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A little bit of Texas glimpsed on my Canadian campus today.
Of course xgray is the Master: www.flickr.com/photos/xgray/4791970032/
more at www.karin-elizabeth.com
© 2012 Karin E. Lips
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More bits and pieces from a very distant relative's box of photographic goodies finally being sorted through. He was a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society.
Wandering around University of Toronto, a bit miffed because my planned shots were thwarted by the Pan Am Games closures, I came across this war memorial.
From the University of St. Michael's College web site:
Over 3401 St. Michael’s Alumni served in the military in the ‘Great War’; 32 died in the line of duty. These numbers may not seem remarkable until one reads the ‘Honour Roll’ in the SMC Year Book of 1918. It is there that Fr. Michael J. Oliver, CSB, 1T0 (BA), teacher and administrator of the high school, and Secretary of the ‘Honour Roll’ tells us some rather astonishing figures. From the school’s inception in 1852, the student body was relatively small, usually numbering 100 to 150 in total. Fr. Oliver states, “only recently, (1910?) owing to an increase in the number of Toronto students, has the number exceeded 200” – now remember this was written in 1918, so even if we extrapolate growth we probably would not exceed 225-235.
As well, again quoting Fr. Oliver, “St. Michael’s students/graduates were to a great extent prevented from enlisting by reason of their ‘office’. This affected only college students who, as priests and theological students, had taken ‘orders’. Yet Fr. Oliver says, “we have no hesitation in saying that the following list is not more than half the full number because no organized effort was made to make the list complete.”
We must also bear in mind another major fact – up until probably 1900-1910 the student body had significant numbers of Americans. Fr. Oliver says, “In 1905, 30% were from the U.S.; in 1895, 50% and prior to that even a larger number”.
It is important here to note therefore, volunteers to the U.S. military are, in the main, not included in the data presented. It was on 2nd February 1917, that President Woodrow Wilson severed diplomatic relations with Germany et al. Subsequently, when the Germans promised aid to Mexico should the Mexicans attack the United States (and British intelligence ensured that the Americans would see this), President Wilson and the U.S. Congress declared war on the 7th April 1917. We shall come back to this matter further on.
No form of remembrance for the fallen was provided, until in 1945, St. Michael’s and the Basilian Fathers decided to erect a memorial to all Alumni killed in the Great War. Time passed, but nothing really happened for nearly 40 years. In 1921, The University of Toronto published a Roll of Service 1914-1918 and a ‘Roll of Honour’ for those ‘Killed in Action’ or ‘Died in Service’, but this only encompassed those enrolled in University / College – our High School volunteers and those who died in service received no equal remembrance. As well, Hart House Soldiers Tower on the University campus created its ‘Memorial Archway’ where the names of the known dead from all colleges and faculties are enshrined. (Newman Chapel [St. Thomas Aquinas] also has a small remembrance plaque).
However, in late 1985 Fr. William H. O’Brien CSB, 4T3; Lieutenant (Rt’d) Royal Canadian Artillery, decided that such a remembrance had to come to fruition (See Appendix ‘A’). He became the moving spirit that culminated in the memorial carved into the stone of the ‘slype’ between More and Fisher Houses and dedicated to the memory of the 32 alumni of both College and High School who died. It was completed in the November 1988 in time for the Remembrance Day service on 11 November.
Subsequently, Fr. Bill, who in retirement had become the archivist at St. Michael’s College School, had a similar ‘Remembrance Wall’ put in place on the outside west wall of the College School chapel. It was dedicated in 2000, a year and a half after his death.
St. Michael's College Memorial to the Fallen
If you were to travel to Northern France and Belgium you would find the many memorials in the hundreds of cemeteries that dot the countryside. They hold the graves of most of the more than 66,655 Canadians who never returned from the ‘Great War’ - with close to a third resting in unidentified or unknown graves. The names of those known are cut into their headstones; others show ‘A Soldier of the Great War’ above the cross, and below ‘Known Unto God’. All with no known graves have their names incised in the newly refurbished main memorial at Vimy Ridge (approx 19,000+). As well, there are many war dead, including Canadian, who are buried in multicultural, local church cemeteries and cemeteries of many other mid and northern European countries.
According to Wikipedia, "the term slype is a variant of slip in the sense of a narrow passage; in architecture, the name for the covered passage usually found in monasteries or cathedrals between the transept and the chapter house". Learn something every day.
This High Dynamic Range 360° panorama was stitched from 162 bracketed photographs with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, processed with Color Efex, then touched up in Aperture.
Original size: 20000 × 10000 (200.0 MP; 1.04 GB).
Location: University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
India tiger safari trip.
Kanha was a bit of a dissapointment as there was heavy flooding, especially in the core zone, so noone was allowed in.
Normally we were supposed to have 3 game drives in the core zone. We did only one in the bufferzone, but the animals were very scarce. In the afternoon it was raining so heavily that we couldn't even go out and our second game drive was cancelled.
So the second day we cancelled our third game drive and visited a local village instead.
We would not have been allowed in the core zone anyway, and we feared the bufferzone would be just the same as the day before.
Welcome to the weekend.
And we had quite a bit planned, with Jen coming round to play cards in the after into the evening, as we are now in a bubble together, as John has his with his family.
No bubble, big trouble.
We had food bought, and I was going to make spicy chicken tortillas, so all was set.
And for the morning, we thought we would go to Samphire Hoe. And have a walk, get some fresh air. Stretch our legs. Hunt for orchid rosettes.
So after coffee, we go out, via Tesco to collect essential supplies: Madeira, stollen and baklava. As well as peppers.
All the major foodgrops covered there.
Tesco was quite quiet, we rushed round grabbing what we wanted and actually using a till rather than the scan n shop, so we atually talked to someone.
Actually.
And then it was down Jubilee Way, through town and up and out on the A20, before turning off and waiting for the traffic lights to go green.
It goes green, and we go down, finding the large circular car pak almost empty, so I struggle to reverse the car into one of the marked spaces.
Jools pays for an hour's parking, then we split up: she walks along the sea wall and I walk on the path over the rolling landscaped grassland.
There is a lot of fresh air to be had, all of it free, and with a head wind, a lot of it forcing it down my nose and into my mouth. I could smell the tang of salt in the air, smething that got stronger as I neared the beach at the far end.
A couple of trains rattle along on the line at the bottom of the coast. Which I snap.
Sheep scatter at my approach. They and the small herd of cows are essential to manage brambles and other vigorous plants and shrubs.
I meet up with Jools at the far end of the site, and we watch for about ten minutes as waves crashed on the beach, and a few Rock Pipits fed on small shellfish washed up.
We walk back up along the path beside the railway so I could hunt for evidence of orchid rosttes, but I find nothing, but it was just looking as walking, not on hands and knees. We will be back in the early spring, if lockdown allows.
Back to the car and drive back to the A2, off at the next exit and double back to return to Dover, along Townwall Street and back home up Jubilee Way.
For a brew.
And back in time to listen to Huey as we warm up, drink our coffee and feast on baklava.
The day slips by, so at two Jools goes to pick up Jen, while I carry on watching a video of a train climbng the Alps to St. Moritz. Somewhere else to go once the plague ends.
Jools arrives and we play Meld for a couple of hours. Easier with three and quicker. It gets dark, so I prepare dinner, cooking breaded chicken and warming up some party food.
It sould come as no surprise to ehar that the party food, even Finest party food, was a pale shadow of the butcher-bought chicken I prepared and cooked.
We ate, and then played more cards until it reached eight in the evening, and after five hours of cards, our bums were numb, so Jools took Jen home, and I watched Portugal v France on the tellybox.
Not a bad day.
A bit of personal indulgence on this one, the Class C 0-6-0 592 at the top of Freshfield bank, light engine to Horsted Keynes. Got to say apart from Blackmore Vale, which hasn't run for so many years, this is my favourite loco. Now withdrawn for overhaul, look forward to seeing it run again.
52 in 2020 Challenge
30. A rainy day
Not quite enough to fully replenish the supplies but it sure felt like it when it came down!
Everyone else may be showing off their photos from Chasewater yesterday, but I've just got round to uploading some from September...
Bit of a cheat - this is in Edinburgh Corporation days but the scene remained the same.
I have been goaded into posting this by Stuart Montgomery, and in retrospect I'm glad. This drab autumnal scene at the Lochend terminus of ECT service 13 shows a bleakness that takes me right back to those days. This could so easily have been the 1950s with the country still shattered by the exertions of war, rather than, as it was, 1975. The grey/brown housing might have been any Scottish urban area.
This got me to musing about liveries. In this drab setting, the municipal solemnity of the madder and white stands out well and actually livens the scene a little. One could equally well imagine a green Dundee or Aberdeen bus, or a green and gold Glasgow one, fitting in just as well here. And while this was the kind of background they had to contrast with, those kinds of livery were appropriate.
But now in Edinburgh the buses are trying to stand up against the multicoloured delights of national chains of shops, more cars than one could have imagined in those days, brighter clothing, bike lanes painted on the road - and so need their brighter colours to maintain a presence. Neil Renilson, all is forgiven!
Type : LPG Tanker (Gazier)
Pavillon : Suède 🇸🇪
Lancement : 2007
Chantier naval : Shanghai Edward Shipbuilding (Chine 🇨🇳)
Identification (IMO number) : 9309239
Longueur : 177,10 m
Largeur : 26,27 m
Tonnage : 17 757 tjb
A bit of a christmas vibe going on here, well it is december in a few days. I want to do shoots like this all the time! Had a great day at Crombie Country Park with Sarah and Gilly. As the day went on the light got better and better and what a beautiful setting. Two more sets coming very soon
the whole set shot with... Canon 5d Mark II // Canon 35mm 1.4L // Canon 85mm 1.2L // Canon 135mm 2.0L // canon 430ex flash in 28 inch softbox
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I have a lot more cooking gear, but this is what I use on a regular basis.
Back, from left to right:
Yet another aluminium foil windscreen. You tend to pick up a lot of those. Cheap, versatile and suprisingly sturdy.
Big stainless steel "cowboy" mug. Picked up from a wild west re-enactment suppler in Germany. Large enough to cook for one person.
Bushcooker. I really like the concept of these wood-gas stoves - and I try to bring it as my main cooker as often as possible.
It takes more work and is slower than a meths- or multifuel stove, but it gives me a very gratifying feeling to use it.
My only complaint is price vs. quality; considering the high price of this product, I had expected something better (in terms of materials and finish), than what I would be able to make myself from a couple of old tins.
12 cm. Zebra Billy Can. A bushcraft classic, made famous by Ray Mears. Not much to say; tough as nails, cheap (at least it used to be) and - well, now I said it - heavy.
I like my Zebra Billy Can, but I think I like it for the wrong reasons; I like it because it is an iconic piece of gear, used by Ray Mears. I do not, however, like it because it has any advantage over any other billy can/small pot I have ever had or used - actually, aside from the weight, it has three major issues going against it:
1. It is hard to pour water from it, without spilling. To me that is a nuicance - aswell as a real problem if you have limited supplies of water (ok, you rarely have that problem in Scandinavia).
2. The handle, which will be replaced by a piece of brake wire at some point, keeps falling down, causing it to get too hot to handle. The white plastic thingies, that comes with the can, helps a lot on this problem - but they won't last forever when the pot is used over fire.
3. The handle on the lid gets as hot as the lid itself, I would much have preferred a knob or a folding handle.
I still use the Zebra Billy Can though, but mostly with my Bushcooker - rarely over a fire. There I use the pots from my Tatonka Multiset.
Tatonka Handle Mug. This stainless steel mug is imho. a must have. I use it mostly to drink from, but when travelling really light, it has been used as my main cooking pot a few times. I use it a lot, when scouting, for heating water for a quick brew, in the embers of our campfire.
Like all Tatonka's 18/8 stainless products this is virtually unbreakable and it can be placed directly in a fire without taking any damage.
I guess this product works, in many ways, like the popular crusader cup - with slightly longer handles, making it more convenient to use over an open fire.
Fire-Maple hardanodized aluminium cookset. Fire-Maple is a virtually unknown Chinese manufacturer of camping goods. I only have personal experience with their pots though - but a very good experience that is.
I have compared this set to both the Optimus Terra Weekend and the Primus Trek Kettle, both costing more than three times of what the Fire-Maple does. Aside from a slightly better finish, what you get for your extra money, is the brand name. Sad, but true.
I am usually a "go for the big brands - you get what you pay for" kind of person, when it comes to outdoor gear - but this is at least one exception.
Front, from left to right:
GSI polycarbonate folding cooking utensils. Ok, maybe slightly poshcrafty - but really convenient and easier to clean than wood. I bought these together with the teflon pan for my trangia. I usually only carry these together with my "heavy" cooking sets, like the Trangia or Tatonka Multiset.
No-brand spring retained pot gripper. This is the classic pot gripper, that used to be available in every outdoor store here in Denmark, now it is almost impossible to find. I prefer it over the folding pot grippers from Trangia and tatonka.
Spork XM (extra medium). A larger version of the Light My Fire Spork (one regular sized shown for comparison). This is my main cooking- and eating utensil when packing light. Long enough to reach the bottom of a boil-in-bag meal and sturdy enough to stir a stew. One of my favourite pieces of gear.
Some embroidery from Anna Maria's Fields Aflutter pattern. You can see a little more of the special project here.
All new parts. All non-production except for the two-finger hinge pieces, which are just uncommon in green.
Paint them red and you'll nearly be there. However, Enviro400s might be common in London but these are the first Scania examples to have operated there. Having seen them on the Sunday on rail reps, Stephenson's Enviro400s were duping the 205. Buses on this service tended to run in pairs or greater.
_ACB4868-Edit - A little bit of blue with some fluffy stuff from Bembridge at the weekend.
Bit more f'in around f22 at 1/40, probably on the high f's didn't look bad at f18, but lost some of trunk marking and cloud definition, camera settings don't let you go above 22 once below 1/125 so a little bright in the foreground, but otherwise pleased with the result.
Brettenpad 16/04/2021 14h09
De Lange Bretten park is a bit of a forgotten piece of nature in Amsterdam. Completely wrong. It has few facilities but it is an oasis of peace and great for a relocation between Sloterdijk and Spaarnwoude and Halfweg.
Lange Bretten
De Bretten, and sometimes also called the Lange Bretten, is a nature reserve in Amsterdam's Nieuw-West district with an area of 130 ha. It is a green strip to the north of the Haarlemmertrekvaart and to the south of the Western Harbor area on the polder grounds of the Spieringhorner Binnenpolder. The area is named after the Huis te Bretten, one of the country houses that once stood along this canal. This house stood west of Sloterdijk along the Spaarndammerdijk and was demolished for the construction of the first railway line in the Netherlands, from Amsterdam to Haarlem. The name of this country house may have been derived from Borch in Bretten near Katwijk and / or the 'Brittenburg', a Roman fort near Katwijk.
The area remained undeveloped within the framework of the 1935 General Expansion Plan, based on the ideas of the urban planner Cornelis van Eesteren, who proposed a kind of green fingers (green wedges) between the city districts (lobes) in order to allow nature to penetrate the urban area. .
From the 1960s onwards, the area was part of the reclaimed land of the Amsterdam harbor, but because the area was left empty for a long time, spontaneous developments took place, creating a rugged green area. Incidentally, some city nomads also lived there. There have been plans for housing or industry, while the Amsterdam - Haarlem railway line and a motorway (Australiëhavenweg) also run through the area.
In addition to the rugged green area, there are also sports parks (Spieringhorn) and allotment parks. In the 1970s, the allotment park 'De Bretten', later also allotment park 'De Braak', was created. The construction of paths and play facilities in 2006 made the area more attractive for recreation. In addition, there is a continuous cycle route from Westerpark via the Brettenzone to Halfweg and the Spaarnwoude recreational area.
At the western end of the Lange Bretten is the 30-hectare nature reserve De Kluut, which was set up and managed by the Noord-Holland Landscape in 2000. In 2008, the area was given the management of the Noord-Holland Landscape for a period of 25 years with the intention of turning it into a nature reserve. The area is freely accessible and there are also some recreational facilities.
In 2010, a start was made on the construction of the Westrandweg, which has been bisecting the area on the west side (near De Kluut) since 2013.
Since at least 2013 dance festivals have been held in Sportpark Spieringhorn, just two hundred meters from the residential area between Burgemeester Vening Meineszlaan and Haarlemmerweg. The production of mainly low-frequency noise from these events caused unrest and resistance in the neighboring neighborhoods.