View allAll Photos Tagged efficient.
A quicker, safer, cost-efficient, and less disruptive semi-modular construction solution
Canberra Hospital Building 8 is a four-storey new build delivered by SHAPE under a Design and Construct model. It forms part of SHAPE’s ongoing work on the more than $600 million Canberra Hospital Expansion Project, one of the ACT Government’s largest healthcare infrastructure projects to deliver new, state-of-the-art facilities for the region’s growing population.
One of the main goals of the project was to minimise disruptions to healthcare operations and improve the clinical space by consolidating various hospital teams under one roof, while also providing additional medical and office spaces.
To meet the client’s key values of speed, safety, efficiency and minimal disruption to operations and the public, plus the limited space for on-site works, the SHAPE team utilised an innovative semi-modular style of construction. This involved the prefabrication of most of the structure off-site with efficient on-site assembly, allowing the fitout to commence immediately once a floor was completed. Each of the floor plates were constructed in seven days with the building structure completed over a five-week period.
A first of its kind in Canberra, this semi-modular solution not only meant a more efficient and cost-effective build, but it led to improved environmental performance and reduced waste. The mega panel façade system has superior thermal and acoustic performance than traditional cladding, leading to a better façade air leakage performance. This airtight solution, combined with the high-performance chilled beam HVAC system that provides industry-leading air quality throughout the building, has led to an estimated 20% efficiency in power consumption and significantly reduced maintenance requirements.
The project was completed with zero Lost Time Injuries (LTI) with 97,000 hours on site. By proceeding with modular methods, the project significantly reduced various safety risks due to shorter on-site construction periods. The mega panel façade system was delivered and installed on-site via a crane, with handrails attached, removing the majority of working at heights risks, as the team was able to work off booms to secure a panel before the next one was dropped by the crane.
As a result of SHAPE’s innovation on the Canberra Hospital Building 8, SHAPE has recently been listed as finalists in the Master Builders ACT’s 2023 Master Builders and Asset Construction Hire Excellence Awards in the ‘Project displaying technical difficulty or innovation and Commercial or retail fitout, refurb or alteration over $10m’ category.
Seen at Buchanan Bus Station in Glasgow is new West Coast Motors tri-axle mirrorless Integral Irizar i6s efficient 12309 - YT23HYL in Scottish Citylink livery.
You can advance the technology but this is still the most efficient and effective way to advertise on the beach. For 60 years this advertising method was used. Even today it is still in force. It is good to keep some of the old customs. Mar del Plata city. Atlantic coast. Argentina.
The western parts of lots 20 and 22 of Market Street accommodate this tiny house with a West Fourth Street address in Hermann, Missouri. The lintel above the doorway tells us it was built in 1913. In a niche in the wall to the left, a small marble slab tells us, in German, that the wall was built
in 1897, by E. Schuch.
Cute but efficient …
Eyes and ears everywhere …
Note the blue and red lights on the top corner …The police's distinctive colors.
It looks deliberate, almost mathematical, and it turns out, it is. That graceful pattern isn’t just for show; it’s one of nature’s most efficient team strategies. Flying in a V helps geese conserve energy, communicate more easily and stay organized over enormous distances
New energy efficient LED lighting illuminates the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge: red, white, and blue for the American arches over the Soo Locks; red and white for the Canadian arch over the Sault Canal. View of bridge from the Sault Ste. Marie boardwalk looking across the St. Marys River / Rapids.
The International Bridge- -a 4.5 kilometer / 2.8 mile long metal Cantilever (suspended deck) Warren Through Truss two lane bridge with a two span arch over the American Soo Locks and a single span arch over the Canadian Sault Canal. It was designed by the New York architectural firm of Steinman, Boynton, Gronquist and London; the bridge opened October 1962. The bridge spans the St. Marys River and connects Sault Ste. Marie Michigan to Sault Ste. Marie Ontario.
The TIE fighter, produced in large numbers, light, cheap, efficient. They all look the same, no insignia, no markings. Well, almost no markings, there is the one with a large pentagon shaped emblem on the side but that’s about it. The TIE fighter is an intimidating sight, a faceless adversary, they just keep coming one after another.
I’ve wanted a TIE fighter for photography for a long time, but there is a catch. Not just any TIE would do, it’d preferably have to be a studio scale model, accurate to the last detail. But, alas, I cannot afford one.
The TIE fighter wings are quite special, you see. The material they’re made with, the Koolshade screen, does not really exist anymore. The machine used to manufacture it broke down long ago and now, decades later, the remaining stocks are extremely low. The original vintage Koolshade is VERY expensive. There is a newer version, it’s almost the same, almost indistinguishable from the original, but ultimately different. Without the vintage Koolshade, the accuracy is out the window and alternative routes open.
Many years ago I bought this Hasbro toy. It’s fairly close to the real thing, proportions are off and it’s a little smaller, but it’s not all that bad. Since I am not gonna get the real thing, this is a good substitute. I made some tweaks to it and hit it with new paint. Actually, maybe this is more fun than a true replica. For starters, it was really cheap. And since it’s a toy it doesn’t break that easily, this is one for rougher missions.
I haven’t built the wings yet, I will do that later. Until then I’ll play with the cockpit unit a little. I figured it would work like that, without wings, in case of emergency, like an escape pod of a sorts. Maybe even on Hoth.
This was a quickie outdoors yesterday as we had a great day of sunshine. After a winter that never came, it felt comforting.
Danjoutin, France 🇫🇷 : The new Efficient Hybrid Lion's City 12 from Belfort's Optymo bus network are now on the roads.
New energy efficient LED lighting illuminates the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge: red, white, and blue for the American arched spans and red and white for the Canadian arched span. View from the west pier of the Sault Canal (Parks Canada) National Historic Site.
The International Bridge- -a 4.5 kilometer / 2.8 mile long metal Cantilever (suspended deck) Warren Through Truss two lane bridge with a two span arch over the American Soo Locks and a single span arch over the Canadian Sault Canal. It was designed by the New York architectural firm of Steinman, Boynton, Gronquist and London; the bridge opened October 1962. The bridge spans the St. Marys River and connects Sault Ste. Marie Michigan to Sault Ste. Marie Ontario.
Also seen, three sections of the International Railroad Bridge: part of the nine span Camelback Truss bridge across the St. Mary's River / St. Marys Rapids; a Bascule Bridge over the American Soo Lock’s Davis and Sabin Locks; and a Vertical Lift Bridge- -raised- -over the American Soo Lock’s Poe and MacArthur Locks.
We came across a sweet deal on energy efficient, environmentally conscious LED light bulbs so we decided to install them throughout our house. We had spiral CFL lights before, and we donated all of them so they will still be put to good use. LED lights do produce a nice warm glow, similar to incandescent bulbs. I just used a flash here to make it look cool! :o)
LEDs are much better than incandescent or CFLs because they don't contain mercury, they use far less energy and they last a lifetime.
Energy efficient LED lighting illuminates the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge: red, white, and blue for the American arches over the Soo Locks; red and white for the Canadian arch over the Sault Canal. View from Lake Superior State University.
The International Bridge- -a 4.5 kilometer / 2.8 mile long metal Cantilever (suspended deck) Warren Through Truss two lane bridge with a two span arch over the American Soo Locks and a single span arch over the Canadian Sault Canal. It was designed by the New York architectural firm of Steinman, Boynton, Gronquist and London; the bridge opened October 1962. The bridge spans the St. Marys River and connects Sault Ste. Marie Michigan to Sault Ste. Marie Ontario.
Thirty second exposure.
El 3420 es un Volvo B11R con carrocería Irizar I6S Efficient que destaca por llevar cámaras en lugar de los espejos retrovisores.
my workshop on my Facebook just like ;-) Clic Here
my 500px Clic Here
Origins
Although there are no historical records that deal directly with the founding of Venice,[10] tradition and the available evidence have led several historians to agree that the original population of Venice consisted of refugees from Roman cities near Venice such as Padua, Aquileia, Treviso, Altino and Concordia (modern Portogruaro) and from the undefended countryside, who were fleeing successive waves of Germanic and Hun invasions.[11] Some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae ("lagoon dwellers"). The traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo at the islet of Rialto (Rivoalto, "High Shore"), which is said to have been at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421.[12][13]
The last and most enduring immigration into the north of the Italian peninsula was that of the Lombards in 568, leaving the Eastern Roman Empire a small strip of coast in the current Veneto, including Venice. The Roman/Byzantine territory was organized as the Exarchate of Ravenna, administered from that ancient port and overseen by a viceroy (the Exarch) appointed by the Emperor in Constantinople, but Ravenna and Venice were connected only by sea routes and with the Venetians' isolated position came increasing autonomy. New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, dated from c. 568.[14]
The traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, Paul's magister militum (General; literally, "Master of Soldiers.") In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the iconoclastic controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II. The Exarch was murdered and many officials put to flight in the chaos. At about this time, the people of the lagoon elected their own leader for the first time, although the relationship of this ascent to the uprisings is not clear. Ursus would become the first of 117 "doges" (doge is the Venetian dialect development of the Latin dux ("leader"); the corresponding word in English is duke, in standard Italian duce.) Whatever his original views, Ursus supported Emperor Leo's successful military expedition to recover Ravenna, sending both men and ships. In recognition, Venice was "granted numerous privileges and concessions" and Ursus, who had personally taken the field, was confirmed by Leo as dux[15] and given the added title of hypatus (Greek for "Consul".)[16]
In 751, the Lombard King Aistulf conquered most of the Exarchate of Ravenna, leaving Venice a lonely and increasingly autonomous Byzantine outpost. During this period, the seat of the local Byzantine governor (the "duke/dux", later "doge"), was situated in Malamocco. Settlement on the islands in the lagoon probably increased in correspondence with the Lombard conquest of other Byzantine territories as refugees sought asylum in the lagoon city. In 775/776, the episcopal seat of Olivolo (Helipolis) was created. During the reign of duke Agnello Particiaco (811–827), the ducal seat was moved from Malamocco to the highly protected Rialto, the current location of Venice. The monastery of St. Zachary and the first ducal palace and basilica of St. Mark, as well as a walled defense (civitatis murus) between Olivolo and Rialto, were subsequently built here. Winged lions, which may be seen throughout Venice, are a symbol for St. Mark.
Charlemagne sought to subdue the city to his own rule. He ordered the Pope to expel the Venetians from the Pentapolis along the Adriatic coast,[17] and Charlemagne's own son Pepin of Italy, king of the Lombards under the authority of his father, embarked on a siege of Venice itself. This, however, proved a costly failure. The siege lasted six months, with Pepin's army ravaged by the diseases of the local swamps and eventually forced to withdraw. A few months later, Pepin himself died, apparently as a result of a disease contracted there. In the aftermath, an agreement between Charlemagne and Nicephorus in 814 recognized Venice as Byzantine territory and granted the city trading rights along the Adriatic coast.
In 828, the new city's prestige was raised by the acquisition of the claimed relics of St. Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, which were placed in the new basilica. The patriarchal seat was also moved to Rialto. As the community continued to develop and as Byzantine power waned, it led to the growth of autonomy and eventual independence.[18]
Expansion
Piazza San Marco in Venice, with St Mark's Campanile and Basilica in the background
These Horses of Saint Mark are a replica of the Triumphal Quadriga captured in Constantinople in 1204 and carried to Venice as a trophy.
From the 9th to the 12th century, Venice developed into a city state (an Italian thalassocracy or Repubblica Marinara, the other three being Genoa, Pisa, and Amalfi). Its strategic position at the head of the Adriatic made Venetian naval and commercial power almost invulnerable. With the elimination of pirates along the Dalmatian coast, the city became a flourishing trade center between Western Europe and the rest of the world (especially the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world).
The Republic of Venice seized a number of places on the eastern shores of the Adriatic before 1200, mostly for commercial reasons, because pirates based there were a menace to trade. The Doge already carried the titles of Duke of Dalmatia and Duke of Istria. Later mainland possessions, which extended across Lake Garda as far west as the Adda River, were known as the "Terraferma", and were acquired partly as a buffer against belligerent neighbours, partly to guarantee Alpine trade routes, and partly to ensure the supply of mainland wheat, on which the city depended. In building its maritime commercial empire, the Republic dominated the trade in salt,[19] acquired control of most of the islands in the Aegean, including Cyprus and Crete, and became a major power-broker in the Near East. By the standards of the time, Venice's stewardship of its mainland territories was relatively enlightened and the citizens of such towns as Bergamo, Brescia and Verona rallied to the defence of Venetian sovereignty when it was threatened by invaders.
Venice remained closely associated with Constantinople, being twice granted trading privileges in the Eastern Roman Empire, through the so-called Golden Bulls or 'chrysobulls' in return for aiding the Eastern Empire to resist Norman and Turkish incursions. In the first chrysobull, Venice acknowledged its homage to the Empire but not in the second, reflecting the decline of Byzantium and the rise of Venice's power.[20][21]
Venice became an imperial power following the Fourth Crusade, which, having veered off course, culminated in 1204 by capturing and sacking Constantinople and establishing the Latin Empire. As a result of this conquest, considerable Byzantine plunder was brought back to Venice. This plunder included the gilt bronze horses from the Hippodrome of Constantinople, which were originally placed above the entrance to St Mark's cathedral in Venice, although the originals have been replaced with replicas and are now stored within the basilica. Following the fall of Constantinople, the former Roman Empire was partitioned among the Latin crusaders and the Venetians. Venice subsequently carved out a sphere of influence in the Mediterranean known as the Duchy of the Archipelago, and captured Crete.[22]
The seizure of Constantinople would ultimately prove as decisive a factor in ending the Byzantine Empire as the loss of the Anatolian themes after Manzikert. Although the Byzantines recovered control of the ravaged city a half century later, the Byzantine Empire was terminally weakened, and existed as a ghost of its old self until Sultan Mehmet The Conqueror took the city in 1453.
View of San Giorgio Maggiore Island from St. Mark's Campanile
Situated on the Adriatic Sea, Venice always traded extensively with the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim world. By the late 13th century, Venice was the most prosperous city in all of Europe. At the peak of its power and wealth, it had 36,000 sailors operating 3,300 ships, dominating Mediterranean commerce. During this time, Venice's leading families vied with each other to build the grandest palaces and support the work of the greatest and most talented artists. The city was governed by the Great Council, which was made up of members of the noble families of Venice. The Great Council appointed all public officials and elected a Senate of 200 to 300 individuals. Since this group was too large for efficient administration, a Council of Ten (also called the Ducal Council or the Signoria), controlled much of the administration of the city. One member of the great council was elected "Doge", or duke, the ceremonial head of the city, who normally held the title until his death.
The Venetian governmental structure was similar in some ways to the republican system of ancient Rome, with an elected chief executive (the Doge), a senate-like assembly of nobles, and a mass of citizens with limited political power, who originally had the power to grant or withhold their approval of each newly elected Doge. Church and various private properties were tied to military service, although there was no knight tenure within the city itself. The Cavalieri di San Marco was the only order of chivalry ever instituted in Venice, and no citizen could accept or join a foreign order without the government's consent. Venice remained a republic throughout its independent period, and politics and the military were kept separate, except when on occasion the Doge personally headed the military. War was regarded as a continuation of commerce by other means (hence, the city's early production of large numbers of mercenaries for service elsewhere, and later its reliance on foreign mercenaries when the ruling class was preoccupied with commerce).
Francesco Guardi, The Grand Canal, 1760 (Art Institute of Chicago)
The chief executive was the Doge, who theoretically held his elective office for life. In practice, several Doges were forced by pressure from their oligarchical peers to resign the office and retire into monastic seclusion when they were felt to have been discredited by perceived political failure.
Although the people of Venice generally remained orthodox Roman Catholics, the state of Venice was notable for its freedom from religious fanaticism and it enacted not a single execution for religious heresy during the Counter-Reformation. This apparent lack of zeal contributed to Venice's frequent conflicts with the Papacy. In this context, the writings of the Anglican Divine, William Bedell, are particularly illuminating. Venice was threatened with the interdict on a number of occasions and twice suffered its imposition. The second, most famous, occasion was in 1606, by order of Pope Paul V.
Venetian ambassadors sent home still-extant secret reports of the politics and rumours of European courts, providing fascinating information to modern historians.
The newly invented German printing press spread rapidly throughout Europe in the 15th century, and Venice was quick to adopt it. By 1482, Venice was the printing capital of the world, and the leading printer was Aldus Manutius, who invented the concept of paperback books that could be carried in a saddlebag. His Aldine Editions included translations of nearly all the known Greek manuscripts of the era.[23]
Decline
The Grand Canal in Venice
Venice's long decline started in the 15th century, when it first made an unsuccessful attempt to hold Thessalonica against the Ottomans (1423–1430). It also sent ships to help defend Constantinople against the besieging Turks (1453). After Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmet II he declared war on Venice. The war lasted thirty years and cost Venice much of its eastern Mediterranean possessions. Next, Christopher Columbus discovered the New World. Then Portugal found a sea route to India, destroying Venice's land route monopoly. France, England and the Dutch Republic followed them. Venice's oared galleys were at a disadvantage when it came to traversing the great oceans, and therefore Venice was left behind in the race for colonies.
The Black Death devastated Venice in 1348 and once again between 1575 and 1577.[24] In three years the plague killed some 50,000 people.[25] In 1630, the plague killed a third of Venice's 150,000 citizens.[26] Venice began to lose its position as a center of international trade during the later part of the Renaissance as Portugal became Europe's principal intermediary in the trade with the East, striking at the very foundation of Venice's great wealth, while France and Spain fought for hegemony over Italy in the Italian Wars, marginalising its political influence. However, the Venetian empire was a major exporter of agricultural products and, until the mid-18th century, a significant manufacturing center.
Modern age[edit source | editbeta]
A map of the sestiere of San Marco
The Republic lost independence when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice on 12 May 1797 during the First Coalition. The French conqueror brought to an end the most fascinating century of its history: during the 18th century, Venice became perhaps the most elegant and refined city in Europe, greatly influencing art, architecture and literature. Napoleon was seen as something of a liberator by the city's Jewish population, although it can be argued they had lived with fewer restrictions in Venice. He removed the gates of the Ghetto and ended the restrictions on when and where Jews could live and travel in the city.
Venice became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio on 12 October 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on 18 January 1798. It was taken from Austria by the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 and became part of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy, but was returned to Austria following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, when it became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. In 1848–1849, a revolt briefly reestablished the Venetian Republic under Daniele Manin. In 1866, following the Third Italian War of Independence, Venice, along with the rest of the Veneto, became part of the newly created Kingdom of Italy.
During the Second World War, the historic city was largely free from attack, the only aggressive effort of note being Operation Bowler, a successful Royal Air Force precision strike on the German naval operations there in March 1945. The targets were destroyed with virtually no architectural damage done the city itself.[27] However the industrial areas in Mestre and Marghera and the railway lines to Padua, Trieste and Trento were repeatedly bombed.[28] On 29 April 1945, New Zealand troops under Freyberg reached Venice and relieved the city and the mainland, which were already in partisan hands.[29]
Subsidence[edit source | editbeta]
Further information: Acqua alta
Acqua alta or high water in Venice.
Venice and surroundings in false colour, from Terra. The picture is oriented with North at the top.
Foundations
The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wooden piles. Most of these piles are still intact after centuries of submersion. The foundations rest on the piles, and buildings of brick or stone sit above these footings. The piles penetrate a softer layer of sand and mud until they reach a much harder layer of compressed clay.
Submerged by water, in oxygen-poor conditions, wood does not decay as rapidly as on the surface.
Most of these piles were made from trunks of alder trees,[30] a wood noted for its water resistance.[31] The alder came from the westernmost part of today's Slovenia (resulting in the barren land of the Kras region), in two regions of Croatia, Lika and Gorski kotar (resulting in the barren slopes of Velebit) and south of Montenegro.[citation needed] Leonid Grigoriev has stated that Russian larch was imported to build some of Venice's foundations.[32] Larch is also used in the production of Venice turpentine.[33]
History[edit source | editbeta]
The city is often threatened by flood tides pushing in from the Adriatic between autumn and early spring. Six hundred years ago, Venetians protected themselves from land-based attacks by diverting all the major rivers flowing into the lagoon and thus preventing sediment from filling the area around the city. This created an ever-deeper lagoon environment.
In 1604, to defray the cost of flood relief, Venice introduced what could be considered the first example of a 'stamp tax'. When the revenue fell short of expectations in 1608, Venice introduced paper with the superscription 'AQ' and imprinted instructions, which was to be used for 'letters to officials'. At first, this was to be a temporary tax, but it remained in effect until the fall of the Republic in 1797. Shortly after the introduction of the tax, Spain produced similar paper for general taxation purposes, and the practice spread to other countries.
During the 20th century, when many artesian wells were sunk into the periphery of the lagoon to draw water for local industry, Venice began to subside. It was realised that extraction of water from the aquifer was the cause. The sinking has slowed markedly since artesian wells were banned in the 1960s. However, the city is still threatened by more frequent low-level floods (called Acqua alta, "high water") that creep to a height of several centimetres over its quays, regularly following certain tides. In many old houses, the former staircases used to unload goods are now flooded, rendering the former ground floor uninhabitable.
Some recent studies have suggested that the city is no longer sinking,[34][35] but this is not yet certain; therefore, a state of alert has not been revoked. In May 2003, the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi inaugurated the MOSE project (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), an experimental model for evaluating the performance of hollow floatable gates; the idea is to fix a series of 78 hollow pontoons to the sea bed across the three entrances to the lagoon. When tides are predicted to rise above 110 centimetres, the pontoons will be filled with air, causing them to float and block the incoming water from the Adriatic Sea. This engineering work is due to be completed by 2014.[36]
Geography
Sestieri of Venice:
Cannaregio
Castello
Dorsoduro
San Marco
San Polo
Santa Croce
The historical city is divided into six areas or "sestiere" (while the whole comune (municipality) is divided into 6 boroughs of which one is composed of all 6 sestiere). These are Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro (including the Giudecca and Isola Sacca Fisola), Santa Croce, San Marco (including San Giorgio Maggiore) and Castello (including San Pietro di Castello and Sant'Elena). Each sestiere was administered by a procurator and his staff. Nowadays each sestiere is a statistic and historical area without any degree of autonomy.
These districts consist of parishes – initially seventy in 1033, but reduced under Napoleon and now numbering just thirty-eight. These parishes predate the sestieri, which were created in about 1170.
Other islands of the Venetian Lagoon do not form part of any of the sestieri, having historically enjoyed a considerable degree of autonomy.
Each sestiere has its own house numbering system. Each house has a unique number in the district, from one to several thousand, generally numbered from one corner of the area to another, but not usually in a readily understandable manner.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification, Venice has a Humid subtropical climate (Cfa), with cool winters and very warm summers. The 24-hour average in January is 2.5 °C (36.5 °F), and for July this figure is 22.7 °C (72.9 °F). Precipitation is spread relatively evenly throughout the year, and averages 801 millimetres (31.5 in).
50 Way GO Green!!!!
HOME
If you can't afford a new home or a large remodeling project, there are still plenty of things you can do to be environmentally friendly and save money.
1. Update your lighting
Make it a policy to buy energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. You can now get a variety of shapes and perfectly match the color hue and lighting for each room. They look good and use at least two-thirds less power than regular lighting.
2. Buy Energy Star
When you are ready to buy new home appliances, buy smart. Check for the Energy Star rating. These more efficient machines can reduce your utility bill as much as 30-percent. Deb Snoonian, Managing Editor of Plenty Magazine said, "Energy Start is a program sponsored by the EPA and the Department of Energy. Essentially, it's a way for them to recognize the companies and the products that are most energy-efficient. On average, an Energy Start appliance -- whether it's a computer monitor, a refrigerator, a washer or dryer -- is going to be about 30-percent more energy efficient."
3. Wall Warts
Those clunky power adaptors draw energy from the wall all the time. Unplug them individually or attach them to a power strip and turn off the whole switch when not in use. Around 75-percent of all electricity in a home comes from appliances that are turned off, but are still plugged in. Make sure that you only have those appliances plugged in where you're actually using the electricity. You will save on bills and we as a society will save on energy.
4. Dormant Appliances
Practically every appliance uses electricity even when it's switched off. Unless it needs power to retain programming memory, hit the switch. Better yet, make it a family practice. Amy Schachter, an Upper East Side resident, said, "My family reminds each other constantly. That's partly money, partly the fact that we know now that we're creating energy usage that is totally unnecessary."
5. Energy Audit
You can find out how much energy your home uses each year with an energy audit. Many utility providers and state energy departments will audit your home free or at low cost to help you find ways to be more energy efficient.
6. Insulate
Make sure your ducts are properly insulated and install weather-stripping around windows and doors for a better seal. Tax credits on efficiency-increasing heating and cooling equipment make now a great time to upgrade. And remember, insulation pays for itself year round. Cascio Construction President Michael Cascio said, "It translates into the heat or the air conditioning that you're going to use, and certainly you want to retain whatever heating system or whatever cooling system you're using, you want to retain that inside the house."
7. House Plants
Invest in large, live houseplants that will help keep your indoor air fresher.
8. Save Water
Place a water bottle filled with liquid or pennies into your toilet's water tank. This will cause the tank to use less water every time you flush. Plenty Magazine Managing Editor Deb Snoonian estimates it wil save you about a quart to half a gallon per flush.
9. Solar Water Heater
Consider eventually installing a solar hot water heater on your property. It would cost about $8,500 for a family of four. You can apply for federal and state tax credits, which adds up to almost 50-percent. It'll take about six and a half years for the system to break even on its investment, then you're making free hot water.
10. Green Power
Many utility companies offer renewable energy products that can be purchased as a percent of total energy use or in blocks of kilowatts. Buying green energy helps support the development and use of renewable fuel souces.
RECYCLE
There are few things you can't turn into something environmentally friendly while making your pocket a little greener in the process.
11. Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies
Using simple ingredients such as baking soda, soap and vinegar, you can make cheap, easy, and non-toxic cleaning products save money, time, and your indoor air quality. This is especially important if you have kids, pets or if there are elderly people in your home who are sensitive to chemicals in the air so you and your home will be healthier.
12. Safer Paint
Paint can be made with the same volitile organic compounds found in nail polish or gasoline. Major manufacturers and some boutique brands have introduced low VOC paint. It spreads, it covers and leaves the room smelling just fine.
13. Aerosols
Limit your use of aerosol cans. Because they have limited recycling value, the containers will probably wind up in a landfill. Instead of aerosols, look for spray bottles, liquids, powders and roll-ons.
14. Cloth
Paper towels and napkins can be made from recycled paper, though in some cases the recycling costs more than making a brand new product. You won't hear that about cloth napkins, which can be washed and re-used again and again.
15. Laundry Room
By making sure your lint filter is clean and your dryer exhaust free to open and close, you are essentially tuning up the efficiency of your appliance. It will run better and be more cost efficient.
16. Air Dry
For the ultimate in low cost laundry drying, put the clothes on either a drying rack or go outside and use the clothesline.
17. Smart Landscaping
Trees and shrubs provide shade during the summer and can help shield your house from frigid winter winds. Both can help lower your energy bill.
18. Walking the Dog
Instead of plastic bags, scoop your doggie's doo in biodegradable bags.
19. Compost your leftovers
Composting helps reduce the amount of waste you send to the landfill. In the process, you create free, healthy fertilizer for your garden.
20. Collect the Rain
Place a barrel under a gutter downspout and let it fill over time. Plenty Magazine Managing Editor Deb Snoonian said, "Rain water is actually healthier for plants and gardens than tap water which often has chlorine in it to kill bacteria, but bacteria can inhibit plants from growing.
OFFICE
Green at home is one thing; green at the office has its own set of special challenges. Going green is a lifestyle choice, not just a home activity. So what are some steps you can take at work to make things more environmentally friendly?
21. Buy a laptop
Even an oversize laptop runs more efficiently and takes less energy than a desktop.
22. Reduce Paper
The paper trail follows many of us, adding hundreds of pounds of waste. You can reduce it with just a few changes. Save printing: send documents by email and keep files on your computer, not a filing cabinet.
23. Print Double Sides
You can save plenty of paper by programming your printer to use both sides of the paper. In the case of a long report, do you really need 500 one-sided pages?
24. Refill and Reuse Cups
"Many of us get take our coffee in the morning and were using plastic and cardboard cups," said Plenty Magazine Managing Editor Deb Snoonian. "Bring your own mug. You can leave one at work; you can even often times bring a reusable mug as you're commuting in your car. It can be refilled over and over again. Wash it at home it's a nice habit to get into that saves you one cup a day."
25. Pay Your Bills Online
It's not only quicker and easier to pay by computer, it also puts a major dent in the paper waste pile.
26. Recycle Your Appliances
Not just the big ones. Cell phones, PDAs and laptops can all find a new purpose after you're done with them. Many organizations refurbish them for low-income families.
27. Become Battery Smart
Stretch your battery use. A battery too drained to power a flashlight might be perfect to operate your TV remote. Before you pitch it - switch it!
28. Lights Out
Motion sensors, dimmers and timers can be set to turn things on and off when needed.
29. Going Grey
Ask your commercial building manager about using gray water tanks. It's a system that recycles water from your building's toilets, washing machines and dishwashers. Impractical? Don't say that around New Jersey's Aspen Ice Skating Rink where the septic water is collected, treated and put back on the rink. At this point, the systems are a bit too costly for one-family use, but if you're in a commercial building or a planned community, consider making the water work for you.
30. Water
Speaking of water, instead of bottled water around the meeting table, filter your tap for drinking water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it produces large amounts of wasteful containers.
CAR & GAS
Even if you can't buy the most environmentally friendly car, there are still plenty of things you can do to get from one place to another with minimum energy. Getting to work, school and running errands all add to your energy budget. To go green you don't have to give up transportation, just use it a bit more wisely.
31. Work From Home
Instant messaging and video conferencing now allow you to hold conferences or even take online classes. This means you save time and gas.
32. Use Public Transportation
Trains, buses, boats, car pools and your own feet.
33. Rental Car
When driving is necessary, use an inexpensive hourly rental car.
34. Drive Economically
Even if you can't afford a fancy hybrid, there are plenty of cars that get great mileage. A car that gives you another 10 more miles to the gallon puts $1,000 dollars a year back in your pocket!
35. Drive Smart
Properly inflate your tires, change your air filter and drive 55 mph on the highway.
36. Friendly Fuels
Using bio fuels goes way beyond ethanol. Look for environmentally friendly oil car fluids and, of course, read how to use and dispose of them properly.
37. Car Air Conditioning
It's practically standard on modern cars. Use it wisely. At higher speeds, open windows create drag and lower your mileage. Roll them up and use the air and recirculation. At slower speeds and around town, roll down your windows and catch a cool breeze.
38. One Right Turn Deserves Another
The time spent in your car idling while waiting to turn against oncoming traffic burns fuel and costs millions each year. In metro New York, United Parcel Service (UPS) reduced emissions by 1,000 metric tons with a software map program customized for every driver to minimize lefts.
39. Drive Thru
Avoid the drive thru. Instead of idling in line with your engine running for several minutes, save the gas by parking and going inside for your order.
40. Car Wash
Commercial car washes can be more efficient than home washing. Check to make sure that they clean and recycle the water.
AT THE STORE
In the store, in your home, even while you sleep...There are things you can do to be more energy efficient and better to the environment.
41. B.Y.O.B.
Bring Your Own Bag. Some grocery stores give you cash toward your next purchase for every bag you bring in to use again. It saves them and you money. "In the U.S., we use five hundred billion plastic bags every single year and only three percent of those get recycled," said Deb Snoonian, Managing Editor of Plenty Magazine. "You can also buy permanent bags with designer colors."
42. Packaging
Check the amount of cardboard, plastic and other materials used for the box. Some retailers are replacing plastic containers with corn-based packaging.
43. Buy Big
By purchasing things in larger quantities, you will probably save money and certainly save the cost of packaging and transporting smaller boxes of the same thing.
44. Green Fashions Are Becoming Hot
Look for clothes and accessories like handbags that are environmentally friendly.
45. Pet Products
Even kitty litter can be laced with questionable ingredients. Look for natural alternatives.
46. Antiques
Antiques are sort of the ultimate recyclable, servicing generations of owners. Many can be restored with natural wax products at a very reasonable price.
47. Buy Water Efficient Showerheads and Aerators
Many modern showerheads are built to conserve. Check to see how well yours works. Also, aerators on the faucets will keep water waste to a minimum.
48. Mattresses
Federal regulations will soon require all sleeping mattresses to be fire resistant. If you like the safety but don't care for the flame retardant chemicals, some popular brands are introducing models with a more natural fiber based flame retardant barrier.
49. Energy Offset Certificates
These essentially allow you to invest in an environmentally friendly cause.
50. Smart Recycling
Smart recycling can be environmentally sound and pleasing, too. Companies like IceStone make durable surfaces made from recycled materials, like glass and concrete. Recycling is not limited to bottles. Used doors windows, fixtures can all be bought at a fraction of the new price. Think creatively - a New York man built a veritable castle of recycled materials.
info taken from WNBC.com
The 69th UK Coach Rally was held in Blackpool on 12th/13th April 2025 and pictured heading out on the Saturday morning Road Run is CT25 CTL, an Irizar i6s Efficient coach recently delivered to Centurion, Welton, Somerset. It was awarded The Irizar Trophy (Best Irizar Integral) at the event.
Want to find out more? Join The PSV Circle - Details at www.psvcircle.org.uk
Copyright © P.J. Cook, all rights reserved. It is an offence to copy, use or post this image anywhere else without my permission.
Because it seems like everyone else is doing it too.
P.S. Go see the new Star Trek movie. Seriously.
L'odio
Guardate com’è sempre efficiente
come si mantiene in forma
nel nostro secolo l’odio,
con quanta facilità supera gli ostacoli
come gli è facile avventarsi, agguantare.
Non è come gli altri sentimenti,
insieme più vecchio e più giovane di loro,
da solo genera le cause
che lo fanno nascere.
Se si addormenta il suo non è mai un sonno eterno,
l’insonnia non lo indebolisce ma lo rafforza.
Religione o non religione
purché ci si inginocchi per il via
Patria o non patria
purché si scatti alla partenza
Anche la giustizia va bene all’inizio,
poi corre tutto solo,
l’odio. L’odio.
Una smorfia di estasi amorosa
gli deforma il viso.
Oh, quegli altri sentimenti
malaticci e fiacchi!
Da quando la fratellanza
può contare sulle folle?
La compassione è mai
arrivata per prima al traguardo?
Il dubbio quanti volenterosi trascina?
Lui solo trascina, che sa il fatto suo.
Capace, sveglio, molto laborioso…
Occorre dire quante canzoni ha composto?
Quante pagine ha scritto nei libri di storia?
Quanti tappeti umani ha disteso
su quante piazze, stadi?
Diciamoci la verità:
sa creare bellezza
splendidi i suoi bagliori nella notte nera
magnifiche le nubi degli scoppi nell’alba rosata
innegabile è il pathos delle rovine
e l’umorismo grasso
della colonna che vigorosa le sovrasta.
È un maestro del contrasto
tra fracasso e silenzio
tra sangue rosso e neve bianca
e soprattutto non lo annoia mai
il motivo del lindo carnefice
sopra la vittima insozzata.
In ogni istante è pronto a nuovi compiti.
Se deve aspettare aspetterà.
Lo dicono cieco. Cieco?
Ha la vista acuta del cecchino
e guarda risoluto al futuro.
Lui solo.
WISLAWA SZYMBORZKA
MAN Lion's City Efficient Hybrid
-
Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona - 5833 | 8417 LXD
-
55 - Plaça d'Urquinaona > Parc Montjuïc
New energy efficient LED lighting illuminates the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge: red, white, and blue for the American arched spans and red and white for the Canadian arched span. View from the west pier of the Sault Canal (Parks Canada) National Historic Site.
The International Bridge- -a 4.5 kilometer / 2.8 mile long metal Cantilever (suspended deck) Warren Through Truss two lane bridge with a two span arch over the American Soo Locks and a single span arch over the Canadian Sault Canal. It was designed by the New York architectural firm of Steinman, Boynton, Gronquist and London; the bridge opened October 1962. The bridge spans the St. Marys River and connects Sault Ste. Marie Michigan to Sault Ste. Marie Ontario.
Also seen, three sections of the International Railroad Bridge: part of the nine span Camelback Truss bridge across the St. Mary's River / St. Marys Rapids; a Bascule Bridge- -lowered- -across the American Soo Lock’s Davis and Sabin Locks; and a Vertical Lift Bridge- -lowered- -across the American Soo Lock’s Poe and MacArthur Locks.
A 160 second exposure to record a passing CN (Canadian National Railways) freight train crossing the various bridges of the International Railroad Bridge- -with the unexpected result of creating the French flag, le tricolour, in the river reflection.
Argentina.
Patagonia.
Santa Cruz Province
The Perito Moreno Glacier (Spanish: Glaciar Perito Moreno) is a glacier located in the Los Glaciares National Park in southwest Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. It is one of the most important tourist attractions in the Argentinian Patagonia.
The glacier is unusual in that it is advancing, while most glaciers worldwide are retreating. The reason remains debated by glaciologists. The terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier is 5 kilometres (3 mi) wide, with an average height of 74 m (240 ft) above the surface of the water of Argentino Lake, in Argentina. It has a total ice depth of 170 metres (558 ft).
Due to its size and accessibility, Perito Moreno is one of the major tourist attractions in southern Patagonia. It is less than two hours by bus from El Calafate, and many tour companies run daily visits. A large visitor centre at the site features a walking circuit which allows visitors to view the southern flank and the east facing edge of the glacier.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perito_Moreno_Glacier
Blue ice occurs when snow falls on a glacier, is compressed, and becomes part of the glacier. Air bubbles are squeezed out and ice crystals enlarge, making the ice appear blue.
Small amounts of regular ice appear to be white because of air bubbles inside them and also because small quantities of water appear to be colourless. In glaciers, the pressure causes the air bubbles to be squeezed out increasing the density of the created ice. Large quantities of water appear to be blue, as it absorbs other colours more efficiently than blue. Therefore, a large piece of compressed ice, or a glacier, would appear blue.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_ice_(glacial)
Man NL280 / 3T Lion's City 12C Efficient Hybrid nº 3167 de Rosanbus de L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona)
El veiem el 18 Novembre 2020 a Almeda,Cornellá de Llobregat (Barcelona) amb el cartell del AMB dons venía de fer la presentació d'aquets cotxes
Palmer, Alfred T.,, photographer.
Men and women make efficient operating teams on riveting and other jobs at the Douglas Aircraft plant, Long Beach, Calif. Most important of the many types of aircraft made at this plant are the B-17F ("Flying Fortress") heavy bomber, the A-20 ("Havoc") assault bomber and the C-47 heavy transport plane for the carrying of troops and cargo
1942 Oct.
1 transparency : color.
Notes:
Title from FSA or OWI agency caption.
Photo shows a woman and man working on a Douglas Aircraft Company cockpit shell identified as a C-47 based on the window outline. Although sometimes called a 'biscuit bomber, 'the plane was for transport. (Source: Flickr Commons project, 2008 and 2009)
Transfer from U.S. Office of War Information, 1944.
Subjects:
Douglas Aircraft Company
Airplane industry
Women--Employment
World War, 1939-1945
Assembly-line methods
United States--California--Long Beach
Format: Transparencies--Color
Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Part Of: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection 12002-39 (DLC) 93845501
General information about the FSA/OWI Color Photographs is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsac
Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsac.1a35338
Call Number: LC-USW36-105
Yeah. I basically didn't have any idea and my boyfriend picked up a lightbulb and told me to make a photo from it, so I went with something really original......
150/366.
Corona, CA
9/10/16
After WMmaster626 and I filmed the Condor Curotto Can in Chino and multiple trucks in Eastvale, we headed to Corona and found Javier. Javier is an efficient driver and he utilizes the many benefits Curotto Cans have over ASL’s including fast dump cycles and picking up boxes without leaving the cab. This was our 3rd time finding Javier in Corona on route, and there are multiple reason why. One of the reasons is Javier’s operating style, which is fast and fun to watch. We also enjoy how this specific LE sounds (especially when he lifts the Curotto in and out of the hopper) and the extra loud slamming noise on his Curotto Can. Another aspect of Javier’s truck WMmaster626 and I cannot get over is how great his truck looks, especially considering it is over 10 years old and has never been repainted. Javier polishes his truck fairly often, which contributes to his truck looking so great. Javier is also a really nice driver, he offers us a cold water or soda every time and he constantly tells us what a great company Waste Management is and how he loves his career.
The area Javier works in Corona is also great and the residents have always been nice to us and many of them know Javier by his name and have many kind words to say in regards to Javier. Javier was also recognized on Waste Managements Facebook page for giving a birthday gift to one of his young fanatics on his route (www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153770163312167&set...).
Finally, incase anyone has ever wondered who the logo for my channel is, it is Javier’s Wittke Curotto Can LE.
Big thank you to Javier, we always enjoy finding you on route.
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAu32tSc_IM
WMmaster626 videos of Javier: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOS7vFcpfpc&t=9s
Highly social and intelligent, the grey wolf is an efficient predator, capable of working together with other individuals to bring down large prey, ten times the size of an individual wolf . This species is most commonly found in packs, particularly in winter, usually numbering around 5 to 12 related individuals, although pairs and lone wolves also frequently occur . Within the pack there is a clear dominance hierarchy, with the breeding pair possessing a strong, year-round pair bond. The breeding pair dominates the rest of the pack, which are usually the offspring. Packs may range over territories spanning 75 to 2,500 square kilometres depending on prey density. In order to advertise territorial boundaries and avoid encounters with other packs, grey wolf packs employ scent-marking and howling . On occasions when packs meet violent fights occur, often resulting in fatalities.
While grey wolves have a varied diet, prey mostly comprises large ungulates, such as moose, caribou, deer, elk and wild boar (1). Smaller animals, livestock, carrion, berries and refuse may also be taken . Prey is hunted down and often pursued in a chase which can last between 100 metres and 5 kilometers . The grey wolf’s keen observational skills enable packs to identify and single out individuals that are young, old or in poor condition . Attacks usually focus on the rump of larger prey and on the head, shoulders, flanks and rump of smaller animals. On average, the grey wolf consumes 2.5 to 6.3 kilograms of food per day, and will cache surplus food in the form of prey parts or regurgitated chunks .
The grey wolf breeds between January and April, with the exact timing depending on latitude . Unless food is particularly abundant, only the dominant pair will breed, with the reproduction of other mature females suppressed by aggression and direct interference with copulation attempts by the dominant individuals . The dominant female bears a litter of 1 to 11 offspring (typically in the spring after a gestation period of 9 weeks . The cubs are raised in a den located in a hole, cave, pit or hollow log, and are weaned at 8 to 10 weeks old. Starting at about three weeks of age, prey parts and regurgitated scraps are provided . If food is plentiful, the cubs are ready to travel with the pack at five months old, and by the next breeding season most juveniles leave the pack and disperse . Reproductive maturity generally is reached at 22 to 46 months, and lifespan in the wild can reach up to 13 years.
Man_____ Irizar I6 13.35 Efficient nº 394 (2829 MTY) d'Autocares Izaro de Barcelona -Grup Moventis-
Matriculat el 09/09/2024
VIN: WMARR2ZZ9PF020669
El veiem el 10 Febrer 2025 estacionat a la Rabla Onze de Setembre de Barcelona fent un Servei Escolar al SAT
The goodies just keep on coming. This time in the form of PU74 HAM another brand new Irizar i6s Efficient Integral coach for Pulham, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire.
Want to find out more? Join The PSV Circle - Details at www.psvcircle.org.uk
Copyright © P.J. Cook, all rights reserved. It is an offence to copy, use or post this image anywhere else without my permission.
New to Ferris Holidays of Nantgawr in May 1994, Jonckheere Deauville bodied Volvo B10M L92 GAX makes a less than efficient start at Derby Bus Station, before heading out on a coach tour. 14/03/18.
Should I really be contemplating a day trip to Norfolk just 24 hours after being laid so low?
I felt I recovered well on Friday, though not hungry still. After getting up and having a coffee, all was set.
I had to catch the ten to six train out of Dover, as I had a cheap ticket. I was going to have something from the buffet, or Pumpkin as its now called.
But was closed.
So, I sat on the station waiting for the train to pull in.
I got on and sat on my favourite side, the carriage was quiet, which suits me. Sadly, at Folkestone West, ten ladies got on and sat in the seats in front clearly on a weekend taking in the bright lights of London. They spent all the journey to Stafford talking about foundation cream and this season's colours.
But who am I to judge?
At Stratford I went up to the concourse then along to the DLY, hopping on a train that was about to depart for the stop to Stratford (Regional).
Where I found I had a fifty (50) minute wait, so went to the Middle Eastern kiosk on the underpass for lamb samosas and a coke.
The overnight rain had cleared, so I took my breakfast to the platform and found a dry seat under the footbridge and spent a fine half hour people and train watching.
As you do.
The train arrived at 08:37, it was three quarters full, but still plenty of seats.
So I took a seat on the right hand so I could watch the suburban stations flash by and then out into the Essex badlands.
No stopping at Chelmsford, onwards to the delights of Colchester and into Suffolk.
Train toilets can now be flushed in stations, so that joy is taken away. Not that I would have, anyway.
Unusually, both Ipswich and Norwich were playing at home on the same day at the same time, as were Colchester. Loads of fans got off at Ipswich, so the quarter full train continued to Stowmarket and Diss.
Then to Norwich.
Norwich is my old stamping ground, a city I know so well, apart from the usual suspects hard to enter churches, there wasn't a lot I could think off to fill in the two hours before opening time.
I looked at Simon's album of roof bosses from the Cathedral cloister, and decided I would photograph those. I didn't have a long enough lens, but what the hell.
Into Norfolk just before arriving in Diss, then through the rolling countryside peppered with sentinel-like church towers. Some close, some distant.
And then we were on the edge of the city, round to the single track bridge and into Thorpe Station, as was.
Back home.
If anywhere feels like home now.
I walked up the once vibrant Prince of Wales road, still with nightclubs and lap dancing bars, but most looking down at heel. The lights and paint not so bright, and the pub after which the road is named, is no more and is a gaming hub. Closed.
Through the Erpingham Gate into the precinct and to the modern entrance. I paid a tenner, and went straight to the cloisters, having declined a map.
I spent nearly an hour photographing and then talking to an American gentleman before a figure came to my shoulder.
It my my friend, Cam, and I was here to meet him and others for beers, chats and laughs.
We shook hands and chatted. I took a few more shots before we went back into the Nave and did one grand loop of the Sanctuary before leaving and getting his cycle.
A five minute walk down Wensum Street, over the bridge and onto Magdalen Street to the Kings Head, five past opening time.
I had a fine cherry-chocolate porter to start, and we met John and Stephen in the rear bar.
Hands shook, update on Simon's journey, and we got down to chit chat.
The pub was lively, with lots of scarf bedecked fans coming in for a pint or two before heading off to the home of football.
At some point, Simon arrived having had to get a rail replacement bus from Diss to Norwich, he was soon catching up.
We left for the Ribs at three, our number already down to the hardcore three, and Cameron left at four to meet with his family.
We took our beers to the decking just over the river surface, and leisured in the warm later afternoon breeze and low sun, it was warm.
Nearly.
I ended up having an argument with the two racist Brexit supports beside me, thankfully they left, leaving Simon and myself to empty our glasses and at five, walk down towards the station.
Norwich had won 4-2 against Stoke, while Ipswich lost 4-1 to local rivals Spurs.
At the Compleat Angler, it was full with happy fans. Simon got a round in, and I sat outside, though with dusk falling it was no longer warm.
We walk across the rad to the station, climbed on board the train waiting, quite full. But we found seats round a table, so spread out and chatted some more.
The train moved out, and into the blackness of the moonless night, illuminated only by the villages and stations on the line.
Simon got out at Norwich, the train continued south. I got a sandwich from the refreshment trolley.
The train entered Essex, speeding towards the capitol.
At Stratford, back on the DLR to the International station where I had a twenty minute wait for my train, which when it arrived was busy, but with seats free.
So, just an hour down to Dover, where Jools was waiting for me to take me home for one last brew before going to bed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norwich has everything. Thus, the normally dry and undemonstrative Nikolaus Pevsner began his survey of the capital of Norfolk in his 1962 volume Buildings of England: Norwich and north-east Norfolk. And there is no doubt that this is one of the best cities of its size in northern Europe. Living in Ipswich as I do, I hear plenty of grumbles about Norwich; but really, although the two places have roughly the same population, Ipswich cannot even begin to compare with regard to its townscape. The only features which the capital of Suffolk can claim to hold above its beautiful northern neighbour are a large central park (Norwich's Chapelfield gardens is not a patch on Ipswich's Christchurch Park) and a large body of water in the heart of the town, perhaps Ipswich's most endearing feature and greatest saving grace.
But Norwich has everything else - to continue Pevsner's eulogy, a cathedral, a castle on a mound right in the middle, walls and towers, a medieval centre with winding streets and alleys, thirty-five medieval parish churches and a river with steamships. It even has hills...
I think it would be possible to visit Norwich and not even know this cathedral was there. The centre of the city is dominated by the castle, and the most familiar feature to visitors is the great market square widened by the clearances of the 1930s, and the fine City Hall built at that time which towers above it. In comparison, Norwich Cathedral sits down in a dip beside the river, walled in by its close, and is visible best from outside the city walls, especially from the east on the riverside, and to the north from Mousehold Heath. If you arrive by road from the south or west, you may not even catch a glimpse of it. The great spire is hidden by those winding streets and alleys, and many of the city's churches are more visible, especially St Giles, St Peter Mancroft in the Market Place, and the vast Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist, on Grapes Hill. It is said that the nave floor of St John the Baptist is at the same height above sea level as the top of the crossing of the Anglican cathedral.
With the possible exception of Lincoln Cathedral, I think that Norwich Cathedral is my favourite cathedral in all England. Call this East of England chauvinism if you like, But Norwich Cathedral has everything you could possible want from a great medieval building. But there is more to it than that. It is also one of the most welcoming cathedrals in England. There is no charge for admission, and they positively encourage you to wander around through the daily business of the cathedral, in the continental manner. No boards saying Silence Please - Service in Progress here. Because of this, the Cathedral becomes an act of witness in itself, and you step into what feels like it probably really is the house of God on Earth. They even used to say the Lord's Prayer over the PA system once an hour, and invite you to stop and join in - I wish they'd go back to doing that. The three pounds you pay for a photography permit must be one of the bargains of the century so far.
Norwich Cathedral is unusual, in that this is the original building. It has been augmented over the centuries of course, but this is still essentially the very first cathedral on this site. This is because the see was only moved to Norwich after the Norman invasion. The Normans saw the wisdom of drawing together ecclesiastical and civil power, and one way in which this might be achieved was by siting the cathedrals in the hearts of important towns. At the time of the conquest, Bishop Herfast had his seat at Thetford, and it was decided to move the see to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. It had moved several times during the previous four centuries, from Walton in Suffolk to North Elmham in Norfolk before Thetford, where the first proper but simple stone building had been raised. But as well as an eye for efficient administration, the Normans brought the idea that Cathedrals should be glorified; already, vast edifices were being raised in Durham, London and Ely. and Bury St Edmunds, with its famous Abbey, was the obvious place for the Diocese of East Anglia to sit.
However, such a move would have removed the Abbey's independent direct line with Rome, and placed it under the jurisdiction of the Province of Canterbury. The Abbey community was determined that this would not happen, and Abbot Baldwin sent representations to the Pope that ensured the survival of St Edmundsbury Abbey's independence. Bishop Herfast would not be allowed to glorify his position in East Anglia in the way his colleagues were doing elsewhere. But his successor, Herbert de Losinga, was more determined - and, perhaps, steeled by his conscience. A Norman, he had bought the Bishopric from the King in 1091, an act of simony that required penance. Building a great cathedral could be seen as that act of penance. But where? Bury was a lost cause; instead, he chose to move the see to a thriving market town in the north-east of his Diocese; a smaller, more remote place than Bury, to be sure, but proximity to the Abbey of St Edmund was perhaps not such a good thing anyway. It tended to cast a rather heavy shadow. And so it was that the great medieval cathedral of the East Anglian bishops came to be built, instead, at Norwich.
Work began in 1094, and seems to have been complete by 1145. It is one of the great Romanesque buildings of northern Europe, its special character a result of responses to fires and collapses over the course of the next few centuries. At the Reformation in the sixteenth century, it became a protestant cathedral of the new Church of England, losing its role as a setting for ancient sacraments and devotions, but being maintained as the administrative seat of a Diocese which covered all of Norfolk and Suffolk, and the ceremonial church of its great city. In the 19th Century, the western part of the Norwich Diocese was transferred into that of Ely, and at the start of the 20th Century the southern parishes became part of the new Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. Today, the Diocese of Norwich consists of north, south and east Norfolk, and the north-eastern tip of Suffolk.
The absence of this great church from the Norfolk Churches site has long been the elephant in the room, so to speak. And having it here at last is, I feel, a mark of how things have changed. When I first started the Norfolk and Suffolk sites back in 1999, I did not have a decent camera, and the earliest entries did not have any photographs at all. How the wheel has turned. Now, the photographs have become the sites, and with no apologies I don't intend to make this a wordy entry.
The perfection of Norwich is of distant views, the cloisters, and the interior. The exterior is hemmed in, and the most familiar part of the building, the west front, is a poor thing, the victim of barbarous restorations in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is almost a surprise to step through its mundanity into the soaring glory of the nave. Above, the famous vaulting is home to one of the largest collections of medieval bosses in the world. There are more in the beautiful cloisters.
The view to the east is of the great organ, looking very 17th Century but actually the work of Stephen Dykes Bower in the 1950s. Beyond is the intimacy of the quire and ambulatory with its radial chapels, the best of which is St Luke's chapel, containing the Despenser retable. Bishop Despenser is one of history's villains, putting down the Peasants Revolt in East Anglia with some enthusiasm. It is likely that this retable was made for the cathedral's high altar, possibly even to give thanks for the end of the Revolt. It was discovered upside down in use as a table in the 1840s. This chapel is, unusually, also a parish church; the parish of St Mary in the Marsh, the church of which was demolished at the Reformation, moved into the cathedral. They brought their seven sacrament font with them, and here it remains.
In the ambulatory there are many traces of medieval paint, almost certainly from the original building of the Cathedral. Two curiosities: at the back of the apse is the original Bishop's chair, and rising across the north side of the ambulatory like a bridge is a relic screen.
There is a good range of glass dating from the 14th to the 21st centuries. Highlights include the medieval panels in the north side of the ambulatory, Edward Burne-Jones's bold figures in the north transept, Moira Forsyth's spectacular Benedictine window of 1964 in a south chapel, and the millennium glass high in the north transept, which I think will in time become one of the defining features of the Cathedral. The figure of the Blessed Virgin with the Christ Child seated on her lap is the work of Norfolk-based artist John Hayward, who died recently, but the glass above is Hayward's reworking of Keith New's 1960s glass for St Stephen Walbrook in London, removed from there in the 1980s, and now reset here. Towards the west end of the nave are two sets of Stuart royal arms in glass, a rare survival.
I grew up in a city some sixty miles away from Norwich, but I didn't come here until I was in my mid-teens. I remember wandering around this building and being blown away by it, and I still get that feeling today. There is always something new to find here. My favourite time here is first thing in the morning on a winter Saturday. Often, I can be the only visitor, which only increases the awe. Another time I like to be here in winter is on a Saturday afternoon for choral evensong. Perhaps best of all, though, is to wander and wonder in the cloisters on a bright sunny day, gazing at fabulous bosses almost within arm's reach.
Several English cathedrals have good closes, but Norwich's is the only one in a major city, I think. It creates the sense of an ecclesiastical village at the heart of the city; and then, beyond, the lanes and alleys spread out, still hanging on despite German bombing and asinine redevelopment. And now I think perhaps it is part of the beauty of this building that it is tucked away by the river, a place to seek out and explore. Norwich has everything, says Pevsner. But really, I think this is the very best thing of all.
www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/norwichcathedral/norwichcathedr...