Or maybe he’s resting after a hard day’s work cleaning the sewer. Either way, this sympathetic man seems to enjoy his surroundings.
Had to take out my 30 year old Sitar from the attic and clean it for this macro. One of the melody strings is broken.
Sitar, stringed instrument of the lute family that is popular in India,. Typically measuring about 1.2 metres (4 feet) in length, the sitar has a deep pear-shaped gourd body; a long, wide, hollow wooden neck; both front and side tuning pegs; and 20 arched movable frets. Its strings are metal; there are usually five melody strings, one or two drone strings used to accentuate the rhythm or pulse, and as many as 13 sympathetic strings beneath the frets in the neck that are tuned to the notes of the raga (melodic framework of the performance).
In the 1960s, the use of the sitar in Western popular music, with the instrument appearing on tracks by bands such as The Beatles, The Doors, The Rolling Stones and others.
Excerpt from www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=1849:
Existing plaque: Point Abino Road, Crystal Beach, Ontario
This proud beacon overlooking Lake Erie is a rare example of a reinforced concrete lighthouse built in a late neoclassical style. It was constructed in 1917-1918, and was in use for almost eight decades. Its elegantly tapered tower, reminiscent in its proportions of a classical column, as well as the rectangular structure housing the foghorn, are embellished with pediments and pilasters, typical features of the style adopted for this lighthouse.
Description of Historic Place
Point Abino Light Tower National Historic Site of Canada is an elegantly proportioned, classically detailed concrete lighthouse situated at the eastern end of Lake Erie near Crystal Beach and the town of Fort Erie, Ontario. Designed in the late Classical Revival style, the lighthouse consists of a square, slightly tapered volume rising from one end of a rectangular, flat-roofed, single-storey base. It sits just offshore and is joined to the nearby beach by a slightly elevated concrete walkway, leading to the light keeper’s residence onshore. Official recognition refers to the legal property boundary at the time of designation.
Heritage Value
Point Abino Light Tower was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1998 to acknowledge: its exceptional architectural merit as one of the most aesthetically enriched reinforced concrete lighthouses in the Canadian system of navigational aids; and, that the tower, rendered in the late Classical Revival style and housing an integrated light and fog horn, has maintained a high degree of integrity with its site and light keeper’s dwelling since its construction in 1917-18.
The heritage value of Point Albino Light Tower lies in the architectural and functional qualities of the tower and in its setting with its former lightkeeper’s residence. Point Abino Light Tower was designed by William P. Anderson and constructed by the Canadian Department of Marine and Fisheries in 1917-18 to assist navigation at the eastern end of Lake Erie. The late Classical Revival design, intended to complement the American-owned summer homes nearby, was more elaborate than most Canadian lighthouses. The former light keeper’s residence is discretely sited and sympathetically rendered as an Arts-and-Crafts-style cottage. The light has operated continuously since it was built, although today it is automated and accessible for public viewing.
Key elements contributing to the heritage value of this site include: its location at the north-eastern end of Lake Erie; its offshore setting with the nearby onshore former lightkeeper’s residence; its functional design with a combined tower and fog horn house, and a lightkeeper’s room at its base; the Fresno lens and surviving light equipment; its late Classical Revival design with its five-storey tapered, square column rising from a single-storey podium elaborated with classically derived decorative features, including symmetrically organized openings, pedimented window surrounds, pronounced faux-keystones, bracketed cornice, relieving arches, classical cross-braced balustrades, and corner pilasters; the polygonal domed light casing and the formal approach up to the grand staircase leading to the pedimented entry portico; its reinforced concrete construction; its continued operation as a lighthouse; its unobstructed viewscape to and from the walkway leading to the shore and the former lightkeeper’s residence and the north-eastern end of Lake Erie.
The old Sardine factory, now a heritage centre and restaurant in Looe, Cornwall. This has recently been sympathetically converted in keeping with the old building. There are some nice reminiscences from local townsfolk on the hard seafaring life in the Town. Both from the past right up to the present day.
Here is the third Auklet you can see on St-Paul Island... the most romantic of the three... :) Just kidding, but yes I have seen this species more than the others performing courtship display. Each species has a special feature that makes me find them very sympathetic wee birds. In this case, it is the white strip of feathers near their eye that makes me find them special ....
In occasione della giornata porte aperte allo stabilimento Solvay di Spinetta Marengo è stato effettuato un treno storico a vapore formato da carrozze centoporte e bagagliai in varie livree trainato dalla simpatica locotender Gr.880.051, qui in corsa nel viaggio di ritorno verso il capoluogo alessandrino come R 29330.
During the open day at the plant of Solvay at Spinetta Marengo it was made a historic steam train consists of carriages "centoporte" and luggage vans in various liveries driven by sympathetic locotender Gr.880.051, here running on the return journey to the city of Alessandria as R29330.
Excerpt from www.cambridge.ca/en/learn-about/resources/Old-Galt-Histor...:
Dumfries Insurance at 12 Cambridge Street: Dumfries Insurance was organized in North Dumfries Township in May 1856 by a group of farmers who wanted to provide fire insurance at cost. Originally called North Dumfries and South Waterloo Farmer’s Mutual Fire Company, Dumfries Insurance is the oldest existing farm mutual in the province. The company held meetings in Roseville and then in Ayr. In 1892, the office moved to Galt.
Their present building is a good example of a sympathetic in scale commercial addition and renovation to an early stone building.
One of the things we most enjoyed during our three year sojourn in Himachal was meeting different people during our wanderings in this beautiful state.We came across this old lady on our way to remote Barot valley in Mandi district of Himachal.We had stopped at a pretty village en route to Barot to have a cup of tea when this lady sat down near us.We invited her to join us for a cuppa.She accepted our invitation and was soon deep in conversation with Sanjay.She told us she had been to visit relatives and was now going back to her village further inside the valley.She was a widow with three sons.She had a lot to say about her daughters-in-law and Sanjay was most sympathetic.:-)When we resumed our journey she took a lift in our car.We dropped her where she requested us to stop.She pointed out her very picturesque village far up on the mountainside and continued on her way after bidding us a warm goodbye.:-)
Thank you so much for your visit, comments and faves!
I really appreciate each of them!!! Wishing you all a good weekend.
When the Shoulder Tightens: How Modern-World Stress Mimics Parasitic Grip on Muscle
Introduction: The Feeling of Being “Occupied”
In clinical practice, patients often describe severe shoulder tension with strikingly visceral metaphors:
“It feels like something is burrowing under the muscle,”
“like a creature is clenching my shoulder blade,”
“like something is twisting the fibres from inside.”
While no known human parasite is capable of physically “contorting” shoulder muscles in this manner, the sensory illusion of invasive movement or twisting is surprisingly common in people under chronic stress. Modern neurophysiology shows that intense psychological strain can create sensations so vivid that patients liken them to parasitic occupation.
This article explores why shoulder muscles react so dramatically to stress, what real parasites do (and don’t do), and why the metaphor of “muscular parasitism” may be more accurate—psychologically and physiologically—than it first appears.
1. The Shoulder as a Stress Hotspot
The Anatomical Perfect Storm
The shoulder girdle—anchored by the trapezius, levator scapulae, rhomboids, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and the rotator cuff complex—is uniquely vulnerable to stress:
Large muscle groups with high postural load
Dense networks of sensory nerves
Stillness during digital tasks (typing, texting) causes static tension
Emotional stress triggers reflex elevation and tightening
When the sympathetic nervous system activates (“fight-or-flight”), the shoulder girdle contracts instinctively to protect the neck—an evolutionary remnant. Repeated activation creates chronic spasm, knotting, and sometimes fasciculations (tiny involuntary twitches), which can feel eerily alive.
2. The “Parasitic” Sensation: A Neurobiological Explanation
Muscle Twisting, Crawling, and “Internal Motion”
Stress-induced phenomena that mimic parasitic movement include:
a. Myofascial Trigger Points
Hypercontracted fibres generate:
Deep, twisting pressure
Referred pain down the arm or into the skull
Local twitch response that can feel like movement under the skin
b. Fasciculations (Muscle Twitches)
Triggered by:
Prolonged muscle tension
Magnesium deficiency
Overuse
Sleep deprivation
Patients often describe them as tiny organisms squirming beneath the surface.
c. Stress-Amplified Somatosensory Perception
Chronic anxiety heightens interoception—the brain’s tracking of internal signals. Mundane sensations become:
Exaggerated
Mistranslated
Sometimes interpreted as invasive or foreign
This explains why stress can produce a quasi-parasitic bodily narrative without any actual infection.
3. Real Parasites That Affect Muscle—What Science Actually Knows
No known parasite selectively “contorts” shoulder muscles due to psychological stress. However, several real organisms can inhabit muscle tissue, causing pain, spasm, or structural damage:
a. Trichinella spiralis
Transmitted via undercooked meat
Larvae embed in skeletal muscle
Causes inflammation, fever, and severe myalgia
Does not create twisting or crawling sensations
b. Toxoplasma gondii (less commonly muscular)
Can form cysts in muscle tissue
Usually asymptomatic
c. Cysticercosis (tapeworm larvae)
Can lodge in muscle and create palpable nodules
Rare in shoulders; usually painless
These conditions are not triggered by stress, nor do they cause the contortions or movements that patients metaphorically describe.
4. Why Modern Stress Feels “Parasitic”
The metaphor is intriguing because stress behaves—physiologically—like something that feeds on the body:
a. Energy Drain
Chronic cortisol elevation breaks down muscle protein and impairs repair.
b. Neural Hijacking
The sympathetic system overrides voluntary relaxation; the body feels acted upon.
c. Patterned Tension
Shoulder muscles become “programmed” into contraction, operating outside conscious control.
To many patients, this loss of agency—the sense that something else is steering the muscle—feels parasitic, even though the cause is internal and psychological.
5. Treatment: Breaking the Cycle
Physical interventions
Myofascial release therapy
Targeted rotator cuff strengthening
Scapular mobility exercises
Heat therapy to reduce sympathetic tone
Neurological and psychological
Diaphragmatic breathing to downshift autonomic activity
Mind-body therapies (ACT, mindfulness-based stress reduction)
Cognitive reframing for somatic misinterpretation
Sleep restoration
Lifestyle modifications
Ergonomic workstation adjustments
Frequent microbreaks during digital work
Reduction in stimulant intake (caffeine, energy drinks)
Conclusion: A Real Condition Wearing a Metaphorical Mask
Shoulder muscles cannot literally be “contorted by parasites due to stresses in the modern world.” But the modern human experience—screens, overload, vigilance, pressure—creates a somatic landscape where stress behaves as invasively as any parasite, commandeering muscle fibers, stealing energy, and producing sensations so bizarre that many people describe them with biological imagery.
Understanding this phenomenon through a medical lens doesn’t diminish the metaphor—it makes it more profound. Stress doesn’t need to be a living organism to feel like one.
DISCLAIMER: By the way, the picture is of sand patterns on a Highland beach. The description is some non-medical concoction created by ChatGPT
"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these."
George Washington Carver
Ce grand duc d'amérique n'était pas content car il ventait fortement et lors de rafales il était déstabilisé sur sa branche. Même avec son regard fâché, il m'était sympatique!
C'est un regard que je n'oublierai jamais!
This great horned owl was not happy because it was windy and during gusts he was destabilized on his branch. Even with his angry look, he was sympathetic to me!
It's a look I will never forget!
Even more colours in Portmeirion.
In 1925, Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis acquired the site which was to become Portmeirion. He had been searching for a suitable site for his proposed ideal village for several years and when he heard that the Aber Iâ estate near Penrhyndeudraeth was for sale, he did not hesitate to make an offer.
He wanted to show how a naturally beautiful location could be developed without spoiling it, and that one could actually enhance the natural background through sympathetic development. The Aber Iâ estate had everything he had hoped for as a site for his architectural experiment: steep cliffs overlooking a wide sandy estuary, woods, streams and a nucleus of old buildings.
But the history of Portmeirion started long before 1925. The construction of Castell Deudraeth was recorded in 1188 by Gerald of Wales, who wrote: "We crossed the Traeth mawr and the Traeth Bychan. These are two arms of the sea, one large and one small. Two stone castles have been built there recently. The one called Castell Deudraeth belongs to the sons of Cynan and is situated in the Eifionydd area, facing the northern Mountains."
Castell Deudraeth was referenced again by the 17th century philologist, geologist, natural historian and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, Edward Lhuyd in 1700. Lhuyd recorded the name as Aber Iâ, stating " The Castle of Aber Iâ yet stood in ruined form overlooking the south western extremity of the peninsula".
In 1861, Richard Richards wrote a description: "Neither man nor woman was there, only a number of foreign water-fowl on a tiny pond, and two monkeys, which by their cries evidently regarded me as an unwelcome intruder. The garden itself was a very fine one, the walls of which were netted all over with fruit trees...Aber Iâ, then, gentle reader, is a beautiful mansion on the shore of Traeth Bach, in Merionethshire."
When Williams-Ellis acquired the land in 1925 he wrote, "a neglected wilderness - long abandoned by those romantics who had realised the unique appeal and possibilities of this favoured promontory but who had been carried away by their grandiose landscaping...into sorrowful bankruptcy." Clough immediately changed the name from Aber Iâ (Glacial Estuary) to Portmeirion; Port because of the coastal location and Meirion as this is Welsh for Merioneth, the county in which it lay.
His first job was to extend and convert the old house on the shore into a grand hotel. The concept of a tightly grouped coastal village had already formed in Clough's mind some years before he found the perfect site and he had quite a well-defined vision for the village from the outset.
Portmeirion was built in two stages: from 1925 to 1939 the site was 'pegged-out' and its most distinctive buildings were erected. From 1954-76 he filled in the details. The second period was typically classical or Palladian in style in contrast to the Arts and Crafts style of his earlier work. Several buildings were salvaged from demolition sites, giving rise to Clough's description of the place as "a home for fallen buildings".
"An architect has strange pleasures," Clough wrote in 1924. "He will lie awake listening to the storm in the night and think how the rain is beating on his roofs, he will see the sun return and will think that it was for just such sunshine that his shadow-throwing mouldings were made."
The first article about Portmeirion appeared in The Architects' Journal (January 6 1926) with photographs of scale models and preliminary designs prepared by Clough to impress potential investors. In this article, John Rothenstein writes: "On the sea-coast of North Wales, quite near his own old home, Plas Brondanw, he has acquired what he believes to be an ideal site, and he is engaged upon plans and models for the laying out of an entire small township. The results of his scheme will be significant and should do much to shake the current notion that although houses must be designed with due care, towns may grow up by chance."
The Hotel Portmeirion officially opened for the Easter Weekend, on 2nd April 1926. The last building, the Tollgate, was built in Clough's 93rd year.
Once an important junction on the L&SWR's route between Exeter and Plymouth, the station at Okehampton was closed to regular passenger traffic in 1972 after closure of the two branches it also served (to Bude and Padstow), along with the through route to Plymouth, had succumbed in the 1960s.
Luckily the line continued to thrive as a freight route supporting British Rail's busy ballast quarry at nearby Meldon - at least until the operation wound down in 2011, by which time the political climate for the reopening of old railways to passenger traffic was more agreeable.
As a result, the northern side of the original station was sold back to Network Rail by the local Council for £1, and work began on sympathetically restoring it to capture the aesthetic glories of the past while ensuring it met the standards a contemporary passenger would expect. The extensive project also included renewing and replacing sections of track and signalling along the route.
With fanfare and national TV coverage, the line and station were reopened in November 2021 to a 2-hourly service to / from Exeter - which quickly proved so popular that an hourly service was introduced the following year.
With this shot I've tried to capture a flavour of the station building and its heritage-style restoration. Through the open door can be seen the Council-owned southern side of the station, porter's trolley and trunks, and the entrance to the museum. One of the original signal boxes has been retained at the end of the platform, and is now used to house a model railway depicting Okehampton station in the 1950s. Just as appealing is the book shop on the station, and not least the cafe!
No surprise I took plenty of shots on the visit here, and this was one of my favourites. Comments disabled, thanks.
12.30pm, 28th June 2025
Stokesay Castle is the most complete and best-preserved fortified medieval manor house in England. Located in a quiet Shropshire valley near the Welsh border, the castle is known for its remarkable 13th-century Great Hall, stone towers, and ornate 17th-century timber-framed gatehouse.
The core of the castle, including the great hall, solar (private apartment block), and north and south towers, was largely completed by 1291. The use of the same team of carpenters throughout is evidenced by shared carpenter's marks on the timbers. The imposing appearance, particularly the south tower, was a status symbol echoing the grand castles built by King Edward I in North Wales, though its actual military strength was superficial.
The castle passed through the Vernon family in the 16th century and was sold to Sir George Mainwaring in 1596, and then to Dame Elizabeth Craven and her son William, the 1st Earl of Craven, in 1620. William Craven made the only substantial addition to the castle's fabric since the 13th century: an ornate, timber-framed gatehouse built around 1640-1641.
In the 18th century the castle was let to tenant farmers who used parts for agricultural purposes, including using the great hall as a granary and the south tower basement as a smithy.
Antiquarian interest grew in the 19th century, and in 1869, wealthy glove manufacturer John Derby Allcroft bought the estate. He embarked on a sympathetic and extensive restoration program that aimed to preserve the existing structure rather than rebuild it.
The Allcroft family maintained the castle for over a century, opening it to the public. In 1986, Jewell Magnus-Allcroft placed the castle into the guardianship of English Heritage, which assumed ownership upon her death in 1992. Today, Stokesay Castle stands as an exceptionally complete and rare example of a medieval fortified manor house, offering a unique glimpse into 13th-century life.
Another image I thought I'd post that I have updated for my webpage, with more sympathetic processing.
This is either a well known vacuum cleaner, or Selfridges in Birmingham, you decide?!
1/320 Second / f8.0 / 100iso / Sigma 10-20mm Lens @ 10mm
website : andrewhowe.format.com
instagram : www.instagram.com/andyhowe100/
500px : 500px.com/andrewhowe
Probably a day or so too late to get the sun in the ideal spot for sunrise, so that it crests the horizon centred between the tower, but still a very pleasant morning.
Since I was last here there have been some additional repairs undertaken to the wooden decking of the bridge, but these haven’t been done sympathetically. Large wooden planks have just been overlaid over the existing planks. It looks awful, and I can only hope a more worthwhile restoration will be undertaken on this historically important bridge in the future.
For this shoot I decided to break out my old 24mm tilt shift lens, which I haven’t used for a while. Two shots taken, using the shift mechanism, and stitched together in Lightroom to get the square shot.
Canon R
Canon 24 TSE
Kase 3 stop reverse grad
*** Featured in Explore 22 March 2021, many thanks to all 🙏 ***
The robin (Erithacus rubecula) is a species of bird in the flycatcher family (Muscicapidae). It inhabits North Africa, Europe and Asia Minor as well as the Mediterranean islands. Its diet consists mainly of insects, small spiders, worms and snails. Its song begins about an hour before sunrise and can be heard until dusk almost all year round. The species is currently considered to be endangered.
The robin was once again "Bird of the Year" in Germany in 2021 (after 1992).
Because of its often short flight distance, its appearance and its frequency, the robin is a special sympathetic bird. In the legends of Christ, it comforts Jesus at special moments and when he is dying. It is also associated with Christmas as the unofficial national bird of Britain. It played an important role in the discovery and scientific recognition of magnetic sense.
Das Rotkehlchen (Erithacus rubecula) ist eine Vogelart aus der Familie der Fliegenschnäpper (Muscicapidae). Es besiedelt Nordafrika, Europa und Kleinasien sowie die Mittelmeerinseln. Seine Nahrung besteht vor allem aus Insekten, kleinen Spinnen, Würmern und Schnecken. Sein Gesang beginnt etwa eine Stunde vor Sonnenaufgang und ist bis in die Dämmerung fast das ganze Jahr über zu hören. Die Art gilt derzeit als ungefährdet.
Das Rotkehlchen war in Deutschland (nach 1992) 2021 erneut „Vogel des Jahres“.
Wegen seiner oft geringen Fluchtdistanz, seines Erscheinungsbilds und seiner Häufigkeit ist das Rotkehlchen ein besonderer Sympathieträger. In Christuslegenden steht es Jesus in besonderen Momenten und im Sterben tröstend bei. Zudem wird es als inoffizieller Nationalvogel Großbritanniens mit Weihnachten in Verbindung gebracht. Es hat bei der Entdeckung und wissenschaftlichen Anerkennung des Magnetsinns eine wichtige Rolle gespielt.
Wiki
ScotRail Class 334 No. 334016 on an Edinburgh – Helensburgh service disappears into Bellgrove Tunnel and beneath the former abattoir and meat market which closed many years ago and has since been used as a Car Market and Taxi Office. The structures remain as listed buildings but there are plans to sympathetically redevelop the site. 22nd September 2022.
GBRf 'Shed' unit 66734 'Platinum Jubilee' rolls slowly into Carlisle station for the scheduled crew change on the 7.11am Mossend - Clitheroe Castle (4M01) discharged cement tanks.
The exceptionally fine roof here was the subject of a £14.5m renovation 5-6 years ago where the traditional glass panes (which would occasionally fall to the platform due to distortion in the roof trusses) were replaced by polymer material, and the roofing structure generally strengthened.
The result is remarkable to say the least with a much brighter and more pleasant environment than the one I remember from previous visits. Formerly known as Carlisle Citadel station, it was built between 1846 and 1848 at a cost of £53,000 and, externally at least, was designed by William Tite to be sympathetic to the Citadel located close by.
Comments off for this one, thanks.
11.57am, 24th March 2023
Seagull and views from Portmeirion looking to Talsarnau and Ynys.
In 1925, Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis acquired the site which was to become Portmeirion. He had been searching for a suitable site for his proposed ideal village for several years and when he heard that the Aber Iâ estate near Penrhyndeudraeth was for sale, he did not hesitate to make an offer.
He wanted to show how a naturally beautiful location could be developed without spoiling it, and that one could actually enhance the natural background through sympathetic development. The Aber Iâ estate had everything he had hoped for as a site for his architectural experiment: steep cliffs overlooking a wide sandy estuary, woods, streams and a nucleus of old buildings.
But the history of Portmeirion started long before 1925. The construction of Castell Deudraeth was recorded in 1188 by Gerald of Wales, who wrote: "We crossed the Traeth mawr and the Traeth Bychan. These are two arms of the sea, one large and one small. Two stone castles have been built there recently. The one called Castell Deudraeth belongs to the sons of Cynan and is situated in the Eifionydd area, facing the northern Mountains."
Castell Deudraeth was referenced again by the 17th century philologist, geologist, natural historian and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, Edward Lhuyd in 1700. Lhuyd recorded the name as Aber Iâ, stating " The Castle of Aber Iâ yet stood in ruined form overlooking the south western extremity of the peninsula".
In 1861, Richard Richards wrote a description: "Neither man nor woman was there, only a number of foreign water-fowl on a tiny pond, and two monkeys, which by their cries evidently regarded me as an unwelcome intruder. The garden itself was a very fine one, the walls of which were netted all over with fruit trees...Aber Iâ, then, gentle reader, is a beautiful mansion on the shore of Traeth Bach, in Merionethshire."
When Williams-Ellis acquired the land in 1925 he wrote, "a neglected wilderness - long abandoned by those romantics who had realised the unique appeal and possibilities of this favoured promontory but who had been carried away by their grandiose landscaping...into sorrowful bankruptcy." Clough immediately changed the name from Aber Iâ (Glacial Estuary) to Portmeirion; Port because of the coastal location and Meirion as this is Welsh for Merioneth, the county in which it lay.
His first job was to extend and convert the old house on the shore into a grand hotel. The concept of a tightly grouped coastal village had already formed in Clough's mind some years before he found the perfect site and he had quite a well-defined vision for the village from the outset.
Portmeirion was built in two stages: from 1925 to 1939 the site was 'pegged-out' and its most distinctive buildings were erected. From 1954-76 he filled in the details. The second period was typically classical or Palladian in style in contrast to the Arts and Crafts style of his earlier work. Several buildings were salvaged from demolition sites, giving rise to Clough's description of the place as "a home for fallen buildings".
"An architect has strange pleasures," Clough wrote in 1924. "He will lie awake listening to the storm in the night and think how the rain is beating on his roofs, he will see the sun return and will think that it was for just such sunshine that his shadow-throwing mouldings were made."
The first article about Portmeirion appeared in The Architects' Journal (January 6 1926) with photographs of scale models and preliminary designs prepared by Clough to impress potential investors. In this article, John Rothenstein writes: "On the sea-coast of North Wales, quite near his own old home, Plas Brondanw, he has acquired what he believes to be an ideal site, and he is engaged upon plans and models for the laying out of an entire small township. The results of his scheme will be significant and should do much to shake the current notion that although houses must be designed with due care, towns may grow up by chance."
The Hotel Portmeirion officially opened for the Easter Weekend, on 2nd April 1926. The last building, the Tollgate, was built in Clough's 93rd year.