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GT6 Porsche 944 # 21, Driven by Marty Mehterian in the Porsche Owners Club season opener at Willow Springs International Raceway.
1957 MGA driven by Brian Dolan during Sprint Race #2 for Group 5 on Saturday at the 2015 Jefferson 500.
If you are interested in this, or any of my other photos from this event please visit my website. prints.swankmotorarts.com/f976099101
Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous patience.
— Hyman Rickover
Typefaces: Ziggurat, Bickham Script
We decided to go for a city break rather than sun in Tenerife again this September. Other than a few days in the North East we haven’t been away since last March and wanted a change and hopefully some sun. The problem is getting flights from the north of England to the places we want to go to. We chose Valencia as we could fly from East Midlands – which was still a pain to get to as it involved the most notorious stretch of the M1 at five in the morning. In the end we had a fairly good journey, the new Ryanair business class pre-booked scheme worked quite well and bang on time as usual. It was dull when we landed with storms forecast all week, the sky was bright grey – the kiss of death to the photography I had in mind. I was full of cold and wishing I was at work. It did rain but it was overnight on our first night and didn’t affect us. There has been a drought for eleven months apparently and it rained on our first day there! The forecast storms didn’t materialise in Valencia but they got it elsewhere.
Over the course of a Monday to Sunday week we covered 75 miles on foot and saw most of the best of Valencia – The City of Bell Towers. The Old City covers a pretty large area in a very confusing layout. There was a lot of referring to maps – even compass readings! – a first in a city for us. The problem with photography in Valencia is that most of the famous and attractive building are closely built around, some have poor quality housing built on to them. Most photographs have to be taken from an extreme angle looking up. There are no high points as it is pan flat, there are a small number of buildings where you can pay to go up on to the roof for a better view and we went up them – more than once!
The modern buildings of The City of Arts and Sciences – ( Ciutat de Las Arts I de les Ciencies ) are what the city has more recently become famous for, with tourists arriving by the coachload all day until late at night. They must be photographed millions of times a month. We went during the day and stayed till dark one evening, I gave it my best shot but a first time visit is always a compromise between ambition and realism, time dictates that we have to move on to the next destination. I travelled with a full size tripod – another first – I forgot to take it with me to TCoAaS! so It was time to wind up the ISO, again! Needless to say I never used the tripod.
On a day when rain was forecast but it stayed fine, albeit a bit dull, we went to the Bioparc north west of the city, a zoo by another name. There are many claims made for this place, were you can appear to walk alongside some very large animals, including, elephants, lions, giraffe, rhino, gorillas and many types of monkey to name a few. It is laid out in different geographical regions and there is very little between you and the animals, in some cases there is nothing, you enter the enclosure through a double door arrangement and the monkeys are around you. It gets rave reviews and we stayed for most of the day. The animals it has to be said gave the appearance of extreme boredom and frustration and I felt quite sorry for them.
The course of The River Turia was altered after a major flood in the 50’s. The new river runs west of the city flanked by a motorway. The old river, which is massive, deep and very wide between ancient walls, I can’t imagine how it flooded, has been turned into a park that is five miles long. There is an athletics track, football pitches, cycle paths, restaurants, numerous kids parks, ponds, fountains, loads of bridges, historic and modern. At the western end closest to the sea sits The City of Arts and Sciences – in the river bed. Where it meets the sea there is Valencia’s urban Formula One racetrack finishing in the massive marina built for The Americas Cup. The race track is in use as roadways complete with fully removable street furniture, kerbs, bollards, lights, islands and crossings, everything is just sat on the surface ready to be moved.
We found the beach almost by accident, we were desperate for food after putting in a lot of miles and the afternoon was ticking by. What a beach, 100’s of metres wide and stretching as far as the eye could see with a massive promenade. The hard thing was choosing, out of the dozens of restaurants, all next door to each other, all serving traditional Paella – rabbit and chicken – as well as seafood, we don’t eat seafood and it constituted 90% of the menu in most places. Every restaurant does a fixed price dish of the day, with a few choices, three courses and a drink. Some times this was our only meal besides making the most of the continental breakfast at the hotel. We had a fair few bar stops with the local wine being cheap and pleasant it would have been a shame not to, there would have been a one woman riot – or strike!
On our final day, a Sunday, we were out of bed and down for breakfast at 7.45 as usual, the place was deserted barring a waiter. We walked out of the door at 8.30 – in to the middle of a mass road race with many thousands of runners, one of a series that take place in Valencia – apparently! We struggled to find out the distance, possibly 10km. The finish was just around the corner so off we went with the camera gear, taking photos of random runners and groups. There was a TV crew filming it and some local celebrity (I think) commentating. Next we came across some sort of wandering religious and musical event. Some sort of ritual was played out over the course of Sunday morning in various locations, it involved catholic priests and religious buildings and another film crew. The Catholic tourists and locals were filling the (many) churches for Sunday mass. Amongst all of this we had seen men walking around in Arab style dress – the ones in black looked like the ones from ISIS currently beheading people – all carrying guns. A bit disconcerting. We assumed that there had been some sort of battle enactment. We were wrong, it hadn’t happened yet. A while later, about 11.30 we could hear banging, fireworks? No it was our friends with the guns. We were caught up in total mayhem, around 60 men randomly firing muskets with some sort of blank rounds, the noise, smoke and flames from the muzzles were incredible. We were about to climb the Torres de Serranos which is where, unbeknown to us, the grand, and deafening, finale was going to be. We could feel the blast in our faces on top of the tower. Yet again there was a film camera in attendance. I couldn’t get close ups but I got a good overview and shot my first video with the 5D, my first in 5 years of owning a DLSR with the capability. I usually use my phone ( I used my phone as well). Later in the day there was a bullfight taking place, the ring was almost next to our hotel, in the end we had other things to do and gave it a miss, it was certainly a busy Sunday in the city centre, whether it’s the norm or not I don’t know.
There is a tram system in Valencia but it goes from the port area into the newer part of the city on the north side, it wouldn’t be feasible to serve the historic old city really. A quick internet search told me that there are 55,000 university students in the city, a pretty big number. I think a lot of the campus is on the north side and served by the tram although there is a massive fleet of buses as well. There is a massive, very impressive market building , with 100’s of stalls that would make a photo project on its own, beautiful on the inside and out but very difficult to get decent photos of the exterior other than detail shots owing to the closeness of other buildings and the sheer size of it. Across town, another market has been beautifully renovated and is full of bars and restaurants and a bit of a destination in its own right.
A downside was the all too typical shafting by the taxi drivers who use every trick in the book to side step the official tariffs and rob you. The taxi from the airport had a “broken” meter and on the way home we were driven 22 km instead of the nine that is the actual distance. Some of them seem to view tourists as cash cows to be robbed at all costs. I emailed the Marriot hotel as they ordered the taxi, needless to say no answer from Marriot – they’ve had their money. We didn’t get the rip off treatment in the bars etc. that we experienced in Rome, prices are very fair on most things, certainly considering the city location.
All in all we had a good trip and can highly recommend Valencia.
Wikipedia:
Ignimbrite
An ignimbrite is the deposit of a pyroclastic density current, or pyroclastic flow, a hot suspension of particles and gases that flows rapidly from a volcano, driven by a greater density than the surrounding atmosphere.
Ignimbrites are made of a very poorly sorted mixture of volcanic ash (or tuff when lithified) and pumice lapilli, commonly with scattered lithic fragments. The ash is composed of glass shards and crystal fragments. Ignimbrites may be loose and unconsolidated, or lithified (solidified) rock called lapilli-tuff. Near source, ignimbrites commonly contain thick accumulations of lithic blocks, and distally, many show m-thick accumulations of rounded blocks (or cobbles) of pumice. The New Zealand geologist Patrick Marshall derived the term 'ignimbrite' from ‘fiery rock dust cloud’ (from the Latin igni- (fire) and imbri- (rain)), formed as the result of immense explosions of pyroclastic ash, lapilli and blocks flowing down the sides of volcanoes.
Ignimbrites may be white, grey, pink, beige, brown or black depending on their composition and density. Many pale ignimbrites are dacitic or rhyolitic. Darker coloured ones may be densely welded vitrophyre (i.e. glassy) or, less commonly, mafic in composition.
Acura TSX on Work Meisters on display at Driven 2011, Winnipeg Convention Centre. Firelizard photograph.
Stoddard-Dayton was a high quality car manufactured by Dayton Motor Car Company in Dayton, Ohio, USA, between 1905 and 1913. John W. Stoddard and his son Charles G. Stoddard were the principals in the company.
In 1904, John Stoddard decided to exit the agricultural implement business from which he had earned his fortune and instead to manufacture high quality automobiles for the emerging market in the United States. He sent his son Charles to Europe to tour continental automobile manufacturers. Charles returned convinced that electricity and steam were outmoded forms of propulsion. The earliest cars used Rutenber engines ("Let your steed be worthy of your chariot") and had 4605 cc engines. Six-cylinder engines appeared in 1907. The final range consisted of three four-cylinder models and a Knight sleeve valve six.
The company adopted a strategy of building the highest quality motor cars with powerful engines. Henry J. Edwards (b. ca 1872 England–) was the auto designer and Chief Engineer of the company. Low-end models were dressed in 15 to 18 coats of paint, each coat hand sanded and rubbed out. The limousine model had 27 or 28 coats of paint, similarly applied. After assembly, each car was driven on public roads for 150 miles (240 km) to 400 miles (640 km), then the engine was disassembled, the cylinders re-honed, valves touched up, and then reassembled and road tested again.
Cars began to be delivered in late 1905, sold as 1906 models. Stoddard established a reputation as winning race cars in sprint races, hill climbs and dirt track races all over the Midwest. Because these cars were all stock models, Dayton Motor Car lost no time in letting the motoring public know. In 1909, a two-seater Stoddard-Dayton won the first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, averaging 57.3 miles per hour (92.2 km/h). The first pace car ever was a Stoddard-Dayton driven by Carl G. Fisher to start the Indianapolis 500 in 1911.
In 1906 there were three models:
Runabout, $1,250, equipped with 15 horsepower (11 kW) "T"-head engine
Touring car, $2,250
Limousine, $3,200, equipped with 35 horsepower (26 kW) engine (and 28 coats of paint)
1952 Jaguar MkVII driven by Rowan Atkinson during the St. Mary's Trophy Race #1 on Saturday at the 2012 Goodwood Revival.
It's difficult to read this much text while driving... especially at 60 MPH and trying to hold the camera steady! Garmin FAIL!
Wind driven rain and sea. I just love a bit of a gale. I tried down the pier a bit but it was SO wet! Makes for dire photography but just had to do something.
St.Francis of Assisi.
The church of the Holy Innocents at High Beach, Epping Forest, is a delightful building of entirely 19th century origin which I have driven past many times and have occasionally photographed on the outside. However I was lucky enough to spot the church doors were open one Saturday while out with 'MCE' and we met the ladies of the church who were tidying up after an event. They kindly showed us around inside and are clearly very proud of their building.
www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/sets/72157594558470717/ to see the full set including earlier pictures taken last year.
The church history is somewhat complicated but the shorthand version is that the present building was built in 1873 by local man Thomas Baring [of Baring Brothers' Bank] who was a parish warden at the old church and who offered to build the new church at his own expense provided he could have the final say in the design.
The architect was Arthur Blomfield [later Sir Arthur] who chose the Early English style. Poet John Betjeman later said Blomfield could: "turn out an impressive church in almost any style". The design consists of an apsidal chancel, transepts, a nave and a north west tower. It cost £5,500 to build.
Curiously the parish, which had first started at the St.Paul's site elsewhere in 1836, appeared to exist somewhat outside the church hierachy. Although opened without ceremony on June 22, 1873, the new church was only licenced for Sunday services and baptisms with all weddings still being performed at St.Paul's.
Indeed the new church was not actually consecrated until 11 years later, in 1883, and only after a petition for consecration to the Bishop. Two days after the consecration the vicar applied to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for the church to be made a parish church only to find that he first needed the permission of the vicar of nearby Waltham Cross.
The original parish area had been taken out of Waltham Cross's orbit in 1836 but no signed waiver existed from Waltham Cross over the parish fees. All this came as a surprise to the vicar of Waltham Cross as he had exercised no claim over the fees and didn't even know he was entitled to them. However he was a good sport and willingly signed a waiver on all fees paving the way to parish church status.
The earlier St.Paul's church was finally demolished in 1885 following vandalism by day trippers who now flocked to Epping Forest from the East End of London and because the earlier church was poorly sited and needed repairs. The old site is near Lippitts Hill but contains no traces of the 1836 building.
Today Holy Innocents has a tower and spire 125 feet high and the tower contains thirteen hemispherical bells cast in 1873 at Whitechapel Foundry. These are not controlled by traditional bell ropes but by a carillon, a framework of wooden handles which control hammers in the belfrey. Mrs Jane Begley demonstrated these to MCE and myself. She explained the sheet music uses a simple numbered notation and - after a little prodding by myself - MCE had a go and was soon broadcasting "All Things Bright and Beautiful" over a three or four mile radius of Epping Forest which made for an interesting afternoon. My thanks to Mrs Begley for her patience and enthusiasm.
There is some controversy over the spelling of 'High Beech' or 'High Beach' and Mrs Begley pointed out that the carpet in the chancel hedges its bets by including both spellings [see photos].
The Church of the Holy Innocents features in the Loughton Festival on Sunday April 1, 2007, details and tickets from the Loughton Festival Office on 0208 508 2512. Events at the church include a talk about Alfred Lord Tennyson and readings from the work of journalist and author Arthur Morrison who is buried here at High Beach. See also: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Morrison
1962 Morgan 4/4 driven by Greg Miller during the afternoon Sprint Race for Group 5 on Saturday at the 2014 Jefferson 500
If you are interested in this, or any of my other photos from this event please visit my website. prints.swankmotorarts.com/f968605205
This car is one of a mere three cars known to survive to be fitted with the original , Testa Fissa , engine .
Its sports the legendary double overhead camschaft with a supercharger driven via a speed manual gearbox.
Alfa Romeo introduced its Jano-designed, 1752-cubic centimetre six-cylinder cars in 1929. Adept on both road and racing circuits, their dual overhead-cam powerplant proved reliable and powerful, developing remarkable output from their relatively small displacement. Further benefitting from excellent handling, the car, in top factory racing engine trim, could comfortably exceed 100 mph.
Three ‘standard’ 6C 1750 models were available, starting from the single overhead-cam Turismo with a 122-inch wheelbase and a maximum speed of about 70 mph. Next, the twin overhead-cam Gran Turismo offered a choice of 108- or 114-inch wheelbases and a top speed of about 80 mph. The pinnacle was the Gran Sport or Super Sport, which produced 85 horsepower and was capable of top speeds approaching 95 mph. Regardless of the version, the 6C remains today one of the most compelling and desirable of all Alfas produced. All told, Alfa Romeo built a total of 2,579 1750s through 1933. Of those, very few were supercharged “GS” examples. There was a fourth ultimate specification version, the so-called ‘Testa Fissa’, which was produced mainly for racing and is of the type offered here. The Testa Fissa was created with the manufacture of the cylinder head and block cast in one piece to avoid the head-sealing problems created by the high pressures, special fuels, and overall high stress placed on racing Alfas; this engineering development resulted in a higher output of approximately 102 horsepower.
Just three months after its introduction, a 1750 driven by Giuseppe Campari and Giulio Ramponi would win the 1929 Mille Miglia. Later that year, Marinoni and Benoist won the Belgian 24 Hour Race at Spa. Alfa would take the Targa Florio, too, and one year later, the company won its second Mille Miglia, in addition to a host of other events. In short, Alfa Romeo began the 1930s as it ended the 1920s—utterly dominating Italy’s sports car and competition scene.
I was driven by this restaurant door in Sayville Long Island, on July 4, 2009, after an early dinner on the water. The open door mural painted on the fully closed door of the restaurant is cutely creative. But it is also a great reminder for tough stages in life, when one can feel enslaved by circumstances but knowing that Independence Day is here and now, right in front of us.
© 2009 IMRAN
DSC_2875
Friday, January 8, 2016 kicked off the 5th Annual Coat Drive held by the Elizabeth Board of Education and the New Jersey State Police. Approximately 520 Elizabeth Public School students were recipients of brand new winter coats once again. This year's success was driven by an awesome collaboration involving: Wakefern, Fajardo Realty Group, Elizabeth Fire and Police, the Union County Sheriff's Office, the National Black State Troopers Coalition-Marshall C. Brown Chapter, the Hispanic Law Enforcement Association of Union County and At Heart's Length.
Each year, the principals of each school submit the names of every student in their respective schools. Students are selected by a raffle, and the coats are purchased with the generous donations of the aforementioned entities and other benevolent patrons. This drive’s success is due in large part to the giving merchants who agreed to participate in this annual event: Old Navy in Holmdel, Menlo Mall and the Jersey Garden Mall, JC Penney, Boscov’s, Macy's and Sears in the Woodbridge Center Mall. Their commitment to the community is laudable, and we are grateful for their generosity.
Also important to the drive’s success were all who so generously gave their time to help in the distribution process. Students who attend Juan Pablo Duarte-José Julián Martí, School #28 and are part of the New Jersey State Police FLEET Mentoring Program enthusiastically assisted with distributing coats to fellow students. Also helping with distribution were two recent graduates of the Elizabeth Public School System, Orlando Diaz (Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy-Class of 2015) and Jennifer Lozano (Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. Health & Public Safety Academy-Class of 2013). Not only did they distribute coats, they purchased a few in the spirit of paying it forward! Diaz, who is now attending Kean University, and Lozano, a United States Marine and graduate of Elizabeth's ROTC Program, both are also recent graduates of the New Jersey State Police Trooper Youth Week Program.
Finally, a special thank you to the following people who have spearheaded this event for the last five years, making it the success it has been: Mr. Rafael Cortes, Mr. Aaron Goldblatt, Mr. Donald Goncalves, Mrs. Mabel Torres, Mrs. Melanie Padilla, Board Commissioner Paul Perreira, Wakefern and Tpr. Reinaldo Cruz, Jr. To everyone else who so kindly gave your time and talent behind the scenes, playing a significant role in this campaign, your efforts are sincerely appreciated! Many hands not only make light work, but they also do amazing things! Thank you and until next year!