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St.George's at Ivychurch, is another Romney Marsh church and one which gets me into the realms of what appears to be a bit of local rivalry. The British Army is quite familiar with what it calls 'cap badge rivalry' - as in 'my regiment is better than your regiment'. In the case of St George's the church guide claims it to be the Cathedral of Romney Marsh while nearby Lydd church claims the alternative title of the Cathedral of the Marsh. Clearly what we are dealing with here is not cap badge rivalry but 'dog collar rivalry'.
www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/albums/7215767442257... to see the full set.
As approached the church appears to be pure 14th century Perpendicular but the full colour guidebook presents us with a very detailed map which shows that a little of the present building dates from the Early English Period (1180 to 1280) while excavations have revealed the foundations of this smaller church under, and within, the footprint of the larger current building. The pillars supporting the north and south arcades vary geologically from high quality imported Caen stone in some pillars to the more local Kentish Ragstone in others. It is to be supposed that the earlier material was imported by the Normans and is a further survivor from the early building.
The tower is awkwardly skewed some five degrees out of alignment with both the original and the current building. A recent survey suggests that the tower was actually separate to the main building which was later extended to link up with the tower. Supporting evidence for this appears to be the inclusion of the original free-standing tower's buttresses into the new west wall.
As churches go it is quite wide and this is accounted for by the inclusion of a south chapel dedicated to St Catherine and a north Lady chapel. A chantry chapel also once existed somewhere in the north aisle. Most medieval churches were unfurnished and the congregation stood. In the south aisle there is the remnant of a bench (from the earlier church) where the elderly and infirm could sit, the supposed origin of the term 'the weakest go to the wall'.
The tower is 68 feet high while the large south porch contains a parvis chamber for a visiting priest and, possibly, the original store for church documents and Communion plate. There are five bells but these have been silent since 1972 but a restoration is contemplated. The problem with older churches is that deterioration of the wood sub-frame or the structural mortar can lead to collapse. Ringing a couple of tons of bells imposes considerable shock and vibration.
Despite being a grand building today it has had a very chequered history. A visitation in 1511 found the church 'sorely decayed' and the churchwardens were threatened with excommunication. Like most medieval churches it fared badly in the Reformation with the loss of the wall paintings and the coloured glass. Any that survived the 16th century would have fallen foul of the Puritans in the 17th century. It was a lose/lose period for medieval churches. A little surviving wall painting was uncovered in 2009. One story has it that the Rood screen survived until the early 19th century when a drunken ex-navy curate took an axe to it. He thought he'd improve the view, so the story goes.
Decay in the early years of the 20th century was halted and repaired, along with the removal of the rotten box pews which opened up the interior. The Second World War found the village in the front line of the Battle of Britain with the village being hit by six bombs in 1940, which blew out church windows, while V-1 Flying Bombs (Doodlebugs) caused further damage in 1944. Wartime shortage of glass (reserved for repairing bombed homes) meant that the gaping windows had to be covered with blackout curtain. Post-war repairs in 1948 included new window glass. Periodic repairs and restorations continue. Today part of the north aisle is an agricultural museum.
Ellie's eye and nose and dusty fur after a good rolling around in the garden preening session :-)
I am way behind with comments...sorry...we have had sunshine, warmth and blue skies for a few days so had to make the most of them while they lasted :-) They seem to have gone now so I will try to catch up ASAP :-)
A bit of love for the Giant.
Apart from being quite a noisy bike, I am really pleased with it. Very comfortable to ride and with gearing just low enough to allow for only minor grimacing on the local climbs.
The noises though are a bit annoying. I fixed one the other day - a creak from the seat post by applying excessive amounts of grease (it was greased already of course, but now it's greased some more, as it cures the creak, for a while at least).
I sorted rattles from the through the frame cabling by cable tying various cables together before they enter the frame.
But I've still got a loud buzzing rattle from the brakes/shifter area on coarse tarmac. That one is taking some finding, and I think I'm just going to have to live with it.
Otherwise it's all good (early issues with gently rubbing brakes were a poor set up from the shop and sorted once I had a proper fiddle - not the bike's fault).
Two bits of dust perhaps the size of a grain of sand exit space and make their way toward terra firma. In so doing they leave a blazing colorful trail.
The bits of formerly space dust are cast offs of the comet Swift-Tuttle. Around August 12 of every year the earth passes through the debris of the comet much like a mini-van passes through a swarm of moths. When the earth smacks into the debris we get colorful ephemeral fire in the sky that can be downright impressive. And unlike moth strikes no trip to the car wash is needed because the bits and grains of the comet are incinerated in our atmosphere. Curiously many of the Perseid meteors are green and red sometimes very noticeably so even when viewing by eye and not with a camera. The colors come from the compounds that are burned up. Copper, Manganese, Boron and several other elements burn green.
This image (which is a composite of two shots taken less than 90 seconds apart) shows two fiery meteors each taking a different path outward. The "radiant" of the meteor shower is near the middle of the photo in the constellation Perseus. Because the place where the meteors appear to come from is Perseus, the meteor shower is called the "Perseid" meteor shower. It's one of the better, more predictable showers every year. The other best bet is the Geminids around December 13th or 14th. The Geminid meteors are believed to originate from debris of the asteroid: 3200 Phaethon (which in fact may have been a comet itself before it lost all its crunchy hydrocarbon ice shell).
If you'd like to try to capture a meteor, we have an article that will help but chances are very good you won't succeed.
© Copyright 2012, Steven Christenson
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All rights reserved. Curious what "all rights reserved means?" it means that without written permission you may not: copy, transmit, modify, use, print or display this image in any context other than as it appears in Flickr.
8860VR is having a little bit of fame on Facebook and Flickr at the moment having just been fitted with a fully reconditioned AEC760 engine as in my mind the old 590 unit was uneconomical to attempt repair. Now I doubt the purist, the rivet counters and those who insist everything is the wrong shade would agree with the change as the replacement is not particularly accurate or in keeping with history, intended for lorry work the 760 is rated at 12.4 litres and considerably more powerful than the original 590 which came in at only 9.6, but then it would appear Asda and everywhere else for that matter are be fresh out of decent 590’s these days and a shortage of options [and my money] limits what is practical in this preservation world so a fully reconditioned to military spec AV760 looked like a good choice. The box says remove the original engine and replace with the 760, a few modifications may be required but nothing major, not quite as straight forward as that and plenty of blood sweat and tears plus welding and compulsory swearing were required before the engine cranked into life but boy what a difference. The work was completed at Reliance Bus Works near Stoke and on the return journey home it roared along the A34 and actually passed another vehicle on one of the narrow country sections; it was a steam roller doing all of 5 miles an hour on its way to a steam gathering. Anyway the photo has nothing to do with the engine change at all its just to add more confusion to the age old argument, East Lancs or Neepsend body, most people quote East Lancs and even I believed it was a Lancs product hence the photo during a visit to the Blackburn factory around 1994, apparently despite having East Lancs cast in the lower saloon gearbox cover it’s a Neepsend product and the first off the production line at Sheffield, but what the hell I suspect it was all Lancs frames and other parts from Blackburn and simply assembled at Sheffield.
So I'm back...finally. Was a busy week for me. Now that Oasis-our cultural festival is over, I'm free .
Will catch up soon :)
Do view on Black
Ok, this encounter takes a bit of explaining. I saw him briefly over a week ago. He was busking in downtown Toronto and I was hurrying to class. It was such an unusual sight tha I asked him if I could grab a photo and he gave the ok. It was a somewhat cluttered photo and I wanted to do better but he was in the midst of performing and I was running late for class. I also suspected this young man might have an interesting story to tell and I hoped to catch him on my way home to explain my project and find out more about him. It was not to be. He was gone when my class finished. Meanwhile, I googled his website and discovered that my intuition about an interesting story was correct. His background was beyond amazing. I was even more motivated to meet him again and get a better photo along with a chance to speak with him. The next couple of times I looked for him downtown he wasn’t there. Today, on my third attempt to complete the encounter, there he was. Meet Takahito from Japan – also known as Duckman.
What I had learned from Takahto’s website that impressed me so much was his triumph over adversity and his positive spirit which I felt was a message that belonged in the Human Family project for its power to inspire. His story involves growing up in a single parent family with a mentally ill mother. He lost his two siblings at an early age and the unexpected loss of his onlyh friend. He suffered both emotional and physical abuse from mother and was removed from the home to live in an institution. He discovered the power of a smile to make others happy and adopted a false smile because it brought positive responses from others, something which in turn brought him pleasure. You can read Takahito’s version of this story on his website at www.tk-entertainer.com if you scroll to the bottom of the page. I was left with two feelings after finding out about Takahito. First, I was shocked that anyone would grow up in such disadvantaged circumstances. Second, I was filled with admiration that he found his own way to overcome such extreme adversity and not only survive, but thrive – through entertaining and bringing pleasure to others.
Today was my lucky day because when I exited the subway station downtown, I could hear the sound of Takahito’s plastic drumset. I had my camera ready and caught him between acts. I greeted him by name, reminded him that we had semi-met a week ago, and that after reading his website I was greatly impressed by his story and by his personal strength and positive energy. He shook my hand with his yellow-gloved duck hand and said “Thank you for reading it.” I quickly explained my Human Family project and said I had not had time to tell him about it last week, but would he participate? He said he would be glad to. I managed a couple of different poses, chosen by Takahito, and asked him where he got the strength to overcome his difficult childhood. He said “Making other people happy made me happy.” I asked what message or piece of advice he would like to share and he said “Have a bigger cup.” When I asked what he meant he said “It’s hard for me to explain.” I was concerned that our conversation was distracting him from performing for the lunch-hour crowd which is probably when he makes the most income. I did learn that he is in Canada on a 6 month visa so perhaps I will meet this remarkable young man again. I think we all have much to learn from his inspiring story. We exchanged contact information and he was delighted when I made my contribution to his fund and thanked me warmly.
This is my 549th submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.
Follow-up:
Takahito was kind enough to write me an email explaining the meaning of his message “Get a bigger cup. It was so nice that I quote it in full.
"'Get a bigger cup'
I think everyone has a cup in their hearts. that can hold stress or sadness.
When I was a kid, the cup was really small. I cried a lot. I was stressed a lot.
then When I got over my past, I've got the biggest cup.
when the cup is full which means that you cannot do anything properly.
All I'm trying to do is absorbing the spilling water from people's cups^^
because my cup is the biggest. And if you can see the way of thinking that you have a cup, It would help people to be optimistic like me."
Yes it was a bit dirty out Cunnamulla way, but nice to see new country out in the Wild West.
On the dirt flats at Bowra. This has been captured in Queensland's wild west, near Cunnamulla. I did a trip out west in seeking the elusive Major Mitchell birds.
In this area the vegetation is sparse and the land is arid and not very productive.
Cunnamulla is around 787Km west from Queensland's capital Brisbane.
Many thanks to all my Flickr photostream followers I have now more than one million views, thank you. Thanks for viewing my photos and for any favourites and comments, it is very much appreciated.
My Blog: www.alldigi.com
Nikon D810 with 14-24mm wide angle lens at 24mm.
Bit of a long hot walk, so found a spot for a spot of refreshingness!!
Cool little waterfall and I am enjoying the spray!! 😁
We had a visit here to walk and then swim at Wadi Shab in Oman. Amazing and beautiful place..
Almost a two hour drive from Muscat, then a boat ride before setting off up the amazing Wadi following the water until we came to the area where we changed and then paddled and then swam to a cave!
A bit of light painting with a new light-up toy: an LED illuminated dodecahedron (also called an infinity dodecahedron).
This is an 8-second long exposure at an ISO 50 where I moved the image every two seconds so that it produced light trails. The original image looked interesting like a light explosion but fairly linear and I was wanting to make something more curvy and bendy.
I added in PS distortions (zig-zag, pinch, twirl) and a copy-paste/flip vertical & horizontal (opacity at 50% to let the original layer show through, too).
I used Topaz Adjust's Psychodelic filter brighten up the colors within the image (example, the very pale teal on the edges are now visible).
Comments?
It was so windy near the summit of Mauna Kea (Hawaii) that I did not have very many options as to where to set up my tripod for a long exposure. My aim was to capture star trails with one of the observatories in the foreground (unusual for me - I generally do not pre-visualize). I had to huddle down next to one of the other buildings for tripod stability and my own warmth.
Partway through the 10 minute exposure someone opened the door on the other side of the telescope and did a bit of unintentional light painting.
This photo sure is pushing the Rebel XSi to its limits. I did lots of post-processing noise reduction.
Bit of a change up with a round in Welly Central. Been raining all week, but a nice day for the race.
Had a bug going around all week, so I didn't feel up to riding, but went and got some snaps and a coffee. Shame as it looked a really fun loop!
Everyone's aiming for a rut right by this pole to avoid the worst of this bog.
As we had almost no snow this winter, a photo from last year. Wish there had been more snow this winter.
ODC 1 ~ Retro for 10.04.13
Day 277 ~ 365: the 2013 edition
What is the meaning of 'Shave and a haircut Two Bits'?
It was the cost of a shave and a haircut in a barber shop during the mid-1800s - Two bits. Two bits equals a quarter.
A bit of retro tech for you here from 1987. I found a boxed Interface card for the IBM PC, used with 'LEGO TC Logo', a technic control program using the Logo programming language, and LEGO's actual first foray into programming. Slap this baby in the expansion slot of your IBM PC (another variant was made for the Apple II) and load the software, and you could create primitive commands for your technic motors connected to a control deck.
There is a bit of background required to put this portrait in context. By mere chance, I discovered online that a fully-restored Boeing B-17G World War II heavy bomber was going to spend a week at the small airport in Kingston Ontario. Kingston is a beautiful, historic city three hours east of Toronto. It is also home to my son and his fiancée. While I wasn’t in a position to take a flight on Sentimental Journey, I was determined to see the plane, tour it on the ground, photograph it, and watch it take off and land.
When I saw it sitting on the tarmac of the Kingston Flying Club at the south edge of the airport, it was truly a thing of gleaming beauty. The plane is owned by the Commemorative Air Force, a nonprofit which is dedicated to preserving historic aircraft. It has chapters throughout the U.S. Sentimental Journey’s home base is in Phoenix Arizona but it tours and is available to the public every summer.
The man you are looking at was one of the volunteers who was available to explain about the airplane and answer questions and he was a treasure trove of historical and aviation information. Sensing my eager interest, he kindly made himself available to talk about airplanes and World War II and when I expressed interest in him, he also shared a bit about himself. Meet Bruce.
Bruce is a member of the Commemorative Air Force chapter in Indiana and he told me every year he likes to donate a couple of his vacation weeks to the organization. This summer he flew up to Toronto from Indiana on a commercial flight and met Sentimental Journey in nearby Peterborough Ontario. He spent that week hosting visitors and accompanying them on demonstration rides on the plane. He then accompanied the plane from Peterborough to Kingston where he is doing his last week of volunteering before returning to his “real life” in Indiana.
What is Bruce’s “real life?” Interestingly, it has nothing to do with aviation. He is a PhD research chemist at Purdue University in Lafayette Indiana. His work has to do with analyzing the quantities of medications in bloodstream samples and much of his work has to do with the pharmaceutical industry. He directs the university’s Metabolomics Facility (yes, that was a new one for me too.)
Understandably, most of our conversation was about Sentimental Journey and historic aircraft and it was clear that Bruce is a very informed student of history and lover of airplanes. He had a very warm, pleasant manner, which combined with is knowledge of the plane, made him the perfect tour guide. He had a very pleasant accent which I think was a mix of North Carolina where he did his PhD and Indiana where he lives currently.
When I explained my Human Family photo project to him, Bruce was interested and was happy to participate. We had a few minutes while other visitors were inside the plane and I suggested posing him inside the bomb bay, the doors of which were open and provided sheltered light on this bright day. We both had to duck to get into the bay and I took a couple of portraits with sample bombs hanging on the racks above his head. When I invited him to share a message with the project he thought for a moment and said “We should not glorify war, but we should not forget the past either. This plane serves as a memorial to the young men, often just 20 and 21 years of age who risked and lost their lives in these machines while serving their country.” He went on to reflect about the fact that many of the pilots, navigators, radio operators, and bombardiers were just kids and many of them had never been more than 25 miles from their Midwestern farm lives when they entered the military, were taught to fly and fight, and found themselves over the heart of Germany in the dead of night at 30,000 feet, dropping bombs and fighting for their lives. It is a sobering thought indeed. Bruce concluded with the comment “I wonder how many 20 year-olds would be able to manage that today?”
Thank you Bruce, for a fascinating conversation, a wealth of information about B-17s, and for participating in The Human Family. This is my 522nd submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
I hope you had a great two weeks of volunteering and return to your university job with fond memories of Canada.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.
Bit gutting that I hit this with the old finger over lense trick which has spoilt the photo, but I couldn't help but not share this lovely 600. Finished in Nightfire Red, the same as N735WBA, my grandparents old 620SDI. I love these cars, along with the 75 and I'd seriously consider both models if I wanted something from this era.
Nice low mileage too; 69k at last test in December isn't bad at all.