De lijn had als doel de haven van Antwerpen te verbinden met Duitsland maar de strategische lijn bevond zich echter een vrij groot obstakel, het oversteken van het Geuldal in Moresnet.

Bij de bouw van het viaduct waren zowat 12.000 mannen betrokken. Ze werkten 26 maanden, vierentwintig uur per dag.

De totale lengte van de brug bedraagt 1.120 meter en de hoogte varieert tussen 23 en 58 meter.

Elk brugdeel is 48 meter lang, 6,5 meter hoog en weegt ongeveer 750 ton.

Het viaduct is één van de langste metalen spoorwegviaducten in Europa.

Tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog bleef de brug intact, maar op 10 mei 1940 verwoestte het Belgische leger het viaduct.

De Duitse bezetter liet de brug echter snel herstellen, maar toen ze zich terugtrokken, blies het op 10 september 1944 het viaduct op om de oprukkende Amerikanen af te remmen.

Uiteindelijk zou het bijna vijf jaar duren om alle schade te herstellen.

The purpose of the line was to connect the port of Antwerp with Germany, but the strategic line encountered a fairly large obstacle, crossing the Geuldal in Moresnet.

About 12,000 men were involved in the construction of the viaduct. They worked twenty-four hours a day for 26 months.

The total length of the bridge is 1,120 meters and the height varies between 23 and 58 meters.

Each bridge section is 48 meters long, 6.5 meters high and weighs approximately 750 tons.

The viaduct is one of the longest metal railway viaducts in Europe.

During the First World War, the bridge remained intact, but on May 10, 1940, the Belgian army destroyed the viaduct.

However, the German occupier had the bridge repaired quickly, but when they withdrew, it blew up the viaduct on September 10, 1944 to slow down the advancing Americans.

Ultimately, it would take nearly five years to repair all the damage.

Almásy Mansion

The first version of this mansion was built at the end of the 17th century, after the Ottoman empire withdrew from Hungary's territory.

This area of Hungary went into to the possession of Baron Johann Georg Harrucken of Austria and later, through marriage, to the Hungarian Almásy family.

The renovation of the building was finished in 2016 and in 2017 the mansion received the ICOMOS award for exemplary monument reconstruction.

The mansion is today a museum.

Gyula, Hungary

Here's a close-up of a rather confiding Mountain Hare I found in the Peak District recently. It seemed to instinctively rely on its camouflage to evade detection, even though it stood out like a sore thumb. I took this with a telephoto lens and it stayed motionless after I had taken my photograph and slowly withdrew.

This population of Mountain Hares were introduced into the Peak District from Scotland during the nineteenth century. This one is moulting out of its white winter coat into its brown summer pelage.

The Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on the Blood, or the Church of the Savior on the Blood in St. Petersburg - an Orthodox memorial church of the Resurrection of Christ; It was built in memory of the fact that on this place on March 1 (13), 1881, as a result of the assassination attempt, Emperor Alexander II was mortally wounded (the expression on the blood indicates the king’s blood). The temple was built as a monument to the martyred king with funds raised throughout Russia

Orthodox cathedral

Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ

Savior on Spilled Blood

Object of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation of federal significance. Object of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation of federal importance.

Located in the historical center of St. Petersburg on the banks of the Griboyedov Canal near the Mikhailovsky Garden and Konyushennaya Square. The height of the nine-domed temple is 81 m, its capacity is up to 1600 people. It is a museum and a monument of Russian architecture.

The temple was erected by decree of Emperor Alexander III in 1883-1907 according to a joint project of the architect Alfred Parland and Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev), who later withdrew from the construction. The project is made in the "Russian style", somewhat reminiscent of the Moscow Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed. The construction lasted 24 years. On August 6 (19), 1907, the cathedral was consecrated.

Like all of the 917's at this years 74th Members Meeting, there is a fascinating history behind this eye catching purple and green liveried car.

Chassis 021 was one of the original 25 cars built for FIA homologation in April 1969. The car sat for 12 months unused until it was sold to Antti Aarnio Wihuri from Finland who was planning to run the 917K in the World Championship of Makes.

Antti Aarnio Wihuri used the proven Porsche 908 for the first part of 1970 at Daytona, Sebring and Brands Hatch. For the faster tracks of Monza and Spa the 917-021 was put to use. An accident at Monza meant the car finished 11th after driver Laine hit the barriers that required 2 further pit-stops. At a damp Spa the 917K was competitive and the fight was on for a fourth place finish until a pit stop cost the team time. They did finish in fifth place beating the Porsche works entries.

Laine was then tragically killed at the Nurburgring race, where the Porsche 908 he was driving took off and somersaulted, landing upside down and trapping Laine who perished in the flames.

As a result of this tragic accident, the team withdrew the remaining cars from the race. With one driver and the Porsche 917-021, the team took over the David Piper entry for Le Mans, meaning that Piper joined van Lennep in the driver lineup. Unfortunately the car was damaged beyond repair after suffering a puncture due to a bent chassis.

At this point, the car was rebuilt by stripping it down and putting the components onto chassis 012 that had been damaged at Daytona in 1969. Chassis 012 was renumbered 021 without the team being informed. The car was repainted in a white and yellow livery with red sills ready for the Interserie championship.

Van Lennep finished second behind Neuhaus driving the Gesipa entered 917 at the first race. At Hockenheim, the next round of the Interserie, 917-021 was raced in a new purple and green livery based on the paint scheme of the Le Mans 917LH Hippy car.

The car took its first victory in the Interserie round at Keimola, wearing the same psychedelic livery only now in yellow with red swirls. At Zandvoort, van Lennep won adding another success to 021 score sheet. The last round of the Interserie was held at Hockenheim and van Lennep finished 3rd in the race and 2nd overall in the 1970 Interserie series, taking the Porsche Cup prize.

The Porsche 917-021 was subsequently returned to Porsche and was stripped of its engine, wheels and suspension that were required to build the 917 spyder that went on to win the 1971 Interserie.

The chassis was then converted to road use by the German Joachim Grossmann, who had to find an engine, gearbox and suspension to return the car to an operational state. In 1977 chassis 021 became a white road registered car with licence plate CW-K-917.

In 1983, American Don Marsh bought the car and returned it back to its original specification. In 1999, 021 was repainted in the purple and green psychedelic livery. In 2004, a new Championship for Historic Sports Cars called the Classic Endurance Racing Series was created, reuniting many Group 5 cars with classic tracks from the period including Monza, Spa, Silverstone and the Nürburgring. Juan Barazi took ownership of 021 taking the car to 3 wins and a second place, winning the Championship. The car was last seen at the Goodwood Festival Of Speed in 2006 before being retired.

In 2008, Vincent Gaye bought 021 and performed a complete restoration of the car that took over 3 years to complete.

__________________________________________

Dave Adams Automotive Images

So after a long wait until NXWM withdrew her we finally got our hands on our Trident!

This is ex National Express West Midlands 4567 (BU04 BHZ) and we took delivery of her a few days after she left service at Yardley Wood.

She is seen about 20 minutes after we drove her from Miller Street and we decided to have a quick buzz around the towns near to us and this one is in Halesowen.

She was one of the cancelled Stagecoach order and has a 4 speed Voith gearbox rather than the usual 3 that the standard NXWM Tridents had.

A Summer Service back in 2011 the X33 from Derry To Dublin, Bus Eireann withdrew from the Derry Service in 2017, Ulsterbus Goldline operate the route now.

In 1613 the newly-enriched Sir Baptist Hicks began work on a house in Chipping Campden. It was a noble edifice in the latest fashion with intricate gardens. 30 years later it was destroyed by Royalists, when in 1645 they withdrew from the town. ‘The house (which was so faire) burnt,’ noted one sadly.

Only a shell was left, now shrunk to a single fragment. But other lesser buildings escaped the fire and are still there, together with the raised walks of the garden.

The East and West Banqueting Houses are the most substantial remnants of the original building. They stand at either end of the broad terrace that ran along the garden in front of Old Campden House. They serve as a reminder of the richness and quality of the main house before it was razed to the ground. Today it is one of the most important Jacobean sites in the country and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

It has been owned by the Landmark Trust since 1987 and is now a very stylish holiday let. (The website has some very seductive views of the interior.)

www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and-book/properties/east-...

@ United States Air Force USAF

Lockheed C-141B Starlifter ( L-300 ) msn 300-6264

- Engines : 4x Pratt & WhitneyTF33-P-7

- Reg : 67-0013

@ History aircraft :

# 1967 : built as C-141A ( 264 of 285 ) at factory Lockheed Martin de Marietta - Dobbins Air Reserve Base GA USA

# 1967 : Flow to the 305th AMW located at McGuire AFB

# 07.10.2000 : Arrived to AMARG code AACR0105 and later preserved at Pima Air & Space Museum

@ RMK : Introduced to replace slower propeller driven cargo planes such as the C-124 "Globemaster II" and C-133 Cargomaster - the C-141 was designed to requirements set in 1960 and first flew in 1963

Production deliveries of 285 planes began in 1965: 284 for USAF, and 1 for NASA.

The aircraft remained in service for over 40 years until the USAF withdrew the last C-141s from service in 2006, after replacing the airlifter with the C-17 "Globemaster III"

A Macro Mondays submission on the topic "copper".

A pile of coins from our travels. Australia withdrew all its "copper" coins a few years ago.

The Yak-40 was certainly unusual in being quite a small jet which featured three engines, a configuration more associated with the Boeing 727 and others of that size.

Just over a thousand were built, mainly for Aeroflot and were designed to serve remote airports.

This one, 0823, was transferred to the Slovak Air Force upon the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. It was retired in 2000, but the Czech Republic only withdrew the type in September 2020.

Piestany, Slovakia

16th July 1993

Pentax MX, Kodachrome

19930716 46925 0823 Piestany clean

This is the Australian 5 cent coin, our smallest coin after they withdrew the 1 and 2 cent coins from circulation back in 1992. I think it is one of our prettiest coins with a cute little echidna on its

face (you can see it better in my other entry).

I found these tiny flowers while gardening yesterday and thought they would look pretty floating on a 5c island.

once this sign came down, i withdrew my final arrangements.

“The waves broke and spread their waters swiftly over the shore. One after another they massed themselves and fell; the spray tossed itself back with the energy of their fall. The waves were steeped deep-blue save for a pattern of diamond-pointed light on their backs which rippled as the backs of great horses ripple with muscles as they move. The waves fell; withdrew and fell again, like the thud of a great beast stamping.”

― Virginia Woolf, The Waves

It's hard to believe that we're standing on the former main double track of the Grand Trunk Railway linking Montreal and Toronto! And yet, during construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, huge sections of shoreline, including the area where workers had built the railroad in the mid-1850s, were flooded to raise the water level and make way for large ships. A 39-mile section of the railway, between Cornwall and Cardinal,ON was rebuilt inland and opened for service on May 17, 1957, with new stations, infrastructure and spurs to serve industries that needed rail service and were still connected to the old right-of-way. Cornwall's proximity to the U.S. border meant it quickly developed a strong industrial potential, and many of the world's leading industrialists settled here. As well as being served by the Grand Trunk Railway, and from 1919 by the Canadian National Railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway also reached Cornwall via the 27-mile Cornwall Subdivision, connecting to the main line at Soulanges, and the New York Central passed through, linking upstate New York with the Canadian capital, Ottawa. The need for service was so great that an in-house electric railway, the Cornwall Street Electric Railway, sprang up in the city streets, acting as a passenger carrier and serving several companies by interchanging with the Class 1 railroads. Sadly, as is all too often the case, time took its toll and industrial decline struck Cornwall. The NYC withdrew its tracks in 1957, the CPR in the early 90s. The Cornwall Street Electric Railway, or what was left of it, was acquired by CN in 1971 and its employees integrated into the company's ranks. In the early 2000s, CN was still protecting Cornwall with two separate assignments. The first was abolished shortly after, and the second relocated to Coteau-du-Lac around 2005, still operating on a 5-day-per-week basis. Over the next decade, other customers terminated their contracts with CN, or closed their doors altogether.

The 591 job, goes from five days a week to three and finally to two, serving the last two railway customers in Cornwall now only on Tuesday and Thursday.

Where eastbound passenger and freight trains once rolled thru this curve, expecting a clear signal indication for the diamond crossing with the NYC half a mile down here, this location now only see rare occasional steel wheels, when 591’s job needed some headroom in order to access Westend Warehouse switch, track CB45 or for photographic purpose like it was the case with today’s pictures. When branching off the actual Kingston subdivision mainline at Wesco, 591 take an usual path to access remaining Cornwall’s industrial area using the former NYC mainline (complete with NYC tie plates still in place !) and the former NYC/GTR/CNR connecting tracks near the diamond location to swing into the former CNR double tracked right of way. Interlocking tower’s foundations can still easily be found along with the concrete base where the rods were once pinned onto the ground, giving proper authority for train movements over the diamond crossing by the tower operator.

BNSF GP39M 2871, a former Southern Pacific GP35, was part of a small fleet of low horsepower units leased to CN and was assigned to Coteau-du-Lac since a week. It was an odd catch to have it as a leader doing the Cornwall Turn.

CN L59121-12

BNSF 2871 CN 4727

Wesco Industrial Spur

Cornwall,ON

July 12th 2024

"Laufenburg is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Aargau. It is the seat of the district of the same name. On 1 January 2010 the municipality Sulz merged into Laufenburg.

It has approximately 2000 inhabitants. On the other side of the Rhine River lies Laufenburg (Baden), Germany. The same name is not by accident, as the two used to be the same city. In the early 19th century Napoleon divided the city. Two bridges now link both cities.

In 1985, Laufenburg received the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage.

A high point along the Rhine river with a rapids section about 8 km (5.0 mi) from Säckingen Abbey was chosen as a place for a strategic bridge over the river. The Kastvogtei (a feudal land holder appointed by the Abbey) transferred his loyalty to the Habsburgs in 1173. Laufenburg is first mentioned in 1207 as Loufenberc. In this 1207 document, the rights of the Abbey to parts of the village were secured while the castles on both sides of the Rhine were given over to the Kastvogt. This allowed Rudolf II of Habsburg to expand the site to the city. He is considered the founder of the city. After his death in 1232, the family split into the dominant line of Habsburg-Austria and the younger line of Habsburg-Laufenburg. The last representative of the Habsburg-Laufenburg line, Hans IV (1408) sold control of Laupenburg to Leopold III in 1386. It became part of the Further Austria and one of the four Habsburg Forest Cities on the Rhine. During the schism at the Council of Constance in 1415 the Antipope John XXIII fled to Laufenburg and withdrew his resignation.

After the Swiss conquest of the nearby Aargau, which was triggered by the schism, Laufenburg was the starting point of several campaigns against the Confederates. In retaliation, Bern, Solothurn and Basel besieged Laufenburg during the Old Zurich War in 1443. During the 15th Century, it was offered as collateral for a loan from Burgundy. As a result, it was briefly under Burgundy's control. During the Thirty Years War it was occupied for 13 years. In 1792 it was the base for the French Revolutionary Army. With the Lunéville peace of 1801 part of the Fricktal went to France and the rest went to the Helvetic Republic in 1802. The Rhine River was chosen as the border between the districts. The complicated division of community property took until 1829 to finish. Most of the city's facilities such as city hall, the market, the grain and salt house and two thirds of the population lived in the Swiss portion. While two-thirds of the territory, most of the commercial buildings, the common forest and the commons were in the German town." - info from Wikipedia.

During the summer of 2018 I went on my first ever cycling tour. On my own I cycled from Strasbourg, France to Geneva, Switzerland passing through the major cities of Switzerland. In total I cycled 1,185 km over the course of 16 days and took more than 8,000 photos.

Now on Instagram.

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

Pokljuka Gorge.

The Pokljuka plateau is a threshold of many natural pearls, the most well-known being the Pokljuka Gorge. This nearly 2-km-long ravine is a remnant of a stream which, at the end of the last Ice Age, cut up to 50 metres deep into the limestone slopes above the Radovna. The waters gradually flowed away and the stream withdrew into the undergroun, leaving behind the largest fossil gorge in Slovenia.

In the Pokljuka Gorge we can encounter some kartic formations such as natural bridges, overhanging rock faces and caves. Along the preciptous slopes of the gorge, in some places only several metres apart, overhanging rocks alternate with widenings called "vrtci" (garden-plots). Across the narrowest part of the gorge, wooden bridges, called the Galleries of Prince Andrew, were built by the inhabitants of Gorje in 1930. Another attraction of the area is the Pokljuka Hole - a short shaft-like traversable cave which boasts three natural windows and two cave entrances.

“The waves broke and spread their waters swiftly over the shore. One after another they massed themselves and fell; the spray tossed itself back with the energy of their fall. The waves were steeped deep-blue save for a pattern of diamond-pointed light on their backs which rippled as the backs of great horses ripple with muscles as they move. The waves fell; withdrew and fell again, like the thud of a great beast stamping.”

Das Füchschen schleicht immer noch über die Wiesen in der Nähe des Wohngebietes. Heute war er schon fast an den Häusern. Ich habe ihn beobachtet und er hat auch mich gesehen. Er lief nicht weg, sondern kam langsam die Wiese herunter im meine Richtung. Ich habe schnell einige Fotos gemacht und dann den Rückzug angetreten. Ich hatte ja meinen Hund wieder dabei.

The little fox is still creeping over the meadows near the residential area. Today he was almost at the houses. I was watching him, and he saw me too. He didn't run away, but slowly came down the meadow in my direction. I quickly took some photos and then withdrew. I had my dog back with me.

The Boeing E-7 Wedgetail is a twin-engine airborne early warning and control aircraft based on the Boeing 737 Next Generation design. It has a fixed, active electronically scanned array radar antenna instead of a rotating one as with the 707-based Boeing E-3 Sentry. The E-7 was designed for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) under "Project Wedgetail" and designated E-7A Wedgetail.

In October 2018, the British Government announced that it was in talks with Boeing about the potential for the E-7 Wedgetail to replace its E-3D fleet. Talks about using the aircraft were also taking place with Australia. The apparent decision to proceed with procurement without a competition received some criticism, with the Ministry of Defence accused of displaying favouritism towards Boeing, while Saab voiced its opposition to the "non-competitive" deal as it could offer the Erieye system mounted on Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft. In March 2019, the UK signed a $1.98 billion ($2.33 billion in 2023) deal to purchase five E-7 Wedgetails. The aircraft will be designated the "Wedgetail AEW1".

Airframe modification was expected to be performed by Marshall Aerospace, but it withdrew in May 2020, thus Boeing selected STS Aviation Group's UK branch on 20 May 2020. Two of the five aircraft are to be converted commercial airliners and the rest are to be new. Each conversion takes about 24 months, with work on the first aircraft starting in 2021 and the last to be completed in 2026. In June 2020, the first Wedgetail delivery was expected in 2023.

In December 2020, Air Forces Monthly reported that the UK was considering reducing its Wedgetail purchase from five to three aircraft and stated that such a move "could often mean just one aircraft would be available for operational tasking." The 2021 Integrated Defence Review confirmed the reduced order of three aircraft. In late 2022, it was reported that initial operating capability for the aircraft had slipped to 2024. Then in 2024 it was indicated that service entry was now anticipated in 2025. The in-service date then slipped further into 2026. In February 2023, Air Chief Marshal Michael Wigston stated that the order of three aircraft may gradually rise back to five airframes. The 2025 defence review recommended the procurement of additional aircraft, though this might proceed in conjunction with other NATO allies.

This was the first run on the mainline for 34028 "Eddystone" after she was withdrawn from Southern Region British Rail service in May 1964. About 61 years later and she is seen here passing Brookwood along her old stomping ground of the South Western Mainline with former early 1960's Southern Region diesel ally 33012 for insurance.

34028 has been based at the Swanage Railway since 1999 and has been in operational condition there since 2003 (minus the routine boiler overhauls and various repairs over the years).

Southern Locomotives Ltd were approached by railtour promoters in 2024 regarding the use of a Class 7 / 8 locomotives on the mainline. Whilst previously the company has said no to mainline operation, time had come for one of their locomotives to head onto the ‘big’ railway.

The Swanage Railway, where 34028 Eddystone operates, recently withdrew mainline operations for their U Class locomotive 31806 and it's mainline running safety equipment and focus then went into the mainline return of 34028. Funds were raised and work was started in recent years to return her to mainline running condition for future railtour work under West Coast Railway Company operations.

Yes, probably up there for one my cheesey titles of all time ;). But it does look totally surreal right ??? :)

I could not believe the sunset last night - probably the most extraordinary sunset I have ever seen. I was down at Bondi Beach, the weather and temperature was beautifully summery and balmy. I was there with my Leica, with the right lens, with a battery fully charged, with the SD and with my Insta friend Harper who went and posed quite happily in the reflective sand. The beach had graciously withdrew the ocean and surf and allowed the sunset to reflect beautifully off the sand.

Call me biased - but only Ms. Leica could have gathered those stunning colours and reflections and taken it to another level so that I gasped when I came home and saw the shots on big screen.

The regular geometrical shape of Mount Kailash in western Tibet and its location at the source of four of the great rivers of Asia led fairly early on to its being considered the navel of the world by several major religions. Kailash is sacred to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and followers of the ancient religion of Tibet, the Bonpo, all of whom journey to the mountain to follow the pilgrimage circuit round its base (in Tibetan 'kora'). They travel in different directions around the mountain, Hindus, Jains and Buddhists clockwise, Bons anti-clockwise.

The mountain has never been climbed, although in recent years this was more by good fortune than anything else. In 2001, the Chinese gave permission for a Spanish team to climb the peak, but they withdrew in the face of international disapproval at which point the Chinese decided to ban all attempts to climb the mountain. Reinhold Messner, who had earlier been invited to climb the mountain by the Chinese authorities, said of the Spanish plans, "If we conquer this mountain, then we conquer something in people's souls."

To each side of the mountain is attributed a precious jewel. This, the most secretive of its four faces, is called the gold face, a colour it assumes at sunrise and sunset.

Chartwell , a National Trust estate, near WeAn image from the Achieves, reprocessed with Photoshop CC 2026

I would be most grateful if you would refrain from inserting images, and/or group invites; thank you!

To view more of my images, taken Chartwell, please click "here" !

Chartwell was the principal adult home of Sir Winston Churchill.

Churchill and his wife Clementine bought the property, located two miles south of Westerham, Kent, England, in 1922. Extensive renovations simplifying and modernising the home were undertaken directly, completely transforming it when complete. When it became clear to the Churchills in 1946 that they could not afford to run the property, a consortium of wealthy businessmen organised by Lord Camrose purchased the estate. The arrangement was that for payment of nominal rent both Sir Winston and Lady Churchill would have the right to live there until they both died, at which point the property would be presented to the National Trust. When Sir Winston died in 1965, Clementine decided to present Chartwell to the National Trust immediately. The site had been built upon at least as early as the 16th century, when the estate had been called 'Well Street'. Henry VIII is reputed to have stayed in the house during his courtship of Anne Boleyn at nearby Hever Castle. The original farmhouse was significantly enlarged and modified during the 19th century. It became, according to the National Trust, an example of 'Victorian architecture at its least attractive, a ponderous red-brick country mansion of tile-hung gables and poky oriel windows'. The estate derives its name from the well to the north of the house called 'Chart Well'. 'Chart' is an Old English word for rough ground. The highest point of the estate is approximately 650 feet above sea level, and the house commands a spectacular view across the Weald of Kent. This view 'possessed Churchill' and was certainly an important factor in persuading him to buy a house of 'no great architectural merit'. Churchill employed architect Philip Tilden to modernise and extend the house. Tilden worked between 1922 and 1924, simplifying and modernising, as well as allowing more light into the house through large casement windows. He worked in the gently vernacular architecture tradition that is familiar in the early houses of Edwin Lutyens, a style stripped of literal Tudor Revival historicising details but retaining multiple gables with stepped gable ends, and windows in strips set in expanses of warm pink brick hung with climbers. Tilden's work completely transformed the house. Similarly to many early 20th century refurbishments of old estates, the immediate grounds, which fall away behind the house, were shaped into overlapping rectilinear terraces and garden plats, in lawn and mixed herbaceous gardens in the Lutyens-Jekyll manner, linked by steps descending to lakes that Churchill created by a series of small dams, the water garden where he fed his fish, Lady Churchill's Rose garden and the Golden Rose Walk, a Golden Wedding anniversary gift from their children. The garden areas provided inspiration for Churchill's paintings, many of which are on display in the house's garden studio. In 1938, Churchill was pressed to offer Chartwell for sale for financial reasons, at which time the house was advertised as containing 5 reception rooms, 19 bed and dressing rooms, 8 bathrooms, set in 80 acres with three cottages on the estate and a heated and floodlit swimming pool. He withdrew after industrialist Sir Henry Strakosch agreed to take over his share portfolio (which had suffered heavily from losses on Wall Street) for three years and pay off heavy debts. During the Second World War, the house was mostly unused. Its relatively exposed position, in a county so near across the English Channel to German occupied France, meant it was potentially vulnerable to a German airstrike or commando raid. The Churchills instead spent their weekends at Ditchley, Oxfordshire until security improvements were completed at the prime minister's official country residence, Chequers, in Buckinghamshire. The house has been preserved as it would have looked when Churchill owned it. Rooms are carefully decorated with memorabilia and gifts, the original furniture and books, as well as honours and medals that Churchill received. The house is Grade I listed for historical reasons. The gardens are listed Grade II.

The property is currently under the administration of the National Trust. Chartwell was bought by a group of Churchill's friends in 1946, with the Churchills paying a nominal rent, but was not open to the public until it was presented to the nation in 1966, one year after Churchill's death.e of Winston Churchillsterham, in Kent, England.- The home of Sir Winston and Clementine Churchill.

Our local university has an excellent Public Relations program and... a few years ago... encouraged by some colleagues... I applied for a job teaching one of the writing classes.

I have a fair bit of teaching experience and did make the short list... which was pretty flattering. And I was quite excited about the next step. Each of us competitors had to map out what we planned to teach, and how we planned to teach it, week by week, for the length of the program. Then we had to present it to a panel, which would make the final hiring decision.

I was busily plotting classes and materials when... thank goodness... a friend who knows me well said, "Isn't it a night course?"

Yes, it is, I answered.

"The classes go from 7:30 to 10:30," she said, and again I agreed... waiting for the point.

"Um..." she paused. "No offence Mary-Anne, but are you even capable of staying up past 10?" And... omigod... I realized... she was dead right!!! I can't stay up past 10 (or even 9) except through a monstrous effort of will, with a whole lot of active encouragement from others and some incredibly enticing incentive (Stephen Malkmus fits the bill perfectly, but I digress). So... yeah... I withdrew from the job competition.... and was really really glad that I didn't get the gig!!!!

So what the hell does this have to do with a picture of me on a swing and a bright blue sky? Well... between the changing seasons and the dagblatted (don't even get me started) daylight saving time... night shooting isn't really an option for me these days... and won't be again till fall. (Sniff, sniff.) By the time it's dark, I'm pretty much in bed so... I need to find me some new things to shoot.

This one's been in my head for weeks... just waiting for the right day and time to make it happen. I sure hope you like it 'cause... MAN was it hard work! REALLY hard.

It's tough enough to pump an aging body to a great, skyscraping height on a playground swing. Quite another feat to do it... and maintain the momentum... while holding a camera and... oh yeah... shooting! Geez, I'm amazed I didn't have an accident.

Anyway... it's spring. The sun is shining. I'm in love. And this is an expression of happiness. I hope it rubs off on everyone who sees it. Happy Spring!

Artist Guido van Helton took 200 spray cans plus normal paint and 6 weeks, to create these 30 metre high artworks.

Like many small towns in reginal Australa, Coonalpyn was adversely affected by the millennium drought and the global financial crisis of 2007/2008. Many services withdrew from the town and businesses closed their doors. The main street along the Dukes Highway, once a hive of activity lay, dormant except for a few remaining businesses. The community of Coonalpyn, supported by Coorong District Council embarked on a daring arts led regional recovery plan thus Creating Coonalpyn was born. Creating Coonalpyn is a model of regional renewal. Designed to activate spaces and reinvigorate the small rural community of Coonalpyn.

Southwold lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Southwold was mentioned in Domesday Book (1086) as a fishing port, and after the "capricious River Blyth withdrew from Dunwich in 1328, bringing trade to Southwold in the 15th century", it received its town charter from Henry VII in 1489. Over the following centuries, however, a shingle bar built up across the harbour mouth, preventing the town from becoming a major port: "The shingle at Southwold Harbour, the mouth of the Blyth, is ever shifting," William Whittaker observed in 1887.

Southwold Harbour, on the side of the River Blyth, is at the southern end of the town. It is home to a number of fishing boats and has numerous traditional fishing sheds along the side of the quay where fresh fish can be bought.

Explore 23 Mar 14

Never met a train track I didn't fall in love with!

A pit stop at Porteau Cove Provincial Park on the return trip to Vancouver BC after a day in Squamish and Brakendale.

Porteau Cove is located on the Howe Sound fjord, 38 km north of Vancouver on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, 20 km south of Squamish, 8.5 km south of Britannia Beach. Other nearby communities include Brackendale and Lions Bay.

The park is 50 hectares in size, and offers picnicing, camping, swimming, windsurfing, and a boat launch. Porteau Cove is a very popular area for scuba diving, with a series of artificial reefs including two sunken vessels. It has 44 drive-in campsites and 16 walk-in sites. 80% of the campsite may be reserved through Discover Camping, April through September. The park is maintained and operated by Sea To Sky Parks, based in Mount Seymour in North Vancouver, BC.

On July 29, 2008, a large rockslide took place at the Porteau Bluffs, just north of Porteau Cove. No one was injured, however access to Whistler was hampered.[1][dead link] The highway and the rail line run tightly together at the base of the bluffs, which is composed of slab-like chunks of granite, which formerly overhung the highway until scaling reduced some of the mass of the bluff. The slide has renewed concerns about the geotechnical safety of the route, and was a security issue during the 2010 Olympics events in Whistler. Communities north of the slide, including Whistler, are often isolated by such slides, but a "back door" paved route exists via Lillooet and the Fraser Canyon.

A ferry terminal exists at the park for emergency use. If ever a landslide or avalanche occurs between Porteau Cove and Vancouver or Porteau Cove and Squamish, the BC Government could send in a ferry to detour cars around the slide to Darrell Bay Terminal in Squamish or to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. Since slides occur so rarely on the Sea-to-sky Highway, the dock is open to the public as a promenade wharf.[2] The pier is owned by BC Parks, but the ferry ramp and accessories is owned by Department of Highways.

Rail History: Vancouver to Prince George line.

Chartered in 1912, the railway was acquired by the provincial government in 1918 after running into financial difficulties. A railway that ran "from nowhere, to nowhere" for over 30 years, neither passing through any major city nor interchanging with any other railway, its southern terminus was at Squamish and its northern terminus at Clinton during that period. It expanded significantly between 1949 and 1984. Primarily a freight railway, it also offered passenger service, as well as some excursion services, most notably the Royal Hudson excursion train. The railway's operations only reached profitability in 1980, due to large capital and operating debts, which were intended as subsidies to develop and sustain mining and timber economies and employment in the regions it accessed, though during the 1980s it regularly posted significant profits, contributing to the public treasury significantly, and maintained a lower operating debt than any of the continent's other major railways. The railway's operations and management, as one of the province's largest crown corporations, were at the centre of public debate since its takeover. Notably, the Social Credit governments of WAC Bennett and his son Bill Bennett forgave the railways' capital debts in 1954 and 1979, respectively, with bookkeeping matters related to that bringing much criticism. The current provincial government has been accused of fabricating falsehoods about the state of its debts and viability in order to justify a deal to sell it to with CN, claiming the railway was in disarray Other participants in the bidding process withdrew their bids, saying that CN had unfair access to confidential information about their own operations, provided by the government, and at least one bidder (Canadian Pacific) privately stating in a communications that the bid was "rigged". Controversy over CN's management of the line has focused on layoffs, toxic spills and other safety concerns, and cuts in service to some regions. The line has generated profits for CN in the range of $25 million per year since its takeover of the railway's operations.

Managed to add some more Jedi to the rebellion, and some new faces too. As with last time, I'll skip the story, as we went over that last time. So, the Rebels this year are (L to R):

Wrecker - A former clone gunner who defected to the alliance during the walkout, Wrecker loves all things explosive. In his spare time however, he enjoys growing things in helmets, seeing as he, and many other clones, have little use for them anymore, choosing to shed the armour of the republic, in favour of more relaxed, and practical clothing.

Quinlan Vos - After the death of his brief partner, Asajj ventress, Vos began to have doubts about the war. After his brief encounter with the dark side, he became more aware of its presence, particularly in the senate itself. Something was growing there, like a tumour, infecting other cells alongside it. Like many others within the rebellion, he suspected the supreme chancellor, but couldn't be certain. In joining the rebellion, he hopes to cut out the tumour, and return peace to the galaxy.

Mace Windu - After the Jedi order withdrew from the war effort, Windu briefly considered joining the peace faction, withdrawing to a life where the jedi where truly the protectors of the peace, and not just puppets controlled by the senate for its own nefarious purposes. But like others, he could feel the dark side emanating from the senate. He knew he must stay, and oppose the republic, before it was too late. This came to a head when a small minority of Jedi and former clones hatched a plot to assassinate the supreme Chancellor. They failed, and Windu lost an arm in a confrontation with Skywalker and Palpatine. He was thrown from the landing pad, but survived, landing in a hover car driven by his comrades.

Obi Wan Kenobi - Kenobi decided his time in the republic was over roughly halfway through the fourth year fo the clone wars. The war showed no sign of slowing down, and had brought out a dark side in his former Padawan, Anakin. Kenobi was also involved i the Attempt on the chancellors life, though he was there for a different reason. He had to try, just once more, to turn save Anakin, redeem him. Sadly, he failed, and was forced to take drastic measures, attempting outright to kill Anakin before he could cause more damage to the galaxy. He failed, and is now hunted by his former brother.

Padme Amidala - Hearing about Anakins injuries, Padme came out of hiding, just the once, to visit him while he recovered. Though he was unconscious, she sat by his bedside, and informed him she had given birth to twins. She then left him, knowing this would most likely be the last time she would see him as she knew him. She now takes a more involved role in the rebellion, leading troops, and co-ordinating relief efforts to planets affected by the war.

Captain Rex - After the initial clone walkout, Rex set about gathering more troops to support the rebel alliance. He ventured near and far, gathering troops, weapons, anything to help the war effort. Along the way, he found other clones who wanted to help, and took them back to the Alliance.

Mon Mothma - Continuing her work in the senate, she continues to fight for the recognition of the Alliance planets as an independent body, not governed by the Republic. However, the senate is moving, re-organising into something resembling an Empire of the old Republic, all Ruled by one man, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.

C-3PO - Continuing to serve Amidala, Threepio holds no opinions of the Republic. Though he has been heard to exclaim about the terrible mess he's gotten himself involved in, and wondering how his former companion, R2 D2 is doing.

Captain Typho - Typho continued to serve Amidala, even after she quit being Senator for Naboo. He accompanies her on more dangerous missions, though mostly leaves her to her own devices, as she is seldom in need of his protection.

So that's the Rebel alliance. I really wanted to add Ahsoka, but mecabricks doesn't really have enough parts to do her justice, particularly in the headwear department, so for the minute, she'll be absent. Might have a go at making something out of existing parts, though I can't promise anything. Bail Organna should be there too, but I kinda forgot him til now. He and Ahsoka are both there in spirit though.

So, as always, please lemme know what you think, and if there are any details about the extended years of the clone wars you'd like to see fleshed out :D

Sacred Heart Catholic Church was constructed in 1905 in downtown Tampa, Florida and is one of the oldest churches in the city of Tampa. The church, located at 509 N. Florida Avenue, is predominantly a Romanesque structure, with other elements. The church is home to Sacred Heart Parish, part of the West Hillsborough Deanery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Petersburg.

The first Catholic parish on Florida's West Coast was established in 1860 and named St. Louis Parish in honor of Fr. Luis de Cancer, a Dominican missionary who was martyred on the shores of Tampa Bay in 1549. The initial wooden-frame building called St. Louis Church was erected on the site where Sacred Heart stands today. In 1888, the Jesuits took over the pastoral responsibilities of the parish, after a serious outbreak of yellow fever in Tampa took the lives of three diocesan priests. Using Tampa as their base, the Jesuits were given the responsibility of all of South Florida by Bishop Moore. In 1905, a new Church was constructed in Romanesque style and the parish was renamed Sacred Heart.

As Tampa grew, so did the parish, and by 1897 it was decided that a new church was needed. Construction on the church began with a groundbreaking on February 16, 1898, with the laying of the cornerstone taking place on February 4, 1900. The dedication of Sacred Heart Church took place on January 15, 1905, and at that time the parish was renamed Sacred Heart Parish.

The architect for the new Sacred Heart Church was Nicholas J. Clayton of Galveston, TX, who designed many Roman Catholic Churches in Texas and throughout the southern United States. The granite and marble structure includes a 135-foot dome, solid oak pews and doors, porcelain tiles, and a Carrara marble altar. Its 70 stained glass windows were designed and manufactured for Sacred Heart by Franz Mayer & Co. of Munich, Germany. The facility is a popular location for weddings, having hosted weddings for some parish families going back as many as six generations.

The parish operated a school, Sacred Heart Academy, which it established in 1931, on Florida Avenue in the city's Tampa Heights neighborhood. However, due to the changing demographics of the immediate area, Sacred Heart Academy was forced to close at the end of the 2011–12 school year. Previously affiliated with Sacred Heart Parish was another Tampa institution, Jesuit High School, founded in 1899, which thrives today.

In 2005, after the 100th anniversary of Sacred Heart Church, the Jesuit community which had long served the parish withdrew in order to concentrate on their academic institutions throughout the South. The fourth bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Most Rev. Robert Lynch, invited the Franciscan Friars of the Most Holy Name of Jesus Province to assume the pastoral responsibilities for the parish. The current pastor is Father Stephen Mimnaugh, OFM. In 2010 the Diocese of St. Petersburg added a Catholic Heritage Marker to the church exterior, recognizing its historic significance.

La Verna Sanctuary is located in the Tuscan Apennines. The mount covered with a monumental fir and beech trees forest, is characterized by an unmistakable appearance thanks to its summit (1283 sea level) bending in sheer drop over the valley. Over the sheer cliff and wrapped around by a surrounding wood we can find the hole unit of the Sanctuary, which cherishes several art, culture and history treasures inside its massive and articulated structure.

In the summer of 1224 St. Francis withdrew on the mountain for his ordinary spiritual exercises and silence. During his stay, he asked God to be able to take part, from the very deep of his heart, of the Passion of Christ, mystery of both love and pain. The Lord paid attention to his words and appeared to him in the guise of a crucified seraph who gave him as a gift the seals of the Passion. 'Francesco' turned into a visible and concrete image of Christ, not only in his heart, mind and soul, which already were, but even in his exterior body.

The Stigmata episode together with Francis' lifestyle are the most precious things given to his friars at La Verna. St Francis’ important spiritual heir not only deals with every single friar in the monastery, but it turns into the main vehicle which the community wants to convey to all those who visit la Verna.

El atardecer en este lago mágico es como una bella modelo que se viste muy elegante, para una cesión de fotos que solo durará dos minutos, entonces cuando aparece frente a ti quedas alucinado, impactado que no sabes como lograr una buena imagen, su presencia es tan grande que te sientes sobrepasado. Sin embargo ella cumple con los minutos y se retira.

Les reitero mi gratitud por el apoyo a mi trabajo.

Desde el Lago Mágico, un abrazo muy fuerte para todos los que vean esta foto.

**********************************************************************************************

The sunset in this magical lake is like a beautiful model to be very elegant dresses, for a transfer of photos that will last for only two minutes, then when it appears in front of you blew run, which impacted not know how to get a good picture, his presence is so large that you feel overrun. But she meets minutes and withdrew.

I reiterate my gratitude for the support for my work.

Since Magical Lake, a very strong hug to all who see this picture.

Henriette Sontag lebte von 1806–1854. Sie ar eine deutsche Opernsängerin (Koloratursopran, soprano sfogato) von internationalem Renommee. Sie war vor allem für ihre Interpretationen in Opern von Rossini, Donizetti und Bellini bekannt. In Prag wurde sie von Carl Maria von Weber entdeckt und er ließ sie mit 17 Jahren die Titelrolle in seiner Oper Euryanthe singen. Noch im selben Jahr nahm sie zusammen mit ihrer Mutter ein Engagement an der Deutschen Oper in Wien an. Am 7. Mai 1824 sang sie die Sopran-Partie in der Uraufführung von Ludwig van Beethovens Symphonie Nr. 9 im Kärntnertortheater in Wien. Nach Beendigung der Sinfonie drehte sie zusammen mit der Sängerin Caroline Unger den gehörlosen Beethoven zu dem Beifall klatschenden Publikum um. Nach ihrer Hochzeit 1828 in Paris mit dem Diplomaten und sardinischen Gesandten in Berlin Graf Carlo Rossi zog sie sich völlig von der Bühne zurück.1828 machte Hermann von Pückler-Muskau Henriette Sontag einen Heiratsantrag, den sie wegen schon bestehender Ehe abwies. 1861 ließ er im „ersten Blumengarten“ seines Branitzer Parks eine vergoldete Büste der Primadonna im allseitig offenen, mit Rosen umrankten Henriette-Sontag-Kiosk aufstellen. Am 22. August 1831 verlieh ihr der preußische König Friedrich Wilhelm III. ein Adelsdiplom, sodass sie sich seitdem Henriette von Klarenstein (anderen Quellen zufolge Gräfin von Lauenstein) nennen durfte. Bis 1848 sang Henriette Sontag, Ehefrau und Mutter von sieben Kindern, weiterhin privat vor Freunden. Als die Familie durch die politischen Umstände der Revolution von 1848 ihr gesamtes Vermögen verlor, versuchte Sontag ein künstlerisches Comeback. Trotz der sehr langen Abwesenheit von der Bühne konnte Sontag an ihre alten Erfolge anknüpfen. 1852 unternahm sie mit sensationellem Erfolg eine Tournee durch die USA mit Vorbild Jenny Lind als dort erfolgreicher europäischer Sängerin. Nach ihrer Hochzeit 1828 in Paris mit dem Diplomaten und sardinischen Gesandten in Berlin[12] Graf Carlo Rossi, dem Bruder der Fürstin Flaminia zu Salm-Salm, Neffe von Félix Baciocchi, später Botschafter des Königreichs Sardinien-Piemont in Den Haag, zog sie sich völlig von der Bühne zurück .1828 machte Hermann von Pückler-Muskau Henriette Sontag einen Heiratsantrag, den sie wegen schon bestehender Ehe abwies. 1861 ließ er im „ersten Blumengarten“ seines Branitzer Parks eine vergoldete Büste der Primadonna im allseitig offenen, mit Rosen umrankten Henriette-Sontag-Kiosk aufstellen. 1831 verlieh ihr der preußische König Friedrich Wilhelm III. ein Adelsdiplom, sodass sie sich seitdem Henriette von Klarenstein (anderen Quellen zufolge Gräfin von Lauenstein) nennen durfte. Bis 1848 sang Henriette Sontag, Ehefrau und Mutter von sieben Kindern, weiterhin privat vor Freunden. Als die Familie durch die politischen Umstände der Revolution von 1848 ihr gesamtes Vermögen verlor, versuchte Sontag ein künstlerisches Comeback. Trotz der sehr langen Abwesenheit von der Bühne konnte Sontag an ihre alten Erfolge anknüpfen. 1852 unternahm sie mit sensationellem Erfolg eine Tournee durch die USA mit Vorbild Jenny Lind als dort erfolgreicher europäischer Sängerin. Während einer weiteren Gastspielreise starb Henriette Sontag 1854 in Mexiko.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henriette_Sontag

Henriette Sontag lived from 1806-1854 and was a German opera singer (colouratura soprano, soprano sfogato) of international renown. She was best known for her interpretations in operas by Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini. In Prague, she was discovered by Carl Maria von Weber, who had her sing the title role in his opera Euryanthe at the age of 17. In the same year, she and her mother accepted an engagement at the Deutsche Oper in Vienna. On 7 May 1824, she sang the soprano part in the world premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. At the end of the symphony, she and the singer Caroline Unger turned the deaf Beethoven round to the applauding audience. After her marriage in Paris in 1828 to the diplomat and Sardinian envoy in Berlin Count Carlo Rossi, she withdrew completely from the stage. In 1828 Hermann von Pückler-Muskau proposed to Henriette Sontag, which she turned down because she was already married. In 1861, he had a gilded bust of the prima donna erected in the ‘first flower garden’ of his Branitz park in the Henriette Sontag kiosk, which was open on all sides and entwined with roses. In 1831, the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III awarded her a diploma of nobility, allowing her to call herself Henriette von Klarenstein (according to other sources, Countess von Lauenstein). Henriette Sontag, wife and mother of seven children, continued to sing privately to friends until 1848. When the family lost their entire fortune due to the political circumstances of the 1848 revolution, Sontag attempted an artistic comeback. Despite her very long absence from the stage, Sontag was able to build on her old successes. In 1852, she undertook a sensationally successful tour of the USA with her role model Jenny Lind as a successful European singer. During another tour, Henriette Sontag died of cholera and typhoid fever in Mexico in 1854.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henriette_Sontag

The battles of Gully Hole Creek and Bloody Marsh are probably some of the most forgotten battles in American history, yet most likely both some of the most important. During the War of Jenkin’s Ear between the Spanish and British, Spanish governor of Florida Don Manuel de Montiano commanded an invasion force totaling around 5,000 men that was to land somewhere in the 'Debatable Land', which both empires contested control over. James Oglethorpe had founded a colony in 1733 in this area with the construction of the port city of Savannah, and soon later the forts located on the coastal island of St. Simons, named Fort Frederica and Fort St. Simons. It would later become the state of Georgia.

On July 5th, 1742, the Spanish landed of the island of St. Simons and seized Fort St. Simons, which Oglethorpe cleverly withdrew his forces from earlier due to his much smaller defense force he had to to defend the isle (Records indicate the force consisted of regulars, militia, and native Indians, numbering fewer than 1,000), destroying and rendering the fortification nearly useless to the Spanish. Despite this, Montiano established it as the Spanish base on the island. After landing troops and supplies, and consolidating their position at Fort St. Simons, the Spanish began to reconnoiter beyond their perimeter. They found the road between Fort St. Simons and Fort Frederica, but assumed the narrow track was just a farm road. On July 18, the Spanish undertook a reconnaissance in force along the road with approximately 115 men under the command of Captain Sebastian Sanchez. One and a half miles from Fort Frederica, Sanchez' column made contact with Oglethorpe's soldiers, under command of Noble Jones. The ensuing skirmish became known as the Battle of Gully Hole Creek. The British routed the Spanish, killing or capturing nearly a third of their soldiers. Oglethorpe's forces advanced along Military Road toward Fort St. Simons in pursuit of the retreating Spanish. When Spanish prisoners revealed that a larger Spanish force was advancing from the opposite direction toward Frederica, Oglethorpe left to gather reinforcements.

The British advance party, in pursuit of the defeated Spanish force, engaged in a skirmish, then fell back in face of advancing Spanish reinforcements. When the British reached a bend in the road, Lieutenants Southerland and Macoy ordered the column to stop. They took cover in a semi-circle shaped area around a clearing behind trees and palmettos, waiting for the advancing Spanish having taken cover in the dense forest. They watched as the Spanish broke rank, stacked arms and, taking out their kettles, prepared to cook dinner. The Spanish thought they were protected because they had the marsh on one side of them and the forest on the other. The British forces opened fire from behind the cover of trees and bushes, catching the Spanish off-guard. They fired multiple volleys from behind the protection of dense forest. The attack killed roughly 200 Spaniards. The ferocity of the fighting at Bloody Marsh was dramatic, and the battle took its name from the tradition that the marsh ran red with the blood of dead Spanish soldiers. The floor of the forest was strewn with the bodies of the dead and dying. A few Spanish officers attempted in vain to reform their ranks, but the Spanish soldiers and their allies fled, panic stricken, in multiple directions. Barba himself was captured after being mortally wounded. The Battle of Bloody Marsh blunted the Spanish advance, and ultimately proved decisive. Oglethorpe was credited with the victory, though he arrived at the scene after the fighting had ceased.

Oglethorpe continued to press the Spanish, trying to dislodge them from the island. A few days later, approaching a Spanish settlement on the south side, he learned of a French man who had deserted the British and gone to the Spanish. Worried that the deserter might report how small the British force was, Oglethorpe spread out his drummers, to make them sound as if they were accompanying a larger force. He wrote to the deserter, addressing him as if he were a spy for the British, saying that the man just needed to continue his stories until Britain could send more men. The prisoner who was carrying the letter took it to the Spanish officers, as Oglethorpe had hoped and the Spanish promptly executed the Frenchmen. The timely arrival of British ships reinforced a misconception among the Spanish that British reinforcements were arriving. The Spanish left St. Simons on 25 July, ending their last invasion of colonial Georgia.

Many historians believe that had Oglethorpe lost St. Simons to Montiano, the Spanish would have been able to penetrate further into the Southern English colonies, including but not limited to the rich Carolinas. The entire culture of the South would have been changed, and it is even uncertain that there would be a United States as we know it today if the Spanish succeeded in their invasion.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I myself visit the island at least once a year, and each time I always try to visit the battlefield where Bloody Marsh took place as well as the ruins of Fort Frederica. :-) Those added inspired me to do a Lego scene of the battle.

Karl made a special appearance today during sunset. The fog withdrew quickly before sunset, but came back with a vengence.

First West of England relinquished the Severn Express (Newport-Chepstow-Cribbs Causeway-Bristol) to Stagecoach West in September 2019 and the latter chose to replace it was a Gold-specification service. The usual allocation from the company's Bristol depot at Patchway became Alexander Dennis Enviro300-bodied MANs and Alexander Dennis Enviro400-bodied Scania N230UDs, previously based at Stroud and Swindon, respectively.

World events in March 2020 dictated that the service was curtailed, and Stagecoach withdrew completely in the June. Adventure Travel then stepped in operating just between Chepstow and Bristol using mostly Mercedes Citaros, but that's another story.

This shot on a crisp Winter's day in January 2020 depicts Stagecoach Scania N230UD 15767 at the Old Green Roundabout when heading for Bristol.

Even the livery is now consigned to history.

Mer Bleue Bog, Greenbelt, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Twelve thousand (12,000) years ago, much of eastern Ontario was under glacial ice. The weight of the ice depressed the Ottawa River Valley enough so that, for a time, an arm of the ocean (Champlain Sea) flooded this area. Once the land surface started to rebound from the weight of the glaciers, the sea gradually withdrew. The retreating ice left a shallow depression. Over the next few thousand years, the depression was cut off from its water sources, and underlying clay prevented water from escaping. A stagnant lake was created, fed only by precipitation and groundwater. Sediments and dead organic debris slowly filled in the depression. Water plants, such as cattails and water lilies, grew around its perimeter and in the algae-rich waters. Slowly, sphagnum moss covered over the lake, and dead organic remains, called peat, filled in the lake. Sphagnum moss is rootless; it grows on top of the remains of earlier generations that are decomposing into peat. The accumulation of peat moss at Mer Bleue is greatest in the centre where it is more than six metres deep. This buildup creates a domed shape that rises above the surrounding landscape. Source: National Capital Commission

La tourbière de la Mer Bleue, Ceinture de verdure, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Il y a 12 000 ans, les glaciers recouvraient presque entièrement l’est de l’Ontario. Le poids de la glace a causé une dépression de la croûte terrestre de la vallée de l’Outaouais au point de permettre l’avancée de l’océan. La mer ainsi créée (mer de Champlain) a inondé la région pendant quelque temps. Avec le retrait et la fonte des glaciers, la croûte a commencé à remonter, et la mer s’est peu à peu retirée. Le retrait de la glace avait créé une dépression peu profonde qui, au cours des quelques milliers d’années suivantes, s’est coupée de sa source. Son fond étant en argile, l’eau a été retenue à l’intérieur. Il en est résulté un lac d’eau stagnante nourri uniquement par les précipitations et l’eau souterraine. Des sédiments et des débris organiques s’y sont graduellement accumulés. Les plantes aquatiques, comme les quenouilles et les nymphéas, se sont mises à pousser en périphérie et dans l’eau riche en algues. Lentement, la sphaigne (mousse des marais) a recouvert le lac, et des restes organiques, appelés tourbe, l’ont envahi. La sphaigne n’a pas de racine, elle pousse au-dessus des générations précédentes qui se décomposent pour devenir de la tourbe. À la Mer Bleue, l’accumulation de mousse de tourbe est plus importante dans le centre du lac (plus de six mètres de profondeur) qu’en périphérie. Elle prend ainsi la forme d’un dôme qui dépasse les éléments du paysage qui l’entourent. Source : Commission de la capitale nationale

Villa Epecuén - Provincia de Buenos Aires - Argentina 2021

Canon EOS Rebel 2000

Film: Kodak Color Plus 200

Villa Epecuén, a holiday town on the shore of the lagoon of Epecuén, in the south west of the province of Buenos Aires, was completely flooded in 1985 due to several years of high rain in the area combined with lack of hydraulic work to protect the town. Villa Epecuén remained under the water for more than 10 years and then the water withdrew to the normal level leaving behind the ruins of the once prosperous place. Today it turned into a touristic attraction. Ruined buildings and dead trees is all that remained.

When she was done laying her egg in the sawfly larva, she abruptly withdrew the ovipositor. The membrane is still fully stretched out witih fluid. She seemed to be balancing herself with her antennae as she withdrew from the wood.

Female Long-tailed Giant Ichneumon Wasps (Megarhyssa macrurus ssp. macrurus)

Spring Creek Nature Area, Richardson

My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com

The Borkumriff, an ex German lightship built in 1911, was located in Emden, West Germany and purchased for 63,000 Guilders. It was rebuilt and refitted as a broadcasting vessel at the Karstens-Werft in Emden in 1959. On 18th April 1960, the Borkumriff left Emden, towed by the British Tug Guardsman to a location off Katwijk aan Zee. In June, the Panamanian Government withdrew its flag from the ship, which was registered in an undisclosed country (Guatemala). After the Norderney took over as the home for Radio Veronica, the Borkumriff was sold for scrap and broken up in Zeebrugge.

Petersen Automotive Museum

Los Angeles, California

[from the collection of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. "Drivers Juan-Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss won 9 of 12 races with the W196 in 1954 and 1955 before Mercedes-Benz withdrew from racing."]

MAN 750 HO M 11 A (1967) in München, Germany.

The Metrobus was a family of city buses jointly developed by MAN and Krauss-Maffei in the late 1959. While Krauss-Maffei withdrew from the partnership (and bus production in general) rather early, MAN further developed the Metrobus which remained in production until 1974. Most of these buses were used in Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia with the city of Munich being the largest operator of the type.

MAN 750 HO M 11 A (1962-1974)

6-cyl. MAN diesel engine

96 kW

Passenger capacity, seated/standing: 35+1 / 76

Kerb weight: 8.5 t

It's hard to believe that we're standing on the former main double track of the Grand Trunk Railway linking Montreal and Toronto! And yet, during construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, huge sections of shoreline, including the area where workers had built the railroad in the mid-1850s, were flooded to raise the water level and make way for large ships. A 39-mile section of the railway, between Cornwall and Cardinal,ON was rebuilt inland and opened for service on May 17, 1957, with new stations, infrastructure and spurs to serve industries that needed rail service and were still connected to the old right-of-way. Cornwall's proximity to the U.S. border meant it quickly developed a strong industrial potential, and many of the world's leading industrialists settled here. As well as being served by the Grand Trunk Railway, and from 1919 by the Canadian National Railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway also reached Cornwall via the 27-mile Cornwall Subdivision, connecting to the main line at Soulanges, and the New York Central passed through, linking upstate New York with the Canadian capital, Ottawa. The need for service was so great that an in-house electric railway, the Cornwall Street Electric Railway, sprang up in the city streets, acting as a passenger carrier and serving several companies by interchanging with the Class 1 railroads. Sadly, as is all too often the case, time took its toll and industrial decline struck Cornwall. The NYC withdrew its tracks in 1957, the CPR in the early 90s. The Cornwall Street Electric Railway, or what was left of it, was acquired by CN in 1971 and its employees integrated into the company's ranks. In the early 2000s, CN was still protecting Cornwall with two separate assignments. The first was abolished shortly after, and the second relocated to Coteau-du-Lac around 2005, still operating on a 5-day-per-week basis. Over the next decade, other customers terminated their contracts with CN, or closed their doors altogether.

The 591 job, goes from five days a week to three and finally two, serving the last two railway customers in Cornwall now only on Tuesday and Thursday.

Where eastbound passenger and freight trains once rolled thru this curve, expecting a clear signal indication for the diamond crossing with the NYC half a mile down here, this location now only see rare occasional steel wheels, when 591’s job needed some headroom in order to access Westend Warehouse switch, track CB45 or for photographic purpose like it was the case with today’s pictures. When branching off the actual Kingston subdivision mainline at Wesco, 591 take an usual path to access remaining Cornwall’s industrial area using the former NYC mainline (complete with NYC tie plates still in place !) and the former NYC/GTR/CNR connecting tracks near the diamond location to swing into the former CNR double tracked right of way. Interlocking tower’s foundations can still easily be found along with the concrete base where the rods were once pinned onto the ground, giving proper authority for train movements over the diamond crossing by the tower operator.

BNSF GP39M 2871, a former Southern Pacific GP35, was part of a small fleet of low horsepower units leased to CN and was assigned to Coteau-du-Lac since a week. It was an odd catch to have it as a leader doing the Cornwall Turn.

CN L59121-12

BNSF 2871 CN 4727

Wesco Industrial Spur

Cornwall,ON

July 12th 2024

Prine Miloš specifically choose this location. After Serbia gained autonomy, the Ottomans withdrew to the walled cities. As the range of the cannons from the Belgrade Fortress couldn't reach across the Topčiderska reka, prince selected this area for his future royal compound. The history of the park itself begins in 1830 when the Prince of Serbia Miloš Obrenović started building his personal quarters in the swampy terrain of the Topčider, today one of the major attractions in Belgrade, the famous Milošev konak.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church was constructed in 1905 in downtown Tampa, Florida and is one of the oldest churches in the city of Tampa. The church, located at 509 N. Florida Avenue, is predominantly a Romanesque structure, with other elements. The church is home to Sacred Heart Parish, part of the West Hillsborough Deanery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Petersburg.

The first Catholic parish on Florida's West Coast was established in 1860 and named St. Louis Parish in honor of Fr. Luis de Cancer, a Dominican missionary who was martyred on the shores of Tampa Bay in 1549. The initial wooden-frame building called St. Louis Church was erected on the site where Sacred Heart stands today. In 1888 the Jesuits took over the pastoral responsibilities of the parish, after a serious outbreak of yellow fever in Tampa took the lives of three diocesan priests. Using Tampa as their base, the Jesuits were given the responsibility of all of South Florida by Bishop Moore. In 1905, a new Church was constructed in Romanesque style and the parish was renamed Sacred Heart.

As Tampa grew, so did the parish, and by 1897 it was decided that a new church was needed. Construction on the church began with a groundbreaking on February 16, 1898, with the laying of the cornerstone taking place on February 4, 1900. The dedication of Sacred Heart Church took place on January 15, 1905, and at that time the parish was renamed Sacred Heart Parish.

The architect for the new Sacred Heart Church was Nicholas J. Clayton of Galveston, TX, who designed many Roman Catholic Churches in Texas and throughout the southern United States. The granite and marble structure includes a 135-foot dome, solid oak pews and doors, porcelain tiles, and a Carrara marble altar. Its 70 stained glass windows were designed and manufactured for Sacred Heart by Franz Mayer & Co. of Munich, Germany. The facility is a popular location for weddings, having hosted weddings for some parish families going back as many as six generations.

The parish operated a school, Sacred Heart Academy, which it established in 1931, on Florida Avenue in the city's Tampa Heights neighborhood. However, due to the changing demographics of the immediate area, Sacred Heart Academy was forced to close at the end of the 2011-12 school year. Previously affiliated with Sacred Heart Parish was another Tampa institution, Jesuit High School, founded in 1899, which thrives today.

In 2005, after the 100th anniversary of Sacred Heart Church, the Jesuit community which had long served the parish withdrew in order to concentrate on their academic institutions throughout the South. The fourth bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Most Rev. Robert Lynch, invited the Franciscan Friars of the Most Holy Name of Jesus Province to assume the pastoral responsibilities for the parish. The current pastor is Father George Corrigan, OFM. In 2010 the Diocese of St. Petersburg added a Catholic Heritage Marker to the church exterior, recognizing its historic significance.

Credit for the data above is given to the following website:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Heart_Catholic_Church_(Tampa,_Florida)

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

Took the dogs up for a little early morning hike to Red Rock this morning to savor a little victory in Las Vegas,

There was supposed to be a County Commission meeting today for the developer to try and snake around the previous ruling denying his application to re-zone property adjacent to Red Rock to high density housing, But we got an early Christmas present and due to huge public outcry he withdrew his application....

"Without waivers of conditions, the specific development plan cannot move forward. The applicant agreed to hold his requests in a letter to Commissioner Brager."

saveredrock.com/press-releases/media-alert-gypsum-resourc...

The land of the Enchanted Castle is unique in everyway, populated by thousands of heads carved onto the rocks and on the branches and trunks of the olive trees. This kingdom was once territory of and home to Filippo Bentivegna, who was born in Sciacca in 1888 and emigrated to The United States after his teens, moving from Boston to New York and Chicago. An accident at work and an assault marked his life. In 1919, having returned from the USA after the Great War, he withdrew in solitude into this farmhouse structure, giving life to the court of the kingdom populated by sculpted heads, over which he could reign with absolute authority. Filippo Bentivegna spent his life on the site until his lonely death in 1967. The following year, a collaborator of Jean Dubuffet, Art Brut theorist, arrived in Sciacca and recognised the artistic importance of the work by the “Madman of Sciacca” and so the site was restructured and opened to the public.

Today, some of the Bentivegna heads are displayed at the Museum of Art Brut in Lausanne, established in memory of Dubuffet.

ARRIVA Buses Wales Optare Tempo 2870 - YJ55 BJE is pictured in Aberystwyth on route 550 to Cei Newydd (New Quay) back in the days before Arriva withdrew from South Cambria.

The Portal Of Ondhor by Daniel Arrhakis (2021)

With the music : Eric Gordon — Secunda (With Mild Thunder) [10 Hours] (Beyond Skyrim - Morrowind)

youtu.be/aT-kWWPDZmo

She quickly withdrew her hand, dematerializing almost instantly, she had this power to appear and reappear anywhere, in any timeline just like everyone in her order of Khronos, time travelers of the portal. The lines tattooed on her face were her identity and the identification of the old order almost extinct.

When she opened her eyes she found herself in front of a long corridor whose entrance slowly materialized, flanked by strange warriors whose head resembled the old crows of the kingdom.

Wielding ornate swords, the sitting majestic figures were flanked by two lions who were also richly carved. - Haaa... ! The Portal of Ondhor and the Morghans or the Raven Warriors - Athena said with a sigh after recognizing that place. The Portal with its unique architecture that mixed futuristic cubic geometries and Gothic arches was built by the Guardians of Alborhan in a future dominated by the Megapolis or the Giant Cities of the Future, in another world but whose relationship with Krudhyn seemed distant or unlikely, or maybe not, after all not even she could be absolutely sure. Although she could travel between worlds and in different timelines, they always presented themselves differently when she revisited them.

This time she decided to walk down the long corridor with its gigantic stone columns, after all for some reason it had materialized there and at that moment in time.

A strange, stylized, carved metal lion seemed to welcome her over the entrance arch, at least in her world they were considered old guardians she could trust. At the end of the corridor, a bright light illuminated the entire space and comforted her in her decision.

____________________________________________________

* For our Week Theme in Art Week Gallery Group - April 11 to April 17 :

So Patty withdrew some money.