your executive office is ready, mr. president.

good. I assume it befits a supreme leader such as myself, wielding absolute power over the populace.

we spared no expense, sir.

you know how particular I am about my surroundings. especially with my hair, and all.

the office will precisely announce your level of intelligence and emotional stability.

er, you trying to tell me something?

yes, sir. your huge TV is on its way.

tanning bed too?

of course.

perfect.

Expensive and refined as befits the gift of a king.

As glamorous as a film star.

And so it would be.

7.370 cc

8 Cylinder

110 hp @ 2.400 rpm

Vmax : 140 km/h

Museo dell'Automobile

Corso Unità d'Italia 40

Torino - Turin

Italia - Italy

January 2019

Well I've come to the end of the road with my Project50 yesterday was my 50th day!

So because of electrical problems last night I'm a day late & a few dollars short, lol.

But I thought this shot & this tune would befit what's going on here.

Boy's II Men - End Of The Road

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDKO6XYXioc&ob=av3e

HMS DIAMOND (D34)

A jewel in the naval crown, HMS Diamond is the third of the highly capable Type 45 air defence destroyers and one of the most advanced warships in the world.

Nearly as tall as Nelson’s Column, Diamond's sleek lines are designed for stealth at sea, appearing virtually invisible on enemy radar.

Packing cutting-edge military sensors and a range of sophisticated weapons systems, Diamond is ready to detect and destroy any airborne, surface and sub surface threat.

Her motto befits her name: honor clarissima gemma – honour is the brightest jewel.

She is proud to be affiliated with the cities of Coventry and Aberdeen.

Both the Himba men and women are accustomed to wearing traditional clothing that befits their living environment in the Kaokoland and the hot semi-arid climate of their area, in most occurrences this consists simply of skirt-like clothing made from calfskins or increasingly from more modern textiles, and occasionally sandals for footwear, with foot soles often found made from old car tires.

Himba women especially, as well as Himba men, are remarkably famous for covering themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment, to cleanse the skin over long periods due to water scarcity and protect themselves from the extremely hot and dry climate of the Kaokoland as well as against mosquito insect bites. The cosmetic mixture, often perfumed with the aromatic resin of the omuzumba shrub, gives their skin and hair plaits a distinctive orange or red-tinge characteristic, as well as texture and style. Otjize is considered foremost a highly desirable aesthetic beauty cosmetic, symbolizing earth's rich red color and blood the essence of life, and is consistent with the OvaHimba ideal of beauty.

Hairstyle and jewelry play a significant role among the OvaHimba, it indicates age and social status within their community. An infant or child will generally have their head kept shaved of hair or a small crop of hair on their head crown, this soon is sculptured to one braided hair plait extended to the rear of the head for young boys and young girls have two braided hair plaits extended forward towards the face often parallel to their eyes, the form of wear being determined by the oruzo membership (patrilineal descent group), the style remains during preadolescence until reaching puberty. Some young girls, with exception, may also have one braided hair plait extended forwards, which means they are one of a pair of twins.

Perfect Picture Contest: Island Life

Rules:

Sun. Sand. Sea. Surf. Life is always better at the beach! Show us how your doll(s) enjoys island life. You can photograph whatever comes to mind! Just make sure your doll is ready to soak up some sun! Good luck, participants! :)

Well as Great Britain is an Island I thought it would be fun to create some images of Island Life in good Ol' Blighty! A day by the sea often involves sitting in the car with a thermos flask eating sandwiches while watching the crashing waves mix with the driving rain... I was inspired by Tim Burton's fabulous film Sweeney Todd featuring Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp in full gothic mode! Of course, my models had to be the palest of pale skin tones, as befits the average Brit!

Fashion credits:

Veronique:

Headscarf: Barbie top reworked by me

Glasses: Barbie Movie Star A Day in the Sun

Parasol: cocktail decoration

Bustier: Agnes Feminine Perspective

Bloomers: Barbie Scarlett O'Hara

Socks: Monster High

Boots: Rayna Mad Love

Lukas:

Glasses: Rayna Mad Love

Shirt: Dragon In Dreams

Pants: Dragon in Dreams

Boots: ZY Toys

Glasses: Rayna Mad Love

A vibrant red exterior contrasts the black and gold branding and frame. Adding the "olde"-style font near the roof to the observation provides a sense of traditionalism, seemingly antiquated from its modern surroundings.

Yet the pub stood out, for me, as a local attraction much more than its neighbouring properties, hence I was intrigued to explore and inclined to photograph. Apparently, there's no jukebox or TV in this pub which further befits the outside image of olden times.

After my apparently annual roast chicken I craved something lighter today.

Serrano ham wrapped around cream cheese and dates (Mazafati) and fried for a few minutes, with shredded pickled red cabbage and salad.

So much flavor in everything. Frugal. as befits Boxing Day celebrations.

The Himba are indigenous peoples with an estimated population of about 50,000 people living in northern Namibia, in the Kunene Region. Both the Himba men and women are accustomed to wearing traditional clothing that befits their living environment in the hot Kaokoland. Himba people, especially women, are remarkably famous for covering themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment, to cleanse the skin over long periods due to water scarcity and protect themselves from the extremely hot and dry climate as well as insect bites. The cosmetic mixture, often perfumed with the aromatic resin of the omuzumba shrub, gives their skin and hair plaits a distinctive orange or red-tinge characteristic, as well as texture and style. Hairstyle and jewelry play a significant role among the OvaHimba, indicating age and social status within their community – Van ZyL’S Pass, Kaokoland, Namibia

Current keeper since 1998.

Mileage at 2020's MOT, 30467.

Not sure on the story, this has just emerged and parked in a slightly odd place. I had assumed a new keeper, It appears immaculate and befits the potential low miles. No MOT history between 2007 and 2015.

From her neck to her toes, the lady is covered in taffeta as befits a lady of fashion of her time. For my part, I would just love to be swathed in romantic rustling taffeta from my nose to my toes. Every part of me would know the sweet caresses of Lady Taffeta. It would indeed be a dream cum true.

Opuwo is the capital of the Kunene Region of Namibia.

Both the Himba men and women are accustomed to wearing traditional clothing that befits their living environment in the Kaokoland and the hot semi-arid climate of their area, in most occurrences this consists simply of skirt-like clothing made from calfskins or increasingly from more modern textiles, and occasionally sandals for footwear, with foot soles often found made from old car tires.

Himba women especially, as well as Himba men, are remarkably famous for covering themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment, to cleanse the skin over long periods due to water scarcity and protect themselves from the extremely hot and dry climate of the Kaokoland as well as against mosquito insect bites. The cosmetic mixture, often perfumed with the aromatic resin of the omuzumba shrub, gives their skin and hair plaits a distinctive orange or red-tinge characteristic, as well as texture and style. Otjize is considered foremost a highly desirable aesthetic beauty cosmetic, symbolizing earth's rich red color and blood the essence of life, and is consistent with the OvaHimba ideal of beauty.

Hairstyle and jewelry play a significant role among the OvaHimba, it indicates age and social status within their community. An infant or child will generally have their head kept shaved of hair or a small crop of hair on their head crown, this soon is sculptured to one braided hair plait extended to the rear of the head for young boys and young girls have two braided hair plaits extended forward towards the face often parallel to their eyes, the form of wear being determined by the oruzo membership (patrilineal descent group), the style remains during preadolescence until reaching puberty. Some young girls, with exception, may also have one braided hair plait extended forwards, which means they are one of a pair of twins.

The striking corpus of the Rathaus tower with its pentagonal base is situated at the entrance to the town in the immediate vicinity of the Bischofsschloss. Built in the 13th century, the tower served as the official seat of the local representative of the ruler, the bishop of Sitten. The original structure was seriously damaged during the ‘Raron Troubles’ in 1415. Ulrich Ruffiner converted the building into a Rathaus in 1541. The location and size of the building emphasise how much the rich citizens in the town wished to stake their claim to power. The tower has been a listed building since 1934 and, together with the Rathaus in Sitten, offers probably the most telling evidence of a self-assured citizenry in the canton of the Valais.

Master builder Ulrich Ruffiner (ca. 1480 - 1549) is considered to be one of the most significant master builders of the 16th century in the Valais. Born around 1480 in the Walser settlement of fun d‘Rufinu (Italian: alla Rusa) in the Prismell at the southern foot of Monte Rosa, he chose to live in Raron. He spent his final years in Glis, where he died – as befitted his profession – by falling off the church tower around 1549. Some 30 buildings can be ascribed to Ruffiner. With one exception, they are all located in the canton of Valais. Ruffiner established an excellent reputation both as an architect and as an engineer. The works he left behind to posterity are certainly of the utmost diversity. From the construction of the mayor tower in Nendaz and the conversion of the ruins at Raron castle into a church to the project for a road across the Lötschen pass, his oeuvre comprises a wide array of all kinds of building assignments. The people of Leuk entrusted Ruffiner with two conversion projects: the structurally sophisticated completion of St. Stephen’s church around 1514 and the conversion of the Viztum tower into the town hall from 1541 to 1543. Another of Ruffiner’s projects with close links to Leuk is the bridge over the Dala in Rumeling. Built in 1539, it carried all of the traffic to Leukerbad right up to about 1850.

(http://tourismus.leuk.ch/en/tourismus/sehenswertes.html)

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

From deep in the Archieves, reprocessed, using Photoshop CC 2020.

The Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus) is a large, even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. Of the two species of camel, it is by far the rarer. The Bactrian camel has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped dromedary camel. Its population of two million exists mainly in the domesticated form. Some authorities, notably the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), use the binomial name Camelus ferus for the wild Bactrian camel and reserve Camelus bactrianus for the domesticated Bactrian camel. Their name comes from the ancient historical region of Bactria. The domesticated Bactrian camel has served as a pack animal in inner Asia since ancient times. With its tolerance for cold, drought, and high altitudes, it enabled travel such as the caravans of the Silk Road. The wild form has dwindled to a population estimated at 800 in October 2002 and has been classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Its range in the wild is restricted to remote regions of the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts of Mongolia and China, migrating from the desert to rivers in Siberia during winter. A small number of wild Bactrian camels still roam the Mangystau Province of southwest Kazakhstan and the Kashmir valley in India. There are feral herds of Bactrian camels in Australia. The Bactrian camel is the largest mammal in its native range and rivals the dromedary as the largest living camel. Shoulder height is from 180 to 230 cm (5.9 to 7.5 ft), head-and-body length is 225–350 cm (7.38–11.48 ft) and the tail length is 35–55 cm (14–22 in). At the top of the humps, the average height is 213 cm (6.99 ft). Body mass can range from 300 to 1,000 kg (660 to 2,200 lb), with males often being much larger and heavier than females. Its long, wooly coat varies in colour from dark brown to sandy beige. There is a mane and beard of long hair on the neck and throat, with hairs measuring up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long. The shaggy winter coat is shed extremely rapidly, with huge sections peeling off at once, appearing as if sloppily shorn off. There are two humps on the back, which are composed of fat (not water as is sometimes thought). The face is typical of a camelid, being long and somewhat triangular, with a split upper lip. There are long eyelashes, which, along with the sealable nostrils, help to keep out dust in the frequent sandstorms which occur in their natural range. The two broad toes on each foot have undivided soles and are able to spread widely as an adaptation to walking on sand. The feet are very tough, as befits an animal of extreme environments

Commentary.

Childish excitement travelling from east to west in late winter.

You know soon, very soon, the West Coast “Munros” will gleam like incisor teeth above the forested landscape.

Forcan, left, and The Saddle, right, are such peaks that advertise the thousand metre micro-climate of semi-Alpine splendour.

Spin-drift sweeps off the upper slopes to accumulate in layers like royal icing.

The snowy back-cloth forms a pleasing contrast to the pastel tans and greens of the bracken and forest of the lower slopes of this historic Glen.

The West Coast beckons.

Such a grand mountain corridor befits the momentous land and seascapes that lie in prospect.

Rules:

Sun. Sand. Sea. Surf. Life is always better at the beach! Show us how your doll(s) enjoys island life. You can photograph whatever comes to mind! Just make sure your doll is ready to soak up some sun! Good luck, participants! :)

Well as Great Britain is an Island I thought it would be fun to create some images of Island Life in good Ol' Blighty! A day by the sea often involves sitting in the car with a thermos flask eating sandwiches while watching the crashing waves mix with the driving rain... I was inspired by Tim Burton's fabulous film Sweeney Todd featuring Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp in full gothic mode! Of course, my models had to be the palest of pale skin tones, as befits the average Brit!

Spaarne 30 / Damstraat 29, Haarlem.

Architect: Lieven de Key (1560-1627)

Rijksmonument 19708

De Waag in Haarlem is een gebouw aan het Spaarne, op de hoek met de Damstraat. Het waaggebouw werd gebouwd naar ontwerp en onder leiding van de Haarlemse stadsarchitect Lieven de Key in renaissancestijl.

De gevel is van arduinsteen, dus natuursteen, wat gezien de kostbare aanvoer tamelijk ongebruikelijk is. De stenen werden betrokken van een leverancier uit Namen.

De ligging aan het Spaarne was gunstig met het oog op de aanvoer van de te wegen goederen. Het gebouw staat op een onregelmatig stuk grond, maar het gebouw biedt een harmonieuze aanblik doordat de beide gevels (voor en opzij) identiek zijn.

De Haarlemse waag heeft zijn oorspronkelijke functie tot 1915 vervuld. Vervolgens werden er gemeentelijke brandspuiten opgeslagen. Sinds 1821 is op de bovenverdieping de kunstenaarsvereniging KZOD (Kunst zij ons doel) gevestigd.

In de jaren zestig was het gebouw het onderkomen van de troubadours en folkclub van Cobi Schreijer. Grootheden als Pete Seeger, Joan Baez en Simon en Garfunkel traden er op, alsook Boudewijn de Groot en Elly en Rikkert. Tegenwoordig is er in het pand een bar/café gevestigd.

_____________________________________________

The Waag is a former Weigh house in Haarlem, that today serves as a café catering to tourists.

The building was designed by Lieven de Key and is built with stone from Namur, Belgium. It is the only building in Haarlem that was built this way, and was designed in its day as a landmark that befits an authority. The weigh house masters needed to be able to judge the correct measure of a shipload of grain that was delivered in Haarlem. Inside the large cast iron balance can still be seen. The location of the weigh house was strategically located where the Spaarne river joins the beek, a small canal that according to tradition was used to carry fresh water from the dunes to serve the brewers of Haarlem. Haarlem was known for its beer brewing in the 15th-17th centuries. A large wooden crane operated by wheels driven by manpower was used to hoist the grain on ships into the Waag building and back into other ships or carts for further transport. The wooden crane can be seen on most historic pictures of the Spaarne up until 1872.

In 1821 the top floor of the Waag was rented to the artist club Kunst zij ons doel for drawing classes gathered around a live model. The room is still used for this function, though fewer drawing classes are held nowadays and the rooms are often used for exhibitions. The entrance to the artist club is via the small staircase on the Spaarne side.

Source: Wikipedia

Shot with Canon EOS 400D

Lens: 18-75mm

Mode: Landscape

Rani Padmini/Padmavati (of Sri Lankan origin) was the queen of Chittor and the wife of King Rawal Ratan Singh. Her beauty, life and death has been the subject of many legends, ballads, and films. Many of these accounts are conflicting, and some historians consider her story to be fictional.

In 1303 AD, Alauddin Khilji, the Sultan of Delhi besieged Chittor fort, which was under the control of Rana Rawal Ratan Singh. The Rana was imprisoned and held hostage for Padmini (whom the Sultan wanted to add to his harem). Padmini sent misleading information that she would join Alauddin, but she was to come with 700 women as befitted her status. The Rajputs were thus able to infiltrate about 2000 men into Alauddin's camp hidden inside palanquins, each containg 2 soldiers and 4 men for lifting and passed off as Rajput women. Alauddin allowed Padmini one final meeting with her husband, which allowed the Rajputs to whisk Ratan Singh out. Beaten, Alauddin returned to Delhi to come back better equipped early the following year. The Rajput defence failed as a result of this second attack and perished on the battlefield while their womenfolk, led by Maharani Padmini, performed Jauhar.

Jauhar and Saka refer to the voluntary deaths of men and women of the Rajput clan in order to avoid capture and dishonour at the hands of their enemies. This was done sometimes by Hindu and Sikh women, in Mughal times and there are recorded incidences of this on a much smaller scale during the Partition in 1947 when women preferred death to being raped, turned into a slave or being forced into a marriage and to take their enemies' religion.

Jauhar was originally the voluntary death on a funeral pyre of the queens and royal womenfolk of defeated Rajput kingdoms. The term is extended to describe the occasional practice of mass suicide carried out in medieval times by Rajput women and men. This was usually done before or at the same time their husbands, brothers, fathers and sons rode out in a charge to meet their attackers and certain death. The upset caused by the knowledge that their women and younger children were dead, no doubt filled them with rage in this fight to the death called saka.

Chittorgarh Fort is the biggest fort in Asia, situated on a 180m-high hilltop is on about 280 hectare site. It is one of the most historically significant forts not only of Rajasthan but of the whole of North India. It was constructed by the Mauryans in the 7th century AD. It was the citadel of many great Rajput warriors such as Rana Kumbha, Maharana Pratap etc.

Hans Holbein the Elder (Augsburg, 1460 - Issenheim, 1524) - Altar of St. Sebastian; right wing Saint Elizabeth; Left wing Saint Barbara (1516) - Alte Pinakothek, Munich

La storia di san Sebastiano nelle arti è una tra le più lunghe e ricche, forse può essere considerato uno dei santi più rappresentati della Chiesa cattolica.

Riconoscibile a colpo d'occhio, per via dell'iconografia che lo riguarda, costituita dalle frecce che gli penetrano il corpo, questa immagine ha subito nel corso del tempo una notevole evoluzione, passando dall'originaria figura di uomo barbuto di mezza età che indossa l'armatura a quella di adolescente muscoloso con un corpo intatto seminudo ed inerme, fino a trasfigurarsi in una vera e propria icona gay diventando il "santo protettore degli omosessuali".

Nelle rappresentazioni del primo millennio lo si vede indossare la clamide militare come si conveniva alla sua professione di soldato, e sempre senza barba: un guerriero armato di scudo e spada. Durante l'epoca dell'arte gotica appare con un'armatura di maglie metalliche alla moda del tempo, ma presto anche con un ricco abito da nobile romano e di solito con la barba. Da allora in poi si è cominciato inoltre a rappresentarlo nudo al momento di essere colpito dalle frecce; soprattutto i gotici olandesi e tedeschi lo raffigurano ricoperto di ferite e col corpo magro ben evidenziato. Il primo attributo personale di riconoscimento è la corona di fiori in mano; a partire dall'alto Medioevo una freccia e un arco tra le mani.

Dal tardo XV secolo gli artisti hanno scelto sempre più spesso di presentare la figura del santo come un giovinetto denudato, ancora completamente imberbe, con le mani strettamente legate al tronco di un albero o alla cima di una colonna mentre offre del tutto indifeso il petto alle frecce del carnefice.

The history of Saint Sebastian in the arts is one of the longest and richest, perhaps it can be considered one of the most represented saints of the Catholic Church.

Recognizable at a glance, due to the iconography that concerns him, consisting of the arrows that penetrate his body, this image has undergone a considerable evolution over time, passing from the original figure of a bearded middle-aged man who wears the armor to that of a muscular teenager with an intact half-naked and defenseless body, until he transfigured into a real gay icon becoming the "patron saint of homosexuals".

In the representations of the first millennium he is seen wearing the military clamide as befits his profession as a soldier, and always without a beard: a warrior armed with a shield and sword. During the epoch of the Gothic art he appears with an armor of fashionable metal mesh of the time, but soon also with a rich Roman nobleman's dress and usually with a beard. From then on he also began to represent him naked at the moment of being hit by arrows; above all the Dutch and German Gothic represent him covered with wounds and with the lean body well highlighted. The first personal attribute of recognition is the wreath of flowers in hand; from the early Middle Ages an arrow and a bow in his hands.

Since the late fifteenth century, artists have increasingly chosen to present the figure of the saint as a naked boy, still completely beardless, with his hands closely tied to the trunk of a tree or to the top of a column while offering his chest completely defenseless. executioner's arrows.

883/1/130 ST PETER'S STREET

30-JUL-51 (West side)

FORMER CHURCH OF ST PETER

(Formerly listed as:

ST PETER'S STREET

CHURCH OF ST PETER)

(Formerly listed as:

ST PETER'S ROAD

CHURCH OF ST PETER)

II*

Begun in the mid C13 as the chapel for a hospital for pilgrims travelling to Canterbury. Redundant after the Reformation, it was restored and enlarged in 1836-7 by John Whichcord, Snr. Restored in 1905, when the N vestry complex was built, and again in 1951. Converted to secular use early C21.

MATERIALS:

Stone rubble with tiled roofs.

PLAN:

Nave and chancel in one, transepts towards W. Shallow W porch, N vestry with a lean-to addition between it and the N transept.

EXTERIOR

The exterior is in a simple, Early English style, with triple lancets with hood moulds at E and W ends and in the transepts, and single lancets elsewhere. The E windows, the first two on the N and S, and the W windows (the latter reset) are C13, the rest are C19. Trefoiled niche with a 1923 statue of St Peter on the S side, and below a C13 door with two rich orders, the outer on shafts, the inner continuous. There is a matching C19 door on the N side. The kneelers in the transepts have head corbels that may be medieval.

Gabled NE porch/vestry complex has an east door with a triangular head. Further doorway in the east wall of the projection behind, which has a 3-light C19 square headed window in the N gable and a chimney stack with a tall stone shaft on the E wall. Gabled W porch with moulded doorway on shafts, another C19 copy of the C13 S door. Small bellcot over W gable.

INTERIOR

The nave and chancel are roofed as one beyond the western transepts. The C13 chancel windows have shafted rerearches with roll mouldings on attached shafts with moulded capitals. Whichcord's nave largely follows the design of the original C13 work, but his lancets are separated by detached shafts of Bethersden marble. A trefoiled arch in the N wall was inserted in 1905 for the organ.

PRINCIPAL FIXTURES

Mid C13 sedilia and piscina in the chancel, heavily restored, with richly moulded, trefoiled arches on detached marble shafts with moulded capitals and bases, contemporary with the windows and the chancel as a whole. There is another C13 trefoiled piscina further west in the S wall. Tiled reredos of the Last Supper. Some C19 and C20 glass. All the other fittings have been removed. C19 boarded ceilings throughout.

HISTORY

The church began as the chapel of a hospital dedicated to SS Peter and Paul called the Newark of Maidstone, founded by Boniface, Archbishop of Canterbury (1244-1270) in the mid C13 for pilgrims crossing the nearby Medway. The original charter is lost, but a confirmation charter of 1261 exists. In 1395 the hospital was merged with the new foundation of All Saints, Maidstone, although the hospital apparently retained some independence. At the dissolution the hospital was sold to Lord Cobham, and the chapel had various secular uses. In 1836, work began to restore it for worship. The architect, John Whichcord, Snr. was a local architect who worked on both secular and ecclesiastical buildings around Maidstone. It opened in 1837 and was consecrated in 1839, gaining its own parish in 1840. The C13 structure now forms the eastern half of the building, and Whichcord carefully took down the W wall of the original building and re-erected it 40' to the W. By the late C20, the area around the church was largely industrial and the church became redundant. It was converted to other uses in the early C21.

SOURCES

Newman, J., Buildings of England: West Kent and the Weald (1980), 400

Council for the Care of Churches Report (1981), held at NMR

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION

The former church of St Peter, Maidstone, is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:

* It was originally a hospital chapel for pilgrims travelling to Canterbury.

* Very good C13 chancel with fine contemporary sedilia and piscina. W wall dismantled and re-erected in the C19.

* Converted to a parish church and enlarged in 1836-9 by John Whichcord, Snr.

* Where it survives, the C13 work is of very high quality as befits an archiepiscopal foundation.

The beautiful staircase and skylight inside the Dali Museum. The architecture and design are fabulous and bold. It was designed by architect Yann Weymouth of HOK. The free-form geodesic glass bubble is known as the “enigma”. The design truly befits the artist...

False door of princess Uhemnefret (2543-2435 B.C. Old Kingdom 4th dynasty) - Provenance: Giza - western necropolis / mastaba of Uhem-neferet - Egyptian Museum of Turin

Nella tabella centrale in alto si riconosce la defunta Uhemnefret seduta di fronte a una tavola, sulla quale si trova una fila di fette di pane rappresentate in verticale, secondo le convenzioni artistiche egizie. Immediatamente sotto la tabella, sull’architrave della falsa-porta, a sinistra, è indicato il nome della defunta preceduto da titoli ed epiteti che sottolineano l’appartenenza di Uhemnefret alla famiglia regale: “la figlia del re, la sua amata, venerabile presso suo padre, onorata presso sua madre”. Sugli stipiti esterni sono rappresentate coppie di persone rivolte verso il centro del monumento; nei quattro pannelli in alto si tratta di funzionari di rango elevato e membri della corte, a testimonianza dell’importanza della defunta. Alcuni di loro hanno nomi composti con nomi di faraoni (circondati dall’ovale detto “cartiglio”): “Possa-vivere-Cheope” o “La-bella-al-seguito-di-Snefru”. Il bambino raffigurato nudo e con il dito alla bocca sullo stipite interno destro in alto è invece, secondo l’iscrizione, Irenptah, il nipote della defunta. Negli altri pannelli sono raffigurati personaggi che trasportano offerte di vario tipo e sacerdoti addetti al culto funerario dopo la morte.

In the central panel at the top, we see the deceased woman, Wehemnefret, sitting in front of a table laden with bread slices. The slices are depicted vertically, as the conventions of Egyptian art prescribe. Immediately below the panel, on the left side of the lintel of the false-door, is the name of the deceased preceded by titles and epithets stressing that she is a member of the royal family: “The daughter of the king, beloved by him, honored before her father, honored before her mother.” On the outer jambs are several pairs of individuals facing towards the middle of the stela. In the four upper panels, these individuals are high-ranking officials and courtiers, as befits the importance of the deceased. Some have names incorporating royal names (surrounded by the oval called “cartouche”): “May-Cheops-live” or “The-beautiful-female-in-the-following-of-Snefru.” The nude child with his finger to his mouth on the right inner jamb, above, is identified by the inscription as Irenptah, the deceased’s grandson (“the son of her son”). In the other panels are individuals carrying various kinds of offerings and priests charged with the performance of the funerary cult.

Intercity service 144/143 runs between Kraków and Mockava. In the service tablesit's mentioned as the intercity between Kraków and Vilnius, because at Mockava it connects to a service between Mockava and Vilnius. The polish trains can't run on Lithuania's russian gauge, while the lithuanian trains experience the same problems in Poland.

During the evening before I'd take this service to Vilnius, I went to Warszawa Zachodnia station. This station has been thoroughly rebuild during the previous years and construction works are still ongoing. However at this moment the station looks superb already. It's clean, modern and certainly a station that befits the capital of Poland. Among the trains I got on photo, was the train hauled by the former PKP Cargo EU07-1506. One of several loco's hired to fullfill the shortages in both loco's and intercity units. PKP IC hired several EU07's, but occasionally also some others. Even some Express Intercity Premium services are currently loco-hauled because there aren't enough Pendelino units available for passenger service.

The train this one hauled was IC service 143, just returning from Mockaba. The train in the opposite direction of what I'd take the following day.. Here on the west side of Warsaw most internatonal travellers have already disembanked at Warszzawa Centralna. On the remainder of the route it's more like a domestic service, with most people in the train having boarded at one of the stations of the polish capital.

The “Groppoli Steles” Group - B Stelae type.

These statues have been found at different times since the last century in the basin of the river Magra and its tributaries, and are now partly conserved in the Civic Museum of La Spezia and partly in that of Pontremoli. The corpus comprises over 60 stelae, which document the birth and flourishing of the production in the Copper Age (5th - 4th millennium B.C.) and the subsequent, probably not contiguous, production in the Iron Age (late 2nd - 1st millennium BC).

The statues can be divided into two large groups (Copper Age and Iron Age). Their dating is based on the study of the representation of the objects carved on them. These objects, realistically drawn in the stone, are weapons and ornaments of a well-defined and well-recognized type, which correspond to and reproduce the archaeological remains found in the excavations of tombs or dwellings of the Copper Age. The former group, the more ancient and numerous one, comprises three types of anthropomorphic representations: male, indicated either only by a dagger or an associated flat axe; female, indicated by more or less marked breast, and sometimes by necklaces or chokers; finally a type without any attribute, hence conventionally considered asexual. This latter type is perhaps an expressive metaphor of an individual with a still-undefined social role, as would befit a child or adolescent.

The Copper Age stelae are divided in two groups: the Group A, or the Pontevecchio type Stelae, and the Group B, or the Malgrate type stelae. The main characteristic of the Group A is the head joined to the torso, of the Group B the head separated from the torso and spread out sideways.

Stone stelae

5th - 4th millennium B.C.

Pontremoli, Archaeological Museum

Opuwo is the capital of the Kunene Region of Namibia.

Both the Himba men and women are accustomed to wearing traditional clothing that befits their living environment in the Kaokoland and the hot semi-arid climate of their area, in most occurrences this consists simply of skirt-like clothing made from calfskins or increasingly from more modern textiles, and occasionally sandals for footwear, with foot soles often found made from old car tires.

Himba women especially, as well as Himba men, are remarkably famous for covering themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment, to cleanse the skin over long periods due to water scarcity and protect themselves from the extremely hot and dry climate of the Kaokoland as well as against mosquito insect bites. The cosmetic mixture, often perfumed with the aromatic resin of the omuzumba shrub, gives their skin and hair plaits a distinctive orange or red-tinge characteristic, as well as texture and style. Otjize is considered foremost a highly desirable aesthetic beauty cosmetic, symbolizing earth's rich red color and blood the essence of life, and is consistent with the OvaHimba ideal of beauty.

Hairstyle and jewelry play a significant role among the OvaHimba, it indicates age and social status within their community. An infant or child will generally have their head kept shaved of hair or a small crop of hair on their head crown, this soon is sculptured to one braided hair plait extended to the rear of the head for young boys and young girls have two braided hair plaits extended forward towards the face often parallel to their eyes, the form of wear being determined by the oruzo membership (patrilineal descent group), the style remains during preadolescence until reaching puberty. Some young girls, with exception, may also have one braided hair plait extended forwards, which means they are one of a pair of twins.

Interior da Catedral de Milão.

A text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Milan Cathedral

Milan Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Milano; Milanese: Domm de Milan) is the cathedral church of Milan in Lombardy, northern Italy. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi.

History:

Milan's layout, with streets either radiating from the Duomo or circling it, reveals that the Duomo occupies the most central site in Roman Mediolanum, that of the public basilica facing the forum. Saint Ambrose's 'New Basilica' was built on this site at the beginning of the 5th century, with an adjoining basilica added in 836. When a fire damaged both buildings in 1075, they were rebuilt as the Duomo.

Um texto, em português, do Site "Fatos e fotos de viagens", que pode ser visto no endereço interata.squarespace.com/jornal-de-viagem/2006/11/27/duom...

In 1386 archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo began construction in a rayonnant Late Gothic style more typically French than Italian. Construction coincided with the accession to power in Milan of the archbishop's cousin Gian Galeazzo Visconti, and was meant as a reward to the noble and working classes which had been suppressed by his tyrannical Visconti predecessor Barnabò. Before actual work began, three main buildings were demolished: the palace of the Archbishop, the Ordinari Palace and the Baptistry of 'St. Stephen at the Spring', while the old church of Sta. Maria Maggiore was exploited as a stone quarry. Enthusiasm for the immense new building soon spread among the population, and the shrewd Gian Galeazzo, together with his cousin the archbishop, collected large donations for the work-in-progress. The construction program was strictly regulated under the "Fabbrica del Duomo", which had 300 employees led by first chief engineer Simone da Orsenigo. Galeazzo gave the Fabbrica exclusive use of the marble from the Candoglia quarry and exempted it from taxes.

In 1389 a French chief engineer, Nicolas de Bonaventure, was appointed, adding to the church its strong Gothic imprint. Ten years later another French architect, Jean Mignot, was called from Paris to judge and improve upon the work done, as the masons needed new technical aid to lift stones to an unprecedented height. Mignot declared all the work done up till then as in pericolo di ruina ("peril of ruin"), as it had been done sine scienzia ("without science"). In the following years Mignot's forecasts proved untrue, but anyway they spurred Galeazzo's engineers to improve their instruments and techniques. Work proceeded quickly, and at the death of Gian Galeazzo in 1402, almost half the cathedral was complete. Construction, however, stalled almost totally until 1480, due to lack of money and ideas: the most notable works of this period were the tombs of Marco Carelli and Pope Martin V (1424) and the windows of the apse (1470s), of which those extant portray St. John the Evangelist, by Cristoforo de' Mottis, and Saint Eligius and San John of Damascus, both by Niccolò da Varallo. In 1452, under Francesco Sforza, the nave and the aisles were completed up to the sixth bay.

In 1500-1510, under Ludovico Sforza, the octagonal cupola was completed, and decorated in the interior with four series of fifteen statues each, portraying saints, prophets, sibyls and other characters of the Bible. The exterior long remained without any decoration, except for the Guglietto dell'Amadeo ("Amadeo's Little Spire"), constructed 1507-1510. This is a Renaissance masterwork which nevertheless harmonized well with the general Gothic appearance of the church.

The famous "Madunina" atop the main spire of the cathedral, a baroque gilded bronze artwork.

During the subsequent Spanish domination, the new church proved usable, even though the interior remained largely unfinished, and some bays of the nave and the transepts were still missing. In 1552 Giacomo Antegnati was commissioned to build a large organ for the north side of the choir, and Giuseppe Meda provided four of the sixteen pales which were to decorate the altar area (the program was completed by Federico Borromeo). In 1562 Marco d' Lopez's St. Bartholomew and the famous Trivulzio candelabrum (12th century) were added.

After the accession of the ambitious Carlo Borromeo to the archbishop's throne, all lay monuments were removed from the Duomo. These included the tombs of Giovanni, Barnabò and Filippo Maria Visconti, Francesco and his wife Bianca, Galeazzo Maria and Lodovico Sforza, which were brought to unknown destinations. However, Borromeo's main intervention was the appointment, in 1571, of Pellegrino Pellegrini as chief engineer— a contentious move, since to appoint Pellegrino, who was not a lay brother of the duomo, required a revision of the Fabbrica's statutes.

Borromeo and Pellegrino strove for a new, Renaissance appearance for the cathedral, that would emphasise its Roman / Italian nature, and subdue the Gothic style, which was now seen as foreign. As the façade still was largely incomplete, Pellegrini designed a "Roman" style one, with columns, obelisks and a large tympanum. When Pellegrini's design was revealed, a competition for the design of the facade was announced, and this elicited nearly a dozen entries, including by Antonio Barca [1].

This design was never carried out, but the interior decoration continued: in 1575-1585 the presbytery was rebuilt, while new altars and the baptistry were added in the nave.

Wooden choirstalls were constructed by 1614 for the main altar by Francesco Brambilla.

In 1577 Borromeo finally consecrated the whole edifice as a new church, distinct from the old Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Tecla (which had been unified in 1549 after heavy disputes).

At the beginning of the 17th century Federico Borromeo had the foundations of the new façade laid by Francesco Maria Richini and Fabio Mangone. Work continued until 1638 with the construction of five portals and two middle windows. In 1649, however, the new chief architect Carlo Buzzi introduced a striking revolution: the façade was to revert to original Gothic style, including the already finished details within big Gothic pilasters and two giant belfries. Other designs were provided by, among others, Filippo Juvarra (1733) and Luigi Vanvitelli (1745), but all remained unapplied. In 1682 the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore was demolished and the cathedral's roof covering completed.

The ultimate facade with its striking rosy marble revetment

In 1762 one of the main features of the cathedral, the Madonnina's spire, was erected at the dizzying height of 108.5 m. The spire was designed by Francesco Croce and sports at the top a famous polychrome Madonnina statue, designed by Giuseppe Perego that befits the original stature of the cathedral.[2] Given Milan's notoriously damp and foggy climate, the Milanese consider it a fair-weather day when the Madonnina is visible from a distance, as it is so often covered by mist.

On May 20, 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte, about to be crowned King of Italy, ordered the façade to be finished. In his enthusiasm, he assured that all expenses would fall to the French treasurer, who would reimburse the Fabbrica for the real estate it had to sell. Even though this reimbursement was never paid, it still meant that finally, within only seven years, the Cathedral had its façade completed. The new architect, Francesco Soave, largely followed Buzzi's project, adding some neo-Gothic details to the upper windows. As a form of thanksgiving, a statue of Napoleon was placed at the top of one of the spires.

In the following years, most of the missing arches and spires were constructed. The statues on the southern wall were also finished, while in 1829-1858, new stained glass windows replaced the old ones, though with less aesthetically significant results. The last details of the cathedral were finished only in the 20th century: the last gate was inaugurated on January 6, 1965. This date is considered the very end of a process which had proceeded for generations, although even now, some uncarved blocks remain to be completed as statues. The Duomo's main facade is under renovation as of 2007; canvas-covered scaffolding obscures most of the facade.

he cathedral of Milano is often described as one of the greatest churches in the world. The ground plan is of a nave with 5 aisles, crossed by a transept and then followed by choir and apsis. The height of the nave is about 45 meters, the highest Gothic vaults of a complete church (less than the 48 meters of Beauvais Cathedral that was never completed).

The roof is open to tourists (for a fee), which allows many a close-up view of some spectacular sculpture that would otherwise be unappreciated. The roof of the cathedral is renowned for the forest of openwork pinnacles and spires, sitting upon delicate flying buttresses.

The cathedral's five wide naves, divided by forty pillars, are reflected in the hierarchic openings of the facade. Even the transepts have aisles. The nave columns are 24.5 metres (80 ft) high, and the apsidal windows are 20.7 x 8.5 metres (68 x 28 feet). The huge building is of brick construction, faced with marble from the quarries which Gian Galeazzo Visconti donated in perpetuity to the cathedral chapter. Its maintenance and repairs are very complicated.

The interior of the cathedral includes a huge number of monuments and artworks. These include:

* The Archbishop Alberto da Intimiano's sarcophagus, which is overlooked by a Crucifix in copper laminae (a replica).

* The sarcophagi of the archbishops Ottone Visconti and Giovanni Visconti, created by a Campionese master in the 14th century.

* The sarcophagus of Marco Carelli, who donated 35,000 ducati to accelerate the construction of the cathedral.

* The three magnificent altars by Pellegrino Pellegrini, which include the notable Federico Zuccari's Visit of St. Peter to St. Agatha jailed.

* In the right transept, the monument to Gian Giacomo Medici di Marignano, called "Medeghino", by Leone Leoni, and the adjacent Renaissance marble altar, decorated with gilt bronze statues.

* In front of the former mausoleum is the most renowned work of art of the cathedral, the St. Bartholomew statue by Marco D'Agrate.

* The presbytery is a late Renaissance masterpiece composing a choir, a Temple by Pellegrini, two pulpits with giant telamones covered in copper and bronze, and two large organs. Around the choir the two sacristies' portals, some frescoes and a fifteenth-century statue of Martin V by Jacopino da Tradate) can be seen.

* The transepts house the Trivulzio Candelabrum, which is in two pieces. The base (attributed to Nicolas of Verdun, 12th century), characterized by a fantastic ensemble of vines, vegetables and imaginary animals; and the stem, of the mid-16th century.

* In the left aisle, the Arcimboldi monument by Alessi and Romanesque figures depicting the Apostles in red marble and the neo-Classic baptistry by Pellegrini.

* A small red light bulb in the dome above the apse marks the spot where one of the nails from the Crucifixion of Christ has been placed.

* In November-December, in the days surrounding the birthdate of the San Carlo Borromeo, a series of large canvases, the Quadroni are exhibited along the nave.

DUOMO - A Catedral de Milão

O Duomo é apenas mais um dos fabulosos exemplos de arquitetura e monumentalidade dirigida ao culto ao divino entre tantas outras catedrais construídas na Europa durante a Idade Média, entre os séculos 9 e 12.

Dizem que o Duomo foi projetado pelo pintor, escultor, arquiteto, engenheiro, cientista e inventor italiano Leonardo da Vinci, nascido em Vinci e falecido em Amboise, na França.

Igrejas como as de Chartres , Amiens e Notre Dame de Paris (França), Sevilha e Santiago de Compostela (Espanha), Colônia (Alemanha) e o Duomo de Milão (Itália) são o exemplo máximo do estilo gótico — caracterizado pelo uso das ogivas (cruzamento de arcos), que possibilitavam a construção de altas estruturas. No apogeu do fervor católico, elas foram projetadas usando medidas que reproduziam as proporções do corpo humano.

Situado no centro da cidade , o Duomo é o marco zero geográfico da cidade e ponto de partida para se conhecer a cidade. Muitas de suas atrações estão nas proximidades ou vizinhanças.

Pode-se visitar internamente a igreja e seu telhado. Todos os dias, de 7 às19h de junho a setembro, e de 9 às 16h, de outubro a maio. Para ingressar na igreja nada se paga, mas para subir ao seu telhado paga-se o preço de 4 Euros, por elevador.

Duomo é uma gigantesca igreja catedral, uma das maiores em estilo gótico em todo o mundo, em dimensões, pois tem cerca de 160 m de comprimento por 92 de largura. Suas dimensões representam aquilo que mais impressiona e provoca admiração a quem a visita, num primeiro olhar.

igreja começou a ser construída no Século 14 mas só foi concluída 500 (!!) anos depois.

Uma das coisas mais interessantes a ser fazer em toda Milão é visitar o telhado do Duomo, todo em placas de mármore, da mesma pedra de sua fachada, suas esculturas (santos, gárgulas e agulhas) e de onde se tem uma bela vista de toda a cidade.

A fachada do Duomo não tem apenas um estilo arquitetônico: eles vão do gótico ao renascentista, com alguns elementos neoclássicos.

Ainda no exterior, antes de entrar na igreja, não deixe de observar o rendilhado que envolve as janelas-vitrais e também as belíssimas e enormes portas de bronze, nas quais estão esculturas em baixos e altos-relevos que mostram cenas da história da cidade.

O que mais impressiona no interior é a altura dos enormes pilares góticos que suportam o telhado de toda a igreja e que delimitam suas naves laterais, secundárias e principal, além do altar-mór. Elas enquadram os vitrais igualmente gigantescos e belíssimos.

O interior não impressiona tanto quanto o exterior, ainda que seja solene, grandioso e tenha cinco naves e 52 gigantescas colunas de pedra.

Também o maravilhoso piso de mármore de três ou quatro tonalidades, que formam belos desenhos, dão, na nave central, a verdadeira impressão das dimensões desta fabulosa igreja. Observe o piso (de preferência ajoelhado nele) posisionando-se de costas para o altar-mór e olhando para o portão principal.

Em Milão quase tudo gira ao redor do Duomo, a Catedral de Milão, a terceira maior igreja da cristandade depois da Basílica de São Pedro, em Roma, e da Catedral de Sevilha.

No telhado as centenas de agulhas altíssimas, de arcos e gárgulas, estátuas e cariátides esculpidos em mármore impressionam tanto quanto sua fachada, vista do nível da rua. A mais magestosa das imagens é a estatua dourada da Madonnina do Perego, situada no topo da agulha maior, onde foi colocada em 1744.

Uma visita ao seu telhado dá-nos a dimensão exata da grandiosidade do trabalho de construção desta monumental escultura e nos leva a imaginar o quão difícil deve ter sido, compreendendo-se porque ela iniciou-se em 1386 e terminou em 1887!

O Duomo di Milano é um monumento símbolo do patrimônio Lombardo, dedicado à Santa Maria Nascente e situado na praça central da cidade de Milão, Itália. É uma das mais célebres e complexas construções em estilo Gótico do mundo.

Leia mais sobre a catedral de Milão no endereço www.maconaria.net/portal/index.php?view=article&catid...

W111

Zoute Sale - Bonhams

Estimated : € 75.000 - 100.000

Sold for € 83.375

Zoute Grand Prix 2022

Knokke - Zoute

België - Belgium

October 2022

'Exclusive' is a much bandied-about word in the classic car world, but it is a most apt description of the Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5. Why? Because at $13,500 in 1970 its price was not only $3,500 more than that of the equivalent Mercedes-Benz sedan but also more than double that of a Cadillac Deville Coupé! Commonplace it was not.

The 3.5-litre version of the 280 SE typifies the resurgence of larger-engined Mercedes-Benz models that began in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the progressive easing of fiscal constraints, which had dissuaded customers from buying cars with large capacity engines, encouraged the German manufacturer to offer bigger, more potent power units. Thus the ultra-luxurious 280 SE Coupé/Cabriolet and 300 SEL saloon were the models chosen by Mercedes-Benz to launch its magnificent new 3.5-litre V8 engine in September 1969. An over-square design featuring a cast-iron block and aluminium-alloy cylinder heads, each equipped with a single overhead camshaft, this all-new, state-of-the-art power unit produced 200bhp courtesy of Bosch electronic fuel injection and transistorised ignition.

The new V8 engine had particularly smooth-running characteristics and endowed the 280 SEs with performance superior to that of many out-and-out sports cars. Thus equipped, the Coupé/Cabriolet was good for 125mph (200km/h) with 60mph (97km/h) reachable in 9.5 seconds, a substantial improvement on the six-cylinder version's figures. As befitted top-of-the-range luxury models, the 280 SE 3.5 Coupé and Cabriolet came equipped with automatic transmission, power windows, and a stereo radio as standard.

Although the equivalent SEL saloon used the 'New Generation' bodyshell, the 280 SE Coupé and Cabriolet kept the elegant coachwork that had debuted back in 1960/1961 on the 220 SE. Nevertheless, there had been some refinements made: the radiator shell was lower and wider, with a correspondingly flatter front end to the bonnet, a characteristic that has led to enthusiasts referring to these face-lifted cars as 'flat radiator' models, while the bumpers were now fitted with rubber strips. Significantly, the 280 SE 3.5 was to be the final model featuring this long-established and much-admired body style. It was truly Mercedes-Benz's flagship model, representing status, luxury and reliability. Today these last-of-the-line classics are highly sought after by discerning Mercedes-Benz collectors.

Most elegantly finished in the original colour combination of beige grey (beigegrau) with bamboo (bambus) coloured leather interior, this beautifully presented Mercedes-Benz incorporates a host of desirable options including a Becker Grand Prix radio; central armrests front and rear; heated rear screen; additional spotlights; automatic transmission; electric sliding sunroof; and electric windows.

As per the Mercedes-Benz data card (copy on file), the car was sold new via the Munich based dealer (code 226) but its first custodian was a medical doctor based in Vienna. The doctor owned the Mercedes from new until 1989 when the car was sold to its second Austrian owner, who would keep it until 2012 (copies of Austrian registration documents are on file). In 2012 the car was sold via a German dealer to its first German owner, who in turn sold it to the current vendor, a very well-respected collector of fine cars based in Munich. Clearly this car has been looked after all its life, and recent expenditure includes the following:

• 2017: comprehensive service by Mercedes-Benz in Munich including a comprehensive brake service; repair of the power-assisted steering; cooling circuit overhaul; installing new engine mounts; check and repair of heating and ventilation system, etc for a total of €14,600

• 2018: overhaul of the automatic gearbox and further smaller repairs, again at Mercedes-Benz Munich €5,530

• 2018: installing safety belts at CarTech Knowledge, Ismaning near Munich €2,000

• 2020: dry ice blasting and repair of some rust on wheel arches including paint, again at CarTech €5,150

• 2021: service with some minor repairs at CarTech €3,050

Bactrian Camel, with 2 humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped dromedary camel is by far the rarer of the 2 species of camel. It is a large, even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia.

The domesticated Bactrian camel has served as pack animal in inner Asia since ancient times. With its tolerance for cold, drought, and high altitudes, it enabled travel such as the caravans of the Silk Road. The wild form has dwindled to a population estimated at 800 in October, 2002. Its range in the wild is restricted to remote regions of the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts of Mongolia and China, migrating from the desert to rivers in Siberia during winter.

The Bactrian camel is the largest mammal in its native range and rivals the dromedary as the largest living camel. Shoulder height is from 180 to 230 cm (5.9 to 7.5 ft), head and body length is 225 - 350 cm (7.38 - 11.48 ft), and the tail length is 35 - 55 cm (14 - 22 in). At the top of the humps, the average height is 213 cm (6.99 ft). body mass can range from 300 to 1000 kg (660 to 2,200 lb), with males often being much larger and heavier than females. Its long wooly coat varies in color from dark brown to sandy beige. The 2 humps on the back are composed of fat (not water as is sometimes thought). The face is typical of a camelid, being long and somewhat triangular, with a split upper lip. The long eyelashes, along with the sealable nostrils, help to keep out dust in the frequent sandstorms which occur in their natural range. The 2 broad toes on each foot have undivided soles and are able to spread widely as an adaptation to walking on sand. The feet are very tough, as befits an animal of extreme environments.

------ wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactrian_camel

This bus was new to Lothian Buses as 873 in 2007.

Seen here on South Clark Street.

This bus has had the LED screens that are becoming the standard to befitted and are being fitted at a fast rate to the Gemini.

After Saint Eulalia, our itinerary of the Romanesque churches in Castilla and León leads us to another hermitage, also on a hilltop but an even more isolated one, and a church than never was anything but a hermitage, and never parochial: Saint Cecily, not too far from Aguilar de Campóo.

It is a small church, less than 20 meters long, low and humble as befits a hermitage. But it also features unusual characteristics, such as a walled courtyard defended by a tall wall and a gate, and a round tower which serves no visible purpose but may have been meant at some point to give access to a bell tower that was never built —or even to be that bell tower itself. The general impression from this uncommon assembly of features is that of a mini-fortress, a bit as if the House of God had been turned into a castle.

The construction, which dates from the late 1100s, is of the same quality as Saint Eulalia, but much more decorated. Here too, there was no lack of money to pay for quality materials and expert architects, stone cutters, masons and sculptors. And here again, there is no information available as to which wealthy patron(s) donated the money for this monument, which was listed as a Historic Landmark by the Spanish administration in 1951.

The church seen from the south.

Poem.

Childish excitement travelling from east to west in late winter.

You know soon, very soon, the West Coast “Munros” will gleam like incisor teeth above the forested landscape.

Forcan, left, and The Saddle, right, are such peaks that advertise the thousand metre micro-climate of semi-Alpine splendour.

Spin-drift sweeps off the upper slopes to accumulate in layers like royal icing.

The snowy back-cloth forms a pleasing contrast to the pastel tans and greens of the bracken and forest of the lower slopes of this historic Glen.

The West Coast beckons.

Such a grand mountain corridor befits the momentous land and seascapes that lie in prospect.

The house was built from 1601 to 1625 for Sir Richard Hutton, a prominent lawyer in London, who became High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1623......After being a nursing home for over 20 years and then empty for a further two years, the Hall required a vast amount of restoration and maintenance. The current owners have refurbished the main state rooms and second-floor bedrooms suites, in order to host private weddings, corporate functions and events along with luxury five star guest accommodation. The gardens, neglected for years, have been replanted in a Gertrude Jekyll style that befits their original creation in the time of Princess Mary. The gardens are open to the public for two days a year (March and July) under the National Gardens Scheme and two Snowdrop Days in February.

Die Rückansicht des Throns weist eine geschlossene Form auf. Die einfache Fläche steckt voller Leben und Bewegung. Die Ansicht wird durch die Figur der Aphrodite (Venus) beherrscht. Auf einer Muschel stehend wird sie von einem Triton (fischleibige Meeresgottheit, Sohn des Poseidon und der Amphitrite) aus dem Meer gehoben. Dabei erhebt sie ihre Arme. An der linken Seite wird Venus von einer Nereide (eine meerbewohnende Tochter des Nereus) begleitet, die erschreckt zurückblickt und etwas in den Hintergrund zu rufen scheint. In der Mitte oben ist die Kreuzigung Christi zu sehen. Maria liegt im Schoße ihrer Schwester. Die andere trauernde Schwester steht in der Nähe der drei Kreuze. Rechts oben am Thronrücken leuchtet strahlend die Sonne (des Christentums). Im Mittelgrund weist der stürmisch heran geeilte Evangelist Johannes anklagend mit dem Finger auf Aphrodite.

www.hgb-leipzig.de/kunstorte/ap_klinger_beschreibung.html

The rear view of the throne has a closed form. The simple surface is full of life and movement. The view is dominated by the figure of Aphrodite (Venus). Standing on a shell, she is lifted out of the sea by a Triton (a fish-bodied sea god, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite). As she does so, she raises her arms. On the left, Venus is accompanied by a Nereid (a sea-dwelling daughter of Nereus), who looks back in alarm and seems to be calling something in the background. In the centre at the top, the crucifixion of Christ can be seen. Mary lies in her sister's lap. The other grieving sister stands near the three crosses. At the top right of the throne, the sun (of Christianity) shines brightly. In the middle ground, John the Evangelist, who has rushed over in a storm, points an accusing finger at Aphrodite.

www.hgb-leipzig.de/kunstorte/ap_klinger_beschreibung.html

Zur Zeit befindet sich das monumentale Beethoven-Denkmal, Ausdruck der heroisienden Beethoven-Verehrung seiner Zeit, in einer der beiden großen Eingangshallen des Museums. Dadurch ist es möglich, das Werk von allen Seiten zu betrachten und auf sich wirken zu lassen. Auch Detailaufnahmen aus größerer Entfernung sind leichter möglich, weil viel Raum um die Skulptur herum frei bleibt. Sie ist hier das einzige Aussgellungstück, eine herausgehobene Position, die ihrem Rang als einem der wichtigsten Werke des Museums entspricht.

The monumental Beethoven monument, an expression of the heroic veneration of Beethoven in Klinger's time, is currently located in one of the museum's two large entrance halls. This makes it possible to view the work from all sides and let it sink in. It is also easier to take detailed photographs from a greater distance because there is plenty of space around the sculpture. It is the only exhibit here, occupying a prominent position that befits its status as one of the museum's most important works.

"Paladins, you have completed your training. You have completed interrogations. Everyone of you has faced his or her first dark prey. Everyone of you has prevailed. You have stared into the Abyss. Into the Dark. And not one of you has wavered. Not a single one!"

Archpaladin Gregoris looks into the earnest faces. All clad in silver and white shining combat armor. So many new paladins. It is a glorious sight.

"Now that you have completed your training, have become one with your handcannons, you will join the ranks of the Paladins of the Solis Sanctis. While the Ivory Vanguard are mankind's dagger of vengeance against practioners of dark magics and the creatures of the Dark, you will be humanity's shield and shining sword of righteous wrath. You will be virtuous protectors!"

The last sentence is answered from the eager young paladins with a deafening, joyous roar.

"The Ivory Vanguards weapons are unadorned. As befits your brother and sister hunters in the dark. The weapons you will receive as a sign of your ascension today are resplendent, beautiful. Make no mistake, though: with them you will burn the taint of unsactioned practitioners and practices from the face of the earth. You will become the embodiment of your guns' names. You will become the Angelic Furor!"

The Archpaladin roars the name of the paladins' sacred and trusty sidearm. He grins as 500 new paladins roar with him, each brandishing his or her Angelic Furor.

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

Credit to M0KII for the world, Solis Sanctis and the Ivory Vanguard.

Done in PMG 0.6.

The 'Anchor' was initially optimised for combat in the low-gravity bacterial pebble deserts of Planet 2 of the Shrin system. Increased frontal armour, shoulder mounted jump thrusters and a massive filtration system were intended to ensure survival in what was one of the most rigorous ground combat environments of the Kincaid campaigns.

In the end, the environment was simply too hostile, even for armoured troops and the planet was left to the occupying Krill forces.

The combination of light bley and old dark grey is intentional, hopefully giving a slightly patched and worn look, as befits a machine working in an exceedingly hostile environment.

The magnificent Feathers Hotel in Ludlow, Shropshire, was built in 1619 by Rees Jones, a Pembrokeshire lawyer, and has been at the heart of the town's life ever since.

As well as being an inn, at one time it hosted cock-fighting bouts – and, as befits any building of this style and age, it's reputedly haunted. It’s also one of the most handsome ‘black and white’ buildings that are found throughout Herefordshire, Shropshire, Cheshire and elsewhere.

Dark & Bright, light and Shadow BUT something is much above them... and THAT'S Symmetry.. Feel it!! ©krvishal

Opuwo is the capital of the Kunene Region of Namibia.

Both the Himba men and women are accustomed to wearing traditional clothing that befits their living environment in the Kaokoland and the hot semi-arid climate of their area, in most occurrences this consists simply of skirt-like clothing made from calfskins or increasingly from more modern textiles, and occasionally sandals for footwear, with foot soles often found made from old car tires.

Himba women especially, as well as Himba men, are remarkably famous for covering themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment, to cleanse the skin over long periods due to water scarcity and protect themselves from the extremely hot and dry climate of the Kaokoland as well as against mosquito insect bites. The cosmetic mixture, often perfumed with the aromatic resin of the omuzumba shrub, gives their skin and hair plaits a distinctive orange or red-tinge characteristic, as well as texture and style. Otjize is considered foremost a highly desirable aesthetic beauty cosmetic, symbolizing earth's rich red color and blood the essence of life, and is consistent with the OvaHimba ideal of beauty.

Hairstyle and jewelry play a significant role among the OvaHimba, it indicates age and social status within their community. An infant or child will generally have their head kept shaved of hair or a small crop of hair on their head crown, this soon is sculptured to one braided hair plait extended to the rear of the head for young boys and young girls have two braided hair plaits extended forward towards the face often parallel to their eyes, the form of wear being determined by the oruzo membership (patrilineal descent group), the style remains during preadolescence until reaching puberty. Some young girls, with exception, may also have one braided hair plait extended forwards, which means they are one of a pair of twins.

Manufattura Automobili Torino

Technical : Ferrari 430 Scuderia

4.308 cc

V8

540 Hp @ 8.200 rpm

519 Nm @ 3.750 rpm

Vmax : 274 - 330 km/h

0-100 km/h : 3,3 sec

0-200 km/h : 9,7 sec

n° 1 of 25 ex.

Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais 2020

Bonhams

Parijs - Paris

Frankrijk - France

February 2020

Estimated : € 700.000 - 900.000

Sold for € 690.000

Few cars attain a status sufficiently exalted that they are revived decades after production ceased; the Ford GT40 is the standout example, to which one can now add the Lancia Stratos.

A limited production 'homologation special', the Lancia Stratos is historically significant as the first car from a major manufacturer conceived specifically for rallying. The spearhead of Lancia's international rally campaign in the 1970s, the Stratos had its origins in a Fulvia-powered, mid-engined design exercise by Marcello Gandini first exhibited on Carrozzeria Bertone's stand at the 1970 Turin Motor Show. Also the work of Gandini and Bertone, the production Stratos of 1972 retained the striking 'wedge' styling of its forbear but employed the powerful Ferrari Dino 2.4-litre V6 engine. The latter was housed in a robust steel monocoque body tub clad in glassfibre coachwork.

That such a daring design actually made it into production is mainly due to Cesare Fiorio, co-founder of the HF Corse team that had become Lancia's official competitions department in 1965. Lancia was already enjoying considerable success in international rallying with modified versions of the Fulvia, but in the Stratos Fiorio saw an opportunity to create a purpose-built rally car from the ground upwards. He was an admirer of Ferrari's quad-cam V6 motor, having evaluated a Dino for rallying purposes, and Enzo Ferrari was duly persuaded to come on board as the engine supplier. The stubby, mid-engined Stratos looked nothing like a traditional rally car, but then Fiorio knew exactly what he was doing.

As befitted a car purpose built to cope with all types of rallying, the Stratos came with fully adjustable, all-independent suspension by double wishbones and coil springs, plus four-wheel disc brakes all round. With 190bhp on tap, the production road-going (Stradale) version was good for 225km/h (140mph). The works Group 4 rally cars were, of course, considerably more powerful, but reliability problems meant that success was slow to come. After its initial major victory in the 1974 Targa Florio, the Stratos went on to dominate international rallying, Lancia winning the World Rally Championship of Makes in 1975 and 1976. Works pilote Bernard Darniche triumphed twice in the world's premier drivers' competition - the European Rally Championship - in 1976 and 1977, and the Stratos helped Markku Alén to the inaugural World Drivers' Championship in 1978. Alén's season had been split between the Stratos and the FIAT 131, and it was the parent company's political decision to favour that latter, rather than any lack of competitiveness, which saw the incomparable Stratos phased out, though private entrants continued to enjoy success at international level into the early 1980s.

Incredible as it may seem today, after the 500-or-so cars required for homologation had been completed in 1975, the vast majority remained unsold due to lack of demand. (As it happens, that crucial '500' figure was never reached, one widely circulated estimate stating that only 492 were built). Almost as soon as it ceased active competition though, the car's historic significance was recognised and prices soared.

There have been various kit-car versions of the Stratos offered over the intervening years, but nothing that compares with MAT's re-imagining, as seen here. The story of what would crystallise as the New Stratos began back in the mid-1990s when a teenage enthusiast named Chris Hrabalek bought the rights to the Stratos name, which Lancia had allowed to lapse. Some ten years later Hrabalek was a postgraduate student on the prestigious Royal College of Art's Vehicle Design Course; rather than present the customary portfolio of drawings as his final-year project, he decided to build his own version of the Stratos. Ten wealthy backers came forward, and Hrabalek's 'Fenomenon Stratos' was duly exhibited at the 2005 Geneva Salon where it caused a sensation.

Encouraged by the car's favourable reception, Hrabalek explored ways to put his vision into production. One of those original ten backers, German billionaire Michael Stoschek, agreed to bankroll the project, and the legendary Italian design house of Pininfarina came on board as a technical partner. It was decided to use the then current Ferrari 430 Scuderia as the basis of the New Stratos. Using Hrabalek's art school project as the starting point, Pininfarina refined the design to suit the 430 Scuderia platform, taking a whopping 7.9" (20cm) out of the wheelbase and using a wind tunnel to check the aerodynamics.

By 2010 the New Stratos was ready. Although the result was well received by Ferrari - its then CEO, Luca di Montezemolo, greatly enjoyed his drive in the prototype - they declined to supply parts for the 25 cars planned and Pininfarina had no choice but to abandon the project.

Fast forward eight years: the Ferrari 430 Scuderia is no longer in production and there are plenty of used examples and spare parts available. Equally importantly, Paolo Garella, who had been the special projects manager at Pininfarina during New Stratos development, was now running his own company: Manufattura Automobili Torino (MAT). Garella revived the project, although this time using Ferraris supplied by his customers.

The New Stratos has a carbon fibre body while the interior is uncompromisingly Spartan, in keeping with original's competition-car rationale. Boasting a revised exhaust system and changes to the engine-management electronics, Ferrari's 4.3-litre V8 produces 540bhp in the New Stratos, some 37 horsepower more than in the Scuderia and 57 more than in the base 430. More powerful and some 110lb (50kg) lighter than the Scuderia, the New Stratos comfortably out-performs its Ferrari cousin in every department.

The highly esteemed American motoring journal Road & Track is one of the few fortunate enough to have tested a New Stratos. They were particularly impressed by its handling and cornering power: "One would expect a cut-down Ferrari on wide Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s to generate a lot of grip. And the Stratos does. But nothing can prepare you for the way in which the car changes direction... Turn in is otherworldy... There is no hesitation, no roll, no body motion, and no warning; the Stratos merely flings itself in whichever direction you turn the wheel." The ultimate driver's car? Very possibly.

Based on a 2009 Ferrari 430 Scuderia, which the client supplied, the example we offer is number 1 of the 25 planned. This car had approximately 30,000km showing on the odometer when the transformation commenced, the mechanicals being overhauled in the process. The car was finished in 2019 and first registered on 25th March that year. The result is nothing less than stunning, and when inspecting the Stratos one is surprised by the sense of quality and precision; nothing looks cheap or hurried, as is so often the case with limited production vehicles. Now run for some 3,000km and nicely set up, the car comes with regular German registration documents where all the modifications have been duly noted. Offered in white with (adhesive) Alitalia livery and black interior, this must surely be the first of these stunning cars to come to auction, and as such represents an exciting opportunity for the Stratos/Ferrari/Supercar enthusiast.

Did you know that modern high heels were brought to Europe by Persian emissaries of Abbas the Great in the early Seventeenth Century? Here is another interesting fact you may not know – men wore high heels up until the mid 1800s to imply their upper-class status; only someone who did not have to work could afford, both financially and practically, to wear such extravagant shoes!

The theme for the 27th of July for “Smile on Saturday” is “wearing shoes” where the photo is showing a model (human or otherwise) wearing shoes and the shot must show the feet or the legs and not the entire body.

In the last three years, I have been exploring a new avenue in my photographic creativity, that of portraiture photography. I used a somewhat illusive sitter for several “Smile on Saturday” themes over that period as part of this exploration. Usually, you see part of his face or his hands, however today we see his feet and his legs: and what lovely legs he has! When my sitter turned forty, he threw a rather fabulous and extravagant fancy dress party, where the theme was “literary”, and he chose to go as Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen’s famous novel “Pride and Prejudice” in an outfit made for him from top to toe which he is modelling today for my photograph. You can see the tails of his frock coat, his cream breeches with antique buckle detailing, his shapely legs clad in white silk lisle stockings and a pair of black patent leather dance pumps with suitably raised heels as befits a Regency gentleman like Mr. Darcy as he attends a ball thrown by his friend Charles Bingley, or the thrillingly terrifying Lady Catherine de Borough! I hope you like my choice for this week’s theme and that it makes you smile!

As befits the National Museum of Fine Art, the building, the steps up to this gorgeouse wall is a work of art in itself.

Looking through some of my Hawai'i photos this morning I found this one of the setting sun at Waikîkî beach, Honolulu (taken in the late Autumn 2008). And, yes! a poem popped into my mind by the famed English 'war poet' Rupert Brooke (1887-1915). It is quite romantic as perhaps befits the poet, called by someone "The handsomest young man in England". Here it is:

Waikiki

Warm perfumes like a breath from vine and tree

Drift down the darkness. Plangent, hidden from eyes

Somewhere an 'eukaleli' thrills and cries

And stabs with pain the night's brown savagery.

And dark scents whisper; and dim waves creep to me,

Gleam like a woman's hair, stretch out, and rise;

And new stars burn into the ancient skies,

Over the murmurous soft Hawaian sea.

And I recall, lose, grasp, forget again,

And still remember, a tale I have heard, or known,

An empty tale, of idleness and pain,

Of two that loved -- or did not love -- and one

Whose perplexed heart did evil, foolishly,

A long while since, and by some other sea.

Bristol Tojeiro (1952) Engine 1971cc S6 OHV

Registration Number KOU 406 (Hampshire)

TOJEIRO SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157625712367805...

Designed and built by John Tojeiro (Toj) with the help of Vin Davison. John Tojeiro was an inovative engineer and racing car designer, producing designs and modifications for a number of racing and sporting concerns including a Aston Martin and a mid engine racer for Ecurie Ecosse.

This though along with sister car LOY 500 designed for car dealer and racer Cliff Davies, is one his most lasting of his legacies.

The car is powered by a Bristol version of the former BMW 1971cc engine with, an all independant sprung chassis an aluminium body by Panelcraft in the style of the then current Ferrari Barchetta. As befits a sports racer of the era it has only one (offside) door.

The cars were highly sucessful in sports car racing and the design was taken to AC cars at Thames Ditton who were suitably impressed and adapted the car to evolve as the AC Ace. Debuting at the 1954 London Motor Show with a 1991cc AC engine, Tojeiro was reportedly paid £5 in royalties. The engine was subsequently replaced by the Bristol 120bhp unit for 1956 as per this and the Davies car.

Many thanks for a fantabulous

50,032,865 views

Shot 23.04.2016 Shot at VSCC Spring Start Meeting, Silverstone REF 115-387

Both the Himba men and women are accustomed to wearing traditional clothing that befits their living environment in the Kaokoland and the hot semi-arid climate of their area, in most occurrences this consists simply of skirt-like clothing made from calfskins or increasingly from more modern textiles, and occasionally sandals for footwear, with foot soles often found made from old car tires.[citation needed] Himba women especially, as well as Himba men, are remarkably famous for covering themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment, to cleanse the skin over long periods due to water scarcity and protect themselves from the extremely hot and dry climate of the Kaokoland as well as against mosquito insect bites. The cosmetic mixture, often perfumed with the aromatic resin of the omuzumba shrub, gives their skin and hair plaits a distinctive orange or red-tinge characteristic, as well as texture and style. Otjize is considered foremost a highly desirable aesthetic beauty cosmetic, symbolizing earth's rich red color and blood the essence of life, and is consistent with the OvaHimba ideal of beauty.

Hairstyle and jewelry play a significant role among the OvaHimba, it indicates age and social status within their community. An infant or child will generally have their head kept shaved of hair or a small crop of hair on their head crown, this soon is sculptured to one braided hair plait extended to the rear of the head for young boys and young girls have two braided hair plaits extended forward towards the face often parallel to their eyes, the form of wear being determined by the oruzo membership (patrilineal descent group), the style remains during preadolescence until reaching puberty. Some young girls, with exception, may also have one braided hair plait extended forwards, which means they are one of a pair of twins.

Manufattura Automobili Torino

Technical : Ferrari 430 Scuderia

4.308 cc

V8

540 Hp @ 8.200 rpm

519 Nm @ 3.750 rpm

Vmax : 274 - 330 km/h

0-100 km/h : 3,3 sec

0-200 km/h : 9,7 sec

n° 1 of 25 ex.

Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais 2020

Bonhams

Parijs - Paris

Frankrijk - France

February 2020

Estimated : € 700.000 - 900.000

Sold for € 690.000

Few cars attain a status sufficiently exalted that they are revived decades after production ceased; the Ford GT40 is the standout example, to which one can now add the Lancia Stratos.

A limited production 'homologation special', the Lancia Stratos is historically significant as the first car from a major manufacturer conceived specifically for rallying. The spearhead of Lancia's international rally campaign in the 1970s, the Stratos had its origins in a Fulvia-powered, mid-engined design exercise by Marcello Gandini first exhibited on Carrozzeria Bertone's stand at the 1970 Turin Motor Show. Also the work of Gandini and Bertone, the production Stratos of 1972 retained the striking 'wedge' styling of its forbear but employed the powerful Ferrari Dino 2.4-litre V6 engine. The latter was housed in a robust steel monocoque body tub clad in glassfibre coachwork.

That such a daring design actually made it into production is mainly due to Cesare Fiorio, co-founder of the HF Corse team that had become Lancia's official competitions department in 1965. Lancia was already enjoying considerable success in international rallying with modified versions of the Fulvia, but in the Stratos Fiorio saw an opportunity to create a purpose-built rally car from the ground upwards. He was an admirer of Ferrari's quad-cam V6 motor, having evaluated a Dino for rallying purposes, and Enzo Ferrari was duly persuaded to come on board as the engine supplier. The stubby, mid-engined Stratos looked nothing like a traditional rally car, but then Fiorio knew exactly what he was doing.

As befitted a car purpose built to cope with all types of rallying, the Stratos came with fully adjustable, all-independent suspension by double wishbones and coil springs, plus four-wheel disc brakes all round. With 190bhp on tap, the production road-going (Stradale) version was good for 225km/h (140mph). The works Group 4 rally cars were, of course, considerably more powerful, but reliability problems meant that success was slow to come. After its initial major victory in the 1974 Targa Florio, the Stratos went on to dominate international rallying, Lancia winning the World Rally Championship of Makes in 1975 and 1976. Works pilote Bernard Darniche triumphed twice in the world's premier drivers' competition - the European Rally Championship - in 1976 and 1977, and the Stratos helped Markku Alén to the inaugural World Drivers' Championship in 1978. Alén's season had been split between the Stratos and the FIAT 131, and it was the parent company's political decision to favour that latter, rather than any lack of competitiveness, which saw the incomparable Stratos phased out, though private entrants continued to enjoy success at international level into the early 1980s.

Incredible as it may seem today, after the 500-or-so cars required for homologation had been completed in 1975, the vast majority remained unsold due to lack of demand. (As it happens, that crucial '500' figure was never reached, one widely circulated estimate stating that only 492 were built). Almost as soon as it ceased active competition though, the car's historic significance was recognised and prices soared.

There have been various kit-car versions of the Stratos offered over the intervening years, but nothing that compares with MAT's re-imagining, as seen here. The story of what would crystallise as the New Stratos began back in the mid-1990s when a teenage enthusiast named Chris Hrabalek bought the rights to the Stratos name, which Lancia had allowed to lapse. Some ten years later Hrabalek was a postgraduate student on the prestigious Royal College of Art's Vehicle Design Course; rather than present the customary portfolio of drawings as his final-year project, he decided to build his own version of the Stratos. Ten wealthy backers came forward, and Hrabalek's 'Fenomenon Stratos' was duly exhibited at the 2005 Geneva Salon where it caused a sensation.

Encouraged by the car's favourable reception, Hrabalek explored ways to put his vision into production. One of those original ten backers, German billionaire Michael Stoschek, agreed to bankroll the project, and the legendary Italian design house of Pininfarina came on board as a technical partner. It was decided to use the then current Ferrari 430 Scuderia as the basis of the New Stratos. Using Hrabalek's art school project as the starting point, Pininfarina refined the design to suit the 430 Scuderia platform, taking a whopping 7.9" (20cm) out of the wheelbase and using a wind tunnel to check the aerodynamics.

By 2010 the New Stratos was ready. Although the result was well received by Ferrari - its then CEO, Luca di Montezemolo, greatly enjoyed his drive in the prototype - they declined to supply parts for the 25 cars planned and Pininfarina had no choice but to abandon the project.

Fast forward eight years: the Ferrari 430 Scuderia is no longer in production and there are plenty of used examples and spare parts available. Equally importantly, Paolo Garella, who had been the special projects manager at Pininfarina during New Stratos development, was now running his own company: Manufattura Automobili Torino (MAT). Garella revived the project, although this time using Ferraris supplied by his customers.

The New Stratos has a carbon fibre body while the interior is uncompromisingly Spartan, in keeping with original's competition-car rationale. Boasting a revised exhaust system and changes to the engine-management electronics, Ferrari's 4.3-litre V8 produces 540bhp in the New Stratos, some 37 horsepower more than in the Scuderia and 57 more than in the base 430. More powerful and some 110lb (50kg) lighter than the Scuderia, the New Stratos comfortably out-performs its Ferrari cousin in every department.

The highly esteemed American motoring journal Road & Track is one of the few fortunate enough to have tested a New Stratos. They were particularly impressed by its handling and cornering power: "One would expect a cut-down Ferrari on wide Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s to generate a lot of grip. And the Stratos does. But nothing can prepare you for the way in which the car changes direction... Turn in is otherworldy... There is no hesitation, no roll, no body motion, and no warning; the Stratos merely flings itself in whichever direction you turn the wheel." The ultimate driver's car? Very possibly.

Based on a 2009 Ferrari 430 Scuderia, which the client supplied, the example we offer is number 1 of the 25 planned. This car had approximately 30,000km showing on the odometer when the transformation commenced, the mechanicals being overhauled in the process. The car was finished in 2019 and first registered on 25th March that year. The result is nothing less than stunning, and when inspecting the Stratos one is surprised by the sense of quality and precision; nothing looks cheap or hurried, as is so often the case with limited production vehicles. Now run for some 3,000km and nicely set up, the car comes with regular German registration documents where all the modifications have been duly noted. Offered in white with (adhesive) Alitalia livery and black interior, this must surely be the first of these stunning cars to come to auction, and as such represents an exciting opportunity for the Stratos/Ferrari/Supercar enthusiast.

Welshpool & LLanfair 0-6-0T 823 'Countess' enjoys a rest and a drink before setting off back to Llanfair Caerinion as befits someone who was, at the time, 104 years old :-)

Poem.

Childish excitement travelling from east to west in late winter.

You know soon, very soon, the West Coast “Munros” will gleam like incisor teeth above the forested landscape.

Forcan, left, and The Saddle, right, are such peaks that advertise the thousand metre micro-climate of semi-Alpine splendour.

Spin-drift sweeps off the upper slopes to accumulate in layers like royal icing.

The snowy back-cloth forms a pleasing contrast to the pastel tans and greens of the bracken and forest of the lower slopes of this historic Glen.

The West Coast beckons.

Such a grand mountain corridor befits the momentous land and seascapes that lie in prospect.

St Peters...

Saint Peter’s Church in one of the River Severn’s secrets, hidden at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac leading to Upper Framilode and more easily seen from the river than the nearest main road.

The church is always open in daylight hours for a visit, whether to have a quite time of reflection, or as a cool tranquil haven for passing visitor’s on a hot day, where you could also pick up a good book to read, or coffee and cake on Saturday mornings.

In 1846 the inhabitants of Framilode were described as “watermen and their families in a most demoralised and unenlightened state”. It is tempting to link this statement to the building of the church, designed by Francis Niblett, which was consecrated in 1854.

St Peter’s is a fine example of early Victorian design, simple and economic with a hint of the exotic in its Italianate bell tower. As befits a riverside church the decoration incorporates nautical motifs, such as anchors and also representations of the tinplate workings that took place in the village. Indeed the apse which is richly decorated is mainly painted on time as is the cross above the arch.

The painted ceilings are largely original, but the inscriptions on the wall were added at a later date.

The churchyard nautical links are also noted in the churchyard where more than one headstone records a drowning and not always locally.

The church has more recently been the subject of Heritage and Community Project, which has created a building fit for the present which is used not only for worship but by the local community for a variety of events and classes.

Both the Himba men and women are accustomed to wearing traditional clothing that befits their living environment in the Kaokoland and the hot semi-arid climate of their area, in most occurrences this consists simply of skirt-like clothing made from calfskins or increasingly from more modern textiles, and occasionally sandals for footwear, with foot soles often found made from old car tires.[citation needed] Himba women especially, as well as Himba men, are remarkably famous for covering themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment, to cleanse the skin over long periods due to water scarcity and protect themselves from the extremely hot and dry climate of the Kaokoland as well as against mosquito insect bites. The cosmetic mixture, often perfumed with the aromatic resin of the omuzumba shrub, gives their skin and hair plaits a distinctive orange or red-tinge characteristic, as well as texture and style. Otjize is considered foremost a highly desirable aesthetic beauty cosmetic, symbolizing earth's rich red color and blood the essence of life, and is consistent with the OvaHimba ideal of beauty.

Hairstyle and jewelry play a significant role among the OvaHimba, it indicates age and social status within their community. An infant or child will generally have their head kept shaved of hair or a small crop of hair on their head crown, this soon is sculptured to one braided hair plait extended to the rear of the head for young boys and young girls have two braided hair plaits extended forward towards the face often parallel to their eyes, the form of wear being determined by the oruzo membership (patrilineal descent group), the style remains during preadolescence until reaching puberty. Some young girls, with exception, may also have one braided hair plait extended forwards, which means they are one of a pair of twins.