The church of Saint Pierre and Saint Paul de Chânes was probably rebuilt by the monks of Cluny on a former church of the 9th century.

Although it has been transformed over the centuries (twelfth, seventeenth and nineteenth century), it remains very characteristic of Romanesque architecture: the gabled facade with its decor of Lombard arches semicircular, patterns sawtooth. There is also a Clunisian bell tower with a three floors octagonal plan.

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Une belle silhouette romane

L’église Saint Pierre et Saint Paul de Chânes a vraisemblablement été reconstruite par les moines de Cluny sur une ancienne église du IX e siècle.

Bien qu’elle ait été transformée au cours des siècles (XIIe, XVIIe et XIXe siècle), elle reste très caractéristique de l’architecture romane : la façade en pignon avec son décor d’arcatures lombardes en plein cintre, des motifs en dent de scie. On remarque également un clocher « clunisien» de plan octogonal à trois étages.

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Chânes - Bourgogne du sud / South Burgundy - France

and well into a Happy New Year

Angkor Thom"Great City", located in present-day Cambodia, was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman VII.:378–382:170

It covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. At the centre of the city isJayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north.

Map of Central Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom was established as the capital of Jayavarman VII's empire, and was the centre of his massive building programme. One inscription found in the city refers to Jayavarman as the groom and the city as his bride.:121

Angkor Thom seems not to be the first Khmer capital on the site, however. Yasodharapura, dating from three centuries earlier, was centred slightly further northwest, and Angkor Thom overlapped parts of it. The most notable earlier temples within the city are the former state temple of Baphuon, and Phimeanakas, which was incorporated into the Royal Palace. The Khmers did not draw any clear distinctions between Angkor Thom and Yashodharapura: even in the fourteenth century an inscription used the earlier name.:138 The name of Angkor Thom—great city—was in use from the 16th century.

The last temple known to have been constructed in Angkor Thom was Mangalartha, which was dedicated in 1295. Thereafter the existing structures continued to be modified from time to time, but any new creations were in perishable materials and have not survived.

The Ayutthaya Kingdom, led by King Borommarachathirat II, sacked Angkor Thom, forcing the Khmers under Ponhea Yat to relocate their capital southeast.:29

Angkor Thom was abandoned some time prior to 1609, when an early western visitor wrote of an uninhabited city, "as fantastic as the Atlantis of Plato".:140 It is believed to have sustained a population of 80,000–150,000 people.

Classical Theatre Of Harlem's production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in Marcus Garvey Park

seen while out and about in my town.

© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved

Street photography from Glasgow, Scotland.

Re-uploaded after the failing of Flickr and it's update feed yesterday, but otherwise a previously unpublished shot from December 2016.

Hopefully Flickr is working today and you can see this shot and I can get to enjoy all of your wonderful photography.

Only 12 days until Christmas and I wonder if it is too late to ask Santa for a working and stable Flickr.

Take care everyone.

"A Pinsa dea Befana" is the Venetian slang for "Befana's Pinza"; Pinza is this traditional cake...

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.... the tastes of my childhood,

the scent from my grandmother's kitchen in this magic night, my heart full of joy and dreams...

this is a magic cake from my land...

........

This cake is from Veneto region: It's traditionally made the Twelfth Night 's eve and it's eaten coming home from the bonfires . The cake is dense and moist, made with paysan "poor" ingredients

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MY RECIPE

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Ingredients:

Serves: 6

300 grams meal flour (farina gialla)

200 grams flour

200 grams butter (softened)

200 grams sugar

50 grams sultanas

aniseed liqueur or Italian Grappa (to soak the sultanas in)

10 dried figs

1 tablespoon aniseed

1 teaspoon baking powder

5/6 dl milk

1 glass water

30 g pine nuts

50 g candied citron (small pieces)

lemon and mandarin or orange peel

salt

© All rights reserved

Þrettándinn, also known as Twelfth Night, is celebrated on January 6th but as it was too windy then for bonfires and fireworks the merrymaking was postponed until tonight.

Yesterday's sunset from atop Mailbox Peak at about 5,000ft. Had a fun nightime descent. Looks like 12's take their spirit everywhere.

Looking south, toward Mt. Rainier in the background.

St Peter and St Paul, Lavenham, Suffolk

Actors from the Shakespeare in the Squares production of Twelfth Night in Ladbroke Square. Great fun

Explore - #18

The Riverside Drive Viaduct, built in 1900 by the US City of New York, was constructed to connect an important system of drives in Upper Manhattan by creating a high-level boulevard extension of Riverside Drive over the barrier of Manhattanville Valley to the former Boulevard Lafayette in Washington Heights.

F. Stuart Williamson was the chief engineer for the municipal project, which constituted a feat of engineering technology. Despite the viaduct's important utilitarian role as a highway, the structure was also a strong symbol of civic pride, inspired by America’s late 19th-century City Beautiful movement. The viaduct’s original roadway, wide pedestrian walks and overall design were sumptuously ornamented, creating a prime example of public works that married form and function. An issue of the Scientific American magazine in 1900 remarked that the Riverside Drive Viaduct's completion afforded New Yorkers “a continuous drive of ten miles along the picturesque banks of the Hudson and Harlem Rivers.”[1]

The elevated steel highway of the viaduct extends above Twelfth Avenue from 127th Street (now Tiemann Place) to 135th Street and is shouldered by masonry approaches. The viaduct proper was made of open hearth medium steel, comprising twenty-six spans, or bays, whose hypnotic repetition is much appreciated from underneath at street level. The south and north approaches are of rock-faced Mohawk Valley, N.Y., limestone with Maine granite trimmings, the face work being of coursed ashlar. The girders over Manhattan Explore - #40

Street (now 125th Street) were the largest ever built at the time. The broad plaza effect of the south approach was designed to impart deliberate grandeur to the natural terminus of much of Riverside Drive’s traffic as well as to give full advantage to the vista overlooking the Hudson River and New Jersey Palisades to the west.

The viaduct underwent a two-year long reconstruction in 1961 and another in 1987. (source: Wikipedia)

At our house the pretty outdoor lights stay up until the spring equinox or they burn out, whichever comes earlier.

Never release an unwanted Christmas tree into the wild. They are not native to the UK, are highly unlikely to be accepted by a pack and are condemned to fend for themselves alone. Most become feral scavengers and are likely to die of starvation. Many are shot by farmers. This one was lucky. We got to it in time. Remember, trees are for life, not just for Christmas.

6/365

The evening sun shining though a bush, Grand Union Canal, Leicestershire

Twelfth in a series of photos taken during an evening exercise walk this week

The church stands on a right-hand bend of the road. It is an extremely simple building of solid twelfth- and thirteenth-century construction. The chancel was rebuilt during the latter period. There is a small south porch which shields a doorway on which are carved many so-called Crusaders' Crosses. Like many churches in east Kent, St Mary’s was restored in the 1880s. The two bells are probably the oldest Church bells in England, the Tenor dates from 1280 and the treble is new in comparison being cast in the 16th Century! The bell turret is constructed of mediaeval timber which is uncommon in Kent.

As you can see beer is never far from a Church this one has an Oast house (now disused) in front of it!

I have photographed this Church before but not from this viewpoint.

MY THANKS TO ALL WHO VISIT AND COMMENT IT IS APPRECIATED

L'église Saint-Nicolas est une église du XVe siècle, consacrée à saint Nicolas, de style roman et gothique. Elle se situe à Meursault en Côte-d'Or, en Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Plusieurs chapelles ou églises de style roman, avec une seule nef se succèdent à l'emplacement de l'église actuelle, détruites, rebâties aux XIIe et XIIIe siècles, elle est englobée dans l'enceinte du château fort de Meursault de 1337.

Vers 1480 l'église est incendiée et à nouveau reconstruite en style gothique par les abbés de l'abbaye de Cluny avec d'abord le chœur, le transept, une flèche octogonale de 57 mètres en pierre

The church of Saint-Nicolas is a 15th century church dedicated to Saint Nicolas, in the Romanesque and Gothic style. It is located in Meursault in Côte-d'Or, in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. Several chapels or churches of Romanesque style, with a single nave succeed the site of the current church, destroyed, rebuilt in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, it is enclosed in the enclosure of the castle of Meursault of 1337.

Around 1480 the church was burned down and rebuilt again in Gothic style by the abbots of the Abbey of Cluny with first the choir, the transept, an octagonal arrow of 57 meters in stone

La Pagoda de la Colina del Tigre, conocida oficialmente como Pagoda de Yunyan, que a veces se traduce por Torre de Huqiu, es una pagoda china situada en la Colina del Tigre, en la ciudad de Suzhou, provincia de Jiangsu, en el este de China. Recibe el apodo de 'La torre inclinada de China'.

Era la pagoda del antiguo Templo de Yunian. Su construcción comenzó en 907 d. C., durante el último periodo de las Cinco Dinastías, cuando el Imperio de Wuyue gobernaba Suzhou, y se completó en 961 d. C., durante la Dinastía Song.

Los pisos superiores de la pagoda se crearon durante el reinado del emperador Chongzhen (1628-1644), el último emperador de la Dinastía Ming

La Pagoda de Yunyan presenta una altura de 47 metros; tiene siete pisos y es una muestra representativa de la arquitectura octogonal. Se construyó según la estructura de la masonería, que intentaba imitar las pagodas de madera predominantes en la época.

En más de un millar de años, la pagoda se ha ido inclinando gradualmente debido al desgaste natural. Actualmente la parte de arriba difiere unos 2,32 metros de la parte de abajo. Toda la estructura pesa 7000 toneladas, que se sostiene gracias a las columnas de ladrillo internas. Sin embargo, la pagoda se inclina aproximadamente tres grados por la rotura de dos columnas de apoyo.

La pagoda se inclina porque una parte de la base es tierra, mientras que la otra es piedra. Durante 1957, se llevó a cabo un plan para estabilizar el edificio y prevenir una futura tendencia a inclinarse, mediante el cual se introdujo hormigón en la tierra para hacer una base más sólida.

Durante el proceso de reforzamiento, se encontró un ataúd de piedra con escrituras budistas. El recipiente contenía una inscripción en la que se tenía en cuenta la fecha de finalización de la pagoda como el decimoséptimo día del duodécimo mes del segundo año de la era Jianlong (961 d. C.).

La Pagoda de Yunyan ha sido designada como Máximo Lugar Nacional, Histórico y Cultural de Jiangsu. El acceso público a la parte de arriba de la torre se vetó en septiembre de 2010.

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagoda_de_la_Colina_del_Tigre

The Tiger Hill Pagoda, more officially the Yunyan Pagoda (Chinese: 云岩寺塔; pinyin: Yún yán sì tǎ), also sometimes translated as Huqiu Tower, is a Chinese pagoda situated on Tiger Hill in Suzhou city, Jiangsu Province of Eastern China. It is nicknamed the 'Leaning Tower of China'.

The primary pagoda of the former Yunyan Temple, which was founded in 327 and rebuilt for the last time in 1871. The temple suffered damage in successive wars and most of the temple was destroyed during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Some elements of the temple such as the formal entrance, the Yunyan Pagoda, and several other buildings and smaller shrines have survived, and now stand as landmarks throughout Tiger Hill Park.

Construction of the pagoda began in 907 CE, during the later period of the Five Dynasties period, at a time when Suzhou was ruled by the Wuyue Kingdom. Construction was completed in 961 CE during the Song Dynasty.

The uppermost stories of the pagoda were built as an addition during the reign of the Chongzhen Emperor (1628–1644), the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The Yunyan Pagoda rises to a height of 47 m (154 ft). The pagoda has seven stories and is octagonal in plan, and was built with a masonry structure designed to imitate wooden-structured pagodas prevalent at the time.

In more than a thousand years the pagoda has gradually slanted due to forces of nature. Now the top and bottom of the tower vary by 2.32 meters. The entire structure weighs some 7,000,000 kilograms (15,000,000 lb), supported by internal brick columns. However, the pagoda leans roughly 3 degrees due to the cracking of two supporting columns.

The pagoda leans because the foundation is originally half rock and the other half is on soil. In 1957, efforts were made to stabilize the pagoda and prevent further leaning. Concrete was also pumped into the soil forming a stronger foundation.

During the reinforcement process, a stone casket containing Buddhist scriptures was found. The container had an inscription noting the completion date of the pagoda as the seventeenth day of the twelfth month of the second year of the Jianlong era (961 CE).

The Yunyan Pagoda is a designated Major National Historical and Cultural Site in Jiangsu. As of September 2010, public access to the top of the tower is no longer allowed.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Hill_Pagoda

www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/jiangsu/suzhou/tiger_...

Turégano, Segovia, España.

La villa de Turégano se encuentra en el centro de la provincia de Segovia asentada sobre un antiguo castro arévaco, posteriormente romanizado. Construido en el siglo XV, el castillo de la localidad vigila el caserío desde su loma, coronada por la espadaña del campanario que muestra que en su interior alberga una iglesia. Es la iglesia de San Miguel, templo románico de finales del siglo XII o principios del XIII sobre el cual se contruyó la fortaleza. Un siglo antes Turégano se había convertido en villa episcopal, cuando doña Urraca dona al obispo de Segovia estas tierras. Fue entonces cuando comenzó a construirse la iglesia de Santiago que acabó convirtiéndose en un templo barroco que durante siglos escondió detrás de su retablo rococó un ábside románico descubierto de forma casual en la década de los noventa. Recientemente restaurado y abierto al público, supone para muchos uno de los hallazgos románicos más sorprendentes de las últimas décadas en nuestro país, habiéndose recuperado parte de las esculturas originales y de sus pinturas policromadas.

A los pies del castillo se abre su magnífica plaza porticada, denominada por el local Victoriano Borreguero 'la plaza de los cien postes'. Puro estilo castellano cuyos soportales están formados por columnas de piedra y forjados de madera, la cual se viste de coso taurino, de forma cuadrada, durante las fiestas en honor al Dulce nombre de María, celebradas el primer fin de semana de septiembre.

The town of Turégano is located in the center of the province of Segovia, sitting on an old archeological fort, later Romanized. Built in the 15th century, the local castle watches over the hamlet from its hill, crowned by the belfry of the bell tower that shows that inside it houses a church. It is the church of San Miguel, Romanesque temple of the late twelfth or early thirteenth century on which the fortress was built. A century before Turégano had become an Episcopal village, when Doña Urraca donated these lands to the bishop of Segovia. It was then when the church of Santiago began to be built that it ended up becoming a baroque temple that for centuries hid behind its rococo altarpiece a Romanesque apse discovered by chance in the nineties. Recently restored and open to the public, it is for many one of the most surprising Romanesque findings of the last decades in our country, having recovered part of the original sculptures and their polychrome paintings.

At the foot of the castle opens its magnificent porticoed square, called by the local Victoriano Borreguero 'the square of one hundred poles'. Pure Castilian style whose arcades are formed by stone columns and wooden floors, which is dressed in bullfighting, square shape, during the festivities in honor of the Sweet Name of Mary, held the first weekend of September.

On a tree in a house in Wellington Crescent, Shipley.

Seattle loves the Seahawks! This man, like many others, was wearing jersey #12 for the "twelfth man" - the fans who loudly support the eleven players on their favorite American football team.

Looking across Elliott Bay to part of downtown. HBW!

Made in China I would guess.

Jeremy playing Sebastian in Twelfth Night

Well by tomorrow night all the decorations will be down and the festivities ended for another year. Hope next year we won't be still getting hassle re Covid.

Boat number twelfth, off the coast of Ko Sumui Thailand, returning to mv Volendam.

Honolulu, Hawai‘i.

Le Bambole Mk. VIII, "The Pin-Debonair Pinhole Camera". Kodak Ektar 100.

damaged black frame i-type 600 film shot on polaroid now

Don't Forget To Take Down Your Christmas Decorations....

Our family room tree. The lights do your head in... (Video 2X speed!)

For now the time of gifts is gone –

O boys that grow, O snows that melt,

O bathos that the years must fill –

Here is dull earth to build upon

Undecorated; we have reached

Twelfth Night or what you will … you will.

From Twelfth Night by Louis MacNeice

I didn't know this poem at all - it's here in full for anyone interested. Sad but rather lovely.

Today's the Twelfth Day of Christmas. Obviously that brought to mind the well-known Christmas song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' with its cumulative chain of lines beginning with:

'On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me

A partridge in a pear tree.'

It ends, of course, with a list of twelve complicated gifts the last one of which leaves you quite out of breath if you try to sing it in one piece.

No, this mural doesn't show a partridge in a pear tree. Rather, I think, a turkey under an apple tree, and a kind of cornucopia of fruits. But it's bright and pretty, nonetheless, on these gloomy days at the beginning of the New Year.

The other day I wandered into the restaurant at Platform 1 of the grand Central Station of Amsterdam where this painting has recently been nicely restored. That station was built in a Gothic-Renaissance style between 1882 and 1884 by versatile Petrus Johannes Hubertus Cuypers ('Pierre', 1827-1921) also the architect of the Rijksmuseum. He was responsible, too, for the station's decoration scheme with many murals. Their design was actually by Georg Sturm (1855-1934), who was born in Vienna but spent most of his career in The Netherlands. The murals were executed by Jan Visser Jr (1856-1938) and by muralists of the firm owned by Gerrit Hendrik Heinen (1851-1930)

The twelfth of July in Northern Ireland, they must travel twenty miles from Portaferry to Newtownards to view the Orange parade which takes place every year on this day, they look forward to this all year, as they get to ride in the big red bus.

( thanks to Jeff Wharton for photo of re enactor family, background photo from National Library of Ireland is Portaferry)

This was given to me this Christmas by a parent of a pupil I teach. I have done quite a lot of work supporting both her daughters and as the youngest is in year 11 this may be the last Christmas I get to work with the family

The Castle of Beynac on the hill dates from the 12th century and at one time was controlled by the English king Richard the Lionheart. The Castle was fought over by the English and French during the 100 years war and finally fell to the French in in 1453. See: www.beynac-en-perigord.com/en/the-fortress.html

The Church on the hill is Eglise Notre-Dame de l'Assomption. The Romanesque chapel was originally built in the twelfth century within the first enclosure of the castle of Beynac

Change of pace from crazy flowers! This is a carving (corbel) from the outside of a church in Kilpeck showing two lovers. This is from 1140 and looks to me like a cartoon! Like the contrast between the red stone and green mouldy stuff too.

The City Theatre.