Elegant forms of an asymmetric Agave from Anza Borrego.

  

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Extraordinary graces and miracles of St Paul of the Cross

 

In the extensive folio of Church documents pertaining to the life of Paul of the Cross we read countless first hand testimonies bearing witness to extraordinary miracles and graces that occurred throughout the life of the Saint. Among the many graces were numerous testimonies relating events where the Saint cured the blind, the deaf, those paralyzed and countless other sick people, converted numerous hardened sinners, battled openly with the demons, was seen in two places at once, was held aloft and carried great distance by an angel, and was gifted with the ability to read into the hearts of penitents.

 

Most of the extraordinary graces and miracle below are taken from the book “The Life of St Paul of the Cross –Founder of the Congregation of Discalced Clerks of the Holy Cross and Passion of Our Lord” written by Rev. Father Pius a Sprito Santo C.P. in 1867, only 90 years after the death of Saint Paul. Many of the miracles presented rest upon very strong evidence--no less than the sworn depositions of most respectable and unim-peachable witnesses.

 

A child brought back to life

 

At the close of a very successful mission given by the Saint in Orbetello, in September, 1741, a child which was gazing out of a window at the crowd of people who were leaving the church fell down upon the pavement and was killed at once. Medical assistance was called, but sadly he was pronounced dead.

 

In the meantime the Saint was returning to Mount Argentaro, and he was just about to enter a boat when the disconsolate parents of the child ran down to the shore and related to him what had hap-pened. He returned with them, and saw the corpse of the little innocent. He remained some time in silent prayer, then he spread his hands over the body. Breathless silence pervaded the crowd of people who were standing around. In a few seconds, life was restored to the child, and Paul gave him back per-fectly cured to the arms of his weeping parents.

 

Assistance of his guardian Angel

 

Paul once told a confidential friend that several times, when he could not say a single word upon the platform on account of his great infirmities, his guardian angel preached in his stead. Concerning this he remarked: "Oh, how many favours have I not received I and what return do I make for them but ingrati-tude! " It is needless to recount these favours more in detail, although it might be easily done, since names and dates are given in the documents from which we take our account.

 

He was several times in danger of losing his life, and an inspiration or interposition of God saved him. Once when he disembarked to give a mission in Langone, he had to climb up a large rock and upon doing so he slipped, yet without any visible reason, he was held aloft until he regained his footing. Another time, he and a companion sat under a tree to refresh themselves upon a journey. Paul said to the other that they had better go off to another shade, and his counsel was followed rather unwillingly; but scarcely were they seated in the next shade, when the former tree fell to the ground with a tremendous crash. Had the two fathers remained, they would certainly have been killed. Once when he was almost frozen due to the extreme cold, he was borne by an angel and carried a great distance, and set down within a few paces of his Retreat.

 

One day a poor man came to Monte Argentaro and asked a priest whom he met in the church if he could see Father Paul of the Cross. The father told him that unfortunately it was not possible at that moment, as Paul was away at that time. Then the man began to cry, and told him that he had lived in sacrilege for fifty years, and that he should continue so perhaps to the end if Father Paul had not appeared to him three different times, and threatened with an unsheathed sword to slay him if he did not go to confession. He found a confessor, of course, and returned to his home in peace and happiness, When this father met the Saint, shortly after , he said, in the way of a joke, "So, Father, you have taken to a new way of giving missions." "What is that?" asked, the Saint. "Oh, you go about with a sword threatening to kill people if they don't go to confession." He then related the story of the poor man, and he was told by the Saint that it was his guardian angel who took his shape, and preached in his stead, and that that was not the first time.

 

St Paul and the souls in Purgatory

 

Paul had often visions of the suffering souls in Purgatory; they were allowed by God to come to his cell and relate what they had to endure, and to beg him for his prayers. He would then arise at once, go to some chapel, and immediately took to prayer and disciplines to relieve his suffering friends in Christ. He would then be troubled at having gone beyond the bounds which his director set to his austerities; but one day his guardian angel consoled him by taking him in spirit to Purgatory for a few minutes, and let him experience what the holy souls there had to suffer. After this extraordinary grace he offered all the satisfactory acts he could for these poor souls, and tried to get others to do the same.

 

One case is recorded in the acts of his life which gives us an idea of the efficacy of his intercession. There was a priest whom the Saint esteemed very much, and in his holy frindship he advised him to correct some small failings to which he was subject. One night as the Saint had just retired to rest, he heard an extra-ordinary knock at his door. Thinking it was the devil come to torment him, he decided not to answer the door and let him stay outside. When the knock was repeated three times, he perceived that it must be a different visitor, and commanded him to tell who he was, and what brought him there at such an hour. "I am …..," he said,-Paul saw his soul by an interior vision,-" who has died this very night and I have come to tell you that I have been condemned to Purgatory on account of those faults which you lectured me. Oh, how I do suffer! it seems a thousand years since I passed from my earthly existence."

 

Paul looked at a watch, and found that he had been dead, according to his own account, for just a quarter of an hour.

 

The servant of God began his prayers and peni-tential exercises, and did not cease offering all sorts of indulgences and mortifications for the soul of his departed friend until near daybreak. As is usual in such cases, he received no clear intimation of his suffrages being accepted. At length, he exclaimed, "Oh, dear Lord, through the love Thou bearest my soul, I beseech Thee liberate my friend from his prison."

 

He was then given to understand that before midday the next day that the grace would be granted. At the break of the next day he said Mass for his repose, and just as he had consumed the sacred species he saw the soul of the priest go joyfully to heaven.

 

His preaching miraculously heard at a distance

 

When the Saint was giving a mission in the Isle of Elba, a man, who had need of a mission very much, happened to be coming into the town on some busi-ness or other. About a mile from the town he heard a voice denouncing sin, and displaying the dreadful punishment which awaits the sinner in the next life. He could not let the surprising words out of his mind, and when he arrived in the town, he found, on inquiry, that the famous missionary had just con-cluded his sermon on sin. He went straightway to tho church and made his peace with God. This remarkable favour was repeated many times.

 

A poor shepherd on the same island who was obliged by a master, or by his poverty, to stay with his sheep when he might wish to go to the mission, heard every word the missionary said in the wood where he used to sit ill the shade to watch his flock and say his rosary. A sick person in Oivita Vecchia heard him from his bed, although the church was the greater part of a mile distant. A doctor in Civita Oastellana contrived to arrange his sick calls that he was able to attend to the mission sermons of Father Paul. On two successive days he was called upon for extra visits, and had to give up, to his great regret, all idea of going to the mission. He stopped on his way to venerate an image of the Madonna which was placed in a niche on the roadside, and while there he heard distinctly every word the Saint was saying.

 

His powers over nature

 

On various occasions he kept the rain away from multitudes who were assembled to hear him in the open air. This happened at Sutri and Santafiora, about the year 1751. The fields and streets were deluged with rain, and so were all who ran away for shelter, while not a drop fell upon the Saint or those who had faith enough in his promise to stay and hear the sermon through.

 

He once had to go across an arm of the sea to give a mission, and there was no vessel but a rotten old wooden boat, which had been a long time out of use. He asked a few sailors to row him and his companions across in it; with good reason they refused at first, but when they were told by a companion who it was who asked them, they took courage and manned the boat. Knowing of his holy reputation, they believed that nothing could happen to them while in the company of the Saint. Their faith was rewarded and to their great surprise and edification the boat carried them all across safely.

 

Another time the Saint and his brother were given poison in their food by some wicked men whose con-duct they denounced from the platform. That Lord who said of His chosen servants, "If they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them," protected them; for in a few minutes after their meal they cast up the poisoned food, and went on with their work as if nothing had happened.

 

When the Saint was giving a mission in Monte Romano, he wanted to send a very important letter to Sutri, and engaged a person named Mattia Maire, to be the bearer of the letter. Mattia heard that a river which crossed his road was swollen by the heavy rains, and feared that he would be unable to fulfill his engagement. In reply, the Saint said, "Go, I promise you the Divine protection -yes, I promise it to you; and even if the water should reach the tops of the trees, never mind, pass over and don't fear."

 

Full of confidence Mattia set off, and his conduct gives us a beautiful evidence of the conception in which Father Paul was held by the people. Who would obey a Priest missioner and venture his life if he did not believe that the elements themselves were obedient to him? When he came to the river, he found a number of carriers detained. on the bank, who, of course, tried to dissuade him from pro-ceeding. With confidence in Paul’s assurance, Mattia drove the horse into the river, and without his knowing how, the animal galloped over the waters, so that the men on the shore saw his shoes. Astonished, they later reasoned among themselves that it must have been the devil, and were happy on their narrow escape from some worse fate than that of being weather-bound on the shore.

 

In the September of 1750 he gave a mission in Canepina; and the people, who lived chiefly on the sale of chest-nuts, came to the Saint with downcast looks, as they expected a year of famine from the withered appear ance of chestnut-trees and the drought, which had parched up whatever kernels had made their appear-ance on the branches. The Saint compassionated them, and, after praying fervently said from the platform, "Fear not, my dear people, recommend yourselves to God and trust in Him, for I hope the harvest of chestnuts will be abundant this year." After the mission copious rains fell, the trees flourished, and the prediction was more than verified.

 

In Arlena, near Montefiascone, a poor woman was very deaf, and wished to hear the mission sermons. She followed the Saint one night, applied his habit to her ear, and recovered her hearing perfectly. Another time, in Sutri, sometime about 1755, he cured a virulent cancer by making the sign of the cross upon it with the oil of the lamp before the Blessed Sacrament.

 

In a year of great scarcity of corn, shortly after 1750, the Saint was in Civita-Castellana. A charitable lady, who every year supported many poor people, told him that she would be forced to omit her charity this year, because their granary was almost empty. Paul said to her, "Give the usual alms, and even more, and God will multiply your store."

 

She obeyed him strictly. They had just thirty quarts of grain at the time of his visit. Following his direction, the began to give out even larger alms than usual, and to their great surprise the supply in the grainery never lessened. At the end of several months they found that they had exactly the same quantity of grain which they had in the beginning.

 

Miracles after his death

 

Upon the very day of the Saint's death, he appeared to a child, who was called Paula, in re-membrance of his having cured her mother, whilst in pregnancy, of a dangerous illness. The child was in the last stage of measles, and her eyes were closed. She never saw the holy man in life. and her de-scription of him corresponded exactly to his appear-ance. She said he came and cured her, and she remained cured for the years thereafter.

 

While his body lay in the church, a girl came from the other end of the city in hopes that she would be cured of a painful and vir-ulent ulcer in the cheek by his intercession,. With difficulty did she get through the crowd, but as soon as she kissed his hand, and touched her cheek with it, she was instantly in the sight of all the people cured by him.

 

Before the end of the month in which he died, a Poor-Clare nun of Civita-Castellana was cured by him.

 

The touch of a bead which the Saint had used cured a child in December of the same year. A picture of the Saint cured a painful illness in 1776. In the December of the same year an application of a simple picture cured an infant which was horribly deformed at its birth. Bits of his habit, handker-chiefs, or other articles used by him, wrought cures everywhere. Cripples, and persons despaired of by doctors, came to pray at his tomb in SS. John and Paul, and went home restored to health.

 

In the Beatification and Canonization processes, the names of all these people, and a great many more, are given, with a full description of the nature and stage of their disease, and of the manner and length of time in which they were cured, therefore we do not consider it necessary to transfer them to our pages. Enough has been said to show that our Lord is still faithful to His promises, and that His chosen servants do sometimes greater things than He has done. Enough has been said to show that the note of sanctity is still visible in the Church of God through the great holiness of her children, and that the spirit which planted Christianity still continues to maintain it. Enough has been said to show the sanctity of Saint Paul; and if many things have been omitted, we have the precedent of the inspired historian of our Lord's life in the Holy Scriptures for the course we have adopted.

 

We shall, therefore, content ourselves with briefly detailing the miracles which were proved in Rome, and passed the congregations for the Beatification and Canonization.

 

Miracles used for the Beatification and Canonisation

 

The first miracle for the Beatification was the cure of a little boy, which was performed in 1816, forty-one years after the death of the Saint. His father was a surgeon, and he and others of the same profession judged the child, who was just seven years of age, to be beyond the reach of medical art. Aneurism, fever, and a complication of other ailments brought him to deaths door; a consultation of physicians ended in the decision that nothing could be done for him .The sorrowing parents looked upon their boy in the last agony, and had to change their sobs into a few broken remarks about the preparation for his funeral. There lay the child, cadaverous, helpless, agonizing, unable to speak, move, or understand. Suddenly the father, caught between despair and hope, recollected himself and through an inspiration of God (one can assume) he recalled that he had a bit of Father Paul's habit in the house. Quickly retrieving it, they gave him a tiny morsel in a drop of water, which, with much difficulty, they managed to introduce between his clenched teeth. In a moment he was well, arose, called for strong food, and was perfectly recovered.

 

The second was the cure of a cancer in the breast of a modest young woman who would rather die than undergo an operation which was judged necessary by her physicians. She wore a piece of the habit of the venerable Father Paul on her breast, and recited for several days, three Our Fathers and Hail Marys to the Blessed Trinity, in thanksgiving for the graces bestowed upon the servant of God, as it was not then quite lawful to invoke his direct intercession-at least publicly. One day, while saying these prayers in the church, she found a thrilling sensation all over her, which made her imagine her end approached. On recovering from her fright she found herself perfectly cured. This extraordinary miracle happened in November, 1844.

 

These miracles, with the other evidences of his sanctity, closed the case for the Beatification.

 

From the numerous prodigies which were wrought through the blessed Paul's intercession since the solemn declaration Beautification in 1853, two were selected for the cause of the Canonization.

 

The first of these was a cure wrought upon a certain Rose d'Alena, similar to the second recorded above, with the slight difference that she was on her way to the surgeon's to submit to the operation when she accidentally turned into one of our churches (Passionist Church -editor), and prayed there before the image of blessed Paul. She decided to have a Mass celebrated in his honour at that very moment, and before the end of the Mass the cure was suddenly and perfectly accomplished. This happened in 1858.

 

The second miracle was the multiplication of corn effected in S. Angelo, near Vetralla, through the Saint's intercession, in 1854. The religious of this Retreat found that their supply of corn would not carry them to the summer, and that a bad harvest made it unlikely that begging could succeed in supplying their needs. The brother asked the Rector if he should continue to give the usual alms to the poor, and was told that he should. The provincial then told them to have recourse to our blessed founder; they said prayers in his honour every day, and some of them before the door of the granary measured the corn, and after having fed thirty-six religious and a multitude of visitors and poor for several months, there was more corn found in the storehouse than had been at the beginning. A multitude of people came to have their devotion gratified by a little of the miraculous grain when the miracle became known. The satisfying of their devotion seemed to increase the heap, and it went on thus until the harvest-time.

 

“Ah, poor Paul, how many years of life have I lived, how many sacraments and how many graces have I received! And how many Masses have I said, and how many missions have I given, and how many confessions have I heard? And yet, how will it fair for me before the tribunal of our God? But, I do not despair; I trust in the merits of the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.” –St Paul of the Cross shortly before his death

   

San Marco in Lamis Gargano Puglia italia© 2015 All rights reserved

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San Marco in Lamis è un comune italiano di 13.928 abitanti della provincia di Foggia, in Puglia.

 

San Marco in Lamis è nota soprattutto per la tradizionale Processione delle "fracchie", una manifestazione religiosa popolare molto suggestiva e assai singolare, che si ripete puntualmente da circa tre secoli ogni venerdì Santo per la rievocazione della Passione di Cristo, e che, ogni anno, richiama un grande afflusso di forestieri. Le fracchie sono delle enormi fiaccole, realizzate con grossi tronchi di albero di quercia o castagno aperti longitudinalmente a forma di cono e riempiti di legna, per essere incendiate all'imbrunire e divenire quindi dei falò ambulanti che illuminano il cammino della Madonna Addolorata lungo le strade del paese alla ricerca del figlio Gesù morto.Sembra che le origini di questo rito risalgano ai primi anni del XVIII secolo, epoca di edificazione della chiesa dell'Addolorata e le sue ragioni, oltre che di ordine religioso e devozionale, vadano collegate anche ad una motivazione di ordine pratico riconducibile alle precise condizioni fisiche dell'abitato. Infatti, quando venne costruita (1717), la chiesa dell'Addolorata si trovava fuori del centro abitato e lì sarebbe rimasta fino all'ultimo ventennio del XIX secolo. Una collocazione questa che sollecitò la fantasia degli abitanti, i quali pensarono di illuminare con le "fracchie" la strada che la Madonna percorreva dalla sua chiesa fino alla Collegiata, dove era custodito il corpo del Cristo. Le “fracchie più grandi possono essere lunghe anche 13-14 metri e pesare anche 60-70 quintali di legno di quercia , castagno o abete .

da wikipedia

 

San Marco in Lamis is a town of 13,928 citizens in the Italian province of Foggia, Puglia, Italy.

 

San Marco in Lamis is a town of 13.928 citizens and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It is located in the Gargano massif area.Apart from some tourism conted to pilgrimages at the local Catholic sanctuary of St. Matthew, the economy is mostly based on agriculture.San Marco in Lamis is known for the traditional procession of "fracchie", a very popular religious manifestation suggestive and very singular, that is repeated regularly from about three centuries each friday Saint for the reenactment of the passion of Christ, and that each year draws a large influx of foreigners. The fracchie are huge torches, made with large trees oak opened longitudinally cone-shaped and filled with wood, to be burned at dusk and become so a itinerant bonfires that illuminate the journey of our Lady of Sorrows along the roads of the country in search of the son Jesus died.It seems that the origins of this rite dates back to the early 18th century, a time of edification of the Church of our Lady of sorrows and his reasons as well as religious and devotional order, should be connected to a practical motivation due to precise physical conditions of the town. In fact, when it was built (1717), the Church of our Lady of Sorrows was out of town and would remain there until the last two decades of the 19th century. A bin that solicited the imagination of the inhabitants, whom they thought to illuminate with the "fracchie" the way that she ran from her church until the collegiate, where he guarded the body of Christ. The"Fracchia" can also get the length of 13-14 meters and weigh 60-70 quintals of wood of oak. From wikipedia

THE ELECT MARTYR, SAINT MARINA

 

I- THE EARLY YEARS: St. Marina evolved in Antioch in Pisidia. This city was in the middle of Asia Minor in Perga on the borders of Pisidia. [Not to be confused with "Great Antioch" on River Aasi, about 15 miles east of the Mediterranean; where the Throne of the Pope of Antioch was.] The city was founded by Silesius Ist. (Nectarius,) one of the army Generals of Alexander the Great. He called it Antioch after his father Antiochus. It was an important commercial center, and the Romans made it their headquarters for all Southern Galatia. Silesius gave residence to a group of Jews there. The book of Acts mentions that St. Paul visited Antioch in Pisidia during his first evangelical journey, and delivered a sermon in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. Many of the Jews believed, but some of them "stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from the region" Paul and Barnabas "..made many disciples"in that city. St. Paul mentioned to his disciple Timothy the "persecutions and afflictions which happened to me at Antioch." Nothing much is left now from that city except some ruins near a city called Yelfetch on the southern slope of the mountainous chain called "Sultan Daghlary" in mid Turkey

   

II-THE FAMILY OF THE SAINT:Diocletian [Valerius Diocletianus,] (245-313) Roman Emperor from 284 to 305. Diocles, on the murder of Numerian, the army proclaimed him Emperor at Chalcedon on 17 Sept. 284. This date was considered the beginning of the Coptic Calendar of the Martyrs because of the extreme cruelty Diocletian (as he now chose to call himself) was famous for in torturing and killing the Christians. He made his place domus divina and his own person sacred. It was in 303 that the Great Persecution broke out. He issued several edicts to demolish churches, burn Christian books and torture and kill all who refuse to worship him or his idols. On the other hand, he built many temples for his gods and assigned priests and high priests to serve them.The chief of those high priests was called Dasius. He was the father of an only daughter named Marina. Dasius was extremely busy with his devotion to his offerings, incense and rites. When Marina reached her fifth year, her mother died. Her father could not find time to care for his daughter. He put her to the care of a Christian governess

 

III-THE SAINT IN THE HOUSE OF HER NURSEMAID: This nanny was living in a small town, about 15 miles from Antioch Pisidia. Marina lived with her new nanny away from her father’s idols and gods and his blasphemous practices. This nursemaid enjoyed a great deal of piety, righteousness and love of Christ. She was fond of reading the biographies of the martyrs and saints as well as the sayings of the holy fathers of the church.In this beautiful, holy, spiritual atmosphere lived little Marina enjoying the blessings of this saint. There, in her nanny’s house she heard nothing but prayers and religious enchanting; and she saw nothing but meekness, faith and hope. Her nursemaid could teach her true faith, not only by words but mostly by the good example and the tender regard. Little Marina felt joy and comfort with her nanny. She forgot the instability and the conjure which were in her parents’ house, and she loved her nanny with all her heart. She was brought up in the best of manners. She learned courage, purity and truthfulness. Marina lived with this saint for ten years until she was fifteen. Her father died, but St. Marina preferred to stay with her governess. Also, the nanny considered Marina’s stay with her a blessing from the Lord.

   

IV-THE SPIRITUAL FIGHT OF THE HOLY SAINT :St. Marina heard from her nanny a great deal about the holy martyrs; about their steadfast faith, and their extreme courage when facing the ferocious rulers and the mad emperors. She was told about how those heroes did not hesitate to declare their faith when the rulers threatened to torture them and to throw them to the hungry beasts. She knew how the martyrs were actually racing each other to gain their martyrdom because of their love to Christ the Lord.One day she started praying " You know, our compassionate Lord, how weak the human nature is. I ask You to give me strength to be able to conquer Your opponents and to praise you for ever. Amen."One day, a new ruler came to Antioch Pisidia from Asia. His name was Alupharnus. He was assigned to capture all Christians and torture them in the most ferocious way. While the evil ruler was in his carriage with his soldiers looking for the Christians, he saw St. Marina with her nanny, going out from their house. The ruler saw them. He was dazzled by her beauty and decided to marry her, whatever it would cost him. He sent his soldiers to bring her to him. When they tried to do so, Marina started praying; "Have mercy on me, O my Savior. Do not destroy my soul in the hands of the blasphemers, nor my life by the blood-shedders. Do not forsake me lest the sinners should destroy my soul and defile my ears and my mind. Send Your grace to me from up high to give me strength, and to keep me steadfast in my faith without fear, and to be able to answer that blasphemer according to his demand. I see my poor soul like a lamb among wolves, or like a bird confronting the hunters, or a fish in the net of fishermen. Come to me, Lord Jesus Christ, and save me from their hands. Glory and praise be to You for ever, Amen." The soldiers returned to the ruler and told him that they could not bring her to him (to marry her) because she was a Christian. The ruler was deeply disturbed by the news.

   

V-CONFRONTING OF THE RULER: The ruler was very angry. The devil moved him to frighten this young girl with threats of torture and death. He ordered his soldiers to bring ‘the slave’ to him by force. When they did he said to her, "From which race are you?" She answered, "I am a Christian, and I am not a slave." He asked, "So, which tribe are you from? What is your name?" She replied, "I am from the tribe of Jesus Christ. My name is Marina." The ruler asked, "Which god do you worship?"Marina said, "I worship God who created heaven and earth and all creation."He asked, "Then you worship Jesus the Nazarene from Galilee whom the Jews had crucified.""Yes, I do," she replied, "though I am not worthy that He may help my weak soul with His grace, and save me from your blasphemy."The ruler ordered his soldiers to keep her in his custody until they entered the city. When they did, he entered the temple of his gods to offer sacrifices unto them. He, then, called Saint Marina and when she arrived, he said to her, "Let it be known to you, Marina, that I pity your youth and your beauty. I advice you to change your mind and obey my orders to worship my gods and offer them sacrifices. If you do I will surely reward you with great rewards, and you will gain privileges over your peers."The saint answered him, "I will never deviate from worshipping my living God. I will offer my sacrifice of gratitude only to the great Creator, the Savior of all mankind. "The ruler, then, said to her, "This persistence will only cause you great torment. Your members will be cut with iron and burned with fire. You will suffer my great rage, and nothing can save you from my hand except by being submissive and obedient to me. Get rid of your stubbornness and worship my gods. This way you will find rest, and you will save your beauty. I will, then, give you abundantly the most expensive presents, and will raise you to the highest ranks. You will be my wife, and will become a princess!" The great saint answered him, "You blasphemer, who has a cruel heart, do you think that you can scare me with your threats ? I do believe that my merciful God will strengthen me, and will send me help from His holy place. I know that you have authority only over my body, but you have no authority over my spirit. My God says in His holy Gospel, "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him." As for me, I am quite ready to receive your torture, thus I will be worthy to join the wise virgins in their comfort. They became worthy to gain the real Groom, Jesus Christ, and to go with Him to heavenly joy. My Lord Jesus Christ, whom I worship, died for our salvation; and I am not worthy to offer my body as a sacrifice for Him, or to suffer all kinds of torments for His sake."The ruler became furious. He ordered the saint’s hands and feet to be tied with ropes, and to scourge her and beat her with clubs.

   

VI-THE GLORY OF PAIN:As they tortured her, the saint was looking up to heaven, and praying, "To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O My God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed. Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O Lord. Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation. On You I wait all day. Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, for they have been from of old." For I withstand these pains because I confess Your holy name. Send Your mercy and compassion to me so my grief will become joy."As the saint was enchanting and praising the Lord, the soldiers were beating her so severely that her flesh was torn and her blood flew profusely. The Archangel Michael, then, appeared to her and said to her,"Great is your faith, Marina. Have more strength, for it is by your good confession that your soul will survive, and you will gain the holy baptism."The people who were watching her were crying. Some of them said , "O Marina, your pretty body has been destroyed by this cruel ruler. His intention is to erase your name from the face of the earth. Please, obey his orders, and believe in his gods, so you can be saved from his torture."The great among the martyrs then answered, "God has already helped me and sent the venerable Archangel Michael to me to take away my pains and to heal my wounds. He gave me strength, and opened my eyes and I could see the wonders of the Lord who made me able to expose and shame that blasphemer. Now, what do you want from me, O weak in faith? Because, if my flesh is to be destroyed, my spirit will be renewed and will be with the wise virgins. As for you, please listen and believe in the Lord for He listens to all who pray to Him. But I will never bow to mute and blind gods, which were carved by men." Then Marina looked at the ruler and said,"Whatever you want to do according to the instructions of your father, Satan, do it as fast as you can; because my God has comforted me, and He is my Strength. If you have a power over my body to destroy it, you have none over my spirit. Only my God has the authority over my spirit, and He will save me from your hands, that I can expose you; the rejected blasphemer who is far from the living God, and whose soul is descending to Hades where Satan and his soldiers dwell. The power of God is surely far from you, and the eternal punishment is going to catch you."The ruler, becoming exceedingly furious, ordered his soldiers to comb her flesh with big heated iron forks. The elect saint raised her eyes towards heaven and said,"For dogs have surrounded me; the assembly of the wicked has enclosed me... But You, O Lord, do not be far from me; O my Strength, hasten to help me. Deliver me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth. Help my humility, give me strength and the Spirit of life that You may protect my soul from defilement. With Your help I will be able to face the devil, my enemy, and conquer him, and become a good example for all those who seek Your holy name, which is blessed for ever. Amen."The ruler screamed at her, "I swear by my own life that if you do not bow to the gods, you are going to die in the worst way, and I will cut your members with my sword."The elect martyr answered, "O blasphemer, what life do you have? You should know, you who worship the defiled idols, that if I pity my body, my spirit will not ascend to heaven and will not be crowned with the illuminated wreaths."

   

VII-IN PRISON:The ruler ordered that she would be put in prison. When she entered, she crossed herself and said, "O Most holy, who designs all good matter. All creation tremble from the fear of Your glory. You are the hope of all those who repent, and You set all captives free. You are a father to all orphans, and a judge to all widows. Look at my humility and poverty and save me. Do not forsake me, my God, for I raised my soul to You and You are my only hope."I, poor Theophimos, used to deliver bread and water to saint Marina from her nanny through a little window in prison. She used to write her prayers, and all what happened to her, and give it to me.While she was praying at night, Archangel Michael appeared to her with a light brighter than that of the sun, and crossed her with the sign of the Holy Cross, and all her wounds and pains disappeared. He said to her, "Have strength, O bride of Christ, the elect saint Marina, for you are going to have all what you asked for. You are going to face your enemy, Satan, fight him and overpower him. You are also going to receive the holy baptism and your spirit is going to rise to the eternal bliss.Marina continued praying until morning, when the ruler called for her.

   

VIII-MORE FEROCIOUS TORTURE:When Marina was brought to the ruler, he was exceedingly amazed when he saw her completely healed from all signs of his torture. He told her that he was sure then that she was a great magician. She said,"I am not a magician, but I am a worshipper of Jesus Christ. Now your defiled helpless idols have been exposed."The ruler was enraged. He ordered to saw her flesh with iron saws, and to cut her skin with knives. When he thought that she was dead, he ordered his soldiers to put her body back in prison until she rots. Archangel Michael appeared to her again, strengthened her, and repeated what he said to her before. He, then, crossed her, cured her and disappeared

   

IX-THE DRAGON:While Marina was praying, a huge fearful dragon came out from one of the prison corners. It was spitting fire from its nostrils, and was whistling in an awesome way. When she saw it, Marina was scared, and prayed, "O invisible God, who tied Satan and untied those who were tied by Satan. Who raises the dead, and breaks the power of the great dragon. Look at me and have mercy on me so I can conquer this bad beast with Your power." The dragon came forward towards her. It opened its mouth and swallowed her. Because Marina’s arms were raised in the form of a cross when she was praying, this caused the dragon’s stomach to rupture when it swallowed her. By the grace of God, Marina came out safely, and the dragon immediately succumbed

   

.X-SATAN:When St. Marina stood again to pray, she noticed the devil coming from the left corner of the prison. He looked like a man, sitting down and crossing his arms around his knees. Marina prayed,"My Lord Jesus Christ, Source of wisdom, King of kings, Eternal Rock. I thank You, my God, for you are a Rock to those who seek refuge in You, and a Guide for those who travel, and a Wreath for the virgins. You are the Savior of the world."When she prayed, she held the devil with her hand. The devil said to her, "Why don’t you listen to the ruler, Marina, and obey his orders?"She found a hammer, and started to beat the devil’s head with it. She stepped on his neck and said to him,"Hold it ! you cursed one, for my God saves me from all sins"When she said that, a bright light came upon her, and the holy Cross appeared to her with a Dove on top of it. The Dove spoke and said to her, "Your are blessed, O holy virgin Marina. A crown of light has been prepared for you, and the doors of Paradise are open, waiting for you."

   

XI-BAPTISM:Next morning, the ruler ordered his soldiers to bring Marina. When they did, he repeated his orders to her to worship his gods. She refused, and the ruler gave his orders to tie her to a pole and burn her. They did. Then he ordered that they tie her hands and legs, and put her in boiling water. When she was in the water, St. Marina looked up to heaven and said, "O God who dwells in heaven, I ask You to untie me, and to make this water a baptism for me. Dress me with the robe of salvation through it. Take away from me the old man and put on me the new man. Make me, with this baptism, worthy to inherit the life eternal, and make my faith steadfast."A great earthquake shook the place, Marina’s ties were loosened, and she immersed herself in the water three times in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. She came out of the water praising God. A voice came from heaven, and all the people who were gathered there heard it. The voice said,"You are blessed, Marina. You were baptized, and became worthy of the crown of virginity."Many of those who witnessed these events declared their faith, became Christians and were baptized. The ruler ordered all of them to be killed. They were beheaded, and gained the wreath of martyrdom.

   

XII-MARTYRDOM: The ruler was then sure that Marina’s presence conformed a real danger for his idols and gods. He had but one choice; to behead her. The soldier who was assigned to that task, took her out of town, and there he told the saint that he also believed in Jesus Christ. He told her that he saw Christ with His angels. St. Marina said to him, "For that reason I ask you to wait a little time so I can pray." He agreed.The elect saint started to pray: "O God, who created heaven and earth, hear me. I ask You, my God, for every sinner who comes to You repenting, erase all his sins. Everyone who comes to my alter praying, give him all what he asks for. Anyone who is presented in a scary court of law, and mentions my name in confidence, grant him victory over his foes. Anyone who builds a church in my name, or writes the story of my martyrdom, give him, my Lord, all what pleases his heart. All sick people who ask You wellness in my name, grant them soon, if You will, good physical and mental health. Everyone who comes to my church, or hears the story of my martyrdom, have compassion on him, O Lord, by forgiving all his sins. Anyone who is afflicted, or who falls in the hands of those who are cruel and unjust to him, and he asks You in my name, give him deliverance and relief. Whomsoever travels in an awful route, whether it be by land or in the sea, help him, O Lord, and return him to his home safely. The believers who commemorate my martyrdom, and those who are present in Your holy alter in remembrance of me, whether they be of the clergy or the laity; remember them, O Lord, in that Day when they stand in front of You. Judge them not, but rather give them comfort with Your saints."When Saint Marina finished her prayer, a great earthquake shook the place, and the Savior appeared to her with his angels. The elect saint was scared and threw herself in contrition in front of Him, but the Savior said, "Fear not , O Marina, I came to you to grant you all what you have asked for. You are blessed because you asked for the sinners who come to Me repenting. I will give you more than what you asked. Archangel Michael will protect any church which will have a part of your body. No evil spirit will be able to approach any place where a part of your body, or a book of your biography is kept. Rather, peace and the Spirit of truth will be in that place.Saint Marina, then, said to the swordsman, "My brother, do now what you are assigned to do." He refused and said, "I cannot possibly kill the blessed worshipper of Christ." She answered, "If you do not fulfill what you were ordered to do, you will have no share with me in the Kingdom of Heaven." Asking God to forgive him, the trembling soldier, then, beheaded her, and immediately killed himself by the same sword. The earth was shaking, and many sick and disabled people who were watching, rushed to her body seeking blessings and wellness, and they obtained them. Many saw the angels enchanting around the martyr Marina’s body saying, "There is none like You among gods, O Lord." Many believed and obtained glory with Saint Marina.As for me, poor Theophimos, I was accompanying the elect Saint Marina from the beginning to the end. I wrote her biography with all honesty. I added nothing nor did I cancel anything from it I was the one who took her body and put it in a casket made of marble, and I put plenty of frankincense and scents with it. I put the marble casket in the city of Antioch in Pisidia. Blessed be everyone who commemorates her martyrdom, on the twenty-third day of the month of Abib. She will be interceding for him on the Judgment Day.May her prayers and intercessions be with us always. Praised be the Lord forever. Amen.SOME OF THE

 

MIRACLES WHICH OCCURRED IN ST. MARINA’S CHURCH AT ANTIOCH, IN PISIDIA, AFTER HER MARTYRDOM.

 

I-EDIFICATION OF THE CHURCH OF THE MARTYR (1) St. Theophimos said, "One day the nursemaid of the elect Saint Marina came to me and said that while she was praying at midnight. a dazzling light shone on her, and an angel, crowned with precious stones, and accompanied by a group of angels, appeared to her and said, "I am the Archangel Michael, who is assigned to serve Saint Marina. I came to instruct you with what you should do: Harry up and take the body of St. Marina from the marble casket, and put it in a hidden tomb, because she is suffering from the continuous honoring of her body."The nanny said that she did not notice any crosses on him or on anyone of his followers. So, she said to that angel that she was aware that the devil can appear in the form of an angel, but without a cross on him. She asked him if he could be a devil. Then, I poor Theophimos, answered her, " I saw the angels of heaven taking the soul of the great St. Marina and ascending to heaven while they were enchanting with joy. The devil surely envies the believers who are cured every day when they visit her body and gain her blessing."Suddenly, the blessed martyr Marina, came to us in a white robe with golden crosses over it. She greeted us and said to her nanny, "Blessed be the Lord who fulfilled to me all what I asked Him. He promised me that my spirit would be in the Paradise, while my body will be all over the world. That way the Lord would protect all those who touch a part of my body. You should know that the one who appeared to you in the form of an illustrious angel was my enemy, the devil. Cast him away with the sign of the cross. The Archangel Michael will give those who pray to God in any place where a part of my body is kept, all what they ask for. This year all idol worshipping will cease. I ask you to build a church in my name, in the place where the marble casket is kept.

 

(2) I, the miserable Theophimos, spoke with the saint’s nanny about building the church which the elect martyr desired to have. She answered that she was, in fact, joyous and eager to see the church erected, but she was afraid that they might not have the money or the ability to finish the project. I answered her that we were going to ask for help from God and His believers, and He would, surely, soften their hearts to build the church through the intercessions of the great Saint Marina. While we were talking, Saint Marina appeared to us in her splendid white robe, with golden crosses all over it, and she greeted us, then, she said to her nanny, "Didn’t I say to you that the Lord Christ had promised to grant me all what I asked Him? Why, then, did you doubt Him? Rise, nanny, with Theophimos and start working. The Lord will help you, and the church’s building will be completed." She, then, disappeared in great glory.In the morning, a group of masons came to us and told us that they had a dream. In their dream, behold, there was a glorious queen who ordered them to come to a person named Theophimos for the purpose of digging the foundation of a church. She promised them that she would pay their wages. She even showed them, in the dream, the place where the church would be erected. She marked, herself, the boundaries of the foundation with chalk, and showed them a marble casket which should be included in that building. When they asked about her name, she answered, "Marina."I called the nanny and told her about the masons. We all, then, went together to the casket and found that the place was, indeed, marked with chalk. The masons were amazed, and shouted glorifying the God of Saint Marina. They immediately started digging the foundation.At the sixth hour (twelve noon,) some merchants arrived and told us that they had traveled from their land loaded with a lot of merchandise and money. When they approached Antioch, they were attacked by highway robbers who plundered them of all what they had. They remained all day chagrined and hungry, and in that evening, one of them started reading the biography of Saint Marina. He reached her prayer, before her martyrdom, where she said, "..and whomsoever travels in an awful route, whether it be by land or in the sea, help him, O Lord and return him to his home safely." They then screamed asking for the intercession of the elect Martyr Marina. They vowed to give tithes of whatever they recover from the robbers to Saint Marina. Suddenly a great king appeared to them accompanied by an honorable queen. They had with them the thieves in handcuffs and all the goods and the money which the merchants had lost to the thieves earlier that day. The king and the queen returned their properties to them and instructed them to give what they vowed to the church of St. Marina in Antioch. The queen said to give what they had promised for the church to Theophimos, and with it she gave them fifty ounces of gold to deliver it to him for the same purpose. The merchants asked about their names, and knew that they were Archangel Michael and the elect martyr Saint MarinaNext morning, Ten men came to us with thirty camels with them. On each of the camels there was a huge load of stones. They told us that they arrived from a far land and when they had approached Antioch, they unloaded the camels and set them to pasture on the grass. They also started to have some food. When they finished eating, they fetched the camels, but they did not find them. Moreover, when they tried to go back to their place where they left the stones, they discovered that they were lost. They were greatly disturbed, and thought that they would surely die. They started to pray and ask for the intercession of Saint Marina. To their great surprise, and delight, St. Marina came to their rescue. She asked them to follow her, and she guided them to the place of their load of stones, and they found the camels with it. The saint told them to take the stones to her church in Antioch, and guided them to our place.When the masons finished the construction, the carpenters started to work. At that time, a man came from Antioch and said to us, "My master is a wood merchant. One day, a terrible fire threatened all the wood in his store. He stood up praying to God, and asked for the intercession of St. Marina so she would save his trade and he vowed to donate one quarter of his wood to her church if she did. Immediately, Archangel Michael appeared to him in an illustrious form, holding a golden cross in his hand. He extended his hand with the cross towards the fire and said, ‘The Almighty God who extinguished the fire from around the Three Holy Young men will put off this fire.’ The fire was extinguished, and all the wood was saved." The man added, "And now my master is asking you to send someone to carry the wood that he had vowed to donate to the church."From all these pledges, the building of the church was completed. His Holiness Pope Gregory came to consecrate it with some Metropolitans, Bishops and priests. They saw the great Saint Marina in their midst. The consecration of the church was on the twenty-third day of the month of Hator. May her intercession always be with us. Amen

 

.II-THE HEALING OF THE BLEEDER AND HER LEPER SISTER: There was a very rich Jewish woman in the city of Lystra. She suffered from a chronic severe bleeding. For seven long years, no physician could help her, and she spent a good deal of her money in vain. She became wasted, pale and bed ridden. One day a group of her Christian neighbors visited her, and told her that they were on their way to Antioch in Pisidia to celebrate the feast of the blessed martyr St. Marina in her church. She began asking them about St. Marina, and they briefed her about the intercessions of the saint and the miracles which took place in her church. The Jewish lady asked them if she could accompany them and go to her church seeking her intercession. But they told her that she could not do that until she was baptized and accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. The lady, then, felt a great urge to go to St. Marina’s church and pray there. As if a grace came over her and convinced her that if she did, if she was baptized, believed and prayed to Jesus and asked for St. Marina’s intercession, she would surely gain the cure which she had, for so long, asked for. She immediately called four strong men, who carried her over a stretcher, and brought her to the church, with her Christian neighbors.There, in the church, she asked the priests to baptize her, so she would be able to approach the holy body of St. Marina. She was baptized, had communion and prayed beside the marble casket and spent her night beside it. In the morning, she woke up completely cured. She told the priests that she saw in her dream St. Marina and heard her saying to her, "Now that you are healed, keep the baptism which you have gained holy." She vowed to celebrate the feast of the holy martyr every year. After three days the lady returned home with her Christian neighbors.When her husband and relatives saw that she was completely healed, they were extremely amazed. They inquired from her about what had happened, and she told them all about her baptism, communion and the intercessions of St. Marina. They, then, said to her, "If what you have told us is true, we would like to see the power of the intercession of St. Marina in curing your sister’s leprosy. And if the martyr’s prayers heal your sister, we all are going to seek baptism and become Christians." She told them that she brought some holy oil from the church of St. Marina. They called for a priest who prayed for the sister, anointed her with the oil, and she was cured. They were baptized and became Christians. The family presented three golden oil lamps and expensive curtains and many other valuable gifts to the church. They were also persevering to celebrate the feast of St. Marina every year.May her intercession be with us. Amen.

 

III-THE MARTYR PROTECTS HER CHURCH: When numerous miracles took place in the church of St. Marina, the devil envied everyone who gained from her blessings. He became adamant to conceal her body by some cunning trick.The devil appeared in the form of a great king with many servants and followers, to a Jewish man who lived in Antioch in Pisidia . The devil promised this Jew to make him rich and to give him many presents of gold if he could find a way to steal the body of St. Marina, plus whatever he could take from the vessels and curtains, from her church. The Jew went to a Christian man named John, who was related to one of the Church Board members. The Jew told John about his intention and wanted to make a deal with him to pay him if he would leave the church door open after the Vespers Prayer. John warned the Jew about the consequences of his robbery. He explained to him the power of the miracles St. Marina performs in her church, and what could happen to him if he despised her holy place. The Jewish man did not believe anything he told him. One Saturday evening, John, after the Vespers Prayer, left the church door open. He was saying to himself that he believed that St. Marina was capable to protect her church and give a rough lesson to the Jew.In the thick of the night, the Jew sneaked in the dark and was in his way to the church, when St. Marina appeared to him and asked him about what was he intended to do at that time of the night. He told her that he had challenged a Christian that he could steal Marina’s body from her church and sell it; and if he succeeded, that Christian would convert to Judaism. He added, "I am going to see what miracle can a dead body punish me with !"He entered the church, and looked in the room where the icon of St. Marina was displayed. There were three golden oil- lamps hanging in front of her icon. He stretched his arm to one of the wooden corbels from which the lamp was hanging, but his hand was glued to the wood. He was hanging in the air and started screaming, "O Saint Marina, have mercy on me !" St. Marina appeared to him in a dazzling light and said to him, "You have no way out until the priests would arrive in the morning and see you hanging there." In the morning, all the congregation witnessed that great miracle, and heard the Jew confessing his sin. He became Christian and served in the church of St. Marina for the rest of his life.

  

A view courtesy of tranzpress nz and captured in the months following the official opening of the Foxton Trolleybus Museum system in December 1988 of preserved Wellington City Transport British United Traction RETB1 trolleybus No. 107 of 1964 operating on the system along Main St.

It wasn't to be until August 1989 that I got to check out the Foxton Trolleybus Museum undertaking for the first time.

 

No. 107 ended its days in preservation as a smokers room at the Post Office Hotel next door to the trolleybus museum (it had been leased to the hotel by the museum), and just prior to the passing of Ian Little in 2008, was moved to a property in Bergin Rd. near the Foxton racecourse for storage after new management at the hotel no longer wanted it on the property.

During the time that the Foxton museum was under the stewardship of the late Wayne Little, No. 107 was finally towed away for scrapping on 30/5/2010 in a rundown condition after some years languishing in open storage.

 

PARKED TROLLEYBUS USED TO DEFY PUB SMOKING BAN

NZ Herald, 1 February 2005

Graham Wrigley has parked an old trolleybus leased from the Foxton trolleybus museum next door alongside his pub in an attempt to get round the smoking ban.

Mr Wrigley, who runs the Post Office Hotel in Foxton, says he will not give up on the ploy even if it means going to jail.

"I know they will try to prosecute me eventually," he said. "They can send me to jail if they like. I won't mind. I need the holiday."

But MidCentral Health smoke-free officer Robert Holdaway the bus ploy would not work as a means of getting around anti-smoking legislation which came into force on December 10, 2004.

Dr Holdaway said the Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act requires licensees to "take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that no person smokes at any time in a part of the premises that is not an open area".

He added: "I would certainly not be encouraging other publicans to scour local wreckers' yards for old buses."

However, Mr Wrigley argued that the bus, which he set up alongside an outdoor smoking area, was not "part of the premises".

"In America they set up limos outside the bars and smoke there," he said. "This is the same thing. The bus is mobile and you could probably drive it down the street if you want.

"There are 13 windows and two doors that are wide open. The wind goes howling through there sometimes, so you couldn't get more of an open area than that."

Mr Wrigley said he'd heard of a publican in Wairarapa who had responded to the suggestion that people could smoke in their hotel rooms by setting up a special "Room 12".

 

Wellington 107 businfo details...

www.businfo.nz/index.php?R=15407&OP=2

 

Wellington No. 107 running to Foxton Beach...

www.flickr.com/photos/51227209@N03/6108039797

 

THE FOXTON TROLLEYBUS SYSTEM

17 December 1988 was a red-letter day for the small borough of Foxton, in the Manawatu, where the world's smallest trolleybus system was inaugurated - the first museum trolleybus line running in public streets.

8y 11 am on Saturday 17th, three trolleybuses were lined up outside the Borough Council Chambers at Foxton – No. 77 (ex Dunedin) 107 (ex Wellington) and 48 (ex Wellington), with plenty of British flags hanging from the overhead wires adding to a festive occasion, a very large crowd of several thousand gathered for the opening of a new trolleybus system.

During the opening ceremony there were several speakers, the first a captain from the Salvation Army blessed the new system, followed by speeches by the Chairman of the Local Town Council, the Central Development Agency, Mr. Ian Little J.P. Q.J.M., Mr. Fraser, Mayor of Foxton, and finally Mrs. Annette King, M.P. who cut the ribbon declaring the system open. Dunedin trolleybus No 77 was the first official trolleybus to commence service, conveying invited guests, followed by Wellington trolleybuses Nos. 107 and 48. After the official run the invited guests participated in a luncheon at the Borough Council Chambers.

For the rest of the day the 3 trolleybuses were later joined by Dunedin No.10 giving free rides to all around the new circuit. There was a carnival atmosphere as the whole town came out for the occasion with the shops remaining open for the who l e day in this normally sleepy Manawatu township . A further parade during the day of local floats included the rubber-tyred horse tram, that formerly operated in Dunedin, but is now known as the "Pride of Foxton".

The opening wa s vlell represented by many members of the Wellington Tramway Museum and one THS member.

This trolleybus line was the dream come true for one man particularly Mr. Ian Little, a dedicated trolleybus enthusiast, and a former president of the Wellington Tramway Museum, who over the last few years has acquired a vast stockpile of overhead fittings and equipment and also collected a fleet of former New Zealand trolleybuses. He has virtually single handedly built and financed this Foxton system.

Ian Little had originally planned to build a trolleybus line at Featherston in the Wairarapa, but after experiencing local problems, sought another town finding the people of Foxton welcoming his scheme.

The present system, as built, consists of a trolleybus depot which is a new steel framed, corrugated iron shed which can house up to six trolleybuses. This is built on a rear section along an alleyway off the Main Street. The overhead then runs across the main road almost diagonally to Wharf Street and by use of a trailing point joins the trolleybus circuit. Wharf Street is a sealed road-way and down at the bottom it reaches the Manawatu River where the line turns and snakes its way along Harbour Street, which is rather picturesque. At present this road is not sealed.

This is the first time trolleybuses have operated on unsealed roads since the last section of Travis Road on the North Beach line in Christchurch was sealed in 1933/34. However this will not be for long as Harbour Street is to be sealed during 1989. At the end of Harbour Street the line turns up a nice steep rise as it briefly turns into Union Street and then into Main Street where it runs along the left hand side of this wide road past the Borough Council Chambers back to Wharf Street mixing with traffic in the main street. The whole line is most scenic.

During construction of the system great co-operation was received from the Horowhenua Power Board who arranged the concrete overhead poles which were new ex NZR poles not suitable for the railway electrification project, and in conjunction with Ian Little, these were all erected by the Board. The majority of the system's overhead is hung from side bracket arms of a new design built locally placed neatly in a nice row along Main Street. All the corners are of span wire construction using wooden spacer bars and pull offs identical to the style used quite extensively in Dunedin. 99% of the overhead came from the closed Dunedin system - all Ohio Brass. Only three sweeps have been used on the system. The span wires are all of the modern insulated parafil type now used extensively in Wellington. The new overhead fittings acquired for the ill-fated ARA system have not been used as the hangers were found to be much inferior to the old Ohio brass type. During construction Ian was short of 1 mile of overhead running wire to complete the line. Unfortunately he was not able to purchase any from the Wellington City Corporation, and as the firm formerly manufacturing new overhead in New Plymouth is now closed, he had to fly to Melbourne and purchase 1 mile of tramway wire from the M.T.A.

All the overhead and bracket arms were erected at no cost to the council by Ian Little and a few helpers. The high standard of the overhead construction is a credit to all concerned.

To power the system, a power plant has been built utilising an ex Wellington trolleybus motor connected to a 30 h.p. electric generator which is capable of powering two trolleybuses satisfactorily. Another ex Wellington trolleybus motor connected to a diesel generator has been mounted on a trailer which can be towed behind a trolleybus when away from the wires.

On opening day both generators were connected together and provided enough power to operate four trolleybuses simultaneously. Although at present the world's smallest trolleybus system, it may not. have the smallest fleet, as a considerable number of operable trolleybuses have been acquired, many of the Wellington ones which should never have been withdrawn from service in the capital city.

As only a few trolleys can be housed at the present depot the rest are stored at the NZR depot compound in Main Street. At the present time the fleet consists of 15 trolleybuses:

Trolleybus No. 117 was sold by the WCC and was converted into the 'Trolley Chef' cafe in Thorndon, Wellington, where it was used as a dining room together with another trolley. After the cafe closed it was purchased by Ian Little's son, Wayne, who converted it back into a trolleybus and once again runs under the wires, but although,is still in 'cafe' pink livery. Ian's son also owns another trolley No. 66 at Porirua. Two further trolleybuses ex Wellington Nos. 80 and 85 are stored under cover on a farm at Foxton, eventually to be used on the museum line too.

As well as the trolleybuses the museum has two overhead tower wagons ex Dunedin (one diesel, one petrol) for erecting and maintaining the overhead, as well as a tractor for towing trolleybuses. The trolleybus line is now part of a trust run by the Motor Coach Museum Trolleybus Trust. It will operate regularly on Wednesdays and Sundays and at other times by arrangement. - Tramway Topics, January-February 1989.

 

IAN LITTLE – A RETROSPECT

By Peter Rendall, published in Trolleybus (UK), Volume 47, No. 565, August 2008

Ian Foster Little was born in Dunedin more than seventy years ago, and from an early age exhibited an interest in public transport. I was once told by Hubie Hobbs, an early Otago area operator, that he used to see this little boy standing at Lookout Point obviously watching the buses grind by. He once offered the boy a ride but it was declined - perhaps even then Ian’s bias for electric traction was showing. He did, however, many years in the future acquire one of Hubie’s buses for his collection. In the mid to late 1960s Ian was working for Wellington City Transport as a trolleybus driver, and became closely involved with the group that was setting up the tramway museum in Queen Elizabeth Park.

In not too many years he was chairman of the Board and pushed the development of the tramway along. This also included helping to organise the demolition of the New Plymouth trolleybus system (a saga about which many tales are related after a few ales), and the erection of a relatively short lived circle of trolleybus overhead at the tramway where he could operate the New Plymouth Crossley 1, Auckland Farmers 2 and DCT No 1.

Along the way there was a major dispute between members of the museum, and Ian left to open the Miramar Motor Coach museum. This occupied various sites in Miramar and over time changed into more of a charter operation using older buses. Ian left the WCCT and began Community Transport Services with a fleet of mainly ex Dunedin Leylands. CTS became the local operator linking the new development of Whity (north of Wellington) with its nearest railway station on the suburban service - Plimmerton. After some years the electric traction bug surfaced again and Ian moved to Featherston where a start was made to develop a trolleybus line on the local streets. This was not greeted with universal acclaim, and was actively opposed by a number of locals and the local council, so Ian moved to Foxton.

The rest, as they say, is history. A circuit of trolley overhead round one town block, with a single pair extension ending in a reversing triangle by the local chicken processor, and another single pair off a trailing frog that you reversed down to access the bus shed.

Visitors were always welcomed, and often offered a drive, which in the early days entailed firing up the trusty Leyland diesel which sat on a trailer coupled to a trolleybus traction motor ... which was then used to generate the current to enliven the system. In later days a more conventional rectifier system was used to provide current.

A risk all visitors faced was to be dragged into the local radio station, Radio Foxton, another of Ian’s passions - where he would interview you for the edification and delectation of the listening audience. A character indeed, who leaves a large space to be filled.

 

Ian Foster Little was born in Dunedin, November 2, 1931. From his first marriage he had three sons and two daughters. In 1975 he married Christina Knowler with whom he had two sons and one daughter. Ian died in Hutt Hospital on July 15, 2008, aged 76, after a fall.

   

Gateway Camp Verse

(Pin1) Ging1 Mahn4

Isaiah 62:10

 

What Dale instructed about going out of our way to treat the Mainland Chinese well resonated within me. To be sure, just as the Koreans have gone out of their way to bless me so I must step out to bless and to love my Mainland brethren.

 

After the first meeting, Ed and I wandered off campus and found inside a shopping mall a cha chaan teng where we had a late-night snack. And hardly had we tucked into our meals when in walked several dozen volunteers, all locals, who were overcome, it seemed, by the same munchies that infected Ed and me. It’s surprising how such a primal urge, at such a time, drives everyone to no less than the same, impossibly far location.

 

I thus far have met so many people that, had I not brought along my iPod, I would have already lost track of the multitudinous names flying around like fireflies at night, sparkling luminously one moment and then disappearing the next. And this is only the beginning: more and more people will arrive both today and tomorrow so I had better stay awake, alert, and writing.

 

I am working with a partner who really challenges me, and indeed that is why I chose to work with him. From the first words that came streaming out of his mouth, I knew he would be a special one, and as if to conifrm my conjecture, indeed, the more he spoke, the more confused I became. The challenge, I have realized after much ruminating, isn’t so much the pace of his speech as his choice of words, which fall outside a normal lexical range; that is, at least with me, when he talks, he doesn’t use familiar collocations to communicate; besides, he has an uncanny Tin Shui Wai accent; those, along with his amazing resistance to Chinglish, which impresses me, by the way, have made our communication tedious, since I am bombarded by peculiar lexical constructions that I generally never encounter in Cantonese conversation and must therefore stop our flow to clarify his speech. It’s too bad that he doesn’t speak English as I would love to hear how he structures ideas in my native language to determine whether or not this strange lexis has spilled over into his other modes of communication.

 

Regardless, in being with him, I have learned to be patient, and if I am truly to walk away from resentment, I must continue rather to engage him than to keep him at arm’s length. It helps us, then, that he is a congenial fellow, prone more to expressing love, much in the same way that I do by warmly grabbing a forearm or a shoulder, than to venting his frustration, which with me could certainly be great. He is verily a good guy, and so long as the Lord keeps him — I am sure Daddy will — Tin Shui Wai, that small patch of concrete moon colony, is in capable, faithful human hands.

 

Sau2 muhn6 je2

Mihng6 dihng6

Kyuhn4 lihk6

Lihk6 leuhng6

Chong3 yi3 adjective

Chong3 jouh6 verb

 

Romans 5:3-5

 

Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

 

I cried this morning when I read these words, because they are true, and comfort my soul as water to a dry, parched land. However many times I’ve lamented this place and its people, I am still inextricably tied to this rock, per God’s will for my life; and God really is faithful in providing a way out not from this place but from these spiritual hindrances. These past few days, what with communication failures and fatigue setting in, I could have more easily give into my rationality, in defense of my weaknesses, than resisted this bait of satan. Thank God, hence, for the words which are like fuel for the refiner’s fire that burns up all my expectations, my pride and my flesh. I can survive, nay, rejoice, indeed, because of God, who, in me, day by day teaches me to suffer long with a smile.

 

This is what the gateway is all about, I believe: jumping head-first out of my comfort zone to confront the nations, for my brothers and sisters and I must face each other if we are to raise the banners together. Battling through enemy strongholds of mistrust ad resentment, we demolish carnal thoughts and dig deep in the Spirit for the unity that shall overcome as much language as culture; God, after all, is bigger, even, than the battlefield. In these ways can my brethren and I love each other as ourselves, as we shall be one in the Father, with audacious power and boldness laying hands on His kingdom which advances, in this kairos moment, over all of China, including, no doubt, Hong Kong. No longer will there be curses thrown upon the nations; but rather the river of life will flow through the city, and the leaves of the tree on each side of the river will be for the healing of the nations.

 

1) Welcoming the Father

2) Unifying the body

3) Partnering with the Chinese

4) Serving the city

5) Supporting the Chinese

 

Isaac and I have worked quite hard this morning, putting up signs all over campus, and as if to reward me for my assiduity, he offered to buy me a drink, an offer which I took up. Indeed, this man’s care and concern for others, genuine, doubtlessly, fills me with joy, for, to be sure, the joy of the lord is his strength. My friend is indefatigable, always encouraging and never slighting, no matter the circumstances, rain (that has happened a lot today) or shine. Praise God!

 

Much like my relationship with Isaac, my relationships with my other team members have improved considerably since, even, this morning’s briefing during which, the code-switching, happening too fast and too furiously for my comfort, vexed me so terribly that if Isaac had not put a generous arm around my shoulder immediately afterwards, I surely would have blown my top in frustration at the perplexing language option. Thankfully, my team and I settled our language arrangements: Isaac, Dorcas and I will intractably speak Cantonese to each other whereas my other group mates and I will use English with as little code-switching as possible; and I, along with Ed, no doubt, am satisfied. It’s best to avoid misunderstandings.

 

Lihng4 Mahn4 (soul)

Sihng4 jeung2

Muhng6 Seung2 (dreams)

 

The Lord’s mercies are new everyday. Just now, during the morning rally, by His Spirit, hundreds of brothers and sisters received a new anointing, to be spiritual mothers and fathers of a new generation so as to minister to the next. This outpouring of the Spirit was sudden, and so captivated me that when the call came to reap, I rushed to the front to ask my father for this anointing, and naturally, my life was transformed. In the same way, the pastor called up a new generation of spiritual children to receive the love, care and support of these new parents; and likewise, so many young men and women heeded this call that verily, the pit in front of the stage was soon awash in hugs and tears between generations that, once lost, were now found. Indeed, no sooner did these people embrace their father than Dad immediately swept them up in his strong arms and showered them with audacious encouragement and support. Praise God!

 

An Outburst

 

I was angry this morning during our team time. I temporarily lost my ability to be merciful and to live in God’s grace. When my team leader began to address me in English, yet again, I couldn’t help but berate him for doing so when Cantonese, I argued, would be a more economical medium of delivery. And then I compounded this already incendiary situation by ranting about the hypocrisy of Hong Kong being a gateway to China but not a gateway into its own neighborhoods teeming with Chinese people, 97% of whom, according to one of the pastors at this camp, do not know the Lord Jesus. Cantonese will matter, I posit, if anyone dares to take on the onerous mission in this vexing place.

 

To be sure, even my brother announced that language was a prohibitive barrier to closer relationships with these local people, and therefore, since he neither speaks Cantonese nor is going to give learning the language a go, he is relegated to the outer walls of the gates into Hong Kong.

 

In hindsight, I thought I cared enough about God’s purposes for me in Hong Kong, but I realize now that I still care a lot about myself, and resentment. Though I have prayed and declared boldly that God is bigger than language and culture, I know I don’t believe it; and that’s upsetting. For the time being, I don’t verily believe in my heart that I can have deeper, closer relationships with Chinese people without the benefit of language and culture, patterns of action.

 

OK. This is actually an opportune start for my spiritual parentship, for now I have an opportunity to put aside my very compelling arguments for the necessity of language and culture in deep and close relationships, these conclusions born out of my reason, and to step out in faith, to trust in the Lord who, I pray, will show me deep and close relationships sans language and culture, and with whom my deep and close relationship shall obviously be the key to this victory.

 

I’m thinking about events at this camp that heretofore demonstrated loving relationships without language and culture, and I recalled two acts: the first happened yesterday when I spontaneously joined a line of ushers to high-five and to cheer the audience as they flooded out of the auditorium, the morning rally having scarcely finished; and the second, this was my meeting Yao, a man from the Ivory Coast, whom I befriended in those first, fleeting, if not frantic moments before the opening rally on Friday evening. That encounter was immediate and sudden, neither words nor habits needed; Yao and I simply high-fived, hugged and sat beside each other; and wow, that was terrific companionship — praise God!

 

Finally, however hard my diatribe may have struck my team members’ hearts, my merciful group mates still forgave me, not only on an personal level, but also, as I had sought forgiveness on behalf of all foreigners who have ever cursed locals or stood passively outside the gateway, on a corporate level, thereby releasing countless non-Chinese people into the freedom of these Hong Kong people’s forgiveness; just as brothers and sisters had so recently been reconciled to each other in my church, so local and non-local people have received the others’ freedom of forgiveness; more than a homecoming, that, indeed, is a breakthrough.

 

In listening to this morning’s sermon, I hear such verses as I know God is speaking to me through His word. 2Corinthians 4:16-18, this scripture in particular carries a buoyant, hopeful currency in my heart. My spirit soaks in this divine revelation as a sponge soaks in water and thus becomes malleable, able to be formed and shaped according to its holder’s will: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

 

Disagreeable

 

I don’t know why my brother and I undermine each others’ comments; why we no more know consensus than the deaf music. Our interactions have been especially abrasive recently since we have spent so much time together without the benefit of our other brother to act as a natural, vociferous buffer; and as a result we argue like pieces of sand paper being rubbed against flesh, which inevitably leads to significant soreness. I feel sore now.

 

I think back to my outburst this morning and can appreciate my role in this evening’s embarrassing outcome; I am certainly not without fault, for I choose these days not only to venture my opinions but to do so passionately, if not emotionally. People consequently who otherwise are phlegmatic at best are put in a discomfiting position by my impassioned pleas. Besides, I recall Interrupting my brother prolifically, which understandably would not make him a happy camper; just as a hyperactive child doesn’t know when to stop pestering his sibling, so I don’t know nowadays when to hold my tongue. Indeed, I would rather not respond at all to my brother, even after he has fired off his rejoinder, than to strike him down in mid-speech.

 

In view of this latest incident, I have resolved to take the former course of action. To be sure, I simply stopped our petty dispute about a stupid basketball game by, awkward as it was, taking out my book and perusing it as fixedly as my tattered mind would allow. I will try my best to stay away from my brother for a spell, to create physical and spiritual space between us, so hopefully, in this way at least one of us will be able to come to his senses about this matter; better yet, now would be an opportune time for our father in his mercy to reveal to us the fault lines in our flesh so that we could surrender these tremulous spots in our soul, crucifying them to the father for our healing and the redemption of our relationship. I will pray about this.

 

…Praise God. If I had not separated myself from my brother’s presence, I wouldn’t have been sitting at that bench at the exact moment when Isaac came over to me in a plaintive mood. Obviously upset, he had been so recently wronged, he lamented on the verge of tears. And at that, mercy swept over my countenance, for my brother felt as aggrieved as I did earlier; and this appointment, per God’s unfailing, obstinate love, had at last come for me, convicting me to be very, very agreeable, sympathetic and kind to my fellow long-suffering brother. In this instance, thank God, language did not matter so much as empathy, carrying each others’ burdens and thus fulfilling the rule of Christ. We prayed and blessed each other in Jesus’ name, and then boldly went forward into the rally.

 

I suspect the enemy has infiltrated our team what with my outbursts and Isaac’s failing out as evidence. My group mates and I must be more vigilant in prayer and in digging deep into the Father’s word if we are to overcome the spies in our camp that have planted incendiary devices in our mouths and in our hearts. We certainly need such encouragement as the Lord provides for the edification and encouragement of each other, even more so, in fact, in the face of adversity, despite our fatigue and other physical ills that befall us like a hail of arrows. In faith, I’m sure, faith will see us through; and per what the pastors exhorted at the rally, we will become as if the smooth stone in David’s sling, ready to fly into the air to crush the Goliath in this world.

 

Sihng4 jauh6 achievement

Ngwuih misunderstanding

Nggaai2 to misunderstand

Yuhn4 leuhng6 forgive

Gaan2syun2 chosen

 

The Security Guard

 

At the morning rally, a security guard left an indelible impression on my heart what with her showing of unconditional support and her proffering of words of encouragement, which like a waterfall fell in force and power over my friends and me. To my amazement, I first saw her out of the corner of my eye stepping out of her role as a security guard to pray as a spiritual parent to two spiritual children during the morning rally’s prayer time; there she was, clad in her blue uniform, laying hands on those weeping kids; finally, I had witnessed someone courageous enough to step out of that rule of law, her boundary in Hong Kong, to be bound to that which is ethereal, the rule of Christ to carry each others’ burdens. Later, as the audience passed through the exit, I had time to confirm her love for the Lord and at that, we broke into a torrent of encouragement and followed this with a flurry of picture-taking. Indeed, never have I stumbled upon such good will from a dragon security guard in HK so I am hopeful, therefore, that this is but the the start of a greater movement within that particular demon-worshipping core, that at this time, God is opening up the heavenly armory and placing his prayer warriors inside that particular stronghold in Hong Kong to demolish every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and placing in its stead a profusion of love, gentleness and kindness. I look forward to the day when wisdom, and not languid stares, shall emanate from all the people who man the facilities in these universities.

 

Reconciliation

 

This is special. No sooner had Isaac and I stepped into the auditorium than we heard the plaintive cry of the mainland Chinese on the stage forgiving the Hong Kong people for their trespasses against their brethren from the north. A flurry of hugs, replete with a few tears, ensued. That was, as Dale announced from the stage, a delicious moment. Jesus must have been breaking out the good champagne in heaven for a rousing celebration in view of this victory.

 

Sex Talk – Part One

 

The kids finally received the sex talk this morning; a fiery pastor delivered the message which was as much shocking as informative; and gasps and wincing abounded in the audience.

 

While I have recently heard the sex talk at the men’s retreat, and have furthermore by God’s grace been inoculated against this particular area of struggle, it was nonetheless refreshing to hear the news, as shocking and as sensational as it was. I am willing, in addition, to believe that some of the atrocious acts that the pastor referenced, such as gruesome abortions and bizarre sexual acts, are more prevalent than my reason will believe, because my scope is limited by experience, but as the Father witnesses everything, if the Spirit has convicted this man and has told him that the world is heading closer and closer into the mouth of Jezebel in this way, I accept this. In fact, believing this is important if I am to be a good spiritual parent who will not only protect but educate the new generation from the prowling enemy that lurks these days, even, in our computers.

 

Prayer

 

The Holy Spirit fell over me this morning during my group’s team time. He convicted me to pray in Cantonese for the first time, and so I did without fear, those Chinese words pouring out of me as if perfume from an alabaster jar. Praise God: he is good; and this was the moment I have been waiting for.

 

I think about what happened, and am amazed at the Father’s favor; despite my critiques against this culture, and in spite of my recent lamentations, the Lord, ever faithfully, provided a way out under which I could stand and by which I could be protected from the bait of Satan. Little did I know that the escape route would, in fact, ironically, direct me to the very thing that heretofore has stood as an obstruction, a spiritual roadblock, in my mind.

 

A missionary on the stage just spoke into my life when she said about her experience learning Putonghua in China: the difficult part was not learning the language but learning to love those people as Jesus loves them. This will always be my mission, no matter where I am.

 

Keuhng4 jong3

Lai1 hei2 (pull up)

 

In the afternoon, my team had a reconciliation meeting during which, in small groups, each team member at last was given an opportunity to share alternately their joys and struggles. At that time, though having staved off an open rebuke for several days, I could no longer hold back this challenge to my small group: to step out in faith to be a gateway to the nations; and second, per the morning’s message, to on their guard against the sexually explicit, insidious media. I laid out my argument with much cogency, and such a response as I saw fit knocked my group mates into a stupor, because they certainly didn’t have much to say afterwards.

 

Oscillate between…and…

Vacillate…

Equivocated

Prevaricate

 

Sex Talk – Part Two

 

1) Jesus came to show us the Father; John1:18

2) Grace First, Truth Second; John 1:24:25; 16-18

 

Pahn4 mohng6 (hope)

 

Do you believe that Jesus can heal you? Then lay hands.

 

Dale and I are men who have shared similar struggles. His testimony is riveting.

 

Suddenly, I realized that this rally is, in fact, a continuation of yesterday morning’s sex talk, because we ended the previous rally praying more against the shame of abortion than against personal sexual immorality. Notionally, what is being discussed will enable people to really experience the love of the Father such that to change permanently our behavior. So when we are tempted:

 

1) Call for help; Romans 10:13

2) Escape Plan; 1Corinthians 10:13

 

Remember not to stand and rebuke the enemy with your own strength; move physically from the situation.

 

3) Run Away; 2Timothy 2:22

4) Into the Father’s Arms; Hebrews 4:14

 

I like this talk. This might be the first time that these young people get straight sex talk from their leaders; and there is no better time than now for these young people to break through in this particular area of struggle, just as the young men of SP broke through these obstinate barriers during our men’s retreat.

 

5) Confess and be Healed; James 5:16

 

I hope these young people find faithful accountability brothers and sisters in this service.

 

6) Walk in Transparent Accountable Relationships; 1John 1:7

7) Resist the Enemy; James 4:7

April 2021 acacia plantation near the village of Moussa, Yangambi - DRC.

 

Photo by Axel Fassio/CIFOR

 

cifor.org

 

forestsnews.cifor.org

 

If you use one of our photos, please credit it accordingly and let us know. You can reach us through our Flickr account or at: cifor-mediainfo@cgiar.org and m.edliadi@cgiar.org

Hey folks, I'm showing some prints in a big show with a bunch of other artists in Pasadena the following two weekends. If you're around, let me know and come on by, it'd be great to meet up!

 

Opening Reception:

Friday, August 21st, 6:30-11pm

 

Dates: August 21,22,28 & 29

Time: 6:30pm – 11pm

 

Location: (old town, pasadena)

32 S. Raymond Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91106

  

The image is an old favorite of mine from Buckskin Gulch during a snowstorm. Not certain yet, but I'm hoping this one will be a part of the series.

  

2010 CALENDARS now shipping!! - florisvanbreugel.smugmug.com/gallery/8609384_K59HN

 

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Prints available: florisvanbreugel.smugmug.com/

Adventures for your entertainment and edification: artinnature.wordpress.com/

  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU_QR_FTt3E

 

La chiesa fu edificata a partire dal 1280, sull'area di un preesistente oratorio dedicato a S. Lorenzo. Secondo il Barbarano, che nel '600 scrisse la Historia ecclesiastica della città, territorio e diocesi di Vicenza, l'edificio originario esisteva già dal 1185 quando fu donato dal vescovo Pistore ai canonici della Cattedrale e questi nel 1280 lo permutarono con i Minori per la chiesa di S. Francesco.

 

I frati francescani infatti, giunti a Vicenza tra il 1216 e il 1222, si erano insediati nell'ospedale di S. Salvatore, dove prestavano servizio agli ammalati e officiavano la chiesetta omonima situata nei pressi della Cattedrale, avendo però cambiato la titolazione in S. Francesco.

 

Il passaggio a S. Lorenzo permise loro la costruzione di una chiesa decentrata rispetto al Duomo, cui afferivano gli abitanti di un borgo in particolare espansione com'era quello di Porta Nuova e, nello stesso tempo, l'ordine religioso si prese cura delle importanti reliquie dei Ss. Lorenzo, Quirico e Margherita, ivi rinvenute nel 1278. L’edificio dovette essere compiuto già dal 1300, anno in cui il Maggior Consiglio della città deliberava che il podestà, la Curia, gli Anziani e le Arti visitassero il tempio.

 

Il Comune stesso aveva contribuito alla sua edificazione rinunciando, in favore della fabbrica, alla terza parte dei ricavato della vendita dei beni confiscati agli eretici dal Tribunale dell'Inquisizione (officio affidato ai Francescani dal 1254). Dal 1290 si impegnava inoltre a versare delle ingenti quantità di denaro pro constructione et edificatione dicte ecclesie. Non mancò inoltre il concorso dei privati, che sostennero con legati e donazioni quello che si avviava ad essere uno straordinario centro di cultura e di predicazione.

 

La chiesa gotica, con forti reminescenze romaniche, si arricchì di altari e di straordinarie opere d'arte che i Minori Conventuali custodirono per secoli. Nel XIV secolo fu addossato alla parete laterale destra l'oratorio dell'Immacolata Concezione (demolito nel 1909) e nel sec. XV quello di S. Bernardino, che si affacciava sulla piazza dal lato sinistro del Tempio (distrutto nel 1755). Nel 1796 le truppe napoleoniche devastarono la chiesa trasformandola in fienile e adibendo il convento a caserma. Gli stessi frati Minori, prima trasferiti nella chiesa dei Servi, subirono nel 1810 la soppressione. Soltanto nel 1836 l'edificio divenne proprietà del Comune di Vicenza, e dopo un primo restauro fu riaperto al culto trasportandovi sepolcri e monumenti da altre chiese nell'intento di fare di S. Lorenzo una piccola S. Croce vicentina. L’urgenza di ulteriori restauri portò ad una seconda chiusura, dal 1871 al 1911, finché nel 1927 fu riaffidata ai Minori Conventuali, che nel frattempo avevano perso il diritto di proprietà e che a tutt'oggi officiano la chiesa.

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fonte: Ufficio diocesano di Vicenza per i beni culturali

   

© Saúl Tuñón Loureda

 

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La basílica del Sagrado Corazón de Montmartre, (en francés: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur) es un importante templo religioso situado en París (Francia). Está ubicado en lo alto de la colina de Montmartre.

 

Se trata de una basílica menor dedicada al Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (en francés, SacréCœur de Jésus).

 

Historia

 

Su construcción fue decidida por la Asamblea Nacional en 1873, como un edificio religioso a perpetuidad en homenaje a la memoria de los numerosos ciudadanos franceses que habían perdido la vida durante la Guerra franco-prusiana. Según sus promotores se hacía también para expiar por la impiedad del Segundo Imperio francés.2 Fue el arquitecto Paul Abadie quien ganó el concurso para su construcción.

 

La primera piedra se colocó en 1875, y aunque se completó en 1914, no se consagró hasta el fin de la Primera Guerra Mundial, en 1919. La iglesia fue construida con fondos procedentes exclusivamente de una suscripción popular.

 

Es uno de los monumentos más visitados de la ciudad parisina.

 

Arquitectura

 

La planta del edificio está más central que basilical. Tiene forma de cruz griega, adornada con cuatro cúpulas: el domo central, de 80 m. de altura, está tocado por una linterna, formada por una columnata. En el ábside, una inmensa torre cuadrada hace las veces de campanario que guarda, entre otras, la Savoyarde, una campana de 3 m de diámetro y de 18.550 kilogramos de peso, ofrecida por la diócesis de Chambéry. La cripta posee la misma disposición que la iglesia, y es una de las curiosidades de la basílica.

 

La arquitectura se inspira en la arquitectura romana y bizantina e influyó en otros edificios religiosos del siglo XX, como la basílica de Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux. Es posible acceder a la basílica tomando el funicular de Montmartre.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bas%C3%ADlica_del_Sagrado_Coraz%C3%...

 

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur (French: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, pronounced [sakʁe kœʁ]), is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. Sacré-Cœur is a double monument, political and cultural, both a national penance for the defeat of France in the 1871 Franco-Prussian War and the socialist Paris Commune of 1871[1] crowning its most rebellious neighborhood, and an embodiment of conservative moral order, publicly dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ.[2]

 

The Sacré-Cœur Basilica was designed by Paul Abadie. Construction began in 1875 and was finished in 1914. It was consecrated after the end of World War I in 1919.

 

The inspiration for Sacré Cœur's design originated on September 4, 1870, the day of the proclamation of the Third Republic, with a speech by Bishop Fournier attributing the defeat of French troops during the Franco-Prussian War to a divine punishment after "a century of moral decline" since the French Revolution, in the wake of the division in French society that arose in the decades following that revolution, between devout Catholics and legitimist royalists on one side,[3] and democrats, secularists, socialists and radicals on the other. This schism in the French social order became particularly pronounced after the 1870 withdrawal of the French military garrison protecting the Vatican in Rome to the front of the Franco-Prussian War by Napoleon III,[4] the secular uprising of the Paris Commune of 1870-1871, and the subsequent 1871 defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War.

 

Though today the Basilica is asserted[5][when?] to be dedicated in honor of the 58,000 who lost their lives during the war, the decree of the Assemblée nationale, 24 July 1873, responding to a request by the archbishop of Paris by voting its construction, specifies that it is to "expiate the crimes of the Commune".[6] Montmartre had been the site of the Commune's first insurrection, and the Communards had executed Georges Darboy, Archbishop of Paris, who became a martyr for the resurgent Catholic Church. His successor Guibert, climbing the Butte Montmartre in October 1872, was reported to have had a vision, as clouds dispersed over the panorama: "It is here, it is here where the martyrs are,[7] it is here that the Sacred Heart must reign so that it can beckon all to come".[8]

 

In the moment of inertia following the resignation of the government of Adolphe Thiers, 24 May 1873, François Pie, bishop of Poitiers, expressed the national yearning for spiritual renewal— "the hour of the Church has come"—[9] that would be expressed through the "Government of Moral Order" of the Third Republic, which linked Catholic institutions with secular ones, in "a project of religious and national renewal, the main features of which were the restoration of monarchy and the defense of Rome within a cultural framework of official piety",[10] of which Sacré-Cœur is the chief lasting triumphalist[11] monument.

 

The decree voting its construction as a "matter of public utility", 24 July,[12] followed close on Thiers' resignation. The project was expressed by the Church as a National Vow (Voeu national) and financial support came from parishes throughout France. The dedicatory inscription records the Basilica as the accomplishment of a vow by Alexandre Legentil and Hubert Rohault de Fleury, ratified by Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert, Archbishop of Paris. The project took many years to complete,

 

The overall style of the structure shows a free interpretation of Romano-Byzantine features, an unusual architectural vocabulary at the time, which was a conscious reaction against the neo-Baroque excesses of the Palais Garnier, which was cited in the competition.[18] Many design elements of the basilica symbolise nationalist themes: the portico, with its three arches, is adorned by two equestrian statues of French national saints Joan of Arc (1927) and King Saint Louis IX, both executed in bronze by Hippolyte Lefebvre; and the nineteen-ton Savoyarde bell (one of the world's heaviest), cast in 1895 in Annecy, alludes to the annexation of Savoy in 1860.

 

Sacré-Cœur is built of travertine stone quarried in Château-Landon (Seine-et-Marne), France. This stone constantly exudes calcite, which ensures that the basilica remains white even with weathering and pollution.

 

A mosaic in the apse, entitled Christ in Majesty, created by Luc-Olivier Merson, is among the largest in the world.

 

The basilica complex includes a garden for meditation, with a fountain. The top of the dome is open to tourists and affords a spectacular panoramic view of the city of Paris, which is mostly to the south of the basilica.

 

The use of cameras and video recorders is forbidden inside the Basilica.

 

Access

 

The Basilica is accessible by bus. Buses 30, 31, 80, and 85 can be taken to the bottom of the hill of the Basilica. Line 12 of the metro can be taken to Jules Joffrin station and visitors can then change to the Montmartrobus and disembark at Place du Tertre. Line 2 or 12 of the metro can be taken to Pigalle station where visitors can change to the Montmartrobus and disembark at Norvins, or to Anvers station which gives easy access to the steps or the funicular car that lead directly to the Basilica.

 

Sacré-Cœur is open from 06:00 to 22:30 every day. The dome is accessible from 09:00 to 19:00 in the summer and 18:00 in the winter.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacr%C3%A9-C%C5%93ur,_Paris

 

La basilique du Sacré-Cœur, dite du Vœu national, située au sommet de la butte Montmartre, dans le 18e arrondissement de Paris, est un édifice religieux parisien majeur.

 

La construction de cette église, monument à la fois politique et culturel, suit l'après-guerre de 1870. Elle est déclarée d'utilité publique par une loi votée le 24 juillet 1873 par l'Assemblée nationale de 1871. Elle s'inscrit dans le cadre d'un nouvel « ordre moral » faisant suite aux événements de la Commune de Paris, dont Montmartre fut un des hauts lieux. Avec près de 11 millions de pèlerins et visiteurs par an, c'est le second monument religieux parisien le plus visité après la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

 

Depuis longtemps la colline de Montmartre a été un lieu de culte : paganisme gaulois supposé puis temples gallo-romains dédiés à Mercure et probablement à Mars ; culte chrétien après le martyre de l'évêque Denis au IIIe siècle, chapelle surmontant la crypte du martyrium de saint Denis, construction au XIIe siècle de l'église Saint-Pierre, parmi les plus anciennes de Paris, pour l’abbaye royale de Montmartre par le roi Louis VI et sa femme Adélaïde de Savoie. Le nom de la colline de Montmartre vient probablement du nom du lieu, Mons Martis(mont de Mars). L'église de Montmartre qui s'est substituée aux temples romains a été élevée en l'honneur des saints martyrs saint Denis, Rustique et Éleuthère décapités selon la légende3 sur la colline et dont une chapelle, située sur le flanc sud de la butte, devait commémorer le lieu traditionnel du supplice, en prenant le nom de Saint-Martyre. Le mont de Mars a donc pu être réinterprété vers le IXe siècle en Mont des Martyrs (Mons Martyrum), puis par dérivation populaire en « mont de martre », martre signifiant « martyr » en ancien français4. La substitution toponymique du mont païen par le mont chrétien reste cependant hypothétique et la double étymologie (mont de Mars et mont des Martyrs) est encore actuellement traditionnellement proposée. Il faudrait, « pour pouvoir trancher la question, savoir comment le peuple, dans son langage parlé, appelait cette colline avant le IXe siècle, puisque c'est à cette époque que les documents écrits enregistrèrent le changement de nom.

 

Le 16 juin 1875, le cardinal Guibert pose la première pierre (un marbre rose) de la basilique, non loin de l'ancien moulin de la galette, d'où le surnom donné à la basilique par le peuple de Montmartre, « Notre Dame de la Galette »24.

 

Des mois sont nécessaires afin de consolider les fondations : les galeries souterraines et les effondrements de terrain imposent la construction de 83 puits d'une profondeur de trente-trois mètres. Remplis de béton et reliés par des arcs, ils font office de pilier qui vont cherche la couche solide sous la glaise25. Dès le 3 mars 1876, l'archevêque de Paris inaugure à côté des travaux une chapelle provisoire. En 1878 débute l'édification de la crypte et en 1881 celle de la basilique. L'intérieur de la nef est inauguré le 5 juin 189126. Les vitraux posés entre 1903 et 1920, sont détruits pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale et remplacés par des vitraux contemporains. Le campanile (clocher haut de 90 mètres) est terminé en 1912, mais il faut attendre 1914 pour que l'ensemble de la façade soit achevé. La consécration, initialement prévue le 17 octobre 1914, est reportée à cause de l'entrée en guerre. Elle a lieu le 16 octobre 1919, célébrée par le cardinal Vico, en présence du cardinal Amette, archevêque de Paris, et de nombreux évêques, dignitaires ecclésiastiques, membres du clergé, personnalités civiles et simples fidèles. L'église est alors érigée en basilique mineure27. Le bâtiment est officiellement achevé en 192328 avec la finition de la décoration intérieure, notamment les mosaïques de l'abside29. Les années 1930 voient le début de la construction des annexes, sacristie, bureaux et dortoir pour accueillir les pèlerins.

 

La basilique n'est pas construite selon le plan basilical traditionnel. Elle est en forme de croix grecque, ornée de quatre coupoles. La coupole centrale a une hauteur sous clef de voûte de 54,94 m et un diamètre de 16 mètres ; son dôme central, haut de 83 m (c'était le point le plus élevé de Paris avant la construction de la Tour Eiffel), est surmonté d'un lanterneau formé d'une colonnade. Un escalier en colimaçon de 237 marches permet d'accéder à la galerie intérieure et extérieure de ce dôme, la première offrant une vue sur l'intérieur de l'église et la seconde un panorama circulaire sur 30 km par temps claire31. Le style éclectique architectural de l'édifice, s'inspirant de l'architecture romane, de l'architecture byzantine, et particulièrement de la cathédrale Saint-Front de Périgueux, a influencé plusieurs autres édifices religieux du XXe siècle (basilique Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux par exemple).

 

Contrairement à la plupart des églises qui ont traditionnellement une orientation Est-Ouest, celle de la basilique est Nord-Sud, tournée vers le centre de Paris, plus particulièrement de Notre-Dame qui est située dans l'alignement de l'édifice.[réf. souhaitée]

 

La pierre blanche retenue pour la construction est un travertin qui provient des carrières de Château-Landon et de Souppes-sur-Loing (les pierres de l'Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile ont la même origine)32. Elle a été retenue par l'architecte Paul Abadie pour ses qualités de dureté et d'auto-nettoiement au contact de l'eau, ce calcaire exsudant du calcite, ce qui garde la teinte blanche de la pierre. La basilique repose sur le gypse au moyen de piliers qui traversent les marnes et les sables sus-jacents33.

 

À l'intérieur, le plafond de l'abside est décoré de la plus grande mosaïque de France (Émaux de Briare), couvrant une surface de 473,78 m2. Conçue par Luc-Olivier Merson et exécutée de 1918 à 1922 par les ateliers Guilbert-Martin, elle représente le Sacré-Cœur de Jésus glorifié par l’église catholique et la France. À sa base on peut lire une phrase en latin signifiant : « Au Cœur très saint de Jésus, la France fervente, pénitente et reconnaissante. »

 

Une immense tour carrée servant de clocher renferme, entre autres, la plus grosse cloche de France. Baptisée la Savoyarde, elle a été fondue à Annecy en 1895 par les frères Paccard. Elle mesure 3 mètres de diamètre et pèse 18 835 kg. Quant à son support, il pèse 7 380 kg. Le marteau qui la frappe pèse quant à lui 1 200 kg. Symbole nationaliste rappelant l'Annexion de la Savoie, elle fut offerte à la basilique par les quatre diocèses de la Savoie, et arriva sur la butte le 16 octobre 1895, ce qui fut un événement parisien.

 

fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilique_du_Sacr%C3%A9-C%C5%93ur_d...

One of the skylights of the triangular Forum Building in Barcelona. Located down by Diagonal Mar, it is considered by some to be an icon of the "New Barcelona ". The building is structured around an auditorium with a capacity to hold 3,200 people. The seating is below the Forum Plaza level. Architect was Herzog and De Meuron.

L'origine de ce lieu de culte remonterait à l'année 1592, quand un chasseur nommé Giulio Sargiano aurait accidentellement frappé une image de la Vierge située en haut d'une colonne, laquelle aurait ensuite saigné.

Si la construction de cet édifice remonte à 1596, sur un projet d’Ascanio Vittozzi, il faudra attendre 1733 pour que la gigantesque coupole elliptique consacrée à la Gloire de Marie soit achevée par Francesco Gallo. Enfin en 1891, le sanctuaire est complété par l'édification de quatre campaniles par Camillo Riccio et par l'achèvement de sa façade ouest.

 

The origins of this place of worship date back to 1592, when a hunter named Giulio Sargiano accidentally struck an image of the Virgin at the top of a column, causing it to bleed.

Construction of the building dates back to 1596, to a design by Ascanio Vittozzi, but it was not until 1733 that the gigantic elliptical dome dedicated to the Glory of Mary was completed by Francesco Gallo. Finally, in 1891, the sanctuary was completed with the construction of four bell towers by Camillo Riccio and the completion of its west façade.

 

Official residence of the President of the Republic is the first masonry building in Brasília

The Palácio da Alvorada, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, is one of the most important buildings of Brazilian architectural modernism and the first masonry building in the new capital. It is located on a peninsula that divides Lake Paranoá into Lago Sul and Lago Norte and houses the official residence of the President of the Republic.

 

On June 30, 1958, with its inauguration, it became the residence of then President Juscelino Kubitschek.

 

The Palace has a horizontal configuration topped by a chapel that refers to the old farmhouses of colonial Brazil.

 

The differentiated format of the external columns reminds the hammocks extended on balconies, like those that skirted colonial mansions.

 

The Palace has a water mirror that reflects the image of the building, creating an infinite virtual space, complemented by a bronze sculpture called As Iaras, a work by the Brazilian artist and sculptor Alfredo Ceschiatti.

 

The design of the columns gave rise to the symbol and emblem present on the coat of arms of the Federal District.

 

Edification

The building is composed of:

 

basement that houses an auditorium for 30 people, Games Room, Warehouse, Pantry, Kitchen, Laundry and Palace Administration.

ground floor with halls used by the President of the Republic for official government appointments.

first floor that constitutes the residential part of the Palace, where there are four suites and intimate rooms.

O edifício, tal como é, sem efeitos, já que sua forma natural já o valoriza como

uma obra de arte...

 

"Não é ângulo reto que me atrai.

Nem a linha reta. Dura, inflexível criada pelo homem.

O que me atrai é a curva livre e sensual.

A curva que encontro nas montanhas do meu país, no curso sinuoso dos seus rios, nas nuvens do céu, no corpo da mulher preferida.

De curvas é feito todo o Universo.

O universo curvo de Enstein.” (Oscar Niemeyer)

 

A refinada elegância do Edifício Niemeyer marca o conjunto arquitetônico da Praça da Liberdade.

Em um terreno triangular está o edifício de linhas sinuosas que é considerado uma das mais belas obras de Niemeyer. O projeto é de 1954 e foi concluído em 1960.

First light on these strange basalt formations in Owen's Valley, CA.

 

Please view large.

 

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Prints available: florisvanbreugel.smugmug.com/

Adventures for your entertainment and edification: artinnature.wordpress.com/

 

old and ruined edification

Here's a color version of the B&W I posted earlier. I like the separation this shows between the sky and blown sand.

 

Prints available: florisvanbreugel.smugmug.com/

Adventures for your entertainment and edification: artinnature.wordpress.com/

Cap 110 is a memorial erected in memory of slavery. It was built at Anse Caffard during the sesquicentennial of the abolition of slavery in 1998 by Laurent Valere, a painter and sculptor of Martinique. The choice of Anse Caffard is not trivial.

 

This is indeed the edge of the Anse Caffard (which owes its name to Jean Caffard a colon) a ship carrying 300 slaves ran aground in a storm on the rocks of the coast on the night of April 8, 1830. Now at that time, the slave trade was illegal since 1817. The boat was completely destroyed what prevented him from knowing his name and find its source. Only six bodies were recovered.

 

The bodies of the sailors were buried in the cemetery and those slaves were buried near the shore. 86 slaves, 26 men and 60 women were rescued from the wreck and transferred to Fort-de-France.

 

The 15 busts were built of reinforced concrete and bleached with sand of Trinidad and Tobago. Their weight is about 4 tons to a height of 2.5 meters. All represent the same face bent in the meaning, worn, distressed, downcast eyes to the earth and the sea. They are the anonymous victims of processed trade, the slave trade, which lasted three centuries (17th to 19th century ) between Europe, Africa and the Americas.

 

The 15 busts of white concrete have different symbolics. The white symbolizes mourning in the Caribbean. The triangular shape is the triangular trade between Europe, Africa and the Americas, orientation heading 110° East, the Gulf of Guinea where the boat would likely come. The memorial is located in front of Rocher du Diamant.

  

Dans la nuit du 8 au 9 avril 1830, un bateau de traite clandestine transportant un nombre inconnu de captifs africains s’est échoué sur les rochers de l’Anse Caffard, au nord de la ville du Diamant, avant d'être totalement détruit. M. Dizac, géreur de l’Habitation La Tournelle, qui reçut la nouvelle vers 23 heures, arrive à sauver quatre-vingt-six captifs (dont vingt-six hommes et soixante femmes1), grâce au travail des esclaves de son atelier. Le lendemain du naufrage, en plus de nombreux débris, quarante-six cadavres ont été retrouvés sur la côte, dont quarante-deux Noirs et quatre Blancs. Comme aucun homme blanc de l'équipage survécut, et qu'aucun document précisant le nom du bateau n'a été trouvé sur eux, l'identité du bâtiment reste inconnue à ce jour. Le rapport du directeur de l'Intérieur du 16 avril 1830 indique que les corps des marins négriers furent enterrés au cimetière, ceux des captifs du bateau "à quelque distance du rivage"2.

 

Ce fait divers tragique, a pris une dimension historique et symbolique importante pour la ville du Diamant. Il s’agit du dernier naufrage de navire négrier de l'histoire de la Martinique. C’est la raison pour laquelle cette communauté, en 1998, a confié à Laurent Valère l’édification d’un mémorial sur le site présumé du naufrage, c'est-à-dire à l’Anse Caffard, au pied du Morne Larcher, face à la mer des Caraïbes.

"San Marco In Lamis" Gargano Puglia Italia © 2015 All rights reserved

FotoSketcher lively

Nikon coolpix p 7100

 

San Marco in Lamis è un comune italiano di 13.928 abitanti della provincia di Foggia, in Puglia.

 

San Marco in Lamis è nota soprattutto per la tradizionale Processione delle "fracchie", una manifestazione religiosa popolare molto suggestiva e assai singolare, che si ripete puntualmente da circa tre secoli ogni venerdì Santo per la rievocazione della Passione di Cristo, e che, ogni anno, richiama un grande afflusso di forestieri. Le fracchie sono delle enormi fiaccole, realizzate con grossi tronchi di albero di quercia o castagno aperti longitudinalmente a forma di cono e riempiti di legna, per essere incendiate all'imbrunire e divenire quindi dei falò ambulanti che illuminano il cammino della Madonna Addolorata lungo le strade del paese alla ricerca del figlio Gesù morto.Sembra che le origini di questo rito risalgano ai primi anni del XVIII secolo, epoca di edificazione della chiesa dell'Addolorata e le sue ragioni, oltre che di ordine religioso e devozionale, vadano collegate anche ad una motivazione di ordine pratico riconducibile alle precise condizioni fisiche dell'abitato. Infatti, quando venne costruita (1717), la chiesa dell'Addolorata si trovava fuori del centro abitato e lì sarebbe rimasta fino all'ultimo ventennio del XIX secolo. Una collocazione questa che sollecitò la fantasia degli abitanti, i quali pensarono di illuminare con le "fracchie" la strada che la Madonna percorreva dalla sua chiesa fino alla Collegiata, dove era custodito il corpo del Cristo. Le “fracchie più grandi possono essere lunghe anche 13-14 metri e pesare anche 60-70 quintali di legno di quercia , castagno o abete .

da wikipedia

 

San Marco in Lamis is a town of 13,928 citizens in the Italian province of Foggia, Puglia, Italy.

San Marco in Lamis is a town of 13.928 citizens and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It is located in the Gargano massif area.Apart from some tourism conted to pilgrimages at the local Catholic sanctuary of St. Matthew, the economy is mostly based on agriculture.San Marco in Lamis is known for the traditional procession of "fracchie", a very popular religious manifestation suggestive and very singular, that is repeated regularly from about three centuries each friday Saint for the reenactment of the passion of Christ, and that each year draws a large influx of foreigners. The fracchie are huge torches, made with large trees oak opened longitudinally cone-shaped and filled with wood, to be burned at dusk and become so a itinerant bonfires that illuminate the journey of our Lady of Sorrows along the roads of the country in search of the son Jesus died.It seems that the origins of this rite dates back to the early 18th century, a time of edification of the Church of our Lady of sorrows and his reasons as well as religious and devotional order, should be connected to a practical motivation due to precise physical conditions of the town. In fact, when it was built (1717), the Church of our Lady of Sorrows was out of town and would remain there until the last two decades of the 19th century. A bin that solicited the imagination of the inhabitants, whom they thought to illuminate with the "fracchie" the way that she ran from her church until the collegiate, where he guarded the body of Christ. The"Fracchia" can also get the length of 13-14 meters and weigh 60-70 quintals of wood of oak. From wikipedia

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En 1567, Charles IX ordonne l'édification d'une citadelle sur l'emplacement de l'ancien château du XIIIe siècle. Vers 1670, Vauban perfectionne l'œuvre de ses prédécesseurs en remaniant la citadelle et en y ajoutant un magasin à poudre et un arsenal.

 

Montreuil | Pas-de-Calais (62) | Nord - Pas-de-Calais | France

Sporting Chance Center, Tucson, AZ Jan 19, 2014 — The ball has been blocked, now what to do?

PENTAX K-5

smc PENTAX-DA* 18-50mm F2.8 ED AL [IF] SDM, 42mm

ISO 1600, ƒ4, 1/250

University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ Jul 26, 2011 — Was on campus today and just happened to look over the edge of the parking garage. Lo and behold was my old dorm. Had to snap a photo. I arrived at Huachuca Residential Hall seven days after high school graduation in 1977. Lot's of fun!

 

I hand-held multiple exposures then converted five images to tiffs using Lightroom. I used Photomatrix to tone-map the HDR image. I spruced-up the image using Topaz plug-ins, and touched-up the image using Photoshop.

 

PENTAX K-5

SMC PENTAX-DA* 50-135mm ƒ2.8 ED [IF] SDM

ISO 100-200, ƒ7, 1/100-1000

jimpurcell.com

 

Last one from this series.. I'll try to post some happier stuff soon!

 

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, really appreciate it!

 

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2010 CALENDARS now shipping!! - florisvanbreugel.smugmug.com/gallery/8609384_K59HN

 

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Prints available: florisvanbreugel.smugmug.com/

Adventures for your entertainment and edification: artinnature.wordpress.com/

I returned to an agricultural series on my return from my sunflower trek. Early morning a couple of weeks back eDDie yelled and rousted me to join him out at the sunflower field, no onions. I grabbed my gear immediately and bailed out east on SH #66 toward I-25 but turned north on back road #7 to scout for anything of interest. I grabbed some floral tributes to early morning while there. On my way to sunflower overload, I spotted a few items of rural interest and decided to return on the same route at a sane speed. I found captures that interested me as long as I had plenty of time to poke. Now I feel that I should have been even pokier while managing to avoid the pokey at cruising speed.

 

I was blasted by sunflowers before but we had a hazy sky due to some degree of moisture and a large load of "fake" smoke from California wildfires. I heard that is no smoke from wildfires in California because der Leader has decried "global warming" as fake news. It must be something else entirely but boy is it thick. Damn, it's really hot even this early in the morning. It was early in the day but it was starting to slug me down. It was smart to bring my Propel hydration.

 

Although a plain shot, this old derelict shack was more poorly built than the last but has yet to tumble and I love this old wood grain and its patina on the humble house that held against the winds in its past. The shack has accumulated old farming implements and other collected detritus. From this angle, it looks like the California smog is moving on east for the edification of Kansan global warming hoaxers.

 

After several shots, I am now on my way back to highway #66 and my way back to Logmont before it gets really hot and I burn the rest of my hydration. Yesterday was another hoax warming bummer and we pray for September relief until the fake global warming ramps up worse next summer.

  

Dated 1862, this pink marble, granite and stone drinking-fountain, with its distinctive cupola, ornamental slate roof, four clock-faces, Gothic arches, sculpted cherubs and inscriptions, was the gift of the wealthy philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts to the people who visited Victoria Park in the East End of London. Architect H. A. Darbishire. It's said to have cost £6000, a fortune in those days. No doubt this Victorian extravaganza ("For the love of God and Country") gave pleasure as well as clean drinking water to the poor East Enders enjoying the park, and perhaps also edification: it reminded them, for example, that "The earth is the Lord's and all that thereon is."

An odd edifice indeed!

. . . dawn

 

Sadly, the facts are that most Thai beaches are not maintained in any way at all. Care of the environment just does not figure into the mentality.

 

Normally I do my best to pp out the damage, but what the f*ck*ng h*ck: if Thailand doesn't care, why should I?

 

A real Thai beach shot for your edification. Thankfully I didn't use the wide-angle.

 

But, hey, what a sunrise . . . . .

Le cimetière chinois de Nolette est un cimetière situé le territoire de la commune française de Noyelles-sur-Mer où sont inhumés les travailleurs civils chinois employés par l'armée britannique pendant la Première Guerre mondiale.

 

Il s'agit du plus grand cimetière chinois de France et d'Europe

Pendant la Première Guerre mondiale, Noyelles abrita une importante base arrière britannique dont un grand camp de coolies (travailleurs immigrés chinois). Ils furent recrutés par l'armée britannique entre 1917 et 1919 dans le cadre du corps de travailleurs chinois (en anglais, Chinese Labour Corps), pour des tâches de manutention à l'arrière du front mais certains connaitront les zones de combat.

 

Ils représentent l'une des premières immigrations chinoises en France. Ils avaient l'interdiction de se mêler à la population civile du lieu. Certains resteront en France après la Grande Guerre.

  

Chinois en France

 

L'entrée du cimetière chinois de Nolette.

Ils étaient affectés à des tâches pénibles et dangereuses comme le terrassement de tranchées, le ramassage des soldats morts sur le champ de bataille, le déminage des terrains reconquis, la blanchisserie, les services de santé auprès des malades, en particulier ceux atteints de la grippe espagnole...

 

En 1921, le gouvernement britannique décida l'édification du cimetière chinois à Nolette. Le Major Truelove est chargé de sa réalisation sous l'autorité d'Edwin Lutyens.

 

Depuis 2002, le cimetière de Nolette est le lieu de célébration de la Fête de Qing Ming (Fête des Morts chinoise) en France organisée par le Conseil pour l'intégration des communautés d'origine chinoise en France.

 

On trouve dans le département de la Somme des tombes de coolies dans les cimetières d'Abbeville, Albert, Daours, Gézaincourt, Tincourt-Boucly et Villers-Carbonnel.

Propriété de l'État français et gérée par la Commonwealth War Graves Commission, la nécropole située près du hameau de Nolette dans la commune de Noyelles-sur-Mer a été inaugurée en 1921 par le Préfet de la Somme. 849 travailleurs chinois sont inhumés à Noyelles-sur-Mer. La plupart travaillait au camp chinois de l'armée britannique situé sur la commune entre 1917 et 1919.

  

Tombe de Yang Shiyue 楊十月 originaire du Shandong, mort le 12 janvier 19191.

Beaucoup sont morts d'une épidémie de choléra qui a sévi dans le camp, de la grippe espagnole en 1918-1919 ou de la tuberculose, voire tués dans les zones de combat.

 

Le site est caractérisée par le portail d'entrée, les inscriptions sur les tombes et les essences d'arbres (pins, cèdres...) qu'on ne rencontre pas dans les autres cimetières du Commonwealth ainsi que par l'absence de croix du Sacrifice et de pierre du Souvenir.

 

Les tombes de ce cimetière sont constituées de 849 stèles en marbre blanc, avec sur chacune d'elle gravée une inscription en anglais « Faithful unto Death » ou « Though dead he still liveth » ou encore « A good reputation endures for ever » ainsi que des idéogrammes chinois et parfois, très rarement, le nom en anglais ou le matricule du défunt.

 

Le porche monumental et le mur de l'entrée tiennent lieu de mémorial pour la quarantaine de Chinois morts sur terre ou sur mer sans tombes connues.

 

Des statues de lions offerts par la République populaire de Chine sont situées, non loin de la nécropole, à l'entrée de la rue qui mène au cimetière de Nolette

© Saúl Tuñón Loureda

 

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La basílica del Sagrado Corazón de Montmartre, (en francés: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur) es un importante templo religioso situado en París (Francia). Está ubicado en lo alto de la colina de Montmartre.

 

Se trata de una basílica menor dedicada al Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (en francés, SacréCœur de Jésus).

 

Historia

 

Su construcción fue decidida por la Asamblea Nacional en 1873, como un edificio religioso a perpetuidad en homenaje a la memoria de los numerosos ciudadanos franceses que habían perdido la vida durante la Guerra franco-prusiana. Según sus promotores se hacía también para expiar por la impiedad del Segundo Imperio francés.2 Fue el arquitecto Paul Abadie quien ganó el concurso para su construcción.

 

La primera piedra se colocó en 1875, y aunque se completó en 1914, no se consagró hasta el fin de la Primera Guerra Mundial, en 1919. La iglesia fue construida con fondos procedentes exclusivamente de una suscripción popular.

 

Es uno de los monumentos más visitados de la ciudad parisina.

 

Arquitectura

 

La planta del edificio está más central que basilical. Tiene forma de cruz griega, adornada con cuatro cúpulas: el domo central, de 80 m. de altura, está tocado por una linterna, formada por una columnata. En el ábside, una inmensa torre cuadrada hace las veces de campanario que guarda, entre otras, la Savoyarde, una campana de 3 m de diámetro y de 18.550 kilogramos de peso, ofrecida por la diócesis de Chambéry. La cripta posee la misma disposición que la iglesia, y es una de las curiosidades de la basílica.

 

La arquitectura se inspira en la arquitectura romana y bizantina e influyó en otros edificios religiosos del siglo XX, como la basílica de Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux. Es posible acceder a la basílica tomando el funicular de Montmartre.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bas%C3%ADlica_del_Sagrado_Coraz%C3%...

 

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur (French: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, pronounced [sakʁe kœʁ]), is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. Sacré-Cœur is a double monument, political and cultural, both a national penance for the defeat of France in the 1871 Franco-Prussian War and the socialist Paris Commune of 1871[1] crowning its most rebellious neighborhood, and an embodiment of conservative moral order, publicly dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ.[2]

 

The Sacré-Cœur Basilica was designed by Paul Abadie. Construction began in 1875 and was finished in 1914. It was consecrated after the end of World War I in 1919.

 

The inspiration for Sacré Cœur's design originated on September 4, 1870, the day of the proclamation of the Third Republic, with a speech by Bishop Fournier attributing the defeat of French troops during the Franco-Prussian War to a divine punishment after "a century of moral decline" since the French Revolution, in the wake of the division in French society that arose in the decades following that revolution, between devout Catholics and legitimist royalists on one side,[3] and democrats, secularists, socialists and radicals on the other. This schism in the French social order became particularly pronounced after the 1870 withdrawal of the French military garrison protecting the Vatican in Rome to the front of the Franco-Prussian War by Napoleon III,[4] the secular uprising of the Paris Commune of 1870-1871, and the subsequent 1871 defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War.

 

Though today the Basilica is asserted[5][when?] to be dedicated in honor of the 58,000 who lost their lives during the war, the decree of the Assemblée nationale, 24 July 1873, responding to a request by the archbishop of Paris by voting its construction, specifies that it is to "expiate the crimes of the Commune".[6] Montmartre had been the site of the Commune's first insurrection, and the Communards had executed Georges Darboy, Archbishop of Paris, who became a martyr for the resurgent Catholic Church. His successor Guibert, climbing the Butte Montmartre in October 1872, was reported to have had a vision, as clouds dispersed over the panorama: "It is here, it is here where the martyrs are,[7] it is here that the Sacred Heart must reign so that it can beckon all to come".[8]

 

In the moment of inertia following the resignation of the government of Adolphe Thiers, 24 May 1873, François Pie, bishop of Poitiers, expressed the national yearning for spiritual renewal— "the hour of the Church has come"—[9] that would be expressed through the "Government of Moral Order" of the Third Republic, which linked Catholic institutions with secular ones, in "a project of religious and national renewal, the main features of which were the restoration of monarchy and the defense of Rome within a cultural framework of official piety",[10] of which Sacré-Cœur is the chief lasting triumphalist[11] monument.

 

The decree voting its construction as a "matter of public utility", 24 July,[12] followed close on Thiers' resignation. The project was expressed by the Church as a National Vow (Voeu national) and financial support came from parishes throughout France. The dedicatory inscription records the Basilica as the accomplishment of a vow by Alexandre Legentil and Hubert Rohault de Fleury, ratified by Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert, Archbishop of Paris. The project took many years to complete,

 

The overall style of the structure shows a free interpretation of Romano-Byzantine features, an unusual architectural vocabulary at the time, which was a conscious reaction against the neo-Baroque excesses of the Palais Garnier, which was cited in the competition.[18] Many design elements of the basilica symbolise nationalist themes: the portico, with its three arches, is adorned by two equestrian statues of French national saints Joan of Arc (1927) and King Saint Louis IX, both executed in bronze by Hippolyte Lefebvre; and the nineteen-ton Savoyarde bell (one of the world's heaviest), cast in 1895 in Annecy, alludes to the annexation of Savoy in 1860.

 

Sacré-Cœur is built of travertine stone quarried in Château-Landon (Seine-et-Marne), France. This stone constantly exudes calcite, which ensures that the basilica remains white even with weathering and pollution.

 

A mosaic in the apse, entitled Christ in Majesty, created by Luc-Olivier Merson, is among the largest in the world.

 

The basilica complex includes a garden for meditation, with a fountain. The top of the dome is open to tourists and affords a spectacular panoramic view of the city of Paris, which is mostly to the south of the basilica.

 

The use of cameras and video recorders is forbidden inside the Basilica.

 

Access

 

The Basilica is accessible by bus. Buses 30, 31, 80, and 85 can be taken to the bottom of the hill of the Basilica. Line 12 of the metro can be taken to Jules Joffrin station and visitors can then change to the Montmartrobus and disembark at Place du Tertre. Line 2 or 12 of the metro can be taken to Pigalle station where visitors can change to the Montmartrobus and disembark at Norvins, or to Anvers station which gives easy access to the steps or the funicular car that lead directly to the Basilica.

 

Sacré-Cœur is open from 06:00 to 22:30 every day. The dome is accessible from 09:00 to 19:00 in the summer and 18:00 in the winter.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacr%C3%A9-C%C5%93ur,_Paris

 

La basilique du Sacré-Cœur, dite du Vœu national, située au sommet de la butte Montmartre, dans le 18e arrondissement de Paris, est un édifice religieux parisien majeur.

 

La construction de cette église, monument à la fois politique et culturel, suit l'après-guerre de 1870. Elle est déclarée d'utilité publique par une loi votée le 24 juillet 1873 par l'Assemblée nationale de 1871. Elle s'inscrit dans le cadre d'un nouvel « ordre moral » faisant suite aux événements de la Commune de Paris, dont Montmartre fut un des hauts lieux. Avec près de 11 millions de pèlerins et visiteurs par an, c'est le second monument religieux parisien le plus visité après la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

 

Depuis longtemps la colline de Montmartre a été un lieu de culte : paganisme gaulois supposé puis temples gallo-romains dédiés à Mercure et probablement à Mars ; culte chrétien après le martyre de l'évêque Denis au IIIe siècle, chapelle surmontant la crypte du martyrium de saint Denis, construction au XIIe siècle de l'église Saint-Pierre, parmi les plus anciennes de Paris, pour l’abbaye royale de Montmartre par le roi Louis VI et sa femme Adélaïde de Savoie. Le nom de la colline de Montmartre vient probablement du nom du lieu, Mons Martis(mont de Mars). L'église de Montmartre qui s'est substituée aux temples romains a été élevée en l'honneur des saints martyrs saint Denis, Rustique et Éleuthère décapités selon la légende3 sur la colline et dont une chapelle, située sur le flanc sud de la butte, devait commémorer le lieu traditionnel du supplice, en prenant le nom de Saint-Martyre. Le mont de Mars a donc pu être réinterprété vers le IXe siècle en Mont des Martyrs (Mons Martyrum), puis par dérivation populaire en « mont de martre », martre signifiant « martyr » en ancien français4. La substitution toponymique du mont païen par le mont chrétien reste cependant hypothétique et la double étymologie (mont de Mars et mont des Martyrs) est encore actuellement traditionnellement proposée. Il faudrait, « pour pouvoir trancher la question, savoir comment le peuple, dans son langage parlé, appelait cette colline avant le IXe siècle, puisque c'est à cette époque que les documents écrits enregistrèrent le changement de nom.

 

Le 16 juin 1875, le cardinal Guibert pose la première pierre (un marbre rose) de la basilique, non loin de l'ancien moulin de la galette, d'où le surnom donné à la basilique par le peuple de Montmartre, « Notre Dame de la Galette »24.

 

Des mois sont nécessaires afin de consolider les fondations : les galeries souterraines et les effondrements de terrain imposent la construction de 83 puits d'une profondeur de trente-trois mètres. Remplis de béton et reliés par des arcs, ils font office de pilier qui vont cherche la couche solide sous la glaise25. Dès le 3 mars 1876, l'archevêque de Paris inaugure à côté des travaux une chapelle provisoire. En 1878 débute l'édification de la crypte et en 1881 celle de la basilique. L'intérieur de la nef est inauguré le 5 juin 189126. Les vitraux posés entre 1903 et 1920, sont détruits pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale et remplacés par des vitraux contemporains. Le campanile (clocher haut de 90 mètres) est terminé en 1912, mais il faut attendre 1914 pour que l'ensemble de la façade soit achevé. La consécration, initialement prévue le 17 octobre 1914, est reportée à cause de l'entrée en guerre. Elle a lieu le 16 octobre 1919, célébrée par le cardinal Vico, en présence du cardinal Amette, archevêque de Paris, et de nombreux évêques, dignitaires ecclésiastiques, membres du clergé, personnalités civiles et simples fidèles. L'église est alors érigée en basilique mineure27. Le bâtiment est officiellement achevé en 192328 avec la finition de la décoration intérieure, notamment les mosaïques de l'abside29. Les années 1930 voient le début de la construction des annexes, sacristie, bureaux et dortoir pour accueillir les pèlerins.

 

La basilique n'est pas construite selon le plan basilical traditionnel. Elle est en forme de croix grecque, ornée de quatre coupoles. La coupole centrale a une hauteur sous clef de voûte de 54,94 m et un diamètre de 16 mètres ; son dôme central, haut de 83 m (c'était le point le plus élevé de Paris avant la construction de la Tour Eiffel), est surmonté d'un lanterneau formé d'une colonnade. Un escalier en colimaçon de 237 marches permet d'accéder à la galerie intérieure et extérieure de ce dôme, la première offrant une vue sur l'intérieur de l'église et la seconde un panorama circulaire sur 30 km par temps claire31. Le style éclectique architectural de l'édifice, s'inspirant de l'architecture romane, de l'architecture byzantine, et particulièrement de la cathédrale Saint-Front de Périgueux, a influencé plusieurs autres édifices religieux du XXe siècle (basilique Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux par exemple).

 

Contrairement à la plupart des églises qui ont traditionnellement une orientation Est-Ouest, celle de la basilique est Nord-Sud, tournée vers le centre de Paris, plus particulièrement de Notre-Dame qui est située dans l'alignement de l'édifice.[réf. souhaitée]

 

La pierre blanche retenue pour la construction est un travertin qui provient des carrières de Château-Landon et de Souppes-sur-Loing (les pierres de l'Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile ont la même origine)32. Elle a été retenue par l'architecte Paul Abadie pour ses qualités de dureté et d'auto-nettoiement au contact de l'eau, ce calcaire exsudant du calcite, ce qui garde la teinte blanche de la pierre. La basilique repose sur le gypse au moyen de piliers qui traversent les marnes et les sables sus-jacents33.

 

À l'intérieur, le plafond de l'abside est décoré de la plus grande mosaïque de France (Émaux de Briare), couvrant une surface de 473,78 m2. Conçue par Luc-Olivier Merson et exécutée de 1918 à 1922 par les ateliers Guilbert-Martin, elle représente le Sacré-Cœur de Jésus glorifié par l’église catholique et la France. À sa base on peut lire une phrase en latin signifiant : « Au Cœur très saint de Jésus, la France fervente, pénitente et reconnaissante. »

 

Une immense tour carrée servant de clocher renferme, entre autres, la plus grosse cloche de France. Baptisée la Savoyarde, elle a été fondue à Annecy en 1895 par les frères Paccard. Elle mesure 3 mètres de diamètre et pèse 18 835 kg. Quant à son support, il pèse 7 380 kg. Le marteau qui la frappe pèse quant à lui 1 200 kg. Symbole nationaliste rappelant l'Annexion de la Savoie, elle fut offerte à la basilique par les quatre diocèses de la Savoie, et arriva sur la butte le 16 octobre 1895, ce qui fut un événement parisien.

 

fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilique_du_Sacr%C3%A9-C%C5%93ur_d...

From the 2nd roll shot on this outing .... This roll was developed in Two Stage D-23 instead of Caffenol Stand which I used on the previous roll .... Just to compare and contrast for my own edification .....

I suppose Malcolm Muggeridge is a forgotten figure these days. He was the son of a Labour Member of Parliament, at whose home Ramsay MacDonald was an occasional guest. After coming down from Cambridge he went to teaching posts in India and Egypt. From Cairo he began to submit reports to the Manchester Guardian and was eventually taken on by the paper's famous editor, C P Scott. At this stage a wide-eyed enthusiast of the Socialist experiment, he travelled to Moscow in 1932 as the Guardian's correspondent, taking his wife and intending to settle permanently in Stalin's earthly paradise. His tenure coincided with the famine which, as a deliberate act of policy, starved to death five million Ukrainians and a quarter of the population of Kazakhstan. The scales rapidly fell from Muggeridge's eyes. Furthermore he was appalled by the credulity of visiting western VIPs such as George Bernard Shaw or Eleanor Roosevelt, and disgusted by the corrupt falsifications of journalists such as Walter Duranty of the New York Times. Muggeridge was one of the first to publish a truthful account of conditions in the Soviet Union, getting his reports out of the country by diplomatic bag. The Guardian published them in toned-down form; Muggeridge, of course, quickly found himself persona non grata and was expelled from Moscow.

Following a spell at the Calcutta Statesman and wartime service in Intelligence, he established himself in Fleet Street, becoming editor of Punch. At this time he began to appear on television ...a medium he held in the utmost contempt... soon becoming a "household name". His fame grew until, eventually, he enjoyed a worldwide reputation as a kind of public sceptic. Coming to him in the late 1960s I tried to see all his television stuff. There was a weekly programme ...on Sunday evenings, I think... called The Question Why, and countless appearances on The Book Programme and as a pundit on various telly "panels". He was a great formative bad influence, making it quite impossible for me, thank goodness, to become a useful, productive member of society. Two biographies were published after his death, one by an American admirer, Gregory Wolfe, and one by Richard Ingrams, who was his friend and to some extent his protégé. From the latter book we learn that Mugg's private behaviour was often despicable. There were infidelities on both sides of the marriage, his wife bearing a son by another man; but Mugg conducted affairs with the wives of his two greatest friends, Hesketh Pearson and Hugh Kingsmill ...notwithstanding that he despised Dorothy Kingsmill... and with the wife of a neighbour. On one occasion, in the presence of her husband, he "made a pass" at a woman under a restaurant table. The man stood up, slapped Muggeridge across the face, gathered up his wife and stormed out.

To the extent that he is remembered at all, Mugg is probably best known to the public as the champion of Mother Teresa. It was a documentary programme of his that first brought her to the world's attention. At the end of his life he was received into the Catholic church, sponsored by Lord Longford. Many of his admirers deplored the new "religious" Muggeridge. Certainly this period of Mugg's career interests me less. Perhaps it's just that, although one may admire a man for his virtue, one doesn't like him for it. And, of course, no one wants to read about goodness and rectitude ...it's just not very entertaining. As time went on one tended to know in advance what he was going to say, and tired of being told that he saw himself, "in St Augustine's phrase", as a vendor of words; or that he saw his role on television as akin to that of the pianist in a bordello who occasionally slips in Abide With Me for the edification of the patrons. In old age he lost his mind and died at a nursing home in Hastings. And yet, and yet ...how right he was about almost everything, and how rapier-like in his judgement of public men. Unassailable sacred cows such as Winston Churchill, Sidney and Beatrice Webb or D H Lawrence lay smouldering in ruins. One forgets the sheer exhilaration one felt upon reading one of his jeremiads, back when he was at the peak of his powers. How one agreed, and how badly these things needed saying.

Anyway ...to get to the point... I possess a secondhand copy of one of Mugg's lesser-known books, The Thirties (Hamish Hamilton, London, 1940). I can't remember where I bought it or when, but probably some time during the 90s. I've picked it up a few times and have read the Introduction. The other day I decided to take it to work as canteen reading. Turning it over in my hand in the staff car park at the start of another fun-packed day, two pieces of paper dropped out from inside the back cover. I'd never seen them before. One was a newspaper "profile" (coinciding with the publication of one of Mugg's late, "religious" books) by Tim Heald, almost certainly from the Daily Telegraph and dated 31/08/75. The other was this reply to an importunate letter inviting him to address an audience of schoolchildren. I would conjecture that the original letter was sent by the first owner of the book, presumably the headmaster of Lowlands Junior School. One or other of Mugg's children settled in Canada, I think. It was a nice thing to find and will go nicely with my only other item of Muggeridgiana, a copy of Hugh Kingsmill's anthology More Invective, inscribed "To Dorothy" (Kingsmill's wife?) and carrying Mugg's bookplate ...not a particularly good one.

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San Marco in Lamis è un comune italiano di 13.928 abitanti della provincia di Foggia, in Puglia.

San Marco in Lamis è nota soprattutto per la tradizionale Processione delle "fracchie", una manifestazione religiosa popolare molto suggestiva e assai singolare, che si ripete puntualmente da circa tre secoli ogni venerdì Santo per la rievocazione della Passione di Cristo, e che, ogni anno, richiama un grande afflusso di forestieri. Le fracchie sono delle enormi fiaccole, realizzate con grossi tronchi di albero di quercia o castagno aperti longitudinalmente a forma di cono e riempiti di legna, per essere incendiate all'imbrunire e divenire quindi dei falò ambulanti che illuminano il cammino della Madonna Addolorata lungo le strade del paese alla ricerca del figlio Gesù morto.Sembra che le origini di questo rito risalgano ai primi anni del XVIII secolo, epoca di edificazione della chiesa dell'Addolorata e le sue ragioni, oltre che di ordine religioso e devozionale, vadano collegate anche ad una motivazione di ordine pratico riconducibile alle precise condizioni fisiche dell'abitato. Infatti, quando venne costruita (1717), la chiesa dell'Addolorata si trovava fuori del centro abitato e lì sarebbe rimasta fino all'ultimo ventennio del XIX secolo. Una collocazione questa che sollecitò la fantasia degli abitanti, i quali pensarono di illuminare con le "fracchie" la strada che la Madonna percorreva dalla sua chiesa fino alla Collegiata, dove era custodito il corpo del Cristo. Le “fracchie più grandi possono essere lunghe anche 13-14 metri e pesare anche 60-70 quintali di legno di quercia , castagno o abete .

da wikipedia

 

San Marco in Lamis is a town of 13,928 citizens in the Italian province of Foggia, Puglia, Italy.

San Marco in Lamis is a town of 13.928 citizens and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It is located in the Gargano massif area.Apart from some tourism conted to pilgrimages at the local Catholic sanctuary of St. Matthew, the economy is mostly based on agriculture.San Marco in Lamis is known for the traditional procession of "fracchie", a very popular religious manifestation suggestive and very singular, that is repeated regularly from about three centuries each friday Saint for the reenactment of the passion of Christ, and that each year draws a large influx of foreigners. The fracchie are huge torches, made with large trees oak opened longitudinally cone-shaped and filled with wood, to be burned at dusk and become so a itinerant bonfires that illuminate the journey of our Lady of Sorrows along the roads of the country in search of the son Jesus died.It seems that the origins of this rite dates back to the early 18th century, a time of edification of the Church of our Lady of sorrows and his reasons as well as religious and devotional order, should be connected to a practical motivation due to precise physical conditions of the town. In fact, when it was built (1717), the Church of our Lady of Sorrows was out of town and would remain there until the last two decades of the 19th century. A bin that solicited the imagination of the inhabitants, whom they thought to illuminate with the "fracchie" the way that she ran from her church until the collegiate, where he guarded the body of Christ. The"Fracchia" can also get the length of 13-14 meters and weigh 60-70 quintals of wood of oak. From wikipedia

 

Brief moment

Reverence edification

Temples and poets

Remember the word "edify?" (to encourage intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement). It's become an abandoned word now, but just as we must be careful about what we eat and take into our bodies, so we must be careful what we read or watch and take into our minds. As we become what we eat—physically healthy or unhealthy according to our choices—so we become what we read and watch, spiritually healthy or unhealthy according to our choices. Are we consuming media "junk food," pleasant to the taste for the moment, but with little or no nutrition in it and long-term unhealthy effects on our spirits, or filtering it out in a quest for spiritual edification, knowledge and understanding to make for a richer and more complete life? Are we feeding our bodies but starving our souls?

My favorite rocks in the Alabama Hills, under a wild lenticular cloud.

  

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Prints available: http://artinnaturephotography.com/

Adventures for your entertainment and edification: artinnature.wordpress.com/

We've all seen the beautiful sexy polygonal curves of the badwater salt flats... well, I set out to find something equally strange, yet different. This is what I found. I can just imagine the formations being salty slugs emerging from the flats and squiggling off into the distance.

 

Prints available: florisvanbreugel.smugmug.com/

Adventures for your entertainment and edification: artinnature.wordpress.com/

I set photos that resonate as my desktop background, to rotate through a type of personal favourites portfolio. These stately buildings and the fall colours struck me, almost a year later …

 

(7 Oct 2013: I know I need to either use software to pull the top of the building a bit forward to be straight, and/or invest a small fortune in a tilt-shift lens ... 9 Oct 2013: Done with DXO software)

 

This is from Harvard, where I was fortunate to attend the Value-based Healthcare seminar offered by Porter (of Competition fame) and Kaplan (of Activity-based Costing fame). I was skeptical and left a convert to the rigour of the Harvard methodology, however lightly imparted in the seminar ("If this were a full MBA, I'd grill you about not knowing the case well enough" said Kaplan at one point to the hapless class.) I also found both Porter and Kaplan warm and receptive as teachers.

 

Porter said they'd tried "all the technology" but found chalk boards were still the best. He seemed to have one or two full-time personal assistants at his disposal, bringing him copies of papers etc as well as a non-stop flow of diet/regular coke and walnuts. Kaplan, on the second morning got into a state of what I would describe as Csikszentmihalyi-like flow and was talking about the origins of his work; a bit hard to explain but there was a kind of intense concentration. Everyone was focused.

 

Some quotes:

 

“Doctors think they are like wine; they getter better with age” - Course participant

“Some academics think the same.” - Kaplan

 

"This is all bullshit. We don't know the outcomes. We don't know the costs." - Porter on the overall state of [American] healthcare.

 

"This is a little different from Toyota making cars better" - Porter on why it mattered to do the work

 

“Better to be approximately correct rather than absolutely wrong” - Kaplan on measurement

 

“With four-digit accuracy it is hard to imagine the first digit could be wrong” - Kaplan on the need to focus on order of magnitude calculations.

 

“To collect the data ask 'what were you doing' and 'how much time did you spend'? When we compared this approach with results from automated systems, such as in an OR that capture time automatically, there was a surprising similarity." - Kaplan on why he is now satisfied with just asking people vs a scientific Tayloresque approach of using stop watches and the like.

 

“When we compared surgeons time to complete a total knee replacement in Germany it took 43 minutes. In the US it also took 43 minutes. The German surgeon completed seven surgeries a day while the US surgeon completed three.” - Kaplan on externalities

 

“We use eminence-based decision making but we need evidence-based decision making” - course participant.

Blooming Brittlebush from Anza Borrego, minutes before the direct sun graced the flowers.

 

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Prints available: florisvanbreugel.smugmug.com/

Adventures for your entertainment and edification: artinnature.wordpress.com/

San Marco in Lamis Gargano Puglia Italia©2015 All rights reserved

FotoSketcher lively

Nikon coolpix p 7100

 

San Marco in Lamis è un comune italiano di 13.928 abitanti della provincia di Foggia, in Puglia.

San Marco in Lamis è nota soprattutto per la tradizionale Processione delle "fracchie", una manifestazione religiosa popolare molto suggestiva e assai singolare, che si ripete puntualmente da circa tre secoli ogni venerdì Santo per la rievocazione della Passione di Cristo, e che, ogni anno, richiama un grande afflusso di forestieri. Le fracchie sono delle enormi fiaccole, realizzate con grossi tronchi di albero di quercia o castagno aperti longitudinalmente a forma di cono e riempiti di legna, per essere incendiate all'imbrunire e divenire quindi dei falò ambulanti che illuminano il cammino della Madonna Addolorata lungo le strade del paese alla ricerca del figlio Gesù morto.Sembra che le origini di questo rito risalgano ai primi anni del XVIII secolo, epoca di edificazione della chiesa dell'Addolorata e le sue ragioni, oltre che di ordine religioso e devozionale, vadano collegate anche ad una motivazione di ordine pratico riconducibile alle precise condizioni fisiche dell'abitato. Infatti, quando venne costruita (1717), la chiesa dell'Addolorata si trovava fuori del centro abitato e lì sarebbe rimasta fino all'ultimo ventennio del XIX secolo. Una collocazione questa che sollecitò la fantasia degli abitanti, i quali pensarono di illuminare con le "fracchie" la strada che la Madonna percorreva dalla sua chiesa fino alla Collegiata, dove era custodito il corpo del Cristo. Le “fracchie più grandi possono essere lunghe anche 13-14 metri e pesare anche 60-70 quintali di legno di quercia , castagno o abete .

da wikipedia

 

San Marco in Lamis is a town of 13,928 citizens in the Italian province of Foggia, Puglia, Italy.

San Marco in Lamis is a town of 13.928 citizens and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It is located in the Gargano massif area.Apart from some tourism conted to pilgrimages at the local Catholic sanctuary of St. Matthew, the economy is mostly based on agriculture.San Marco in Lamis is known for the traditional procession of "fracchie", a very popular religious manifestation suggestive and very singular, that is repeated regularly from about three centuries each friday Saint for the reenactment of the passion of Christ, and that each year draws a large influx of foreigners. The fracchie are huge torches, made with large trees oak opened longitudinally cone-shaped and filled with wood, to be burned at dusk and become so a itinerant bonfires that illuminate the journey of our Lady of Sorrows along the roads of the country in search of the son Jesus died.It seems that the origins of this rite dates back to the early 18th century, a time of edification of the Church of our Lady of sorrows and his reasons as well as religious and devotional order, should be connected to a practical motivation due to precise physical conditions of the town. In fact, when it was built (1717), the Church of our Lady of Sorrows was out of town and would remain there until the last two decades of the 19th century. A bin that solicited the imagination of the inhabitants, whom they thought to illuminate with the "fracchie" the way that she ran from her church until the collegiate, where he guarded the body of Christ. The"Fracchia" can also get the length of 13-14 meters and weigh 60-70 quintals of wood of oak. From wikipedia

THE BLACK EAGLE COMPLEX is probably the most monumental architectural accomplishment in Oradea

( Varadinum ) and in Transylvania, as far as the Secession building style is concerned. The contest to build this architectural complex was won by architects Komor Marcell and Jakab Dezső. Its construction, on the old location of the “Black Eagle” Inn, begins in 1907, under the supervision of construction engineer Sztarill Ferenc, and in December 1908, the edification is complete.

Black Eagle Palace has an interior passage covered with glass element that it singles secession architecture in the context of our country and also attract the attention of tourists. The palace is “Y” shaped with three entrances dominated by one eagle, emblem of the building. Part of the passage entrance from the V. Alecsandri street and from Union square is shaped like an eagle’s beak.

 

On the facade that is situated at Union square, you can see the features and the beautiful secession style clock tower. Note the ground ornaments (floral and zoomorphic), combined with other styles of baroque or rococo, and a mixture of elements is that make Black Eagle Palace an architectural monument special and a unique expression of artistic thinking from the early twentieth century.

And it is the largest and most representative architectural ensemble Secession style in Transylvania.

After a 6 mile hike through my favorite canyon, and an additional half a mile or so of bushwhacking and cliff hugging I stumbled upon this scene just as a deep gorge opened up. Behind me is a crystal clear pool about 10 feet deep, and further down the way is another about 15 feet deep. What an amazing place!

 

View large, thanks!

 

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Prints available: florisvanbreugel.smugmug.com/

Adventures for your entertainment and edification: artinnature.wordpress.com/

 

Sporting Chance Center, Tucson, AZ Jan 19, 2014 — Club Cactus #13 tries to shoot through Dessert Stars numbers 34 and 4.

PENTAX K-5

smc PENTAX-DA* 50-135mm F2.8 ED AL [IF] SDM, @105mm

ISO 1600, ƒ3.5, 1/250

Sporting Chance Center, Tucson, AZ Jan 19, 2014 — Team Dinamo #11 and #14 cross the line in an attempt to rescue a ball.

PENTAX K-5

smc PENTAX-DA* 16-50mm F2.8 ED AL [IF] SDM, @ 42mm

ISO 3200, ƒ5.6, 1/250

Fortitude Valley was always a “mixed” place. It was known as one of the poorest areas in Brisbane, but it was also home to the middle classes. It had industry, retail, shipping and working girls; it had religious institutions and social reformers; it had “street boys” and street sweepers; and it had an increasing number of citizens who wondered what might change, what needed to change.

 

In 1907, too, more and more working class women were doing paid work; just as a number of middle class women were extending their own skills and political concerns outside the home. Of course, there were activist working women too. But a group of reformers who lived in and around “Poverty Valley” were concerned with the life of the street; were worried about how these women would look after their children; and believed in intervention and in the role of reform through both activity and edification. And there, on the corner of Brunswick and Ivory Streets – where there’s now a collection of nightclubs, host to occasional headline-making behaviour – was a tobacco factory that had just closed down. The smell of tobacco had gone, but so had a significant number of jobs.

 

One of the leaders of this group of change-artists, was an American-born Congregationist minister with the unlikely name of Loyal Wirt. Wirt, and some of his cronies – both women and men, in a period when these stories tended to be hung on the hook of one male leader – decided they wanted to do something. Together, they formed the Brisbane Institute of Social Service, and they wanted a place to act as an antidote to the mean streets. A site for a boys club, a girls club, a crèche and a kindergarten, at the very least. So they approached the owners of the now-closed tobacco factory, and asked if they could rent the space. To their surprise, they were given the space for free, for a while at least, and off they went.

Further reading here:

www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/childcare-centre-closes-valley-hi...

 

(State Library of Qld blog)

Le château de Chambord est un château français situé dans la commune de Chambord.

Construit au cœur du plus grand parc forestier clos d’Europe (environ 50 km2 ceint par un mur de 32 km de long), il s'agit du plus vaste des châteaux de la Loire. Il bénéficie d'un jardin d'agrément et d'un parc de chasse.

Le site a d'abord accueilli une motte féodale, ainsi que l'ancien château des comtes de Blois. L'origine du château actuel remonte au XVIe siècle et au règne du roi de France François Ier qui supervise son édification à partir de 1519.

fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_de_Chambord

 

The royal Château de Chambord at Chambord is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures. The building, which was never completed, was constructed by King Francis I of France.

Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley; it was built to serve as a hunting lodge for Francis I, who maintained his royal residences at the châteaux of Blois and Amboise.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_de_Chambord

 

San Marco in Lamis Gargano Puglia italia©2015 All rights reserved

FotoSketcher lively

Nikon coolpix p 7100

 

San Marco in Lamis è un comune italiano di 13.928 abitanti della provincia di Foggia, in Puglia.

San Marco in Lamis è nota soprattutto per la tradizionale Processione delle "fracchie", una manifestazione religiosa popolare molto suggestiva e assai singolare, che si ripete puntualmente da circa tre secoli ogni venerdì Santo per la rievocazione della Passione di Cristo, e che, ogni anno, richiama un grande afflusso di forestieri. Le fracchie sono delle enormi fiaccole, realizzate con grossi tronchi di albero di quercia o castagno aperti longitudinalmente a forma di cono e riempiti di legna, per essere incendiate all'imbrunire e divenire quindi dei falò ambulanti che illuminano il cammino della Madonna Addolorata lungo le strade del paese alla ricerca del figlio Gesù morto.Sembra che le origini di questo rito risalgano ai primi anni del XVIII secolo, epoca di edificazione della chiesa dell'Addolorata e le sue ragioni, oltre che di ordine religioso e devozionale, vadano collegate anche ad una motivazione di ordine pratico riconducibile alle precise condizioni fisiche dell'abitato. Infatti, quando venne costruita (1717), la chiesa dell'Addolorata si trovava fuori del centro abitato e lì sarebbe rimasta fino all'ultimo ventennio del XIX secolo. Una collocazione questa che sollecitò la fantasia degli abitanti, i quali pensarono di illuminare con le "fracchie" la strada che la Madonna percorreva dalla sua chiesa fino alla Collegiata, dove era custodito il corpo del Cristo. Le “fracchie più grandi possono essere lunghe anche 13-14 metri e pesare anche 60-70 quintali di legno di quercia , castagno o abete .

da wikipedia

 

San Marco in Lamis is a town of 13,928 citizens in the Italian province of Foggia, Puglia, Italy.

San Marco in Lamis is a town of 13.928 citizens and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It is located in the Gargano massif area.Apart from some tourism conted to pilgrimages at the local Catholic sanctuary of St. Matthew, the economy is mostly based on agriculture.San Marco in Lamis is known for the traditional procession of "fracchie", a very popular religious manifestation suggestive and very singular, that is repeated regularly from about three centuries each friday Saint for the reenactment of the passion of Christ, and that each year draws a large influx of foreigners. The fracchie are huge torches, made with large trees oak opened longitudinally cone-shaped and filled with wood, to be burned at dusk and become so a itinerant bonfires that illuminate the journey of our Lady of Sorrows along the roads of the country in search of the son Jesus died.It seems that the origins of this rite dates back to the early 18th century, a time of edification of the Church of our Lady of sorrows and his reasons as well as religious and devotional order, should be connected to a practical motivation due to precise physical conditions of the town. In fact, when it was built (1717), the Church of our Lady of Sorrows was out of town and would remain there until the last two decades of the 19th century. A bin that solicited the imagination of the inhabitants, whom they thought to illuminate with the "fracchie" the way that she ran from her church until the collegiate, where he guarded the body of Christ. The"Fracchia" can also get the length of 13-14 meters and weigh 60-70 quintals of wood of oak. From wikipedia

© Saúl Tuñón Loureda

 

twitter.com/Woody_Twitt

www.facebook.com/stloureda

 

La basílica del Sagrado Corazón de Montmartre, (en francés: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur) es un importante templo religioso situado en París (Francia). Está ubicado en lo alto de la colina de Montmartre.

 

Se trata de una basílica menor dedicada al Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (en francés, SacréCœur de Jésus).

 

Historia

 

Su construcción fue decidida por la Asamblea Nacional en 1873, como un edificio religioso a perpetuidad en homenaje a la memoria de los numerosos ciudadanos franceses que habían perdido la vida durante la Guerra franco-prusiana. Según sus promotores se hacía también para expiar por la impiedad del Segundo Imperio francés.2 Fue el arquitecto Paul Abadie quien ganó el concurso para su construcción.

 

La primera piedra se colocó en 1875, y aunque se completó en 1914, no se consagró hasta el fin de la Primera Guerra Mundial, en 1919. La iglesia fue construida con fondos procedentes exclusivamente de una suscripción popular.

 

Es uno de los monumentos más visitados de la ciudad parisina.

 

Arquitectura

 

La planta del edificio está más central que basilical. Tiene forma de cruz griega, adornada con cuatro cúpulas: el domo central, de 80 m. de altura, está tocado por una linterna, formada por una columnata. En el ábside, una inmensa torre cuadrada hace las veces de campanario que guarda, entre otras, la Savoyarde, una campana de 3 m de diámetro y de 18.550 kilogramos de peso, ofrecida por la diócesis de Chambéry. La cripta posee la misma disposición que la iglesia, y es una de las curiosidades de la basílica.

 

La arquitectura se inspira en la arquitectura romana y bizantina e influyó en otros edificios religiosos del siglo XX, como la basílica de Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux. Es posible acceder a la basílica tomando el funicular de Montmartre.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bas%C3%ADlica_del_Sagrado_Coraz%C3%...

 

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur (French: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, pronounced [sakʁe kœʁ]), is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. Sacré-Cœur is a double monument, political and cultural, both a national penance for the defeat of France in the 1871 Franco-Prussian War and the socialist Paris Commune of 1871[1] crowning its most rebellious neighborhood, and an embodiment of conservative moral order, publicly dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ.[2]

 

The Sacré-Cœur Basilica was designed by Paul Abadie. Construction began in 1875 and was finished in 1914. It was consecrated after the end of World War I in 1919.

 

The inspiration for Sacré Cœur's design originated on September 4, 1870, the day of the proclamation of the Third Republic, with a speech by Bishop Fournier attributing the defeat of French troops during the Franco-Prussian War to a divine punishment after "a century of moral decline" since the French Revolution, in the wake of the division in French society that arose in the decades following that revolution, between devout Catholics and legitimist royalists on one side,[3] and democrats, secularists, socialists and radicals on the other. This schism in the French social order became particularly pronounced after the 1870 withdrawal of the French military garrison protecting the Vatican in Rome to the front of the Franco-Prussian War by Napoleon III,[4] the secular uprising of the Paris Commune of 1870-1871, and the subsequent 1871 defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War.

 

Though today the Basilica is asserted[5][when?] to be dedicated in honor of the 58,000 who lost their lives during the war, the decree of the Assemblée nationale, 24 July 1873, responding to a request by the archbishop of Paris by voting its construction, specifies that it is to "expiate the crimes of the Commune".[6] Montmartre had been the site of the Commune's first insurrection, and the Communards had executed Georges Darboy, Archbishop of Paris, who became a martyr for the resurgent Catholic Church. His successor Guibert, climbing the Butte Montmartre in October 1872, was reported to have had a vision, as clouds dispersed over the panorama: "It is here, it is here where the martyrs are,[7] it is here that the Sacred Heart must reign so that it can beckon all to come".[8]

 

In the moment of inertia following the resignation of the government of Adolphe Thiers, 24 May 1873, François Pie, bishop of Poitiers, expressed the national yearning for spiritual renewal— "the hour of the Church has come"—[9] that would be expressed through the "Government of Moral Order" of the Third Republic, which linked Catholic institutions with secular ones, in "a project of religious and national renewal, the main features of which were the restoration of monarchy and the defense of Rome within a cultural framework of official piety",[10] of which Sacré-Cœur is the chief lasting triumphalist[11] monument.

 

The decree voting its construction as a "matter of public utility", 24 July,[12] followed close on Thiers' resignation. The project was expressed by the Church as a National Vow (Voeu national) and financial support came from parishes throughout France. The dedicatory inscription records the Basilica as the accomplishment of a vow by Alexandre Legentil and Hubert Rohault de Fleury, ratified by Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert, Archbishop of Paris. The project took many years to complete,

 

The overall style of the structure shows a free interpretation of Romano-Byzantine features, an unusual architectural vocabulary at the time, which was a conscious reaction against the neo-Baroque excesses of the Palais Garnier, which was cited in the competition.[18] Many design elements of the basilica symbolise nationalist themes: the portico, with its three arches, is adorned by two equestrian statues of French national saints Joan of Arc (1927) and King Saint Louis IX, both executed in bronze by Hippolyte Lefebvre; and the nineteen-ton Savoyarde bell (one of the world's heaviest), cast in 1895 in Annecy, alludes to the annexation of Savoy in 1860.

 

Sacré-Cœur is built of travertine stone quarried in Château-Landon (Seine-et-Marne), France. This stone constantly exudes calcite, which ensures that the basilica remains white even with weathering and pollution.

 

A mosaic in the apse, entitled Christ in Majesty, created by Luc-Olivier Merson, is among the largest in the world.

 

The basilica complex includes a garden for meditation, with a fountain. The top of the dome is open to tourists and affords a spectacular panoramic view of the city of Paris, which is mostly to the south of the basilica.

 

The use of cameras and video recorders is forbidden inside the Basilica.

 

Access

 

The Basilica is accessible by bus. Buses 30, 31, 80, and 85 can be taken to the bottom of the hill of the Basilica. Line 12 of the metro can be taken to Jules Joffrin station and visitors can then change to the Montmartrobus and disembark at Place du Tertre. Line 2 or 12 of the metro can be taken to Pigalle station where visitors can change to the Montmartrobus and disembark at Norvins, or to Anvers station which gives easy access to the steps or the funicular car that lead directly to the Basilica.

 

Sacré-Cœur is open from 06:00 to 22:30 every day. The dome is accessible from 09:00 to 19:00 in the summer and 18:00 in the winter.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacr%C3%A9-C%C5%93ur,_Paris

 

La basilique du Sacré-Cœur, dite du Vœu national, située au sommet de la butte Montmartre, dans le 18e arrondissement de Paris, est un édifice religieux parisien majeur.

 

La construction de cette église, monument à la fois politique et culturel, suit l'après-guerre de 1870. Elle est déclarée d'utilité publique par une loi votée le 24 juillet 1873 par l'Assemblée nationale de 1871. Elle s'inscrit dans le cadre d'un nouvel « ordre moral » faisant suite aux événements de la Commune de Paris, dont Montmartre fut un des hauts lieux. Avec près de 11 millions de pèlerins et visiteurs par an, c'est le second monument religieux parisien le plus visité après la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

 

Depuis longtemps la colline de Montmartre a été un lieu de culte : paganisme gaulois supposé puis temples gallo-romains dédiés à Mercure et probablement à Mars ; culte chrétien après le martyre de l'évêque Denis au IIIe siècle, chapelle surmontant la crypte du martyrium de saint Denis, construction au XIIe siècle de l'église Saint-Pierre, parmi les plus anciennes de Paris, pour l’abbaye royale de Montmartre par le roi Louis VI et sa femme Adélaïde de Savoie. Le nom de la colline de Montmartre vient probablement du nom du lieu, Mons Martis(mont de Mars). L'église de Montmartre qui s'est substituée aux temples romains a été élevée en l'honneur des saints martyrs saint Denis, Rustique et Éleuthère décapités selon la légende3 sur la colline et dont une chapelle, située sur le flanc sud de la butte, devait commémorer le lieu traditionnel du supplice, en prenant le nom de Saint-Martyre. Le mont de Mars a donc pu être réinterprété vers le IXe siècle en Mont des Martyrs (Mons Martyrum), puis par dérivation populaire en « mont de martre », martre signifiant « martyr » en ancien français4. La substitution toponymique du mont païen par le mont chrétien reste cependant hypothétique et la double étymologie (mont de Mars et mont des Martyrs) est encore actuellement traditionnellement proposée. Il faudrait, « pour pouvoir trancher la question, savoir comment le peuple, dans son langage parlé, appelait cette colline avant le IXe siècle, puisque c'est à cette époque que les documents écrits enregistrèrent le changement de nom.

 

Le 16 juin 1875, le cardinal Guibert pose la première pierre (un marbre rose) de la basilique, non loin de l'ancien moulin de la galette, d'où le surnom donné à la basilique par le peuple de Montmartre, « Notre Dame de la Galette »24.

 

Des mois sont nécessaires afin de consolider les fondations : les galeries souterraines et les effondrements de terrain imposent la construction de 83 puits d'une profondeur de trente-trois mètres. Remplis de béton et reliés par des arcs, ils font office de pilier qui vont cherche la couche solide sous la glaise25. Dès le 3 mars 1876, l'archevêque de Paris inaugure à côté des travaux une chapelle provisoire. En 1878 débute l'édification de la crypte et en 1881 celle de la basilique. L'intérieur de la nef est inauguré le 5 juin 189126. Les vitraux posés entre 1903 et 1920, sont détruits pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale et remplacés par des vitraux contemporains. Le campanile (clocher haut de 90 mètres) est terminé en 1912, mais il faut attendre 1914 pour que l'ensemble de la façade soit achevé. La consécration, initialement prévue le 17 octobre 1914, est reportée à cause de l'entrée en guerre. Elle a lieu le 16 octobre 1919, célébrée par le cardinal Vico, en présence du cardinal Amette, archevêque de Paris, et de nombreux évêques, dignitaires ecclésiastiques, membres du clergé, personnalités civiles et simples fidèles. L'église est alors érigée en basilique mineure27. Le bâtiment est officiellement achevé en 192328 avec la finition de la décoration intérieure, notamment les mosaïques de l'abside29. Les années 1930 voient le début de la construction des annexes, sacristie, bureaux et dortoir pour accueillir les pèlerins.

 

La basilique n'est pas construite selon le plan basilical traditionnel. Elle est en forme de croix grecque, ornée de quatre coupoles. La coupole centrale a une hauteur sous clef de voûte de 54,94 m et un diamètre de 16 mètres ; son dôme central, haut de 83 m (c'était le point le plus élevé de Paris avant la construction de la Tour Eiffel), est surmonté d'un lanterneau formé d'une colonnade. Un escalier en colimaçon de 237 marches permet d'accéder à la galerie intérieure et extérieure de ce dôme, la première offrant une vue sur l'intérieur de l'église et la seconde un panorama circulaire sur 30 km par temps claire31. Le style éclectique architectural de l'édifice, s'inspirant de l'architecture romane, de l'architecture byzantine, et particulièrement de la cathédrale Saint-Front de Périgueux, a influencé plusieurs autres édifices religieux du XXe siècle (basilique Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux par exemple).

 

Contrairement à la plupart des églises qui ont traditionnellement une orientation Est-Ouest, celle de la basilique est Nord-Sud, tournée vers le centre de Paris, plus particulièrement de Notre-Dame qui est située dans l'alignement de l'édifice.[réf. souhaitée]

 

La pierre blanche retenue pour la construction est un travertin qui provient des carrières de Château-Landon et de Souppes-sur-Loing (les pierres de l'Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile ont la même origine)32. Elle a été retenue par l'architecte Paul Abadie pour ses qualités de dureté et d'auto-nettoiement au contact de l'eau, ce calcaire exsudant du calcite, ce qui garde la teinte blanche de la pierre. La basilique repose sur le gypse au moyen de piliers qui traversent les marnes et les sables sus-jacents33.

 

À l'intérieur, le plafond de l'abside est décoré de la plus grande mosaïque de France (Émaux de Briare), couvrant une surface de 473,78 m2. Conçue par Luc-Olivier Merson et exécutée de 1918 à 1922 par les ateliers Guilbert-Martin, elle représente le Sacré-Cœur de Jésus glorifié par l’église catholique et la France. À sa base on peut lire une phrase en latin signifiant : « Au Cœur très saint de Jésus, la France fervente, pénitente et reconnaissante. »

 

Une immense tour carrée servant de clocher renferme, entre autres, la plus grosse cloche de France. Baptisée la Savoyarde, elle a été fondue à Annecy en 1895 par les frères Paccard. Elle mesure 3 mètres de diamètre et pèse 18 835 kg. Quant à son support, il pèse 7 380 kg. Le marteau qui la frappe pèse quant à lui 1 200 kg. Symbole nationaliste rappelant l'Annexion de la Savoie, elle fut offerte à la basilique par les quatre diocèses de la Savoie, et arriva sur la butte le 16 octobre 1895, ce qui fut un événement parisien.

 

fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilique_du_Sacr%C3%A9-C%C5%93ur_d...

The KOM League

Flash Report

for

10/11/2021

  

With the passage of a few weeks, without sharing a Flash Report, it was decided that an attempt should be made to write one to prove to myself that it is still possible. Now that the attempt has been made it is up to the readership to see if the decision to do so is worth their time. To check on it go to: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/51578375103/

  

Unfortunately, the majority of items coming to my attention deal with former players having had their final birthday.

 

Edward Morgenthaler-1949 Chanute, Kansas Athletics

www.schrader.com/obituary/ed-morgenthaler (St. Louis, MO)

 

Morgenthaler, Ed, born May 27, 1929, passed peacefully at home on September 29, 2021.

Beloved husband of Catherine Morgenthaler who passed away June 3, 1973, and Oretta Morgenthaler who passed away May 8, 2012. Devoted father of daughter, Rita Marsh (Dave) and son, Edward Morgenthaler (Paula). Loving grandfather of Jennifer Marsh, Thomas Marsh, John Marsh, Howard Morgenthaler and Sean Morgenthaler.

 

Our father had a large, quiet, stoic presence about him. A person regarded and respected by all as a man of honor and faith. He spoke without speaking. All the while, he lived an incredible journey wrapped around athletics, service to his country, law enforcement and family.

 

A member of the McBride High School Sports Hall of Fame and four-time medal winner at the International Police Olympics; he signed with the New York (San Francisco) Giants organization at the age of 16. Later he served four years as a MP in the United States Air Force where he was stationed in Europe as a member of the Armed Forces European Baseball Team. A graduate of the FBI Academy, he spent over 35 years in the Clayton Police Department many of which under the rank of Captain. Nothing made our dad happier than just enjoying a cold beer while taking in a game with family and friends.

 

Services: Funeral Mass at Christ Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Monday, October 18, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. Interment at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery with full military honors. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to American Heart Association. Friends may sign the family’s on-line guestbook at Schrader.com.

 

On the following two links are “posed” and “casual photos of the 1949 Chanute Athletics in which Mr. Morgenthaler appears.

www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/20215377659/

www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/42418276610/

In order to find out where Mr. Morgenthaler is in those two photos the narrative below that photo in a long ago Flash Report will have to be perused.

 

Although communication with Morgenthaler was not as voluminous as with some former players he always notified me of former KOM leaguers in the St. Louis metro area who passed away.

________________________________________________

Richard McCoy- 1948-49 Ponca City Dodgers

roedermortuary.com/richard-c-mccoy-sr/

 

Richard Carl “Dick” McCoy, Sr., 92 years of age. Dick was born the only child to Carl and Irene McCoy on September 7, 1929. He attended grade school in Omaha and graduated from Omaha North High School in 1947. Dick was very active in sports, playing baseball and basketball.

 

He married his high school sweetheart Molly Steck on February 6, 1949. Dick played professional AAA baseball with the Dodger organization. He played in the first game held at Rosenblatt Stadium in1948 and was honored at the last game in 2010. In 1956, Dick joined the Omaha Fire Department where he retired as a Captain in 1986. After retiring, he worked part-time at Wynne Transport, which was owned by Don Wynne, a grade school friend.

 

He cherished his grandchildren and always gave them advice and $20 for tacos. “Accuracy, Not Speed” was one of his reminders to them.

 

Dick and Molly enjoyed many family vacations, camping and gardening. They enjoyed RV traveling with their friends and grandkids and made several trips to Lopez Island, WA to see their son Rick and his family.

 

Dick was quite a historian with many baseball stories and memorabilia. They traveled to KOM baseball reunions to reunite with former players.

 

Tiger Tom’s Pub is where you would find Dick and Molly. Chatting with friends and playing Keno. The staff and customers always enjoy Molly’s baked goods.

 

We are grateful to the doctors and nurses at UNMC and the staff at Hillcrest Hospice who guided his care so his wish to remain at home could be fulfilled.

 

Preceded in death by parents, Earl “Carl” and Irene McCoy. Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 72 years, Molly. Sons Rick (Marge) McCoy, Lopez Island WA. Marc (Jodi) McCoy, Bennington NE. Daughter Vicki (Steve) Jensen of Omaha.

 

Grandchildren, Doug (Heidi) Taylor, Burien, WA, Megan McCoy, Lopez Island, WA,

Evan (Cambree) McCoy, Everett, WA, Jared (Alyse) Jensen, Omaha, NE, Jenna Jensen, Lincoln, NE, Heather McCoy, Omaha, NE, Colton McCoy, USMC Cherry Point, NC.

 

Great-grandchildren, Carson McCoy, Beckham Jensen, Montgomery Jensen, Jaia Merriam.

In lieu of flowers memorials are suggested to Northwest Hills Church. Visitation 5-7PM Friday (10/8/21) at Roeder Mortuary, 2727 N. 108th St. Funeral Service 10AM Saturday (10/9/21) at Northwest Hills Church, 9334 Fort St.

 

Comments:

 

Thanks John You are great seeing so many of our friends go to the better place and we all will join them some day. Dick and I where so lucky to have each other for so long but it is really heard o say goodbye for awhile but I will meet him again. Thank you again for your kind words. Molly McCoy

 

Ed comment:

Note from Molly McCoy which had to be difficult to write. If I was up to the drive I’d attend the funeral. Dick would have done the same for me.

 

I mentioned to Molly that we hadn’t seen each other since the 60th wedding anniversary celebration. That was the reason for the 72 years plus statement.

 

Dick had many close friends but the two closest were Pepper Martin and Boyd Bartley.

Both were his managers but what really formed the bond was their love of fishing.

 

Jack Morris—Baseball necrologist

 

I’m sorry to bring you the news of Dick McCoy’s death. Since it specifically mentions traveling to the KOM League reunions in his obituary, I’m sure you know him quite well.

Jack Morris

 

Note to Boyd Bartley’s daughter

 

Judith, I know of no other former Ponca City Dodger who liked your dad as much as Dick McCoy did. I think being fellow fishermen helped. Judith Fisher—Daughter of the late Boyd Bartley.

 

Ed comments

 

Since the inception of writing about the KOM league contact has been constant between the McCoy family and Yours truly. Dick and Molly shared many photos of the early days of the Ponca City Dodgers and had great stories to back them up.

 

Whenever there was a KOM league event you could count on the McCoy’s to be there to reunite with a very close knit of Dick’s former teammates. Looking back I believe the teams managed by Boyd Bartley kept in contact more-so that any other organization represented in the KOM league with the Independence Yankees running a close second. The Dodgers and Yankees of that era were first class organizations.

 

Many times McCoy would call and ask if I could assist him in finding a former teammate he knew from his days in Miami, Florida- Pueblo Colorado-Ft. Worth, Texas, Oakland, California or Ponca City. We always tracked down that person with one notable exception—Elroy “Straight” Face. He was the former Dodger the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted who become a star pitcher. Face was not that difficult to find but he never got in touch with McCoy.

 

It was a joy to become acquainted with the McCoy family, including his mother, Irene, who lived to be 104. At the 60th wedding anniversary for Dick and Molly they extended an invitation for me to attend. Irene was in an independent living facility where the McCoy’s arranged guest accommodations for those coming from out of town to their anniversary celebration.

 

At this event former Ponca City Dodger, Joe Beran, and I were roommates. Irene invited us to breakfast the next morning which she prepared and it was excellent. She remembered Beran from being her son’s teammate in 1948 and quizzed him about most of the aspects of his life since that time. Some of the questions were quite pointed but “Gentleman Joe” handled each in stride.

 

One of the projects Dick McCoy asked for my assistance was helping him get rid of a rather large, valuable and unique collection of baseball memorabilia. It was mentioned in the early editions of the paper newsletter that used to makes its rounds through the postal service, sometimes arriving at the intended destination. Wouldn’t suffice to attempt to mention all that was in that collection but it was historical even down to the first baseball cap that had a inner lining. It was developed by a John Hopkins professor, at the request of Branch Rickey. Rickey was concerned over the fact that Pete Reiser hit almost as many balls with his head as he did with the Louisville Slugger.

 

After a few weeks of promoting it was possible to find a buyer for McCoy’s collection and it wound up in the hands of a baseball card shop right here in Columbia, Mo. I used to go in and look at it once in a while wishing I owned it. But, the fellow who purchased the collection did give me the Ponca City Dodger cap with the plastic liner which is a treasure, to me.

 

However, over the years my greatest joy and reward has not been in having the physical relics of the past but having made the acquaintance and in some cases friends with many of the big guys who played baseball in the KOM league when I was a little boy and I do mean little.

 

Post script.

 

McCoy knew hundreds of former players and managers. He formed a mutual bond with two of his managers, Boyd Bartley and Pepper Martin. If there was anything those guys liked more than baseball it was fishing. Since McCoy also an angler the friendships were lasting. During the 1950 baseball season, at Miami Beach, Martin and McCoy put together what amounted to be an amphibious boat. At the conclusion of the season McCoy pulled that “contraption” to Oklahoma, for Martin, and then went on home to Omaha. ________________________________________________

Family necrology of the Boyer family

 

Since a lot of misinformation has existed for many years, regarding the Boyer family’s birth places, this is for the benefit of those who keep up with such things for historical purposes as it relates to professional baseball.

•

ALBA, Mo. - Chester Vern Boyer, 78, patriarch of Missouri's No. 1 baseball family, died at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday at Freeman Hospital in Joplin where he had been a patient since Nov 13.

 

Born Oct 14, 1903 at Arbella, Mo., Mr. Boyer had resided in Alba the last 40 years, moving there from nearby Cossville. He served four terms as mayor and also was a member of the Alba Board of Education. Boyer was a retired employee of the Locarni Quarry in Carthage.

 

He was active in Little League baseball and was a member of the First Baptist Church of Jasper.

All seven sons of Vern and Mable Agnes Boyer signed professional baseball contracts and three of them played in the major leagues.

 

Cloyd Boyer of Webb City pitched for St. Louis and Kansas City in the major leagues and managed and coached in the minor leagues prior to coaching stints with the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. He is now pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals.

 

Kenton Boyer, St. Louis, was an all-star third baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals and later managed the Cardinals. He recently signed to manage the Cardinals triple-A farm club at Louisville, Ky., for the 1982 season.

 

Clete Boyer, Atlanta, Georgia was signed to a bonus contract with the Kansas City Athletics in 1955 but was an all-star third baseman for the New York Yankees. He is currently third base coach for the Oakland A's.

 

The other sons, Wayne, Kokomo, Ind.; Leonard and Ron, both of Webb City, and Lynn, Independence, Mo., all played minor league baseball.

 

Other survivors include six daughters, Mrs. Juanita Woodmansee, Mrs. Pansy Schell and Mrs. Barbara McNary all of Alba, Mrs. Delorse (sp) Webb, Jasper, Mrs. Shirley Lockhart, Fayetteville, Ark., and Mrs. Marcella Dabbs, Oronogo; a sister, Mrs. Velma Ligon, Tuscon, Ariz.; 41 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.

 

Boyer was preceded in death by his wife on Nov. 24, 1971.

 

Services for Mr. Boyer will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Hedge-Lewis Funeral home in Webb City. Lincoln York, minister, will officiate. Burial will be in Friend's Cemetery at Purcell.

 

From this point forward please click on the URLs or you will miss the total import of this section of the report.

 

www.jaspercountyschools.org/r/id42.htm Alba Rosebank School photo 1936-37

 

www.jaspercountyschools.org/r/id43.htm Rosebank school 1936-37

 

www.findagrave.com/memorial/93319797/chester-vern-boyer

 

More historical data. It includes the best family photo I have ever come across along with links to the passing of the Boyer children.

 

www.shirleyandstout.com/obituary/DrMilton-Boyer/

 

masonwoodard.com/book-of-memories/2669506/boyer-lewis/obi...

 

www.findagrave.com/memorial/112213263/leonard-eugene-boyer

 

www.findagrave.com/memorial/19721029/clete-l.-boyer

 

www.findagrave.com/memorial/123079829/lela-thelma-boyer

 

www.findagrave.com/memorial/169871219/juanita-l-woodmansee

 

In the photo accompanying the last issue of this report of the 1939 Rosebank grade school baseball team the teacher and coach Carl Aris Parker, was shown. Parker was the 20-year old teacher, from Nashville, MO at that one room school which had an attendance of over 30 students which the links cited depict.

 

Carl Parker became Dr. Carl Parker after attaining his doctorate degree from the University of Colorad .and taught at Eastern New Mexico University. Prior to that he had served in World War II. Prior to getting his doctorate in education he served as the superintendent of the American high school in Nuremberg, Germany. (Ed note: There are some great photos and other information about Dr. Parker for those of you who have Ancestry.com Look it up if interested)

 

He was contacted in 1964 about two of his students, Kenny and Cletis being in the World Series. He gave an account of how Kenny was a very small youngster in 1939 but he could compete with the older boys for he adapted his swing to punch base hits into right field.

________________________________________________

Gwinn baseballs

 

A few weeks ago contact was made and some baseball’s from the career of Stanley Gwinn of the 1949-50 Ponca City Dodgers, 1950 KOM league batting champion, were offered if I wanted them. Of course I did and they were sent and the following was what was shared with Stanley Gwinn III regarding those gems.

 

“I got your package today and am thrilled to see those baseballs. I have positively identified each. What I thought at first glance was a 1950 championship team ball was actually from 1949. I recognized all the name on it and while many of the names from 1949 and 1950 were the same I concluded it had to have been the 1949 ball.

The second regular size ball was a memento of a grand slam homer your dad hit the night of June 22, 1950. He had a great game getting four more hits against Iola, Kansas after hitting that home run.

 

The small ball is interesting. Time has taken its toll on some of the signatures but I could make out; Boyd Bartley, Joe Stanek, Ernie Nichols, Loren Doll, Stan Gwinn, Bobby Bonebrake and Don Keeter.

 

Again, I appreciate your sharing these great treasures with me.”

Response from Gwinn:

Truly my pleasure and honor!

________________________________________________

Catching up

 

In recent week I have learned more about some former KOM leaguers who slipped out of this world without my knowledge until recently. Over the years a lot of contact was maintained with Leo Blandina, and Whitey Wood and to a lesser degree Jack Whitaker and John Picconi. Picconi was listed in most of the record books as being born in 1924 but his actual day of advent was in 1922.

 

Due to a couple of reasons which don’t need mentioning all that is being included on the aforementioned four former players is their obituary. If someone out there wants more information it is most likely available on request.

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Richard Elmer “Whitey” Wood—Iola Cubs/Indians 1946-48

 

No obituary was found for fellow referenced so I decided to put a few things together to pay tribute to the grandson of Constantine Wyrvaleski who had a son by the name of Stanley while still in Poland. Upon arrival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Stanley changed his name to Wood and thus when his son came into this world on September 11, 1927 he received the name of Richard Elmer Wood, and kept it until July 4, 2014. He passed away that day in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

 

Due to his blonde hair Wood was called “Whitey.” He was known as that by players and especially female fans in the KOM league from 1946-48. When first starting out researching the history of the KOM league many of the former girls who used to attend games to see Whitey wanted to know what became of him. When they found out he was still living they encouraged me to invite him to the KOM league reunions which he graciously refused to do.

 

His Sporting News card indicates he was signed in 1945 by the Chicago Cubs and was going to be assigned to Leaksville, NC in 1946 but he was sent to Hutchinson, Kansas for spring training and Al Reitz took him to Iola for the 1946 season to play first base.

digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/164100...

 

Wood was a left-handed first baseman who was a switch-hitter. He returned to Iola as a Cub in 1947 and when Iola was dropped from the Cub minor league affiliation he came back in 1948. In three seasons he played in 280 games. Never a home run hitter he had four in those three seasons with 215 other hits being of the singles, doubles and triples varieties. Within a couple of years after leaving professional baseball Wood was serving in the U. S. Army and served in the Korean War where he attained the rank of corporal.

 

Before and after the war Wood attended the State Teachers College in Milwaukee.

 

This is the Find-A-Grave site for Mr. Wood. www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/200094421:60525...

 

In the next obituary is fellow teammate of Whitey Wood during the 1947 season.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Leo Blandina obituary

Leo Joseph Blandina - Kutis Funeral Home (kutisfuneralhomes.com)

 

Leo Joseph Blandina, Fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church on Monday, August 23, 2021. Leo passed away peacefully at the age of 93.

 

Loving husband of the late Virginia E. Blandina (nee Kroner) of 67 years. Beloved son of the late Joseph and Grace Blandina (nee LaFata). Dearest father of John (Jenni) Blandina, Joe (Cindy Bambini) Blandina, Ann (Vince) Holtmann, Maria (Robert) Miller, Gina (Michael) Krebs, and Lea (Tony) Tenore. Dear grandfather of Valerie, Leo, Christian, Sara, Jacob and Alex Blandina, Scott (Meredith) Holtmann, Lisa (Alen) Frankovic, Julie (Daniel) Thorne, Michael Alvey, Joseph, Laura Miller, Jared (Alex), Jennah, Mitchell, Lucas Krebs, Brett Herring and Zach (Taylor) Tenore. Great-grandfather of Leo and Tucker Holtmann, Novak and Petra Frankovic, Quentin Tenore and Baby Krebs. Brother of Theresa (the late Ed) Schmidt, the late Sam (survived by Pauline), Blandina, Vince (Mary) Blandina, Virginia (Lloyd) Weber, Rose (Ed) Biermann, Angie (survived by Marvin) Picou. Our dear brother-in-law, uncle, cousin and friend of many.

 

Leo was the son of Italian immigrants and the patriarch of the Blandina Family. He was a devoted father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Leo was a member of the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame, an avid Cardinal’s fan and golfer. He was a proud U.S. Army veteran, a dedicated entrepreneur, beloved member of the Stillwater Family and was the best spaghetti and meatball maker around. Our journey without him seems impossible, but the memories he left us will never fade.

 

Visitation at Kutis Affton Chapel, 10151 Gravois Rd. on Monday, August 30, 3:00 – 6:30 p.m. Funeral Tuesday, August 31, 9:30 a.m. from KUTIS AFFTON CHAPEL, 10151 Gravois Rd. to St. John Paul II Church, 4980 Heege Rd. for 10 a.m. MASS. Interment with full military honors at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family would like to create a memorial at Stillwater Senior Living. Please make checks payable to the Leo J. Blandina Trust.

 

Ed comment:

 

In searching for Leo Blandina’s Sporting News Index Card someone could almost be convinced he never played. It it posted on the Los Angeles Library site as Leo Leonard Blandine and here it is for your reading edification. That card only had his first name correct. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/7500/r... From that link it is obvious he had the opportunity to see a great deal of this country during his minor league days. By far his most memorable time in the minor league was as a member of the 1947 Iola Cubs. His Sporting News card shows him going as far back as 1945 but although under contract he did not play until 1947. He was in the Chicago Cub organization until 1949 until he was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1949 he was the shortstop at Three Rivers in the Canadian-American League and his double play partner was George Scherger who later managed the Ponca City Dodgers in 1951 and eventually made it to the big leagues as the first base coach for Sparky Anderson during “The Big Red Machine” era of the Cincinnati Reds.

 

Blandina filled out his Baseball Questionnaire, in 1947, and credited Al Reitz as the person who had the most impact on his baseball career. Reitz was the long tenured pitcher in the minor league which encompassed more than 20 years. He was the last manager the Carthage franchise ever had but after Carthage threw in the towel he still hung around the KOM League at Blackwell, Oklahoma for a year and then with that team when it entered the Western Association.

 

Over the years contact was maintained with Blandina and he was always interested in the whereabouts of his former Iola teammates. When we would talk about them he was moved to tears. On numerous occasions he was invited to meet up with those fellows again, at KOM league reunions, but circumstances beyond his control prevented his attending.

________________________________________________

Andrew Jackson Whitaker. Independence Yankees 1949

 

Whitaker was born September 8, 1927 in Petersburg, Tennessee. He was another of those who claimed to be a year younger upon signing a professional contract. His most significant memory of his baseball career, and those with whom he played at Independence, occurred on a foul ball. The ball was headed toward the screen behind home plate and he went for it, looking up. His teeth hit the wall, just below the screen and that is where a couple of upper front teeth were deposited.

 

He was a tough guy and his teammates recall that he made a bridge to hide the loss of those teeth the best he could. At that time Ipana toothpaste was a popular brand and he attempted to use that item to not on whiten hs his homemade bridge but to use the Ipana to hold it in place.

 

This is the site to local Whitaker’s Sporting News Index Card. As pointed out he was born in 1927. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/161134... He died on November 19, 2014 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He had lived most of his adult years in Hollywood, Florida.

_____________________________________________________________________________

John Picconi-Iola Cubs 1947

 

John C. Picconi was a member of the 1947 Iola, Kansas Cubs. He was a veteran of WWII and gave baseball a shot after the war. He took two years off his age when signed by the Cubs. He was born July 16, 1922 in Denver, Colorado.

 

He is buried at Ft. Logan National Cemetery. He passed away on April 7, 2011. www.findagrave.com/memorial/72571003/john-picconi John passed away shortly after his wife did. www.findagrave.com/memorial/219605443/anita-picconi

 

Anyone searching for John Picconi’s Sporting News Index card would have a tough time locating it for they misspelled his last name. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/97895/... However, by the time his grandson signed the Sporting News got his name spelled correctly. digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/id/91241/...

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Mercifully, for those of you who have endured this report, it is now concluded.

the pillar carry the weight of a brilliant tradition and reach wisdom on a eternal pillar with a dose of madness, so it's busy working under the Book of Proverbs is about all wisdom. The book is a compilation of wise sayings that were composed by King Solomon who was the wisest man who had ever lived. What was Solomon’s purpose for giving us Proverbs? Solomon tells us in the very first six verses: Proverbs 1:1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

1:2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 1:3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 1:4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

1:5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: 1:6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

True biblical wisdom involves God’s wisdom for right living and relationships; it requires the same understanding that God has concerning how we are to live and conduct ourselves; it refers to the knowledge of God or of the things that belong to God as related in His whole Word. The Book of Proverbs is all about wisdom and gives us much instruction in wise living according to God’s righteousness while living in a world that is hostile to the laws and principles of God.

When Solomon succeeded David as king over Israel God appeared to him in a dream and promised him anything he asked. Solomon requested that God would provide him with an understanding heart and the ability to discern between good and evil so as to rule the people of Israel with equity. This shows that even as a young man Solomon’s focus was on wanting to be wise. Solomon’s answer pleased the Lord so much, that along with wisdom and understanding, God granted him riches and honor more than any other king, either before, or after Solomon. A demonstration of his wisdom came shortly after when two prostitutes were brought before him to judge over their dispute as to who was the rightful mother of the living son after one son had died. Solomon was given divine insight and then used that insight in wise handling of the situation that brought out who the true mother was and he was able to rightly judge in her favor. From this case, all Israel heard of the wise judgment of Solomon and this too brought him much respect and honor. 1 Kings 3:27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. 3:28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment. It was evident to all that King Solomon possessed extraordinary wisdom in many areas. Besides being a wise judge and ruler, he was also a prolific writer, poet, an expert botanist/biologist, a builder and artist, and a skilled statesman. His wisdom in architecture and management made Israel into the most excellent nation in all of the East. As a diplomat, he made treaties and alliances with the surrounding countries and this brought peace to his kingdom throughout most of his career. And of course, it was Solomon who built the beautiful Temple in Jerusalem.

All of this wisdom was given to him by God. Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt, he was the wisest of all men. He became famous throughout the land for his wisdom.

1 Kings 4:29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. 4:30 And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 4:31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.

4:32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. 4:33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.

4:34 And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

As a side note: although God had gifted Solomon with unsurpassed wisdom, sadly, Solomon allowed his many wives to turn his heart away from God and he turned to idols. In spite of this, his words and teachings are recorded in Scripture for our edification and learning. In all of his writings Solomon teaches much on the value of seeking after wisdom. (In this series we will focus on the subject of wisdom and not on why Solomon departed from following after God.) This is what Solomon had to say in regard to the importance of obtaining wisdom:

Proverbs 4:5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. 4:6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Ecclesiastes 2:13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness

In the first chapter of Proverbs Solomon introduces the purpose of his proverbs: to know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding, and with that he sets the theme for the whole Book. In verse 20 of the first chapter he begins to speak of “wisdom” as a person. He calls this person “Wisdom” and uses feminine pronouns when telling us what she does and what she says.

He calls wisdom “she” and says she utters her voice in the streets and in the place of concourse; or in other words she is shouting out to the common people trying to get their attention in the places where they gather and mingle or perhaps congregate to hear the latest news.

Proverbs 1:20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 1:21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, The use of one thing (perhaps a common thing we all can relate to) to depict another thing (such as a deep spiritual truth) is a common tool that writers of Scripture often use to vividly get a message across. One of these literary tools is to use metaphors to illustrate certain attributes as things or persons speaking. An example is when the the voice of Abel’s blood cried out to God from the ground (Genesis 4:10).

Of course literal blood of a person does not have a voice, neither can it speak. God was referring to the red stain on the ground of Abel’s shed blood that attested to the fact that Cain had killed his brother. In this way God is using poetic language to bring about a vivid image to the reader of the crime scene. (Another clear example of the use of allegories and symbolism is in Ezekiel 17, which is just one of many metaphors given to us throughout the Bible.)

The writers of Scripture (all of whom were inspired by God) use many types of metaphors, imagery, similes, symbolism, parables, allegories, and analogies as tools to bring home a profound message or teaching. Jesus Himself used these various literary tools throughout His ministry here on earth.

Depending on God’s intent, they can be used to make things seem more relevant and understandable to those who read Scripture; or they are sometimes used to hide or cloud the meaning from those who are not seeking after God, those who do not care about truly trying to obey His every Word.

Luke 8:10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Only those are who called and have God’s Holy Spirit can understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and the truth contained in the Bible. And it is only when we are doing all His commandments that God grants understanding; the more we seek to obey Him, the more understanding we will have for: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments….” (Psalm 111:10) The things of God are foolishness to those who are not being led by God’s Spirit for it is only by God’s Spirit that God’s concepts and principles can be discerned. Even the most brilliant and learned men and women in the world cannot understand the spiritual things of God if they are of the world and are not seeking a relationship with Him.

 

1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the

2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Those who are called in this age and are diligent to learn the spiritual things of God will someday be privileged to teach those who could not understand these things in this present age. Those who are carnal now will be called in the ages to come and if they repent and embrace all of God’s ways they too will eventually come to understand the wisdom of God.

In Proverbs Solomon uses the symbol of a woman on several occasions to teach his students certain lessons. In some instances he refers to a certain kind of woman as “the strange woman” which depicts a prostitute, [which can be a symbol for false religions] a type of all the things or persons that tempt us away from God and the keeping of His Words.

Then at other times he uses the idea of a woman as “wisdom” symbolizing the character quality of God, the same quality we must seek and incorporate into our own character. In these cases she (wisdom) is something that leads us toward God and to the keeping of every Word of God. As we embrace God’s wisdom we will take on more and more of His mind and will become like Him (the perfect man as we saw in Matthew 5 in our study of the Beatitudes) and the more we heed and take on the wisdom of God, the more we are shaped into God’s divine image, for He is the very essence of wisdom.

 

The concept of wisdom as a woman is first introduced in Proverbs 1:20. “She” cries out to mankind wanting them to listen to her and depart from their folly. She wants the attention of spiritually lost men and women so she raises her voice in order for all to hear her words and hear her counsel.

When Solomon uses wisdom as a “she” he is using a poetic metaphor which depicts a very wise person who is speaking on behalf of God and who wants to reach out to us on a very personal level. In this way he desires to leave a very profound and sober impression upon our minds, for the things he is trying to impart is vitally important to all men.

This an analogy of God calling and exhorting humanity to depart from their foolishness and then seek the knowledge that will save them and deliver them from being destroyed by their folly. He says to seek wisdom for it will lead to life, but if we refuse to forsake foolishness we will be destroyed.

Wisdom is personified as a woman and speaks in the first person of godly wisdom. Read the word “wisdom” as “the wisdom of God” and see the wonderful power of Solomon’s poetic message:

Proverbs 1:20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

1:21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

1:22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

Toward the end of this chapter is a stinging indictment against all who will not heed the voice of wisdom; but then in the last verse a wonderful promise to all those who WILL hearken unto her (wisdom).

Proverbs 1:29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:

1:30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

1:31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

1:32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

1:33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

In Proverbs 8 Solomon goes back to the metaphor of wisdom crying out to humanity: “Unto you O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of men.” (Verse 4)

 

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Amiens, Cathédrale Notre-Dame, édification 1220-1228. Une des chapelles de l'édifice, vue de la chapelle St Joseph