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The car that soldiered on through all manner of hell, and came out king of the hill in the end, whilst by extension keeping the company afloat.
During the early 1970's the craze was the supercar, the Lamborghini Countach had shown the world the 'Wedge' and given us a new idea of speed with its 200mph cruising velocity. Across the world, everyone wanted a piece of the new supercar action, with the result of many weird and wonderful retreads. In Britain, it was a mixed bag. At British Leyland, they gave us the Triumph TR7, which leaked, broke and generally failed to deliver in spades, whilst at Lotus, they gave us the Esprit, and that was the exact opposite.
Originally, the concept dated back to 1972 when a concept car by Lotus was unveiled, being designed by the world famous ItalDesign, built onto the platform of the previous Lotus Europa. In the following years the design was tinkered and altered by renowned stylish Giorgetto Giugiaro in one of his memorable 'Folded Paper' designs, a nickname for his more angular models such as the DeLorean and the Maserati Merak. At the time the name was initially intended to be named the Lotus Kiwi, but instead chose Esprit to keep with the long running Lotus tradition of naming cars with the letter 'E'.
However, unlike the massively powerful supercars that the Esprit was meant to be competing with, the car was designed to embody both power and incredible handling. The engine was a lightweight 2.0L Type-907 4-Cylinder engine, a comparatively small powerplant that produced 160hp. But even so, the car had a top speed of 138mph and a 0-60 of 6.8 seconds, which even today isn't bad and could easily combat the likes of the modern Hot Hatchbacks. This is due largely to the fact that the original Esprit was built out of Fibreglass on a steel backbone chassis.
The original car was launched in 1975 at the Paris Motor Show, and at the start was a little lukewarm in its reception. Although it was lauded for its incredible handling and ability to grip just about any surface, the low power engine meant that it didn't take-off as much as it had intended, especially in the desired American market.
Fame thankfully was not that far away. At the time of production the James Bond films were looking for a new Bond Car, as it had been nearly 10 years since 007 had been paired with a single iconic motor. Seeing the opportunity for some product placement, Lotus' head of public relations, Don McLaughlin, decided to take matters into his own hands and drive a prototype Lotus with all the Lotus badges taped over to Pinewood Studios near London and park it outside the main office before going across the way to meet a friend. Within a matter of minutes a sizeable crowd had gathered to ogle the sublime mystery car. Eventually he came back, made his way through the crowds, climbed in and drove away without a word being said. It was ambitious, but it worked, and the film crew went out of their way to find out about this car.
In the end a Lotus Esprit was featured in the 1977 film 'The Spy Who Loved Me', where it was shipped to Corsica and became the epic motor in the fantastic escape scene between Bond, several henchmen in cars and a pursuing helicopter. During filming however, the chase was originally quite uninteresting as the Lotus' famous grip meant that performing powerslides and drifts were impossible. This led to the Lotus test driver, who had accompanied the car to the film site, taking over from the stunt driver and literally flailing the car and pushing it to its very limits to try and make the chase look more exciting. From that moment on, he took over as stunt driver and can be owed for making the spectacular chase even more spectacular, finishing off with one of the more iconic parts of the movie where the Lotus flew off the end of a jetty and splashed into the sea, turning into a submarine to investigate Karl Stromberg's underwater rig. Although the Esprit's featured in the underwater sequences were a mixture of models and miniatures with alkasalsa tables causing bubbles, Top Gear's Richard Hammond was able to prove that a submarine car could be made out of a technically similar Lotus Excel, although it did require the doors being welded, the tyres being filled with cement, the windows being replaced with perspex and the fitting of external propellers.
When the Spy Who Loved Me premièred in 1977, the Lotus Esprit was rocketed to fame for it's intense scenes, and what would have been an unremarkable 70's sports car became one of the most iconic motors of the decade. But sadly the end of the 1970's brought trouble to the Lotus company. An Oil Crisis sent fuel costs rocketing, and the idea of owning gas guzzling supercars became highly undesirable. This was compounded by a global recession which saw the promising American market collapse. Lotus' production fell from 1,200 cars per year to just under 400, and the company was unable to pay for the development of new models, which meant that the 10 year old Elite and Eclat couldn't be replaced. In 1982 the company's founder and famed Racing Driver Colin Chapman died suddenly of a Heart Attack, and his later involvement in the DeLorean scandal, which would have seen him imprisoned for at least 10 years for fraud if he had lived to see the trial, damaged the company's reputation. In 1994 the Lotus F1 team folded and at one point the company was so strapped for cash that they couldn't even fill the invoices. The company was bounced between ownership by General Motors, and then Luxembourg based A.C.B.N Holdings, and finally to Proton of Malaysia. But despite everything, the Lotus Esprit just kept on going, and kept the company alive, thanks largely to constant development.
Unlike many car companies struggling in the recession which maintained the continuous model and made only a few cheap alterations such as facelifts, the Esprit was developed time and time again to make a more innovative machine, but maintaining that winning style that had made it so popular in the first place. Changes to the drivetrain, updates in the engine, slight alterations to the styling and a continued competitive price tag made it cheaper than a Ferrari but just as desirable, often being quoted as 'Britain's Ferrari'. Another part of its success was down to its designers too, the fourth generation car being designed by Peter Stevens, who would later coin the McLaren F1, the world's fastest production car until the Bugatti Veyron of 2005. The fifth and final generation car of 1993 however has often been described as the best, combining the continued obsession with unbelievable amounts of grip, steering and handling with a 3.5L Lotus Type 918 Turbo V8, giving the car a top speed of 178mph at a rate of 0-60 in 4.4 seconds, which even today is fantastic and would easily put it in line with modern supercars. In straight lines the Esprit would struggle to keep up in a race, but on the corners, whilst other cars would slide and flail, the Esprit would be glued to the line and easily outdo the likes of the Ferrari 458.
Sadly, this performance couldn't bring the Esprit back to its bloom of youth, and the 28 year old design was eventually killed off in 2004 after 10,000 examples were built, being replaced by the Exige. However, plans were considered for a new Esprit to be launched in 2013 after unveiling a concept at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, but this was unfortunately not pursued and development was instead put into the Evora. Today Esprits are quite rare like many sports cars of the time, with later versions from the 1990's and early 2000's being more common than the early S1 and S2 models of the 70's and 80's.
But either way, the Esprit proved to the world that Britain could make a competitive, and powerful sports car. Although it wasn't exactly built for straight lines, Britain isn't a country that consists of straight roads, if you're off the motorway you'd be pressed to find a route that didn't wind and curve in every given direction. This is where the Esprit could win and indeed went on to do, often being considered the best handling sports car of all time, and one that defied the financial struggle, the recession, the fuel crisis, the scandal, the multiple ownerships and the failure of the company F1 team!
Built by North British Loco in 1925, this particular example was withdrawn in 1960. I've no idea of the location unfortunately, or the photographer. It was among a large quantity of negatives from an old friend, but 1960 is a little too early for him to have been taking photos, so this must have crept in from somewhere else!
From the autumn 2016 trip to Vietnam:
Hey, Hey, Hue Hue! (“Hue” rhymes with “way,” by the way, and has an aspirated ‘h’ at the beginning.) As I mentioned yesterday, the fine folks at Huenino arranged a private car to shuttle us around the Hue countryside. That cost $37, flat rate, to take as long as we wanted, but she said we would probably be done around 2:00.
After eating an omelet and toast, our driver came to our hotel (which was in an alley) to pick us up. The agenda was this: First, we went to the Thien Mu Pagoda about 1-2 kilometers due west of the Citadel along the Perfume River. After that, we went to three different imperial tombs that were roughly 20 kilometers from downtown Hue (and a few kilometers from each other), and then ended up at the Citadel.
Normally, I wouldn’t be very excited about a pagoda, but when we got to Thien Mu, I was pleased. It’s situated on a slight hill above the Perfume River. (I love the name of the river, by the way, though there was nothing pleasantly aromatic about it. I’m also glad to say it wasn’t a sarcastic name with a pungent bouquet to offend the senses, either.) When you get to the pagoda, though, it has a wonderful little approach: a small, steep staircase that leads up to the pagoda with four pillars right at the top of the stairs that frame the pagoda well.
Next to the pagoda are a few minor temples (about the size of outhouses) surrounded by trees with views of the river. Directly behind the pagoda is the entrance to the temple. The main gate is nice and, upon entering, the main hall is about a hundred meters directly in front of you. The green is pretty lovely and, on the side of the green are some minor halls.
Behind the main hall there is a bonsai garden and a second hall. Finally, behind the secondary hall is another green with a mini pagoda/statue at the back of the grounds. The back of the grounds are enclosed by trees.
After leisurely making our way to the back of the grounds (in 30-45 minutes, I’d guess), we walked back towards the front, photographing flowers and two women in traditional dress before stopping at a side hall that had a peculiarity: A sky blue Austin dating from around 1960.
This is the car (which, I believe, I mentioned in my Saigon posts as well) in which the monk Thich Quang Duc rode from An Quang Pagoda down to Saigon before self-immolating in 1963 to protest the treatment of the Ngo Dinh Diem government. (I won’t elaborate here, but the response of Ngo’s sister, to say the least, was callous. You can find a letterbox in the LP Vietnam and read about it.) As I said, I was absolutely delighted by this temple. I suppose I could ascribe it the polar opposite from how I felt at seeing Disappointment Falls en route to Hue on Thursday.
After roughly an hour here at Thien Mu Pagoda, our driver took us to the first of three imperial tombs. To say a little bit about imperial Vietnam – and the era that these tombs cover – the first thing you need to know is that you can NOT associate dynastic Vietnam with China. They couldn’t be much more different. China’s dynasties span more than two thousand years from 221 B.C.-1911 A.D. (with smaller kingdoms even predating those). When talking about imperial Vietnam, we have to reach way, way back in time…to the 1800s – A.D., that is. So, these tombs are somewhere around 150-200 years old, give or take a few years.
Another thing to know about imperial Vietnam is that they ruled while the country was really being run by the French who, by this point, had taken over Indochina. So, I suppose if you were desperate to compare Vietnamese emperors to Chinese, you could go with the last emperor, Puyi, who was pretty much a puppet emperor in Manchuria until the 1930s when the Japanese let him rule as a figurehead. (Speaking of Puyi, that movie – the Last Emperor – is extraordinary.)
For now, I’ll focus squarely on the tombs themselves. The first one we stopped at was the Tomb of Minh Mang. When we arrived here, we went to the ticket booth to buy a pass to the four sites (three tombs plus Citadel) for 360,000 VND/person (~17-18 USD).
Of the imperial tombs I’ve seen – primarily in southeastern Korea – this one was the most like those. The Korean mausoleums are massive mounds built on top of the tombs and that’s what this was.
In retrospect, Minh Mang’s tomb was my favorite of the three we would see on the day. It was parklike and fairly expansive. Minh Mang “ruled” from 1820-1840, so obviously the tomb would date from sometime around 1840. The tomb was planned during his reign and built by his successor, Thieu Tri.
The Honor Courtyard is at the south end of the complex directly in front of Dinh Vuong (Stele Pavilion). There are three stairways leading up to the pavilion. From inside the pavilion, you have a nice view of Sung An Temple (dedicated to Minh Mang and his empress) directly in front of you and two side halls framing in a courtyard filled with potted flowers.
Behind Sung An temple, you pass through Hien Duc Gate descend some stairs and can cross one of three bridges to span Trung Minh Ho (Lake of Impeccable Clarity). The central bridge was for the emperor’s use only, so I guess I was an emperor on this day.
Once across the bridge, you find yourself looking up at Minh Lau Pavilion (Pavilion of Light) which is built on three superimposed terraces that represent the “three powers”: the ehavens, the earth, and water. To the left of this is the Fresh Air Pavilion and, to the right, the Angling Pavilion.
Finally, you cross another, slightly longer, stone bridge that carries you over Tan Nguyet Lake (Lake of the New Moon). This is a crescent-shaped lake and, once across, you finally find yourself at the base of Minh Mang’s tomb with its rather large staircase flanked by dragon banisters that lead to his sepulcher. However, you also find that the gates are locked and you can’t actually go see the tomb. (It’s only open one day a year, on the anniversary of his death.)
After reaching the tomb, you can walk out the same way you came in or, after crossing the stone bridges in front of Minh Lau Pavilion, you can veer off and take a path that skirts the large and rather pleasant Tan Nguyet Lake back to the front gate (which is what we did).
When we finally made our way back to our driver, I think we’d spent an hour or so at the first tomb. From there, it was a short 5-10 minute drive to the second of the three: the Tomb of Khai Dinh. I’ll simply copy the LP Vietnam description of this tomb here:
“This hillside monument is a synthesis of Vietnamese and European elements. Most of the tomb’s grandiose exterior is covered in blackened concrete, creating an unexpectedl Gothic air, while the interiors resemble an explosion of colorful mosaic.
Khai Dinh was the penultimate emperor of Vietnam, from 1916 to 1925, and widely seen as a puppet of the French. The construction of his flamboyant tomb took 11 years.
Steps lead to the Honor Courtyard where mandarin honor guards have a mixture of Vietnamese and European features. Up three more flights of stairs is the stupendous main building, Thien Dinh. The walls and ceiling are decorated with murals of the Four Seasons, Eight Precious Objects, and Eight Fairies. Under a graceless, gold-speckled concrete canopy is a gilt bronze statue of Khai Dinh. His remains are interred 18m below the statue.”
Khai Dinh’s tomb was a stark contrast to Minh Mang’s. Minh Mang’s takes advantage of a natural setting whereas this tomb has a castle/temple feel to it. It’s on a hill and the views afforded from in front of Thien Dinh are quite wonderful. The temple itself – actually it advertises itself as a palace – is pretty much as Lonely Planet described it: rather ostentatious. That being said, it’s still well worth coming out here, especially to use it as a contrast from the other two tombs. Anyway, about 30 minutes at the Tomb of Khai Dinh should more than suffice even the most leisurely of visitors.
From there, we hopped back in the car for a 15 minute drive to the third and final tomb of the day: the Tomb of Tu Duc. This is actually the closest of the three to the city. I rather like the order in which we visited, though. My favorite first, least-favorite second, and another nice one to end it.
The Tomb of Tu Duc was built between 1864 and 1867. According to LP, it’s “the most popular, and certainly one of the most impressive of the royal mausoleums.” (That being said, I preferred Minh Mang’s tomb…by a long way.)
This tomb was designed by the emperor himself for use both before and after his death. Tu Duc was an interesting puppet king. Basically…he was a sterile Lothario. He had 104 wives and countless concubines, though no offspring. (Ok…he may not have been sterile, but with that many women around, I don’t think it’s a terribly unreasonable guess.)
This tomb is much closer in style to Minh Mang’s than to Khai Dinh’s. When you walk through the front gate, a path leads directly to Lou Khiem Lake. There’s a tiny island to the right – Tinh Khiem – where he used to hunt small game. Across the water to the left is Xung Khiem Pavilion, where he would compose and recite poetry to his concubines.
From the lake, turn directly behind you to find Hoa Khiem Temple, where Tu Duc and his wife (Empress Hoang Le Thien Anh) were worshipped. It’s not much to speak of when visiting it today, for it doesn’t seem to be a priority to maintain it. There are two thrones in here…and the larger one was for the empress. Tu Duc was, shall we say, vertically challenged, only reaching 153 cm in stature. (That’s a hair over 5’0”, which would even make Prince seem to tower over him.)
Anyway, the temples to honor the emperor/empress and another to honor his mother were so unimpressive to me that I won’t bother with more details. From this area, you continue to walk back less than 5 minutes to the Honor Courtyard with its statues of elephants, horses, and diminutive mandarins (the emperor ensured that his servants were even shorter than he, though I’m not sure where he found enough that fit that description). The courtyard leads to the Stele Pavilion, which has a 20 ton stele for which the emperor drafted the inscriptions himself. From LP, “He freely admitted that he had made mistakes and chose to name his tomb Khiem (modest).”
Of the three tombs on the day, this one is the least impressive. It’s enclosed by a wall on the back side of a tiny crescent-shaped lagoon. It’s a drab, gray monument. The reason it’s unimpressive, I guess, is because the emperor isn’t actually buried here. The site of his remains is unknown as, to keep it a secret from grave robbers, all 200 servants who buried the king were beheaded. How lovely.
As you can tell, I’m not a fan of this particular kind. (Paranoid and insecure, anyone?) However, the grounds and his tomb – barring the temples dedicated to him and his mom – are pleasant enough. I honestly don’t know why people would consider this the most popular, but I won’t argue. I’ll just say it’s a nice place to visit – but not if it’s the only destination you have in mind. The tombs are best seen as a group for contrast’s sake.
Having had our fix of tombs satisfied, the driver took us back into town and dropped us off just inside the Quang Duc Gate (southwestern gate) of the Citadel right in front of the Nine Holy Cannons. (Actually, there are five on this side; the other four are inside the southeast gate: Ngan Gate.)
The Citadel, for comparison, is quite a bit like China’s Forbidden City in its layout and use. Having said that…it’s nothing like the Forbidden City in terms of scale or elaborate detail. However, it’s still quite photogenic.
To get the dimensions out of the way, the outer wall of the Citadel is 10 kilometers long (close to square in orientation, so 2.5 km by 2.5 km) with a moat surrounding it that is 30 meters across. Within the Citadel, there are very distinct sections: the Imperial Enclosure and Forbidden Purple City is in the center. Temple compounds are in the southwest section and residences for family members (emperor’s mother, for example) are in the northwest. There are gardens in the northeast and to the north was the Mang Ca Fortress (which is still a military base).
Unfortunately for the world, you need to really use your imagination when visiting the Forbidden City because the one thing that wasn’t forbidden, sadly, were bombs by both the French and U.S troops during the various wars of the 20th century. Of the 148 buildings that were originally here, only 20 are still standing.
Getting back to our particular tour of the citadel, it started inside the southwest gate which was the outer wall of the compound. It was more of a military parade ground for the emperor and is currently flanked by the nine aforementioned cannons (for decorative purposes only, found under small pavilions) and a massive Vietnamese flag flying high at the center of the southern outer wall.
Walking across the parade grounds, you get to the ticket booth and pass through Ngo Mon Gate. This is a gate with three doors, the central of which was only for the emperor’s use. On top of the gate is the Ngu Phung (Belvedere of the Five Phoenixes). There’s a large drum and bell on its upper level as well. The emperor only came here on special occasions, the last of which, on 30 August 1945, was when Emperor Bao Dai appeared to end the Nguyen Dynasty, abdicating to a delegation sent by Ho Chi Minh.
After entering and crossing a bridge, you arrive at the Thai Hoa Palace (Palace of Supreme Harmony, built in 1803). This is an attractive palace which forbids photography inside. That’s all for the best. It has nice details but, except for the throne, is essentially a large, empty chamber. In a back room, though, is a nice introductory video that previews the Citadel which I’d recommend watching.
We actually went counter to the plan laid out by Lonely Planet here. Instead of continuing directly through the middle of the compound, we turned left out of the back door of the main palace.
After resting for half an hour or so in a cafe, we continued to the southwest corner of the compound. The highlights here are open fields – in a few cases where temples used to be before being blown to smithereens – and a few nice temples are still standing. The most photographic of these is a temple in front of which stand Nine Dynastic Urns. Having seen the three temples in the southwestern corner of the Citadel, we made our way north along the inside of the western wall towards the residential compounds.
On the way there, we decided to skip those and head back towards the center of the Citadel where we came upon the Hall of Mandarins. This is a hall that lists the accomplishments of every emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty. Again, most of the buildings here are gone, and there are just open, grassy fields framed by the halls. The mandarins used to have their offices off the halls here.
Once through the western hall, you come back into an interior grassy field – also framed by rather nice, long corridors. This is/was the Forbidden Purple City where the private residence of the emperor would have been. To the right of the eastern corridor, just outside the Forbidden Field, is the Royal Theater which, while we were here, was under restoration.
From here, we made our way back towards the Thai Hoa Palace, only to find that we couldn’t exit whence we came in, so we had to follow the wall around to the eastern gate. I can say that the southeastern section of the Citadel just has a nice forest-like feel to it, but nothing architectural of note.
When we finally made our way out the eastern gate, we paid two bike drivers (these are bikes on the front of which are placed chariot-ish looking carts that seat one person) to take us back over towards our hotel where we grabbed a very late lunch/early dinner.
For the evening, we just went out for a walk along the river, but – unlike Hoi An – Hue isn’t terribly impressive at night. There’s a night market, but really, everything just seemed a bit dark and not interesting. This was probably also due to the fact that I was feeling a slight fever (possibly from the afternoon shower the day before) and my energy was practically drained. I’m glad to say that I felt fine the following morning, which was good, since we had a one hour flight to Hanoi that would get us to the capital around noon.
As always, thanks for dropping by and viewing these pictures. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments and I’ll answer as I have time.
As I am sure most people will know, Classic Bus North West went into administration over the christmas period. However Oakwood travel have some what saved the day and made the future hopfully brighter. As part of the new company plans were put together to revive the three Dennis Dart's (143, 162 & 163) that have been out of service for sometime. The revival will include an overhaul and along with a lick of paint.
Though the picture above is not of one of the Dart's. A chance to snap MAL 53 being breifly awoken from it's hibbernational to shunt the dart out of the compound.
As I am sure most people will know, Classic Bus North West went into administration over the christmas period. However Oakwood travel have some what saved the day and made the future hopfully brighter. As part of the new company plans were put together to revive the three Dennis Dart's (143, 162 & 163) that have been out of service for sometime. The revival will include an overhaul and along with a lick of paint.
Here we 143 awaiting space in the workshop to allow it's overhaul to begin
Uncommon application of highly fibrous, soft, asbestos sealant material; apparently utilized as a patching compound at wooden door-frame trim.
The image shows a knitted model of an enzyme called CYP51. Certain antifungal compounds act by binding directly to CYP51, inhibiting its activity. Mutations in CYP51 can cause resistance to certain compounds used to treat fungal infections – which are an important problem in medicine and agriculture.
A single change in the amino acid sequence which makes up CYP51 can cause resistance because it changes the 3D shape of the protein. I study how the affinity for antifungal compounds to CYP51 is changed by these mutations. Furthering our understanding of these changes may aid the design of better antifungals and even predict resistance that may emerge in the future.
Although I understand the importance of changes in the CYP51 structure I sometimes forget to appreciate all that lies behind my measurements and data analysis – making this model (for my colleague’s Christmas present) reminded me of the beauty and complexity of life.
Picture credit: Josie Parker, Swansea University
INFORMATION UPDATED 5th January 2020
Details
Our Jack – wooden twin screw steamer O/N 121198
Engines: two compound engines producing 30 h.p.
Builder: John Wright & Co. Ltd., Tuncurry
Register Tonnage: (1 shipping ton = 100 cu. ft.)
-Gross 272
-Net 152
Length: 133 ft
Breadth: 28.0 ft
Depth: 6.8 ft
Owners
1907 – 1910 John Wright, Ernest Wright, Henry Osmond Wright, and Stanley Gordon Wright.
Note: John Wright died in June 1910. The firm of Messrs. John Wright & Co., Ltd., was registered on or about 20th November, 1912,
1910 – 1917 John Wright & Co. Ltd and Allen Taylor & Co .Ltd.
1917 – 1920 Allen Taylor and Co. Ltd
1920 – 1921 North Coast Steam Navigation Company
Launch
‘A NEW COASTER The new steamer Jack [Our Jack] was launched on Wednesday [30th October 1907] from Mr. J. Wright's shipyard at Tuncurry, Cape Hawke. The new vessel has a length of 138 ft; beam, 28 ft; depth, moulded, 7ft 3 in. She is intended for the coastal timber trade, and has a carrying capacity of 90,000 ft. She is to be towed to Sydney next week to have her engines fitted, which have been constructed by Messrs. Chapman and Co. The vessel was christened by Miss Annie Wright [the owner's daughter]. After the launching Mr. Wright entertained a large number of visitors at a banquet. The health of Mr. Wright was drunk and "Success to the new ship and the ship building industry of Cape Hawke."’ Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954) - Friday 1 November 1907
Commissioning
A NEW COASTAL STEAMER - OUR JACK IN COMMISSION.
The new twin-screw steamer Our Jack, which has just been completed at Sydney, will to-day commence her trading career in the service between Sydney and Newcastle. She is a handy and strongly-built little vessel of 272 tons gross, and of 152 tons net, and although she is intended primarily for the coal [coastal] trade, she has been fitted with accommodation for a limited number of passengers. Our Jack was built at the yards of Mr. John Wright, at Tuncurry, Cape Hawke, and is of hardwood throughout. She is 133ft in length, with a beam of 28ft; her depth of hold being 6ft 8in. Upon being launched at Cape Hawke she was towed some weeks ago to Sydney, where she has been supplied by Messrs. Chapman and Co. with two sets of compound-surface condensing engines, the diameters of the cylinders being 10in and 20in respectively, with a stroke of 16 inches. The boilers were also made and fitted by the same firm of engineers.’
Our Jack was taken for her official trial trip on Saturday afternoon last [8th February 1908], when she maintained an average speed of 8½ knots. Among those on board were Messrs. John Wright, Allen Taylor, Nicholas Cain, and Captain Grainger. The machinery worked very smoothly throughout, and there was an entire absence of vibration. One of the features of the new vessel is her exceptionally large hatches, and she is well adapted for carrying heavy loads on deck. Our Jack was yesterday registered (through the office of W. S. Clarke and Son, shipping brokers), in the names of John Wright, Ernest Wright, Henry Osmond Wright, and Stanley Gordon Wright, as Joint owners. Captain James Hunt, formerly master of the steamer Bellinger, and for many years engaged in the coastal trade, has been appointed to the command of Our Jack.
The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) Tuesday 11 February 1908
Operation
Over the periods 1908 - 1921 Our Jack was regularly engaged in the timber trade from NSW North Coast ports to Sydney and Newcastle. She frequently assisted in operations other than directly in the timber trade.
In May 1909 she transported the launch Mona from her builder William Dunn’s shipyard in Berry’s Bay to her new owner Charles Bowers. Bowers was active in developing the “Tourist Route” to Forster/Tuncurry – the Mona was a key to the success of the route.
In July 1909 Porters’ sawmill at Tuncurry was totally destroyed by fire. Crews from Our Jack and Astral were able to save stacks of timber on the wharf.
In April 1910 she was observed at Harrington towing the disabled steamer Hastings until temporary repairs were effected, allowing her to continue to Port Macquarie.
In May 1913 she played a critical role in attempting to save the Ellerslie that had been stranded at the entrance to the Bellinger River. In the process of attempting to re-float the Ellerslie the Our Jack became stuck herself but fortunately floated off at high tide. It was evident, however, that she had sustained serious damage, and arrived at Camden Haven on Sunday leaking badly and in distress.
WRECK OF THE OUR JACK
On 26th June 1921, Our Jack was bound from Nambucca to Sydney, with a cargo of hardwood, sprang a leak and became so helpless in a gale, that she was abandoned on Sunday morning near Old Bar at the mouth of the Manning River. She carried a crew of 14, who left in one boat. Nine of them were picked up by the North Coast Steam Navigation Company's steamer Brundah and were brought to Sydney. The survivors were:
- Paul Casaar (chief engineer),
- Harry Rudder (first engineer),
- Albert Dale (fireman),
- William Gray (fireman),
- A. Anderson (fireman),
- O. Paulsen (seaman),
- J. Elovita (seaman),
- W. Linden (seaman),
- B. Foster (cabin boy).
The names of those drowned were:
- Captain Alexander Forbes,
- Workman, seaman,
- C. Neilsen, seaman
- J. Erikson, seaman,
- C. J. Hillston, cook.
Four of the survivors from Our Jack were, on reaching Sydney, taken to hospital for treatment for injuries received when the upturned boat to which they were clinging was dashed by the waves against the sides of the steamer Brundah.
RESCUERS' WORK RECOGNISED
“At a large gathering of the directors and staff of the North Coast S.N. Co. on Friday, Captain Richard Purdy, master of the steamer Brundah, was presented with an inscribed gold watch in recognition of the part played by the captain in saving the lives of the crew of the steamer Our Jack, which foundered off Port Stephens on June 26 last. Sir Allen Taylor, chairman, of the board of directors, commended the splendid seamanship of Captain Purdy in manoeuvring to pick up the shipwrecked crew. The crews of the Brundah were presented with a bonus of £100 in recognition of their services.”
Singleton Argus (NSW) Tuesday 19 July 1921
Image Source Courtesy Great Lakes Historical Society and Maritime Museum
Acknowledgements. The assistance of Mori Flapan (Mori Flapan boatregister) by providing access to his extensive database is greatly appreciated.
All Images in this photostream are Copyright - Great Lakes Manning River Shipping and/or their individual owners as may be stated above and may not be downloaded, reproduced, or used in any way without prior written approval.
GREAT LAKES MANNING RIVER SHIPPING, NSW - Flickr Group --> Alphabetical Boat Index --> Boat builders Index --> Tags List
Here are diagrams for a design I have not finished folding yet. It is for a model of the Compound of 5 Cubes. When I finish folding it I will upload a picture here.
See an image of the completed model here: www.flickr.com/photos/8303956@N08/3208369476/
Tested my new Nikon BD plan 10x 0.25 210/0. Approx. 12X. Mounted on a bellow PB-6 with full extension
Shot with Nikon D7100.
Midland Compound 1000 with Midland 1F 1708 and completing the Midland scene the signal box at Barrow Hill
Eye of ant
Courtesy of Mr. Nishad Kv
Image Details
Instrument used: Quanta SEM
Magnification: 2000
Horizontal Field Width: 149
Voltage: 15 kV
Spot: 4.0
Working Distance: 11.2
Detector: DualBSD
This was taken in a compound in Manila. I was taken here 25 years ago to get an idea of the background of some of the kids that were in the orphanage I helped out in for six weeks. This and the endless slums were a rude awakening to a lad from the Cotswolds.
These street children would be rounded up from the streets of Manila and be kept here until... when? The lucky ones, like Ruth (see other picture) ended up in a great orphanage and had a crack at happiness in life. These boys? Who knows.
Cameras were strictly prohibited in here the authorities being less than keen to have conditions photographed but I had to risk it. It had a profound effect on me back then and it would probably do me good to go back and be involved in something similar again.
Thanks to Bob for scanning my slide and to Drew for a quick bit of PP work.
I remember back when 76131 Avengers Compound Battle was first released, I was kind of keeping an eye on whether or not this recycled CITY Police Station set would ever be discounted. It hardly ever did, or if it did I missed it, but it’s not like the other LEGO Avengers sets that are on […]
www.fbtb.net/lego-marvel-super-heroes/2020/07/07/lego-ave...
I hate when I finish a gig and have henna left over that I might have to throw out. When I got home all the neighbors were hanging out, one of whom I promised to henna. I did her feet (awesome yellow nail polish!) and then hennaed more and more neighbors. Everyone was saying that they might tattoo right over the design but the proof of that is in the ink. Afterwards we all cooked dinner, talked sex and politics as the sunset. Sigh!
compound 1141 pilots jubilee 5611 hong kong as they take the settle route at carlisle with a glasgow-leeds train probably just post war
This is the opposite corner of the block. The layout lines go all the way around.
I made several of these blocks before I got the angles dialed in right.
Cremation is the combustion, vaporization and oxidation of dead bodies to basic chemical compounds, such as gases, ashes and mineral fragments retaining the appearance of dry bone. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite that is an alternative to the interment of an intact dead body in a coffin or casket. Cremated remains, which do not constitute a health risk, may be buried or interred in memorial sites or cemeteries, or they may be retained by relatives and dispersed in various ways. Cremation is not an alternative to a funeral, but rather an alternative to burial or other forms of disposal.
In many countries, cremation is usually done in a crematorium. Some countries, such as India and Nepal, prefer different methods, such as open-air cremation.
HISTORY
ANCIENT
Cremation dates from at least 20,000 years ago in the archaeological record, with the Mungo Lady, the remains of a partly cremated body found at Lake Mungo, Australia.
Alternative death rituals emphasizing one method of disposal of a body - inhumation (burial), cremation, or exposure - have gone through periods of preference throughout history.
In the Middle East and Europe, both burial and cremation are evident in the archaeological record in the Neolithic era. Cultural groups had their own preferences and prohibitions. The ancient Egyptians developed an intricate transmigration of soul theology, which prohibited cremation, and this was adopted widely among other Semitic peoples. The Babylonians, according to Herodotus, embalmed their dead. Early Persians practiced cremation, but this became prohibited during the Zoroastrian Period. Phoenicians practiced both cremation and burial. From the Cycladic civilisation in 3000 BC until the Sub-Mycenaean era in 1200–1100 BC, Greeks practiced inhumation. Cremation appeared around the 12th century BC, constituting a new practice of burial, probably influenced by Anatolia. Until the Christian era, when inhumation again became the only burial practice, both combustion and inhumation had been practiced, depending on the era and location. Romans practiced both, with cremation generally associated with military honors.
In Europe, there are traces of cremation dating to the Early Bronze Age (c. 2000 BC) in the Pannonian Plain and along the middle Danube. The custom becomes dominant throughout Bronze Age Europe with the Urnfield culture (from c. 1300 BC). In the Iron Age, inhumation again becomes more common, but cremation persisted in the Villanovan culture and elsewhere. Homer's account of Patroclus' burial describes cremation with subsequent burial in a tumulus, similar to Urnfield burials, and qualifying as the earliest description of cremation rites. This may be an anachronism, as during Mycenaean times burial was generally preferred, and Homer may have been reflecting the more common use of cremation at the time the Iliad was written, centuries later.
Criticism of burial rites is a common form of aspersion by competing religions and cultures, including the association of cremation with fire sacrifice or human sacrifice.
Hinduism and Jainism are notable for not only allowing but prescribing cremation. Cremation in India is first attested in the Cemetery H culture (from c. 1900 BC), considered the formative stage of Vedic civilization. The Rigveda contains a reference to the emerging practice, in RV 10.15.14, where the forefathers "both cremated (agnidagdhá-) and uncremated (ánagnidagdha-)" are invoked.
Cremation remained common, but not universal, in both Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. According to Cicero, in Rome, inhumation was considered the more archaic rite, while the most honoured citizens were most typically cremated - especially upper classes and members of imperial families.
Christianity frowned upon cremation, both influenced by the tenets of Judaism and as an attempt to abolish Graeco-Roman pagan rituals. By the 5th century, the practice of cremation had practically disappeared from Europe.
In early Roman Britain, cremation was usual but diminished by the 4th century. It then reappeared in the 5th and 6th centuries during the migration era, when sacrificed animals were sometimes included with the human bodies on the pyre, and the deceased were dressed in costume and with ornaments for the burning. That custom was also very widespread among the Germanic peoples of the northern continental lands from which the Anglo-Saxon migrants are supposed to have been derived, during the same period. These ashes were usually thereafter deposited in a vessel of clay or bronze in an "urn cemetery". The custom again died out with the Christian conversion of the Anglo-Saxons or Early English during the 7th century, when inhumation became general.
MIDDLE AGES
Throughout parts of Europe, cremation was forbidden by law, and even punishable by death if combined with Heathen rites.[6] Cremation was sometimes used by authorities as part of punishment for heretics, and this did not only include burning at the stake. For example, the body of John Wycliff was exhumed years after his death and cremated, with the ashes thrown in a river, explicitly as a posthumous punishment for his denial of the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.
On the other hand, mass cremations were often performed out of fear of contagious diseases, such as after a battle, pestilence, or famine. Retributory cremation continued into modern times. For example, after World War II, the bodies of the 12 men convicted of crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg Trials were not returned to their families after execution, but were instead cremated, then disposed of at a secret location as a specific part of a legal process intended to deny their use as a location for any sort of memorial. In Japan, however, erection of a memorial building for many executed war criminals, who were also cremated, was allowed for their remains.
HINDUISM AND OTHER INDIAN ORIGN RELIGIONS
Religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism practice cremation. In Buddhism cremation is acceptable but not mandated. The founder, Shakyamuni Buddha was cremated. For Buddhist spiritual masters who are cremated, one of the results of cremation are the formation of Buddhist relics.
A dead adult Hindu is mourned with a cremation, while a dead child is typically buried. The rite of passage is performed in harmony with the Hindu religious view that the microcosm of all living beings is a reflection of a macrocosm of the universe. The soul (Atman, Brahman) is the essence and immortal that is released at the Antyeshti ritual, but both the body and the universe are vehicles and transitory in various schools of Hinduism. They consist of five elements - air, water, fire, earth and space. The last rite of passage returns the body to the five elements and origins. The roots of this belief are found in the Vedas, for example in the hymns of Rigveda in section 10.16, as follows:
Burn him not up, nor quite consume him, Agni: let not his body or his skin be scattered,
O all possessing Fire, when thou hast matured him, then send him on his way unto the Fathers.
When thou hast made him ready, all possessing Fire, then do thou give him over to the Fathers,
When he attains unto the life that waits him, he shall become subject to the will of gods.
The Sun receive thine eye, the Wind thy Prana (life-principle, breathe); go, as thy merit is, to earth or heaven.
Go, if it be thy lot, unto the waters; go, make thine home in plants with all thy members.
— Rigveda 10.16
The final rites, in case of untimely death of a child, is usually not cremation but a burial. This is rooted in Rig Veda's section 10.18, where the hymns mourn the death of the child, praying to deity Mrityu to "neither harm our girls nor our boys", and pleads the earth to cover, protect the deceased child as a soft wool.
SATI
The act of sati refers to a funeral ritual in which a widowed woman committed suicide on the husband's funeral pyre. While a mention of self-immolation by one of several wives of an Indian king is found in a Greek text on India, along with self-immolation by widows in Russia near Volga, tribes of Thracians in southeast Europe, and some tribes of Tonga and Fiji islands, vast majority of ancient texts do not mention this practice. Rare mentions of such cremations in aristocratic circles appear in texts dated to be before the 9th century AD, where the widow of a king had the choice to burn with him or abstain. Ancient texts of Hinduism make no mention of Sati; its early medieval era texts forbid it, while post 10th century medieval era texts partly justify it and criticize the practice. The practice of sati, grew after 1000 CE, becoming a particularly significant practice by Hindus in India during the Islamic wars of conquest in South Asia.
This practice was made illegal in 1829 during the British colonial rule of India. After gaining independence from British colonial era, India passed a series of additional laws. The Indian Sati Prevention Act from 1988 further criminalised any type of aiding, abetting, and glorifying of sati. In modern India, the last known case of Sati was in 1987, by Roop Kanwar in Rajasthan. Her action was found to be a suicide, and it led to the arrest and prosecution of people for failing to act and prevent her suicide during her husband's cremation.
BALI
Balinese Hindu dead are generally buried inside the container for a period of time, which may exceed one month or more, so that the cremation ceremony (Ngaben) can occur on an auspicious day in the Balinese-Javanese Calendar system ("Saka"). Additionally, if the departed was a court servant, member of the court or minor noble, the cremation can be postponed up to several years to coincide with the cremation of their Prince. Balinese funerals are very expensive and the body may be interred until the family can afford it or until there is a group funeral planned by the village or family when costs will be less. The purpose of burying the corpse is for the decay process to consume the fluids of the corpse, which allows for an easier, more rapid and more complete cremation.
ISLAM
Islam strictly forbids cremation. Islam has specific rites for the treatment of the body after death.
WIKIPEDIA
This is the Hebbal Kempapura's Vinayaka Layout's Holi Bash event in all its glory!
Last week, my residential layout's association had organized a Holi celebration and I was asked to cover it with my camera.
I enjoyed shooting the event as it was quite different than what I usually shoot.
I stood on the compound of the ground where the event was held and I shot with the 55MM to 200MM lens.
This allowed me to get some closeups which would have been impossible with the 50MM prime without getting any colors on it.
By the end of the shoot, my camera was no longer black, it was multicolored, no permanent harm done though.
These are just the highlights of the shoot, if you want to see the full set, go here:
plus.google.com/photos/111525074945618755572/albums/59919...
Not a bad dry fit. The material is cupped a bit which left some spaces but I think it will pull together with sufficient glue clamps.
The sloped sides are going to be a problem on the glue up. I will make some 15 degree cauls to keep the clamps from sliding off, also will use strap clamps.
A Sketchup model of the jig spacer block. Angles for this 15 degree project are 3.8 degrees on the long side, 14.5 degrees on the short edge.
The dimensions shown are approximate due to Sketchup limitations.
Since the stacked Dado set cuts a square bottomed slot, but the edge parallel fingers require a trapezoidal hole, there is a small triangle of material that must be removed from each of the slots by hand.
Here I am knifing the edge of the triangular area.
Finally the jig with spacer is ready for duty. Here one of he blocks is plugged into the lead screw jig carriage, the work piece and a backer board are clamped to the spacer and I am pushing through the dado.
Note the masking tape throat plate. The jig itself provides a throat for the Dado set, the tape just keeps down the sawdust.
Clamping the work piece at the necessary angle is difficult. I used tapered shims to get a straighter purchase for the clamps.
The dado stack has to be tilted to match the side angle. This aligns the slot with the top and bottom surface of the work piece. For this 15 degree side slope project, the angle is 14 1/2 degrees off vertical.
An additional complication is, now that the dado is angled, the slot will be slightly wider than the stack width. Box joints depend on the slot being exactly the same width as the pin, so the pin size has to be increased to match. For this 15 degree project, I added 0.012 shims to the dado stack and increased the pin cycle by 1/16 inch. It came out pretty close.
Here the two halves of the block have been smoothed, and pegs added so they will plug into my box joint jig.
Note the orientation. The block on the left will go against the jig on it's square face. The block on the right plugs into the jig on it's sloping face.
This shows me and Henry Disston dividing the block along the layout line. It's easier than it looks.
For a good example of how to do this see:
www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/video/2800/2810.html
where they slice veneer off a walnut block by hand sawing.