Vintage ephemera, hand-written letter, commercial paper, tracing paper.

Listen, the way I see it is that animals are the most lovable and affectionate creatures on the face of the globe. Even a ferocious animal, providing they're not hungry. If a crocodile has just had lunch, he wouldn't bother a tourist in a hundred years. Only most people are afraid of crocodiles, even a well fed crocodile. I never fear any kind of animal. In fact, I'm crazy about them. I wouldn't even swat a fly for a whole barrel of gold. One time about 15 years ago I was so broke I didn’t even own a car. But my man Corey, who happened to be just about as broke as me had access to a car, and now he and me both were on the lookout for some serious action to replenish our assets. Now this day we’re in Du Quoin at the St.Rafael Hotel and we hear about some real action in Lexington, Kentucky, which is maybe 300 miles away. We never neglected any section of the country as long as the back-room economy was in a fluid state. It was in the summertime and this car was with loaded with a a zillion mosquitoes. But they didn't even bite us once.

 

Animals surpass humans on all counts. They not only never talk back, but animals appreciate beauty and kindness and affection that most humans wouldn't understand to start with. And when talking about ze fear: the best way to tell if a person has a deadly dose of it, is to watch them around animals. Why, a human being should be the most fabulous creature of all, which is the way all them jokers upstairs intended it when they put this show on he road to to start with. But what happens is one human gets to plotting with another human and maybe another and another and after awhile they all all decide to be generals. So right away they all form a combine to get a lock on all the mooches and suckers and that kind of action touches off all the war jolts from here to Zanzibar. That's human endeavor for you.

 

I remember one time in Chicago I won a zillion on this animal proposition. There was this fabulous looking lady working with this circus. Oh, she was fantastic! Elegant beyond compare. And she had two lion cubs, the most beautiful baby lions you ever saw and she carried them around in her arms on account of she was training them at the time. You see, she didn't want the animals to have a deadly fear of people and start snapping at the suckers so she was giving 'em all the love and affection she had. But when the mooches saw her coming down the street with the baby lions they would all run for cover. I told them there was nothing to fear, so one mooch cracks wise and says he will wager any amount I wouldn't walk up and pet the lions. Now, I not only went up and caressed those harmless little kittens and won all the cash, but I ended up with the doll as well. Every day me and the gorgeous broad would go walking down to this art institute on Michigan Avenue right in downtown Chicago. We had 'em on leashes just like they were poodles, and when the mooches saw me and my date strolling with the kittens, they would start running and running and they wouldn't stop until they were clear across the border into Canada. The fine lady kept the two cubs until they were too big to have around, but by that time they were completely trained and as playful as canaries. So she took off. She went in one direction and I went the opposite.

 

It's a pity my man Corey never met this doll and her kittens. He still suffers from economic anemia from time to time and to this day he's the most fearless human I've yet to come across. But shit like that never bothers him.

Continued from:

www.flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/52651478772/in/datepos...

 

The First Jolt

 

أَنِّي مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

 

Prayed the Prophet Ayub (as),

"Indeed, adversity has touched me, and you are the Most Merciful of the merciful”.

Surah Al Anbiya, Verse 83

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Anni massani ad durru: Indeed adversity has touched me, O Lord, far away have gone those close to me and my relatives and all the ones who were affectionate with me…

 

Wa anta: and You are The One remaining who is still for me Merciful and Affectionate for indeed You are…

 

Arham ar Rahimeen: the Most Merciful of the merciful so come to me suddenly with Your Lutf, Kindness because I have no strength and no patience after this and surely his suffering had reached its heights.

 

When I came back to Lahore, I had a recurring interaction with a new friend in my life who I was finding was inconsistent by nature. It was making me react in extremes. I was either over-indulgent or wishing to exit in a way that would only appear as abandonment. At first I thought I didn’t care but all too quickly acknowledged that I did. That’s because it created confusion for me and if you have two and a half relationships in total in life, you need clarity. At all times!

 

The Quran had ordered moderation in interactions. Pretty much quite literally in the tafseer of a single word: Qayyiman.

 

قَیِّمࣰا لِّیُنذِرَ بَأۡسࣰا شَدِیدࣰا مِّن لَّدُنۡهُ وَیُبَشِّرَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ ٱلَّذِینَ یَعۡمَلُونَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمۡ أَجۡرًا حَسَنࣰا

 

Straight, to warn of a punishment severe, from near Him

and give glad tidings to the believers,

those who do righteous deeds, that for them is a reward good.

Surah Al Kahf, Verse 2

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

And overall:

 

Qayyiman: (The Book) is straight, unfaltering and moderate between the ways of over-indulgence and abandonment, both of which are reprehensible in terms of reason and religion. And Allah has made it descend upon His Servant and Beloved (salutations and greetings upon the one who is unparalleled before his Lord)…

 

I wanted to follow the Command but I didn’t how to do it without putting myself in harm’s way.

 

Just then Qari Sahib had a death in the family. My cousin called me to take our weekly class. I had totally given up speaking publicly about anything related to the faith. I think it was because it would be under some guise of sharing knowledge but really I was just breaking rules. If one doesn’t manifest the knowledge in deed, talking about it, even in theory, is strictly forbidden.

 

Still, I asked Qari Sahib what he thought and we agreed that I would just read a page of Al Fath Ar Rabbani. Literally just read it!

 

I was midway in the book. I couldn’t figure out how to pick one sermon of my blessed Master, the King of all Spiritual Masters. I decided to go to page one. It had been almost two years that I had started the book and this is what I read:

 

Al Fath Ar Rabbani:

 

“Ae’taraz, finding fault with, objecting to, raising doubt about Al Haqq Azzo Jal on the descent of fate decreed is the death of religion.”

 

The next few lines repeated the word that put fear in my heart, an emotion uncommon in my spiritual journey:

“It is the death of Tauheed, His One-ness.

It is the death of Tawakkul, relying upon Him and Ikhlas, sincerity.

 

The heart with imaan, faith, doesn’t know the words ‘Why’ and ‘How.’ It does not know the words ‘But instead.’

Its only response is ‘Yes.’

 

It is the habit of the nafs to be contrary, confrontational and quarreling. The nafs (Ammara) is only sharr, wrongdoing.

So one should wish for its correction and its striving until it finds refuge from its evil. For it is sharr fi sharr, evil upon evil, in totality. Hence, if it labours in great effort and becomes calm, it grows into and comes to be in totality, khair fi khair, goodness in goodness, assuming the form of the gathering of obedience and in the leaving all sin, so then is said to it…”

 

I had only just begun the read when I stopped.

 

Four deaths in one go! Of everything that I was striving for and clearly falsely declaring. All attributed to one reason; ae’taraz!

 

First I looked up the word even though I knew its meaning.

 

Ae’taraz: an objection, a criticism, an offering of a protest, the raising of doubt, a complaint, disapproval, disagreement.

 

The kicker, which I realized immediately because of the severity of the consequence; the losing of deen (religion), Tauheed (Allah’s One-ness), tawwakul (reliance), and ikhlas (sincerity) was because I was finding fault, having the ae’taraz, with not even what had been decreed for me.

 

I was depriving myself of everything that mattered in my life because of useless disappointment with what was the fate of others!

 

13 years on a spiritual path and I was throwing it all away again and again because of why someone else did something. All of whom either pretended unawareness of their actions or prided themselves on the indifference they felt about the impact of their actions on another. Who didn’t care about anyone at all.

 

That is how I realized the truth of the reality behind the push and pull. That it was in fact the manifestation of that ae’taraz.

 

“Why wasn’t this happening and why did that happen? Why couldn’t it have gone like that and why didn’t I say this, do that? Why didn’t they say this, do that?” It was endless. It was always pointless. One even recognized that. Never in a million years though could I have imagined that it was spiritual suicide.

 

Thus the word imkaan, possibility, made its grand entrance. Ae’taraz was the poison and fire of possibilities. It was a disease of the heart.

  

The Diseases of the Heart

 

رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً ۚ

إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْوَهَّابُ

 

They say,˺ “Our Lord! Do not let our hearts deviate after you have guided us.

Grant us Your mercy.

You are indeed the Giver of all bounties.

Surah Aal e Imran, Verse 8

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Rabbana: O You who is our Lord, The One who brought about our upbringing by Your Lutf, Mercies, upon the foundation of Your One-ness…

 

La tuzigh: do not deviate and do not make inclined…

 

Qulubuna: our hearts away from Your Path…

 

Ba’ada id hadaytana: after You guided us towards Your Way by revealing Your Books and sending Your Messengers.

 

Wahaba lana: And grant us and bestow upon us…

 

Mil ladunka rahma-tan: from Yourself, Mercy and the Knowledge of Divine Certainty, the Witnessing of Divine Certainty and the Truth of Divine Certainty.

 

Innaka anta al Wahaab: Verily, You are Al Wahaab, The Bestower, without any exchange and without any motive.

 

I searched the word “disease” first in my tafaseer. It had appeared twice.

 

The first was in the breaking of the pact between Man and God. Between the nafs and the ruh and the qalb - the egoistic self, the soul and the heart within the heart. The Surah was At Tauba, The Repentance. It had always played a transformational role in my life.

 

It was its first verse:

 

‏بَرَآءَةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ عَهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ

 

The disavowal from obligations by Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) from the covenant with the idolators.

Surah Tauba, Verse 1

 

Commentary by Hazrat Najmuddin Kubra (ra):

 

“The symbolic meaning of the verse is this: The mushrikeen, the idolator, is the wayward and polytheist nafs, the base self, who made desires its lord and master and began to worship the idols of the world.”

 

When a person is in their early years, the ruh and qalb, the soul and the heart within the heart which is the Station of Recognition of Allah, made a pact with the ego.

 

The terms of it being that the ruh and the qalb will not fight and kill the nafs until the person reaches maturity. Similarly, the nafs also makes a pact not to instigate problems with the ruh and the qalb, which carry the burden of Allah’s Trust and become watchful of Islamic Jurisprudence, the Shari’a, so that the bodily skeleton reaches complete maturity and the physical strength is attained at its peak,

 

In this time, the aql, the intellect, the power to reason and reflect, becomes strong which can then accept the invitation of Truth and have the ability to answer it. It is this aql that allows the recognition of the Prophets and their miracles. And it is through this aql that the proof of the Presence of Allah is established and it understands the compulsion of His Worship in order to express gratitude towards Him for His Blessings.

Indeed, Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) withdraw from the pact after maturity is gained.

 

Because Man broke the pact which was between the nafs and the ruh and the qalb. Before maturity was gained, the nafs was only focused on eating, drinking and clothing itself so that the body can develop and all its needs are met. To this extent, there was no problem for the ruh and the qalb from the nafs.

 

But once maturity was gained, lust and desires became added to these needs.

 

When the lust appeared along with the need for food and drink, its destruction created physical desires for a mate. When that lust was aroused and started tempting the body, the qalb and the ruh began to become weak. This was the fatal disease for which the Prophets were sent so as to dispel it.

 

انما بعثت لرفع العادات و ترک الشھوات

 

Just like Nabi Kareem (salutations and greetings upon him and his family by The One who named him with Himself),

“I have been sent to end the ways of ignorance and to prevail over the desires of lust.”

 

I noticed how at least two ahadith had appeared in this piece starting with the same words: innama bu’istu – I was sent - first to manifest the excellence and perfection of akhlaq, manners, behaviour, morality, character, as taught by Al Khaliq, Al Bar’i, Al Mussawir, The Only One who creates, gives form and shape.

 

And second to end ignorance and prevail over the desires of the forbidden. Of the mushrik, wayward and polytheist nafs which made desires its lord and master and which it wants to worship as idols of the world.

 

As I read those words again and again, I was reminded of how it directly referenced a verse in the Quran:

 

أَفَرَءَیۡتَ مَنِ ٱتَّخَذَ إِلَـٰهَهُۥ هَوَىٰهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ عِلۡمࣲ وَخَتَمَ عَلَىٰ سَمۡعِهِۦ وَقَلۡبِهِۦ

وَجَعَلَ عَلَىٰ بَصَرِهِۦ

غِشَـٰوَةࣰ فَمَن یَهۡدِیهِ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ ٱللَّهِۚ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ

 

Have you seen (he) who takes (as) his god his desire and Allah lets him go astray knowingly, and He sets a seal upon his hearing and his heart and puts over his vision a veil?

Then who will guide him from after Allah?

Then will not you receive admonition?

 

Surah Al Jathiya, Verse 23

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Afara’eyta: Have you seen, O One who takes warning by seeing everything, at…

 

Man ittakhada: the one who takes i.e. the Al Jahid, the one not expressing and feeling gratitude, Al Jahil, the ignorant one, Al Mu’anid, stubbornly pursuing one’s own wishes, who makes…

 

Ilaaha-hu hawa-hu: his desire as his god i.e. what he desires and how he obeyed what he hopes for and becomes a servant to what he loves and what pleases him and he did not want to entrust his matters to his Lord and Master.

 

Wa: And this is only because that…

 

Addallahu Allahu: Allah lets him go astray, Al Aleem, The All Knowing, Al Hakeem, The Only Wise One, by the manifestation of His Name, Al Muzzil, The Only One who humiliates the one who deserves to be humiliated, Al Mudill, The Only One who misleads the one who deserves to be mislead, even though, He, Subhanahu, makes him exist…

 

Ala: upon the appearance of the person…

 

Ilm-in: who has knowledge and sets his origin upon the nature of the ones who have Ma’rifa, Recognition of the Divine, and Tauheed, One-ness…

 

Wa khatama ala sami’hi: and sets a seal upon his hearing so that he cannot hear the Words of Al Haqq from the people of Allah…

 

Wa khatama: and He also sealed…

 

Qalbi-hi: his heart so he cannot ponder over the Signs of Allah and the proofs of His Tauheed, One-ness…

 

Wa ja’ala ala basrihi ghishawa: And He puts a veil upon his eyes, thick, and a curtain, heavy so he cannot gain admonition from His Wondrous Creations of Subhanahu and the fantastic inventions along with that He, Subhanahu, created them even though He created him so that he could see them.

 

Fa may yahdihi: Now who will guide him and instruct him i.e. deliver him from being astray…

 

Min ba’di: after the misguidance…

 

Allah: from Allah to him and his humiliation.

 

Afala tadakkaroon: Will you then not receive warning and wisdom and discernment from the changing of his states, O Uqala, O you who use their ability to consider, Al Majboleen, set up in their origin upon the nature of receiving warning and advice from the height of their temptations and waywardness (the ones whose hearing and sight and hearts have been sealed) by the demands of the Perfection of His Authority and the absence of their being awakened and clearheadedness in the One-ness of His Essence and the Perfection of His Names and Attributes and steadfastness in His Plans and His Control.

 

The entire verse would instill fear in any heart. Was there even one amongst the ordinary that wasn’t worshipping those idols of desires?

 

The second time “disease” appeared in the context of the heart, it was revealed that the Quran was the healing for it.

 

What was the disease? Possibilities!

 

وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاۤءࣱ وَرَحۡمَةࣱ لِّلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ وَلَا یَزِیدُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِینَ إِلَّا خَسَارࣰا

 

And We reveal from the Quran that it is a healing and a mercy for the believers, but it increases the wrongdoers in nothing except loss.

Surah Al Isra’, Verse 82

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

And when you, O Beloved (salutations and greetings upon you and your blessed family by Your Lord who created you for Appearance of His Essence), have become steadfast and have complete command on the Maqam e Mahmood, the Station of Praise and the glorious station of intercession - and when you are triumphant with the Hauz ul Maurood, the spring to which all will come…

 

Wa nunazzilu: and We descend upon you, exalting your honour and aiding your matters (of spreading the Messenge)…

Min al Quran: through the Quran (which you convey), clear, clarifying your elevated ranks from Tauheed, Allah’s One-ness…

 

Ma huwa shifa’un: which is a healing for

1.the disease of the hearts poisoned with possibilities in the narrowness of existence (worldly)

 

2.and (it is a healing) for those who are faced with the limitations of colours (Judaism, Christianity, etc) for the ones granted the ability of the honour of your following…

 

Wa rahmatun: and (it is) a mercy descending…

 

Lil Momi’neen: for the believers who bear witness to your religion and your Book so that they seek instruction and unveil what is in it of symbols and signs according to their capability and capacity, so that they can reflect or be alerted by what is in it of secrets that relate to the walking upon the Path of Tauheed, One-ness.

 

Temptation and seductions of the nafs made the qalb and ruh weak. Those temptations arose from the base self caving to and obsessing over imkaan, possibilities. The nafs thought it could rule both of them. No wonder when they called, it turned away in stubborn arrogance, persistent, insistent upon having its own way. It felt it was in no need of them. In any situation and any circumstance, easy or difficult.

  

The Nature of Blessings and Trials

 

Said Nabi Kareem (endless salutations and greetings of Allah upon him and his family who mirror him in perfection):

“Fixed will be the scales on the Day of Judgement for the people of Sala’t, those who established their prayers and Sadaqa, those who gave charity beyond what is obligated and Hajj, the ones who performed the pilgrimage and they will be given their reward for it.

But there will be no scales for the Ahl al Bala, the people who faced afflictions.

Instead poured upon them will be rewards.

Until they will intensely desire, the Ahl al Afiyat, the people who lived life without suffering in this world, wishing that their bodies had been cut with scissors in the world, after they see what the people who faced afflictions will be taking as their rewards.”

 

I had been translating a series of verses about blessings and trials with Qari Sahib to understand them. They appeared again and again in various forms in the Quran. I wanted to know what reaction was expected to them. What both were in their nature. What was the reaction of the nafs to them?

 

One of the verses that became unforgettable was about the fact that blessings were in fact also a trial. I couldn’t get over it. How could the good stuff that brought happiness also be an ibtila – something that causes distress?

 

فَإِذَا مَسَّ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ ضُرࣱّ دَعَانَا ثُمَّ إِذَا خَوَّلۡنَـٰهُ نِعۡمَةࣰ مِّنَّا قَالَ إِنَّمَاۤ أُوتِیتُهُۥ عَلَىٰ عِلۡمِۭۚ

بَلۡ هِیَ فِتۡنَةࣱ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكۡثَرَهُمۡ لَا یَعۡلَمُونَ

 

So when touches man adversity, he calls upon Us, then when We bestow on him a favor from Us, he says, “I have been given it, this boon, because of my own knowledge.”

Nay, it is a trial, but most of them do not know.

Surah Zumar, Verse 49

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Then pointed Subhanahu towards the instability of Man and the absence of steadfastness upon the intention (being) sincere towards his Lord so He said:

 

Fa ida massa al insaana durrun: so when touches Man harm from Us, painful, unpleasant, then focusing and expressing attachment towards Us…

 

Da’aana: he invokes Us and wants Us to remove from him the harm, upon the way of pleading and suggesting…

 

Summa: then after We lifted from Him his harm…

 

Ida khawwalnahu: when We bestowed him i.e. We granted him and alleviated it…

 

Ni’ma-tan: with a blessing bountiful…

 

Minna: from Us in honour, to test how he is grateful upon the pushing back of the harm and the receiving of the blessing after the removal of the harm…

 

Qala: he said in that moment, upon the way of kufran, ingratitude…

 

Innama uteetahu: I have only been given it (the blessing) from the blessings…

 

Ala ilm-in: due to certain knowledge which I have so I am able to earn the blessing (from other blessings) and collect it and gain from it and take it.

 

Or the other meaning: Whatever I was given and whatever I was bestowed, it is because of my knowledge which I gathered and sought. The knowledge has not come from where I might think it has come (i.e. Allah).

 

This is what he says from what takes him to his delusions upon ingratitude and transgression, although it is proved that his blessings are not in itself blessings…

 

Bal hiya fitna: instead this is a suffering, a trial from Us for him, a test to find out, is he grateful or ungrateful?

 

Wa lakinna aksarahum la ya’maloon: But most of them do not know and do not understand the nature of the trial from Us and it is Our test so that is why they drown in the sea of ungratefulness and transgression.

 

The punishment of that ingratitude was that the blessing became seized.

 

Al Fath Ar Rabbani

 

إذا كتمتم نعم الله عز وجل و لم تشكروه عليها سلبها منكم

عن النبي صلى الله تعالى عليه وسلم أنه قال :

إذا أنعم الله عز وجل على عبده نعمة أحب أن يرى عليه

 

If you hide the blessings from Allah Azzo Jal and did not express gratitude for it, He will seize it from you.

 

As the Prophet of Allah (salutations and greetings upon him and his family reverberate in the Universe in permanence) said certainly: “When Allah Azzo Jal bestows a blessing upon a servant, He loves that He sees its effect of it upon the person.

 

The seizing did not mean it was literally taken away. That too happened sometimes. What was certain was that the joy, which should have been its natural consequence, one became robbed of it. The rich became misers. That was what was in public display the most. Then eventually the riches also began to decline. Not enough to matter to the 30 next generations but by then the miserliness had also entered the nature of the offspring waiting to be compounded. The curse was inherited.

 

Even worse, another verse revealed why in Lahore every single person of any means, even if it wasn’t much, would incessantly talk about money. If the recipient of the blessing was not acknowledging of The Bestower of it, then the earning of that livelihood would become miserable. All they would do is talk about one thing; that miserable livelihood!

 

وَمَنۡ أَعۡرَضَ عَن ذِكۡرِی فَإِنَّ لَهُۥ مَعِیشَةࣰ ضَنكࣰا وَنَحۡشُرُهُۥ یَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِیَـٰمَةِ أَعۡمَىٰ

 

And whoever turns away from My remembrance, then indeed, for him (is) a life miserable and We will gather him (on the) Day (of) the Resurrection blind."

Surah Taha, Verse 124

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa man a’rada an dikri: And the one who turns away from My Remembrance i.e. My Book which continues to be recited by the tongues of Our Messengers, the Guides (who prevent) from being astray…

 

Fa inna lahu: so indeed it is ordained for him and it is true (for him) as long as he in the abode of this world…

 

Ma’eesha-tan danka: a livelihood miserable, narrow, making his qalb, heart, tight to the extent that there will no longer be in it anything, except the pondering of the matter of livelihood.

 

Wa: And when he dies…

 

Nahshuru yauma al Qiyama: and We shall raise him on the Day of Judgement, the Great Day…

 

A’maa: blind as well i.e. his turning away from Allah Al Haqq in the world will be in the form of being blind in the Hereafter.

I had seen how when life was spinning out of control, especially when disease descended, people whose necks didn’t bend because of their assuredness that they were right in thinking what they thought, were crouching in prostrations, begging for relief.

 

When the affliction was lifted because of their utterances of words from the Quran and sudden bouts of charity, they acted like they had saved themselves. Hearts were hard again, stubborn, arrogant, proud. Everything was forgotten as if it never was.

 

وَإِذَا مَسَّ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ ٱلضُّرُّ دَعَانَا لِجَنۢبِهِۦۤ أَوۡ قَاعِدًا أَوۡ قَاۤىِٕمࣰا فَلَمَّا كَشَفۡنَا عَنۡهُ ضُرَّهُۥ مَرَّ كَأَن لَّمۡ یَدۡعُنَاۤ إِلَىٰ ضُرࣲّ مَّسَّهُۥۚ كَذَٰلِكَ زُیِّنَ لِلۡمُسۡرِفِینَ مَا كَانُوا۟ یَعۡمَلُونَ

 

And when touches the man the affliction he calls Us, (lying) on his side or sitting or standing.

But when We remove from him his affliction, he passes on as if he (had) not called Us for (the) affliction (that) touched him.

Thus (it) is made fair seeming to the transgressors what they used (to) do.

Surah Yunus, Verse 12

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa: And from the intensity of their wandering in blindness and oppression…

 

Ida massa: when touches him and comes his way…

 

Al insaana ad-durru: harm towards the human being i.e. what harms him from painful disease and matters creating heartbreak and shock…

 

Da’ana: he invokes Us complaining to Us, suffering about his complaint before Us, pleading…

 

Lijanbihi: on his side, if he does not have the energy to do anything else…

 

Au qaidan au qayiman: or sitting or standing, beseeching, crying, asking for relief…

 

Falamma kashafna anhu durra-hu: so when We removed from him his affliction and made his wish come true, he began to abstain from Us and from Our Commands and he never inclined towards Us at all and he walked from the intensity of his blindness and his ghaflat, forgetfulness..

 

Marra ka-allam ya’d-u’na ila: passing like he never prayed before Us for relief…

 

Durrim massa-hu kadalika: from harm that touched him. This is how i.e. like you heard…

 

Zuyyina: it is beautified i.e. it is made beloved to them and pleasing…

 

Lil Musrifeena: for the transgressors, Al Munhamakeena, the ones drowning in temptation and refusal to be guided…

 

Ma kanu ya’maloon: (it is beautified for them) what they did in wrong deeds in opposition to the Command of Allah and arguing with His Rasool (salutations and greetings upon him and his family) and the Mo’mineen, the believers who obedient to his blessed person and insistence upon that which comes from them from arrogance and stubborn-ness.

 

But afflictions return again and again. That is the nature of life itself. It was all a test:

 

Az Zumar, Verse 49:

 

Minna: from Us in honour, to test how he is grateful upon the pushing back of the harm and the receiving of the blessing after the removal of the harm…

…

Wa lakinna aksarahum la ya’maloon: But most of them do not know and do not understand the nature of the trial from Us and it is Our test so that is why they drown in the sea of ungratefulness and transgression.

 

There was one category of people that I had always seen pass those tests with flying colours. The poor! It was they who had taught me that every gesture, be it of worship or charity had to be accepted. On every pilgrimage, while doing any act of benefit to another, I heard only from them the words; “May Allah accept your visit, your deed, your intention.” You!

 

I took those words for granted my whole life. I assumed everything good I did, all my acts were accepted. It didn’t occur to me that their acceptance was entirely out of my control. In the world, it was always the poor who always taught me the secrets of humility because they practiced it without striving. Their nafs was in alignment with their qalb and batin. As always their prayer for me was better than any other prayer of the ordinary. It could make me of the Maqboleen, the exalted category of “the accepted!”

 

And it was the poor who were the ones with little to nothing when it came to amwaal, possessions. They were the only ones who placed their trust in Allah Al Muttawakkal, The Only One to entrust matters, all of them, all of the time. They didn’t waiver between states. Grateful one moment, ungrateful the other. Reliant one moment, independent the next.

 

Remembering Him one second, forgetting He existed the next.

 

One person who played that out in front of me in particular was Shaan.

  

Shaan

 

إِنَّهُۥ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ سُلْطَـٰنٌ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ

 

Indeed, there is for him (Iblis) no authority over those who have believed and rely upon their Lord.

Surah An-Nahl, Verse 99

 

Tafseer e Jilani:

 

Inna hu laysa hu sultan an: Indeed he, Iblis, has no ability to capture and overcome…

 

A’la lladina a’mino: the ones who believe in the One-ness of Allah and have certainty in the truthfulness of Allah’s Books and His Messengers and the Day promised and that which will be given in reward that Day.

 

Wa; And along with this

 

Al’a Rabbi-him: they rely on their Lord and no one else from the sources and means of day to day life and…

 

Yatawakkaluna: they surrender and they entrust all their matters to Him for sure.

 

Shan was the woman I had found in the park in the spring of 2021. The one who identified as male and who I thought was one until the one of the guards told me he was not. In a span reaching two years, I had moved him around 6 residences, including my own. None of them had worked in terms of settling him down.

 

The one that had been the most calming for him was Pathani’s. She was someone from my village who had worked for me for two decades plus and then retired. But she couldn’t keep him forever. He required supervision. Not 24/7 but enough that it would impede her lifestyle.

 

Pathani was the one who had been at my place visiting when Shaan was kicked out of home number 5. Which, incidentally, was also home number 1 and 3. It had been a God-send. I had gotten a call from the person whose house it was and she told me Shaan had to leave within the hour. That I was taken aback was putting it mildly.

 

“I can’t move him in an hour,” I said in shock. “Give me a few days and I will do it.”

 

I didn’t ask any questions as to why or what brought on the sudden decision. I did know that about two weeks earlier, Shaan had kicked a door down. When I had asked him the reason he said that one of the carpenters on the premises had called him Janoo. A term of endearment certainly inappropriate. It had triggered him and he had demolished the door.

 

I had reprimanded him saying that was still no justification to damage the property of someone who had extended the courtesy of allowing him to live there. I think the Autism prevented pretty much all my words from sinking in. I had called the owner then, while he sat in front of me, so he could apologize but she hadn’t picked up. Now she was calling to say he was out.

 

A few minutes later she called back. Her tone had become aggressive.

 

“I cannot wait a few days. I need him out now. It’s your problem, figure it out.”

 

I tried to plead my case gently. That within the hour was not a realistic possibility but when she didn’t listen I lost my temper and ended the conversation with one line.

 

“I will have him out by tomorrow morning. Do not call me back again to say it has to be today.”

 

Pathani came to my room a few minutes later and saw me in a state of distress. She looked at me with concern. She was the only one in the world who took on my problems as hers in the moment they appeared. There’s something to be said about the staff from the village. Their loyalty is deeper than I have experienced in any worldly relationship otherwise; blood, romance, friendship, you name it.

 

When people would say to me why I helped her build a house not once, but twice because she remarried and left the first house to her daughter, I would reply, “If I could I would make her 8 houses.” She was the only one who, when she worked in my house and my brother and I were in our 20s with parties happening every other weekend because we lived alone, I would not let her come up while my friends smoked and drank and danced.

 

I didn’t want her to see them like that, much less me. It was nice, that feeling of haya, modesty, that appeared in the absence of parents who had been the others who invoked it. For my generation at least. The famed X-ers!

 

I told her what had happened. Just then an idea came to my head.

 

“Pathani,” I said hopefully, “Can’t you take Shaan with you to Radhan?”

 

She didn’t answer me for a moment clearly surprised by my request.

 

When she didn’t respond, I moved on to asking why. “Is it because of the boy-girl thing? You’re worried what people will say?”

 

She made me laugh with her answer which is best translated without cursing as, “I could give two hoots about what people think.”

 

“Then…” I said, letting my words linger. “Can’t you take him while I figure out what to do? Just for a couple of weeks?”

 

She told me she would discuss it with her husband and went downstairs. A few minutes later, she agreed. It was supposed to have been three weeks tops. It ended up being three months as I got the run around from others who were offering me rooms for Shaan and then not coming through.

 

I started wondering if it could be a permanent thing. Shaan loved the village. He loved staying with her at her house. And why not? She was gentle, kind, generous and sensitive. But no one keeps anyone forever. People are unable to do it for their own children.

 

Shaan had no one. Except God! That was my sole consolation throughout the months he was in my charge. If there was a matter in which I had relinquished complete control to my Lord, it was this.

 

While living in her house Shaan listened to her and did as he was told. For the most part. Once or twice he apparently flipped his charpoy over. When Pathani would help him remake the bed and ask him why, he would say it was an accident. The only thing that was an issue was when he wanted to stand at the gate. He loved people watching. He would have loved New York!

 

He used to do it at my house twice a day, morning and afternoon. He would walk to the end of the street which was busier. Then he would move his hands around in the air in waves like he was talking to the breeze. All the different kinds as mentioned in the Quran that seemed to come his way. He was the reason I looked up this verse:

 

وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِیۤ أَرۡسَلَ ٱلرِّیَـٰحَ بُشۡرَۢا بَیۡنَ یَدَیۡ رَحۡمَتِهِۦۚ

وَأَنزَلۡنَا مِنَ ٱلسَّمَاۤءِ مَاۤءࣰ طَهُورࣰا

 

And He is the One Who sends the winds (as) glad tidings (from) between the Hands of His Mercy and We send down from the sky water pure.

Surah Al Furqan, Verse 48

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa huwa alladi ar reeyaha bushran: And He is The One who sends the breezes as good news, giving glad tidings…

 

Bayna yadae Rahmatihi: before (the rains that come from) His Mercy, He gives the happy news by His descending…

 

Wa: and after Our Glad Tidings to you in the shape of breezes bringing good news…

 

Anzalna: We sent down from the Station of Our Generosity…

Mina: from…

 

As Sama’i ma’an tahooran: the skies, rain pure, utmost in purity, highest, extreme in its purpose (of purification).

 

In November Shaan finally and reluctantly returned with her to Lahore to move in the last place I would rent, furnish and set up for him. Pathani and I had gone to drop him off there and show him where everything was. I had made sure the kitchen was stocked so that he didn’t have to step out of the house at least till the next afternoon in order to buy anything. I had it organized like I would have for myself.

 

When we were leaving he suddenly said, “Won’t one person spend the night here with me?”

 

I looked at him in surprise. He was so independent, the ask floored me.

 

Seeing my surprise he explained, “Because it’s the first night.”

 

“But there’s only a single bed Shaan,” I said pointing at it. The apartment was like a studio but the kitchen was separate through a door. It was a small place, brand new. “Where would the other person sleep?”

 

I looked over at Pathani and could see the angst in her face. She understood everyone’s pain in the moment they felt it. Shaan slowly nodded then looked at me.

 

“So I might call you all night then. Will you pick up?”

 

“Of course,” I replied truthfully. “I will keep my phone on and right next to me. You can call me all night, whenever you like.”

 

Normally I would turn my phone to Silent around 9ish at home but those first few days I didn’t do that. When 12 days later the landlord called me to say Shaan would have to leave the house, it was Pathani I discussed the next options with. The expulsion was for the usual reasons but they seemed to be getting worse; rude behaviour, threatening manner. He was glaring at neighbors, even pulling out a knife and scaring them.

 

The first option that appeared was a privately run shelter for homeless women and children. The second was a center for the abandoned run by the local government. I was being told that the conditions in the latter were abominable. 200 plus people to dorm-like rooms that were likely filthy. If someone was not compliant with the orders of the staff, they could be beaten. At worst, they would be drugged and left in a state of heavy sedation. Nobody cared if they lived or died.

 

That was where Pathani drew the line.

 

“You can’t send her there,” she said with this equally intense mix of what sounded like a plea and an order. “You can’t send her somewhere people will beat her. You know she doesn’t do things like other people. They will hit her for sure. She won’t listen to them.” She didn’t even get to the other thing about the drugs and sedation. “Better than that, you should set her free.”

 

Azaad kar dein – were the words.

 

“But its cold Pathani,” I replied. “And even if I drop Shaan off on this corner or that neighborhood like he says, the situation in the city is not what it was when I found him. Someone will snatch his phone and anything of value within the hour and then what?”

 

“Still,” she would say insistent, “you can’t send her to the government facility.”

 

In truth, that was just a back-up if Shaan couldn’t settle in the private shelter but the possibility was looming before all of us.

The day before he was supposed to go there he started acting aggressively again. That was the signal, just in time that he would not be able to live there either. For the first time in two years I scrambled to find the contacts of different therapists and psychiatrists. I described the situation and whatever I could summarize about his behaviour.

 

I spoke to three renowned doctors, one of whom was my therapist. All of them said the same thing. He needed medicine and he needed to be in an institution for patients with mental health issues because the ones he was exhibiting were serious.

 

At first my heart sank at the idea of institutionalizing Shaan because such centers didn’t have the best record in terms of patient treatment. But I learnt that one such institute had recently come under the control of private donors and was excellent. When I called them I was told that the requisite for admission was an ID card and a relative. I offered both. They seemed hesitant to accept that in lieu of documentation from the patient but they made an exception. If it was ever warranted Shaan was certainly first in line in terms of deserving it.

 

I was told to send him and they would decide then what they would do. Take him or not!

 

That last night Pathani called him to see how he was feeling. I had been playing bad cop since the landlord called to say he was chucking him out. Pulling a knife on someone was a arrest-able offence. The routine had become necessary to make Shaan understand that he had to control himself. Also he needed to be told what was coming. It had killed me to be curt in my tone with him but there was no option.

 

I had even yelled at him once. That was not pretense. I had actually lost it. That was when the last landlord had called me to say he pulled a knife on the woman who lived above him. Truth be told, she had enraged him first by barging into his house, claiming that he had deliberately locked the gate while her son was out.

 

“Get it together Shaan,” I had screamed when he kept going on and on about he would take care of her. “She’s crazy I know but calm down. She made a mistake. Let it go.”

 

He had only replied in his usual child-like manner. “I’m boycotting you for two weeks also.”

 

I had just sighed.

 

After a sleepless night I went to his place the next morning to apologize. I had a spare set of keys so when he didn’t answer the phone, I decided to take my chances and drop by. The gate was open so I pushed it to enter. He must have heard me because just then I heard his front door open. As I popped my head through the gate, he popped his out the door. We both beamed at each other.

 

“Kya haal hai Shaan?” I had said. How are you?

 

“Fine Ma’am,” he had replied warmly. “Come!” He had always loved visitors.

 

I walked towards him holding my hand out as a gesture of contrition. “I came to say sorry to you. I never spoke to you like that before and I’m really sorry I did yesterday.”

 

He tried to cut me off. “No, no,” he said. “Please. I’m sorry Ma’am. I don’t know what happened to me.”

 

Shaan had checked boxes of all kinds of mental illnesses and psychosis. He was autistic. He saw people who weren’t there. He gave gibberish answers to every question that was serious. He clearly had intense trauma from assault, whether it was sexual or violent, I don’t know. His anger was out of his control entirely. He certainly couldn’t hold a job.

 

Yet he never harmed me. Ever. Emotionally or otherwise.

 

Precisely for that reason I had never been able to see the acuteness of his mental health problems and likely become an enabler. He had always been polite to me and even though he might have been manipulative at times, seeing that I would do anything for him, he didn’t really try to take advantage of me. He was never cruel. He was never greedy. He had zero attachment to money.

 

Meanwhile all the other people in my life in all kinds of roles, even though they likely had mental health issues as well and possibly faced extraordinary trauma, none of them had been homeless for a single day, much less three years. I’ve barely seen women as homeless people in the West much less Pakistan. Almost every other person I knew had taken my role in their lives, even when it was the most sincere, for granted and most of them had returned the feeling with viciousness in one form or another. Indifference being the worst!

 

It used to make me feel bad. I used to feel surprised by its recurrence knowing there was a lesson somewhere that was eluding me. I was about to learn that lesson which was going to the most essential in my spiritual journey. A journey that had in fact become stunted and I didn’t even know it. Writing pages upon pages and translating verse after verse. I wasn’t even aware that all that gathering of knowledge had yielded nothing.

 

“I will go to the hospital tomorrow,” Shaan said to Pathani when she called to ask him how he was feeling. “If they don’t take me, then I will go the neighborhood where I grew up and try to find a place there. Whatever is in my taqdeer,” he had said the word to her, Fate decreed! “I don’t know what is written but whatever it is, I will accept it.”

 

In that state of undeniable anxiousness of the entirely unknown, he was in a state of absolute surrender. There was not even a hint of any ae’taraz.

 

Shaan was the Mo’min I wanted to be!

 

قُل لَّن یُصِیبَنَاۤ إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوۡلَىٰنَاۚ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلۡیَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ

 

Say, "Never will befall us except what has decreed Allah for us, He (is) our Protector."

And on Allah the believers put (their) trust.

 

Surah At Taubah, Verse 51

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Qul: Say, O Akmal ar Rusul, O Messenger who perfects the Messenger-hood (Allah sends greetings and salutations upon you and your exalted family), (say) to those who find their pleasure in, God forbid, mocking you, who are hypocrites, (say to them) according to your unveiling and your witnessing…

 

Layyuseebana: no adversity will ever come to us from traumas…

 

Illa ma kataballah: except that which Allah has written, Al Muqaddir, The One who has the power to destine death and sustenance and all other deeds and states and all the continuous occurring in the Realm of the Unseen as well as the Realm of the Witnessing, i.e. the world…

 

Lana: for us and Allah chose for us from His Ever Present Knowledge because…

 

Huwa: He Himself is…

 

Maulana: alone our Protector and Controller of all our matters that He does to us, according to what He has confirmed in His Ever present Knowledge, without exchange and without amendment.

 

Wa: And there is no option for us except Raza, being pleased with that which happened to us and that which is happening and will happen from what He has fated for us so that’s…

 

Alallahi: in Allah Subhanahu and no one else except Him in all causes and means because everything is returning towards Him, just as their origin initially itself is also from Him…

 

Falyatawakkalil Mo’minoon: so the believers should place their trust in Allah’s One-ness and the extension of the Secrets of His One-ness upon the sheets of all His Creation.

 

Shaan played it out perfectly: “There is no option for the believer except to be pleased with that which happened, is happening, will happen.”

 

I had never seen Shaan pray. I had never seen him do any tasbeeh. But his consciousness of Subhanahu was acute because he was in a state of eternal gratitude. I saw that gratitude in reference to my own person to such an extent, I could only imagine what it was for The Divine. It was why he was never forgotten by Him.

 

‏فَٱذْكُرُونِىٓ أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُوا۟ لِى وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ ‎

 

So remember Me, I will remember you

and be grateful to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me.

Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 152

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

And when We have bestowed upon you the greatest blessings, (كَمَاۤ أَرۡسَلۡنَا فِیكُمۡ رَسُولࣰا مِّنكُمۡ یَتۡلُوا۟ عَلَیۡكُمۡ ءَایَـٰتِنَا وَیُزَكِّیكُمۡ وَیُعَلِّمُكُمُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلۡحِكۡمَةَ وَیُعَلِّمُكُم مَّا لَمۡ تَكُونُوا۟ تَعۡلَمُونَ , as We sent among you a Messenger from you (who) recites to you Our verses and purifies you and teaches you the Book and the wisdom and teaches you what not you were knowing - Al Baqarah, Verse 151, through the person of Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him and his family)) and perfected them for you…

 

Fadkuruni: so Remember Me, O Mo’mineen, Believers, with an

everlasting inclination and a truthful turning towards Me…

 

Adkurkum: I will remember you by giving you a life full of mercy and the breezes of spirituality (nourshing the soul)…

 

Washkuru li: and be grateful to Me referring all your blessings towards Me…

 

Wa la takfiroon: and don’t be ungrateful to Me by referring these blessings to (other) causes and means.

 

My friend Saneeah, who was my go-to person for advice when it came to him, had remarked once. “I am amazed that every single time you call me with some incident of how things have completely blown up with Shaan, within hours another avenue appears for him.”

 

The next day he went to the facility. They admitted him. Pathani and I finally slept. Allah Subhanahu was kind to him just like He had always been especially kind to me. Despite that I had been the worst of transgressors, the Musrifeen, for I was certainly of those who, for the life of me, with all that intense reflection, did not know when someone in the world was good for me and when they were not.

 

وَهُوَ كُرۡهࣱ لَّكُمۡۖ

وَعَسَىٰۤ أَن تَكۡرَهُوا۟ شَیۡءࣰا وَهُوَ خَیۡرࣱ لَّكُمۡۖ

وَعَسَىٰۤ أَن تُحِبُّوا۟ شَیۡءࣰا وَهُوَ شَرࣱّ لَّكُمۡۗ

وَٱللَّهُ یَعۡلَمُ وَأَنتُمۡ لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ

 

But perhaps that you dislike a thing and it is good for you

and perhaps that you love a thing and it is bad for you.

And Allah knows while you (do) not know.

Surah Al Baqarah, Verse 216

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa huwa kurhun: And it is hateful to you, disliked, abrasive…

 

Lakum: for you as long as this is in your selfishness and your identity and as long as you are in it with the increase and compulsions of possibilities…

 

Wa asa an takrahu shayan: perhaps that you dislike a thing in this world…

 

Wa huwa khairullakum: and it is good for you in the Hereafter…

 

Wa asa an tuhibbu shayan: and perhaps that you like something in this world…

 

Wa huwa sharralakum: and it is bad for you in the Hereafter.

 

Wallahu: And Allah is Al Hadi, The Only Guide, for you towards the same way…

 

Ya’lamu: He knows your goodness and your badness in it and the association of others with Him and He takes care of you from it…

 

Wa antum: and you all by your personality…

 

La talamoon: do not know a thing from goodness and badness but instead for you is obedience and following according to what is commanded and what is forbidden and all knowledge is with Allah Al Aziz, The Dominant, Al Aleem, The All Knowing.

 

Again imkaan: “The increase and compulsion of possibilities…”

 

Continued on: www.flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/52652408863/in/datepos...

Class 70 no. 70014 passes Cossington on 11th April 2014 working 6L89 Tunstead - West Thurrock Lafarge cement with JPA hoppers. These Locos have been affectionately nicknamed 'Uglys' by some enthusiasts in light of there rather bizarre appearance.

The cutest and most affectionate cat I ever bumped into.

While his brother was a little hurricane, this one was the shy and careful one. It took me a while to coax him of his shell but in the end he grew so fond of me, he began to follow me everywhere.

My heart was bleeding when I had to give him back to his owners.

 

My sister's sweet body next to mine.

Affectionately known as a Tin Shed On Wheels, the Citroen HY was all about function over form with every available cargo space utilised. Predictably modelled by Norev and thankfully predictably maximised too with various different colours and liveries. Beautifully painted, beautifully detailed and in this instance completely devoid of any signage. Mint and boxed.

Omoide Yokocho, affectionately known as “Memory Lane,” is a nostalgic treasure tucked away in Shinjuku’s bustling urban jungle. This narrow alley, lined with red lanterns and vibrant signage, takes you on a journey back to post-war Tokyo, a time when Japan was rebuilding its identity. Its compact eateries and street-side izakayas have been serving soul-warming dishes for decades, making this a hotspot for both locals and tourists seeking an authentic Japanese dining experience.

 

The alley’s charm lies in its intricate architectural details, reflecting the area’s mid-20th-century roots. Traditional wooden facades, adorned with hand-painted signs, contrast with the overhead tangle of utility wires, a reminder of Tokyo's rapid urbanization. The red lanterns strung above the walkway cast a warm glow at night, creating an atmosphere that feels simultaneously intimate and lively.

 

Originally called “Shonben Yokocho” (Piss Alley) due to its humble beginnings, the area was a hub for street vendors and inexpensive drinks after World War II. Over the years, it evolved into Omoide Yokocho, a vibrant dining enclave where the aroma of grilled yakitori and sizzling noodles fills the air. Despite modernization, the alley retains its vintage vibe, making it a living museum of Tokyo’s urban history.

 

Whether you're sampling yakitori skewers, sipping sake, or simply soaking in the retro aesthetics, Omoide Yokocho offers an immersive slice of old Tokyo. A stroll through this alley isn’t just a meal—it’s a sensory experience that captures the spirit of a bygone era while thriving in the heart of modern Shinjuku.

I have affectionately named this Grackle "Spot" as he has a white color variation on the top of his head. He is currently a regular visitor to my backyard feeders. I have come to understand after some internet research , that such "anomalous" color variations are not all that uncommon among Grackles. I never imagined that I would have anything approaching affection for the likes of a Grackle, but there you go. ;-) As of this writing, this morning I noticed another that has some white feathers on one of his wings. Stay tuned for documentation.

Playa del Ingles, Gran Canaria

Around 800 CE there was a wooden church in Groningen where now stands magnificent Gothic St Martin's the tower of which is known affectionately in the local dialect as "d'Olle Grieze" (= Old Gray). The first wooden church was soon replaced by a second one, reputedly burned down with the rest of the town around 1000 by marauding Norsemen. Then there was a succession of stone and brick buildings.

Quick growth of Groningen's population in the late fourteenth and fifteenth century made a larger church necessary, and the romanesque choir made place for the present Gothic one. This was renovation at its best, and it became an example to emulate for many towns in the northern Netherlands and northern Germany (e.g. Appingedam and Norden).

The high costs for this rebuilding were in part defrayed by the permission granted by Pope Boniface IX (1389-1404) to sell indulgences for honoring the relic of the purported arm of John the Baptist preserved here. It had been bought in the East by a merchant and came into the possession of St. Martin's in the early thirteenth century through the efforts of a female hermit who lived opposite the church (a story told by Caesarius of Heisterbach (c.1180-c.1140), a medieval chronicler and popular teller of fabulous tales).

This view to the East of the azure blue ceiling of the choir, studded with stars, is from the altar. Through the interior window, you can just see an indication of the fourteen enormous secco paintings of scenes from the life of Jesus. They were made in the sixteenth century, but whited out by the Protestants who took over the city in 1594 (the 'reduction' of Groningen). Rediscovered in 1923, they have since been restored beautifully.

Today the church is used for ecumenical services, for concerts, and often for lectures (especially of the Faculty of Law). The main organ on the west wall is a wonder to behold (see the next photo) and to hear!

Curiously: I left the flash on automatic and it fired but I didn't notice till I got home that the blue was far more cerulean than I remembered. I went back but couldn't get it to what I see as closer to azure. There's more yellow, too, in the arches. Anyway... you can't win them all.

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft with a two-man crew that served during and after the Second World War. It was one of few operational front-line aircraft of the era constructed almost entirely of wood and was nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder". The Mosquito was also known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews. Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, the Mosquito was adapted to roles including low to medium-altitude daytime tactical bomber, high-altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike aircraft, and fast photo-reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) as a fast transport to carry small high-value cargoes to, and from, neutral countries, through enemy-controlled airspace.

 

When the Mosquito began production in 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world. Entering widespread service in 1942, the Mosquito was a high-speed, high-altitude photo-reconnaissance aircraft, continuing in this role throughout the war. From mid-1942 to mid-1943 Mosquito bombers flew high-speed, medium or low-altitude missions against factories, railways and other pinpoint targets in Germany and German-occupied Europe. From late 1943, Mosquito bombers were formed into the Light Night Strike Force and used as pathfinders for RAF Bomber Command's heavy-bomber raids. They were also used as "nuisance" bombers, often dropping Blockbuster bombs - 4,000 lb (1,812 kg) "cookies" - in high-altitude, high-speed raids that German night fighters were almost powerless to intercept.

 

As a night fighter, from mid-1942, the Mosquito intercepted Luftwaffe raids on the United Kingdom, notably defeating Operation Steinbock in 1944. Starting in July 1942, Mosquito night-fighter units raided Luftwaffe airfields. As part of 100 Group, it was a night fighter and intruder supporting RAF Bomber Command's heavy bombers and reduced bomber losses during 1944 and 1945. As a fighter-bomber in the Second Tactical Air Force, the Mosquito took part in "special raids", such as the attack on Amiens Prison in early 1944, and in precision attacks against Gestapo or German intelligence and security forces. Second Tactical Air Force Mosquitos supported the British Army during the 1944 Normandy Campaign. From 1943 Mosquitos with RAF Coastal Command strike squadrons attacked Kriegsmarine U-boats (particularly in the 1943 Bay of Biscay, where significant numbers were sunk or damaged) and intercepting transport ship concentrations.

 

The Mosquito flew with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other air forces in the European theatre, and the Mediterranean and Italian theatres. The Mosquito was also used by the RAF in the South East Asian theatre, and by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) based in the Halmaheras and Borneo during the Pacific War.

 

By the early-mid-1930s, de Havilland had a reputation for innovative high-speed aircraft with the DH.88 Comet racer. The later DH.91 Albatross airliner pioneered the composite wood construction that the Mosquito used. The 22-passenger Albatross could cruise at 210 miles per hour (340 km/h) at 11,000 feet (3,400 m), better than the 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) Handley Page H.P.42 and other biplanes it was replacing. The wooden monocoque construction not only saved weight and compensated for the low power of the de Havilland Gipsy Twelve engines used by this aircraft, but simplified production and reduced construction time.

 

Air Ministry bomber requirements and concepts:

 

On 8 September 1936, the British Air Ministry issued Specification P.13/36 which called for a twin-engined medium bomber capable of carrying a bomb load of 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) for 3,000 miles (4,800 km) with a maximum speed of 275 miles per hour (443 km/h) at 15,000 feet (4,600 m); a maximum bomb load of 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg) which could be carried over shorter ranges was also specified. Aviation firms entered heavy designs with new high-powered engines and multiple defensive turrets, leading to the production of the Avro Manchester and Handley Page Halifax.

 

In May 1937, as a comparison to P.13/36, George Volkert, the chief designer of Handley Page, put forward the concept of a fast unarmed bomber. In 20 pages, Volkert planned an aerodynamically clean medium bomber to carry 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) of bombs at a cruising speed of 300 miles per hour (480 km/h). There was support in the RAF and Air Ministry; Captain R N Liptrot, Research Director Aircraft 3 (RDA3), appraised Volkert's design, calculating that its top speed would exceed the new Supermarine Spitfire. There were, however, counter-arguments that, although such a design had merit, it would not necessarily be faster than enemy fighters for long. The ministry was also considering using non-strategic materials for aircraft production, which, in 1938, had led to specification B.9/38 and the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle medium bomber, largely constructed from spruce and plywood attached to a steel-tube frame. The idea of a small, fast bomber gained support at a much earlier stage than sometimes acknowledged though it was unlikely that the Air Ministry envisaged it not using light alloy components.

  

Project Mosquito:

 

Once design of the DH.98 had started, de Havilland built mock-ups, the most detailed at Salisbury Hall, in the hangar where E0234 was being built. Initially, this was designed with the crew enclosed in the fuselage behind a transparent nose (similar to the Bristol Blenheim or Heinkel He 111H), but this was quickly altered to a more solid nose with a more conventional canopy.

 

The construction of the prototype began in March 1940, but work was cancelled again after the Battle of Dunkirk, when Lord Beaverbrook, as Minister of Aircraft Production, decided there was no production capacity for aircraft like the DH.98, which was not expected to be in service until early 1941. Although Lord Beaverbrook told Air Vice-Marshal Freeman that work on the project had better stop, he did not issue a specific instruction, and Freeman ignored the request. In June 1940, however, Lord Beaverbrook and the Air Staff ordered that production was to focus on five existing types, namely the Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane, Vickers Wellington, Armstrong-Whitworth Whitley and the Bristol Blenheim. Work on the DH.98 prototype stopped, and it seemed that the project would be shut down when the design team were denied the materials with which to build their prototype.

 

The Mosquito was only reinstated as a priority in July 1940, after de Havilland's General Manager L.C.L Murray, promised Lord Beaverbrook 50 Mosquitoes by December 1941, and this, only after Beaverbrook was satisfied that Mosquito production would not hinder de Havilland's primary work of producing Tiger Moth and Oxford trainers and repairing Hurricanes as well as the licence manufacture of Merlin engines. In promising Beaverbrook 50 Mosquitoes by the end of 1941, de Havilland was taking a gamble, because it was unlikely that 50 Mosquitos could be built in such a limited time; as it transpired only 20 Mosquitos were built in 1941, but the other 30 were delivered by mid-March 1942.

 

During the Battle of Britain, nearly a third of de Havilland's factory time was lost because the workers took cover in the factory's bomb shelters. Nevertheless, work on the prototype went quickly, such that E0234 was rolled out on 19 November 1940.

 

In the aftermath of the Battle of Britain, the original order was changed to 20 bomber variants and 30 fighters. It was still uncertain whether the fighter version should have dual or single controls, or should carry a turret, so three prototypes were eventually built: W4052, W4053 and W4073. The latter, both turret armed, were later disarmed, to become the prototypes for the T.III trainer. This caused some delays as half-built wing components had to be strengthened for the expected higher combat load requirements. The nose sections also had to be altered, omitting the clear perspex bomb-aimer's position, to solid noses designed to house four .303 machine guns and their ammunition.

 

Overview:

 

The Mosquito was a fast, twin-engined aircraft with shoulder-mounted wings. The most-produced variant, designated the FB Mk VI (Fighter-bomber Mark 6), was powered by two Merlin Mk 23 or Mk 25 engines driving three-bladed de Havilland hydromatic propellers. The typical fixed armament for an FB Mk VI was four Browning .303 machine guns and four 20 mm Hispano cannon while the offensive load consisted of up to 2,000 pounds (910 kg) of bombs, or eight RP-3 unguided rockets.

 

Construction:

 

The oval-section fuselage was a frameless monocoque shell built in two halves being formed to shape by band clamps over a mahogany or concrete mould, each holding one half of the fuselage, split vertically. The shell halves were made of sheets of Ecuadorean balsawood sandwiched between sheets of Canadian birch, but in areas needing extra strength— such as along cut-outs— stronger woods replaced the balsa filler; the overall thickness of the birch and balsa sandwich skin was only 7⁄16 inch (11 mm). This sandwich skin was so stiff that no internal reinforcement was necessary from the wing's rear spar to the tail bearing bulkhead. The join was along the vertical centre line. This split construction greatly aided the assembly of the internal equipment as it allowed the technicians easy access to the fuselage interior. While the glue in the plywood skin dried, carpenters cut a sawtooth joint into the edges of the fuselage shells, while other workers installed the controls and cabling on the inside wall. When the glue completely dried, the two halves were glued and screwed together. The fuselage was strengthened internally by seven bulkheads made up of two plywood skins parted by spruce blocks, which formed the basis on each half for the outer shell. Each bulkhead was a repeat of the spruce design for the fuselage halves; a balsa sheet sandwich between two plywood sheets/skins. Bulkhead number seven carried the fittings and loads for the tailplane and rudder, The type of glue originally used was Casein, which was later replaced by "Aerolite", a synthetic urea-formaldehyde, which was more durable. Many other types of screws and flanges (made of various woods) also held the structure together.

 

The fuselage construction joints were made from balsa wood and plywood strips with the spruce multi-ply being connected by a balsa V joint, along with the interior frame. The spruce would be reinforced by plywood strips at the point where the two halves joined to form the V-joint. Located on top of the joint the plywood formed the outer skin. During the joining of the two halves ("boxing up"), two laminated wooden clamps would be used in the after portion of the fuselage to act as support. A covering of doped Madapolam (a fine plain woven cotton) fabric was stretched tightly over the shell and a coat of silver dope was applied, after which the exterior camouflage was applied. The fuselage had a large ventral section cut-out, which was braced during construction, to allow it to be lowered onto the wing centre-section. Once the wing was secured the lower panels were replaced, and the bomb bay or armament doors fitted.

 

The all-wood wing was built as a one-piece structure and was not divided into separate construction sections. It was made up of two main spars, spruce and plywood compression ribs, stringers, and a plywood covering. The outer plywood skin was covered and doped like the fuselage. The wing was installed into the roots by means of four large attachment points. The engine radiators were fitted in the inner wing, just outboard of the fuselage on either side. These gave less drag. The radiators themselves were split into three sections: an oil cooler section outboard, the middle section forming the coolant radiator and the inboard section serving the cabin heater. The wing contained metal framed and skinned ailerons, but the flaps were made of wood and were hydraulically controlled. The nacelles were mostly wood, although, for strength, the engine mounts were all metal as were the undercarriage parts. Engine mounts of welded steel tube were added, along with simple landing gear oleos filled with rubber blocks. Wood was used to carry only in-plane loads, with metal fittings used for all triaxially loaded components such as landing gear, engine mounts, control surface mounting brackets, and the wing-to-fuselage junction. The outer leading wing edge had to be brought 22 inches (56 cm) further forward to accommodate this design. The main tail unit was all wood built. The control surfaces, the rudder and elevator, were aluminium framed and fabric covered. The total weight of metal castings and forgings used in the aircraft was only 280 lb (130 kg).

 

In November 1944, several crashes occurred in the Far East. At first, it was thought these were as a result of wing structure failures. The casein glue, it was said, cracked when exposed to extreme heat and/or monsoon conditions. This caused the upper surfaces to "lift" from the main spar. An investigating team led by Major Hereward de Havilland travelled to India and produced a report in early December 1944 stating that "the accidents were not caused by the deterioration of the glue but by shrinkage of the airframe during the wet monsoon season". However a later inquiry by Cabot & Myers definitely attributed the accidents to faulty manufacture and this was confirmed by a further investigation team by the Ministry of Aircraft Production at Defford which found faults in six different Marks of Mosquito (all built at de Havilland's Hatfield and Leavesden plants) which showed similar defects, and none of the aircraft had been exposed to monsoon conditions or termite attack; thus it was concluded that there were construction defects found at the two plants. It was found that the "Standard of glueing...left much to be desired”. Records at the time showed that accidents caused by "loss of control" were three times more frequent on Mosquitoes than on any other type of aircraft. The Air Ministry forestalled any loss of confidence in the Mosquito by holding to Major de Havilland's initial investigation in India that the accidents were caused "largely by climate" To solve the problem, a sheet of plywood was set along the span of the wing to seal the entire length of the skin joint along the main spar.

 

Information regarding the de Havilland DH98 Mosquito has been taken from excerpts contained on Wikipedia

 

Aston Martin Ulster Roadster (1936)

 

In 1927 Aston Martin was taken over by race driver A. C. Bertelli. He designed a 1.5-litre, SOHC engine which would eventually power the LeMans-racing Ulster. Thoughout the years the engine was devloped to include dry sump lubrication.

 

The Aston Martin Ulster stands as one of the most respected pre-war racecars. It was largely based on the Mark II which came before it.

 

The Ulster had a breif two year race program. During this time they dominated the British Tourist Trophy at Goodwood. In 1934, Ulsters took first, second and third place. The best LeMans result was achieved in 1935. Chassis LM20 raced to third overall which put it first in the 1101 to 1500cc class.

 

After the race efforts, Aston Martin readied a production version of the LeMans cars. Twenty-One of these cars were built of which all are accounted for today.

 

Aston Martin Ulster information used from:

 

www.supercars.net/cars/2084.html

 

In the 1980's a small number (7) replicas of the Aston Martin Ulster Roadster were manufactured as a kit car:

 

Fergus Mosquito (Aston Martin Ulster replica)

 

Kop Hill Climb - 25th September 2011

 

Fergus Mosquito - an Aston Martin Ulster replica.

 

Only seven were made in Kingsbridge, Devon, in the 1980s, using donor Morris Marina B-series engines and other parts.

 

UIJ233 is the best of the 7 replicas.

 

These two models, the de Havilland DH98 Mosquito aircraft and the Aston Martin Ulster Roadster of 1936 have been created in Lego miniland scale for Flickr LUGNuts' 79th Build Challenge, - 'LUGNuts goes Wingnuts" - featuring automotive vehicles named after, inspired by or related to aircraft.

Loch Ness is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 kilometres (23 miles) southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie" (Scottish Gaelic: Niseag). It is one of a series of interconnected, murky bodies of water in Scotland; its water visibility is exceptionally low due to a high peat content in the surrounding soil. The southern end connects to Loch Oich by the River Oich and a section of the Caledonian Canal. The northern end connects to Loch Dochfour via the River Ness, which then ultimately leads to the North Sea via the Moray Firth.

 

Loch Ness is the second-largest Scottish loch by surface area after Loch Lomond at 56 km2 (22 sq mi), but due to its great depth it is the largest by volume in the British Isles. Its deepest point is 230 metres (126 fathoms; 755 feet), making it the second deepest loch in Scotland after Loch Morar. It contains more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined, and is the largest body of water in the Great Glen, which runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south. Its surface is 16 metres (52 feet) above sea level. It contains a single, artificial island named Cherry Island (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Muireach) at the southwestern end. There are nine villages around the loch, as well as Urquhart Castle; the village of Drumnadrochit contains a "Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition".

 

Loch Ness is an elongated freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands southwest of Inverness, extending for approximately 37 kilometres (23 miles) and flowing from southwest to northeast. At 56 km2 (22 sq mi), it is the second-largest Scottish loch by surface area after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth it is the largest by volume in the British Isles. Its deepest point is 230 metres (126 fathoms; 755 feet), making it the second deepest loch in Scotland after Loch Morar. A 2016 survey claimed to have discovered a crevice extending to a depth of 271 m (889 ft), but further research determined this to be a sonar anomaly. Its surface is 16 metres (52 feet) above sea level. It contains more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined, and is the largest body of water in the Great Glen, which runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south. Loch Ness lies along the Great Glen Fault, which forms a line of weakness in the rocks which has been excavated by glacial erosion, forming the Great Glen and the basins of Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness.

 

Loch Ness has one small island, Cherry Island (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Muireach, meaning Murdoch's Island), at the southwestern end of the loch. It is an artificial island, known as a crannog, and was likely constructed during the Iron Age. The island was originally 160 feet (49 m) by 168 feet (51 m) across, but is now smaller as the water level was raised during the construction of the Caledonian Canal in the early nineteenth century. There was formerly a second, natural island nearby named Dog Island (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Nan Con), but it was submerged when the water level rose. A castle stood on Cherry Island during the 15th century; this was constructed of stone and oak wood and was likely used as a fortified refuge. It has been suggested that Eilean Muireach may have been a hunting lodge, with Eilean Nan Con the home for the hunting dogs.

 

The loch is one of a series of interconnected, murky bodies of water in Scotland; its water visibility is exceptionally low due to a high peat content in the surrounding soil. The southern end is fed by the River Oich, which runs from Loch Oich. The northern end flows out through the Bona Narrows into Loch Dochfour; the Bathymetrical survey of the Scottish fresh-water lochs considered Loch Dochfour to be distinct from Loch Ness proper, but capable of being regarded as forming part of Loch Ness. Dochgarroch weir at the downstream end of Loch Dochfour delineates the start of the River Ness, which connects to the nearby and ultimately leads through Inverness to the North Sea via the Moray Firth. Loch Ness forms part of the Caledonian Canal, which comprises 60 miles (100 kilometres) of waterways connecting the east coast of Scotland at Inverness with the west coast at Corpachthe near Fort William. Only one-third of the entire length is man-made, the rest being formed by Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy, with the man-made canals running parallel with rivers such as the River Oich.

 

Loch Ness is known as the home of the Loch Ness Monster (also known as "Nessie"), a cryptid, reputedly a large unknown animal. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next. Popular interest and belief in the animal's existence have varied since it was first brought to the world's attention in 1933.

 

The Highlands is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.

 

The area is very sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. During the 18th and early 19th centuries the population of the Highlands rose to around 300,000, but from c. 1841 and for the next 160 years, the natural increase in population was exceeded by emigration (mostly to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and migration to the industrial cities of Scotland and England.) and passim  The area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. At 9.1/km2 (24/sq mi) in 2012, the population density in the Highlands and Islands is less than one seventh of Scotland's as a whole.

 

The Highland Council is the administrative body for much of the Highlands, with its administrative centre at Inverness. However, the Highlands also includes parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Moray, North Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire.

 

The Scottish Highlands is the only area in the British Isles to have the taiga biome as it features concentrated populations of Scots pine forest: see Caledonian Forest. It is the most mountainous part of the United Kingdom.

 

Between the 15th century and the mid-20th century, the area differed from most of the Lowlands in terms of language. In Scottish Gaelic, the region is known as the Gàidhealtachd, because it was traditionally the Gaelic-speaking part of Scotland, although the language is now largely confined to The Hebrides. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably but have different meanings in their respective languages. Scottish English (in its Highland form) is the predominant language of the area today, though Highland English has been influenced by Gaelic speech to a significant extent. Historically, the "Highland line" distinguished the two Scottish cultures. While the Highland line broadly followed the geography of the Grampians in the south, it continued in the north, cutting off the north-eastern areas, that is Eastern Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, from the more Gaelic Highlands and Hebrides.

 

Historically, the major social unit of the Highlands was the clan. Scottish kings, particularly James VI, saw clans as a challenge to their authority; the Highlands was seen by many as a lawless region. The Scots of the Lowlands viewed the Highlanders as backward and more "Irish". The Highlands were seen as the overspill of Gaelic Ireland. They made this distinction by separating Germanic "Scots" English and the Gaelic by renaming it "Erse" a play on Eire. Following the Union of the Crowns, James VI had the military strength to back up any attempts to impose some control. The result was, in 1609, the Statutes of Iona which started the process of integrating clan leaders into Scottish society. The gradual changes continued into the 19th century, as clan chiefs thought of themselves less as patriarchal leaders of their people and more as commercial landlords. The first effect on the clansmen who were their tenants was the change to rents being payable in money rather than in kind. Later, rents were increased as Highland landowners sought to increase their income. This was followed, mostly in the period 1760–1850, by agricultural improvement that often (particularly in the Western Highlands) involved clearance of the population to make way for large scale sheep farms. Displaced tenants were set up in crofting communities in the process. The crofts were intended not to provide all the needs of their occupiers; they were expected to work in other industries such as kelping and fishing. Crofters came to rely substantially on seasonal migrant work, particularly in the Lowlands. This gave impetus to the learning of English, which was seen by many rural Gaelic speakers to be the essential "language of work".

 

Older historiography attributes the collapse of the clan system to the aftermath of the Jacobite risings. This is now thought less influential by historians. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 the British government enacted a series of laws to try to suppress the clan system, including bans on the bearing of arms and the wearing of tartan, and limitations on the activities of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Most of this legislation was repealed by the end of the 18th century as the Jacobite threat subsided. There was soon a rehabilitation of Highland culture. Tartan was adopted for Highland regiments in the British Army, which poor Highlanders joined in large numbers in the era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1790–1815). Tartan had largely been abandoned by the ordinary people of the region, but in the 1820s, tartan and the kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland, but across Europe. The international craze for tartan, and for idealising a romanticised Highlands, was set off by the Ossian cycle, and further popularised by the works of Walter Scott. His "staging" of the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 and the king's wearing of tartan resulted in a massive upsurge in demand for kilts and tartans that could not be met by the Scottish woollen industry. Individual clan tartans were largely designated in this period and they became a major symbol of Scottish identity. This "Highlandism", by which all of Scotland was identified with the culture of the Highlands, was cemented by Queen Victoria's interest in the country, her adoption of Balmoral as a major royal retreat, and her interest in "tartenry".

 

Recurrent famine affected the Highlands for much of its history, with significant instances as late as 1817 in the Eastern Highlands and the early 1850s in the West.  Over the 18th century, the region had developed a trade of black cattle into Lowland markets, and this was balanced by imports of meal into the area. There was a critical reliance on this trade to provide sufficient food, and it is seen as an essential prerequisite for the population growth that started in the 18th century. Most of the Highlands, particularly in the North and West was short of the arable land that was essential for the mixed, run rig based, communal farming that existed before agricultural improvement was introduced into the region.[a] Between the 1760s and the 1830s there was a substantial trade in unlicensed whisky that had been distilled in the Highlands. Lowland distillers (who were not able to avoid the heavy taxation of this product) complained that Highland whisky made up more than half the market. The development of the cattle trade is taken as evidence that the pre-improvement Highlands was not an immutable system, but did exploit the economic opportunities that came its way.  The illicit whisky trade demonstrates the entrepreneurial ability of the peasant classes. 

 

Agricultural improvement reached the Highlands mostly over the period 1760 to 1850. Agricultural advisors, factors, land surveyors and others educated in the thinking of Adam Smith were keen to put into practice the new ideas taught in Scottish universities.  Highland landowners, many of whom were burdened with chronic debts, were generally receptive to the advice they offered and keen to increase the income from their land.  In the East and South the resulting change was similar to that in the Lowlands, with the creation of larger farms with single tenants, enclosure of the old run rig fields, introduction of new crops (such as turnips), land drainage and, as a consequence of all this, eviction, as part of the Highland clearances, of many tenants and cottars. Some of those cleared found employment on the new, larger farms, others moved to the accessible towns of the Lowlands.

 

In the West and North, evicted tenants were usually given tenancies in newly created crofting communities, while their former holdings were converted into large sheep farms. Sheep farmers could pay substantially higher rents than the run rig farmers and were much less prone to falling into arrears. Each croft was limited in size so that the tenants would have to find work elsewhere. The major alternatives were fishing and the kelp industry. Landlords took control of the kelp shores, deducting the wages earned by their tenants from the rent due and retaining the large profits that could be earned at the high prices paid for the processed product during the Napoleonic wars.

 

When the Napoleonic wars finished in 1815, the Highland industries were affected by the return to a peacetime economy. The price of black cattle fell, nearly halving between 1810 and the 1830s. Kelp prices had peaked in 1810, but reduced from £9 a ton in 1823 to £3 13s 4d a ton in 1828. Wool prices were also badly affected.  This worsened the financial problems of debt-encumbered landlords. Then, in 1846, potato blight arrived in the Highlands, wiping out the essential subsistence crop for the overcrowded crofting communities. As the famine struck, the government made clear to landlords that it was their responsibility to provide famine relief for their tenants. The result of the economic downturn had been that a large proportion of Highland estates were sold in the first half of the 19th century. T M Devine points out that in the region most affected by the potato famine, by 1846, 70 per cent of the landowners were new purchasers who had not owned Highland property before 1800. More landlords were obliged to sell due to the cost of famine relief. Those who were protected from the worst of the crisis were those with extensive rental income from sheep farms.  Government loans were made available for drainage works, road building and other improvements and many crofters became temporary migrants – taking work in the Lowlands. When the potato famine ceased in 1856, this established a pattern of more extensive working away from the Highlands.

 

The unequal concentration of land ownership remained an emotional and controversial subject, of enormous importance to the Highland economy, and eventually became a cornerstone of liberal radicalism. The poor crofters were politically powerless, and many of them turned to religion. They embraced the popularly oriented, fervently evangelical Presbyterian revival after 1800. Most joined the breakaway "Free Church" after 1843. This evangelical movement was led by lay preachers who themselves came from the lower strata, and whose preaching was implicitly critical of the established order. The religious change energised the crofters and separated them from the landlords; it helped prepare them for their successful and violent challenge to the landlords in the 1880s through the Highland Land League. Violence erupted, starting on the Isle of Skye, when Highland landlords cleared their lands for sheep and deer parks. It was quietened when the government stepped in, passing the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886 to reduce rents, guarantee fixity of tenure, and break up large estates to provide crofts for the homeless. This contrasted with the Irish Land War underway at the same time, where the Irish were intensely politicised through roots in Irish nationalism, while political dimensions were limited. In 1885 three Independent Crofter candidates were elected to Parliament, which listened to their pleas. The results included explicit security for the Scottish smallholders in the "crofting counties"; the legal right to bequeath tenancies to descendants; and the creation of a Crofting Commission. The Crofters as a political movement faded away by 1892, and the Liberal Party gained their votes.

 

Today, the Highlands are the largest of Scotland's whisky producing regions; the relevant area runs from Orkney to the Isle of Arran in the south and includes the northern isles and much of Inner and Outer Hebrides, Argyll, Stirlingshire, Arran, as well as sections of Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. (Other sources treat The Islands, except Islay, as a separate whisky producing region.) This massive area has over 30 distilleries, or 47 when the Islands sub-region is included in the count. According to one source, the top five are The Macallan, Glenfiddich, Aberlour, Glenfarclas and Balvenie. While Speyside is geographically within the Highlands, that region is specified as distinct in terms of whisky productions. Speyside single malt whiskies are produced by about 50 distilleries.

 

According to Visit Scotland, Highlands whisky is "fruity, sweet, spicy, malty". Another review states that Northern Highlands single malt is "sweet and full-bodied", the Eastern Highlands and Southern Highlands whiskies tend to be "lighter in texture" while the distilleries in the Western Highlands produce single malts with a "much peatier influence".

 

The Scottish Reformation achieved partial success in the Highlands. Roman Catholicism remained strong in some areas, owing to remote locations and the efforts of Franciscan missionaries from Ireland, who regularly came to celebrate Mass. There remain significant Catholic strongholds within the Highlands and Islands such as Moidart and Morar on the mainland and South Uist and Barra in the southern Outer Hebrides. The remoteness of the region and the lack of a Gaelic-speaking clergy undermined the missionary efforts of the established church. The later 18th century saw somewhat greater success, owing to the efforts of the SSPCK missionaries and to the disruption of traditional society after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In the 19th century, the evangelical Free Churches, which were more accepting of Gaelic language and culture, grew rapidly, appealing much more strongly than did the established church.

 

For the most part, however, the Highlands are considered predominantly Protestant, belonging to the Church of Scotland. In contrast to the Catholic southern islands, the northern Outer Hebrides islands (Lewis, Harris and North Uist) have an exceptionally high proportion of their population belonging to the Protestant Free Church of Scotland or the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Outer Hebrides have been described as the last bastion of Calvinism in Britain and the Sabbath remains widely observed. Inverness and the surrounding area has a majority Protestant population, with most locals belonging to either The Kirk or the Free Church of Scotland. The church maintains a noticeable presence within the area, with church attendance notably higher than in other parts of Scotland. Religion continues to play an important role in Highland culture, with Sabbath observance still widely practised, particularly in the Hebrides.

 

In traditional Scottish geography, the Highlands refers to that part of Scotland north-west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which crosses mainland Scotland in a near-straight line from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. However the flat coastal lands that occupy parts of the counties of Nairnshire, Morayshire, Banffshire and Aberdeenshire are often excluded as they do not share the distinctive geographical and cultural features of the rest of the Highlands. The north-east of Caithness, as well as Orkney and Shetland, are also often excluded from the Highlands, although the Hebrides are usually included. The Highland area, as so defined, differed from the Lowlands in language and tradition, having preserved Gaelic speech and customs centuries after the anglicisation of the latter; this led to a growing perception of a divide, with the cultural distinction between Highlander and Lowlander first noted towards the end of the 14th century. In Aberdeenshire, the boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands is not well defined. There is a stone beside the A93 road near the village of Dinnet on Royal Deeside which states 'You are now in the Highlands', although there are areas of Highland character to the east of this point.

 

A much wider definition of the Highlands is that used by the Scotch whisky industry. Highland single malts are produced at distilleries north of an imaginary line between Dundee and Greenock, thus including all of Aberdeenshire and Angus.

 

Inverness is regarded as the Capital of the Highlands, although less so in the Highland parts of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perthshire and Stirlingshire which look more to Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, and Stirling as their commercial centres.

 

The Highland Council area, created as one of the local government regions of Scotland, has been a unitary council area since 1996. The council area excludes a large area of the southern and eastern Highlands, and the Western Isles, but includes Caithness. Highlands is sometimes used, however, as a name for the council area, as in the former Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern is also used to refer to the area, as in the former Northern Constabulary. These former bodies both covered the Highland council area and the island council areas of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

 

Much of the Highlands area overlaps the Highlands and Islands area. An electoral region called Highlands and Islands is used in elections to the Scottish Parliament: this area includes Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Highland Council local government area, the Western Isles and most of the Argyll and Bute and Moray local government areas. Highlands and Islands has, however, different meanings in different contexts. It means Highland (the local government area), Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles in Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern, as in Northern Constabulary, refers to the same area as that covered by the fire and rescue service.

 

There have been trackways from the Lowlands to the Highlands since prehistoric times. Many traverse the Mounth, a spur of mountainous land that extends from the higher inland range to the North Sea slightly north of Stonehaven. The most well-known and historically important trackways are the Causey Mounth, Elsick Mounth, Cryne Corse Mounth and Cairnamounth.

 

Although most of the Highlands is geographically on the British mainland, it is somewhat less accessible than the rest of Britain; thus most UK couriers categorise it separately, alongside Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and other offshore islands. They thus charge additional fees for delivery to the Highlands, or exclude the area entirely. While the physical remoteness from the largest population centres inevitably leads to higher transit cost, there is confusion and consternation over the scale of the fees charged and the effectiveness of their communication, and the use of the word Mainland in their justification. Since the charges are often based on postcode areas, many far less remote areas, including some which are traditionally considered part of the lowlands, are also subject to these charges. Royal Mail is the only delivery network bound by a Universal Service Obligation to charge a uniform tariff across the UK. This, however, applies only to mail items and not larger packages which are dealt with by its Parcelforce division.

 

The Highlands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods which were uplifted during the later Caledonian Orogeny. Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss in the northwest are up to 3 billion years old. The overlying rocks of the Torridon Sandstone form mountains in the Torridon Hills such as Liathach and Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross.

 

These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and the Cuillin of Skye. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone found principally along the Moray Firth coast and partially down the Highland Boundary Fault. The Jurassic beds found in isolated locations on Skye and Applecross reflect the complex underlying geology. They are the original source of much North Sea oil. The Great Glen is formed along a transform fault which divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.

 

The entire region was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages, save perhaps for a few nunataks. The complex geomorphology includes incised valleys and lochs carved by the action of mountain streams and ice, and a topography of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have similar heights above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon the amount of denudation to which the plateau has been subjected in various places.

Climate

 

The region is much warmer than other areas at similar latitudes (such as Kamchatka in Russia, or Labrador in Canada) because of the Gulf Stream making it cool, damp and temperate. The Köppen climate classification is "Cfb" at low altitudes, then becoming "Cfc", "Dfc" and "ET" at higher altitudes.

 

Places of interest

An Teallach

Aonach Mòr (Nevis Range ski centre)

Arrochar Alps

Balmoral Castle

Balquhidder

Battlefield of Culloden

Beinn Alligin

Beinn Eighe

Ben Cruachan hydro-electric power station

Ben Lomond

Ben Macdui (second highest mountain in Scotland and UK)

Ben Nevis (highest mountain in Scotland and UK)

Cairngorms National Park

Cairngorm Ski centre near Aviemore

Cairngorm Mountains

Caledonian Canal

Cape Wrath

Carrick Castle

Castle Stalker

Castle Tioram

Chanonry Point

Conic Hill

Culloden Moor

Dunadd

Duart Castle

Durness

Eilean Donan

Fingal's Cave (Staffa)

Fort George

Glen Coe

Glen Etive

Glen Kinglas

Glen Lyon

Glen Orchy

Glenshee Ski Centre

Glen Shiel

Glen Spean

Glenfinnan (and its railway station and viaduct)

Grampian Mountains

Hebrides

Highland Folk Museum – The first open-air museum in the UK.

Highland Wildlife Park

Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Jail

Inverness Castle

Inverewe Garden

Iona Abbey

Isle of Staffa

Kilchurn Castle

Kilmartin Glen

Liathach

Lecht Ski Centre

Loch Alsh

Loch Ard

Loch Awe

Loch Assynt

Loch Earn

Loch Etive

Loch Fyne

Loch Goil

Loch Katrine

Loch Leven

Loch Linnhe

Loch Lochy

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

Loch Lubnaig

Loch Maree

Loch Morar

Loch Morlich

Loch Ness

Loch Nevis

Loch Rannoch

Loch Tay

Lochranza

Luss

Meall a' Bhuiridh (Glencoe Ski Centre)

Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Loch Creran

Rannoch Moor

Red Cuillin

Rest and Be Thankful stretch of A83

River Carron, Wester Ross

River Spey

River Tay

Ross and Cromarty

Smoo Cave

Stob Coire a' Chàirn

Stac Polly

Strathspey Railway

Sutherland

Tor Castle

Torridon Hills

Urquhart Castle

West Highland Line (scenic railway)

West Highland Way (Long-distance footpath)

Wester Ross

The Ford Model T, affectionately nicknamed "Tin Lizzie," was a revolutionary automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1908 to 1927. While not the first car ever made, it was the first mass-produced car that was truly affordable for the average person. Henry Ford's vision was to create a "universal car" that was durable, simple to operate, and accessible to the "great multitude." Its introduction marked a fundamental shift from cars being a luxury item for the wealthy to a practical tool for the middle class. By the 1920s, more than half of all cars on the road were Model Ts, solidifying its place as a transformative invention.

 

A key element of the Model T's success was its groundbreaking manufacturing process. To achieve his goal of affordability, Henry Ford pioneered the moving assembly line in 1913 at the Highland Park plant. This innovation dramatically reduced the time it took to build a car, from over 12 hours to just 93 minutes by 1914. Instead of workers moving around the car, the car chassis was pulled along a line, and each worker performed a single, specialized task. This method drastically cut production costs, allowing the price of a Model T to fall from $850 in 1908 to as low as $260 by 1925. This cost-saving efficiency became known as Fordism and was a model for mass production in many other industries.

 

The Model T's design emphasized simplicity and durability. It was built to withstand the often abysmal roads of the early 20th century. The car featured a 2.9-liter, 20-horsepower, four-cylinder engine with a top speed of around 45 mph. It used a rugged, lightweight vanadium steel chassis and a unique three-point suspension system that helped absorb road shocks. The steering wheel was placed on the left side, which became a standard for American cars. Its two-speed planetary transmission was designed to be easy for anyone to operate, with a foot pedal for speed control and a hand lever for reverse. Many early models had to be started with a hand crank, though a battery-powered starter was introduced as an option later on.

 

The Model T's impact on society was profound and far-reaching. By making car ownership accessible to millions, it revolutionized personal mobility and leisure. Families could now travel farther for work, social events, or vacations, leading to the growth of new businesses like gas stations, repair shops, and motels. It also played a significant role in the development of suburbs, as people were no longer confined to living within walking or public transit distance of their jobs. The demand for better roads spurred the creation of the modern highway system. Ford's high wages for assembly line workers (the "Five-Dollar Workday") helped create a thriving American middle class, who could now afford to buy the products they were building.

 

In its legacy, the Ford Model T is remembered as more than just a car; it's a symbol of American industrial innovation and modernity. It was named the "Car of the Century" in a 1999 international poll, a testament to its enduring influence. Its production run of over 15 million units was a record that stood for over 40 years. The principles of the Model T's mass production system laid the foundation for modern manufacturing, shaping the global economy and consumer culture. Its simple, robust design and accessible price point fulfilled Henry Ford's vision, truly putting the world on wheels and changing the way people lived and worked forever.

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The Lagotto Romagnolo is a medium-small size dog, stout and very well-proportioned, with thick aind curly hair of woolly texture.

The breed is an ancient water retriever which originated in Italy in the 16th century and the name Lagotto Romagnolo means 'water dog'.

The Lagotto is sober, clever, affectionate, very fond of his owner and easily trainable. Lagotto Romagnolo dogs do not shed, are great companions for children and good family dogs.

 

*© All rights reserved *

Affectionate tulips at the Eden Project in Cornwall.

 

This is our new kitten Moriarty (named after watching far too much Sherlock Holmes). He is so soppy and affectionate as well as being the most beautiful cat in the whole World, I know I’m slightly bias, but those eyes!

 

Moriarty is a Ragdoll. We chose the breed Ragdoll because of their laidback temperament, beautiful blue eyes and affectionate behaviour, and he definitely lives up to it, he’s currently purring his little heart out wrapped around my neck whilst I sit in my office and type this.

 

Moriarty’s best friend is our lop-eared rabbit Cloud, they are inseparable and so cute to watch. They run around and play fight together, Moriarty is so gentle with her and never has his claws out. I was worried at first, but she always runs back to him for more, so she has to love all the attention, they play together, and sleep together, all cuddled up in a big ball of fluff. If he wakes up and his rabbit is out in the garden eating grass he cries for her, and she comes running. Yesterday he heard me upstairs and attempted to climb the stairs, got half way up and got scared, sat on the step and cried, Cloud came running to his rescue and he happily followed her back downstairs. Every kitten should have their own rabbit.

 

Here’s a bit of info about Ragdolls, for anyone who’s interested in the breed.

 

Ragdolls are large, laid-back, semi longhaired cats with captivating blue eyes. The Ragdoll is a pointed breed, which means that the body is lighter in colour than the points (the face, legs, tail and ears). The Ragdoll cat is carefully bred to produce large affectionate animals in three patterns, two with white (mitted and bi-colour) and one with no white (colourpoint). The ideal Ragdoll is a well-balanced cat, with no extreme features. Neutered males will usually top the scale at 15-20 pounds; females are proportionately smaller and usually weigh between 10-15 pounds at maturity. Ragdolls are slow-maturing, reaching full coat colour at two years, and full size and weight at four.

 

Ragdoll cats tend to be more interested in humans than some breeds of cats. They are known to run to greet you at the door, follow you from room to room, flop on you, sleep with you, and generally choose to be where you are. Many Ragdolls have been taught to come when called and play fetch. They are gentle cats, and usually play without extending their claws. Ragdolls tend to be floor cats, not jumpers. The Ragdoll’s semi long coat is plush and silky, and requires minimal grooming to keep it looking its best. They should be combed with a steel comb on a regular basis to find and remove any loose hair or tangles. Quality coats consist mainly of long, soft guard hairs. Ragdolls, just like all breeds of cats, will shed, usually with the change of seasons. The absence of the thick, dense, insulating undercoats results in reduced shedding and matting. In all, Ragdolls are well behaved, and easy to care for – perfect for our modern, busy, lifestyles.

 

Ragdolls were developed in the 1960’s by Ann Baker; a breeder in Riverside California. The origin of the Ragdoll breed consisted almost entirely of free-roaming cats. Ann bred Josephine, a domestic longhaired white female that was found running loose in her neighbourhood, to other cats she owned or found. The offspring of this female had unique temperament traits that were very endearing. By selecting individuals with the look, temperament and criteria she wanted for her breeding program, she created the Ragdoll breed.

In between all the fighting over dresses and men, we occasionally have time for a tender moment like this one.

USA,

18.2 hp,

Affectionately known as

"Sloppy six",

For my video; youtu.be/Zkuqey9xONY

Southward Car Museum, Paraparaumu, New Zealand

A man and a woman are looking at a box. The man is holding a cell phone. The woman is wearing a white shirt

The affectionately nicknamed "Reedsburg Rocket" local L867 is seen trundling through a Wisconsin snow storm as they had back to Baraboo just outside of Waunakee. The Leslie RS3L on this veteran SD40-2 sounded spectacular in the falling snow.

 

Waunakee, WI

2023.02.16

"Britton & Sons Photographers, 40 High Street, Barnstaple."

 

Written on reverse: "In affectionate remembrance of him whom we all mourn."

 

The combination of image detail and inscription indicates that this English couple were in mourning for a male family member who had died within the previous year. The woman is dressed in deepest mourning and would probably have worn a black bonnet and veil outdoors. Her husband or brother is dressed in what men typically wore for mourning--simply their best black suit. Outdoors, he may have worn a top hat with a crape band, the width of which would indicate the closeness of the deceased--the wider the band, the closer the relation.

 

The inscription also allows us to infer why so many Victorians sat for photographs while in mourning. Photography, when this image was taken, was only available to the public for about 25 years. The carte de visite, which became wide spread in the early 1860s, was photography's fourth major manifestation after the daguerreotype, the ambrotype, and the tintype--even so, having one's likeness taken was not something that occurred often, and when it did, it was often done to mark a special moment, albeit a grievous one.

 

Reverse with inscription: www.flickr.com/photos/60861613@N00/9359083941/in/photostr...

Affectionately known as "Spike", this survey bot roams terrestrial terrains in search of geological oddities.

Get more free photos on freestocks.org

 

female model: Julia Józefowicz (www.maxmodels.pl/modelka-kwiecista7.html)

male model: Damian Kwiecień (www.maxmodels.pl/model-strong.html)

Affectionate old couple with the wife holding on lovingly to the husband's face. Focus on the husband's eyes. Concept: Elderly love.

"In Affectionate Remembrance of Henry William Tacon, who departed this life October 18, 1872, aged 50 years. Thy Will be done."

 

Henry William Tacon the Younger was born in Cratfield, Suffolk, 9 February, 1833, and baptised 4 February, 1835 at Cratfield. He was the eldest son and heir of farmer Henry William Tacon, Sr. (bap. 16 June, 1799 – 1884) and Lucy Moore (1799 – 1879). His paternal grandparents were William Tacon and Mary Read. His siblings were Lucy (b.1831), Mary Ann (b. 1835), Emma (bap. 9 July, 1838), and William (1841 - bef. 1851).

 

His father, according to the 1851 Census, cultivated 90 acres in Cratfield and employed two men. He had been on the poll books in Cratfield since at least 1832. By 1861, the family was living on a larger parcel of 130 acres in Ringsfield, Suffolk, called Redisham Hall Farm. Redisham Hall, rebuilt in 1823 by John Garden to replace a previous Elizabethan house, is a Grade II listed building that is now located in 400 acres of parkland in Ringsfield parish, to the south-west of the village. It passed down in the Garden family to John Lewis Garden, a big game hunter and husband of Caroline Murat, Baroness de Chassiron.

 

Henry married Emma Hadingham 16 Sepember, 1869, in Wangford. Her parents were Robert and Maria Hadingham, and Emma was born in about 1835, in Bramfield, Suffolk, in the parish of Ilketshall St Andrew. In 1861, Emma's father was enumerated as a farmer of 87 acres, employing two agricultural laborers.

 

By 1871, Henry and Emma Tacon has established their own farm at Shadingfield of some 125 acres and employing four men, a dairy maid, and a farmhand. They had one son, Lawrence Henry, born in 9 September, 1860, who was 6 months old at the time of the census. Their home was named Church Farm House, which is today a Grade II listed building with this description: "Late C16/early C17. Timber framed, mainly roughcast rendered, a small part to the rear cased in colourwashed brick; pantiled roof. 2 scoreys. 3 cell form. Various casement windows, mainly of C19. Lobby entrance with C19 4-panel door (the upper panels glazed) and rectangular fanlight; broad gabled timber porch with trelliswork in the upper section. Internal stack (rebuilt) and gable end stack to right. Exposed joists to one ground floor room."

 

Within a year Henry Tacon was dead at age 39. The probate record tells the tale: "Administration of the effects of Henry William Tacon, late of Shadingfield in the county of Suffolk, Farmer, who died 18 October, 1872, at Shadingfield, was granted to Emma Tacon of Shadingfield, Widow the Relict." His effects were worth less and £1,000.

 

In 1881, at the time of the census, Henry's son Laurence was an inmate in an orphanage in Winwick in Daventry, Northamptonshire. By 1886, he listed in a railway employment document as being a booking clerk in Hunslet. At that time he was noted as being 5'4". In 1891, Laurence was enumerated as a railway clerk and border in the household of Sarah Holmes in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Sarah Holmes daughter, Elizabeth Ann, also lived in home and would marry Laurence

on 29 August, 1898, in Brimington, Derbyshire.

 

Laurence was working at the railroad station in Kings Norton, Worcestershire by 1901, and was enumerated with his wife at 20 Goldsmith Road. Elizabeth Tacon was pregnant at the time and the family about to change house, as their daughter Eleanor was born in Kings Heath, Worcestershire, in the summer of that year.

 

By 1911, the Tacons were in Erdington, Warwickshire, where Laurence was working as a railway "canvasser." The address was 32 Hunton Road, Gravelly Hill.

 

Laurence died 14 November, 1944, in Birmingham, Warwickshire. His estate was worth £3,676.

 

Affectionate father playing with his cute daughter in a seashore of bessy beach.

 

Its a mix of 7 shots together.

Potterrow (affectionately known as "The Row") is located in Bristo Square and houses the Edinburgh University Student Association (EUSA) Office, University Chaplaincy and Advice Place as well as a shop and café.

 

The open Dome area provides a sun-lit space where students can study or relax, with refreshments available from the nearby coffee bar.

It is affectionately known as the "sixth borough," Jersey City is making its claim as a destination in its own right within the New York City metropolitan area. Young professionals, artists and families have flocked to the Jersey side of the Hudson in the recent years and have created a city that is both an extension of Manhattan and a place where you can see and feel an authentic Jersey vibe. Visitors to New York City will find that Jersey City not only offers more reasonably-priced accommodations with easy access to the Big Apple, but also beautiful parks, restaurants, bars and other attractions that will make for a fun and memorable trip.

This young lady has been on leave from work for about 3 weeks now for a small operation she had but don't worry it wasn't anything serious. It only took about 10 minutes in surgery and then another 10 minutes to heal yet she has still been signed off work for what seems like an eternity. So long in fact that she has now become quite bored and as a side effect become quite affectionate to any and all of those around her as she hungers for companionship. Her parents live up north, she doesn't have a boyfriend, the cat's already fed up of all the attention and to top it off all of her friends are on holiday in Croatia. Needless to say she's completed the internet and is now itching for something or someone new to do...

 

Cheers

 

id-iom

 

Title: Bored & Affectionate

Materials: Paint pen, acrylic, ink, charcoal, Tipp Ex and spray paint

Size: A2

 

WeAreSoul - Sinful Desire

A very affectionate animation to pamper your partner with a perfect image for you on your social media.

ღ Marketplace: marketplace.secondlife.com/p/WeAreSoul-Sinful-Desire/2698...

ღ landmark: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunny%20Side%20Up/27/20/3801

 

The Short SC.7 Skyvan (affectionately called the "flying shoebox" is a 19-seat twin-turboprop aircraft manufactured by Short Brothers of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is used mainly for short-haul freight and skydiving.

 

The Skyvan is a high wing, twin-engined all-metal monoplane with a mid-mounted tailplane and twin rudders. The first flight of the Skyvan, the Skyvan 1, was on 17 January 1963. It is affectionately called "the shed" by pilots and crew. The Short 330 and Short 360 are stretched models of the original SC.7, designed as regional airliners.

 

In 1958, Shorts was approached by F.G. Miles Ltd (successor company to Miles Aircraft) which was seeking backing to produce a development of the H.D.M.106 Caravan design with a high aspect ratio wing similar to that of the Hurel-Dubois HD.31. Shorts acquired the design and data gathered from trials of the Miles Aerovan based H.D.M.105 prototype. After evaluating the Miles proposal, Shorts rejected the Caravan. They developed their own design for a utility all-metal aircraft which was called the Short SC.7 Skyvan. It was popular with freight operators compared to other small aircraft because of its large rear door for loading and unloading freight. Its fuselage resembles the shape of a railroad boxcar for simplicity and efficiency.

 

Skyvan 3 converted for survey work by Questor Surveys

Construction started at Sydenham Airport in 1960, and the prototype first flew on 17 January 1963, powered by two Continental piston engines. Later in 1963, the prototype was re-engined with the intended Turbomeca Astazou turboprop engines. The Skyvan is an all-metal, high-wing monoplane, with a braced, high aspect ratio wing, and an unpressurised, square-section fuselage. In 1968, production switched to the Skyvan Series 3 aircraft, which replaced the Astazou engines with Garrett AiResearch TPE331 turboprops. A total of 153 Skyvans (plus the prototype) was produced before production ended in 1986.

IN AFFECTIONATE

REMEMBRANCE OF

 

George William Woolner, Private 235405, 19th. Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, formally 203071 of the Suffolk Regiment.

Born 5th. November 1897, the son of James and Hannah Woolner of New Cottages, Ellough, Suffolk.

Baptised on 18th. April 1898 at All Saints church, Ellough.

Admitted into Worlingham and Ellough Voluntary School in 1908.

Enlisted at Lowestoft, Suffolk.

Killed in action on 16th. September 1917, aged 20.

Buried in grave Ref: Plot III, Row H, Grave 21 at Coxyde Military Cemetery, West Vlaanderen, Belgium.

CWGC lists date of death as 17th September 1917.

 

Earnest Alfred Plumb, Private 33822, 8th. Battalion, East Surrey Regiment.

Born in Ellough, the son of Fredrick William and Marie Plumb. Husband of Alice Plumb, later Richards, of Red Cottages, Gillingham, Norfolk.

Baptised on 8th. September 1889 at All Saints church, Ellough.

Enlisted at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk.

Killed in action on 31st. March 1918, aged 29. No known grave, commemorated on Panel 44 and 45 of the Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France.

Ellough memorial lists date of death as 2nd. April 1918.

 

Fred Nassau Guttridge, Private 269770, 1st./8th. Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment).

Born in Tydd, Lincolnshire, the son of Hunns and Ellen Guttridge, later of Hill Farm, Ellough.

Baptised on 26th. August 1888 at Sutton St. James, Lincolnshire.

Resident of Beccles, Suffolk, enlisted at Lowestoft, Suffolk.

Killed in action on 17th. October 1918, aged 30.

Buried in grave Ref: Row B, Grave 14 at Fresnoy-le-Grand Communal Cemetery Extension, Aisne, France.

 

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES

FOR JUSTICE AND RIGHT IN

THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919

 

"The men were very good unto

us and we were not hurt ....

They were a wall unto us both

by day and night" ........

 

---- looking for Lady Florence .... ----

 

The mausoleum of Lady Florence Trevelyan, and Mrs. Maria.

Mrs. Maria, nice and very kind person, is the owner and affectionate guardian of the mausoleum where lie the mortal remains of Lady Florence (location "Francisi" Castelmola). (Originally the tomb of Florence was about 50-100 meters from here, looking like a tomb from the Roman era, then partly collapsed, perhaps following the terrible earthquake of Messina in 1908 ).

...................

 

Il mausoleo di Lady Florence Trevelyan, e la signora Maria.

La signora Maria, persona squisita e gentilissima, è la proprietaria e custode affezionatissima del mausoleo dove giacciono le spoglie mortali di Lady Florence (località "Francisi", Castelmola). (Originariamente la tomba di Florence si trovava a circa 50-100 metri da qui, assomigliante ad una tomba di epoca romana, come se ne trovano diverse nei dintorni di Taormina, successivamente in parte crollò, forse in seguito al terribile terremoto di Messina del 1908).

  

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the slideshow

 

Qi Bo's photos on Fluidr

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickriver

  

Qi Bo's photos on FlickeFlu

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This is a short and long collection of photographs, almost all made in Taormina (Sicily), and is divided into two parts: the first part I have included a few pictures, I put a few moments I catched in the alleys of the small Sicilian town, in the second part (the first to appear on Flickr) in which I tried to rebuild and at the same time to remember the singular feminine figure of Lady Florence Trevelyan, an English noblewoman, lover of art, botany, ornithology, travels, the arts magical and esoteric; she loved animals, but actively helped a lot of people; Taormina is to her that owes much of its luck; this Lady, hosting famous people of the time, contributed not a little to make known the beauty of this Sicilian village to the whole world (and she improved and embellished much Taormina).

Lady Florence was born in Hallington On February 7, 1852, but soon became an orphan at the age of two years (his father committed suicide in 1854); his mother Catherine Anne was the maid of honor of Queen Victoria: the Queen which became attached enormously to Florence, and the Queen loved her like a true daughter. Florence at age 27, in 1879 was forced to leave everything to face a long journey lasting more than two years (Lady Florence fell prey to the notorius charms of the future Edward VII, who was already married; this sort of thing never went over well with Victoria, so Florence was asked to leave England). Lady Florence returned to his homeland for a short period, to be again driven out for an exiled perennial: She never returned to England (though, a generous monthly annuity was given hers on the orders of the Queen Victoria). Florence traveled widely, reached India, went to Burma, arrived in Australia she performed as a singer, and then finally arrive in February 1884 in Taormina: here you will stay until the end of his life (she died October 4, 1907 ). At Taormina she met the then mayor, the rich prof. Salvatore Cacciola, doctor, passionate student and Grand Master of Freemasonry: it is said that Lady Florence fell in love when she sought his help to cure "Sun", one of his dogs; from here to their wedding was a short step.

Lady florence bought several lots of land, created the current Public Garden of Taormina, planted olive trees, cypresses, exotic trees, and built those features buildings in oriental style; She bought by the former mayor the "Isola Bella" (She built an house and She planted trees and exotic plants, Mediterranean pines, as well as the inevitable cypress); She bought many arid and barren lands around Taormina (Mount Venus, Monte Croce, Monte Porretta) and they become rich in vegetation, with many farmers she had taught the art of the English garden. Many people went knocking to her door, in financial difficulties, usually farmers and fishermen (also Oscar Wilde, disgraced by charges of homosexuality, received financial aid from Lady Florence), She made a major sewing school for young girls of Taormina, and instituted for their 87 wedding dowries. Fate was once again mocking her: the only child she had named Edward, died in childbirth. It was in use at the time, bathing in bathtubs filled with cold water of the sea (even the photographer Von Gloeden was addicted to this habit), but this proved fatal, Lady Florence died of pneumonia at the age of 55. For her express wish, She was buried in a district of Castelmola (accompanied by large numbers of Sicilian people, it tells of an endless line, to the sound of "ciaramelle", which reminded her bagpipes of her distant Scotland), district called "Francisi" in her memory (this term according to a medieval custom). In her will, Lady Florence forced heirs not to hunt in his vast possessions, not to build, and to accept and to help dogs and birds. Lady Florence was the first woman (not only in Sicily) to be allowed to be part of Freemasonry.

The writer Guido Gozzano, was inspired by Lady Florence, when he wrote the novel "Alcina".

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Questa è una raccolta di fotografie breve e lunga, quasi tutte realizzate a Taormina (Sicilia), raccolta che ho diviso in due parti: nella prima parte ho inserito alcuni ritratti, ho messo alcuni momenti colti nei vicoli del piccolo paese Siciliano, nella seconda parte (la prima ad apparire su Flickr) ho tentato di ricostruire, ed al contempo ricordare, la singolarissima figura di Lady Florence Trevelyan, una nobildonna Inglese amante dell'arte, della botanica, della ornitologia, dei viaggi, delle arti magiche ed esoteriche; lei, che fu una convinta animalista ante litteram, non si limitò ad amare solo gli animali, ma aiutò fattivamente persone di ogni ceto sociale, ebbe ricchezze ma al tempo stesso pagò prezzi altissimi in sofferenza e dolore: Taormina deve a lei molta della sua fortuna, poichè questa Lady, ospitando nei suoi possedimenti illustri e famosi personaggi dell'epoca, contribuì non poco a far conoscere al mondo intero le bellezze di questo paesino Siculo (ella stessa migliorò ed abbellì ancor più Taormina).

Lady Florence nacque in quel di Hallington il 7 febbraio del 1852, divenne ben presto orfana all'età di due anni ( il padre morì suicida nel 1854); sua mamma Catherine Anne era la dama di compagnia della regina Vittoria, la quale regina si affezionò enormemente a Florence, sì da amarla come una vera figlia. All'età di 27 anni, nel 1879 venne imposto a Florence di lasciare l'Inghilterra per affrontare un lungo viaggio, che sarà della durata di più di due anni (si ipotizza per farle dimenticare una relazione che non sarebbe mai dovuta accadere, col figlio della regina Vittoria, il futuro re Edoardo VII, che a quel tempo era già sposato; sembra che non sia stata affatto la gelosia della moglie di Edoardo, bensì la rigidità della madre Vittoria a decretarne l'esilio). Lady Florence dopo questo primo viaggio ritornò nella sua Inghilterra, ma vi restò ben poco, infatti dopo un brevissimo periodo Lady Florence venne nuovamente allontanata in esilio, e questa volta lo sarà per sempre: Florence non ritornerà mai più nella sua Inghilterra (un generoso vitalizio mensile le fu dato comunque su ordine della stessa Regina Vittoria, ovvio che ciò le fu indispensabile, essendo così lontana da casa). Florence viaggiò molto, raggiunse l'India, andò in Birmania, giunta in Australia si esibì come cantante, per poi infine giungere nel febbraio del 1884 a Taormina: qui vi resterà fino all'ultimo dei suoi giorni (lei morirà il 4 ottobre 1907). A Taormina ebbe modo di conoscere l'allora sindaco, il ricco prof. Salvatore Cacciola, medico, appassionato studioso e Gran Maestro della Massoneria: si racconta che Lady Florence se ne innamorò quando lei cercò l'aiuto del medico per curare "Sole", uno dei suoi cani; da qui al loro matrimonio, il passo fu breve.

Lady florence acquistò numerosi lotti di terreno, realizzò l'attuale Giardino Pubblico, vi piantò ulivi, cipressi, alberi esotici, costruì quelle caratteristiche costruzioni in stile birmano-orientale; acquistò dall'ex sindaco L'Isola Bella (vi costruì una casetta, e l'Isola, che altro non era che un ammasso brullo di scogli, divenne rigogliosa come la vediamo oggi, vi piantò alberi e piante esotiche, pini mediterranei, nonchè gli immancabili cipressi, così presenti in quasi tutta la cittadina); acquistò numerosi terreni intorno a Taormina (Monte Venere, Monte Croce, Monte Porretta) sicchè da aridi e brulli che erano, li fece diventare ricchi di vegetazione (infatti aveva al soldo numerosi contadini ai quali aveva insegnato l'arte del giardino all'Inglese). Alla sua porta andarono a bussare numerose persone in difficoltà economiche, in genere contadini e pescatori, mai fu chiusa loro la porta... (anche Oscar Wilde, caduto in disgrazia per l'accusa di omosessualità, ricevette un aiuto finanziario dalla Lady); realizzò una importante scuola di cucito per le giovanette di Taormina, dando loro la possibilità di potersi mantenere da sole; istituì 87 doti di matrimonio per le ragazze Taorminesi (all'epoca una ragazza senza dote non aveva molte possibilità di formarsi una famiglia). Il destino infine fu ancora una volta beffardo con lei: l'unico figlio che lei ebbe, di nome Edoardo, morì durante il parto, il padre era un medico, tentò di rianimarlo, ma non ci fu nulla da fare. Era in uso all'epoca, fare bagni nelle vasche da bagno ricolme di acqua gelata di mare (anche il fotografo Von Gloeden era dedito a tale usanza, ma lui usava immergersi in acqua di mare calda, riuscendo a trovare in questa forma di talassoterapia una cura per la tisi, della quale era affetto): questa usanza fu fatale a Lady Florence, che morì di broncopolmonite a 55 anni di età. Per suo esplicito desiderio, la Trevelyan fu seppellita in una contrada di Castelmola (accompagnata da tantissima gente del luogo, si racconta di una fila interminabile di persone, al suono delle zampogne, che le ricordavano le cornamuse della sua lontana Scozia); la contrada dove fu seppellita (in quella la Lady aveva un'altra dimora), fu chiamata "Francisi" in sua memoria (tale termine indicava, secondo una usanza medioevale, una generica provenienza straniera, qualinque essa fosse). Nel suo testamento Lady Florence obbligò gli eredi a non cacciare nei suoi vasti possedimenti, a non costruire, ad accogliere e curare cani ed uccellini. Lady Florence fu la prima donna ad essere ammessa a fare parte della massoneria. Importò in Sicilia les tableaux vivants (i quadri viventi) e anche le sfilate dei carri in fiori a Palermo. Lo scrittore Guido Gozzano scrisse il romanzo "Alcina" ispirandosi a Lei.

This is what's affectionately titled NB4L - the New Routemaster Borismaster, or simply London's Boris Bus no. 1.

 

At a stinging cost of nearly £900,000 per vehicle there are, surprise surprise just eight of these roaming up and down London's flagship service 38 between Victoria Station and Hackney Central, near to the Olympic stadium at Stratford.

 

Getting up close I was already smitten and couldn't help admiring the curvy, ever so retro look with surely a touch of the Guy Arab about them. Now hands up if you remember the regular cartoon in Monty Python's Flying Circus where a little old hump-backed lady pushed a 1950's pram along the street? Groaning in the most sinister fashion she tottled along the roads and when anyone stopped to say "oh what a nice little byebay"....all of sudden the baby would gobble the person up, swallow them whole with a vulgar burp to follow! This would continue happening several times until a very posh woman told them "stop this at once". I am therefore calling these eight dear things London's hump back-ladies from now on - try and stop me!

 

Now where do we start? Well how about with the fleet number itself. Each is numbered LT1 to 8 and the number can be seen here below the Arriva logo with only one other number ident on the bus, on the near side in the same position. The registration numbers don't all tally together with nos. 1, 2 and 3 being 61plate and 4 - 8 being 12 plate. The first ones appeared in February 2012 with the rest by early summer.

 

We're just about to pass the Palace Theatre at Cambridge Circus where Singing in the Rain is currently showing. Note the shop front advertising facial rejuvenation - in an hour. My God I could be done before the next Boris bus comes along!

 

The most staggering thing is the double staircase - and a glass one at that. Totally magic. It was like being a wee boy again and I've never seen so many people take such an interest in a bus before.

2/13

Known affectionately as “the corn cobs” around Chicago, these twin scalloped-edge towers alongside the Chicago River are the original template for mixed-use, high-rise buildings. By offering apartments for rent, condos for purchase and commercial space for hire, multi-faceted skyscrapers began to catch on in the following years. Marina City opened in 1964 and has been a fixture of Chicago architecture ever since.

Written on the verso in ink: Your Affectionate Sister, Fern Elizabeth. Fern Elizabeth Daggett, daughter of Susan Jane (Emery) and Clint DeWitt Daggett. Age 18 years. Mother Fern Elizabeth was pregnant (Huston) when this picture was taken.

 

Fern Elizabeth Daggett was born 26 October 1890 in Cass County, Indiana, the daughter of Clinton “DeWitt” Daggett (1866-1936) and Susan Jane Emery (1867-1940). Fern grew up on a farm in Jackson, Cass County, with her parents and four siblilngs. She was married on 23 December 1907 to Marshall Louis Connelly (1874-1954) and the couple had at least four children. Their first child was Huston Connelley, born 8 November 1898. In 1910, the family was living in Champaign, Illinois, where Lou Connelley worked as a carpenter building houses. The family was still in Champaign for the 1920 census. In 1930, Fern, her husband, and three children were living in Galveston, Cass, Indiana; Lou was listed as a building contractor. In 1940, the couple was retired and was living in Delphi, Carroll County, Indiana. Fern Elizabeth Daggett passed away on 15 August 1958.

 

The photographer was Boyd C. Stephens. There is detailed biographic information on Stephens in “The Biographical Record of Champaign County, Illinois”, published in 1900, and available as an Ebook, for no cost, at Google Books.

They do love each other and us and like to be close ... to each other and us :)

Etta sleeping on Kahn on a 2-seater lounge with us at night :)

Daily Dog Challenge: Affection