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The Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft is seen as while being encapsulated in its fairing on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA, flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos, and Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 24 Kazakh time. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)
In the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2), the small rover for the Mars Pathfinder mission has been unpacked from its shipping container and is undergoing inspections. Called Sojourner, this compact, semi-autonomous six-wheeler will become the first vehicle to traverse the surface of Mars. Weighing just 22 pounds (10 kilograms) it will travel to the Red Planet inside the Mars Pathfinder lander. When fully deployed, the rover reaches about 11 inches (280 millimeters) in height, and is about 25 inches (630 mm) long by about 19 inches (480 mm) wide. Sojourner is expected to explore the Martian surface for a minimum of seven days, collecting data about soil and rock composition, and transmitting images of the terrain as well as of the lander itself. Micro-rover technology also will be demonstrated by the solar-powered Sojourner. The Mars Pathfinder is scheduled for liftoff aboard a Delta II expendable launch vehicle at the beginning of a 24-day launch period opening Dec. 2.
Volunteer review Joshua Manning in Honduras La Ceiba PreMed Program at local hospital
1.-How was the local ABV Coordinator and the support provided in-country?
Our ABV coordinator, was a trooper. He dealt with our constant nonsense, our heartless mangling of his language, and our odd hours with no complaints. Without him our efforts would have collapsed into a haphazard mess. John Nurse, our contact at the clinic and hospital, was a stronger character. The nurses and doctors almost universally enjoy helping us gringos, and the ABV office keeps a presence with occasional emails. I always felt as if there was a safety net.
2- What was the most surprising thing you experienced?
At the program: Don’t expect the same standard of sterility and urgency which is commonplace in the States. As frustrating as it will likely become, the laid back central american nature encapsulated by the word ‘siesta’ permeates into even the emergency rooms. At the same time, their ‘sterile field’ is usually nothing more than the paper they took their gloves out of.
At the accommodation: I did not stay with the coordinator, and I was surprised to find that my host family was changing their daily lives to accommodate our program schedule, to an extent. Señora Argentina was wonderful, and the food at the house was great. Bear in mind that if you live with a different family, they need to be kept in the loop. Don’t stroll up at 9pm for dinner when they eat at 5:30 unless you told them beforehand, follow the local time for meals.
About the country: La Ceiba doesn’t reflect the reputation Honduras has garnered in recent years. Expect relative poverty, expect a language barrier if your Spanish is no bueno, but don’t expect to fear for your life. Don’t be too stupid, don’t wander the streets at midnight, don’t challenge people on the streets, and you’ll be A-OK.
3- What was most difficult to experience?
At the program: Pain is a constant presence in Honduran medicine. I understand that it exists everywhere, and sometimes medicine requires it. However, I feel for our patients here. It broke my heart nearly every morning to see an old woman cry in the clinic while simply having an ulcer on her foot cleaned. It’s necessary here, but was almost alien to me.
At the accommodation: Our showers are cold, and my water shut off at 10. It’s a petty complaint, don’t let it deter you. The trip is well worth it.
The country: Honduras is beautiful, often in a mind-bending sort of way. The most difficult, and fun, experience here was navigating the city while still coming to terms with Spanish.
4- Any tips for future volunteers…
Clothing: Definitely a must. There are options for washing clothes, but they will cost you money, so prepare for a small expense, something in the realm of $5-10. Pack for a week, wash your clothes on the weekends. Also, watching surgeries requires changing into a clean pair of scrubs, so always have one with you. At least 10 or a week.
Donations: Everything on the emailed list is important. They need medicine like ibuprofen, desperately need antibiotic creams and medicines, and treat medical tools and supplies like gold. For things like sterile gloves, BP cuffs, Pulse Oxes, and tape, I would suggest keeping it in case you need it and donating it at the end. Also, anything you leave out or set on a table and lose sight of will likely become a donation as well.
Weather: It’s so hot here. The only time I don’t feel like I am or might start sweating is when I’m in the shower. Don’t worry about it though, it builds character.
4.1-Other things volunteers should know:
a.- If you speak high school Spanish, and you’re comfortable looking like a bit of an idiot sometimes, just go for it. If you don’t speak any, be clear on wanting the translator, else you’ll be relying on your new volunteer friends a lot if they know spanish.
b.- Decide beforehand what you’ll be comfortable doing. The possibilities are nearly limitless. You won’t be performing an appendectomy, but you’ll be able to learn procedures here that would be more off-limits back home. Also, definitely have sterile gloves, along with normal gloves, if you can find them.
c.- Figure out spending money beforehand as well. The exchange rate is L22 lempiras to a dollar, taxi rides to the volunteer sites are L25 limps, you’ll be taking between two and four on a normal day, if the coordinator can he will give transportation (its not included) so be flexible, and weekend excursions could be as little as US$50 or as much as US$250, depending on what you want to do and spend.
d.- Be vocal. Learn the word for ‘can’ (poder) and ‘try’ (tratar), and use them. ‘I want to learn’ (Quiero aprender) is a great sentence to have and use. If you ask, they’ll usually let you, and if you don’t know how, they almost invariably will show you.
5- Personal Paragraph (ABV Program Testimonial), don’t leave blank:
A Broader View offers an extremely fascinating and largely unique opportunity with this type of trip. I figured out early on that as a pre-med student, my donations were invaluable, and my help was tolerated, though tolerated happily as near as I could tell. In the clinic, we took blood pressure, cleaned wounds, and removed stitches. At the hospital, we were able to watch some surgeries and live births. In the emergency room, we set casts, helped with suturing, and witnessed real life for a group of impoverished people. Sometimes, tragically, people didn’t make it. This trip was real, and most certainly not a vacation. On top of everything else, one of the most valuable things I gained was perspective.
6- How would you describe your accommodation, meals and security:
The accommodations were better than I honestly expected, despite the lack of AC. My fan was usually perfectly fine. I never really felt unsafe, and didn’t take any undue risks. The meals were mostly tremendous, with a couple of exceptions involving white bread, beans and rice. I was never hungry, frequently tired, and always hot. I’m also strongly considering coming back.
7- What was your favorite memory of this trip?
Program: Picking out a single memory is difficult. My first really good memory with the program helping with casts in my first couple of days. I got along well with the doctor, I could understand a lot of what he told me, we got a good picture with the girl, and she asked us to sign her cast. The medical interns here are used to crazy volunteers making a near-spectacle in the ER, and it’s cool so long as there isn’t an emergency at the time.
Country: I only had one weekend excursion, and it was amazing. Utila is a beautiful island similar to Roatan, but infinitely cheaper. I went with some new friends I met here, we visited bars and the beach, went shopping, and played cards incessantly. I wish I could’ve had more weekends like it, but I’m thankful for the one I had.
8.- How was the ABV USA support prior traveling?
Communication (Phone/emails/Online chat): While I was setting up my trip here, I relied heavily on phone calls to the office with random questions. Their hours are somewhat short, and you may not always have someone pick up on the first ring, but they always get back. Email communication is more frequent and consistent. Read the emails thoroughly, there could always be important information in them. They also sent me a ‘Happy Birthday’ email, which was pretty nice.
Website Information: From what I recall, the website info is generally correct, but almost slightly misleading. A lot of things done here are free form. If you pay for classes, but would rather go to the hospital one afternoon, you certainly can. Just make sure your teacher finds out. If you don’t want to go to the clinic that morning, or you want to work a night shift in the ER, it can usually be worked out. Be ready and willing to change tracks quickly.
9 – Are you willing to speak to other potential ABV volunteers?
Sure, we can be pen pals. Emails would probably be your best bet. I’m more than happy to answer questions.
10 – Can you tell us how did you find or know about A Broader View?
A group of my friends found the trip, we planned it together, and then they decided to go later. As a result, I’m here by myself, and I couldn’t be happier with the way things worked out. However you found this trip, don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone.
#volunteerabroad #honduras #laceiba #premed #abroaderview
This photo encapsulates exactly why a visit to the WN was on my bucket list. Have I mentioned it was absolute nirvana for a fan of classic, colorful standard cab EMD power like myself?
After making pickups at the northernmost two of the four closely spaced sand plants, this train bypassed the southern two including Superior Silica here at New Auburn.
Engineers encapsulate the Orbital ATK enhanced Cygnus spacecraft in a protective payload fairing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fairing will provide an aerodynamic cover for the spacecraft as it rides atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket into orbit on a mission to carry supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance
The U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-12 is encapsulated inside a 4-meter diameter payload fairing in preparation for launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance
Sadness Encapsulated - Clown - Edinburgh Festival 2010 - I love the emotion of sadness that seems to fill the eyes of this clown
more images here
www.facebook.com/pages/Magdalen-Green-Photography/3137177...
Oh the possibilities, sadly missed through poor design and negligence! You cannot deny then that it's a British Leyland product, taking a car with a fantastic premise, but through sloppy workmanship make it something of nightmares! No car seems to encapsulate the problems with the nationalised company more than the humble Triumph Stag.
To compete with the likes of the Mercedes-Benz SL, British Leyland started work on a luxury Grand Tourer, styled by the world renowned Giovanni Michelotti, who had previously designed the Triumph 2000, the Triumph Herald and the Triumph TR6, and would later go on to design the ambiguous Austin Apache and the Leyland National bus. But either way his styling was sensational, but at the same time the car had substance too. In the late 1960's America was on the verge of banning convertible cars to increase safety. So the engineers at Triumph designed what was a very clever T-Bar rollcage over the passenger cabin, meaning the car was not only safe, but also allowed the owners to enjoy what was craved most in a Grand Tourer, drop-top open-air fun! This was complimented by a selection of cars with removable Hard-Tops, although not as popular due to being slightly more complicated. The name was great too, sounding very manly with a hint of beast-like qualities, which for the most part helps to form the image, a strong and noble creature of the wild stood proud amongst its peers...
...only without the antlers!
In 1970 the car was launched to the motoring press with some very favourable initial reviews, admiring the styling, the firm suspension that resulted in a smooth ride and the well-balanced handling. The car was immediately an image setter for the new-money, like the Mercedes it was competing with it had the image of being something for those who had made their money through more underhanded methods, a cads car if you will. But we've all got to make our money somehow I guess!
However, lest we forget that this was a British Leyland product, so of course trouble was brewing. Very quickly the car gained a reputation for unreliability, which can be traced back to that all important piece of machinery known simply as the engine. In 1969 whilst the Triumph Stag was in development, Rover began using their new license built V8 engine derived from an American Buick 215 3L powerplant. Originally this was installed into the Rover P5, but a 3.5L version was installed as standard to the Rover P6 and the later SD1, as well as becoming the motive power behind the almighty Range Rover. The Rover V8 was an incredibly reliable and endlessly tunable engine, making it one of the most popular and successful powerplants in automotive history. It made its way into the TVR Chimera, the Morgan Plus 8, the TVR 350i, the Land Rover Defender, the Land Rover Discovery, the Sisu Nasu All-Terrain Military Transport, the MG RV8, the MGB GT, the TVR Griffith, the TVR S-Series, the Leyland P76, the Triumph TR8 and so on! It was eventually removed from production in 2006, being replaced in the Range Rover it had served so well by a BMW powerplant.
But back to the Stag, and seeing as Triumph and Rover belonged to the same parent company, you'd think that their first instinct would be to place this heavenly engine into the Stag. Apparently that was too much to ask for, and so Triumph, still thinking they were Triumph, decided to develop their own engine because apparently the Rover V8 wouldn't fit in the engine bay of the Stag. Rather than doing the simple task of redesigning the engine bay to accommodate the new engine, Triumph developed their own ragtag V8 by welding together two of the Straight-4 engines you'd find in a Triumph Dolomite. Chucked together at the last minute, the new Twin Dolomite V8 was not a stellar piece of engineering like the Rover variant, its main downfall being the failure to install a proper cooling system. This illogical oversight of something so obvious meant that the engine would heat up easily, and result in the cylinder heads warping, rendering the engine totally useless. The engine was also prone to corrosion and roller link chains that would fail before 25,000 miles causing expensive damage.
As a result of the bad press of the engine, mixed with the terrible build quality that we'd all come to expect from British Leyland, the Stag was removed from the American market in 1973, and finished off here in 1977 by its spiritual replacement, the Triumph TR7, an equally as flawed concept that chose not to learn its lesson and use exactly the same flawed engine, dashing that car's hopes of success too whilst adding a less than stellar body design to its troubles. Eventually the Stag slipped quietly away after 25,000 examples were built, although one did feature in the James Bond film 'Diamonds are Forever', being driven to Amsterdam by Bond after half-inching it from Diamond Smuggler Peter Franks.
This particular story maddens me because I consider the Triumph Stag my favourite of the British Leyland range as it really is a beautiful car and performs very well. Like I said, it's very smooth to ride in and very easy to drive, but the sheer lack of communication and cooperation between two parts of the same company resulted in it being one of the biggest flops in motoring history, and has often been cited as one of the worst cars ever.
Today however there is still quite a sizeable fanbase for this car, with 9,000 Stags still registered as roadworthy, making it one of the most numerous British Leyland products to remain in ongoing use, especially when you compare it to the Austin Allegro's 291 survivors, Morris Marina's 674, and the Rover SD1's 310. The surviving Stags are mostly made up of cars that have had their original Triumph engines replaced by the Rover V8 to improve the performance and reliability. With a Rover V8 under the hood, this car is simply one of the best classic cars ever in my mind, a mixture of style, speed, performance and that wonderful rumble from under the bonnet. For the remainder still with the Twin Dolomite V8, most have been fixed by installing a proper cooling system and solving the corrosion issues. Today the Stags enjoy the popular life that British Leyland had envisaged for their luxury machines way back in 1970, 45 years late mind you but I suppose you can't have everything first time round!
The Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft, encapsulated in its fairing, is raised back into a vertical position on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA, flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos, and Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 24 Kazakh time. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)
Nike, Air Jordan 1 Mid All Over Logos, Menâs Size 10, Whit,e Blue, Black, 554724-119, UPC 00192499459398, 2018, Michael Jordan bright green Swoosh on lateral side, neon red Swoosh on medial side, various Jordan Brand logos cover the upper, cyber branding on the tongues, all-over logo print Logos, Lace up closure, Synthetic Leather upper, Multi-color upper, Air Jordan Wings & Swoosh brandings, Air Jordan Wings logo on the lateral side, Encapsulated Air-Sole unit, Rubber outsole, Padded tongue with JORDAN logo, rubber outsole, Cushioned inner sole for comfort, Traction rubber outsole for ultimate performance, Air Jordan "Wings" logo stamp on heel counter, 777, reddealsonline, sneaker collection
Nike, Air Jordan 1 Mid Patent Black Gold, Men’s Size 10.5, White, 555088-015, UPC: 00192500794333, 2018, Men’s Mid-top shoe, leather upper, all-black patent leather, Lace up closure, Nike Swoosh details sides, Patent leather upper, Polyester tongue, Air Jordan Wings logo on the lateral side, Encapsulated Air-Sole unit, Rubber outsole, Padded tongue with Nike Air logo, Traction rubber outsole, Air-Sole cushioning, no logo on the back, Air Jordan "Wings" logo stamp, AJ1 Mid,
Fonte Official Skindred web page :
The music world may be in a permanent state of panic and flux, but one basic principle of rock’n’roll remains true: the key to longevity is to always deliver the goods. No band has better encapsulated this ethos of integrity and determination over the last decade than Skindred.
Widely acknowledged as one of the most devastating and enthralling live bands on the planet, the Newport destroyers have been a perennial force for musical invention and remorseless positivity since emerging from the ashes of frontman Benji Webbe’s former band Dub War back in 1998. Over the course of four universally praised studio albums – Babylon (2002), Roots Rock Riot (2007), Shark Bites And Dog Fights (2009) and Union Black (2011) – Skindred’s reputation for producing the ultimate spark-spraying state-of-the-art soundclash, combining all manner of seemingly disparate musical elements into an irresistibly exhilarating explosion of energy and cross-pollinated cultural fervour has rightly earned them a reputation as a band capable of uniting people from all corners of the globe and making every last one of them tear up the dancefloor with a giant shit-eating grin plastered across their faces.
With the toughest and most infectious metal riffs colliding with the biggest, phattest hip hop and reggae grooves, cutting edge electronics and a razor-sharp pop sensibility guaranteed to encourage even the most curmudgeonly music fans bellow along with rabid enthusiasm, Skindred are both the ultimate thinking man’s party band. And now, with the release of their fifth studio album Kill The Power, Benji Webbe and his loyal henchmen – bassist Dan Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Demus and drummer Arya Goggins – are poised to spread their gospel of good times and badass tunes to an even bigger global audience.
“We know that everyone recognises us as one of the best live bands around,” says Arya. “We’re really proud of all of the albums we’ve made, but we all felt that we needed to make an album that would be as powerful and effective as the live show. That’s what Kill The Power is all about. This time, we want everyone to sit up and listen and join in the party.”
“I started DJ-ing a little while ago and it’s taught me a lot,” adds Benji. “Now I feel like I wanted to make an album where every intro to every song makes kids think ‘Fucking hell, they’re playing that song!’ Every middle eight on this album is a banger. Every chorus is massive. On this album, the lyrics are deep and the songs are just bigger than ever.”
In keeping with their tradition of making people move while singing about universal issues and spreading a message of positive action and social unity, Kill The Power is an album bulging with fury at the state of the modern world. Never afraid to tackle important topics head on, while never forgetting his band’s mission to entertain and leave the world in a sweaty, sated heap, Benji’s notoriously insane energy levels seem to be creeping up with every album and Kill The Power showcases his most furious and impactful performances to date.
“The world’s getting worse so how can I get more mellow?” he laughs. “Of course I’m getting angrier! People normally stay in a bag when it comes to lyrics. Stephen King stays with horror and he’s brilliant at it, you know? With Skindred, it’s always about encouraging an uplift. It’s about a sense of unity. Lyrics can change people’s lives, you know? You can be going down one road and hear a song and have a Road To Damascus experience and become someone else.”
On an album that has no shortage of invigorating highlights, Kill The Power takes Skindred to new extremes at both ends of the lyrical spectrum, reaching a new level of fiery intensity on the lethal cautionary tale of “Playin’ With The Devil” and the euphoric end-of-the-working-week celebration of “Saturday”: both songs proving that this band’s ability to touch the heart and fire the blood remains as incisive and potent as ever. As if to enhance their songwriting chops more than ever, Kill The Power also features several songs written in collaboration with legendary songwriting guru Russ Ballard, the man behind such immortal rock staples as Since You’ve Been Gone and God Gave Rock & Roll To You, and this seemingly perverse team-up has led to Skindred’s finest set of lyrics and melodies to date.
“Basically, I try to write songs that people can interpret however they like,” says Benji. “When I wrote ‘Playin’ With The Devil’, I originally wrote some words down on a piece of paper thinking about friends I’ve had who smoke crack and live on the pipe, you know? I wrote the song about that kind of thing, but then a couple of days later the riots happened in London and so it became about that as well. When you shit on your own doorstep, your house is going to smell of shit. You’ve got to clean that up! With ‘Saturday’, it’s not a typical Skindred song; it’s a big celebration. We got Russ Ballard involved on that one and he helped me structure the lyrics in the right way so when the chorus hits, it hits like a hammer. It’s an upbeat song but when you listen to the lyrics it goes on about how people all have different reasons to be out and partying. Some people are celebrating, some people are drowning their sorrows, and we all come together on a Saturday. When this record comes out and people go to a club on a Saturday, that’s when it’s gonna go off! The chorus is huge!”
While Skindred’s previous album Union Black was dominated by the bleeps, booms and squelches of British electronic dance music, albeit balanced out by Mikey Demus’ trademark riffs, the new album sees the band return to a more organic sound that amounts to the most accurate representation of the Skindred live experience yet committed to tape. From the huge beats and stuttering samples of the opening title track and the laudably demented Ninja through to the insistent melodies and rampaging choruses of “The Kids Are Right Now” and “Saturday” and on to the thunderous, metallic throwdowns of “Proceed With Caution” and “Ruling Force” and the cool acoustic breeze of the closing More Fire, Kill The Power is Skindred cranked up to full throttle and revelling in their own febrile creativity like never before.
“It’s all about making an album that moves people in the same way that our live shows do,” says Arya. “We love what we achieved on Union Black and we still used a lot of those basic ideas on Kill The Power, but this time it’s a more organic sound. All the drum loops you hear were originally played by me before we started chopping them up, and there are a lot more guitars on this record too. We love combining all the music that we love in Skindred but we all love heavy music and we’re a rock band at heart and that really comes across this time.”
“We’ve delivered an album that’s gonna make people rock for the next few years,” states Benji. “You know what? I can’t do anything about record sales, but if people come to a Skindred show they’re gonna know they’ve been there, you know? Ha ha! The music we make is not about Christians or Muslims, straight people or gay people, black or white or any of that shit. When people are in that room together it’s just Skindred, one unity and one strength!”
Having conquered numerous countries around the world, Skindred could easily be taking a breather and resting on their laurels at this point. Instead, this most dedicated and hard-working of modern bands are preparing to launch their most exuberant assault on the world ever when Kill The Power hits the streets. Anyone that has ever seen the band live before will confirm that it is impossible not to get fired up and drawn into the joyous abandon of a Skindred show and with their greatest album to date primed and ready to explode, the best live band on the planet simply cannot fail to conquer the entire world this time round. Wherever and whoever you are, Skindred are coming. Open your ears and get your dancing feet ready…
“There’s nothing better than being on stage with these guys,” says Arya. “Skindred is my favourite band and I’m so lucky to be part of this thing we’ve created. We’ve been all over the world but there are always new places to visit and new crowds to play for. We just want to keep getting bigger and better.”
“We’re a global band. We’ve played in Colombia and India and everywhere and it’s the same energy,” Benji concludes. “I get letters from people in Hawaii and people in Turkey. It’s all the same. We resonate globally and it’s the greatest thing ever. It seems funny to us sometimes because we’re always kicking each other’s heads in and saying ‘You’re a wanker!’ to each other before we go on stage, but as soon as it’s time to play the show the oneness this band creates together and the unity we bring is unique. I’ve never experienced anything like it and we can’t wait to get back on the road and do it all again.”
Technicians move NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T) inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Jan. 28, 2022.
The spacecraft is being prepared for encapsulation inside its protective payload fairing. The fairing will protect GOES-T on its ascent into orbit.
GOES-T is scheduled to launch on March 1, 2022, atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
GOES-T, the third satellite in NOAA’s GOES-R Series, is scheduled to launch on March 1, 2022. The GOES-R Series is the Western Hemisphere’s most advanced weather-observing and environmental monitoring system, helping to protect the one billion people who live and work in the Americas. GOES-T will provide high-definition imagery and atmospheric measurements, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and monitoring of space weather.
NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida will launch GOES-T for NOAA.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Chassis n° 1693
Motor n° 555
'Bugattis encapsulate concepts of engineering which, once seen, change your ideas radically and definitively. Drive them, and you realise that each car is form and engineering in equilibrium, and a work of art.' – William Stobbs, Les Grandes Routières.
By the early 1930s Ettore Bugatti had established an unrivalled reputation for building cars with outstanding performance on road or track; the world's greatest racing drivers enjoying countless successes aboard the Molsheim factory's products and often choosing them for their everyday transport.
The original Type 13 'Brescia' was developed from the first Bugatti to be built at Molsheim - the short-wheelbase Type 13 of 1910. Longer wheelbase Type 22 and Type 23 models were made, both of which used the single-overhead-camshaft, 16-valve, long-stroke engine that Ettore Bugatti had designed in 1914, and were built alongside 8-valve 'Petit Pur Sang' versions. First seen in 1919, the 16-valve car won at Le Mans in 1920 and took the name 'Brescia' following the factory's first four places at the 1921 Italian Grand Prix for Voiturettes, held at the eponymous racetrack in Lombardy. Some 2,000 Brescias were built between 1914 and 1926 with engine capacities of 1,368, 1,453 and 1,496cc.
The Bugatti Brescia was one of the outstanding small sports cars of its day, being able to cruise comfortably at around 100-110km/h while delivering surprisingly good fuel economy; indeed, a quarter-century later there were few 1½-litre cars capable of matching its performance.
The Bugatti Type 27 Brescia, as seen here, was essentially the same as the preceding Type 22/23, but with a more powerful 16-valve, 1,496cc engine producing 50bhp, some 10 horsepower more than before. This particular car was delivered to Le Claux in France on 15th May 1923 with the registration '3624 M3'. On June 13th 1924, Joseph Barrel of La Seyne sur Mer bought the Bugatti, which one week later was registered to one M Cordesse of 363 Rue Paradis in Marseille.
Between January 1925 and October 1926, the Brescia had a further five owners: Raoul Peralai of 98 Boulevard de la Madeleine in Marseille; Raymond Leon, Boulevard Roi Rene, Aix en Provence; Alphonse Pogalatti, 6 Cours Gambetta, Aix en Provence; Robert Mallet, Martigues; and Olivier Fernand, 6 Boulevard de la Republique in Salon de Provence.
Towards the end of the 1920s, the car was - reputedly - used for a hold-up in Le Bois de Boulogne, Paris. Apparently, the owner, together with an accomplice, would cruise Le Bois de Boulogne looking for potential lady victims. When a target was spotted, the accomplice would jump out of the car, grab the unfortunate woman's handbag, and jump in the back. Swift and nimble, the Brescia would have been the ideal getaway car for negotiating the dense Parisian traffic. From 13th June 1930, the registration was '8106 RB 9'.
In 1934, the Brescia was purchased by Louis François Arfeuille, maitre d'hôtel at Fouquets restaurant on the Champs Élysées, whose name is recorded on a plate fixed to the car. For the next 25 years, the Bugatti remained off the road in barn storage at Saint-Martial-le-Vieux in central France, concealed beneath layers of straw and earth. Reregistered as '457 00 AA 23', it was purchased in 1959 by Rene Moeuf and brought back to working condition that same year (see letter on file). Bugatti collectors, the Schlumpf brothers, went to see Moeuf and offered to buy the car for their Mulhouse collection for 800,000 French francs. The Schlumpfs' letter is available, and we are advised that there are three photographs of this car in the Bugatti Trust archive at Prescott.
Rene Moeuf must have declined their offer, for the car's next owner was Bruno Dalmas, who bought it in 1969 and kept it until 1977. On 12th March '77, Bruno Dalmas sold the car for 25,000 French francs to J P Oosterbaan of The Hague, Netherlands. The registration at this time was '457 AA 23', changing to 'AM-04-76' in the Netherlands. Mr Oosterbaan had restored two Morettis, and to pay the bill for the coachwork, he gave the Brescia to the coachbuilder, who sold it to Hugo Modderman at the beginning of 2006. Mr Modderman then had the Bugatti mechanically restored at Ventoux Moteurs Ingénierie (Laurent Rondoni) in Carpentras. This most fastidious restoration involved completely rebuilding engine, gearbox, brakes, coachwork, etc. Related invoices are on file and the car also comes with a Monegasque Carte Grise. While in the vendor's possession, the Brescia has successfully participated in numerous events run by the Dutch Bugatti Club (BCN), and in 2014 won the Preservation Class at the Schloss Bensberg Concours d'Élégance. A wonderful opportunity to acquire a well and original documented Brescia.
Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais
Bonhams
Sold for € 506.000
Estimated : € 380.000 - 540.000
Parijs - Paris
Frankrijk - France
February 2017
Engineers encapsulate the Orbital ATK enhanced Cygnus spacecraft in a protective payload fairing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fairing will provide an aerodynamic cover for the spacecraft as it rides atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket into orbit on a mission to carry supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance
Engineers encapsulate the Orbital ATK enhanced Cygnus spacecraft in a protective payload fairing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fairing will provide an aerodynamic cover for the spacecraft as it rides atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket into orbit on a mission to carry supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance
The standard `encapsulated` or `laminated` time card used from the late 1970`s to replace the Time Boards of varnished paper.
This is an interesting example of a weekday running number that only enters service after the morning peak. Usually the maximum number of buses on a route would be on the road by the middle of the morning peak so few schedules provided for such a late starting bus.
For the Engineering Department this would be a valuable opportunity to arrange for work by a Fitter, Electrician or Coachmaker - all of whom generally started work at 7.00am - to be carried out (if not too extensive a task) and completed in time to get a full service on the road. In many garages where no late start bus existed, being a bus short for service would be inevitable if a two hour job by a specialist craftsman had to be undertaken. Unless an also rare instance occurred of a route needing one more bus in the evening peak compared to the morning peak. That then created a vehicle to be worked on over several hours.
Oh the possibilities, sadly missed through poor design and negligence! You cannot deny then that it's a British Leyland product, taking a car with a fantastic premise, but through sloppy workmanship make it something of nightmares! No car seems to encapsulate the problems with the nationalised company more than the humble Triumph Stag.
To compete with the likes of the Mercedes-Benz SL, British Leyland started work on a luxury Grand Tourer, styled by the world renowned Giovanni Michelotti, who had previously designed the Triumph 2000, the Triumph Herald and the Triumph TR6, and would later go on to design the ambiguous Austin Apache and the Leyland National bus. But either way his styling was sensational, but at the same time the car had substance too. In the late 1960's America was on the verge of banning convertible cars to increase safety. So the engineers at Triumph designed what was a very clever T-Bar rollcage over the passenger cabin, meaning the car was not only safe, but also allowed the owners to enjoy what was craved most in a Grand Tourer, drop-top open-air fun! This was complimented by a selection of cars with removable Hard-Tops, although not as popular due to being slightly more complicated. The name was great too, sounding very manly with a hint of beast-like qualities, which for the most part helps to form the image, a strong and noble creature of the wild stood proud amongst its peers...
...only without the antlers!
In 1970 the car was launched to the motoring press with some very favourable initial reviews, admiring the styling, the firm suspension that resulted in a smooth ride and the well-balanced handling. The car was immediately an image setter for the new-money, like the Mercedes it was competing with it had the image of being something for those who had made their money through more underhanded methods, a cads car if you will. But we've all got to make our money somehow I guess!
However, lest we forget that this was a British Leyland product, so of course trouble was brewing. Very quickly the car gained a reputation for unreliability, which can be traced back to that all important piece of machinery known simply as the engine. In 1969 whilst the Triumph Stag was in development, Rover began using their new license built V8 engine derived from an American Buick 215 3L powerplant. Originally this was installed into the Rover P5, but a 3.5L version was installed as standard to the Rover P6 and the later SD1, as well as becoming the motive power behind the almighty Range Rover. The Rover V8 was an incredibly reliable and endlessly tunable engine, making it one of the most popular and successful powerplants in automotive history. It made its way into the TVR Chimera, the Morgan Plus 8, the TVR 350i, the Land Rover Defender, the Land Rover Discovery, the Sisu Nasu All-Terrain Military Transport, the MG RV8, the MGB GT, the TVR Griffith, the TVR S-Series, the Leyland P76, the Triumph TR8 and so on! It was eventually removed from production in 2006, being replaced in the Range Rover it had served so well by a BMW powerplant.
But back to the Stag, and seeing as Triumph and Rover belonged to the same parent company, you'd think that their first instinct would be to place this heavenly engine into the Stag. Apparently that was too much to ask for, and so Triumph, still thinking they were Triumph, decided to develop their own engine because apparently the Rover V8 wouldn't fit in the engine bay of the Stag. Rather than doing the simple task of redesigning the engine bay to accommodate the new engine, Triumph developed their own ragtag V8 by welding together two of the Straight-4 engines you'd find in a Triumph Dolomite. Chucked together at the last minute, the new Twin Dolomite V8 was not a stellar piece of engineering like the Rover variant, its main downfall being the failure to install a proper cooling system. This illogical oversight of something so obvious meant that the engine would heat up easily, and result in the cylinder heads warping, rendering the engine totally useless. The engine was also prone to corrosion and roller link chains that would fail before 25,000 miles causing expensive damage.
As a result of the bad press of the engine, mixed with the terrible build quality that we'd all come to expect from British Leyland, the Stag was removed from the American market in 1973, and finished off here in 1977 by its spiritual replacement, the Triumph TR7, an equally as flawed concept that chose not to learn its lesson and use exactly the same flawed engine, dashing that car's hopes of success too whilst adding a less than stellar body design to its troubles. Eventually the Stag slipped quietly away after 25,000 examples were built, although one did feature in the James Bond film 'Diamonds are Forever', being driven to Amsterdam by Bond after half-inching it from Diamond Smuggler Peter Franks.
This particular story maddens me because I consider the Triumph Stag my favourite of the British Leyland range as it really is a beautiful car and performs very well. Like I said, it's very smooth to ride in and very easy to drive, but the sheer lack of communication and cooperation between two parts of the same company resulted in it being one of the biggest flops in motoring history, and has often been cited as one of the worst cars ever.
Today however there is still quite a sizeable fanbase for this car, with 9,000 Stags still registered as roadworthy, making it one of the most numerous British Leyland products to remain in ongoing use, especially when you compare it to the Austin Allegro's 291 survivors, Morris Marina's 674, and the Rover SD1's 310. The surviving Stags are mostly made up of cars that have had their original Triumph engines replaced by the Rover V8 to improve the performance and reliability. With a Rover V8 under the hood, this car is simply one of the best classic cars ever in my mind, a mixture of style, speed, performance and that wonderful rumble from under the bonnet. For the remainder still with the Twin Dolomite V8, most have been fixed by installing a proper cooling system and solving the corrosion issues. Today the Stags enjoy the popular life that British Leyland had envisaged for their luxury machines way back in 1970, 45 years late mind you but I suppose you can't have everything first time round!
Fonte Official Skindred web page :
The music world may be in a permanent state of panic and flux, but one basic principle of rock’n’roll remains true: the key to longevity is to always deliver the goods. No band has better encapsulated this ethos of integrity and determination over the last decade than Skindred.
Widely acknowledged as one of the most devastating and enthralling live bands on the planet, the Newport destroyers have been a perennial force for musical invention and remorseless positivity since emerging from the ashes of frontman Benji Webbe’s former band Dub War back in 1998. Over the course of four universally praised studio albums – Babylon (2002), Roots Rock Riot (2007), Shark Bites And Dog Fights (2009) and Union Black (2011) – Skindred’s reputation for producing the ultimate spark-spraying state-of-the-art soundclash, combining all manner of seemingly disparate musical elements into an irresistibly exhilarating explosion of energy and cross-pollinated cultural fervour has rightly earned them a reputation as a band capable of uniting people from all corners of the globe and making every last one of them tear up the dancefloor with a giant shit-eating grin plastered across their faces.
With the toughest and most infectious metal riffs colliding with the biggest, phattest hip hop and reggae grooves, cutting edge electronics and a razor-sharp pop sensibility guaranteed to encourage even the most curmudgeonly music fans bellow along with rabid enthusiasm, Skindred are both the ultimate thinking man’s party band. And now, with the release of their fifth studio album Kill The Power, Benji Webbe and his loyal henchmen – bassist Dan Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Demus and drummer Arya Goggins – are poised to spread their gospel of good times and badass tunes to an even bigger global audience.
“We know that everyone recognises us as one of the best live bands around,” says Arya. “We’re really proud of all of the albums we’ve made, but we all felt that we needed to make an album that would be as powerful and effective as the live show. That’s what Kill The Power is all about. This time, we want everyone to sit up and listen and join in the party.”
“I started DJ-ing a little while ago and it’s taught me a lot,” adds Benji. “Now I feel like I wanted to make an album where every intro to every song makes kids think ‘Fucking hell, they’re playing that song!’ Every middle eight on this album is a banger. Every chorus is massive. On this album, the lyrics are deep and the songs are just bigger than ever.”
In keeping with their tradition of making people move while singing about universal issues and spreading a message of positive action and social unity, Kill The Power is an album bulging with fury at the state of the modern world. Never afraid to tackle important topics head on, while never forgetting his band’s mission to entertain and leave the world in a sweaty, sated heap, Benji’s notoriously insane energy levels seem to be creeping up with every album and Kill The Power showcases his most furious and impactful performances to date.
“The world’s getting worse so how can I get more mellow?” he laughs. “Of course I’m getting angrier! People normally stay in a bag when it comes to lyrics. Stephen King stays with horror and he’s brilliant at it, you know? With Skindred, it’s always about encouraging an uplift. It’s about a sense of unity. Lyrics can change people’s lives, you know? You can be going down one road and hear a song and have a Road To Damascus experience and become someone else.”
On an album that has no shortage of invigorating highlights, Kill The Power takes Skindred to new extremes at both ends of the lyrical spectrum, reaching a new level of fiery intensity on the lethal cautionary tale of “Playin’ With The Devil” and the euphoric end-of-the-working-week celebration of “Saturday”: both songs proving that this band’s ability to touch the heart and fire the blood remains as incisive and potent as ever. As if to enhance their songwriting chops more than ever, Kill The Power also features several songs written in collaboration with legendary songwriting guru Russ Ballard, the man behind such immortal rock staples as Since You’ve Been Gone and God Gave Rock & Roll To You, and this seemingly perverse team-up has led to Skindred’s finest set of lyrics and melodies to date.
“Basically, I try to write songs that people can interpret however they like,” says Benji. “When I wrote ‘Playin’ With The Devil’, I originally wrote some words down on a piece of paper thinking about friends I’ve had who smoke crack and live on the pipe, you know? I wrote the song about that kind of thing, but then a couple of days later the riots happened in London and so it became about that as well. When you shit on your own doorstep, your house is going to smell of shit. You’ve got to clean that up! With ‘Saturday’, it’s not a typical Skindred song; it’s a big celebration. We got Russ Ballard involved on that one and he helped me structure the lyrics in the right way so when the chorus hits, it hits like a hammer. It’s an upbeat song but when you listen to the lyrics it goes on about how people all have different reasons to be out and partying. Some people are celebrating, some people are drowning their sorrows, and we all come together on a Saturday. When this record comes out and people go to a club on a Saturday, that’s when it’s gonna go off! The chorus is huge!”
While Skindred’s previous album Union Black was dominated by the bleeps, booms and squelches of British electronic dance music, albeit balanced out by Mikey Demus’ trademark riffs, the new album sees the band return to a more organic sound that amounts to the most accurate representation of the Skindred live experience yet committed to tape. From the huge beats and stuttering samples of the opening title track and the laudably demented Ninja through to the insistent melodies and rampaging choruses of “The Kids Are Right Now” and “Saturday” and on to the thunderous, metallic throwdowns of “Proceed With Caution” and “Ruling Force” and the cool acoustic breeze of the closing More Fire, Kill The Power is Skindred cranked up to full throttle and revelling in their own febrile creativity like never before.
“It’s all about making an album that moves people in the same way that our live shows do,” says Arya. “We love what we achieved on Union Black and we still used a lot of those basic ideas on Kill The Power, but this time it’s a more organic sound. All the drum loops you hear were originally played by me before we started chopping them up, and there are a lot more guitars on this record too. We love combining all the music that we love in Skindred but we all love heavy music and we’re a rock band at heart and that really comes across this time.”
“We’ve delivered an album that’s gonna make people rock for the next few years,” states Benji. “You know what? I can’t do anything about record sales, but if people come to a Skindred show they’re gonna know they’ve been there, you know? Ha ha! The music we make is not about Christians or Muslims, straight people or gay people, black or white or any of that shit. When people are in that room together it’s just Skindred, one unity and one strength!”
Having conquered numerous countries around the world, Skindred could easily be taking a breather and resting on their laurels at this point. Instead, this most dedicated and hard-working of modern bands are preparing to launch their most exuberant assault on the world ever when Kill The Power hits the streets. Anyone that has ever seen the band live before will confirm that it is impossible not to get fired up and drawn into the joyous abandon of a Skindred show and with their greatest album to date primed and ready to explode, the best live band on the planet simply cannot fail to conquer the entire world this time round. Wherever and whoever you are, Skindred are coming. Open your ears and get your dancing feet ready…
“There’s nothing better than being on stage with these guys,” says Arya. “Skindred is my favourite band and I’m so lucky to be part of this thing we’ve created. We’ve been all over the world but there are always new places to visit and new crowds to play for. We just want to keep getting bigger and better.”
“We’re a global band. We’ve played in Colombia and India and everywhere and it’s the same energy,” Benji concludes. “I get letters from people in Hawaii and people in Turkey. It’s all the same. We resonate globally and it’s the greatest thing ever. It seems funny to us sometimes because we’re always kicking each other’s heads in and saying ‘You’re a wanker!’ to each other before we go on stage, but as soon as it’s time to play the show the oneness this band creates together and the unity we bring is unique. I’ve never experienced anything like it and we can’t wait to get back on the road and do it all again.”
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The U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-11 is encapsulated inside a 4-meter diameter payload fairing in preparation for launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance
Fonte Official Skindred web page :
The music world may be in a permanent state of panic and flux, but one basic principle of rock’n’roll remains true: the key to longevity is to always deliver the goods. No band has better encapsulated this ethos of integrity and determination over the last decade than Skindred.
Widely acknowledged as one of the most devastating and enthralling live bands on the planet, the Newport destroyers have been a perennial force for musical invention and remorseless positivity since emerging from the ashes of frontman Benji Webbe’s former band Dub War back in 1998. Over the course of four universally praised studio albums – Babylon (2002), Roots Rock Riot (2007), Shark Bites And Dog Fights (2009) and Union Black (2011) – Skindred’s reputation for producing the ultimate spark-spraying state-of-the-art soundclash, combining all manner of seemingly disparate musical elements into an irresistibly exhilarating explosion of energy and cross-pollinated cultural fervour has rightly earned them a reputation as a band capable of uniting people from all corners of the globe and making every last one of them tear up the dancefloor with a giant shit-eating grin plastered across their faces.
With the toughest and most infectious metal riffs colliding with the biggest, phattest hip hop and reggae grooves, cutting edge electronics and a razor-sharp pop sensibility guaranteed to encourage even the most curmudgeonly music fans bellow along with rabid enthusiasm, Skindred are both the ultimate thinking man’s party band. And now, with the release of their fifth studio album Kill The Power, Benji Webbe and his loyal henchmen – bassist Dan Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Demus and drummer Arya Goggins – are poised to spread their gospel of good times and badass tunes to an even bigger global audience.
“We know that everyone recognises us as one of the best live bands around,” says Arya. “We’re really proud of all of the albums we’ve made, but we all felt that we needed to make an album that would be as powerful and effective as the live show. That’s what Kill The Power is all about. This time, we want everyone to sit up and listen and join in the party.”
“I started DJ-ing a little while ago and it’s taught me a lot,” adds Benji. “Now I feel like I wanted to make an album where every intro to every song makes kids think ‘Fucking hell, they’re playing that song!’ Every middle eight on this album is a banger. Every chorus is massive. On this album, the lyrics are deep and the songs are just bigger than ever.”
In keeping with their tradition of making people move while singing about universal issues and spreading a message of positive action and social unity, Kill The Power is an album bulging with fury at the state of the modern world. Never afraid to tackle important topics head on, while never forgetting his band’s mission to entertain and leave the world in a sweaty, sated heap, Benji’s notoriously insane energy levels seem to be creeping up with every album and Kill The Power showcases his most furious and impactful performances to date.
“The world’s getting worse so how can I get more mellow?” he laughs. “Of course I’m getting angrier! People normally stay in a bag when it comes to lyrics. Stephen King stays with horror and he’s brilliant at it, you know? With Skindred, it’s always about encouraging an uplift. It’s about a sense of unity. Lyrics can change people’s lives, you know? You can be going down one road and hear a song and have a Road To Damascus experience and become someone else.”
On an album that has no shortage of invigorating highlights, Kill The Power takes Skindred to new extremes at both ends of the lyrical spectrum, reaching a new level of fiery intensity on the lethal cautionary tale of “Playin’ With The Devil” and the euphoric end-of-the-working-week celebration of “Saturday”: both songs proving that this band’s ability to touch the heart and fire the blood remains as incisive and potent as ever. As if to enhance their songwriting chops more than ever, Kill The Power also features several songs written in collaboration with legendary songwriting guru Russ Ballard, the man behind such immortal rock staples as Since You’ve Been Gone and God Gave Rock & Roll To You, and this seemingly perverse team-up has led to Skindred’s finest set of lyrics and melodies to date.
“Basically, I try to write songs that people can interpret however they like,” says Benji. “When I wrote ‘Playin’ With The Devil’, I originally wrote some words down on a piece of paper thinking about friends I’ve had who smoke crack and live on the pipe, you know? I wrote the song about that kind of thing, but then a couple of days later the riots happened in London and so it became about that as well. When you shit on your own doorstep, your house is going to smell of shit. You’ve got to clean that up! With ‘Saturday’, it’s not a typical Skindred song; it’s a big celebration. We got Russ Ballard involved on that one and he helped me structure the lyrics in the right way so when the chorus hits, it hits like a hammer. It’s an upbeat song but when you listen to the lyrics it goes on about how people all have different reasons to be out and partying. Some people are celebrating, some people are drowning their sorrows, and we all come together on a Saturday. When this record comes out and people go to a club on a Saturday, that’s when it’s gonna go off! The chorus is huge!”
While Skindred’s previous album Union Black was dominated by the bleeps, booms and squelches of British electronic dance music, albeit balanced out by Mikey Demus’ trademark riffs, the new album sees the band return to a more organic sound that amounts to the most accurate representation of the Skindred live experience yet committed to tape. From the huge beats and stuttering samples of the opening title track and the laudably demented Ninja through to the insistent melodies and rampaging choruses of “The Kids Are Right Now” and “Saturday” and on to the thunderous, metallic throwdowns of “Proceed With Caution” and “Ruling Force” and the cool acoustic breeze of the closing More Fire, Kill The Power is Skindred cranked up to full throttle and revelling in their own febrile creativity like never before.
“It’s all about making an album that moves people in the same way that our live shows do,” says Arya. “We love what we achieved on Union Black and we still used a lot of those basic ideas on Kill The Power, but this time it’s a more organic sound. All the drum loops you hear were originally played by me before we started chopping them up, and there are a lot more guitars on this record too. We love combining all the music that we love in Skindred but we all love heavy music and we’re a rock band at heart and that really comes across this time.”
“We’ve delivered an album that’s gonna make people rock for the next few years,” states Benji. “You know what? I can’t do anything about record sales, but if people come to a Skindred show they’re gonna know they’ve been there, you know? Ha ha! The music we make is not about Christians or Muslims, straight people or gay people, black or white or any of that shit. When people are in that room together it’s just Skindred, one unity and one strength!”
Having conquered numerous countries around the world, Skindred could easily be taking a breather and resting on their laurels at this point. Instead, this most dedicated and hard-working of modern bands are preparing to launch their most exuberant assault on the world ever when Kill The Power hits the streets. Anyone that has ever seen the band live before will confirm that it is impossible not to get fired up and drawn into the joyous abandon of a Skindred show and with their greatest album to date primed and ready to explode, the best live band on the planet simply cannot fail to conquer the entire world this time round. Wherever and whoever you are, Skindred are coming. Open your ears and get your dancing feet ready…
“There’s nothing better than being on stage with these guys,” says Arya. “Skindred is my favourite band and I’m so lucky to be part of this thing we’ve created. We’ve been all over the world but there are always new places to visit and new crowds to play for. We just want to keep getting bigger and better.”
“We’re a global band. We’ve played in Colombia and India and everywhere and it’s the same energy,” Benji concludes. “I get letters from people in Hawaii and people in Turkey. It’s all the same. We resonate globally and it’s the greatest thing ever. It seems funny to us sometimes because we’re always kicking each other’s heads in and saying ‘You’re a wanker!’ to each other before we go on stage, but as soon as it’s time to play the show the oneness this band creates together and the unity we bring is unique. I’ve never experienced anything like it and we can’t wait to get back on the road and do it all again.”
I was born in Norfolk and lived in Suffolk. So I thought I knew those two counties. But of course there is more to Norfolk than Norwich, Cromer, Yarmouth and Kings Lynn, as there is to Suffolk than Ipswich, Lowestoft, Stowmarket and Bury St. Edmunds. And so on My friend, Simon K, runs a fabulous website, which I link to on EA churches, and on his Suffolk Church page he has visited 707 Suffolk churches, and 909 Norfolk churches. That is a lot of churches for two counties to share, and many of those churches are ancient, flint built, round towered or have wall paintings, wooden roof angels or something worth the effort of going to see or seeking out the keyholder to gain access.
What I mean is that there is no way someone who only had their own car until 1984, and had little interest in churches or parishes could have heard of most of the parishes in the two counties, and so a parish church like St George.
I saw St George from the main road, I was taking a short cut to join the A14 and from there to the A12 and south on what I hoped my my last trip of the year to lowestoft as Mother is now out of hospital and in the care of district nurses in order to get put back on her feet.
So I saw the tower of St George from about half a mile away, and thought I had enough time to go over and see inside if I could.
I parked at the end of a cul-de-sac of new bungalows, and as I walk up the bank to the gate into the churchyard, the clean lines of the tower, well, towered over me.
In the porch I tried the door and found it locked, but the keyholder list made it clear that the nearest one, at Christmas Cottage, was just over the road. So, why not try, Ian?
I went to the cottage and rang the bell. I had to fill out my details in a ledger, a sensible measure. But I showed by driving licence to prove that I was who I claimed. Little did I know the small village I lived in had been noticed. More of that in a minute.
Inside St George, you eye is stolen by the fabulous pew ends; animals of all kinds, real and imaginary, and most had not been defaced, only those of obvious human form. One with the body of a chicken but a clear human face had been left alone, thus is the madness of the puritan's mind.
I decided that I would record every pew end figure, and many whole pew ends so wonderful that they were.
There is the feint outline of a huge wall painting, Simon says it was of St. Christopher. It would have been most impressive when freshly painted. There is also a fine set of misericords.
St George's glory is the altarpiece, into detail Simon goes below. It is alarmed, so you cannot look at them too closely, sadly, but such is a sign of the times.
I took the keys back, and the lady of the house came to speak to me as she had been told by her husband that I was from Cliffe in Kent, which is where her family is from. Sadly, I am not from, nor live in Cliffe. For once there was indeed two Cliffs in Kent, one on the Hoo Peninsular, where her family is from, and one near to Dover. Many years ago, Cliffe near to Dover was called WestCliffe to differentiate it from its namesake further north. I explained this to her, but said St Helen in Cliffe is one of my favourite Kent churches, built of alternate layers of black and light flints and stone, in sunlight it glistens and sparkles.
Although St George here in Stowlangtoft is a fine church, it is in a poor state of repair, and is due to be made redundant in the new year. Always sad when that happens to a parish church, but it is likely to be taken over by the CCT, but then who will volunteer to keep it tidy when the old wardens and keyholders are too old.
Stowlangtoft is a fabulous church and so glad am I that I spent 40 minutes of my time to visit it. Go to see it now before it is too late!
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In the summer of 2003, this website became a six-part series on BBC Radio Suffolk. Something I said in the fourth programme, about Hessett, generated a fair amount of correspondence. Referring to the way many churches were restored in the 19th century, I observed that when we enter a medieval church, we are encountering a Victorian vision of the medieval; even when the actual furnishings and fittings are medieval, the whole piece is still a Victorian conception.
People wrote to me and said things like "but in that case, Simon, how do we know what was there originally and what wasn't?". To which my reply was the enigmatic "assume that nothing is as it first appears, as Sherlock Holmes said". And if he didn't, then he should have done.
A prime example of a church that assumes a continuity that may not actually be the truth is here in the flat fields between Woolpit and Ixworth. This part of Suffolk can be rather bleak, especially in late October, but England's finest summer and autumn for decades had left the churchyard here verdant and golden, as beautiful a place as any I'd seen that year. The church is large, and sits on a mound that has been cut down on one side by the road. I walked up the slope, past the memorial to the art critic Peter Fuller and his unborn son, which never fails to move me. It is by the sculptor Glynn Williams, and Sister Wendy Beckett says of it that it cannot be pinned down and encapsulated, it defeats the categories of the mere mind and sings to us of our deeper self.
Overwhelmed as you may be by it, don't fail to spot the broken window tracery that has been used to build the wall here, for thereby hangs a tale.
St George, in case you don't know, is one of the great Suffolk churches. Although it may externally appear a little severe, and is by no means as grand as Blythburgh, Long Melford and the rest, it is a treasure house of the medieval inside. Unusually for a church of its date, it was all rebuilt in one go, in the late 14th century, and the perpendicular windows are not yet full of the 'walls of glass' confidence that the subsequent century would see. The tracery appears to have been repaired, and possibly even renewed, which may explain why there is broken medieval tracery in the churchyard wall. However, it doesn't take much to see that the tracery in the wall is not perpendicular at all, but decorated. So it may be that the broken tracery is from the original church that the late 14th century church replaced. But the wall isn't medieval, so where had it been all those years?
Another survival from the earlier church is the font. It also asks some questions. Unusually, it features a Saint on seven of the panels, Christ being on the westwards face. Mortlock dates it to the early 14th century, and the Saints it shows are familiar cults from that time: St Margaret, St Catherine, St Peter and St Paul, and less commonly St George. The cult of St George was at its height in the early years of the 14th century. Mortlock describes the font as mutilated, and it certainly isn't looking its best. But I think there is more going on here than meets the eye. Fonts were plastered over in Elizabethan times, and only relief that stood proud of the plaster was mutilated. These are all shallow reliefs, and I do not think they have been mutilated at all. To my eye at least, this stonework appears weathered. I wonder if this font was removed from the church, probably in the mid-17th century, and served an outdoor purpose until it was returned in the 19th century.
The story of this church in the 19th century is well-documented. In 1832, as part of his grand tour of Suffolk, David Davy visited, and was pleased to find that the church was at last undergoing repair. The chancel had been roofless, and the nave used for services. A new Rectory was being built. Who was the catalyst behind all this? His name was Samuel Rickards, and he was Rector here for almost the middle forty years of the 19th century. Roy Tricker notes that he was a good friend of John Henry Newman, the future Cardinal, and they often corresponded on the subject of the pre-Reformation ordering of English churches. It is interesting to think how, at this seminal moment, Rickards might have informed the thought of the Oxford Movement. Sadly, when Newman became a Catholic Rickards broke off all correspondence with him.
During the course of the 1840s and 1850s, Rickards transformed Stowlangtoft church. He got the great Ipswich woodcarver Henry Ringham in to restore, replicate and complete the marvellous set of bench ends - Ringham did the same thing at Woolpit, a few miles away. Ringham's work is so good that it is sometimes hard for the inexperienced eye to detect it; however, as at Woolpit, Ringham only copied animals here, and the wierder stuff is all medieval, and probably dates from the rebuilding of the church. The glory of Stowlangtoft's bench ends is partly the sheer quantity - there are perhaps 60 carvings - but also that there are several unique subjects; you can see some of them below.
The carvings appear to be part of the same group as Woolpit and Tostock - you will recognise the unicorn, the chained bear, the bull playing a harp, the bird with a man's head, from similar carvings elsewhere. And then hopefully that little alarm bell in your heard should start to go "Hmmmm....." because some of the carvings here are clearly not from the same group. It is hard to believe that the mermaid and the owl, for example, are from the same workshop, or even from the same decade. The benches themselves are no clue; it was common practice in the 19th century to replace medieval bench ends on modern benches, or on medieval benches, or even on modern benches made out of medieval timber (as happened at Blythburgh). Could it be that Samuel Rickards found some of these bench ends elsewhere? Could he have been the kind of person to do a thing like that?
Well, yes he could. As Roy Tricker recalls, the medieval roof at the tractarian Thomas Mozley's church at Cholderton in Wiltshire is one that Rickards acquired after finding it in storage in Ipswich docks. In the ferment of the great 19th century restoration of our English churches, there was loads of medieval junk lying around, much of it going begging. But was Samuel Rickards the kind of person to counterfeit his church's medieval inheritance?
Well, yes he probably was. Look at the medieval roundels in the middle window on the south side of the nave. The four evangelists are above and below two superb representations of the Presentation in the Temple and the Baptism of Christ. You can see them below; click on them to enlarge them. Unfortunately, they are not medieval at all, and it is generally accepted that they were painted by a daughter of Samuel Rickards himself. There is something similar the other side of Bury at Hawstead.
Truly medieval is the vast St Christopher wall-painting still discernible on the north wall. It was probably one of the last to be painted. The bench ends are medieval, of course, as is the fine rood-screen dado, albeit repainted. There is even some medieval glass in the upper tracery of some of the windows. The laughable stone pulpit is Rickard's commission, and the work of William White. What can Rickards have been thinking of? But we step through into the chancel, and suddenly the whole thing moves up a gear. For here are some things that are truly remarkable.
In a county famous for its woodwork, the furnishings of Stowlangtoft's chancel are breathtaking, even awe-inspiring. Behind the rood screen dado is Suffolk's most complete set of return stalls. Most striking are the figures that form finials to the stall ends. They are participants in the Mass, including two Priests, two servers and two acolytes. The figure of the Priest at a prayer desk must be one of the best medieval images in Suffolk; Mortlock thought the stalls the finest in England. I was here with my friend Aidan of Sylly Suffolk fame, and he had previously photographed and written about these carving a a couple of years ago. But even he found something new to photograph, and a hush fell on the chancel as we explored.
The benches that face eastwards are misericords, and beneath them are wonderful things: angels, lions and wodewoses, evangelistic symbols and crowned heads. A hawk captures a hare, a dragon sticks out its tongue. Between the seats are weird oriental faces. Some of them are below; click on them to enlarge them.
Now, you know what I am going to ask next. How much of this is from this church originally? It all appears medieval work, and there is no reason to believe it might not have been moved elsewhere in the church when the chancel was open to the elements. What evidence have we got?
Firstly, we should notice that the only other Suffolk church with such a large number of medieval misericords of this quality is just a mile away, at Norton. I don't ask you to see this as significant, merely to notice it in passing. Secondly, I am no carpenter, but it does look to me as though two sets of furnishings have been cobbled together; the stalls that back on to the screen appear to have been integrated into the larger structure of stalls and desks that front them and the north and south walls.
However, if you look closely at the figures of the two Deacons, you will see that they are bearing shields of the Ashfield and Peche families. The Ashfield arms also appear on the rood screen, and the Ashfields were the major donors when the church was rebuilt in the 14th century. So on balance I am inclined to think that the greater part of the stall structure was in this church originally from when it was rebuilt. And the misericords? Well, I don't know. But I think they have to be considered as part of the same set as those at Norton. In which case they may have come from the same church, which may have been this one, but may not have been. Almost certainly, the stalls at Norton did not come from Norton church, and folklore has it that they were originally in the quire of Bury Abbey. Hmm....
Other remarkable things in St George include FE Howard's beautiful war memorial in the former north doorway, and in the opposite corner of the nave Hugh Easton's gorgeous St George, which serves the same purpose. It is as good as his work at Elveden. Back up in the chancel is a delightful painted pipe organ which was apparently exhibited at, and acquired from, the Great Exhibition of 1851.
But St George at Stowlangtoft is, of course, most famous for the Flemish carvings that flank the rather heavy altarpiece. They were given to the church by Henry Wilson of Stowlangtoft Hall, who allegedly found them in an Ixworth junk shop. They show images from the crucifixion story, but are not Stations of the Cross as some guides suggest. They date from the 1480s, and were almost certainly the altarpiece of a French or Flemish monastery that was sacked during the French Revolution. I had seen something similar at Baumes-les-Messieurs in the French Jura a few weeks before. There, the carvings are brightly painted, as these once were, and piled up in a block rather than spread out in a line. The niches, and crowning arches above them, are 19th century. My favourite images are the Pieta and the Mouth of Hell. Click on the images below.
One cold winter's night in January 1977, a gang of thieves broke into this locked church and stole them. Nothing more was seen or heard of them until 1982, when they were discovered on display in an Amsterdam art gallery. Their journey had been a convoluted one; taken to Holland, they were used as security for a loan which was defaulted upon. The new owner was then burgled, and the carvings were fenced to an Amsterdam junk dealer. They were bought from his shop, and taken to the museum, which immediately identified them as 15th century carvings. They put them on display, and a Dutch woman who had read about the Stowlangtoft theft recognised them.
The parish instituted legal proceedings to get them back; an injunction was taken out to stop the new owner removing them from the museum. The parish lost the case, leaving them with a monstrous legal bill; but the story has a happy ending. A Dutch businessman negotiated their purchase from the owner, paid off the legal bills, and returned the carvings to Stowlangtoft. Apparently this was all at vast cost, but the businessman gave the gift in thanks for Britain's liberation of Holland for the Nazis. No, thank you, sir.
Today, the carvings are fixed firmly in place and alarmed, so they won't be going walkabout again. But a little part of me wonders if they really should be here at all. Sure, they are medieval, but they weren't here originally; they weren't even in England originally. Wouldn't it be better if they were displayed somewhere safer, where people could pay to see them, and provide some income for the maintenance of the church building? And then, whisper it, St George might even be kept open.
St George, Stowlangtoft, is in the village high street. Three keyholders are listed, two of them immediately opposite. I am told that Wednesday is not a good time to try and get the key - it is market day in Bury.
Simon Knott
Encapsulated inside its payload fairing, the Cygnus spacecraft for the upcoming Orbital ATK Commercial Resupply Services-6 mission departs the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Mounted atop a KAMAG transporter, Cygnus is being moved to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where it will be mounted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Cygnus is scheduled to lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on March 22 to deliver hardware and supplies to the International Space Station.
Photo credit: NASA/Dimitrios Gerondidakis
The tug "Henry Miles" was the last vessel launched by the Miles shipyard (Henry Miles and Sons) at Forster. She was dispatched to Yamba for tug duties.
This description encapsulates the feelings on the day she was launched,
Dungog Chronicle: Durham and Gloucester Advertiser Tuesday 9 January 1940
THE HENRY MILES
NEW TUGBOAT LAUNCHED AT FORSTER The Old John Gollan Replaced
(Abridged from 'Manning River Times').
Launched 28th December 1939
It is estimated that there were about 7000 people at Forster, including local residents, over the holidays. Messrs. Henry Miles and Sons had just completed the building of the hull of a new tugboat, intended for the service of the Manning River bar, said to be one of the worst on the North Coast, at which nothing but a sturdy vessel is required. The new boat is to take the place of the tug John Gollan, built by the late Captain Hector Gollan over 50 years ago, and which last year was broken up by the firm of Henry Miles and Sons. Thursday, December 28, was believed to be the date of the highest tide of the year, 5ft. 10in. at Fort Denison, and this was selected by the building firm for the launching. It is also understood that the firm had an idea of catering for the many visitors at Forster at this time of the year. Be that as it may, people from Forster and Tuncurry, together with a great host of visitors, attended the function, and these were to be seen on every available wharf, roofs of sheds, etc., and about 100 boats and launches of all shapes and sizes were to be seen in the stream in front of the launching point A few minutes before 10 a.m. everything was ready, and on the stage were Mr. Henry Miles, snr., Mrs. Don Miles (daughter-in-law), who was entrusted with the christening ceremony, and Mr. C. E. Bennett, M.L.A. for Gloucester, who came up from Tea Gardens specially for the function. Mr. Henry Miles, jnr., invited the member for the district to say a few words. Mr. Bennett, whose popularity in the district was demonstrated by the applause which greeted him when he came forward, said that he was very pleased to have had an invitation to be present at the launching of the new vessel which had been built by the firm of Henry Miles and Sons. Shipbuilding in the old days was one of the most important industries in the State, especially at the estuaries of the rivers along the North Coast, but it had, unfortunately, slipped back a good deal. They all sincerely hoped that it would, before long, come back and give employment to such a wide range of men. He had been told by an expert in shipbuilding that the new tugboat was beautifully lined and had been faithfully built. It had been constructed to re place the tug, John Gollan, which for a quarter of a century had done service on the dangerous Manning River bar, without mishap. That tugboat was built by the late Captain Hector Gollan, who built quite a number of sailing vessels, also a tug in the early days known as the Christina Gollan. From what he was told of the new boat — he was not experienced a great deal in these matters — there was every hope that the new boat would do service for the next 50 years and perhaps longer. He had been informed that when the boat was completed it would have cost the firm between £6500 and £7000. In building, employment had been given to many men, on the work and in the forest, as well as the haulers of the timber. He only hoped that it would not be long before the firm of Henry Miles and Sons would be putting down another keel and building another ship in their shipyards. They all knew that if it was completed under, the experienced workmanship of Mr. Billy Mann there would be no cause to complain about the construction. The boat they were about to launch was designed by Mr. Henry Miles, senr., head of the firm, and 'there was no one on the coast of New South Wales better acquainted with what was wanted in a tugboat for the river harbours than he. He knew the coast from end to end, and had very many years of experience of practically all the bars on the North Coast particularly. They would all agree that the lines and design of the new boat justified the reputation which Mr. Miles enjoyed. The fact that the boat was built by Henry Miles and Sons was a hallmark which would carry it anywhere. He hoped that the new ship would plough the waters of the sea and rivers for many miles and make many miles of money for the enterprising firm of Henry Miles and Sons. (Applause). Dangling from a long ribbon at the bow of the ship was a bottle of champagne. This was taken in hand by Mrs. Don Miles, daughter-in-law of the senior member of the firm, who swung it with precision and effect, so much so that the ship was splashed with the nectar, and then the good lady perpetuated the name of the firm by christening the tugboat 'Henry Miles,' which she wished long and prosperous voyages on the waters of the Pacific in guiding the big ocean-going steamers across the difficult river bars where she would be called on to operate. When the christening was ended the chocks were knocked out, a screw or two given to the jacks at the top end, and gently and smoothly the 'Henry Miles' glided out on to the peaceful waters of the estuary, which she rode with all the graceful posture of a swan, amid the ringing cheers of the vast audience and the sounding of sirens and motor horns. That everything was safe and in order was evident by the fact that some 50 sightseers took advantage of the offer to ride on the ship to her new home.
______________________________________________
Image Source - Nicholson Family Collection. From an Original from Norma Avery.
All Images in this photostream are Copyright - Great Lakes Manning River Shipping and/or their individual owners as may be stated above and may not be downloaded, reproduced, or used in any way without prior written approval.
GREAT LAKES MANNING RIVER SHIPPING, NSW - Flickr Group --> Alphabetical Boat Index --> Boat builders Index --> Tags List
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Fonte Official Skindred web page :
The music world may be in a permanent state of panic and flux, but one basic principle of rock’n’roll remains true: the key to longevity is to always deliver the goods. No band has better encapsulated this ethos of integrity and determination over the last decade than Skindred.
Widely acknowledged as one of the most devastating and enthralling live bands on the planet, the Newport destroyers have been a perennial force for musical invention and remorseless positivity since emerging from the ashes of frontman Benji Webbe’s former band Dub War back in 1998. Over the course of four universally praised studio albums – Babylon (2002), Roots Rock Riot (2007), Shark Bites And Dog Fights (2009) and Union Black (2011) – Skindred’s reputation for producing the ultimate spark-spraying state-of-the-art soundclash, combining all manner of seemingly disparate musical elements into an irresistibly exhilarating explosion of energy and cross-pollinated cultural fervour has rightly earned them a reputation as a band capable of uniting people from all corners of the globe and making every last one of them tear up the dancefloor with a giant shit-eating grin plastered across their faces.
With the toughest and most infectious metal riffs colliding with the biggest, phattest hip hop and reggae grooves, cutting edge electronics and a razor-sharp pop sensibility guaranteed to encourage even the most curmudgeonly music fans bellow along with rabid enthusiasm, Skindred are both the ultimate thinking man’s party band. And now, with the release of their fifth studio album Kill The Power, Benji Webbe and his loyal henchmen – bassist Dan Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Demus and drummer Arya Goggins – are poised to spread their gospel of good times and badass tunes to an even bigger global audience.
“We know that everyone recognises us as one of the best live bands around,” says Arya. “We’re really proud of all of the albums we’ve made, but we all felt that we needed to make an album that would be as powerful and effective as the live show. That’s what Kill The Power is all about. This time, we want everyone to sit up and listen and join in the party.”
“I started DJ-ing a little while ago and it’s taught me a lot,” adds Benji. “Now I feel like I wanted to make an album where every intro to every song makes kids think ‘Fucking hell, they’re playing that song!’ Every middle eight on this album is a banger. Every chorus is massive. On this album, the lyrics are deep and the songs are just bigger than ever.”
In keeping with their tradition of making people move while singing about universal issues and spreading a message of positive action and social unity, Kill The Power is an album bulging with fury at the state of the modern world. Never afraid to tackle important topics head on, while never forgetting his band’s mission to entertain and leave the world in a sweaty, sated heap, Benji’s notoriously insane energy levels seem to be creeping up with every album and Kill The Power showcases his most furious and impactful performances to date.
“The world’s getting worse so how can I get more mellow?” he laughs. “Of course I’m getting angrier! People normally stay in a bag when it comes to lyrics. Stephen King stays with horror and he’s brilliant at it, you know? With Skindred, it’s always about encouraging an uplift. It’s about a sense of unity. Lyrics can change people’s lives, you know? You can be going down one road and hear a song and have a Road To Damascus experience and become someone else.”
On an album that has no shortage of invigorating highlights, Kill The Power takes Skindred to new extremes at both ends of the lyrical spectrum, reaching a new level of fiery intensity on the lethal cautionary tale of “Playin’ With The Devil” and the euphoric end-of-the-working-week celebration of “Saturday”: both songs proving that this band’s ability to touch the heart and fire the blood remains as incisive and potent as ever. As if to enhance their songwriting chops more than ever, Kill The Power also features several songs written in collaboration with legendary songwriting guru Russ Ballard, the man behind such immortal rock staples as Since You’ve Been Gone and God Gave Rock & Roll To You, and this seemingly perverse team-up has led to Skindred’s finest set of lyrics and melodies to date.
“Basically, I try to write songs that people can interpret however they like,” says Benji. “When I wrote ‘Playin’ With The Devil’, I originally wrote some words down on a piece of paper thinking about friends I’ve had who smoke crack and live on the pipe, you know? I wrote the song about that kind of thing, but then a couple of days later the riots happened in London and so it became about that as well. When you shit on your own doorstep, your house is going to smell of shit. You’ve got to clean that up! With ‘Saturday’, it’s not a typical Skindred song; it’s a big celebration. We got Russ Ballard involved on that one and he helped me structure the lyrics in the right way so when the chorus hits, it hits like a hammer. It’s an upbeat song but when you listen to the lyrics it goes on about how people all have different reasons to be out and partying. Some people are celebrating, some people are drowning their sorrows, and we all come together on a Saturday. When this record comes out and people go to a club on a Saturday, that’s when it’s gonna go off! The chorus is huge!”
While Skindred’s previous album Union Black was dominated by the bleeps, booms and squelches of British electronic dance music, albeit balanced out by Mikey Demus’ trademark riffs, the new album sees the band return to a more organic sound that amounts to the most accurate representation of the Skindred live experience yet committed to tape. From the huge beats and stuttering samples of the opening title track and the laudably demented Ninja through to the insistent melodies and rampaging choruses of “The Kids Are Right Now” and “Saturday” and on to the thunderous, metallic throwdowns of “Proceed With Caution” and “Ruling Force” and the cool acoustic breeze of the closing More Fire, Kill The Power is Skindred cranked up to full throttle and revelling in their own febrile creativity like never before.
“It’s all about making an album that moves people in the same way that our live shows do,” says Arya. “We love what we achieved on Union Black and we still used a lot of those basic ideas on Kill The Power, but this time it’s a more organic sound. All the drum loops you hear were originally played by me before we started chopping them up, and there are a lot more guitars on this record too. We love combining all the music that we love in Skindred but we all love heavy music and we’re a rock band at heart and that really comes across this time.”
“We’ve delivered an album that’s gonna make people rock for the next few years,” states Benji. “You know what? I can’t do anything about record sales, but if people come to a Skindred show they’re gonna know they’ve been there, you know? Ha ha! The music we make is not about Christians or Muslims, straight people or gay people, black or white or any of that shit. When people are in that room together it’s just Skindred, one unity and one strength!”
Having conquered numerous countries around the world, Skindred could easily be taking a breather and resting on their laurels at this point. Instead, this most dedicated and hard-working of modern bands are preparing to launch their most exuberant assault on the world ever when Kill The Power hits the streets. Anyone that has ever seen the band live before will confirm that it is impossible not to get fired up and drawn into the joyous abandon of a Skindred show and with their greatest album to date primed and ready to explode, the best live band on the planet simply cannot fail to conquer the entire world this time round. Wherever and whoever you are, Skindred are coming. Open your ears and get your dancing feet ready…
“There’s nothing better than being on stage with these guys,” says Arya. “Skindred is my favourite band and I’m so lucky to be part of this thing we’ve created. We’ve been all over the world but there are always new places to visit and new crowds to play for. We just want to keep getting bigger and better.”
“We’re a global band. We’ve played in Colombia and India and everywhere and it’s the same energy,” Benji concludes. “I get letters from people in Hawaii and people in Turkey. It’s all the same. We resonate globally and it’s the greatest thing ever. It seems funny to us sometimes because we’re always kicking each other’s heads in and saying ‘You’re a wanker!’ to each other before we go on stage, but as soon as it’s time to play the show the oneness this band creates together and the unity we bring is unique. I’ve never experienced anything like it and we can’t wait to get back on the road and do it all again.”
Fonte Official Skindred web page :
The music world may be in a permanent state of panic and flux, but one basic principle of rock’n’roll remains true: the key to longevity is to always deliver the goods. No band has better encapsulated this ethos of integrity and determination over the last decade than Skindred.
Widely acknowledged as one of the most devastating and enthralling live bands on the planet, the Newport destroyers have been a perennial force for musical invention and remorseless positivity since emerging from the ashes of frontman Benji Webbe’s former band Dub War back in 1998. Over the course of four universally praised studio albums – Babylon (2002), Roots Rock Riot (2007), Shark Bites And Dog Fights (2009) and Union Black (2011) – Skindred’s reputation for producing the ultimate spark-spraying state-of-the-art soundclash, combining all manner of seemingly disparate musical elements into an irresistibly exhilarating explosion of energy and cross-pollinated cultural fervour has rightly earned them a reputation as a band capable of uniting people from all corners of the globe and making every last one of them tear up the dancefloor with a giant shit-eating grin plastered across their faces.
With the toughest and most infectious metal riffs colliding with the biggest, phattest hip hop and reggae grooves, cutting edge electronics and a razor-sharp pop sensibility guaranteed to encourage even the most curmudgeonly music fans bellow along with rabid enthusiasm, Skindred are both the ultimate thinking man’s party band. And now, with the release of their fifth studio album Kill The Power, Benji Webbe and his loyal henchmen – bassist Dan Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Demus and drummer Arya Goggins – are poised to spread their gospel of good times and badass tunes to an even bigger global audience.
“We know that everyone recognises us as one of the best live bands around,” says Arya. “We’re really proud of all of the albums we’ve made, but we all felt that we needed to make an album that would be as powerful and effective as the live show. That’s what Kill The Power is all about. This time, we want everyone to sit up and listen and join in the party.”
“I started DJ-ing a little while ago and it’s taught me a lot,” adds Benji. “Now I feel like I wanted to make an album where every intro to every song makes kids think ‘Fucking hell, they’re playing that song!’ Every middle eight on this album is a banger. Every chorus is massive. On this album, the lyrics are deep and the songs are just bigger than ever.”
In keeping with their tradition of making people move while singing about universal issues and spreading a message of positive action and social unity, Kill The Power is an album bulging with fury at the state of the modern world. Never afraid to tackle important topics head on, while never forgetting his band’s mission to entertain and leave the world in a sweaty, sated heap, Benji’s notoriously insane energy levels seem to be creeping up with every album and Kill The Power showcases his most furious and impactful performances to date.
“The world’s getting worse so how can I get more mellow?” he laughs. “Of course I’m getting angrier! People normally stay in a bag when it comes to lyrics. Stephen King stays with horror and he’s brilliant at it, you know? With Skindred, it’s always about encouraging an uplift. It’s about a sense of unity. Lyrics can change people’s lives, you know? You can be going down one road and hear a song and have a Road To Damascus experience and become someone else.”
On an album that has no shortage of invigorating highlights, Kill The Power takes Skindred to new extremes at both ends of the lyrical spectrum, reaching a new level of fiery intensity on the lethal cautionary tale of “Playin’ With The Devil” and the euphoric end-of-the-working-week celebration of “Saturday”: both songs proving that this band’s ability to touch the heart and fire the blood remains as incisive and potent as ever. As if to enhance their songwriting chops more than ever, Kill The Power also features several songs written in collaboration with legendary songwriting guru Russ Ballard, the man behind such immortal rock staples as Since You’ve Been Gone and God Gave Rock & Roll To You, and this seemingly perverse team-up has led to Skindred’s finest set of lyrics and melodies to date.
“Basically, I try to write songs that people can interpret however they like,” says Benji. “When I wrote ‘Playin’ With The Devil’, I originally wrote some words down on a piece of paper thinking about friends I’ve had who smoke crack and live on the pipe, you know? I wrote the song about that kind of thing, but then a couple of days later the riots happened in London and so it became about that as well. When you shit on your own doorstep, your house is going to smell of shit. You’ve got to clean that up! With ‘Saturday’, it’s not a typical Skindred song; it’s a big celebration. We got Russ Ballard involved on that one and he helped me structure the lyrics in the right way so when the chorus hits, it hits like a hammer. It’s an upbeat song but when you listen to the lyrics it goes on about how people all have different reasons to be out and partying. Some people are celebrating, some people are drowning their sorrows, and we all come together on a Saturday. When this record comes out and people go to a club on a Saturday, that’s when it’s gonna go off! The chorus is huge!”
While Skindred’s previous album Union Black was dominated by the bleeps, booms and squelches of British electronic dance music, albeit balanced out by Mikey Demus’ trademark riffs, the new album sees the band return to a more organic sound that amounts to the most accurate representation of the Skindred live experience yet committed to tape. From the huge beats and stuttering samples of the opening title track and the laudably demented Ninja through to the insistent melodies and rampaging choruses of “The Kids Are Right Now” and “Saturday” and on to the thunderous, metallic throwdowns of “Proceed With Caution” and “Ruling Force” and the cool acoustic breeze of the closing More Fire, Kill The Power is Skindred cranked up to full throttle and revelling in their own febrile creativity like never before.
“It’s all about making an album that moves people in the same way that our live shows do,” says Arya. “We love what we achieved on Union Black and we still used a lot of those basic ideas on Kill The Power, but this time it’s a more organic sound. All the drum loops you hear were originally played by me before we started chopping them up, and there are a lot more guitars on this record too. We love combining all the music that we love in Skindred but we all love heavy music and we’re a rock band at heart and that really comes across this time.”
“We’ve delivered an album that’s gonna make people rock for the next few years,” states Benji. “You know what? I can’t do anything about record sales, but if people come to a Skindred show they’re gonna know they’ve been there, you know? Ha ha! The music we make is not about Christians or Muslims, straight people or gay people, black or white or any of that shit. When people are in that room together it’s just Skindred, one unity and one strength!”
Having conquered numerous countries around the world, Skindred could easily be taking a breather and resting on their laurels at this point. Instead, this most dedicated and hard-working of modern bands are preparing to launch their most exuberant assault on the world ever when Kill The Power hits the streets. Anyone that has ever seen the band live before will confirm that it is impossible not to get fired up and drawn into the joyous abandon of a Skindred show and with their greatest album to date primed and ready to explode, the best live band on the planet simply cannot fail to conquer the entire world this time round. Wherever and whoever you are, Skindred are coming. Open your ears and get your dancing feet ready…
“There’s nothing better than being on stage with these guys,” says Arya. “Skindred is my favourite band and I’m so lucky to be part of this thing we’ve created. We’ve been all over the world but there are always new places to visit and new crowds to play for. We just want to keep getting bigger and better.”
“We’re a global band. We’ve played in Colombia and India and everywhere and it’s the same energy,” Benji concludes. “I get letters from people in Hawaii and people in Turkey. It’s all the same. We resonate globally and it’s the greatest thing ever. It seems funny to us sometimes because we’re always kicking each other’s heads in and saying ‘You’re a wanker!’ to each other before we go on stage, but as soon as it’s time to play the show the oneness this band creates together and the unity we bring is unique. I’ve never experienced anything like it and we can’t wait to get back on the road and do it all again.”
Microscopic photo showing complex papillary lesion inside of a dilated duct with thick fibrous capsule. IHC stain. 10X. Jian-Hua Qiao, MD, FCAP, Los Angeles, CA, USA. (乔建华医师，病理学家)
Engineers encapsulate the Orbital ATK enhanced Cygnus spacecraft in a protective payload fairing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fairing will provide an aerodynamic cover for the spacecraft as it rides atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket into orbit on a mission to carry supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance
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Beach holidays were born in the 1700s in Great Britain, this social phenomenon was born in which bathers for the first time go to the beaches, certainly not as sunny as those bathed by the Mediterranean Sea, they are fully dressed; this "new fashion" is also encouraged by the belief of English doctors since the beginning of the eighteenth century (starting around 1720), that breathing the brackish sea air and bathing in cold sea water is healthy, invigorates the body and cure lung diseases (conviction even more strengthened by the discovery of oxygen by Antoine Lavoisier in 1778, which led to the greater diffusion and conviction of the theories on the health benefits of sea air, which was thought to be more oxygenated and pure), these theories push many people from Northern Europe suffering from severe lung diseases to spend long periods in southern Europe, often in the south of Italy, this explains why characters with extraordinary qualities come to Taormina to cure their tuberculosis. The photographer baron Wilhelm von Gloeden and the English lady Florence Trevelyan Trevelyan had the seawater brought with their mules from Isola Bella, but while W. Von Gloeden heated the sea water, the English noblewoman Lady Trevelian did not heat it, mindful of the teachings of the English medical school, this will cause her death from bronchopneumonia on 4 October 1907 (see my previous "photographic stories" about Taormina). In fact, "thalassotherapy" was born in Great Britain, together with the social and cultural phenomenon of frequenting bathing beaches (before the beginning of the 18th century, the sea and its beaches were lived, except for reasons of trade and fishing, in a dark and negative way, from the sea often came very serious dangers such as the sudden landings of ferocious pirates, or foreigners carrying very serious diseases could land). Thus the fashion of spending holidays by the sea was born in the English aristocracy and high bourgeoisie of the time, subsequently the habit of going to the sea spread to all levels of society, the railways that were built throughout Great Britain to 'beginning of the nineteenth century, made travel to the ocean accessible even to the lower classes, they too will frequent the seaside resorts, Blackpool becomes the first seaside resort in Great Britain completely frequented by the working classes thanks to the presence of low-cost bathing establishments; the great and definitive boom in seaside tourism will then take place in the 1950s and 1960s. This being the case, it should not be surprising to know that in Great Britain the beaches are more frequented than one might instinctively think due to a climate very different from the Mediterranean one, and that this socio-cultural phenomenon has been investigated at the photographic by photographers of the same Great Britain, of these I mention four names. An important photographer, who probably inspired subsequent photographers, was Tony Ray-Jones, who died prematurely in 1972, at the young age of 30, who was trying to create a “photographic memory” of the stereotypes of the English people; the famous photojournalist Martin Parr, who, although inspired by the previous one, differs from it for his way of doing “social satire” with his goal; finally, I would like to mention David Hurn and Simon Roberts, the latter with wider-ranging photographs, with photographs more detached from the individual. In Italy there are numerous photographers (I will mention only a few) who have made in their long career images captured in seaside resorts (generally we speaking of "beach photography" similar to "street photography"), photographs that are often unique in their style, such as that adopted by Franco Fontana, I mention Mimmo Jodice, Ferdinando Scianna (of whom I am honored to have known him personally), and Massimo Vitali, famous photographer (understood by some as "the photographer of the beaches"), especially for his beautiful photographs taken on the beaches (but not only), thanks to the presence of elevated fixed structures as a kind of mezzanine, built specifically in the bathing beaches for the realization of his photographs. This is my introduction to talk about the theme proposed here, that of “beach photography” (with some exceptions for “narrative” reasons), with a series of photographs taken on the beaches surrounding Taormina (Sicily). For some photographs I used a particular photographic technique at the time of shooting, in addition to capturing the surrounding space, it also "inserted" a temporal dimension, with photos characterized by being blurry because the exposure times were deliberately lengthened, they are confused-out of focus-imprecise-undecided... the Anglo-Saxon term that encapsulates this photographic genre in a single word is "blur", these images were thus created during the shooting phase, and not as an effect created later, in the post-production phase.
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Le vacanze al mare nascono nel ‘700 in Gran Bretagna, nasce questo fenomeno sociale nel quale i bagnanti per la prima volta si recano sulle spiagge, non certo assolate come quelle bagnate dal mar Mediterraneo, sono completamente vestiti; questa “nuova moda” è anche incoraggiata dalla convinzione dei medici inglesi fin dall’inizio del ‘700 (a partire dal 1720 circa), che respirare l’aria salmastra del mare e fare il bagno nell’acqua marina fredda sia salutare, rinvigorisca il corpo e curi le malattie polmonari (convinzione ancor più rafforzata dalla scoperta dell’ossigeno da parte di Antoine Lavoisier nel 1778, che portò alla maggiore diffusione e convinzione delle teorie sui benefici per la salute dell’aria di mare, che si pensava essere più ossigenata e pura), queste teorie spingono molte persone del Nord Europa affette da gravi malattie polmonari a trascorrere dei lunghi periodi nel sud Europa, spesso nel meridione d’Italia, questo spiega perché a Taormina giungono personaggi dalle qualità straordinarie per curare il proprio “mal sottile”, il barone fotografo Wilhelm von Gloeden e la lady inglese Florence Trevelyan Trevelyan si facevano portare coi muli l’acqua di mare proveniente dall’Isola Bella, però mentre W. Von Gloeden riscaldava l’acqua marina, la nobildonna inglese lady Trevelian non la riscaldava, memore degli insegnamenti della scuola medica inglese, questo causerà la sua morte per broncopolmonite il 4 ottobre del 1907 (vedi i miei precedenti “racconti fotografici” su Taormina). Infatti la “talassoterapia” nasce in Gran Bretagna, insieme al fenomeno sociale e culturale della frequentazione dei lidi balneari (prima dell’inizio del ‘700, il mare e le sue spiagge erano vissuti, tranne che per motivi di commercio e di pesca, in maniera oscura e negativa, dal mare spesso provenivano gravissimi pericoli come gli sbarchi improvvisi di feroci pirati, oppure potevano sbarcare stranieri portatori di gravissime malattie). Nell’aristocrazia e nell’alta borghesia inglese di allora nasce così la moda di trascorrere le vacanze al mare, successivamente l’abitudine di andare al mare si diffonde a tutti i livelli della società, le ferrovie che furono costruite in tutta la Gran Bretagna all’inizio dell’Ottocento, resero i viaggi verso l’oceano accessibili anche per i ceti più bassi, quelli più popolari e meno agiati, anch’essi frequenteranno le località balneari, Blackpool diviene la prima località balneare della Gran Bretagna completamente frequentata dalle classi popolari grazie alla presenza di stabilimenti balneari a basso costo; il grande e definitivo boom del turismo balneare si avrà poi negli anni ’50 e ’60. Stando così le cose, non ci si deve meravigliare nel sapere che in Gran Bretagna le spiagge sono più frequentate di quanto istintivamente si possa pensare a causa di un clima ben diverso da quello Mediterraneo, e che questo fenomeno socio-culturale sia stato indagato a livello fotografico da parte di fotografi della stessa Gran Bretagna, di questi cito quattro nomi. Un importante fotografo, che probabilmente ispirò i successivi fotografi, fu Tony Ray-Jones, scomparso prematuramente nel 1972, alla giovane età di 30 anni, il quale cercava di realizzare una “memoria fotografica” degli stereotipi del popolo inglese; il famoso fotoreporter Martin Parr, il quale pur ispirandosi al precedente, se ne differenzia per il suo modo di fare “satira sociale” col suo obiettivo; infine desidero menzionare David Hurn e Simon Roberts, quest’ultimo con fotografie di più ampio respiro, con fotografie più distaccate dal singolo individuo. In Italia numerosi sono i fotografi (ne cito solo qualcuno) che hanno realizzato nella loro lunga carriera immagini colte in località balneari (genericamente si parla di “beach photography” affine alla “street photography”), fotografie spesso uniche nel loro stile, come quello adottato da Franco Fontana, menziono Mimmo Jodice, Ferdinando Scianna (del quale mi onoro di averlo conosciuto personalmente), e Massimo Vitali, famoso fotografo (da alcuni inteso come “il fotografo delle spiagge”), soprattutto per le sue bellissime fotografie realizzate sui lidi (ma non solo), grazie alla presenza di strutture fisse sopraelevate a mò di soppalco, costruite appositamente nei lidi balneari per la realizzazione delle sue fotografie. Questo mio incipit, per introdurre il tema da me affrontato, quello della “beach photography” (con qualche eccezione per motivi ”narrativi”), con una serie di fotografie realizzate sulle spiagge circostanti Taormina (Sicilia). Ho utilizzato per alcune fotografie una tecnica fotografica particolare al momento dello scatto, oltre a catturare lo spazio circostante, ha "inserito" anche una dimensione temporale, con foto caratterizzate dall’essere mosse poiché volutamente sono stati allungati i tempi di esposizione, sono confuse-sfocate-imprecise-indecise...il termine anglosassone che racchiude con una sola parola questo genere fotografico è "blur", queste immagini sono state così realizzate in fase di scatto, e non come un effetto creato successivamente, a posteriori, in fase di post-produzione
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Engineers encapsulate the Orbital ATK enhanced Cygnus spacecraft in a protective payload fairing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fairing will provide an aerodynamic cover for the spacecraft as it rides atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket into orbit on a mission to carry supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance