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Taken just before sunrise in the semi-darkness [30 second exposure]. No white balance compensation was used. The blue tones were created by the artificial lights affecting the white balance, which seemed to work well with the atmosphere of the scene so I left it unchanged.
Infrared, 720nm
"The tree of man's heart leaves the letters of words to the world, which is changing unchanged.
Az ember szívének fája a szavak leveleit hagyja a világra, amely változatlanul változik."
Saltburn Pier was built in 1867-1869 and restored in 1978. John Anderson was the engineer and building contractor. It was built by the Sea Pier Company and bought in 1879 by the Saltburn Improvement Company. It was the first seaside pier in the north east of England. It was shortened from 457m to 381m after storms in 1875. It was shortened again after storms in 1974 but the remaining structure is mainly unchanged
Given all the work currently underway at Mirfield station as part of the Trans-Pennine route upgrade, I thought I'd shunt this shot forward to show the scene back in the 1970s. The station, then with an overall roof, bore all the signs of neglect and declining importance with its barely maintained infrastructure and grime from the steam age. In the mid-80s the structure would be demolished and replaced by something almost as depressing - bus-shelters.
For me this shot captures the essence of the period, and is unchanged from the version uploaded 11 years ago. My original (and brief) commentary is below......
From the gloomy spartan interior that defined Mirfield station in the 70s a brief ray of hope for the railway photter appears in the form of class 40 no. 40156 with a passing freight.
Ilford FP4 rated at 125asa, developed in Acutol.
12th April 1977
'Cassiopeia' with the 5Q94 07.34 Allerton DMU depot to Long Marston service, conveying 769421 for storage.
To the right of the tracks is the building site for the HS2 terminus at Curzon Street, the light brown building on the right edge of the image is the original building which was opened by the London and Birmingham Railway in 1838.
The large unusually shaped silver building on the far left is Selfridges department store which opened in 2003 having cost £60 million pounds to build. In front of it is Birmingham Moor Street Station.
At the bottom of the image next to the canal is the Proof House. It was founded by an act of Parliament 1813.
Its remit was to provide a testing and certification service for firearms in order to prove their quality of construction, particularly in terms of the resistance of barrels to explosion under firing conditions. Such testing prior to sale or transfer of firearms is made mandatory by the Gun Barrel Proof Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. cxiii), which made it an offence to sell, offer for sale, transfer, export or pawn an unproofed firearm, with certain exceptions for military organisations.
The proof process is that of testing a firearm for integrity using a severely overcharged cartridge, or proof load which is fired through the gun in an armoured testing chamber. This exposes it to pressures far beyond what it would experience in normal service. It is awarded a stamped proof mark if it survives without either being destroyed or suffering damage from the proof load. Larger guns were tested at a shooting range in Bordesley along a railway viaduct; however, the expansion of the city centre resulted in the closure of the shooting range.
Proof may be rendered invalid if the firearm is damaged or modified significantly; at this point it is described as "out of proof" and must be re-proved before it can be sold or transferred. Note that the correct term for a satisfactorily tested firearm is proved, or proven.
There are penalties for non-compliance with proof laws; a fine of £5,000 may be levied for selling an unproofed or out-of proof firearm, more if a number of firearms are involved in a transaction. Tampering with, or forging, a proof mark is regarded as even more serious.
The Proof House still exists, largely unchanged in both purpose and construction, although it offers a wider range of services including ammunition testing and firearm accident investigation. The building contains a museum of arms and ammunition, and can be visited by prior arrangement.
A national site of scenic beauty, the Kintaikyo Bridge is one of the most famous wooden bridges in Japan.
In 1673, the lord of the Iwakuni Domain, Hiroyoshi Kikkawa built a wooden bridge, which was to serve as the prototype for the bridge that exists today. Unfortunately, this bridge was soon washed away.
The following year, the bridge was reconstructed with improvements. This bridge retained its majestic appearance for 276 years, until it was carried away by Typhoon Kezia in September 1950. After it was destroyed, the bridge was rebuilt again as a timber bridge, at the strong request of the local residents. From Heisei 13 (2002), the weakened wooden parts were replaced during a project known as the Heisei Era renovation and were newly constructed from Japanese cypress in March 2004.
Performed by successive generations of bridge engineers in the same way it was performed on the original bridge, replacement of the wooden bridge sections is a traditional undertaking which has remained largely unchanged since the Edo period.
The bridge has a surface length of 210 m and a total length of 193.3 m. It is 5 m wide and the piers are 6.6 m tall.
It was constructed using a timberwork technique that employs metal belts and nails.
The unique, sophisticated construction of the bridge arches is said to be impeccable, even from the perspective of modern bridge engineering.
Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller's design of Aarhus' City Hall was completed in 1942. The sober exterior belies the richly detailed interior, which is unchanged since 1942.
eine Wüste in der Nordsee, ein sich ständig änderndes lebendiges Medium. Es gibt keine zwei Stunden, in denen der Kniepsand unverändert bleibt. Wind, Wasser, Sonne und Regen hinterlassen unentwegt ihre Spuren. Ein Ort für Meditation und Besinnung.
The knee-saddle on Amrum is an ever-changing living medium of an incomprehensible expanse, a desert in the North Sea. There are not two hours in which the knee-joint remains unchanged. Wind, water, sun and rain always leave their mark. A place for meditation and reflection.
A spell in the digital darkroom has yielded an improved result for this image taken almost 50 years ago, and first shared on Flickr in 2012. Changes include some grain reduction and better management of highlights. I've left the colour tones of the original unchanged, which better correspond to the Ektachrome emulsion. The original upload has been deleted.
At first sight this view of Crewe doesn't look much different to what you might see today - motive power and a lick of paint aside that is.
This was taken in the early 70s and the loco in question is a pre-TOPS Sulzer Type 2 no. 5220. Seen here sporting the light-engine headcode 0Z00 as well as the front-end gangway doors carried by the early-build versions, it was eventually renumbered 25070 and lasted another 6 years in service before withdrawal in 1980.
Also of interest is the scissor crossover in the background, and the second nearest track, now the Down Main, which was then used to store locos between turns - usually AL1-5 electrics to cover the traction changes on the Anglo-Scottish services (West Coast Mainline electrification only went as far north as Weaver Junction at the time). Note the plentiful mail-bags and parcels over on the Up platform.
I've sized the image for full-screen viewing.
Zenit E with Kodak High Speed Ektachrome (160asa)
11.50am, 2nd February 1974
These units had previously been lettered "Floyd Valley Grain", but the paint scheme remains unchanged. They both started life as Southern SD24's and were rebuilt as SD18's by PNC for the C&NW. AGPX 1801 was previously C&NW 6623.
Torre Iberdrola, Bilbao, Vizcaya, País Vasco, España.
La Torre Iberdrola es un rascacielos de 165 metros de altura que empezó a construirse el 19 de marzo de 2007 en Bilbao, y su edificación se dio por finalizada en 2011. Su arquitecto es César Pelli y la inauguración oficial, presidida por el rey Juan Carlos I, fue el 21 de febrero de 2012. Es el noveno rascacielos más alto de España, así como el más alto del norte del país.
Su arquitecto es el argentino César Pelli, especializado en arquitectura vertical, y autor de las Torres Petronas de Kuala Lumpur (452 metros) o de la Torre de Cristal de Madrid (249,5 metros), la más alta de España.
La torre tiene 165 metros de altura repartidos en 41 plantas y 50.000 m², con forma de triángulo isósceles y con los lados ligeramente curvos. Se ubica en la parcela 204 del PERI de Abandoibarra, en el distrito de Abando, donde se encuentran la mayor parte de los edificios de oficinas de la villa.
La torre está dedicada enteramente a oficinas, ya que desde el 17 de octubre de 2008 ha variado el accionariado del edificio. Primeramente con la compra por parte de Iberdrola del 50% que poseía la empresa constructora Promotora Vizcaína, consiguiendo de esta manera el 100% del edificio, y posteriormente vendiendo un 33% a la caja de ahorros vizcaína BBK. De esta manera queda totalmente cancelado el proyecto de instalar un hotel de 4 estrellas de la cadena Abba en las seis primeras plantas del rascacielos. El resto del proyecto prosiguió sin cambios, con diez plantas en las que se instala la propia Iberdrola, y en las que establece su sede central, y el resto comercializándose como oficinas en régimen de alquiler.
El edificio se convirtió a finales del 2009 en el más alto de la ciudad, sobrepasando a la Torre Banco de Vizcaya de 88 metros de altura, así como también de su comunidad autónoma, sobrepasando a la Torre BEC de 98 metros.
Un helipuerto de 18 metros de diámetro, el primero ubicado en un edificio privado de Vizcaya, remata el edificio más alto del País Vasco, siendo utilizado únicamente para vuelos sanitarios o de emergencia.
The Iberdrola Tower is a 165-meter-high skyscraper whose construction began on March 19, 2007, in Bilbao, and was completed in 2011. Its architect is César Pelli, and the official inauguration, presided over by King Juan Carlos I, took place on February 21, 2012. It is the ninth tallest skyscraper in Spain, as well as the tallest in the north of the country.
Its architect is Argentine César Pelli, a specialist in vertical architecture, and the designer of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur (452 meters) and the Torre de Cristal in Madrid (249.5 meters), the tallest in Spain.
The tower is 165 meters tall, spread over 41 floors and 50,000 m², in the shape of an isosceles triangle with slightly curved sides. It is located on plot 204 of the Abandoibarra PERI (Rehabilitation and Renovation of the City of Abando), in the district of Abando, where most of the town's office buildings are located.
The tower is entirely dedicated to office use, as the building's ownership has changed since October 17, 2008. Initially, with Iberdrola's purchase of the 50% stake held by the construction company Promotora Vizcaína, thus obtaining 100% of the building, and subsequently selling 33% to the Biscayan savings bank BBK. Thus, the project to install a 4-star Abba hotel on the first six floors of the skyscraper was completely canceled. The remaining project continued unchanged, with ten floors housing Iberdrola itself and establishing its headquarters, and the remainder being marketed as rental offices.
At the end of 2009, the building became the tallest in the city, surpassing the 88-meter-high Banco de Vizcaya Tower, and also in the autonomous region, surpassing the 98-meter-high BEC Tower.
An 18-meter-diameter helipad, the first located in a private building in Vizcaya, completes the tallest building in the Basque Country, and is used solely for medical or emergency flights.
The Dairy Queen on East Main Street in Port Colborne, Ontario was one of the first Dairy Queen outlets in Canada. It was built in 1954 and remains basically unchanged since that time. I remember going there as a kid growing up in Port Colborne. The neon sign on the roof us the original and was dark for over forty years until refurbished and relit in 2025. The Dairy Queen corporation has allowed this old iconic logo to remain at this location.
Read more about Firefly .
Oracabessa, Jamaica
Our small group of five were the only visitors at Firefly. We wondered if, perhaps, Noel Coward, is unknown to some of the younger tourists in Jamaica. The house is unchanged since the day Noel Coward died and clearly in desperate need of restoration...although the site is beautifully maintained. It saddens me to think how it will fare in the future.
A renovated former telephone exchange is transformed into a modern office building. The Hallo building is an early 20th century Art Deco project, built in 1928, to a design by architect Davids Zariņš of the Post and Telegraph Department of the Ministry of Transport. The building's stylistically robust architecture has remained almost unchanged since its construction.
This old reliable is still at work over there on Foxen Canyon, much of that wonderful motorcycle road is unchanged from the 90's (the 1890's)
Looking downstream towards the Victorian era Waterworks built in 1860. a view virtually unchanged in 150 years.
Dumfries and Galloway / Scottish Borders
Picture No: 2019-11-30-6688_P_FRAMED_S
Edited in Canon DPP 4, framed in Photoshop 6
Not cropped. No photomontage. No Photoshop.
Colors unchanged
As I traversed this narrow path, with it's canopy of gold, I wondered what was ahead, around the bend. I wondered about those that took this same pat, in the past, years and years ago on a road unchanged by time.
Jvari Monastery (Georgian: ჯვრის მონასტერი) is a sixth-century Georgian Orthodox monastery near Mtskheta, eastern Georgia. Jvari is a rare case of an Early Medieval Georgian church that has survived to the present day almost unchanged. The church became the founder of its type, the Jvari type of church architecture, prevalent in Georgia and Armenia. Built atop of Jvari Mount (656 m a.s.l.), the monastery is an example of harmonious connection with the natural environment, characteristic to medieval Georgian architecture. Along with other historic structures of Mtskheta, the monastery was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994.
Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Přední Kopanina)
The Rotunda of St. Mary Magdalene in Prague-Přední Kopanina is a Romanesque rotunda, standing on the very northwestern edge of Prague, in the middle of the Přední Kopanina district. The rotunda falls under the administration of the Roman Catholic parish in Tuchoměřice.
The unplastered building of the church dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene is led out of small marl blocks, probably mined directly from the local quarry, which is still a well-known source of this material. The central part of the church is a round nave, the interior of which measures over five meters across, on the east side a semicircular apse joins the nave, on the west side a slender tower with an approximately square floor plan. Research in 1983 showed that this layout of the church is original, from the time of its construction, which is not documented in more detail, but is generally placed in the first half of the 12th century.
The presence of the portal on the floor of the south wall of the tower, interpreted as the entrance to the porch, may then indicate for this period the existence of a manor house in the vicinity of this side of the church.
A rectangular extension was later attached to the south side of the rotunda, which currently serves as the main nave, while the rotunda became a presbytery and the tower serves as a sacristy. The functional arrangement of the church is thus today, in contrast to the usual orientation to the east, rotated by 90 degrees.
The current appearance of the church of St. Mary Magdalene is the result of modern adaptations. After the collapse of the vault in 1779, the rotunda was left to its fate for a long time. It was not until 1852 to 1858 that an extensive renovation was carried out according to the project of Karel Wiesenfeld (1802-1870), a long-time professor of civil engineering at the Prague Polytechnic (this is the only case of Wiesenfeld's own construction work). The vault was then restored with a wooden structure instead of a stone one, the tower was noticeably raised, new window openings were made (only two windows are considered unchanged, medieval today, one on the ground floor of the west side of the tower, the other on the southeast side of the apse).
The marl altar relief with a scene of the Crucifixion, of uncertain age, perhaps from the second half of the 17th century, stands out from the furniture of the church. It is also worth mentioning the painting Adoration of the Magi with the side figures of St. Wenceslas and St. Ludmila by Josef Hellich from 1861 and the painting of St. Mary Magdalene by Vilém Kandler. The Gothic sandstone baptistery has been preserved from the older equipment. The stained glass windows date from the 1990s. So far, the last reconstruction of the building was completed in 2000.
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
How lovely are thy branches
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
How lovely are thy branches
Your boughs so green in summertime
Stay bravely green in wintertime
O tannenbaum, o Christmas tree
How lovely are thy branches
Let us all remember
In our gift giving and our merriment
With our family and friends and loved ones
The real and true meaning of Christmas
The birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ
O tannenbaum, o tannenbaum
How lovely are, are thy branches
O tannenbaum, o tannenbaum
How lovely are, how lovely are thy branches
The pillars all please faithfully
Our trust in God unchangedly
O tannenbaum, o tannenbaum
How love, lovely are thy branches
Der Große Tiergarten in Berlin ist eine zentral im Ortsteil Tiergarten des Bezirks Mitte gelegene Parkanlage, die sich auf 210 Hektar (2,1 km²) erstreckt. Einige breite Straßen durchschneiden den Park; sie kreuzen sich am Großen Stern, in dessen Mitte die Siegessäule steht. Ein erster Tiergarten wurde schon 1527 an anderer Stelle angelegt, nämlich in der Nähe des Berliner Schlosses, westlich der Berliner Stadtmauer. Das kleine Gebiet wurde seit 1530 nach Westen und Norden hin durch Zukäufe erweitert, bis zu den Grenzen des heutigen Tiergartens und darüber hinaus. Man setzte Wildtiere aus und hinderte sie durch Zäune daran, auf die umliegenden Äcker zu entweichen. Das Gelände diente als Jagdrevier der Kurfürsten von Brandenburg. Als die Stadt Berlin wuchs, wurde das Jagdgebiet nach und nach verkleinert. Friedrich der Große schätzte die Jagd nicht. 1742 gab er den Auftrag, die Zäune niederreißen zu lassen und den Tiergarten zu einem barocken Lustpark für die Bevölkerung umzugestalten. Ab 1818 gestaltete ihn Peter Joseph Lenné zu einem Landschaftspark nach englischem Vorbild um. In der Form, die Lenné ihm gegeben hatte, bestand der Park nahezu unverändert bis zur Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Im Zweiten Weltkrieg wurde der Tiergarten durch Luftangriffe der Alliierten schwer beschädigt. Unmittelbar nach Kriegsende diente die Ost-West-Achse zeitweise als Flugpiste, auf der Siegessäule war ein Kontrollposten stationiert. In der Nachkriegszeit wurden Bäume und Sträucher aufgrund des Kohlemangels verheizt, auf den freien Flächen wurden Kartoffeln und Gemüse angebaut, eine offiziell von den britischen Besatzungstruppen genehmigte vorübergehende Nutzung: es entstanden etwa 2550 Parzellen. Von ehemals rund 200.000 Bäumen standen noch etwa 700. Die Gewässer waren verschlammt, alle Brücken zerstört, die Denkmäler umgestürzt und beschädigt. Am 2. Juli 1945 beschloss der Magistrat von Berlin die Wiederherstellung des Großen Tiergartens.
Quelle: Wikipedia
Großer Tiergarten ("Great Animal Garden") in Berlin is a park centrally located in the Tiergarten district of the Mitte borough, covering 210 hectares (2.1 km²). Several wide streets cut through the park; they intersect at the Großer Stern, in the centre of which stands the Victory Column. A first Animal Garden was laid out elsewhere as early as 1527, near the Berlin Palace, to the west of the Berlin city wall. From 1530 onwards, the small area was extended to the west and north by acquisitions, up to and beyond the boundaries of today's Großer Tiergarten. Wild animals were released and prevented by fences from escaping to the surrounding fields. The area served as a hunting ground for the Electors of Brandenburg. As the city of Berlin grew, the hunting ground was gradually reduced. Frederick the Great did not appreciate hunting. In 1742 he ordered the fences to be torn down and the Tiergarten to be transformed into a Baroque pleasure park for the people. From 1818, Peter Joseph Lenné redesigned it into a landscape park based on the English model. In the form that Lenné had given it, the park existed almost unchanged until the middle of the 20th century. During the Second World War, the GroßerTiergarten was severely damaged by Allied air raids. In the post-war period, trees and shrubs were burned in the peoples' homes due to the lack of coal, and potatoes and vegetables were grown on the vacant land, a temporary use officially approved by the British occupation forces: about 2550 plots were created. Only about 700 of the former 200,000 trees were left standing. The waters were silted up, all bridges destroyed, the monuments overturned and damaged. On 2 July 1945, the Berlin City Administration decided to restore the Großer Tiergarten.
Source: Wikipedia
The General Post Office is a heritage-listed landmark building located in Martin Place, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The original building was constructed in two stages beginning in 1866 and was designed under the guidance of Colonial Architect James Barnet. Composed primarily of local Sydney sandstone, mined in Pyrmont, the primary load-bearing northern façade has been described as "the finest example of the Victorian Italian Renaissance Style in NSW" and stretches 114 metres along Martin Place, making it one of the largest sandstone buildings in Sydney.
The building served as the headquarters of Australia Post from its completion until 1996 when it was privatised and refurbished. The scaled back day-to-day counter postal services are now located on the George Street frontage and the outlet is known as the Sydney GPO Post Shop. The old General Post Office post boxes and Poste restante services are now located in the Australia Post site in the Hunter Connection, on the corner of George Street and Hunter Street. Despite significant internal alterations and additions, the façade has remained virtually unchanged and is listed both on the Commonwealth Heritage List and the New South Wales State Heritage Register, as recognition of its architectural and social significance to the history of Australia.
For Lancia, the Aprilia, produced from 1937 - 1949, simultaneously marked the end of one era and the beginning of another. Technologically speaking, this was a supremely refined model, with a load-bearing body, a compact narrow V engine, independent suspension on all four wheels and extremely innovative aerodynamic lines.
During the 1920s, the invention of wind tunnels allowed industrial designers to seek new levels of performance for motor vehicles by improving their aerodynamics. In the United States, “streamline design” was all the rage, a trend for producing sinuous and aerodynamic lines, starting with airplanes, then trains and then cars, increasing their speed but also emphasizing their extravagant stylistic features.
This movement reached Italy in the 1930s when streamlining, a symbol of modernity, inspired the lines of the new Lancia Aprilia. But compared to the American style, Vincenzo Lancia’s trusted designer Battista Falchetto - who had shared the honors for the stunning design of the Lambda - created a car with fewer frills and more concrete lines, aimed at improving aerodynamics. The grille and windscreen were therefore slightly inclined, and the egg shape - considered at the time the most efficient profile from an aerodynamic point of view - gave character to the rear part. The compact and streamlined bonnet was made possible by the small size of the narrow V engine... an authentic concentrate of technology. It consisted of a light alloy monobloc with cast iron barrels, V valves controlled by rockers moved by an overhead camshaft and a hemispherical top on the combustion chamber. With only 1,352 cc it generated 48 HP which, thanks also to a total weight of only 850 kg, plus an excellent aerodynamic coefficient of just 0.47, thrust the Aprilia up to 125 km/h.
The Aprilia was a true Piedmontese aristocrat, refined and precise in every detail. Its famous four pillarless doors, a true Lancia icon, also have an extraordinary curved profile and invisible hinges. The famous click - the sound of the doors closing - underlined the scrupulous attention to the smallest details in design and assembly which typified Lancia’s outstanding modus operandi, providing an unforgettable grace note. The interiors, especially in the Luxury version, featured a classy geometric instrument panel on a grey background with black and white graphics: the square speedometer and clock perfectly matched with the rectangles chosen for the thermometer and the fuel gauge. The Lancia cloth upholstery (available on request in leather), the door panels, the roof covering and the rubber mats were the final touches of a creation which was the closest possible motorcar version of the classic Turin interiors of the period.
Its extremely low weight was mainly due to the load-bearing body: a Lancia patent - first seen in the 1920s on the Lambda - which, by overcoming the classic architecture which kept the chassis and bodywork separate, improved torsional rigidity and significantly reduced volumes. The independent suspension on all four wheels, with rear transversal leaf spring and front coil springs, enabled the Lancia Aprilia to offer road grip and passenger comfort that was much superior to most of its contemporary rivals.
The Lancia Aprilia contained all the most innovative and refined technical solutions that were so dear to Vincenzo Lancia. It constituted a pinnacle of motorcar production, carried out under the direct supervision of the founder of the Turin company. The name of the car came from that of an ancient Lazio town: a characteristic that linked it to its predecessors, the Artena and the Astura.
The Lancia Aprilia was presented to the public at the thirtieth edition of the Paris Motor Show, in October 1936. On February 15, 1937 its creator had a sudden and fatal heart attack, just before the car went into production. He was only 55 years old. Thus the Aprilia became universally seen as the spiritual testament of Vincenzo Lancia, becoming a huge commercial success, which continued even after the adversities of the second World War.
The first series of the Lancia Aprilia was produced from 1937 to 1939 in 10,354 units: a Sedan in standard and Luxury trims, to which were added 4,350 chassis for custom-made versions, on which the best Italian coachbuilders reveled in producing streamlined and elegant spiders and cabriolets. Pinin Farina's aerodynamic coupé was highly original, with its characteristic flattened muzzle, the central position of the 2 + 2 passenger compartment and an elegant tail.
Two years after the start of production, the second series was born, characterized by the increase in displacement to 1,486 cc. The power remained unchanged, but this improved the elasticity of the engine and the maximum speed. Despite a weight increase to 950 kg, it gained 1 km/h. In the decade from 1939-1949, 11,082 sedans were produced plus 2,252 chassis for coachbuilders.
The production of the Aprilia continued - with a further 703 exemplars - even after the Second World War, a period in which the model, despite being almost ten years old, could still be proud of its highly modern mechanics and settings. It held its place in the market right up to the last days of production, and in racing it remained the undisputed dominator of the Tourism class up to 1500 cc for years: it also triumphed in the Mille Miglia of 1947 thanks to its powerful acceleration and peerless road holding.
To this day, more than eighty years after its presentation, the Aprilia is considered a timeless pioneering car which, by gathering all the best of Lancia’s innovative philosophy, inaugurated a new era in motoring. Vincenzo Lancia was usually hypercritical about his cars, but after test driving the Aprilia prototype he spontaneously exclaimed: "What a magnificent car!".
Article credit: Heritage
Tewkesbury Abbey this morning a lovely day to get out
Tewkesbury Abbey is world-renowned for being one of the UK’s greatest examples of medieval architecture. Its striking Norman tower and long nave have dominated the Tewkesbury skyline for nearly 900 years.
Recognising the Abbey’s historical significance, the famous art scholar Sir Nikolaus Pevsner claimed it has ‘probably the largest and finest Romanesque tower in England’.
As the Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, it is also one of the largest parish churches in England with music and worship at the heart of its mission and ministry.
Christian foundations in the town can be traced back to the 7th century when Theoc, a missionary from Northumbria settled in the area. A monastery followed in 715.
The history of the Abbey at its current site starts in the 10th century when Abbot Geraldus travelled with a group of monks from Cranborne in Dorset to establish a new monastery at Tewkesbury.
Consecrated in 1121, Tewkesbury Abbey thrived for many years until the time of The Reformation when, in 1540, the monastery was dissolved on the orders of Henry VIII and most of the monastery buildings were lost.
But the Abbey itself survived after being saved by the townsfolk of Tewkesbury. They paid £453 – an enormous sum in the 16th Century - to buy their parish church and, in so doing, saved the magnificent building for future generations.
Today much of the Abbey remains unchanged from the early 12th century: the Nave Pillars, Norman tower and West front. The East End of the Abbey contains original medieval windows, a Quire clerestory and number of chapels.
In the 19th century, fine stained glass was installed in the Nave and at the West End. The most recent stained glass consists of two windows created by Tom Denny to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the arrival of the Benedictine monks from Cranborne.
There is a strong musical and liturgical tradition at Tewkesbury Abbey. The Abbey choir sings services on Sundays and the major Christian festivals, and Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum sing Choral Evensong during term time.
In addition to the services there are many concerts in the Abbey each year and our own Musica Deo Sacra festival celebrating music and liturgy takes place annually in late July.
La linea 16 rimane pressoché immutata da ormai più di un secolo, ed era nota all'epoca come "linea dei viali", visto il percorso attraverso alcuni dei viali alberati tipici della città. Ancora oggi, le motrici della serie 2800 rimangono le più utilizzate su questa linea, come la 2897 in foto, mentre attraversa Piazza della Repubblica.
The Line 16 has remained nearly unchanged for over one century, and at that time it was known as "Boulevard Line" ("Linea dei Viali"), as it goes along the main boulevards of the city. As of today, orange 2800 tramcars are still the most used on such line, like the one above, photographed in Piazza della Repubblica
The nautilus (from the Latin form of the original Greek ναυτίλος, 'sailor') is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae, the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina.
It comprises six living species in two genera, the type of which is the genus Nautilus. Though it more specifically refers to species Nautilus pompilius, the name chambered nautilus is also used for any species of the Nautilidae.
Nautilidae, both extant and extinct, are characterized by involute or slightly evolute shells that are generally smooth, with compressed or depressed whorl sections, straight to sinuous sutures, and a tubular, generally central siphuncle. Having survived relatively unchanged for millions of years, nautiluses represent the only living members of the subclass nautiloidea, and are often considered "living fossils."
The name "nautilus" originally referred to the pelagic octopuses of the genus Argonauta, otherwise known as paper nautiluses, as the ancients believed these animals used their two expanded arms as sails.
Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the pretty little village of Slaidburn lies near the head of the River Hodder and Stocks Reservoir, both within the Forest of Bowland, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Farming is still a major employer, but the area also attracts tourists.
Probably dating from the early 1600s, and largely unchanged on the exterior, this Grade II-listed Inn used to be named "The Dog". It acquired the name "Hark to Bounty" in 1875. The Squire of Slaidburn was drinking in the Inn when he heard his dog Bounty barking outside and the squire is said to have uttered the words "Hark to Bounty". An unusual external stone staircase leads upstairs to the old Court Room which was in use until the 1930s. Many fine relics are preserved there.
Southern Hawker Aeshna cyanea. The basic body plan of this insect has remained unchanged for 280 Million years. What a success story.
Near Mitten Staffordshire UK 19th September 2015
1644 erbaute man die erste Flutbrücke in Bernburg. Sie bildete sie Verbindung des Fernhandelweges von Magdeburg nach Halle. Diese war noch aus Holz und ist mehrfach durch die Flut oder durch Eisschäden zerstört worden.
Es folgte 1787 eine Brücke aus Stein. Der 6 jochige Bau ist nahezu unverändert bis heute erhalten geblieben. Heute wird die Brücke bei Hochwasser für den Autoverkehr freigegeben, der dann unbeschadet die Talstadt erreichen kann. Die Brücke steht unter Denkmalschutz
In 1644 the first flood bridge was built in Bernburg. It formed the connection of the long-distance trade route from Magdeburg to Halle. This was still made of wood and has been destroyed several times by the flood or ice damage.
A stone bridge followed in 1787. The 6-bay building has remained almost unchanged to this day. Today the bridge is opened to car traffic during flood, which can then reach the valley town undamaged. The bridge is a listed building
The Dunham estate was granted to the Massey family shortly after the Norman Conquest, passing through the female line of the Massey family until 1453, when the Booth family acquired the estate through marriage. Initially there was a moated medieval manor house on the site but in the late 16th century this was rebuilt by Sir George Booth.
Booth's grandson (also, George) raised an army in 1659 to support the Royalist cause. This led Booth being incarcerated in the Tower of London. However, in 1660 the Monarchy was restored and Charles II rewarded Booth with a peerage, making him Lord Delamere.
Booth supported the Duke of Monmouth's Rebellion two decades later and Lord Delamere entertained Monmouth at Dunham Massey. Lord Delamere died in 1684, but his son was deemed suspect and brought to trial before the House of Lords for high treason, following Monmouth's execution. He was acquitted, and just 2 years later raised troops to support William of Orange. William rewarded him with the title, Earl of Warrington.
In the 1770s the 2nd Earl of Warrington completely remodelled the house and laid out the extensive parkland around the house. The money to make all these improvements to Dunham Massey came from an advantageous marriage to the daughter of a wealthy London merchant.
The house was then acquired by the Grey family of Enville Hall via the marriage of Lady Mary Booth, daughter of the 2nd Earl, the Earl of Stamford.
The house remained unchanged until the Edwardian period, when the 9th Earl of Stamford added an imposing stone entrance on the south front and redecorated many of the state rooms in Edwardian style.
It has been owned by the National Trust since the death of the 10th and last Earl of Stamford in 1976.
Last month I posted a photograph of the crypt at Lastingham that is over a thousand years old. There are only two possible points of view to photograph in this tiny space. The earlier shot was taken from the steps looking towards the alter. This is the reverse, I think I prefer it, the steps are like a time machine . When you walk up them you are travelling from the 11th to the 13th centuries. When you leave St Marys Church you are back in the modern world. Not a bad trip to make in this small little village in North Yorkshire
I have put the earlier shot in the comments so you can compare them should you wish
Lastingham is in the North York Moors National Park and its village church St Marys is itself very old. However it’s when you enter the church and go down the steep stone steps in the centre of the nave that you really begin to travel in time.
There are records that suggest a monastery was founded on this site in about AD650 . Around AD 725 the first stone church was built, and Cedd an important missionary from Lindisfarne human remains were reburied beside the altar. Stephen of Whitby refounded the Saxon monastery as a Benedictine house in 1078. Stephen built this present crypt over the place where Cedd was believed to have been buried. The crypt has been relatively unchanged for well over a thousand years.
I have not visited the Crypt for many years and it was a great pleasure to descend again into this remarkable space, which has a strange quality of calm.I would agree with Simon Jenkins, author of England's Thousand Best Churches, when he calls the Norman crypt of St Mary's church in Lastingham 'one of England's special places'. He’s certainly right.
THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT AND FOR TAKING THE TIME TO WRITE A COMMENT IT’S MUCH APPRECIATED.
IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW MY STREAM I SUGGEST YOU OUGHT TO READ MY PROFILE FIRST
This is a pair of Common Blue Damselflies 'in the wheel' forming a heart shape. Damselfly sex is complicated, so pay attention!
The (blue) male initiates the reproductive process by depositing some sperm from his primary genitalia near the tip of his tail onto secondary genitalia under the 2nd segment of his abdomen (just below his 'chest') . Grasping a female by the back of her head or 'prothorax', they fly around in tandem until she is ready to collect the sperm, which she does by looping around so she can collect the sperm with her genitalia located near the tip of her tail - which is what is happening in this picture. They can remain like this for a few seconds or a few minutes, and can even fly around conjoined like this. At some point, she will straighten out, and then they fly in tandem to a nearby stretch of slow flowing water where she will deposit her eggs. I believe that the eggs are not fertilized until they are laid, so it is important the male keeps hold of her until the eggs are deposited to prevent other males from mating with her. The damselflies play no role in caring for their offspring and, in fact, only live a matter of weeks in the winged form. The eggs hatch and develop over a few weeks and the nymphs grow, shedding their skins several times over at least one year, some species multiple years, until, when the time is right, the final 'instar' climbs up a plant stem and sheds its skin to emerge as the final, flying adult form - transitioning from water breathing to air breathing in the process. The adult forms only live for a few weeks, spending that time eating and breeding. Odonata (damselflies and dragonflies) are amongst the most successful animals on earth, surviving virtually unchanged (apart from size) for hundreds of millions of years, being found in fossil records. No species has evolved from them - it seems any mutation makes them less successful.
All these mentions of sex, mating, copulation, sperm and genitals will get lots of hits by people searching for porn on Flickr!
This photograph, taken from the Grote Markt in Antwerp, Belgium, captures an exquisite series of facades showcasing the quintessential Flemish architecture. The buildings stand proudly, adorned with ornate gables and intricate stonework, reflecting the rich history and cultural heritage of the region. The play of light and shadow on the facades highlights the detailed craftsmanship that went into their construction, making each structure a unique piece of art.
It is early in the morning, and the square is almost devoid of pedestrians, lending a serene and tranquil atmosphere to the scene. The absence of crowds allows for an unobstructed view of the architectural splendor, inviting the observer to appreciate the harmony and elegance of the urban landscape. The calmness of the morning air enhances the sense of timelessness, as if the buildings have stood unchanged for centuries, witnessing the ebb and flow of history.
The cobblestone streets and the spaciousness of the square contribute to the charm of the Grote Markt. The photograph captures the essence of a waking city, where the quiet stillness is soon to be replaced by the bustling activity of daily life. This moment of calm before the city awakens is a reminder of the enduring beauty and tranquility that can be found in the heart of Antwerp, amidst its historical and architectural grandeur.
RX_08822_20240404_Amberes
This is one of the two churches in the parish where I am one of the clergy. As we are not having regular services in church at the moment because of the lockdown, I am producing a pre-recorded video service using different locations and with different members of the congregation doing different sections of the service. I nearly always do a few timelapse sequences for opening credits, and as it was an unusually clear evening here yesterday, I thought a 20 minute timelapse of the skies darkening after sunset might work well if switched on all the lights inside the church.
It did work well, and I took a still shot before and after the timelapse. This was the 'before' shot. It doesn't have the interest of having Orion rising through the trees of the later one, but the post-sunset glow gives a particularly attractive cast to the light on the tower.
It was REALLY cold when I took these, at least by our standards; several degrees below freezing with a strong wind. Putting the bare metal of the tripod away, after half an hour of both the tripod and I being wind chilled, was agonising.
St Mary’s Church in the Wiltshire market town of Devizes (pop. 15,500) was built in the 12th century to serve the new borough of Devizes, outside the castle area, which was served by nearby St John's. All that remains of the early church is the chancel, there being nothing dateable in the rest of the church earlier than the 13th or 14th century. There were radical alterations to the church structure in the 15th century when the walls were heightened, the south porch increased to two storeys with a stair turret and windows, buttresses and roofs replaced and renewed. The west tower was built against the nave. There were changes here during the Reformation including the removal of the rood screen in 1561. The church remained largely unchanged then until the 1850s when there was a restoration, the church was repewed and a vestry built.
By the 1890s cracks were beginning to appear in the walls of the tower and these were repaired in 1897-8. The church is of dressed stone with a chancel, an aisled and clerestoried nave with a south porch and west tower. In the chancel there is a dole table, probably of the 15th century. During the Civil War lead was taken from the roof to manufacture bullets. The church, sharing a common incumbent with St John’s since its 12th Century origins, has not held regular Sunday services since 2006 although at least one weekly midweek service takes place there.
Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller's design of Aarhus' City Hall was completed in 1942. The sober exterior belies the richly detailed interior, which is unchanged since 1942.
Without a doubt, the Collegiate Church of the Assumption of Mary of the former Cistercian Abbey of Fürstenfeld near Fürstenfeldbruck is one of the most important Baroque churches in southern Germany.
On August 5, 1700, the foundation stone for the new monastery church was laid. The church's designer was Giovanni Antonio Viscardi. However, construction work was halted in 1701 and not resumed until 1716, this time under the direction of Johann Georg Ettenhofer. The choir was completed in 1732, and the nave was consecrated in 1741. However, the furnishings were not completed until 1766.
Pietro Franceso Appiani was entrusted with the stuccoing of the choir. He began in 1718 and completed the work in 1723. The nave was stuccoed by his brother Jacopo Appiani.
The frescoes in the choir and nave are works by Cosmas Damian Asam. He began in the choir and worked there until 1723. The frescoes in the nave were completed in 1731.
Egid Quirin Asam designed the high altar. It is unknown who built it according to his plans. Egid Quirin also designed two side altars.
In 1736, Johann Georg Fux built the large organ on the west gallery. It remains virtually unchanged and is considered one of the most important Baroque organs in Bavaria. The organ front comes from the workshop of Johann Georg Greiff and is one of the largest organ fronts in Bavaria.
The two donor figures to the left and right of the choir arch are works by the sculptor Roman Anton Boos. They depict Duke Ludwig the Strict on the left and his son, Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian, on the right.
Adirondacks, NY
Boreas is the Greek God of the North Wind, and perhaps whoever named this river suffered through the winters that were carried southward on its journey to meet the Hudson. I long for that breeze now, sweaty and sticky in the heat of early evening. The Boreas Rover is a rocky corridor here; huge boulders are randomly scattered, with smaller ones migrating into the forest. It leaves you wondering about the forces of creation. This isn’t a popular place, it’s just one I came across long ago, and return to occasionally, as if revisiting an old friend. I’ve found that this is a common thing I do, coming back to familiar haunts. In a nation that has gone woke, hijacked by agenda idealogues, and writhing in the irony of what’s destroyed versus what’s created, maybe I need to reassure myself that some things, some places, haven’t changed. Many have. Some have suffered the onslaught of people, drawn by internet inspired geo-trophyism, and left questionable when or even whether to ever return to them for solitude. I’ve returned to broad vistas, now permanently marred with ridges of marching wind turbines, or the sun glinting off acres of solar arrays, the earth’s landscapes left pitted from the earth movers used to produce the raw materials to make it all. Aesthetics are succumbing to climate fears; how did we come to trust people who claim to know what is good for the planet, and couldn’t care less about wilderness and wildlife. My list diminishes yearly of those that remain unchanged, unloved by but a few, a comfort food for the heart. God willing they will remain hidden, unusable, there to take solace in, from time to time.
Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin, is one of Gotham's biggest crime lords. His organization is run out of the shady nightclub called The Iceberg Lounge.
One of the my favorites from the collection, The Penguin was the second completed figure, and one of the easiest to build--taking only six hours or so. Unlike Catwoman, he did not require a revamp, and so he is unchanged from his original design that was built some nine or ten months ago.
His coat utilizes a Duplo caveman bearskin rug.
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The Winter Palace was the official residence of the Russian Emperors from 1732 to 1917. Today, the palace and its precincts form the Hermitage Museum. Situated between Palace Embankment and Palace Square, in Saint Petersburg, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and altered almost continuously between the late 1730s and 1837, when it was severely damaged by fire and immediately rebuilt. The storming of the palace in 1917, as depicted in Soviet propaganda art and Sergei Eisenstein's 1927 film October, became an iconic symbol of the Russian Revolution.
As completed, the overriding exterior form of the Winter Palace's architecture, with its decoration in the form of statuary and opulent stucco work on the pediments above façades and windows, is Baroque. The exterior has remained as finished during the reign of Empress Elizabeth. The principal façades, those facing the Palace Square and the Neva river, have always been accessible and visible to the public. Only the lateral façades are hidden behind granite walls, concealing a garden created during the reign of Nicholas II. The building was conceived as a town palace, rather than a private palace within a park, such as that of the French kings at Versailles.
The palace was constructed on a monumental scale that was intended to reflect the might and power of Imperial Russia. From the palace, the Tsar ruled over 22,400,000 square kilometers (8,600,000 sq mi) (almost 1/6 of the Earth's landmass) and over 125 million subjects by the end of the 19th century. It was designed by many architects, most notably Bartolomeo Rastrelli, in what came to be known as the Elizabethan Baroque style. The green-and-white palace has the shape of an elongated rectangle, and its principal façade is 215 metres (705 ft) long and 30 m (98 ft) high. The Winter Palace has been calculated to contain 1,886 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms and 117 staircases. Following a serious fire, the palace's rebuilding of 1837 left the exterior unchanged, but large parts of the interior were redesigned in a variety of tastes and styles, leading the palace to be described as a "19th-century palace inspired by a model in Rococo style".
As if time had stood still.
Chvalec hieß früher Qualisch und gehört zum sog. "Sudetenland". Die Region gehörte bis 1918 zu Österreich-Ungarn, nach dem ersten Weltkrieg dann zur neu entstandenen tschechischen Republik. Es gab eine starke deutsche Minderheit in dieser Zeit, das Verhältnis zwischen Deutschen und Tschechen war nicht immer einfach und gespannt, und diese Spannungen wurden durch die Nazis nach dem Machtantritt Hitlers 1933 instrumentalisiert. Es gelang den Nazis, in den durch Deutsche besiedelten Gebieten die Unzufriedenheit zu schüren (vor allem durch die "Sudetendeutsche Partei" unter ihrem nationalsozialistisch orientierten Führer Konrad Henlein). Es entstand die Forderung nach "Anschluss" an das deutsche Reich, und Deutschland konnte seine Ansprüche im Münchner Abkommen 1938 rigoros durchsetzen. Die Region "Sudetenland" wurde für 6 Jahre deutsch, 1939 wurde dann die ganze sog. "Resttschechei" von Hitler besetzt und litt während dieser Zeit unter dem Terror und der Unterdrückung der Nazis.
Nach dem Ende des zweiten Weltkriegs wurden die deutschen Bewohner von den Tschechen vertrieben, weil man sich rächen wollte für die erlittenen Greuel und weil die Benes-Dekrete festlegten, dass es im wiedererstandenen tschechoslowakischen Staat keine deutschen Minderheiten mehr geben sollte, die man für gefährlich hielt. Die deutschen Bewohner mussten fast alles zurücklassen und nach Westen fliehen, wo sie sich als "Heimatvertriebene" eine neue Existenz aufbauen mussten.
Das Besondere an der Region Sudetenland ist, dass hier relativ wenig Kampfhandlungen im 2. Weltkrieg stattfanden und wenig zerstört wurde. Man findet - vor allem auf den Dörfern - vieles noch so vor, wie es damals vor beinahe 80 Jahren war. Das gibt einem das Gefühl, eine Zeitreise zu machen - eben als ob die Zeit stillgestanden wäre seit damals.
The Sudetenland region was part of Austria-Hungary until 1918 when it became part of the newly formed Czechoslovak Republic after World War I. The presence of a significant German minority led to tensions between Germans and Czechs, which the Nazis exploited after Hitler came to power in 1933. Through the Sudeten German Party led by Konrad Henlein, the Nazis stoked dissatisfaction, leading to the demand for the region to be annexed by Germany, a request that was granted through the Munich Agreement in 1938. The Sudetenland was under German rule for six years, and the entirety of the "rest of Czechoslovakia" was occupied by Hitler in 1939, enduring Nazi oppression and terror.
Post-World War II, the German residents were expelled by the Czechs as a form of retribution for past atrocities, guided by the Benes Decrees that aimed to eliminate perceived dangerous German minorities from the re-established Czechoslovak state. These displaced Germans, known as refugees, had to abandon most of their belongings and rebuild their lives in the western regions.
Remarkably, the Sudetenland experienced minimal combat during World War II, resulting in little destruction. Today, especially in rural areas, much remains unchanged, offering visitors a sense of stepping into the past as if time stood still since those events nearly 80 years ago.
Rīga return for Anatole Lapine, visionary Latvian automotive designer
Some designers and their works are trendy for a short while before being forgotten, while others like Anatole Lapine (1930-2012) set timeless trends. The native-born Latvian left a remarkable mark in the automotive industry – as chef designer of an iconic German premium sportscar brand.
Born Anatols Kārlis Lapiņš in Rīga, Lapine might not be a household name even among most car enthusiasts, but to those within the automotive design world he is a legend. Lapine had a hand in shaping some of the most impressive and iconic sports cars of all time. The hidden design champion from Latvia was one of so-far only four chief designers of Porsche and led the styling studio of the famous German car brand for almost two decades from 1969 to 1988. His handwriting can still be seen on many streets around the world – and now also in the Riga Motor Museum in a special exhibition named “The Latvian who made pigs fly“.
Lapine was appointed chief designer at Porsche in 1969 and is responsible for some of the sports car manufacturer's best-known models. Tasked back then with establishing a vision of Porsche beyond its core model, the 911, Lapine and his team were the minds behind iconic models such as the 924, the 944 and, most notably, the 928. Some of them were seen as controversial when they were introduced because of their challenging designs, but now they are considered classic cars and are shown in Rīga on loan from the Porsche Museum Stuttgart and private owners.
The Porsche 917/20 takes a special place among the various 917 versions. It remains a unique one-off. Porsche engineers together with the French company SERA undertook the attempt to combine the advantages of the short and long tail 917. Its body was extremely wide and it had extremely rounded wheel cut-outs. As the track width remained unchanged, the wheels were hidden deeply in the wheel housings. The nose was equally low and flat like that of the new long-tail coupé, but shorter.
But the best part was the fanciful paintwork which let the 917/20 go down in Porsche history as the "Pink Pig", "Big Berta" or even "Truffle Hunter". Porsche designer Anatole Lapine decided in favour of the pink body colour and labelled each of the body parts according to the butcher-style cuts.
Below I present what my dear friend Dimitris Kalligeropoulos wrote, while we were in Ethiopia. He wrote also a short part "3" here in Athens.
He is a special person, an artist, a researcher, a teacher in a University, but above all a great human being.
Ethiopia 1
Overturning
Ethiopia, November 09
I want to write something for this country
without emotion and sensitivity.
Besides, I don’t have gathered much.
Only images and figures and souls
of surrounding children.
I sit among them in the garden.
And three young girls speaking to me
in a language I don’t understand.
And they look at the letters I write
and they touch my hair
and they whisper like birds
with their thin voices.
How can I concentrate?
How can I write down my thoughts for you ?
Souls around me caress
my soul
and make me remember
with the same tenderness
my own beloved persones,
my own friends,
my students.
This is Ethiopia,
with the soil,
the simplicity,
the austere poverty
and with its souls.
Ethiopia 2
The changes
Ethiopia, November 09
What a strange thing.
With a trip
in a country far away
with swarthy people, thin, minimalist,
soil people, proud and smiling
how things changed
which appeared unchanged.
How much they lost their value for us,
our money
and how much they got value
for others.
How much emerged
the quiet, delicate, inner sensitivity,
that comes from children’s eyes
and converts the suspicious distrust
in to confidence.
How much has overlooked
the arrogant and selfish egoism,
in front of the common, the team, the unified,
that unites and binds and ties,
that calms, reduces, integrates
rather than break, raise, stand out.
Ultimately, how much it helps
to identify that
there’s another world
except yours
Ethiopia 3
To Makis
Athens, December 09
You told me yesterday that you’ve been touched
by the words I had written.
Rather seemed to bitten you
like those mosquitoes did
in Ethiopia.
And suddenly they began
itching.
And you scratch them
and they bled.
__________________________________________________________
I’ll be out of town for a week, so I wish you all my friends Merry Christmas !
.
The interior of the largest room in the Fleece Inn, Bretforton, Worcestershire, taken from the doorway into it.
The medieval Fleece Inn has one of the best and most authentic pub interiors in the country, little changed since it became a pub in the middle 19th century.
From its original stone floors, and furniture that has warped over time to fit it, grandfather clocks, settles and collections of old serving trays and items of museum quality, the interior of this small pub has remained unchanged, and thankfully, unextended, thanks no doubt to being owned by the National Trust who came into possession of it in 1977 when Lola Taplin, the landlady and last surviving member of the family who had built it 700 years earlier bequeathed it to them on her death.
She requested it should stay the same, even to the upkeep of the medieval 'witches marks' by the fireplace, the circular rings on the floor to scare witches from coming down the chimney. They don't seem to have deterred Lola herself who is reputed to haunt the inn, throwing food and drink over unwelcome customers.
After a day of mixed weather and mixed results photographically speaking I chose Abergavenny as the venue to take my picture of 56078 working the 1625 Baglan Bay to Chirk logs service. The train was partially loaded as she stormed through the fine array of semaphore signals on the approach to Abergavenny station.
The signal box looked fine bathed in sunshine. I wonder how much longer this scene will remain unchanged.
"In this world of uncertainty and woe, one thing remains unchanged: Fresh, canned, pureed, dried, salted, sliced, and served with sugar and cream, or pressed into juice, the tomato is reliable, friendly, and delicious. We would be nothing without it."
-- Laurie Colwin
Beneath the Rialto, a gondola drifts along the Grand Canal, slipping from shadow into light as the water scatters time in sparkling fragments. A city unchanged as it passes through the centuries.
Explored October 29, 2025 Shadow and Light Takeover
Please enjoy the sparkling details in Large.
Thank you so much for your visit!