If your Yahoo! ID is based in Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong or Korea you will only be able to view safe content based on your local Terms of Service so won’t be able to turn SafeSearch off.

In other words that means, that german users can not access photos on flickr that are not flaged "safe" ... only flowers and landscapes for the germans ...

We will not let this happen! Copy and upload this picture to your account - show flickr who we are! Thank you!

Deswegen treten wir gemeinsam in Aktion und zeigen allen, das uns das nicht gefällt was flickr mit uns macht! Füge das Bild zu deinen Favoriten hinzu und poste es!

flickr sperrt uns aus! Und auch dich!

Seit gestern werden für deutsche Nutzer keine Bilder mehr angezeigt, die als 'moderate' oder 'restricted' markiert sind! Es gibt keine Moeglichkeit das umzustellen - das ist eine grobe Unverschämtheit und Frechheit von flickr!

Espanol:

No sé cuando, pero muy recientemente a las cuentas de Alemania, Hong Kong, Corea y Singapur les han prohibido ver las fotos que están en el Safe Search, las mismas en las que a nosotros nos dan la opcíón de ver o no ver. A ellos simplemente se lo prohiben. Chale no?

Francais:

Si votre compte Yahoo! est basé à Singapour, à Hong Kong, en Corée ou en Allemagne, vous ne pourrez voir que les photos qui n'ont pas été marquées comme ayant un contenu qui peut choquer. Toutes les autres ne vous seront pas accessibles. Vous serez donc condamnés à ne voir que des paysages et des fleurs. Il ne faut pas laisser faire ça. Envoyez cette photo sur votre compte pour montrer à Flickr que nous savons nous mobiliser contre la censure !

Spread the image!

The alpine marmot (Marmota marmota) is a large ground-dwelling squirrel, from the genus of marmots. It is found in high numbers in mountainous areas of central and southern Europe, at heights between 800 and 3,200 m (2,600–10,500 ft) in the Alps, Carpathians, Tatras and Northern Apennines. In 1948 they were reintroduced with success in the Pyrenees, where the alpine marmot had disappeared at end of the Pleistocene epoch.

The alpine marmot originates as an animal of Pleistocene cold steppe, exquisitely adapted to this ice-age climate. As such, alpine marmots are excellent diggers, able to penetrate soil that even a pickaxe would have difficulty with, and spend up to nine months per year in hibernation.

Since the disappearance of the Pleistocene cold steppe, the alpine marmot persists in the high altitude alpine meadow. During the colonization of Alpine habitat, the alpine marmot has lost most of its genetic diversity through a bottleneck effect. It could not rebuild its genetic diversity ever since, as its lifestyle adapted to the Ice Age climate slowed its rate of genomic evolution. The alpine marmot is indeed one of the least genetically diverse wild-living animals

An adult alpine marmot is between 43 and 73 cm (17–29 in) in head-and-body length and the tail measures from 13 to 20 cm (5–8 in). The body mass ranges from 1.9 to 8 kg (4.2–17.6 lb), with the animals being significantly lighter in the spring (just after hibernation) than in the autumn (just before hibernation). The alpine marmot is sometimes considered the heaviest squirrel species, although some other marmot species have a similar weight range, making it unclear exactly which is the largest. Its coat is a mixture of blonde, reddish and dark gray fur. While most of the alpine marmot's fingers have claws, its thumbs have nails.

As its name suggests, the alpine marmot ranges throughout the European Alps, ranging through alpine areas of France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Slovenia and Austria. They have also been introduced elsewhere with sub-populations in the Pyrenees, France's Massif Central, Jura, Vosges, Black Forest, Apennine Mountains, and the Romanian Carpathians. The Tatra marmot (Marmota marmota latirostris Kratochvíl, 1961) represents an endemic subspecies of Alpine marmot that originated during the Quaternary period. Tatra marmots inhabit Tatry Mountains and Nízke Tatry Mountains. Marmots are abundant in their core population; in the Romanian Carpathians, for example, the population is estimated at 1,500 individuals. Alpine marmots prefer alpine meadows and high-altitude pastures, where colonies live in deep burrow systems situated in alluvial soil or rocky areas.

Marmots may be seen "sun bathing", but actually this is often on a flat rock and it is believed they are actually cooling and possibly this is a strategy to deal with parasites. Marmots are temperature sensitive and an increase in temperature can cause habitat loss for the species as a whole.

Alpine marmots eat plants such as grasses and herbs, as well as grain, insects, spiders and worms. They prefer young and tender plants over any other kind, and hold food in their forepaws while eating. They mainly emerge from their burrows to engage in feeding during the morning and afternoon, as they are not well suited to heat, which may result in them not feeding at all on very warm days. When the weather is suitable, they will consume large amounts of food in order to create a layer of fat on their body, enabling them to survive their long hibernation period.

When creating a burrow, they use both their forepaws and hind feet to assist in the work—the forepaws scrape away the soil, which is then pushed out of the way by the hind feet. If there are any stones in the way, the alpine marmot will remove them with its teeth provided that the stones aren't too large. "Living areas" are created at the end of a burrow, and are often lined with dried hay, grass and plant stems. Any other burrow tunnels that go nowhere are used as toilet areas. Once burrows have been completed, they only host one family, but are often enlarged by the next generation, sometimes creating very complex burrows over time. Each alpine marmot will live in a group that consists of several burrows, and which has a dominant breeding pair. Alpine marmots are very defensive against intruders, and will warn them off using intimidating behavior, such as beating of the tail and chattering of the teeth, and by marking their territory with their scent. One can often see an alpine marmot "standing" while they keep a look-out for potential predators or other dangers. Warnings are given, by emitting a series of loud whistles, after which members of the colony may be seen running for cover.

An alpine marmot at the end of summer. Note the fattened belly.

The mating season for alpine marmots occurs in the spring, right after their hibernation period comes to a close, which gives their offspring the highest possible chance of storing enough fat to survive the coming winter. Alpine marmots are able to breed once they reach an age of two years. Dominant females tend to suppress reproduction of subordinates by being antagonistic towards them while they are pregnant which causes stress and kills the young. Once the female is pregnant, she will take bedding materials (such as grass) into the burrow for when she gives birth after a gestation period of 33–34 days. Each litter consists of between one and seven babies, though this number is usually three. The babies are born blind and will grow dark fur within several days. The weaning period takes a further forty days, during which time the mother will leave the young in the burrow while she searches for food. After this period, the offspring will come out of the burrow and search for solid food themselves. Their fur becomes the same color as adult alpine marmots by the end of the summer, and after two years they will have reached their full size. If kept in captivity, alpine marmots can live up to 15–18 years.

As the summer begins to end, alpine marmots will gather old stems in their burrows in order to serve as bedding for their impending hibernation, which can start as early as October. They seal the burrow with a combination of earth and their own faeces. Once winter arrives, alpine marmots will huddle next to each other and begin hibernation, a process which lowers their heart rate to five beats per minute and breathing to 1–3 breaths per minute. During hibernation their stored fat supplies are used slowly, which usually allows them to survive the winter. Their body temperature will drop to almost the same as the air around them, although their heart and breathing rates will speed up if the environment approaches freezing point. Some alpine marmots will starve to death due to their layers of fat running out; this is most likely to happen in younger individuals.

For more information, please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_marmot

We were able to cross off another bucket list item when we did an overnight stay at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. It was pricey, but the experience was like none other we've had at a hotel. The service was impeccable, the food delicious and all employees were very friendly and helpful. Just to sit on the porch for as long as we did watching the ships, boats and ferries out on the lake was very relaxing.

Have not been able to precisely identify this type of Octocoral - which can be found at various places in Okinawa, including under Tengan pier, where this was photographed. They can be 6-8 feet long, about 40cm in width, and the color is fantastic - there is literally no adjustment to color in this picture save for (slight) increase in saturation. This was taken with a +10 external diopter on a 60mm macro lens - the former probably being not desirable for this particular picture (the 60mm iitself would have been sufficient and superior I think).

The Pyramid/Tesla Energy Connection

Nikola Tesla regarded the Earth as one of the plates of a capacitor, the ionosphere forming the other plate. Recent measurements have shown that the voltage gradient between the two is 400,000 volts. With this principle, he said he was able, through his invention, to provide free energy to anyone, inexhaustible in quantity, anywhere on earth. That is why he had built a first prototype, the Wardenclyffe Tower, in which was to apply his famous pyramid effect. What is it exactly?

"The lines of force of the electric charge additioned to the fields from the sun act on the walls of a pyramid.The magnetic equipotentials show a high magnetic density in the summit. The voltage of the electric field increases of 100 V per meter. The terrestrial negative field reaches its maximum value at the summit of the pyramid; at the top of the pyramid of Giza, the voltage is 14,600 V. This pyramid is itself a capacitor, it accumulates an electrical charge. If an excess load is added, a discharge occurs at the top, and, as we know currently, that top was adorned with a solid gold capstone, an excellent conductor."Tesla wanted his tower to be high to increase the voltage at the top. He wanted to create an artificial lightning in the tower. In the discharge tube of a natural flash , the temperature rises to 30 000 ° C. Tesla did not want to manage such high temperatures because it is a waste of energy. Tesla's Wardenclyffe tower would have used a transformer to produce a high voltage, which would have generated, instead of a natural lightning, a "discharge of high energetic ion abundance".To accentuate the pyramid effect, he had imagined to give the tower the octagonal shape of a pyramid topped by a half sphere. Why octogonal? Tesla does not explain, but when we read his memoirs, we understand that he sensed a scientific discipline that did not yet exist, geobiology, and the theory of waves of forms. From the perspective of traditional physics, the fact that the tower is octagonal is insignificant. It could be square or have an infinite number of faces, that is conic. "In all cases the voltage would have been the same, its shape just gave it stability." This raises two objections. The octagonal shape is not a guarantee of stability comparing to the square shape. If he was really looking for stability, a hyperbolic rise, like that of the Eiffel Tower, would have been better suited. The octagonal shape has very special wave characteristics, it is possible that this pure genius sensed it without being able to theorize it.As for the square shape of the pyramids, the engineer Gustave Eiffel has chosen it for his tower, precisely because it is a guarantee of stability, as the four legs and the widening elevation. Built in 1889, our national tower was already fairly well known to be his model. As Wardenclyffe Tower, the Eiffel Tower has a pyramid effect which makes it pick at the top, even without a storm, a DC current. Its lightning rod "makes" thus some electricity that goes down in a cable to be delivered to the earth.This waste is not limited to the Eiffel Tower. All roofs and metal frames make the same production, stupidly given to the earth. The Vril energy is free, it is its biggest flaw in a world of profit. The fact that it is completely environmentally friendly and inexhaustible has no interest for the capital. The fact that it is beneficial for both the human mind and the health of people, animals and plants thanks to the virtues of water of lightning, has even much less interest for profiteers. Unfortunately, Tesla was never able to finish his tower. He did not have the opportunity to carry out the planned experiments on Long Island that sought to bring rain in the deserts. Others before him had managed that. We know that Egypt has not always been desertic. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that "Egypt is a gift of the Nile." But it was in the 5th century BC. Since then, its climate has not changed much, and yet it has not always been so. The predynastic Egypt was rather a gift of the pyramids... "In the pre-dynastic period, the Egyptian climate is much less arid than it is nowadays. Large areas of Egypt are covered with savanna and traversed by herds of ungulates. The foliage and wildlife then are much more prolific and the Nile region is home to large populations of waterfowl. Hunting is a common activity for the Egyptians and it is also during this period that many animals are domesticated for the first time."

www.apparentlyapparel.com/news/the-pyramid-energy-tesla-c...

"....If we could produce electric effects of the required quality, this whole planet and the conditions of existence on it could be transformed. The sun raises the water of the oceans and winds drive it to distant regions where it remains in state of most delicate balance. If it were in our power to upset it when and wherever desired, this mighty life-sustaining stream could be at will controlled. We could irrigate arid deserts, create lakes and rivers and provide motive power in unlimited amount. This would be the most efficient way of harnesing the sun to the uses of man......" ( Nikola Tesla, June 1919 )

Nikola Tesla, inventor of alternating current motors, did the basic research for constructing electromagnetic field lift-and-drive aircraft/space craft. From 1891 to 1893, he gave a set of lectures and demonstrations to groups of electrical engineers. As part of each show, Tesla stood in the middle of the stage, using his 6' 6" height, with an assistant on either side, each 7 feet away. All 3 men wore thick cork or rubber shoe soles to avoid being electrically grounded. Each assistant held a wire, part of a high voltage, low current circuit. When Tesla raised his arms to each side, violet colored electricity jumped harmlessly across the gaps between the men. At high voltage and frequency in this arrangement, electricity flows over a surface, even the skin, rather than into it. This is a basic circuit which could be used by aircraft / spacecraft.

The hull is best made double, of thin, machinable, slightly flexible ceramic. This becomes a good electrical insulator, has no fire danger, resists any damaging effects of severe heat and cold, and has the hardness of armor, besides being easy for magnetic fields to pass through.

The inner hull is covered on it's outside by wedge shaped thin metal sheets of copper or aluminum, bonded to the ceramic. Each sheet is 3 to 4 feet wide at the horizontal rim of the hull and tapers to a few inches wide at the top of the hull for the top set of metal sheets, or at the bottom for the bottom set of sheets. Each sheet is separated on either side from the next sheet by 1 or 2 inches of uncovered ceramic hull. The top set of sheets and bottom set of sheets are separated by about 6 inches of uncovered ceramic hull around the horizontal rim of the hull.

The outer hull protects these sheets from being short-circuited by wind blown metal foil (Air Force radar confusing chaff), heavy rain or concentrations of gasoline or kerosene fumes. If unshielded, fuel fumes could be electrostatically attracted to the hull sheets, burn and form carbon deposits across the insulating gaps between the sheets, causing a short-circuit. The space, the outer hull with a slight negative charge, would absorb hits from micrometeorites and cosmic rays (protons moving at near the speed of light). Any danger of this type that doesn't already have a negative electric charge would get a negative charge in hitting the outer hull, and be repelled by the metal sheets before it could hit the inner hull. This wouldn't work well on a very big meteor, I might add.

The hull can be made in a variety of shapes; sphere, football, disc, or streamlined rectangle or triangle, as long as these metal sheets, "are of considerable area and arranged along ideal enveloping surfaces of very large radii of curvature," p. 85. "My Inventions", by Nikola Tesla.

The power plant for this machine can be a nuclear fission or fusion reactor for long range and long-term use to run a steam engine, which turns the generators. A short range machine can use a hydrogen oxygen fuel cell to run a low-voltage motor to turn the generators, occasionally recharging by hovering next to high voltage power lines and using antennas mounted on the outer hull to take in the electricity. The short-range machine can also have electricity beamed to it from a generating plan on a long-range aircraft / spacecraft or on the ground.

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 24, 1987, Vol 109, No. 328, "The Forever Plane" by Geoffrey Rowan, p. D1, D7.)

("Popular Science", Vol 232, No. 1, Jan. 1988, "Secret of Perpetual Flight? Beam Power Plane," by Arthur Fisher, p. 62-65, 106)

One standard for the generators is to have the same number of magnets as field coils. Tesla's preferred design was a thin disc holding 480 magnets with 480 field coils wired in series surrounding it in close tolerance. At 50 revolutions per minute, it produces 19,400 cycles per second.

The electricity is fed into a number of large capacitors, one for each metal sheet. An automatic switch, adjustable in timing by the pilot, closes, and as the electricity jumps across the switch, back and forth, it raises it's own frequency; a switch being used for each capacitor.

The electricity goes into a Tesla transformer; again, one transformer for each capacitor. In an oil tank to insulate the windings and for cooling, and supported internally by wood, or plastic, pipe and fittings, each Tesla transformer looks like a short wider pipe that is moved along a longer, narrower pipe by an insulated non-electric cable handle. The short pipe, the primary, is 6 to 10 windings (loops) of wire connected in series to the long pipe. The secondary is 460 to 600 windings, at the low voltage and frequency end.

The insulated non-electric cable handle is used through a set of automatic controls to move the primary coil to various places on the secondary coil. This is the frequency control. The secondary coil has a low frequency and voltage end and a maximum voltage and frequency end. The greater the frequency the electricity, the more it pushes against the earth's electrostatic and electromagnetic fields.

The electricity comes out of the transformer at the high voltage end and goes by wire through the ceramic hull to the wide end of the metal sheet. The electricity jumps out on and flows over the metal sheet, giving off a very strong electromagnetic field, controlled by the transformer. At the narrow end of the metal sheet, most of the high-voltage push having been given off; the electricity goes back by wire through the hull to a circuit breaker box (emergency shut off), then to the other side of the generators.

In bright sunlight, the aircraft / spacecraft may seem surrounded by hot air, a slight magnetic distortion of the light. In semi-darkness and night, the metal sheets glow, even through the thin ceramic outer hull, with different colors. The visible light is a by-product of the electricity flowing over the metal sheets, according to the frequencies used.

Descending, landing or just starting to lift from the ground, the transformer primaries are near the secondary weak ends and therefore, the bottom set of sheets glow a misty red. Red may also appear at the front of the machine when it is moving forward fast, lessening resistance up front. Orange appears for slow speed. Orange-yellow is for airplane-type speeds. Green and blue are for higher speeds. With a capacitor addition, making it oversized for the circuit, the blue becomes bright white, like a searchlight, with possible risk of damaging the metal sheets involved. The highest visible frequency is violet, like Tesla's stage demonstrations, used for the highest speed along with the bright white. The colors are nearly coherent, of a single frequency, like a laser.

A machine built with a set of super conducting magnets would simplify and reduce electricity needs from a vehicle's transformer circuits to the point of flying along efficiently and hovering with little electricity.

When Tesla was developing arc lights to run on alternating current, there was a bothersome high-pitched whine, whistle, or buzz, due to the electrodes rapidly heating and cooling. Tesla put this noise in the ultrasonic range with the special transformer already mentioned. The aircraft / spacecraft gives off such noises when working at low frequencies.

Timing is important in the operation of this machine. For every 3 metal sheets, when the middle one is briefly turned off, the sheet on either side is energized, giving off the magnetic field. The next instant, the middle sheet is energized, while the sheet on either side is briefly turned off. There is a time delay in the capacitors recharging themselves, so at any time, half of all the metal sheets are energized and the other half are recharging, alternating all around the inner hull. This balances the machine, giving it very good stability. This balance is less when fewer of the circuits are in use.

Fairly close, the aircraft / spacecraft produces heating of persons and objects on the ground; but by hovering over an area at low altitude for maybe 5 or 10 minutes, the machine also produces a column of very cold air down to the ground. As air molecules get into the strong magnetic fields that the machine is transmitting out, the air molecules become polarized and from lines, or strings, of air molecules. The normal movement of the air is stopped, and there is suddenly a lot more room for air molecules in this area, so more air pours in. This expansion and the lack of normal air motion make the area intensely cold.

This is also the reason that the aircraft / spacecraft can fly at supersonic speeds without making sonic booms. As air flows over the hull, top and bottom, the air molecules form lines as they go through the magnetic fields of the metal sheet circuits. As the air molecules are left behind, they keep their line arrangements for a short time; long enough to cancel out the sonic boom shock waves.

Outside the earth's magnetic field, another propulsion system must be used, which relies on the first. You may have read of particle accelerators, or cyclotrons, or atomsmashers. A particle accelerator is a circular loop of pipe that, in cross-section, is oval. In a physics laboratory, most of the air in it is pumped out. The pipe loop is given a static electric charge; a small amount of hydrogen or other gas is given the same electric charge so the particles won't stick to the pipe. A set of electromagnets all around the pipe loop turn on and off, one after the other, pushing with one magnetic pole and pulling with the next, until those gas particles are racing around the pipe loop at nearly the speed of light. Centrifugal force makes the particles speed closer to the outside edge of the pipe loop, still within the pipe. The particles break down into electrons, or light and other wavelengths, protons or cosmic rays, and neutrons if more than hydrogen is put in the accelerator.

At least 2 particle accelerators are used to balance each other and counter each other's tendency to make the craft spin. Otherwise, the machine would tend to want to start spinning, following the direction of the force being applied to the particles. The accelerators push in opposite directions.

As the pilot and crew travel in space, outside the magnetic field of a world, water from a tank is electrically separated into oxygen and hydrogen. Waste carbon dioxide that isn't used for the onboard garden, and hydrogen (helium if the machine is using a fusion reactor) is slowly, constantly fed into the inside curves of both accelerators.

The high-speed particles go out through straight lengths of pipe, charged like the loops and in speeding out into space, push the machine along. Doors control which pips the particles leave from. This allows very long-range acceleration and later deceleration at normal (earth) gravity. This avoids the severe problems of weightlessness, including lowered physical abilities of the crew.

It is possible to use straight-line particle accelerators, even as few as one per machine, but these don't seem as able to get the best machine speed for the least amount of particles pushed out.

Using a constant acceleration of 32.2 feet per second per second provides earth normal gravity in deep space and only 2 gravities of stress in leaving the earth's gravity field. It takes, not counting air resistance, 18 minutes, 58.9521636 seconds to reach the 25,000 miles per hour speed to leave the earth's gravity field. It takes about 354 days, 12 hours, 53 minutes and 40 seconds (about) to reach the speed of light - 672,487,072.7 miles per hour. It takes the same distance to decelerate as it does to speed up, but this cuts down the time delay that one would have in conventional chemical rocketry enormously, for a long journey.

A set of super conducting magnets can be charged by metal sheet circuits, within limits, to whatever frequency is needed and will continue to transmit that magnetic field frequency almost indefinitely.

A short-wave radio can be used to find the exact frequencies that an aircraft / spacecraft is using, for each of the colors it may show whole a color television can show the same overall color frequency that the nearby, but not extremely close, craft is using This is limited, as a machine traveling at the speed of a jet airliner may broadcast in a frequency range usually used for radar sets.

The craft circuits override lower frequency, lower voltage electric circuits within and near their electromagnetic fields. One source briefly mentioned a 1941 incident, where a short-wave radio was used to override automobile ignition systems, up to 3 miles away. When the short-wave radio was turned off, the cars could work again. How many UFO encounters have been reported in which automobile ignition systems have suddenly stopped?

I figure that things would not be at all pleasant for drivers of modern cars with computer controlled engine and ignition systems. Computer circuitry is sensitive to small changes in voltage and a temporary wrong-way voltage surge may wipe the computer memory out. It could mean that a number of drivers would suddenly be stranded with their cars not working should such a craft fly low over a busy highway. Only diesel engines, already warmed up, and Stanley Steamer type steam engine cares are able to continue working in a strong electromagnetic field. In May, 1988, it was reported that the U.S. Army had lost 5 Blackhawk helicopters and 22 crewmen in crashes caused by ordinary commercial radio broadcasting overriding the computer control circuits of those helicopters. Certainly, computer circuits for this aircraft / spacecraft can and must be designed to overcome this weakness.

One construction arrangement for this craft to avoid such interference is for the metal sheet circuits to be more sharply tuned. Quartz or other crystals can be used in capacitors; in a very large number of low-powered, single frequency circuits, or as part of a frequency control for the metal sheet circuits.

The aircraft / spacecraft easily overrides lower frequency and lower voltage electric circuits up to a 6 mile wide circle around it, but the effect is usually not tuned for such a drastic show. It can be used for fire fighting: by hovering at a medium-low height at low frequency, it forms a double negative pole magnet of itself and the ground, the sides being a rotation of positive magnetic pole.

It polarizes the column of air in this field. The air becomes icy cold. If it wouldn't put the fire out, it would slow it down.

Tesla went broke in the early 1900's building a combination radio and electric power broadcasting station. The theory and experiments were correct but the financiers didn't want peace and prosperity for all.

The Japanese physicist who developed super conducting material with strong magnetism allows for a simplified construction of the aircraft / spacecraft. Blocks of this material can be used in place of the inner hull metal sheets. By putting electricity in each block, the pilot can control the strength of the magnetic field it gives off and can reduce the field strength by draining some of the electric charge. This allows the same amount of work to be done with vastly less electricity used to do it.

It is surprising that Jonathan Swift, in his "Gulliver's Travels", 1726, third book, "A Voyage to Laputa", described an imagined magnetic flying island that comes close to being what a large super conducting aircraft / spacecraft can be build as, using little or no electric power to hover and mover around.

www.thelivingmoon.com/41pegasus/02files/Tesla_Saucer.html

Before our study group, Summerville, South Carolina #2, made a trip to A.R.E headquarters in Virginia Beach, Va., in April, 2009, Jerry Ingle, set into motion an ideal that generated a monumental synchronicity. For years, Jerry, a long-time member of our group, had been interested in Nikola Tesla. He saw many parallels between his talents and those of Edgar Cayce and hoped to somehow connect them. As a psychic, Edgar Cayce had been consulted by engineers about their inventions. Cayce was willing to help as long as it would ultimately be of service to humanity. While there are suggestions that both Thomas Edison and his former associate, Nikola Tesla, consulted Cayce separately; there is no documentation in the A.R.E. archives.

Nikola Tesla was an electrical engineer who invented the alternating current Niagara power system that made Edison's direct current obsolete. He sold Westinghouse 40 patents that broke the General Electric monopoly. In 1893 he demonstrated the use of wireless radio control with a torpedo-like boat. He invented wireless transmission of electricity, an electric car that ran by tapping into the electricity of the Earth, the microwave, and the TV remote control, just to name a few. A court recently ruled that while Marconi had been given credit for the invention of the radio and made a fortune on it, Tesla was the true inventor.

Tesla was concerned with harnessing nature to meet the needs of humankind and foresaw the end of World War I as a synthesis of history, philosophy, and science,. He had the amazing ability to construct a machine in his mind and then, by operating the device in his mind, make improvements to the design. He could develop and perfect his inventions by drawing only upon the creative forces, without actually touching anything material. Just as the Cayce readings suggest, "Mind is the builder, physical is the result."

Another inventor that Edgar Cayce met was a man named Marion L. Stansell. During World War I, while stationed in France, Stansell had a near death experience with a vision. During the experience, a "spirit guide" escorted him to another dimension where he was given a formula for a mechanical device. He was told that this device would save the planet from environmental destruction in the next millennium.

On February 1, 1928, Edgar Cayce gave a reading which confirmed that Stansell was able to see the blueprints for a revolutionary type of motor in his dreams and visions. According to the readings, the motor was designed in the spirit realm by De Witt Clinton, deceased governor of New York, who in his last incarnation was the force behind the development of the Erie Canal.

Stansell needed the assistance of Edgar Cayce to relay precise technical information from Clinton in the spirit realm to Stansell and a team of like-minded entrepreneurs in the material world. The Stansell motor readings were conducted over a two-year period. One could speculate that Mr. Cayce did the same for Nikola Tesla, and that these readings were a continuation of that work, but if so, there is no record of it.

Jerry believed that there was a deep connection between the work of Cayce and Tesla and their interest in the connection between electricity and psychic phenomena. At A.R.E., Jerry found his way to the vault, where the Cayce records are kept, hoping to discover a way to get these plans into the hands of present-day inventors.

There, he and an A.R.E. volunteer named Harry talked excitedly for some time about Tesla. Suddenly, a man came to the door of the vault. "Does anybody know if there was ever a connection between Edgar Cayce and Nikola Tesla?"

"Here is the guy who can tell you," said Harry as he pointed toward Jerry. Jerry turned to face Nikola Lonchar — the President of Nikola Tesla's Inventors Club, a man who was dedicated to locating and preserving Tesla's work. The organization was made up of scientists who wanted to be sure Tesla's work was not lost! This was the first visit to A.R.E. by anyone from the Tesla organization.

Jerry was able to supply the visitor with the information he needed. The two sat in the lobby of the A.R.E. Visitor Center, oblivious to their surroundings, talking about an interest that held them both captive. Jerry was invited to speak at the next Nikola Tesla Inventors conference.

Nikola Lonchar was at A.R.E. for only one day. During this small window of time, he and Jerry had converged at the same place, at the same time, both equipped with a desire to be of service to Cayce, to Tesla, and to humanity. That's synchronicity in motion.

www.edgarcayce.org/about-us/blog/blog-posts/synchronicity...

I was able to get out today and stretch my legs up the Herman Creek Trail. Sadly not very eventful or photogenic, but I was able to get in 18 miles of hiking. Nobody at the Mud Lake cutoff or headed up to Tom Like Mountain, I had the trail to myself except for the last 1.5 miles back to the car.

I was only able to get just one shot . . . fortunately it turned out to be a good one. It’s such a thrill when I have an encounter with him and more of a thrill to get a picture!

And it’s so sad what he has done to the neighborhood and my little darlings! It truly is a love hate relationship!

United Airlines Boeing 737-824 N36280 cn 31598/1423 IAD - This is my very last United 737NG - Happy that I was able to finally close the fleet of 329 NGs It took me 25 years This particular aircraft was avoiding me for the past 6 years as it was based in Guam

Not able to go out these days, so this little garlic took some steps on the kitchen table to cheer me up... or did I just dream?

What events have conspired to unanimously lead me to today's monologue, I cannot say. Both cannot because the circumstances are mysterious and altogether otherworldly (if the word otherworldly may be used to describe events one does not understand), and cannot because even if I were able to find the words with which to describe such nefarious affairs, I am afraid that I would not have the appropriate amount of energy to force them across my lips. I am at a loss, my friends. The handbasket paradise I so cherishingly presented to you all last time has all but vanished, without so much as a trace, leaving me in a miserable combined state of stupor and torture. You may even be inclined to say that I've gone to hell in a handbasket, until you realize that the method of transportation in your idiom is paradoxically the exact device which is missing in this scenario! Oh, those beautiful, cursed things must only have appeared in great numbers before so as to taunt me and haunt me, to give me the sweet experience of resting their bracketed handles along my arm and contentedly placing items within them while browsing the aisles of this Hernando Walmart, knowing all along that ripping said handles out of my comfortable, relaxed grip would prove the ultimate cruelty! Why, to this day, I even sometimes, between my elbow and wrist, feel the faint ghostly linger of of two objects attached to and gracefully supporting an open container in which one may place a small number of goods, large enough to necessitate some mode of storage but not nearly as many as would require a bulkier, metal contraption which would be haplessly wheeled around in an unforigiving endless cycle of attempting to navigate amongst other such contraptions and wind up at the desired destinations with zero interference... OH! what terror! what sorrow! Whoever said “'tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all” has clearly never suffered the unenviable fate of having only been graced by the wonderful, easily transportable presence of many mulitple handbaskets for such a painfully short period of time! Dear readers, I admit to you that, exhausted as I was upon this loss, for a span of several months I again abandoned my pursuit of handbaskets. I had learned that there was absolutely no reward, indeed that there was in addition punishment, in continuing my efforts. I was a broken man.

But over time, I healed. I did, I did. It is unbelievable, I know. But when one is presented with a haul of groceries that need some method of conveyance and only one manner with which to accomplish this objective, he is inevitably converted to that membership of the masses, that despised mecca of the shopping cart pushers. Trust me, I was an unwilling convert, but I had no other choice, no other alternative. And so I was, to the point of healing about as well as I could when – of course! – I spotted this! Yes, this green scum dared to disgrace my eyeballs! Indubitably I should have expected that these sneaky sons of picnic hampers would come back for another round of wretched, dishonorable game play. For, to be sure, this is all a game to them! These handbaskets, I have come to discover, know no more than how to inflict merciless pain on a man whose only desire is to have a reasonable alternative to rolling a giant four-wheeled bucket around a store. This particular barbarity, I surmise, is one and the same as that which initially prompted me to commence the fateful search for more of his party of monstrous brethren, only with a new coat of hideous green paint serving as a purposefully ineffective disguise so as to mock me and my original assessment of the situation as something to be joyous about. In fact, I scoff at myself for emoting as such! I have seen him three times now, in various placements around the salesfloor as before, but only bothered to photograph him this once, not out of excitement as previously (like I would have been apt to do in my younger, innocent days), but to out him once and for all as a menace to handbasket-loving society. The truth is out there: handbaskets are not a reasonable alternative to shopping carts after all. Rather, they are, quite simply... MEAINE-FACED JERKS! (sob, sob) Do not expect another update from me, my friends. My handbasket-hunting days (sob) are over. I resign. You've won.

You hear me?

YOU'VE WON, YOU BLACK-HEARTED BASKETS!!

(sob)

(c) 2017 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

When we were able to capture this amazing photo of one of Emma's Puffer fish she was acting as my art director at the time which is why I included her name on this shot. When it comes to fish, Emma really knows her subject. As a photographer, I told her that if you shoot a THOUSAND FRAMES and ONE is a hit, such as this one, then you have had a good shoot, because it makes it all worthwhile. On the night this was taken, we had an EXCEPTIONAL SHOOT !!! Thanks Emma !

Haven't been able to upload in aaggeess and I have so much stuff waiting I want to put up! Hopefully I can get a bit more onto it asap! This spot was an abandoned brewery near a wedding I shot a few weeks ago and was super cool to explore. Sketchy as hell too haha I'm also going to the vivid light show tonight which I'm super keen for, hopefully I can get some rad shots out of that :)

Able to see 3 Wilson's Phalaropes (Phalaropus tricolor), one female and two males feeding in the marsh at Horicon Marsh NWR in Wisconsin during spring migration 2021. One of the two males observed.

I was able to get the shot I wanted of the track evaluation train leaving Withrow. From there they had a straight shot to Somerset whereas I did not. After I made my way back to Stillwater and onto the highway, through the stoplights etc. I had all I could do to catch them by New Richmond. The sun was awfully high and I was going to let the train go and move on to other pursuits after one more shot. I decided on a location I seldom use on the east edge of town at 140th St. There is an s-curve here but also plenty of clutter. A train this short squanders the curves a bit but did lend itself to a tight framing. The gates in the background are already raising on County K/East First St. after a brief delay. July 28, 2024.

You might be able to tell from the height of the Sun, this is long after I’m usually gone from the overlook. Sunrise was as dull as you can imagine with the Sun fading in and out of view with each cloud blowing through the valley. So sunrise was the low point of the morning. From there, the color just kept getting better and better.

From the overlook at Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville, Alabama.

Nikon D7500 — Nikon 18-300mm F6.3 ED VR

85mm

F8@1/1,250th

ISO 400

DSB_5345.JPG

©Don Brown 2024

I wasn't able to be at the actual greening as I had some important thing to do in the morning. I came to the river right after noon - and took this.

Please scroll down (in comments) to see the view from this vantage point since 2006.

On Yahoo News Gallery St. Patrick's Day/

Able Coaches of Edgware used to operate this DAF MB200 LAG Galaxy. CLJ 923Y was new to Amport & District and was seen in Eastbourne on 19th July, 1997.

Able to find a Bell's Vireo where they generally return each year at the Greater Rockford Airport on top of the Bell Bowl Prairie area.

I was able to look right into this large lotus blossom as two bees approached. I sometimes saw as many as three or four on a single blossom.

View LARGE for a good look at the bees.

Trying to catch up with photos taken on a great day spent with my daughter, back on 17 August 2024.

On 17 August 2024, my daughter had a free day and was able to join me for a full day of driving and visiting three different farms. That weekend, it was Alberta Open Farms Day, which means that owners can register to take part in the event, opening their farms to the public.

A Western Kingbird was seen on the drive E of Calgary, on the way to our first farm location. The barn in this photo was also seen en route. I had seen this beautiful old barn years ago (photo posted in comments below) and was delighted to see that it is still standing.

One of the farms, the first one we had decided to visit, was east of Calgary. One of the others was south (just SE) and the last one was SW of the city. This meant lots of fast, highway driving to save on time, stopping only several times to take a few quick photos.

I had seen Mangalitsa pigs before, each year that I took part in the Christmas Bird Count covering the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve. They were being raised by Steven Tannas. Both my daughter and I love pigs, so Eh Farms sounded a great place to visit.

"Eh Farms is a local, family-owned Alberta pig farm specializing in Red Mangalitsa Pigs. Our Mangalitsas are sustainably raised for 2 years in their natural environment eating an all plant-based ration, grass-pastured, and a fodder enhanced diet through the winter months.

Manga’s are known for their free-range, foraging, and natural diet – one of the reasons why the pork and lard produced from these pigs is so healthy to add to our own diets! These local pigs forage around our Alberta farm, eating a natural diet filled with vegetables, fruits, and grains, in addition to the nutrients they find on the ground. Because the pigs spend most of their time in the pasture snacking, they get nice and plump, a key part in what makes their meat so tasty!

The other pig breeds produced and sold to traditional grocery stores and markets are often grown quickly and contain very little fat, resulting in a less juicy cut. Not our Manga’s! Our hairy pigs are known for their mouthwatering flavour and unbelievable taste!

Mangalitsa meat has pure white fat! But not the bad type of fat you think of when you hear the word ‘bacon’, the good kind – monosaturated fat!

Monosaturated fats are a healthy fat that is necessary to have in our diets. Mangalitsa pork contains a pure and beneficial fat that is rich." From the EH Farms website.

This farm has a nice red barn and another attractive structure (shed, storage?). A large, white dog that was resting, caught our attention, too.

A beautiful Red-tailed Hawk was perched on the fence where the pigs were foraging. Because of the wildfire smoke and haze, I almost missed seeing it. Such gorgeous feathers.

From this farm, it was a long drive south, eventually arriving at the second farm on our list. This was Tierra Flores Florals and Botanicals, near High River.

After enjoying our time there, we drove W to our final stopping place, Hartell Homestead, where they raise amazing Highland Cattle. We were lucky because several of the animals were close to the fence. Oh, those young ones - so adorable! Another day, I will have to post a video of them.

We had made three great choices for the day and would be happy to visit all three maybe next year. A most enjoyable day, and so happy to have shared it all with my daughter.

Rick was able to converse directly with our Guaraní host in Spanish -- a second language for both of them -- rather than the guide translating everything. They forged a real connection, and he gave Rick a necklace. We asked the guide if he always does that; she said she'd never seen him do it before.

The Guaraní are indigenous inhabitants of Paraguay (where Guaraní is a official language) and nearby regions. The village here, in Atlantic Forest just outside Puerto Iguazu in Argentina, can no longer hunt and trap because of forest fragmentation, though our host demonstrated scale models of various ingenious traps. However, they still practice traditional agriculture -- our host said, "If we do not do that, how are we still Guaraní?"

A low winter sun finds ÖBB's 1293 193 pulling strongly through Bernolákovo with a uniform rake of CMA CGA shipping containers.

This particular Vectron is one of well over 100 such locomotives supplied to Rail Cargo Group (Rail Cargo Austria - RCA), part of the ÖBB-Holding AG group by Siemens Mobility and built at their factory in Munich-Allach.

An able seaman (AB*) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles (thanks once again Wiki).

According to current maritime data, french-based CMA CGA are the world's third largest operator in the global container shipping business with a market share of just under 13 percent. In view of that figure it is almost impossible to speculate how many AB's have been involved at some time in the transportation of the containers making up this lengthy consist.

*wouldn't that be an AS?

I was able to capture some rather amazing plates during my stay in Bremen, with this spot being up there, an Audi A5 from Liechtenstein. This is the first Liechtensteiner I've been able to successfully capture, after completely failing to capture a van from FL when travelling through Basque Country in northern Spain last year. To be honest, I didn't expect to see a Liechtenstein plate in Bremen, but anything is possible in the biggest German cities really.

Liechtenstein is one of the smallest countries in Europe, sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria. Given that it's only 25km tall, plates from FL are quite a rarity to spot throughout Europe. The plates follow a similar look to Swiss plates, though are black in colour, with white text. On a black car, like this Audi A5, it looks pretty amazing in my opinion.

Bremen, Germany

Imagine not being able to step outside your door because there is no solid ground beyond your simple wooden house. Imagine having to do everything – laundry, gardening, shopping, visiting, everything – from a boat. Imagine having to paddle or row everywhere. Imagine not being able to go for a walk or a run. That is life on Inle Lake in the heart of the Shan State, Myanmar.

As our boats chug between the rows of houses, locals watch from the windows of their modest homes.

For the accompanying PhotoBlog, please visit:

www.ursulasweeklywanders.com/every-day-life/life-on-the-w...

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

I was fortunate enough to have the time free to be able to return to Yosemite for another chance of seeing Horsetail Fall light up on Thurs. Feb. 23, 2012. I’m in several Photography related Meet-up groups and I went up with several photographers from one of these groups.

This event though possible each year isn't guaranteed. All the elements and conditions must come together to see it.

On Tues. there were clouds in the sky and the sky got really gray about 40 minutes before sunset. On Thurs. the sky was blue and clear. I hoped it stayed that way right up until sunset.

This trip was an encore to the trip here February 18, 2010 to see Horsetail Fall light up.

14 photographers from a Bay Area Meet-up made it this year. I rose at 12:01AM on Thurs the 23rd then dressed, ate a light snack, got my gear in the car and left at 2:30AM to meet 2 companions 30 minutes away. From there we were to car-pool to Livermore an hour away to meet several more photographers. Then we car-a-vanned to Yosemite. We arrived at our first shooting location in the park before 8 A.M.

There we started photographing in the cold 32 degree morning at Swinging Bridge. We weren't alone. Down on the river we ran into Michael Frye and 3 of his students.

From here we went to several well known and wonderful spots in the park.

Mid afternoon we made our way over to our "spot" to photograph the sun hitting Horsetail Fall.

We didn't expect anyone to be in this spot. It's not well known. We arrived to find it as expected empty. We fanned out and set up our cameras, tripods, trail stools, and some stretched out on the soft pine needles and took a nap.

About an hour later a lone man slowly walked by nodded and kept walking. 20 minutes later he came back with his camera and tripod.

20 minutes later out of the trees came Michael Frye and his 3 students. His face was full of surprise to find us there.

A little later another lone man emerged from the trees with his camera and tripod. There were about 20 people there by then.

Right on time the light on the cliff face began to change and the show was on. All joking and talking stopped as we jumped into action and soon all you heard was the soft beeps of camera AF motors, and shutters clicking. Once in awhile I heard Michael giving his students a direction or making a comment. Then right before the color reached its peak a couple came walking up and sat down to watch the last few minutes of the phenomenon.

At the peak there was a spray of mist or perhaps evaporation that could be seen fanning out from the cliff face that added to the glow.

As you see there's very little snow up there. We were really lucky this year to see this.

Because the sky was clear the whole mountain had a glow so I framed more of El Capitan to capture it all. In less than 10 minutes it faded completely so it was time to pack up.

Isn’t it wonderful how something can look so different from day to day.

It was a Marathon day filled with laughter, adventure, good people to hang out with, and at the end of the day Mother Nature’s light show was the Pièce de résistance.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 80-200@ 105mm| f16| 0.4 sec| ISO 160| Manual Mode| Tripod| Self Timer| Circular Polarizer

Good to be able to see these in suitable light and get quite close.

Was able to get out for a little while yesterday afternoon. Seen several does, small bucks, and a 4 big bucks. Only manage to get images of one and stayed with him until he went back into the woods. On the way home, see a very nice 8-pointer in a field of cut corn with several does. Was able to get several images of him as well.

Able to see 6 Green Herons (Butorides virescens) feeding along the Boardwalk at Horicon Marsh NWR in 2021.

St Andrew and St Patrick, Elveden, Suffolk

As you approach Elveden, there is Suffolk’s biggest war memorial, to those killed from the three parishes that meet at this point. It is over 30 metres high, and you used to be able to climb up the inside. Someone in the village told me that more people have been killed on the road in Elveden since the end of the War than there are names on the war memorial. I could well believe it. Until about five years ago, the busy traffic of the A11 Norwich to London road hurtled through the village past the church, slowed only to a ridiculously high 50 MPH. If something hits you at that speed, then no way on God's Earth are you going to survive. Now there's a bypass, thank goodness.

Many people will know St Andrew and St Patrick as another familiar landmark on the road, but as you are swept along in the stream of traffic you are unlikely to appreciate quite how extraordinary a building it is. For a start, it has two towers. And a cloister. And two naves, effectively. It has undergone three major building programmes in the space of thirty years, any one of which would have sufficed to transform it utterly.

If you had seen this church before the 1860s, you would have thought it nothing remarkable. A simple aisle-less, clerestory-less building, typical of, and indistinguishable from, hundreds of other East Anglian flint churches. A journey to nearby Barnham will show you what I mean.

The story of the transformation of Elveden church begins in the early 19th century, on the other side of the world. The leader of the Sikhs, Ranjit Singh, controlled a united Punjab that stretched from the Khyber Pass to the borders of Tibet. His capital was at Lahore, but more importantly it included the Sikh holy city of Amritsar. The wealth of this vast Kingdom made him a major power-player in early 19th century politics, and he was a particular thorn in the flesh of the British Imperial war machine. At this time, the Punjab had a great artistic and cultural flowering that was hardly matched anywhere in the world.

It was not to last. The British forced Ranjit Singh to the negotiating table over the disputed border with Afghanistan, and a year later, in 1839, he was dead. A power vacuum ensued, and his six year old son Duleep Singh became a pawn between rival factions. It was exactly the opportunity that the British had been waiting for, and in February 1846 they poured across the borders in their thousands. Within a month, almost half the child-Prince's Kingdom was in foreign hands. The British installed a governor, and started to harvest the fruits of their new territory's wealth.

Over the next three years, the British gradually extended their rule, putting down uprisings and turning local warlords. Given that the Sikh political structures were in disarray, this was achieved at considerable loss to the invaders - thousands of British soldiers were killed. They are hardly remembered today. British losses at the Crimea ten years later were much slighter, but perhaps the invention of photography in the meantime had given people at home a clearer picture of what was happening, and so the Crimea still remains in the British folk memory.

For much of the period of the war, Prince Duleep Singh had remained in the seclusion of his fabulous palace in Lahore. However, once the Punjab was secure, he was sent into remote internal exile.

The missionaries poured in. Bearing in mind the value that Sikh culture places upon education, perhaps it is no surprise that their influence came to bear on the young Prince, and he became a Christian. The extent to which this was forced upon him is lost to us today.

A year later, the Prince sailed for England with his mother. He was admitted to the royal court by Queen Victoria, spending time both at Windsor and, particularly, in Scotland, where he grew up. In the 1860s, the Prince and his mother were significant members of London society, but she died suddenly in 1863. He returned with her ashes to the Punjab, and there he married. His wife, Bamba Muller, was part German, part Ethiopian. As part of the British pacification of India programme, the young couple were granted the lease on a vast, derelict stately home in the depths of the Suffolk countryside. This was Elveden Hall. He would never see India again.

With some considerable energy, Duleep Singh set about transforming the fortunes of the moribund estate. Being particularly fond of hunting (as a six year old, he'd had two tutors - one for learning the court language, Persian, and the other for hunting to hawk) he developed the estate for game. The house was rebuilt in 1870.

The year before, the Prince had begun to glorify the church so that it was more in keeping with the splendour of his court. This church, dedicated to St Andrew, was what now forms the north aisle of the present church. There are many little details, but the restoration includes two major features; firstly, the remarkable roof, with its extraordinary sprung sprung wallposts set on arches suspended in the window embrasures, and, secondly, the font, which Mortlock tells us is in the Sicilian-Norman style. Supported by eight elegant columns, it is very beautiful, and the angel in particular is one of Suffolk's loveliest. You can see him in an image on the left.

Duleep Singh seems to have settled comfortably into the role of an English country gentleman. And then, something extraordinary happened. The Prince, steeped in the proud tradition of his homeland, decided to return to the Punjab to fulfill his destiny as the leader of the Sikh people. He got as far as Aden before the British arrested him, and sent him home. He then set about trying to recruit Russian support for a Sikh uprising, travelling secretly across Europe in the guise of an Irishman, Patrick Casey. In between these times of cloak and dagger espionage, he would return to Elveden to shoot grouse with the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII. It is a remarkable story.

Ultimately, his attempts to save his people from colonial oppression were doomed to failure. He died in Paris in 1893, the British seemingly unshakeable in their control of India. He was buried at Elveden churchyard in a simple grave.

The chancel of the 1869 church is now screened off as a chapel, accessible from the chancel of the new church, but set in it is the 1894 memorial window to Maharaja Prince Duleep Singh, the Adoration of the Magi by Kempe & Co.

And so, the Lion of the North had come to a humble end. His five children, several named after British royal princes, had left Elveden behind; they all died childless, one of them as recently as 1957. The estate reverted to the Crown, being bought by the brewing family, the Guinnesses.

Edward Cecil Guinness, first Earl Iveagh, commemorated bountifully in James Joyce's 1916 Ulysses, took the estate firmly in hand. The English agricultural depression had begun in the 1880s, and it would not be ended until the Second World War drew the greater part of English agriculture back under cultivation. It had hit the Estate hard. But Elveden was transformed, and so was the church.

Iveagh appointed William Caroe to build an entirely new church beside the old. It would be of such a scale that the old church of St Andrew would form the south aisle of the new church. The size may have reflected Iveagh's visions of grandeur, but it was also a practical arrangement, to accommodate the greatly enlarged staff of the estate. Attendance at church was compulsory; non-conformists were also expected to go, and the Guinnesses did not employ Catholics.

Between 1904 and 1906, the new structure went up. Mortlock recalls that Pevsner thought it 'Art Nouveau Gothic', which sums it up well. Lancet windows in the north side of the old church were moved across to the south side, and a wide open nave built beside it. Curiously, although this is much higher than the old and incorporates a Suffolk-style roof, Caroe resisted the temptation of a clerestory. The new church was rebenched throughout, and the woodwork is of a very high quality. The dates of the restoration can be found on bench ends up in the new chancel, and exploring all the symbolism will detain you for hours. Emblems of the nations of the British Isles also feature in the floor tiles.

The new church was dedicated to St Patrick, patron Saint of the Guinnesses' homeland. At this time, of course, Ireland was still a part of the United Kingdom, and despite the tensions and troubles of the previous century the Union was probably stronger at the opening of the 20th century than it had ever been. This was to change very rapidly. From the first shots fired at the General Post Office in April 1916, to complete independence in 1922, was just six years. Dublin, a firmly protestant city, in which the Iveaghs commemorated their dead at the Anglican cathedral of St Patrick, became the capital city of a staunchly Catholic nation. The Anglicans, the so-called Protestant Ascendancy, left in their thousands during the 1920s, depopulating the great houses, and leaving hundreds of Anglican parish churches completely bereft of congregations. Apart from a concentration in the wealthy suburbs of south Dublin, there are hardly any Anglicans left in the Republic today. But St Patrick's cathedral maintains its lonely witness to long years of British rule; the Iveagh transept includes the vast war memorial to WWI dead, and all the colours of the Irish regiments - it is said that 99% of the Union flags in the Republic are in the Guinness chapel of St Patrick's cathedral. Dublin, of course, is famous as the biggest city in Europe without a Catholic cathedral. It still has two Anglican ones.

Against this background then, we arrived at Elveden. The church is uncomfortably close to the busy road, but the sparkle of flint in the recent rain made it a thing of great beauty. The main entrance is now at the west end of the new church. The surviving 14th century tower now forms the west end of the south aisle, and we will come back to the other tower beyond it in a moment.

You step into a wide open space under a high, heavy roof laden with angels. There is a wide aisle off to the south; this is the former nave, and still has something of that quality. The whole space is suffused with gorgeously coloured light from excellent 19th and 20th century windows. These include one by Frank Brangwyn, at the west end of the new nave. Andrew and Patrick look down from a heavenly host on a mother and father entertaining their children and a host of woodland animals by reading them stories. It is quite the loveliest thing in the building.

Other windows, mostly in the south aisle, are also lovely. Hugh Easton's commemorative window for the former USAAF base at Elveden is magnificent. Either side are windows to Iveaghs - a gorgeous George killing a dragon, also by Hugh Easton, and a curious 1971 assemblage depicting images from the lives of Edward Guinness's heir and his wife, which also works rather well. The effect of all three windows together is particularly fine when seen from the new nave.

Turning ahead of you to the new chancel, there is the mighty alabaster reredos. It cost £1,200 in 1906, about a quarter of a million in today’s money. It reflects the woodwork, in depicting patron Saints and East Anglian monarchs, around a surprisingly simple Supper at Emmaus. This reredos, and the Brangwyn window, reminded me of the work at the Guinness’s other spiritual home, St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, which also includes a window by Frank Brangwyn commisioned by them. Everything is of the highest quality. Rarely has the cliché ‘no expense spared’ been as accurate as it is here.

Up at the front, a little brass plate reminds us that Edward VII slept through a sermon here in 1908. How different it must have seemed to him from the carefree days with his old friend the Maharajah! Still, it must have been a great occasion, full of Edwardian pomp, and the glitz that only the fabulously rich can provide. Today, the church is still splendid, but the Guinesses are no longer fabulously rich, and attendance at church is no longer compulsory for estate workers; there are far fewer of them anyway. The Church of England is in decline everywhere; and, let us be honest, particularly so in this part of Suffolk, where it seems to have retreated to a state of siege. Today, the congregation of this mighty citadel is as low as half a dozen. The revolutionary disappearance of Anglican congregations in the Iveagh's homeland is now being repeated in a slow, inexorable English way.

You wander outside, and there are more curiosities. Set in the wall are two linked hands, presumably a relic from a broken 18th century memorial. They must have been set here when the wall was moved back in the 1950s. In the south chancel wall, the bottom of an egg-cup protrudes from among the flints. This is the trademark of the architect WD Caroe. To the east of the new chancel, Duleep Singh’s gravestone is a very simple one. It is quite different in character to the church behind it. A plaque on the east end of the church remembers the centenary of his death.

Continuing around the church, you come to the surprise of a long cloister, connecting the remodelled chancel door of the old church to the new bell tower. It was built in 1922 as a memorial to the wife of the first Earl Iveagh. Caroe was the architect again, and he installed eight bells, dedicated to Mary, Gabriel, Edmund, Andrew, Patrick, Christ, God the Father, and the King. The excellent guidebook recalls that his intention was for the bells to be cast to maintain the hum and tap tones of the renowned ancient Suffolk bells of Lavenham... thus the true bell music of the old type is maintained.

This church is magnificent, obviously enough. It has everything going for it, and is a national treasure. And yet, it has hardly any congregation. So, what is to be done?

If we continue to think of rural historic churches as nothing more than outstations of the Church of England, it is hard to see how some of them will survive. This church in particular has no future in its present form as a village parish church. New roles must be found, new ways to involve local people and encourage their use. One would have thought that this would be easier here than elsewhere.

The other provoking thought was that this building summed up almost two centuries of British imperial adventure, and that we lived in a world that still suffered from the consequences. It is worth remembering where the wealth that rebuilt St Andrew and St Patrick came from.

As so often in British imperial history, interference in other peoples’ problems and the imposition of short-term solutions has left massive scars and long-cast shadows. For the Punjab, as in Ireland, there are no simple solutions. Sheer proximity has, after several centuries of cruel and exploitative involvement, finally encouraged the British government to pursue a solution in Ireland that is not entirely based on self-interest. I fear that the Punjab is too far away for the British to care very much now about what they did there then.

Here you will be able to see an realistic example of how deep Low Gap Creek is and a more realistic perspective of the size and scope of the waterfall when you see Harmon situated on the boulder to the right.. I believe the waterflow I hiked yesterday in Low Gap Creek is the highest I've hiked to date, `in terms of multiple creek/river crossings. Too bad I was wearing the wrong shoes. I had made a concerted effort to consult with several sources to find reputable shoes for creek walking, relevant to crossing slick, underwater rock surfaces, and I found out yesterday the recommended shoes I was wearing didn't 'fit the bill.". As a mater of fact, I slipped about three or four more times on my way back down from Upper Falls. I can guarantee it won't happen again the next time I'm here. Anyway, in terms of Low Gap Creek Falls, this waterfall easily, ranks as one of the foremost top waterfalls in North Georgia and is well worth the effort it takes to reach it.

Able to see a MEGA rarity for Illinois, its first recorded Limpkin located at Borah Lake in Olney, Illinois. Normally found in Florida areas further south. A life bird for me.

...and much better viewed large.

Good morning. For me there is probably no butterfly more apt to make an eye-catching butterfly image than the Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme). The frustrating thing with Orange Sulphurs for many people is the small to medium size and the fact they are very, very flighty. But when captured as here feeding on this perfect setting of wild Golden Aster (Heterotheca camporum) you feel a sense of accomplishment to be able to showcase one of these truly beautiful butterflies for everyone.

Just this single posting today as yours truly will be kind of hit or miss here this weekend after this morning. Need to help hubbie get the car ready for tomorrow's carshow, which unfortunately looks iffy due to questionable weather. Hopefully not.

Thank you for stopping by...and I hope you have a truly great Saturday and weekend. And for those of you here in the States...wishing you a most wonderful Labor Day Holiday. Enjoy and be safe in whatever you do.

Lacey

ISO400, aperture f/11, exposure .002 seconds (1/500) focal length 300mm

This happens when you are not able to load sheet film correctly into Jobo reels... :(

Two issues

1. The Flickr system isn't allowing me to upload the entire description with this postcard. However, I have been able to upload it separately in its entirety this morning (3/20/2016). You can see it here.

www.flickr.com/photos/hoosier_recollections/25836557491/i...

2. (A few hours after posting this postcard to Flickr.) The paragraphs below represent only a portion of the description I wrote for this postcard. So far, Flickr isn't letting me add the remainder.

Stay tuned!

Fictional postcards weren’t uncommon in the early postcard era. Many were humorous and used methods to achieve effects we would call “photoshopping” today. Other examples included postcards with the same scene sold in multiple cities or towns (and sometimes in multiple states) with the only difference being the city or town name in the title. This postcard appears to be the latter type where the photograph upon which it was based came from elsewhere and had a new title applied by the printer. However, this example is unusual. The following is the story I’ve pieced together.

This postcard view of an interurban stop is titled, “Interurban Railroad, N. Frankfort, Ind.” and it was postmarked in 1910. The “N. Frankfort” was probably referring to New Frankfort in Scott County. There was no North Frankfort in Indiana, and New Frankfort probably would have been on the interurban route between Madison and Scottsburg that was first proposed two years earlier. However, that route was never constructed and this postcard was probably created as an advertising piece for the proposed interurban route. It is possible that similar postcards for other communities along the proposed route exist.

Scottsburg was on the busy interurban line that connected Louisville and Indianapolis. Madison, however, was never connected to the interurban system that linked so many other communities in Indiana. Two separate efforts to bring interurban service to Madison materialized in 1903. One of these involved the creation of the Madison, Greensburg & Indianapolis Railway Company that proposed a new interurban rail line extending north from Madison to Greensburg via Versailles and Osgood. The other interurban route involving Madison was proposed by the Southern Traction Company of Indiana. This route would have connected Madison and Columbus via Hanover and North Vernon. However, both projects were among more than 250 proposed interurban routes in Indiana that were never constructed.

A third proposal involving Madison arose In 1908 when the Cincinnati, Madison & Western Traction Company (C. M. & W.) incorporated and proposed construction of an interurban line between Scottsburg and Cincinnati via Madison. The following announcement was published on February 8, 1908.[1]

RECENT INCORPORATIONS.

Cincinnati, Madison, & Western Traction Company. — Incorporated in Indiana to build a number of short lines radiating from Scottsburg to surrounding cities and towns in Indiana and Ohio. These new lines will be built as extensions of the Indianapolis & Louisville Traction Company's line from Seymour to Jeffersonville, now in operation. The different routes as outlined in the articles of incorporation are as follows:

From Scottsburg through Scott and Jefferson counties to Madison, and thence in a northeasterly direction through Switzerland, Ohio, Ripley and Dearborn counties in Indiana to Cincinnati; also in a westerly direction from Scottsburg through Salem in Washington county and through Paoli to West Baden and French Lick; also northwesterly from Scottsburg to Bedford, Ind. It is announced that construction work will be started in the spring. Capital stock, $50,000. Incorporators: J. E. Greeley, Louisville, Ky.; S. D. Miller. Maurice Cahill, G. B. Gaston and G. N. Owen, Indianapolis, Ind.

John E. Greeley was one of the C. M. & W. founders. Mr. Greeley was also involved in other southern Indiana interurban activities. A 1908 directory listed J. E. Greeley as vice-president of the Indianapolis & Louisville Traction Co. In 1912, he was president and general manager when the successor to that company sold at foreclosure.

Over the course of the next few years, several C. M. & W. announcements of corporate activities appeared in various publications. This first group appeared in a weekly industry journal[2] between January and July, 1910.

F/A-18 waits to start engines on September 14, 2001

aboard the USS Constellation (CV-64).

Able to get both flora and fauna at the botanical gardens.

This Tucker Sno-Cat, nicknamed Able, was used by Vivian Fuchs for the Commonwealth Trans Antarctic Expedition (1955 – 1958), during which it crossed Antarctica. It is now on display in Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Basically I miss this last summer. I have not been able to get over being out on Catalina Island. That's all I think and dream about. It really was the best experience and decision to go out there. At the end of the summer I posted a "note" about it and now I want to share it with everyone:

Receiving a phone call from after being in the Hospital with a near death experience basically saved my life. Ali, called me and told me that there was a job opportunity for a boy scout camp on Catalina island. I wanted to go visit anyway, why not live there for the summer. So I accepted it. A couple days later I get a phone call from a random number.. it was Alex.He told me that I would work in the Trading Post, he then told me that I would be selling a lot of Slush Puppies and he REALLY did mean that! He said that when I come out to work at Cherry Valley that I will become a healthier, happier person. Since I was just in the hospital for not taking care of my Diabetes I felt like this would help me focus on myself and get back on the track of taking care of myself.

Anyway I had one week to get everything ready for this adventure ahead of me. From being in the hospital I had a lot of fluids in me and I was dehydrated for so long that my feet were swollen, it was hard for me to breathe and It took more effort to do things. Friday I went back up to Logan after recovering for a bit at home. I packed up my apartment Saturday and moved out Saturday. It was really tough for me because everything was happening so fast. I was leaving friends that I didn't know if I was going to see again or not.. Also my boys that were in Cancun I did not get to say goodbye too. When I got back home I packed the bags I was going to live off of at CCV.

The next morning I flew out of SLC to LAX at 8am.. It was my first time flying alone. I was pretty scared to be by myself, but once I got a BLT and a Diet Coke I was GREAT! I had to give an insulin shot and didn't want to take my bags into the airport bathroom...So I just shot it into my stomach haha...I didn't care what people thought. :] Landing in LAX I met up with Ali. I had missed her soooo much! The adventure had begun. We headed to meet up with all the staff. We got there and everyone was in uniform except Ali and I! haha. Alex greeted us and then I turn around to see a tall, blonde, guy with aviator sunglasses. Meet Cory, the program director. He even came with a pocket watch :] All of us loaded onto the Catalina Express. Ali and I distanced ourselves from everyone else.. I remember seeing this blonde girl and a brunette, they smelled like perfume and had makeup on...lets add on they were flirting with some other guys on staff. Guess who that was?? Morgan and Megan :] haha. Love you girls. After an hour and half boat ride there it was. The Island. Ali was pointing out our cove and was telling me about Ship Rock, Lions Head, Eagles Nest and Bird Rock.We arrived at Two Harbors Port. To my right I looked out the window and people in a green uniform starting lining up on the dock, right next to them was "Bear", he had a big straw hat on. Ali told me he was the greatest guy I will meet.

We all got our stuff and met in Buffalo Park where we split into our areas. This girl with dark hair, brown eyes and tan skin came right up to me and said "Hi! I'm Bekah!" We connected like that. (Later in the Summer I asked why she came up to me so fast and happy and she said, "I saw a girl in sweats and knew that was my kinda girl." Haha) Then we all started to hike into camp. Lets keep in mind I was in sweats and flip flops. I'm an idiot.. haha. It was awful hiking in like that.

That day I helped Ali clean tanks for the first time and I was freaked out by the Sea Stars. I remember Ali and I were late to line up and we weren't in our uniforms for dinner.. Alex came over to us and asked us where our uniforms were and told us to go change, we were super embarrassed. I hated it already here. The uniforms sucked so bad, I felt so awkward in it and you could tell. That next week during staff week we hiked Goat Whiskers and Parsons. We kayaked to Blue Caverns and got our areas ready. I could go on forever about my summer on Catalina Island. It was the best adventure. I made the Best Friends I could ever ask for. I never had to get ready for the day :] Showered about twice a week haha, learned that if you dip your hair in the ocean that the sun will then make your hair more blonde! I learned to paddle board, I went sailing, kayaked. Overcame my fear or singing in front of people and presenting in front of people. Campfires, scouts, star pictures, sun burns, tans, laying out on the dock, aching bodies, big bopper parties, diet coke, frozen kit kats, bugs[ANTS], long talks, cobbler, service project(talks with Tsix) late night talks, first kiss, fireworks, AO, "I need somebody to love, Next to You, Give me everything tonight, On the Floor, John Mayer". Shore boats, going into town, YACHT CLUB!, Fountain drinks, dancing, Avalon, Ben Weston, "going sailing in Two Harbors". Photoshoots. the day it poured rain. Late night snacks in the kitchen. There were tears from the beginning to the end. The times when all of us were ready to go home and then it came and I never wanted to leave.

These friends will last forever and I love them very much. Alex told us that the friends you keep for forever are the ones you work the hardest with. He was right. I miss this magical island already. Thank you for the Best Summer of my life so far.

For more photos become a fan here : www.facebook.com/aimsphoto

sad thing is, andrew came here today.

but i wasn't able to go see him :(

i was pretty set on having a jacks mannequin song as my little theme

that tree really wasn't that high haha

this was more difficult than it looks :/

(And today was a day just like any other)

I'm on the verge, I'm on the verge

Unraveling with every word

With every word you say, make me believe

That I won't feel your tires on the street

As I'm finding the words... you're getting away

I'm ready so don't call, oh... oh... oh...

I'm Ready - Jacks Mannequin

on board tall ship Alexander von Humboldt 2

I wasn't able to take a self portrait at the triathlon today, so I decided to try a studio type shot of my tri bike and tri kit when I got home. I think it turned out pretty well for a paint drop cloth and a bunch of shop lights lol.

I can't believe I've finally made it to 100 days. 265 days to go.

Oh, I got third in my age group today. The heat was brutal!

This Sunday we were able to go out and take a couple of photos for our 'The Land Of Stories' project which has been in the plans for quite a while now. All of the pictures are inspired by the original book series by Chris Colfer and are meant to portray the characters appearing in the novels. The story is about the twins Alex and Conner who magically find their way into the fairytale world. There they meet all their favorite characters from the stories they have been told when they were younger, and embark on the adventure of their lives. If you are interested you can find out more here: www.thelandofstories.com/ - This first picture is showing the well-known character Red Riding Hood who goes out into the woods to visit her grandmother and is attacked by a wolf. In the 'Land Of Stories' series she is all grown up and has been elected queen. She pays a lot of attention to her looks and is quite self-centered, though good at heart.

Photo: Lara Dengs

Model: Dani Hard

My recent photos on Flickriver (lara.photofreaks.ws)

My most interesting photos on Flickriver (larasbestof.photofreaks.ws)

Lara D. Photography on Facebook

Circa 1925

Angie had been warned about operating in Chicago, but she was too lured by the smell of big money not to take the chance.

She was not disappointed. For the first week she found a wealth of pick able pockets and purses. Swiftly accumulating more money in that short period of time than she had garnered in the past 4 months

But she was not sly enough and before the second weekend she was visited at the dump of an apartment she was renting by two suited men. There was a price to pay for the privilege of working in Mr. D…..’s turf, and they had come to collect. She was given a choice, if it could be called that. Either she could lose a pinky, at this one of the men pulled out a rather sharp looking stiletto knife, or she could earn her dues by performing a small task.

She had chosen the “small task”

Within a couple of days she was installed as a maid in one of Mr. D……’s plush, luxury apartments. She was given precise instructions. Within two weeks; Select a loaded lady, widow or one left alone most of her nights. Angie soon discovered that they were quite a few ladies who lived in the complex that fit that classification. It took her almost the entire first week to select one. When Angie told the Apartment complexes private detective the targets name, she found that she was assigned to clean that lady’s rooms on a daily schedule.

Next Angie was to shadow the targeted lady’s movements, learn her schedule. Find out where she keeps the good stuff and compile a list of anything valuable, especially small and easily carried items. Once that task was completed, Angie was to hand the list to the apartments Dick, and then she was told to await further instructions.

So she found herself carrying out those final instructions three weeks to the night that she had been paid her visit. She had taken her cleaning cart with towels up to the chosen victim’s room around 9:00 in the evening. Following her had been the gentlemen the private detective had led to her; cool as ice, as trim as the tailored suit he was wearing. She had knocked at the targets double door. When the silken night gowned lady who lived there answered, Mr. Ice took over, clamping his hand over the startled victim’s mouth, as he produced a knife from nowhere and forced her back inside. Angie was to stand guard outside with her cart until he had finished and called her in.

It as she was doing so that the door across the hall opened and a red headed man came out. He looked quite dapper in tux and tails, clenching a telegram in his slender fist. She recognized him as a newer tenant, who along with a wife, was newly moved into the city. (actually the wife had been on her short list, missing out only when her husband had come back into the picture early from his business trip abroad)

Spying Angie he asked where the nearest telegraph office was. Just down the street she informed him, amazed at how well she was keeping her cool, with Mr. Ice robbing the rich broad just a few feet away behind the door. She also did not mention that the office was doubtlessly closed. Spying her cart, he then ordered her to bring in some extra towels to his wife.

Angie smelled opportunity, and as the red headed man disappeared down the hall , she looked at the closed double doors, liking the odds ,figuring she could risk it. Picking up the towels she knocked on the door and was admitted by a pretty little thing in a black satin robe covering a long gold night gown of luxuriously glossy liquid satin. Around her neck was hanging a gold necklace just dripping with sparkly diamonds. Seeing the towels in Angie’s hands she pointed towards a far door instructing her to take them there, several gem encrusted rings flashing from her fingers.

Angie went in and placed the towels on the wicker hamper. Angie looked at the freshly laundered long evening gown that was hanging from a hook, taking a second to feel its luxurious softness before returning. Then coming back into the room the lady thanked her, telling her to wait, she had a little something.

She turned her back to Angie(mistake! thought the “maid”) and reached down into a small purse, Angie had moved so close she could smell the ladies ‘expensive perfume. The lady stood up, backing into Angie who apologized as she accepted the nickel tip from her. Angie left, returning to the cart.

She had made it back in time. As she waited Angie fingered something in her pocket, thinking back to the apartment she had just left:

As the satin clad rich lady had been reaching for her purse, Angie had in a flash made two observations: The first was that the lady had been putting lotion on her hands and that she had removed her rings, the second was that one pocket of her satiny black robe was a little more open than its twin. She had easily dipped her fingers into the robes pocket as the rich lady had backed into her and lifted the shiny rings up and out, extracting them as carefully as any surgeon, Palming the cool rings as she accepted her stingy tip from the rich broad.

As Angie now fingered those rings her mind had gone to the wealth lady’s magnificent diamond necklace. Too bad she thinks, too bad there wasn’t a way to acquire the jewels of a woman as she wore them.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened a crack, he nodded to her and she went inside with the cart as he left, causally walking down the hall, whistling. She said nothing about her little episode.

The lady was nowhere in sight, but she could hear whimpering coming from a room. On a divan was a healthy pile of jewelry, expensive purses, a few pricy looking knickknacks, as well as a couple of stunning gowns, almost as nice as the one she had stolen a feet back across the hall. She quickly loaded the items in her cart, covered them with towels, than left.

She took the service elevator, riding it to the basement. Than taking the cart out a back door, Angie entered a dark alley. A van waited, two men took the cart from her and began to load it.. Angie turned her back and walked away down the desolated alley without turning back, soon disappearing into the misty streets.

Angie vanished back up into Canada where she spent a few weeks lying low. The first item of business she did was to unload the hot rings. Spying a pretty, silvery necklace she bargained for it, still making a nice chunk of change in addition. She than revisited her childhood haunts, feeing like a real lady wearing the fancy necklace, and her purse holding a modest amount of jake. In her line of work she usually refrained from wearing anything that would attract someone’s notice.

On a whim she stopped into a fortune tellers shop. The ancient, toothless gypsy read her palms, saying a few obligatory predictions, before looking Angie in the eyes, pausing abruptly. She worked her way to her feet, just a minute dearie, I’ll be right back. She soon was back and laid an old, very well thumbed pamphlet at Angie’s fingertips. This is something I believe you can use she murmured. Angie picked it up, looking through it, her eyes growing wide as she realized its purpose. I was just, she stammered, how did you know? she asked flabbergasted. The old gypsy smiled toothlessly, not saying anything. Angie though of the diamond necklace on the lady last week, the leaflet basically laid out how she could have taken that diamond necklace on the spot.

What do I owe you; Angie finally managed to ask when she had come to grips with herself. You have already paid love, she cackled, as she opened her dirty old shawl, revealing the shiny new silvery necklace around her wrinkled throat, the same necklace Angie had been wearing when she had entered the small shop. Her hand instinctively shot up to her throat, surprised to find it totally bare, despite the evidence before her.

Angie looked once again at the small pamphlets title:

Cutpurse: skilles, artes and Secretes of the Dip : inscribed by Gaston Monescu .

And with tingles of delight, she knew, that her ship had just come into port.

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

Editor’s Note:

Our Thanks to Mr Gardner for pointing out the existence of Mr. Monescu’s 1826 guide

This is a link to a You Tube Video of a thief not unlike our Angie.

youtu.be/HAZdjhNVjxk

Courtesy of Chatwick University Archives

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

All rights and copyrights observed by Chatwick University, Its contributors, associates and Agents

The purpose of these chronological photos and accompanying stories, articles is to educate, teach, instruct, and generally increase the awareness level of the general public as to the nature and intent of the underlying criminal elements that have historically plagued humankind.

No Part of this can reprinted, duplicated, or copied be without the express written permission and approval of Chatwick University.

These photos and stories are works of fiction. Any resemblance to people, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

As with any work of fiction or fantasy the purpose is for entertainment only, and should never be attempted in real life.

We accept no responsibility for any events occurring outside this website.

So nice to be able to go into a salon and get my hair and makeup done before a night out with the girls

St Andrew and St Patrick, Elveden, Suffolk

As you approach Elveden, there is Suffolk’s biggest war memorial, to those killed from the three parishes that meet at this point. It is over 30 metres high, and you used to be able to climb up the inside. Someone in the village told me that more people have been killed on the road in Elveden since the end of the War than there are names on the war memorial. I could well believe it. Until about five years ago, the busy traffic of the A11 Norwich to London road hurtled through the village past the church, slowed only to a ridiculously high 50 MPH. If something hits you at that speed, then no way on God's Earth are you going to survive. Now there's a bypass, thank goodness.

Many people will know St Andrew and St Patrick as another familiar landmark on the road, but as you are swept along in the stream of traffic you are unlikely to appreciate quite how extraordinary a building it is. For a start, it has two towers. And a cloister. And two naves, effectively. It has undergone three major building programmes in the space of thirty years, any one of which would have sufficed to transform it utterly.

If you had seen this church before the 1860s, you would have thought it nothing remarkable. A simple aisle-less, clerestory-less building, typical of, and indistinguishable from, hundreds of other East Anglian flint churches. A journey to nearby Barnham will show you what I mean.

The story of the transformation of Elveden church begins in the early 19th century, on the other side of the world. The leader of the Sikhs, Ranjit Singh, controlled a united Punjab that stretched from the Khyber Pass to the borders of Tibet. His capital was at Lahore, but more importantly it included the Sikh holy city of Amritsar. The wealth of this vast Kingdom made him a major power-player in early 19th century politics, and he was a particular thorn in the flesh of the British Imperial war machine. At this time, the Punjab had a great artistic and cultural flowering that was hardly matched anywhere in the world.

It was not to last. The British forced Ranjit Singh to the negotiating table over the disputed border with Afghanistan, and a year later, in 1839, he was dead. A power vacuum ensued, and his six year old son Duleep Singh became a pawn between rival factions. It was exactly the opportunity that the British had been waiting for, and in February 1846 they poured across the borders in their thousands. Within a month, almost half the child-Prince's Kingdom was in foreign hands. The British installed a governor, and started to harvest the fruits of their new territory's wealth.

Over the next three years, the British gradually extended their rule, putting down uprisings and turning local warlords. Given that the Sikh political structures were in disarray, this was achieved at considerable loss to the invaders - thousands of British soldiers were killed. They are hardly remembered today. British losses at the Crimea ten years later were much slighter, but perhaps the invention of photography in the meantime had given people at home a clearer picture of what was happening, and so the Crimea still remains in the British folk memory.

For much of the period of the war, Prince Duleep Singh had remained in the seclusion of his fabulous palace in Lahore. However, once the Punjab was secure, he was sent into remote internal exile.

The missionaries poured in. Bearing in mind the value that Sikh culture places upon education, perhaps it is no surprise that their influence came to bear on the young Prince, and he became a Christian. The extent to which this was forced upon him is lost to us today.

A year later, the Prince sailed for England with his mother. He was admitted to the royal court by Queen Victoria, spending time both at Windsor and, particularly, in Scotland, where he grew up. In the 1860s, the Prince and his mother were significant members of London society, but she died suddenly in 1863. He returned with her ashes to the Punjab, and there he married. His wife, Bamba Muller, was part German, part Ethiopian. As part of the British pacification of India programme, the young couple were granted the lease on a vast, derelict stately home in the depths of the Suffolk countryside. This was Elveden Hall. He would never see India again.

With some considerable energy, Duleep Singh set about transforming the fortunes of the moribund estate. Being particularly fond of hunting (as a six year old, he'd had two tutors - one for learning the court language, Persian, and the other for hunting to hawk) he developed the estate for game. The house was rebuilt in 1870.

The year before, the Prince had begun to glorify the church so that it was more in keeping with the splendour of his court. This church, dedicated to St Andrew, was what now forms the north aisle of the present church. There are many little details, but the restoration includes two major features; firstly, the remarkable roof, with its extraordinary sprung sprung wallposts set on arches suspended in the window embrasures, and, secondly, the font, which Mortlock tells us is in the Sicilian-Norman style. Supported by eight elegant columns, it is very beautiful, and the angel in particular is one of Suffolk's loveliest. You can see him in an image on the left.

Duleep Singh seems to have settled comfortably into the role of an English country gentleman. And then, something extraordinary happened. The Prince, steeped in the proud tradition of his homeland, decided to return to the Punjab to fulfill his destiny as the leader of the Sikh people. He got as far as Aden before the British arrested him, and sent him home. He then set about trying to recruit Russian support for a Sikh uprising, travelling secretly across Europe in the guise of an Irishman, Patrick Casey. In between these times of cloak and dagger espionage, he would return to Elveden to shoot grouse with the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII. It is a remarkable story.

Ultimately, his attempts to save his people from colonial oppression were doomed to failure. He died in Paris in 1893, the British seemingly unshakeable in their control of India. He was buried at Elveden churchyard in a simple grave.

The chancel of the 1869 church is now screened off as a chapel, accessible from the chancel of the new church, but set in it is the 1894 memorial window to Maharaja Prince Duleep Singh, the Adoration of the Magi by Kempe & Co.

And so, the Lion of the North had come to a humble end. His five children, several named after British royal princes, had left Elveden behind; they all died childless, one of them as recently as 1957. The estate reverted to the Crown, being bought by the brewing family, the Guinnesses.

Edward Cecil Guinness, first Earl Iveagh, commemorated bountifully in James Joyce's 1916 Ulysses, took the estate firmly in hand. The English agricultural depression had begun in the 1880s, and it would not be ended until the Second World War drew the greater part of English agriculture back under cultivation. It had hit the Estate hard. But Elveden was transformed, and so was the church.

Iveagh appointed William Caroe to build an entirely new church beside the old. It would be of such a scale that the old church of St Andrew would form the south aisle of the new church. The size may have reflected Iveagh's visions of grandeur, but it was also a practical arrangement, to accommodate the greatly enlarged staff of the estate. Attendance at church was compulsory; non-conformists were also expected to go, and the Guinnesses did not employ Catholics.

Between 1904 and 1906, the new structure went up. Mortlock recalls that Pevsner thought it 'Art Nouveau Gothic', which sums it up well. Lancet windows in the north side of the old church were moved across to the south side, and a wide open nave built beside it. Curiously, although this is much higher than the old and incorporates a Suffolk-style roof, Caroe resisted the temptation of a clerestory. The new church was rebenched throughout, and the woodwork is of a very high quality. The dates of the restoration can be found on bench ends up in the new chancel, and exploring all the symbolism will detain you for hours. Emblems of the nations of the British Isles also feature in the floor tiles.

The new church was dedicated to St Patrick, patron Saint of the Guinnesses' homeland. At this time, of course, Ireland was still a part of the United Kingdom, and despite the tensions and troubles of the previous century the Union was probably stronger at the opening of the 20th century than it had ever been. This was to change very rapidly. From the first shots fired at the General Post Office in April 1916, to complete independence in 1922, was just six years. Dublin, a firmly protestant city, in which the Iveaghs commemorated their dead at the Anglican cathedral of St Patrick, became the capital city of a staunchly Catholic nation. The Anglicans, the so-called Protestant Ascendancy, left in their thousands during the 1920s, depopulating the great houses, and leaving hundreds of Anglican parish churches completely bereft of congregations. Apart from a concentration in the wealthy suburbs of south Dublin, there are hardly any Anglicans left in the Republic today. But St Patrick's cathedral maintains its lonely witness to long years of British rule; the Iveagh transept includes the vast war memorial to WWI dead, and all the colours of the Irish regiments - it is said that 99% of the Union flags in the Republic are in the Guinness chapel of St Patrick's cathedral. Dublin, of course, is famous as the biggest city in Europe without a Catholic cathedral. It still has two Anglican ones.

Against this background then, we arrived at Elveden. The church is uncomfortably close to the busy road, but the sparkle of flint in the recent rain made it a thing of great beauty. The main entrance is now at the west end of the new church. The surviving 14th century tower now forms the west end of the south aisle, and we will come back to the other tower beyond it in a moment.

You step into a wide open space under a high, heavy roof laden with angels. There is a wide aisle off to the south; this is the former nave, and still has something of that quality. The whole space is suffused with gorgeously coloured light from excellent 19th and 20th century windows. These include one by Frank Brangwyn, at the west end of the new nave. Andrew and Patrick look down from a heavenly host on a mother and father entertaining their children and a host of woodland animals by reading them stories. It is quite the loveliest thing in the building.

Other windows, mostly in the south aisle, are also lovely. Hugh Easton's commemorative window for the former USAAF base at Elveden is magnificent. Either side are windows to Iveaghs - a gorgeous George killing a dragon, also by Hugh Easton, and a curious 1971 assemblage depicting images from the lives of Edward Guinness's heir and his wife, which also works rather well. The effect of all three windows together is particularly fine when seen from the new nave.

Turning ahead of you to the new chancel, there is the mighty alabaster reredos. It cost £1,200 in 1906, about a quarter of a million in today’s money. It reflects the woodwork, in depicting patron Saints and East Anglian monarchs, around a surprisingly simple Supper at Emmaus. This reredos, and the Brangwyn window, reminded me of the work at the Guinness’s other spiritual home, St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, which also includes a window by Frank Brangwyn commisioned by them. Everything is of the highest quality. Rarely has the cliché ‘no expense spared’ been as accurate as it is here.

Up at the front, a little brass plate reminds us that Edward VII slept through a sermon here in 1908. How different it must have seemed to him from the carefree days with his old friend the Maharajah! Still, it must have been a great occasion, full of Edwardian pomp, and the glitz that only the fabulously rich can provide. Today, the church is still splendid, but the Guinesses are no longer fabulously rich, and attendance at church is no longer compulsory for estate workers; there are far fewer of them anyway. The Church of England is in decline everywhere; and, let us be honest, particularly so in this part of Suffolk, where it seems to have retreated to a state of siege. Today, the congregation of this mighty citadel is as low as half a dozen. The revolutionary disappearance of Anglican congregations in the Iveagh's homeland is now being repeated in a slow, inexorable English way.

You wander outside, and there are more curiosities. Set in the wall are two linked hands, presumably a relic from a broken 18th century memorial. They must have been set here when the wall was moved back in the 1950s. In the south chancel wall, the bottom of an egg-cup protrudes from among the flints. This is the trademark of the architect WD Caroe. To the east of the new chancel, Duleep Singh’s gravestone is a very simple one. It is quite different in character to the church behind it. A plaque on the east end of the church remembers the centenary of his death.

Continuing around the church, you come to the surprise of a long cloister, connecting the remodelled chancel door of the old church to the new bell tower. It was built in 1922 as a memorial to the wife of the first Earl Iveagh. Caroe was the architect again, and he installed eight bells, dedicated to Mary, Gabriel, Edmund, Andrew, Patrick, Christ, God the Father, and the King. The excellent guidebook recalls that his intention was for the bells to be cast to maintain the hum and tap tones of the renowned ancient Suffolk bells of Lavenham... thus the true bell music of the old type is maintained.

This church is magnificent, obviously enough. It has everything going for it, and is a national treasure. And yet, it has hardly any congregation. So, what is to be done?

If we continue to think of rural historic churches as nothing more than outstations of the Church of England, it is hard to see how some of them will survive. This church in particular has no future in its present form as a village parish church. New roles must be found, new ways to involve local people and encourage their use. One would have thought that this would be easier here than elsewhere.

The other provoking thought was that this building summed up almost two centuries of British imperial adventure, and that we lived in a world that still suffered from the consequences. It is worth remembering where the wealth that rebuilt St Andrew and St Patrick came from.

As so often in British imperial history, interference in other peoples’ problems and the imposition of short-term solutions has left massive scars and long-cast shadows. For the Punjab, as in Ireland, there are no simple solutions. Sheer proximity has, after several centuries of cruel and exploitative involvement, finally encouraged the British government to pursue a solution in Ireland that is not entirely based on self-interest. I fear that the Punjab is too far away for the British to care very much now about what they did there then.

Anja was so happy to be able to work again with famous photographer Romain Perrin ... she didn't even asked for which product ... but when she saw that it was the new Dior Saddle bag her heart began to race faster ... She had wanted that bag for such a long time ...

Exotic Interlude Anja Christensen in Le Tuxedo Eugenia outfit