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... In two senses really. Stoke on Trent based PMT's last new double deckers were a batch of 1989 'G' registered Leyland Olympians. Their reign is now drawing to a close, several have been scrapped and one currently has made it into preservation, stood down because of a diff. fault. The remaining handful in First's ownership continue to soldier on, but are almost confined to Cheshire school contracts formerly worked from the recently closed Crewe garage. More recently, they've been transferred to Newcastle garage where they now all clock up about sixty odd dead miles a working day before they earn a penny.
In the above picture, 30029 - G753 XRE is seen heading towards Talke traffic lights on the A34 whilst working the now discontinued X78 service to Sandbach a couple of years ago. It aught not to be beyond the wit of man to use the now dead return journey from Sandbach schools to re-instate some form of link with Newcastle.
On the horizon to the left is Mow Cop, it's folly castle just visible... on the front upper deck seat is a fellow Flickrite, pillar of society in Alsager and defender of the travelling public's cause. I won't mention his name for fear of embarrassing him. lol.
Die Mirower Schlossinsel mit ihrem Gebäudeensemble in Mirow in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern war eine der Nebenresidenzen der Herzöge von Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Das Schloss besteht in seinem Kern noch aus Teilen eines Vorgängerbaus von 1708, der bei dem Brand 1742 partiell zerstört wurde. Der barocke Festsaal stammt noch von 1710. Das heutige Schloss wurde von 1749 bis 1752 im Auftrag Adolf Friedrich III. nach Plänen von Christoph Julius Löwe erbaut. Es handelt sich um einen kleinen, zweigeschossigen Bau mit dem Grundriss eines H mit kurzen, risalitartigen und dreistöckigen Flügeln. Die Fassaden des elfachsigen Schlosses sind nur sparsam geschmückt, sowohl der mittlere Hof- wie auch der gartenseitige Risalit sind mit einem einfachen Giebel bekrönt. Das Raumgefüge lehnte sich an die französischen Landschlösser des 18. Jahrhunderts an. Die ehemals wertvolle Einrichtung soll unter anderem von bereits in Sanssouci tätig gewesenen Künstlern stammen, hiervon ist allerdings kaum noch ein Werk vorhanden. Nach dem Auszug der herzoglichen Familie stand das Schloss seit dem 18. Jahrhundert immer wieder für längere Zeit leer und wurde nur genutzt, wenn in der nahegelegenen Fürstengruft Beisetzungen stattfanden.
Schloss und Schlossinsel gehören dem Land Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Das Schloss wurde von 2003 bis Pfingsten 2014 umfassend restauriert und ist wieder öffentlich zugänglich
Die Kohlmeise ist einer der häufigsten Gäste in unseren Gärten. Sie ist die größte Meisenart Europas und wirkt deutlich plumper neben der Blaumeise, die ebenfalls häufig im Garten anzutreffenden ist.
expectant ...
Vielfalt orthogonaler Körper und Mensch ... die Geometrie des Verborgenen ...
und noch ein kleines religiöses 2. Adventgedicht
It's now become part of our travelling calendar - we go on a city break for Jayne’s birthday in January - no presents for birthday's and Christmas, we travel instead. This year it was Seville. We had to drive 180 miles south to Stansted to fly there though, Friday afternoon on the A1, such fun... It was a really good drive down in actual fact, the best day for months, glorious blue sky and a fantastic sunset- and I was in a car. We got stung for tea and drinks in the Radison Blu but we were overnighting and leaving the car so we didn't have much choice. Ryanair aagh! Again no choice. To be fair to the abrasive Irish man O Leary things are better than they used to be and it was an acceptable flight.
We were hoping for better weather than we got- don't you always? It was. cold, windy and after some initial beautiful sun on our first afternoon, it was mostly grey. The wind died but so did the sun. The other little problem was that it was my turn for the awful cold that Jayne had been trying to get over. I was under the weather in more ways than one all week, it was only a cold but it was the worst I've had for ages and it didn't help my mood, particularly when the sun was absent. We had a few hours of really nice light here and there and I made the most of it - I think!
Seville has miles and miles of narrow cobbled streets, they seem to go on for ever. They are almost random in layout and it is extremely difficult to find your way around, it's easier to just keep walking and see what you find. So we did! The architecture is stunning and the history is fascinating. Aside from the ancient history the two events that seem to have had a massive recent influence are the Expo's of 1929 and 1992. The incredible buildings or 'Pavilions' that were built for a one off event are now part of the reason that people visit the city. The 1929 pavilions are fantastic, each one is a story in itself and a destination in its own right but there are a lot of them in Parque Maria Luisa. Plaza Espana, built by the hosts of course, is the biggest and I would imagine that you could make a project out of photographing the individual ceramic tile displays around it on their own. These incredible buildings really need the light to be right to get images that people want to see, flat bright light from bright grey skies is good for certain things but dramatic architecture deserves better - or maybe I'm looking for the easy way option. The other discovery that we made, we found just down the road from the hotel, about an hour into the trip – The Metropol Parasol. A giant lattice work parasol, apparently called ‘The Mushrooms’ locally and apparently the world’s largest wooden structure. You have to look twice, having discovered that it is wood. Only later did we discover that we could get to the top and there is an extensive walkway around the top of it. It is built on top of ancient ruins, ( still intact and viewable) a food market and bars etc. and has a plaza around it and on it, that is buzzing on weekend evenings. Walking around the top, the first people up it one day and being back to watch the sunset later was one of the highlights of the trip for me.
The 1992 Expo also covered a massive area but left behind lots of modern - and some very strange - buildings and arenas. Some are of a temporary nature and get dismantled others find a new use. The land used was on an island between two branches of the River Guadalquivir – Isla de la Cartuja. The branch that goes through the city is now a canal, blocked at its northern end by a barrier with a motorway on it, and is used extensively for water sports, mainly rowing. Many of the buildings are now used by private companies as headquarters , others have a very derelict look. The whole area- even though it is home to the theme park- which was shut for the winter, has a neglected air about it. There are weeds growing everywhere but fountains are switched on, which seemed odd. Unlike the city a short distance away, there are no cafes or bars or other people around for that matter, just us meandering through. The car park that was created for the event is massive, it stretches for miles, and I really mean miles. Totally derelict, just the odd person or dog walker around. There is even a railway line terminating here, in the middle of nowhere a modern and apparently unmanned station, like a ghost station. At this point, across the river proper is open countryside, much flatter than I expected and very easy for local walkers and cyclists to get to - also very calm and quiet, a place to linger and enjoy the peace.
As usual I researched and discovered as we walked, we averaged around 13 miles a day and tried to get off the beaten track. We were out around 8.15, before sunrise, and had orange juice, coffee and Tostada with the locals for breakfast. The trouble is that there are many miles of walking in a relatively small area, some streets are only a few feet wide so there are a lot of them to explore. Incredible ancient churches and squares are around every corner- it's a very religious place - Catholicism rules in Spain. Unfortunately many are only a few feet away from the building next to it and it is difficult to get a decent shot of them. Seville is also famous, historically, as a producer of ceramic tiles. A building isn’t complete without a tile display of some sort and it would be very easy to make a project out of tiles alone. It may be a little boring for any companions though!
We walked the length of the embankment a couple of times, it has graffiti from end to end, several miles of massive concrete walls covered in everything imaginable, from marker pen scribbling to works of art. It was suggested to me that allowing people to paint here might prevent them from daubing property and monuments in the city- it hasn't! Most alleyways and shutters have been attacked to a greater or lesser degree. Spain has very high youth unemployment and maybe this plays a role. To be truthful though we haven't seen a city that's free of graffiti. The other problem is dogs- or what they produce, it's everywhere, absolutely everywhere, in a week we saw only one person remove his dogs mess. Fortunately the city streets are cleaned exceptionally well, some of the cleanest we have come across, men (and a lot of women) and machines are washing and sweeping endlessly.
Having had the wettest winter on record at home - almost three months of rain - we didn't want more rain but we got it. The upside was the water and the reflections that it created made photography on the cobbled streets more interesting, particularly at night. I usually find that it takes me a while to get into the groove on a trip and this one was no different, I didn't start shooting with total disregard - street shots- for a couple of days. Whilst the locals wore quilted jackets and scarves we got down to tee shirts at times, the warmer afternoons would be welcome in summer, never mind January, in Huddersfield. I envied the cyclists, being able to train in temperatures like this in winter - I wish! You need a lot less willpower to get out there and train hard in pleasant weather.
From a photography point of view I had a frustrating time, I never felt to get to grips with the place- other than on the streets at night. Writing this on my phone on the flight home, I haven't a clue what I've got to work with when I get back. I usually edit first and write later. Generally I have a first look, I'm disillusioned, I then revisit and see things differently- thankfully! Architectural shots with a grey sky could be destined for the monochrome treatment, we'll soon see. I'm still editing stuff from our London trip before Christmas, it's getting decent views in black and white and I quite enjoy looking at them myself.
We visited most of the notable tourist destinations, and went up anything that we could. Seville doesn't have a high point-it's flat! Nothing really stands head and shoulders above the city. The Cathedral tower is over 300 feet but the Cathedral itself fills a lot of the view on some aspects. Being square and having to look through bars in recesses you don't really get a completely open aspect. A new 600 foot tower is close to being finished, it's an office block and I couldn't find any mention of it being a viewing point in the future.
Oranges were the last thing on my mind when I suggested going to Seville. There are 25000 orange trees in Seville and now is the time that they are laden with big-and sour- Seville oranges, they are everywhere, apparently they are the property of the city authorities and will be harvested and sent to the UK to be made in to marmalade at some point in the near future. These trees will soon be covered in fragrant blossom, the city will smell beautiful for a couple of months. Studying the surrounding area it would be good to tour in March or April I would think, the scents, longer days and better weather would make for a fantastic trip. One for the future. The sunrise on our final morning was the best of the week, this was what we had looked forward to, we had to leave for the airport at 9.00...... Needless to say it was raining hard as we drove the last twenty miles home. Nothing new there then.
As usual I have aimed to present a pretty extensive collection of photographs of our chosen destination, some, at first glance will be pretty mundane shots of everyday life on the streets, often though, close inspection will reveal something humorous, something that needs a bit of thought. Others are definitely just people going about their holiday or work. Travelling with someone else it wouldn’t be fair to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to nail the perfect long exposure or HDR image of a cathedral or similar in perfect light – the one stunning shot to add to the portfolio- it’s not really my thing, I go for an overview of the place in the time available. Looking at the postcards locally it becomes obvious that stunning shots of some of these buildings are hard to come by. Heavily corrected converging verticals were quite obvious – and most likely will be in my own shots. As the owner of tilt and shift lenses I never travel with one – ever! My knees are already creaking from the weight of the bag.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kate Shelley, railroad heroine
Catherine "Kate" Shelley (September 25, 1865 – January 12, 1912) was a midwestern United States railroad heroine, and the first woman in the United States to have a bridge named for her.[citation needed] She was also one of the few women to ever have a train named after her, the Kate Shelley 400.
Catherine Shelley was born in Loughaun, Moneygall, County Offaly, Ireland.[2] Transcriptions of Irish records show her parents, Michael Shelley and Margaret Dwan, married on February 24, 1863. and Catherine was baptized on December 12, 1863.[2] However, United States 1880 census records indicate she may have been born in 1865.[citation needed] Her tombstone says she was born on September 25, 1865 and died January 21, 1912. The family name was originally spelled Shelly, which is how Kate often wrote her name, but the spelling Shelley was later adopted.[3]
Michael Shelley was a tenant farmer in Ireland, living on 3 acres (12,000 m2) and farming another 15.[2] The family emigrated to the United States when Catherine was a baby.[2] They first lived with relatives in Freeport, Illinois, then built a home on 160 acres (0.65 km2) at Honey Creek, near Moingona, Boone County, Iowa.[2] Michael Shelley became foreman of a section crew, building tracks for the Chicago and North Western Railway.[2]
Michael Shelley died in 1878. Margaret was in poor health, and Kate had to help support the family - plowing, planting and harvesting crops, and hunting.[2] The 1880 federal census for Worth County, Iowa showed 35-year old Margaret, 15-year-old Kate, both born in Ireland, and Mary (8), Margaret (6) and John (4), all born in Iowa.[4] Michael and Margaret Shelley had another child, James (also born in Iowa), but he drowned while swimming in the Des Moines River when he was only ten years old.[5]
[edit] The story
1908 map showing the Chicago and Northwestern route through Moingona, the southernmost community on the map. The railroad crossed the Des Moines River between Moingona and Honey Creek. (Red dots on the map are coal mines.)
On the afternoon of July 6, 1881, heavy thunderstorms caused a flash flood of Honey Creek, washing out timbers that supported the railroad trestle. A pusher locomotive sent from Moingona to check track conditions crossed the Des Moines River bridge, but plunged into Honey Creek at about 11 p.m., with a crew of four: Ed Wood, George Olmstead, Adam Agar and Patrick Donahue.[6]
Shelley heard the crash, and knew an eastbound passenger train was due in Moingona about midnight, stopping shortly before heading east over the Des Moines River and then Honey Creek. She found the surviving crew members and shouted that she would get help, then started to cross the damaged span of the Honey Creek bridge followed by the Des Moines River bridge. Although she'd started with a lantern, it had failed, and she crawled the span on hands and knees with only lightning for illumination. Once across, she ran a half-mile to the Moingona depot to sound the alarm, then led a party back to rescue two of the engine crew survivors.[6] Wood, perched in a tree, grasped a rope thrown to him, and came ashore hand-over-hand.[7] Agar couldn't be reached until the flood waters began to recede.[7] Donahue's corpse was eventually found in a corn field a quarter mile downstream from the bridge, and Olmstead, the fireman, was never found. The passenger train was stopped at Ogden, Iowa, with 200 aboard.[2]
[edit] The aftermath
The passengers who had been saved took up a collection for her. The children of Dubuque gave her a medal,[6] and the state of Iowa gave her another one, crafted by Tiffany & Co.,[8] and $200.[6] The C&NW gave her $100, a half barrel of flour, half a load of coal and a life-time pass.[6] The Order of Railway Conductors gave her a gold watch and chain.[6]
News of her bravery spread nationwide; poems and songs were composed honoring her. The railroad built a new steel bridge in 1900, and named it after her.[9] It was the first and, until the Betsy Ross Bridge in Philadelphia was opened in 1976, the only bridge in the United States named for a woman. The bridge was rebuilt by the Union Pacific Railroad from 2006 through 2010. The new structure can accommodate heavy trains, features two tracks and can handle two trains simultaneously at a speed of 70 mph. It was opened on October 1, 2009 as the new Kate Shelley Bridge, one of North America's tallest double-track rail bridges. [2]
Frances E. Willard, a reformer and temperance leader, wrote president Isabella W. Parks of Simpson College at Indianola, Iowa, offering $25 toward an advanced education for Shelley. Mrs. Parks raised additional funds for Kate to attend during the term of 1883–84, but she didn't come back the following term.[6]
She became a teacher in Boone County schools until 1903, when the Chicago & Northwestern named her stationmaster at the new Moingona depot,[10] the original having burned down in 1901.[11]
[edit] Later in life
In 1890, a Chicago newspaper revealed that the Shelley home was mortgaged for $500 at 10% and was near foreclosure. An Armenian rug, woven in the display window of a Chicago furniture store, was auctioned for $500, retiring the mortgage, and other Chicagoans donated an additional $417 before the state of Iowa voted Kate a grant of $5,000.[6]
In July 1896, it was reported that Shelley had applied to the Iowa Legislature for employment in the State House as a menial, because she was destitute and had to support her aged mother and invalid brother.[12]
Although there were apparently men interested in her, including the switchman in the yard at Moingona,[13] Kate Shelley never married, and continued to care for her mother until Margaret died in 1909.[6]
Kate Shelley grew sicker and, in June 1911, doctors at Carroll Hospital removed her appendix. After a month in the hospital, she stayed with her brother John,[11] and was reported a little better by September, but died on January 12, 1912 from Bright's disease (acute nephritis).[14]
Years later, the Chicago and North Western began operating streamlined passenger trains, and named one the Kate Shelley 400. It operated from 1955 to 1971, although the name was officially dropped in 1963.[1]
[edit] Legacy
Original steel on the left; new concrete/steel on the right.
The Boone County Historical Society maintains the Kate Shelley Railroad Museum on the site of the Moingona depot. The Shelley family donated a collection of letters and papers of family members of Kate Shelley, 1860–1911, to Iowa State University. The timetable accents for Metra's Union Pacific/West Line are printed in "Kate Shelley Rose" pink.[15]
The original high steel bridge is currently being replaced with a modern concrete and steel span that will also bear her name.
The Iowa poet and politician, John Brayshaw Kaye, wrote a poem in her honor called, 'Our Kate', in his collection Songs of Lake Geneva (1882).