www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv5n_eCGkvM

The Palacio Real, or Royal Palace, is Madrid's largest building and possibly its most beautiful. It is located next to the equally beautiful Plaza de Oriente square.

It may come as surpirse to our readers to learn that Madrid's Royal Palace is the largest royal palace in Western Europe. It was built on the site of the old Alcázar, the Moorish castle destroyed by fire in 1734, but the site has been occupied since the 10th century by the Moors, who having named the city's Manzanares river al-Magrit ("source of water"), referred to the area as Mayrit which became Magerit, then Madrid. The old city walls around this area may still be seen.

Royal Palace & Courtyard

The palace was initially designed by Filippo Juvarra to accommodate the court of Felipe V, a total of more than 3000 courtiers. Juan Bautista Sacchetti initiated the building project in 1737 and Francisco Sabatini and Ventura Rodríguez terminated the works. It is surrounded by the beautiful Sabatini and Campo del Moro parks.

The area around the Royal Palace is a great place to stay - quiet and central, with easy access to all of Madrid's major tourist attractions. Please click the link below to see hotels, apartments and hostals in this area of the city, with FREE cancellation on most properties.

The palace itself contains furniture, tapestries, paintings and ceramics as well as other important works of art and frescos by Tiépolo. Velázquez, Goya, Giordano and Mengs are all represented here amongst the dozens of valuable tapestries and paintings, making the palace one of Europe's most important museums and receiving more than 880,000 visitors in 2006.

It remains open to the public almost year round except on the days of official ceremonies and receptions, although the public can only access certain areas. It is located on Bailén street, and the nearest Metro station is Opera.

And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer :-)

― Randy Pausch

HGGT!!

magnolia, 'Butterflies', sarah p duke gardens, duke university, durham, north carolina

Deep a jungle there is a rumored temple guarded by twin monkeys protecting something long since forgotten. Some say treasure, some say something far more valuable.

This is a build for Brickscalibur for the Rogues and Outlaws category and for the CCC Castle category! It depicts some outlaws stealing the castle's most valuable possessions under cover of dark.

Buy my gear:

Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire

one of my bees.

Ragwort is such a valuable flower to pollinators at this time of year!

Transvision Vamp - Honey Honey

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gSNU9eq3Sg

Thank you for taking your valuable time to view my photos. All photos are taken in southeastern Ct. most with a Canon 5DMIV or 7DMII and Canon 100 to 400II lens.

Hawaiian holiday in the soft sands of the Oahu North Coast. Learned a lot about Hawaiian history on this day tour. The experience of surf and cloud being made fresh in the moment was better.

(My ARRRRT)

Church of st. Mary Magdalene in Dukla is one of the most valuable Polish rococo churches.

It was built as a gothic one, around 1461, with a brick chancel and a wooden nave. When in 1738 there was a fire in the city, the nave burned down entirely, and the chancel became the basis for the reconstruction of the temple.

The owner of Dukla and the Grand Marshal of the Crown, Józef Wandalin Mniszech, the same one who donated the land for the Bernardine monastery, undertook it. The temple was given a baroque appearance, but another fire and the death of Józef Vandalin in 1747 interrupted the work. They were continued in 1764 by the son of the marshal, Jerzy August Mniszech, supported by his wife, Maria Amalia. It was then that the church's interior acquired a rococo interior and fittings that have survived to this day.

gorybezgranic.pttk.pl/en/295-gory-bez-granic-the-church-o...

COUNTING DOWN: CAN YOU STOP OR REVERSE THE SAND GRAINS?

Time, our most valuable resource, is difficult to comprehend. Physicists can not give an exact description of time. Theory of Special Relativity teaches us that time can be "dilated" for objects traveling close to the speed of light. Hence the twin paradox. In Islamic thought also, time is an entity that subdues to "folding" literally, that is events that normally take years can be squeezed into a very short time slot, the most famous example being the night travel of Prophet Mohammed to Jerusalem and thence to heavens in a matter of minutes. However there is no evidence that time progresses in reverse direction. Time tunnel, travel in time (to the past) are only a science fiction. You can't stop time and reverse it. Time albeit dilatable, foldable (whichever word you prefer) is irreversible. For this very reason reincarnation is refuted by Islam. This being said, Islam gives a chance for repentance, which is a vow that you take and promise that you would never act the wrong way that you already did if you had been given the chance to go back in time. So for us Muslims, repentance is like rewinding the time backwards, undoing what we didn't correctly by promising that we will never ever do it again. This is by Allah as if we have never done it. And this is our travel in time to the moment of erring and sinning.

Turkcesi obur resmin (Kum saati #2'nin) altinda.

Date posted to Flickr: 01/18/2010

The black-bindweed (Fallopia convolvulus) is an annual climbing plant from the knotweed family. With its slender, often reddish stems, it twines around fences or other plants. It produces small, inconspicuous flowers and three-winged fruits, and while often regarded as a weed, it also serves as a valuable food source for insects and birds.

I like celebrations with dancing in high heels and drinking champagner til early morning, and hoping nothing valuable hurts during the night.

But sometimes something evertheless will break down.

Some find the road out west on Ardnamurchan pretty intimidating. But turn on to the little roads that lead out to the lighthouse at the end, or to the heavenly white sand beach at Sanna, and the road becomes even more of an adventure. However park your car at the side of the road and head off into the crater of the ancient Ardnamurchan volcano and things become a whole lot more desolate and remote. Over a hill and far away, where there has never been electricity or a road, and you find a place called Glendrian, Glendryen, Glendrain....all of them, where there was once a thriving crofting community. And it's site is now a Scheduled Monument giving Guardian readers and amazing insight into what post-Brexit Britain would look like.

Glendrian is a depopulated settlement of post-medieval date. It is located on the Ardnamurchan Peninsular on the West Coast of Scotland, situated within a ring of hills forming the caldera of the former volcanic crater of Ben Hiant. The exceptional preservation of the settlement remains, including cruck-slots within house walls, led to the scheduling of the settlement, which is considered to be of regional and national importance.

Settlement at Glendrian was first documented in the early 17th century, in 1618, when 8 families were recorded living there. From 1723, the population grew, jumping from 29 people to 39 in 1841 and 47 in 1861. The census records show a decrease in the population after this however, and it was during the mid-19th century that the smaller townships on the Ardnamurchan peninsular, including Glendrian, were cleared for larger sheep farms. The population fell to 20 in 1881 and 11 in 1901. By the 1930s, only two houses were occupied, and by the 1940s, the settlement was completely deserted.

Glendrian does not appear on Roy’s Military Maps of 1747-55, but it does appear on Bald’s map of 1806, on which it comprised 17 buildings, two enclosures, fields and walls. By the time of the 1st Edition OS 6 Inch map of 1876, three unroofed buildings, 17 roofed buildings, 6 enclosures and field systems were present. More buildings were depicted as unroofed on the 1896 2nd Edition OS 6 inch map, with only 8 roofed. A walkover survey was undertaken in 2011 in advance of a bracken control programme and this revealed many more features than mapped however, including previously unrecorded shielings, enclosures and boundaries. A total of 43 individual features were identified; more than half of these related to use of the landscape and transhumance including areas of rig and furrow cultivation and boundary walls, but the rest were structures and features associated directly with the post-medieval settlement, including houses, a revetted spring, a sheep fank and numerous enclosures.

Although a walkover survey does not record sufficient detail for a full assessment and discussion of sites, at Glendrian, it did discover clear evidence of modification and development through time to the settlement. Houses were of varied style and contained evidence for different phases. For example, some buildings had clearly had extensions and additional rooms attached to the pre-existing structures, and the construction of fireplaces within some of the houses were likely related to the latest phase of use. Additionally, the boundary walls and enclosures were all of drystone construction, but these construction techniques varied and these structures also exhibited characteristics of modification.

The level of preservation at Glendrian is considered to be exceptional, especially when compared to similar types of settlements in the Highlands, as most do not usually preserve evidence of modification and phasing through time. In light of this, the site represents a valuable resource into understanding the changes that took place in post-medieval settlement and economy in the Highlands during the 18th and 19th centuries, and a closer study of the architecture of Glendrian would allow for an interesting study into vernacular Highland settlements.

An oldie but goodie. Reprocessed for the modern world.

I find it quite valuable to retrieve old photos and give them another go as my processing repertoire increased. In this case, carving out this central crop and giving it a go with On1 and DxO Filmpack 6. The two others were processed from raw and converted to black and white in On1 Photo Raw 23.

Church of st. Mary Magdalene in Dukla is one of the most valuable Polish rococo churches.

It was built as a gothic one, around 1461, with a brick chancel and a wooden nave. When in 1738 there was a fire in the city, the nave burned down entirely, and the chancel became the basis for the reconstruction of the temple.

The owner of Dukla and the Grand Marshal of the Crown, Józef Wandalin Mniszech, the same one who donated the land for the Bernardine monastery, undertook it. The temple was given a baroque appearance, but another fire and the death of Józef Vandalin in 1747 interrupted the work. They were continued in 1764 by the son of the marshal, Jerzy August Mniszech, supported by his wife, Maria Amalia. It was then that the church's interior acquired a rococo interior and fittings that have survived to this day.

gorybezgranic.pttk.pl/en/295-gory-bez-granic-the-church-o...

I have no clue why I like this photo!!

Probably cause of the DOF that could be achieved with a kit lens :D

View On Black

PS: Thanks everyone for your valuable suggestions about the prime lens on my earlier picture. I am now suitably confused :D j/k

Biesbosch National Park

The Biesbosch National Park is a green maze of several rivers, islands and a vast network of narrow and wide creeks. The area is one of the largest, valuable natural areas in the Netherlands. What’s more, it is one of the few remaining fresh-water tidal areas in Europe. The Nieuwe Merwede canal divides the National Park equally between the provinces of Noord-Brabant and Zuid-Holland. The part in Noord-Brabant is called the Brabantse Biesbosch. The part in Zuid-Holland is divided into the Sliedrechtse Biesbosch and the Dordtse Biesbosch. The National Park covers an area of approximately 9,000 hectares.

The vegetation mainly consists of willow-woods that developed out of the willow-shoots of former withy-beds due to decades of neglect. These marshy woods alternate with grasslands and reed-lands that have run wild with weeds. There's also an abundance of fauna to be found too. For example beavers, foxes, deers, hares, pine martens, geese, ducks and various birds of prey.

The Biesbosch is an important area for birds to rest, forage and breed. This watery area is of such international importance to waterfowl and waders that a large area, the Brabantse Biesbosch has been officially recognized as a ‘Wetland’. This high natural value is confirmed by other European agreements like the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive.

The front two ships are standard designs, often seen around mining planets. Sometimes, valuable resources occur on planets with no water to support life. The first ship is a bulk water tanker, used to supply mining barracks. Next is a gas tanker, used to carry a variety of cargoes, such as helium or LNG.

Lastly is a tanker from a watery world, designed to proclaim its proud origins to everybody who sees it.

There are individual images on Instagram: www.instagram.com/p/DIOsIXbC2vP/?img_index=1

Museums - The British Museum

The British Museum was founded as a ‘Universal Museum’. Its beginnings are bequeathed from the will of Sir John Sloane. He amassed 71,000 items, manuscripts, books and many natural history items. He has a statue in the London Physic Garden, Chelsea.

In 1753 King George II gave his Royal Assent to build the Museum, the body of trustees chose Montagu House for its location. This was purchased from the family for £20,000. Ironically Buckingham Palace was rejected as being too expensive and the location, unsuitable.

The first exhibition for scholars was opened in January 1759. In those early days, the Library took up the whole of the ground floor, the first floor a large part was taken up by the Natural History collection.

In 1763 the Natural History collection was reclassified using the Linnaean System, after Carl Linnaeus, famous Swedish botanist. This made the Museum a centre of learning for European natural history scholars.

In the oncoming years there were many new additions particularly in the Library, David Garrick plays (approx. 1000) were one example but it wasn’t until 1772 when the first real quantities of antiques were purchased. This was the collection of Greek vases from Sir William Hamilton. More items came into the Museum. In 1778 objects from Capt. Cooks round-the-world voyages were brought back and donated. By the early 1800’s it was clear that further growth was not possible, furthermore there were signs of decrepitude and overcrowding.

In 1802 a building committee was set up. The upshot was that the Old Montague House was demolished and work began on the new building in 1823. It’s original intention was for a Library and Picture Gallery but this was changed because another new gallery was commissioned in 1824 (The National Gallery). So this building now housed the Natural History collection, the building work was completed in 1831.

Whilst this building work was going on items still came into the museum. In 1802 King George presented the Museum with the Rosetta Stone, (this was the key that opened the lock to deciphering hieroglyphs). In this period from 1802 – 1820 there were many gifts and purchases of Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Assyrian and Babylonian sculpture.

Because of the overwhelming number of objects coming into the museum, it was decided to move the whole of the natural history collection to The Natural History Museum in Kensington. In 1847 over 20,000 books were bequeathed by Sir Thomas Grenville (former trustee). These arrived in horse-draws carts, all 20 of them.

From 1840 – 1900 there were many new sources of objects coming into the Museum. Partial Tombs from ancient Lycia, more Assyrian artefacts from excavations, a valuable collection of antiquities belonging to the Duke of Blacas, (this collection the French government at the time refused to buy so instead it was sold to the Museum for FFr1.2m in 1867). In 1881 came a collection of armour, from William Burges and in 1897 another bequest, this time of Finger rings, drinking vessels, porcelain, Japanese inro and netsuke from A. W. Franks, curator and collector.

More pressure for room for the ever expanding collection culminated in the purchase of 69 surrounding houses. The first stage of construction began in 1906.

Over the years there have been many changes to the internal rooms in the museum itself. The Classical and Near East, The Duveen Gallery which was destroyed during WWII, now bought back to its best.

Notable additions to the museum include in 1939 ‘The Sutton Hoo’ treasures from the Anglo Saxon burial ship. In 1972 The Tutankhamun Treasures exhibition attracted over 1.6 million people. Also in that year Parliament passed a resolution to establish a British Library. This was a real necessity as 1.25 miles of new shelving was needed to house the books coming into the Museum on a yearly basis. However it wasn’t until 1997 that the books actually left. Redevelopment of the space took place and was opened in 2000 as the ‘Queen Elizabeth II Great Court’.

From those original days of 1753, the British Museum has 13 million items, The natural History Museum 70 million and the British Library has 150 million. An impressive collection of items. I have merely scratched the surface. Definitely worth the visit and don’t forget, it’s F R E E.

The tomb of Tutankhamun (reigned c. 1332–1323 BC), a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, is located in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb, also known by its tomb number KV62, consists of four chambers and an entrance staircase and corridor. It is smaller and less extensively decorated than other Egyptian royal tombs of its time, and it probably originated as a tomb for a non-royal individual that was adapted for Tutankhamun's use after his premature death. Like other pharaohs, Tutankhamun was buried with a wide variety of funerary objects and personal possessions, such as coffins, furniture, clothing and jewelry, though in the unusually limited space these goods had to be densely packed. Robbers entered the tomb twice in the years immediately following the burial, but Tutankhamun's mummy and most of the burial goods remained intact. The tomb's low position, dug into the floor of the valley, allowed its entrance to be hidden by debris deposited by flooding and tomb construction. Thus, unlike other tombs in the valley, it was not stripped of its valuables during the Third Intermediate Period (c. 1070–664 BC).

Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922 by excavators led by Howard Carter and his patron, George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon. As a result of the quantity and spectacular appearance of the burial goods, the tomb attracted a media frenzy and became the most famous find in the history of Egyptology. The discovery produced only limited evidence about the history of Tutankhamun's reign and the Amarna Period that preceded it, but it provided insight into the material culture of wealthy ancient Egyptians as well as patterns of ancient tomb robbery. Tutankhamun became one of the best-known pharaohs, and some artefacts from his tomb, such as his golden funerary mask, are among the best-known artworks from ancient Egypt.

Most of the tomb's goods were sent to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and are now in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, although Tutankhamun's mummy and sarcophagus are still on display in the tomb. Flooding and heavy tourist traffic have inflicted damage on the tomb since its discovery, and a replica of the burial chamber has been constructed nearby to reduce tourist pressure on the original tomb.

As Eurasia's power is disrupted, NATO takes their chance to make a push and weaken them while they can.

The 'Kita' specialises in anti-vehicle missions, proving itself a valuable asset for clearing the way for infantry

Berlin, Exposition of Etruscan votive offerings in the James Simon Gallery: Bronze statue of a hunchbacked man sitting, 3rd century BC. found in Chiusi

This object, too, was added to the exposition from the inventory of the Antiquities Collection of the Berlin State Museums.

Außergewöhnlich gut erhaltene Bronzestatuen aus einem Heiligtum im italienischen San Casciano geben Einblick in Heilrituale und religiöse Praktiken am Übergang von der etruskischen zur römischen Kultur. von Juli bis November 2025 wurden sie im Rahmen einer exklusiven Sonderausstellung in der James-Simon-Galerie präsentiert. Im Herbst 2022 wurde bei Grabungen in San Casciano dei Bagni in der Toskana in einem Wasserbecken direkt neben einer immer noch aktiven Thermalquelle eine große Zahl von äußerst gut erhaltenen Bronzestatuen gefunden. Schnell war klar: ein Jahrhundertfund und ein archäologischer Glücksfall! Denn antike Bronzefiguren – zumal in derart großer Menge – sind extrem selten. Das Becken erwies sich als Zentrum eines etruskisch-römischen Heiligtums. Hier suchten Kranke Heilung durch das Thermalwasser, besorgte Eltern göttlichen Schutz für ihre Kinder. Die Statuen, aber auch viele kleinere Objekte waren Weihgaben der Besucherinnen und Besucher an die hier verehrten Mächte. Durch eine antike Zerstörung und den Wiederaufbau ließen sich in der mehr als 500 Jahre langen Nutzungszeit klar zwei Zeitphasen trennen. Man kann hier also erstmals studieren, wie ein Heiligtum am Übergang von der etruskischen zur römischen Kultur funktionierte: Wer waren die Gottheiten? Wie trat die lokale Bevölkerung mit ihnen in Kontakt? Welche Bevölkerungsschichten besuchten das Heiligtum? Was waren ihre Anliegen? Denn etruskische und römische Inschriften auf den Weihgeschenken geben Auskunft über die Stifterinnen und Stifter, die Gottheiten und den Anlass. Wie unterschied sich dies von Weihpraktiken in anderen Heilheiligtümern? Zudem lässt sich zeigen, dass viele der Anliegen universal menschlich sind und die Weihepraxis eine lang andauernde Tradition besitzt. Auch heute noch werden in katholischen und orthodoxen Kirchen ähnliche Objekte gestiftet, wenn auch in kleinerem Maßstab und aus weniger wertvollen Materialien. Nach drei Stationen in Italien wurden die Bronzen in Berlin zum ersten Mal außerhalb Italiens gezeigt. Erstmals waren dabei auch spektakuläre Neufunde aus der Grabung des Herbstes 2024 zu sehen, bevor alle in San Casciano dauerhaft ihren Platz im Museum finden.

www.museumsportal-berlin.de/de/ausstellungen/die-bronzen-...

Exceptionally well-preserved bronze statues from a sanctuary in San Casciano, Italy, provide insight into healing rituals and religious practices during the transition from Etruscan to Roman culture. From July to November 2025, they were presented in an exclusive special exhibition at the James Simon Gallery. In the fall of 2022, excavations in San Casciano dei Bagni in Tuscany uncovered a large number of extremely well-preserved bronze statues in a water basin right next to a still-active thermal spring. It quickly became clear that this was a discovery of the century and an archaeological stroke of luck! Ancient bronze figures – especially in such large quantities – are extremely rare. The basin proved to be the center of an Etruscan-Roman sanctuary. Here, the sick sought healing through the thermal waters, and concerned parents sought divine protection for their children. The statues, as well as many smaller objects, were offerings made by visitors to the powers worshipped here. Due to ancient destruction and reconstruction, two distinct phases can be clearly distinguished in the more than 500 years of use. This is the first opportunity to study how a sanctuary functioned during the transition from Etruscan to Roman culture: Who were the deities? How did the local population interact with them? Which segments of the population visited the sanctuary? What were their concerns? Furthermore, it can be shown that many of the concerns are universally human and that the practice of consecration has a long-standing tradition. Even today, similar objects are donated to Catholic and Orthodox churches, albeit on a smaller scale and made of less valuable materials. After three stops in Italy, the bronzes were exhibited in Berlin for the first time outside Italy. Spectacular new finds from the excavation in the fall of 2024 were also on display for the first time, before all of them found their permanent home in the museum in San Casciano.

www.museumsportal-berlin.de/de/ausstellungen/die-bronzen-...

In Cozia Monastery, erected close to Căciulata, Romania by Mircea the Elder in 1388. The church housing his tomb is one of the most valuable monuments of national medieval art and architecture in Romania.

Kinrara Trophy @Goodwood Revival 2018

Everyone knows that all the best ideas for anything, ever, have been jotted down on beer mats first. Always seeking to be topical rather than typical, we want to make a valuable contribution to the endless public debate about our giddy drinking culture. Here is some culture about drinking. Know your limits. It is time to celebrate all that is good about having a tipple. Stuff by artists, stuff by the good people of Halifax. Contributors include: Rodney Adams, Amber Alsaigh, Christian Alsaigh, Julia Arnez, Joe Aspinall, Raffaella Avolio, Dorothy Baldwin, Tom Bamforth, Elizabeth Barlow, Louisa Barlow, Richard Bates, Alexandra Baybutt, Kate Beckett, Steve Beever, Jacqui Bellamy, Linda Bevan, Daniel Blamires, Edie Boniface, Georgia Boniface, Kevin Boniface, Molly Boniface, Andrew Bracey, Alice Bradshaw, Phil Bradshaw, Laurie Bradshaw, Ayla Bragard, Kiki Bragard, Katie Brier, Camilla Brueton, Becky Bruton, Ian Calvert, Daniel Carr, Liam Carter, Sheila Carter, Matthew Chambers, Peter Chappe, Ami Clark, Odin Conquest, Jeff Corey, Cynthia Cotterill, Edward Cotterill, Genna Cotterill, John Cotterill, Holly Crawford, Jake Crawshaw, Ashton Davison, Simeon Dear, Andrea Dietz, Dirtcheap, Max Doig, Adam Doyle, Maia Duka, Harry Edwards, Rachael Elwell, Catt Everett, Chris Fallowfield, John Fawcett, JenniLea Finch, Lynn Fisher, Elliot Flynn, Joseph Flynn, Victoria Foster, Liam Gec, Jak Gill, Janet Gledhill, Dominic Harris, Katy Goldstein, Jennifer Grant, Gill Greenhaugh, Jessica Grimshaw, Laurence Guntert, Joe Hakim, Fiona Helen Halliday, Chris Hallowfield, Eden Hanson, Lisa Hanson, Louise Hanson, Stephen Hanson, Steve Hanson, Taome Hanson, Sam Hardacre, Sarah Hardacre, Maya Harding, Jenna Harris, Dalia Hawley, Krishna Hazarika, Rhea Henningham, Holly Beth Herbert, Aimee Lou Hewitt, Georgia Hey, Graham Hey, Madison Hey, Olivia Heywood, Ann Hirst, Charlotte Holdsworth, Leyao Huang, Rebecca Hutch, Stephanie Ingham, Elsie Irvine, John Irvine, Ashley Jackson, Andrew Jenkin, Mike Jessop, Alison Jones, Danielle Jones, Imran Jogee, Hannah Jones, Ben Jowett, Ryan Paul Kaye, Christine Keeler, Marc Kershaw, Joanne Kilner, Clinton Kirkpatrick, Olwen Kitson, Buffy Klama, Chris Laine, John Ledger, Sally Lemsford, Elliot Lilley, Imogen Lilley, Jorge Galan Liquette, Duncan Lister, Alison Little, Sophie Littlewood, Liz Lock, Simon Edgar Lord, Robert Luzar, Ellen Mace, Katherine MacDougall, Jude MacPherson, Sadie Mansell, Joanne Matthews, Nicola Maude, Bill McCall, Phil Middleton, Brian Midwood, Kirsty Midwood, Yvonne Midwood, Milk, Two Sugars (Bob Milner & Tom Senior), Kenton Scott Mills, Amelia-Jane Milner, Anna Milner, Freyja Milner, William Milner, Patrick Milsom, Kevin Mitchell, Mon 53, Paul Morris, Nathan Morrisson, Liz Murphy, Paul Murphy, Mikk Murray, Ewan Neville, Patrick Neville, Ettienne Ordway, Maya Ordway, Pete O'Toole, Carol Pope, Georgia Power, Anna Ricciardi, Oliver Russell, Jenny Parkin, Sarah Parker, Nuala Pavey-Garside, Simone Peacock, Rebbeca Pearson, Nancy Porter, Heather Preston, Stacey Price, Martha Ross-Parry, Marc Renshaw, Eleanor R Richardson, Daniel Rode, Lisa Rodgers, Tammy Ross, Chris Rusby, Jayne Rusby, Finlay Russell, Ailie Rutherford, Eileeen Ryan, Antonietta Sacco, Katie Scholefield, Sarah Scott, Alan Senior, Jack Senior, John Senior, Susan Meyerhoff Sharples, Richard Shields, Anna Shirron, Lucienne Simpson, Ruby Simpson, Mike Slater, Maria Slovakova, Fran Smith, Helen Smith, Natasha Smith, Steve Staindale, Lucy Stefane, Lucy Stefani, Adele Stevenson, Matthew Stutely, Jun Tan, Gary Tann, Siobhan Tarr, Cecila Tat, Gabrielle Tattersford, Billy Taylor-Woodhouse, Alice Thickett, Ian Thomas, Lynda Thomas, Stuart Thomas, Poppy Thompson, Diana Thorpe, Georgina Tonge, Matthew Tonge, Nathan Tudor, Jayde Tunnacliffe, Helen Turner, Naomi Turpin, Caroline Twidle, Lauren Tyler, Jean Wagstaff, Jamilia Walker, Gregory Wallace, Phoebe Wallace, T Walshaw, Tom Ward, Ryan Ware, Irena Wegrzyn, Lyndon White, Harriet Wickens, Madeleine Wickens, Leslie Wilson-Rutterford, Witshop, Elizabeth Wood, William Wood, Kris Woodhead, Peter Wright, Mark Yates (more to be announced)

Look at the birds, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet the Lord feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26

Felt really happy to get a shot of this beautiful city (Bern) When I visited Switzerland this year (April) .

Thanks in advance for your views, any valuable comments, or favs! :)

Parish Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary this is the most valuable monument of Kościan.

It was built in 1333-56, originally as a three-aisle corpus and a single-nave presbytery. In the 15th and 16th centuries chapels were added to the body, the presbytery was extended and all the parts were added. covered with one gable roof. In 1547 the tower burnt, it was rebuilt in 1594. In 1711 the tower was damaged again, it collapsed and it was not rebuilt.

It is a gothic, hall-like building, made of brick, and various types of vaults were used in the church's construction.

Real jewels of sacred art are found in the interior, among others the main altar from 1620, the late Gothic triptych from 1507, the arched rainbow arch from 1734 and many other exhibits and side altars.

Due to its size and location among the dense buildings of the city is a difficult object to photograph from the outside.

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Kościół parafialny Wniebowzięcia N.M.P. to najcenniejszy zabytek Kościana.

Był zbudowany w latach 1333-56, pierwotnie jako trzynawowy korpus i jednonawowe prezbiterium. W XV i XVI wieku dobudowano do korpusu kaplice, rozbudowano prezbiterium a wszystkie dobudowane części. nakryto jednym dwuspadowym dachem. W 1547 spaliła się wieża, odbudowano ją w 1594 roku. W 1711 wieża ponownie ulega uszkodzeniu, zawaliła się i nie została odbudowana.

Jest budowlą gotycką, halowy, murowany z cegły a w konstrukcji kościoła zastosowano różne rodzaje sklepień.

Prawdziwe klejnoty sztuki sakralnej znajdują się we wnętrzu, między innymi ołtarz główny z 1620 roku, tryptyk późnogotycki z 1507, wygięty łuk tęczowy z 1734 oraz wiele innych eksponatów i bocznych ołtarzy.

Ze względu na swoje rozmiary oraz lokalizację wśród gęstej zabudowy miasta jest trudnym obiektem do sfotografowania z zewnątrz.

Echium is a genus of approximately 70 species and several subspecies of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. The type species is Echium vulgare. Species of Echium are native to North Africa, mainland Europe to Central Asia and the Macaronesian islands, where it reaches its maximum diversity. Many species are used as ornamental and garden plants and may be found in suitable climates throughout the world. The seed oil from Echium plantagineum contains high levels of alpha linolenic acid (ALA), gamma linolenic acid (GLA) and stearidonic acid (SDA), making it valuable in cosmetic and skin care applications, with further potential as a functional food, as an alternative to fish oils. 4191

Church of st. Mary Magdalene in Dukla is one of the most valuable Polish rococo churches.

It was built as a gothic one, around 1461, with a brick chancel and a wooden nave. When in 1738 there was a fire in the city, the nave burned down entirely, and the chancel became the basis for the reconstruction of the temple.

The owner of Dukla and the Grand Marshal of the Crown, Józef Wandalin Mniszech, the same one who donated the land for the Bernardine monastery, undertook it. The temple was given a baroque appearance, but another fire and the death of Józef Vandalin in 1747 interrupted the work. They were continued in 1764 by the son of the marshal, Jerzy August Mniszech, supported by his wife, Maria Amalia. It was then that the church's interior acquired a rococo interior and fittings that have survived to this day.

gorybezgranic.pttk.pl/en/295-gory-bez-granic-the-church-o...

Another celebratory work for my valuable, important, productive, nurturing women family and friends.

A Song For Women (International Women's Day/Month)

The Trina Belamide Network

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnk0mikD998

Woman (Lyrics) - John Lennon

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPR1hhTM8hg

You Make Me Feel Like] A Natural Woman

Aretha Franklin

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTqGIKiLBhc

Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman! (Official Music Video)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL4UGSbeFg&list=PLDTZTREaTPH...

With heartfelt and genuine thanks for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day, be well, keep your eyes open, appreciate the beauty surrounding you, enjoy creating, stay safe and laugh often! ❤️❤️❤️

Pray is the most powerful against trials, the most effective medicine against sickness and the most valuable gift to someone we care for!

Dawnstream castle is one of the many valuable assets the Dawn Crown, a league of elite knights who fight those blasted orcs. The castle is layed out in a basic square, because that's all my mind can comprehend at the moment.

This is my first real castle, I kept screwing around with the theme, but I finally got around to building one.

And in the main pics, the horse is tipped over. This wasn't intentional,but I can work it to my advantage. Let's just say it had a heart attack, and the queen had to get a new one in between shots.

BrickShelf

Be a man. Respect the Crown.

Cameron Highlands is the largest tea-growing region in Malaysia - home to vast plantations of this valuable crop that carpet the valleys in a lush sea of bright green.

Large manhunt initiated! A spectacular and mysterious robbery of a previously unknown painting report the international news. A valuable landscape painting was stolen last night from the private property of an English count. He had inherited the picture and kept it secret so far. It was secured with the latest light barrier technology. One wonders how the robbers could overcome all barriers. The ransom note is still expected. (Note: Or, for once, it's not about money – and the two little thieves (sister and brother) have just got their rightful inheritance back?)

/ Well, it's not a work of Turner ;-) It's a button that I painted at the age of about 15 years with this landscape – long ago – and I have found in the old button box ... The size is 0,63 inch, the eyelet for sewing is on the back. The two figures are from children's surprise eggs.

///

Kunstraub eines unbekannten William Turner. Oder: Wir haben es!

Große Fahndung eingeleitet! Einen spektakulärer und mysteriöser Raub eines bisher noch unbekannten Gemäldes melden die internationalen Nachrichten. Aus dem Privatbesitz eines englischen Grafen wurde gestern Nacht ein wertvolles Landschaftsgemälde entwendet. Dieser hatte das Bild geerbt und bisher geheim gehalten. Es war mit der neuesten Lichtschrankentechnik gesichert. Man fragt sich, wie die Räuber alle Schranken überwinden konnten. Die Lösegeldforderung wird noch erwartet. (Anmerkung: Oder es geht mal ausnahmsweise nicht um Geld – und die beiden kleinen Diebe (Schwester und Bruder) haben sich nur ihr rechtmäßiges Erbe zurückgeholt?)

/ Na gut, es ist doch kein Kunstwerk von Turner ;-) Es ist ein Knopf, den ich im Alter von ca. 15 Jahren mit dieser Landschaft bemalt habe – lange her – und den ich in der alten Knopfdose wiedergefunden habe ... Die Größe beträgt 16 mm, die Öse zum Annähen ist auf der Rückseite. Die beiden Figuren sind aus Kinder-Überraschungseiern.

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This picture has a story. If you are curious, please look here at the album:

flickr.com/photos/148614497@N06/sets/72157670476624668

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._W._Turner

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Turner

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_theft

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#MacroMondays / December 04 / #ButtonsAndBows / HMM to everyone!

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#7DWF / Mondays : #FreeTheme

Looking close on Friday! #SmallFigures

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Sigma Macro / 1:2.8 / 105 mm

2018 Weekly Alphabet Challenge, Week 22, V for Valuable

'...alles van waarde is weerloos

wordt van aanraakbaarheid rijk

en aan alles gelijk ... als het hart van de tijd' - Lucebert

(translation: everything of value is defenceless

will become precious from being tangible

and equal to everything...

like the heart of time )

Still life exercise for The Art Of Flower Photography course given by Emma Davies. Still life arrangement with my favourite flowers, the arrangement inspired by old masters, the Peranakan culture and its love for pastels and floral designs and Chinese symbolism. Peonies stand for feminine beauty, wealth, prosperity and a happy marriage. The pair of mandarin ducks are also a symbol of wedded bliss, mandarin duck couples supposedly stay together all their life. Beauty is transient, wealth and prosperity can be lost, togetherness and time are the essence and the most valuable.

Thanks so much for all the views, faves and comments, which got this image into Explore, entering and highest place #154 on 5/6/18

The bird's feathers, a mosaic of warm browns and creams, are subtly streaked, providing perfect camouflage amidst the dappled light and shadow. Its stance is one of quiet determination, a testament to the ceaseless rhythm of life in the wild. In the background, the soft blur of unfocused greenery hints at a vast, untamed landscape, where nature's symphony plays on, unheard by human ears. The image is a fleeting glimpse into the intricate ballet of survival, a poetic whisper of life's enduring beauty and resilience."

Like a string of valuable pearls, little beads of dew hang from this orb web.

On my journey down to Nelson, made a stopover at Castlepoint to visit Castle Rock!

Wow what a view from up there.

This is a 400º panorama and due to the Milky Way being so high in the sky, without spending a heap of time re-stitching and trying other projections (time is valuable!), has left the top of the sky a little stretched. I don't mind it in this case, as this is one extremely wide field of view to consider :)

In the 1800s, the Barrington Woolen Mill was an important local business that used machinery and water power to turn raw fleece into the yarn and cloth needed to make warm, durable clothing.

Powered by the mill's rushing river, machines like the spinner, twister, skeiner and loom made it possible to wash, pick, card, spin, dye and weave wool in a fraction of the time it took to do by hand.

Today, visitors can step inside the preserved mill and discover how small manufacturing operations like this helped shape Nova Scotia by offering growing communities valuable services and jobs.

Text from the Barrington Woolen Mill Website

The Imperial Treasury at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria contains a valuable collection of secular and ecclesiastical treasures covering over a thousand years of European history. The entrance to the treasury is at the Schweizerhof (Swiss Courtyard), the oldest part of the palace, which was rebuilt in the sixteenth century in the Renaissance style under Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I. The Imperial Treasury is affiliated with the Kunsthistorisches Museum, and houses in 21 rooms a collection of rare treasures that were compiled by the Imperial House of Habsburg over the course of centuries, including the Imperial Crown, Orb, and Sceptre of Austria, and the Imperial Regalia of the Emperors and Kings of the Holy Roman Empire, including the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire.

Венская сокровищница входит в состав собрания Габсбургов и включает в себя предметы, обладающие высочайшим династическим и религиозным значением. В связи с этим сокровищница делится на две части — религиозную и светскую.

В 21 помещении выставлены светские и церковные ценности, украшения и сувениры, ранее находившиеся в собственности Габсбургов. В Светской сокровищнице находятся драгоценности императоров Священной Римской Империи X/XI вв. — имперские клейноды и так называемые Бургундские реликвии с регалиями ордена Золотого руна.

"The original Renaissance town hall from 1569, rebuilt after its collapse in 1613 and later renovated, is a historically valuable piece of architecture and a significant landmark of the oldest development on Vyškov Square." - info from the National Heritage Institute.

"Vyškov (Hanačky Veškov, German Wischau; formerly also Víškov) is a town located in the northern part of the South Moravian Region in the Vyškov District on the Haná River, 35 km northeast of Brno. It lies almost in the middle of Moravia on the border of the Drahanská vrchovina, the Litenčické vrchy and the Hornomoravské úval lowland at an altitude of about 250 m above sea level. It is one of the border towns of the Haná region. It has a population of approximately 21,000 and is the fifth largest city in the South Moravian Region.

The name of the settlement was derived from the personal name Vyšek, which was a homely form of a name beginning with Vyše- (e.g. Vyšebor, Vyšehor, Vyšeslav ). The meaning of the place name was "Vyškův majek". The German name was created by phonetic modification of the Czech one.

It was called the "Moravian Versailles" or also the "Hanácké Versailles". The local railway station is called Vyškov na Moravě.

Moravia (Czech: Morava [ˈmorava]; German: Mähren) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.

The medieval and early modern Margraviate of Moravia was a crown land of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown from 1348 to 1918, an imperial state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1004 to 1806, a crown land of the Austrian Empire from 1804 to 1867, and a part of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. Moravia was one of the five lands of Czechoslovakia founded in 1918. In 1928 it was merged with Czech Silesia, and then dissolved in 1948 during the abolition of the land system following the communist coup d'état.

Its area of 22,623.41 km2 is home to about 3.2 million of the Czech Republic's 10.8 million inhabitants. The people are historically named Moravians, a subgroup of Czechs, the other group being called Bohemians. The land takes its name from the Morava river, which runs from its north to south, being its principal watercourse. Moravia's largest city and historical capital is Brno. Before being sacked by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War, Olomouc served as the Moravian capital, and it is still the seat of the Archdiocese of Olomouc. Until the expulsions after 1945, significant parts of Moravia were German speaking." - info from Wikipedia.

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

Now on Instagram.

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon or donate.

slices of cheese grilled on thick sliced toast topped with tomato on a bed of mixed salad and a serving of tomato chilli sauce

tomato chilli sauce www.allrecipes.com/recipe/148368/fresh-tomato-chili-sauce/

mature cheddar cheese

white bloomer loaf thick sliced

counter top mini oven flic.kr/p/2m3gaso

i've decided to use the countertop oven flic.kr/p/2m3gaso more often. the old microwave packed up a few days ago and has been discarded. that has left valuable space in a small kitchen. i'm not replacing the microwave but i'm giving serious thought to buying a pasta making machine. i'll look around ...

just one thing with michael mosley

food special with professor tim spector

7 days 30 different plant based foods

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001ngjx

ps i'm not recommending any of these cookery adventures. they suit my personal taste. photographing to encourage myself to eat more healthily ...

i've created a group www.flickr.com/groups/cooking_is_my_hobby/ to gather ideas and encourage myself to continue with healthy eating by learning from others if you're interested in cooking, sometimes or a lot, or enjoy the cooking of others, you're always welcome ...

The heath fire that occured on Thursley back in June destroyed around 150 hectares of valuable habitat made up of heather, gorse and trees. Plus of course lots of specialised wildlife. As you can see here though the heather is already growing through the charred ground once again. So it's good to see that regeneration is begining to take place.

My faithful friend and valuable commentator, GPS7

www.flickr.com/photos/13581947@N06/

has a particular liking for cats... as well as for Mykonos sunsets!

And I have a combination of these two, just right for him!

GPS7, this is my way of saying to you: "Thanks for being here for me"...

View On Black

Drd has lost a very valuable Deputy Chief, So I will need all hands on deck!

Luckily she left some security officer caps behind so every inmate can go incognito and help keep out the problem makers.

grab your own DRD security officer cap and let's all have a honorable salute to the retired organizational overlord for Death Row Designs: Morbid Deceit

DRD February Group Gift: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Death%20Row/115/140/21

A very big thank you to Morbid for the support over these past 3 years, Life changes.

My own life will have upcoming exciting changes and i am also excited for what's to come for her as she leaves to her own new SL and RL adventures.

DRD will continue on with me at the helm, amazing creator Eowyn swords

and our lovely csr's : charlotte Bailey,Moon Watanabe and Sixdigital.