A quick dash from one end of the station to the other, past the small raft of photographers and passengers awaiting the arrival of the very imminent DMU service to Gainsborough, it arrived just a minute or so after this set cleared the station, the shot now showing the set rattling off down the line towards the EWS/DBS West Yard, which has now been bought by Harry Needle, of Barrow Hill fame, the Yard being cleared and with all sidings available for storage etc. As the rear traction unit flashed past, it wasn't obvious to me, with eye pressed up against the viewfinder, that the unit was a class 82, DVT, not class 91, though the absence of a pantograph ought to have given the game away. Class 82, 82226, is bringing up the rear of the now, not so exciting E.C.S. set from the Ferme Park Sidings, having set out at 09:22, though no time-table information at all on this day, just reports from interested parties, away south in the London area, and it arrived into this area at 12:53, correct as per Working Timetable. Two of the VTEC coaches identified in the 10 or 11-coach set were, 12455 and 12318; the L.N.E.R. set looks quite at home here on the GCR's old line out from, originally, Sheffield Victoria and through to Retford and Lincoln Central, though I guess the VT livery, when compared with that of the recently refurbished Worksop Station, looks in very stark contrast to that of the livery of passenger stock which once went through here. Blue GBRf class 66, 66749 is hauling a VTEC ECS set on the 5Z91, Ferme Park Reception Line to Harry Needle Ltd., Worksop Down Yard, and will turn off the down line, to get the move onto the sidings line on the left, in preparation for a reversal in to the West Yard, once the nice new palisade fence gates have been opened, the fence stretching across all of the lines at the eastern end of the Yard.

A couple who are expecting walks in a wheat field owned by their family. North Idaho Model released.

August 2, 2012

film. expect to see way more in the following week.

and the harry potter coloured bracelets some of you requested to see :) it's probably way less then you guys were expecting x3

for some reason, my film photos come out dull-looking. i've edited the levels on this one. does anyone know why? could it be that i don't know how to use the settings (i put it on aperture priority) or the lens is dirty from decades without use?

and guys, if you decide to put my photo on your tumblr or something please give credit and/or link back to my flickr page. thanks.

+++i was taggeddddddd

Are you single/taken/heartbroken/confused?

singleeeee

What if I told you that you were pretty?

lol are you talking about the right person

What are you looking forward to in the next week?

may go on a last minute road trip to Ottawa! i've never been there before and i like to get awayyy

Do you want to be single?

i don't mind it.

Have you pretended to like someone?

nah

Is it hard for you to get over someone?

depends how much they mean to me ;D

What would you name your future daughter?

idk i'm terrible with coming up with names

Are you good at hiding your feelings?

definitely..to a point

Are you listening to music right now?

listening to the tv in the next room :3

How is your heart lately?

its great. keeping me alive; doing its job :]

Are you wearing socks?

i hate wearing socks in the house

What do people call you?

oh boy.... uhm.. theyre kinda stereotypical things like: asian, ming-ming, the next yao ming (yearbook inside joke cause im short).. then the ONES I DONT MIND like melissa, mel, etc.

Will you talk to the person you like tonight?

does fangirling about swimmers and divers from the olympics count

When was the last time a member of the opposite sex hugged you?

today... my grandpa LOL

Do you get stressed out easily?

YES YES DONT EVEN SAY THE WORD EXAMS DONT EVEN

Who do you go to when you need to talk to someone?

no one, really..

What is on your wrists right now?

nothing.

What do you like better: hot chocolate or hot apple cider?

i prefer french vanilla cappuccinos.... but i guess i'd say hot chocolate

Are you a good artist?

yes! i do believe so... aside from photography i like to paint and draw digital art

Do you miss the way things were six months ago?

six months ago...what month is that? february? anyways not really because i was a niner starting second semester in school ew

Ever stayed up all night on the phone, with who?

nope.

Do you use chap stick?

sometimes. if i can find it.....

Do you have a little sister?

no. i wish i did. brothers are icky. and i would love to dress up a little sister and do her hair :3

Have you hugged someone within the last week?

yessir

What were you doing at midnight last night?

watching tv - american dad and futurama:)

Have you ever regretted kissing someone?

never been kissed

Will next Friday be a good one?

ITS FRIDAY FRIDAY GOTTA GET DOWN ON FRIDAY maybe. dont have anything planned yet.

Calumet Wood-Field XM_Kodak Portra 160_Home Developed_SP-445 Tank

The kit and its assembly:

A rather exotic what-if model, even though it’s almost built OOB. Inspiration came when I stumbled upon the weird Syrian Panzer IVs that were operated against Israel during the Six Day War – vehicles you would not expect there, and after more than 20 years after WWII. But when I did some more research, I was surprised about the numbers and the variety of former German tanks that Syria had gathered from various European countries, and it made me wonder if the Panther could not have been among this shaggy fleet, too?

I had a surplus Dragon Panther Spähpanzer in The Stash™, to be correct a “PzBeobWg V Ausf. G”, an observation and artillery fire guidance conversion that actually existed in small numbers, and I decided to use it as basis for this odd project. The Dragon kit has some peculiarities, though: its hull is made from primed white metal and consists of an upper and lower half that are held together by small screws! An ambiguous design, because the parts do not fit as good as IP parts, so that the model has a slightly die-cast-ish aura. PSR is necessary at the seams, but due to the metal it’s not easy to do. Furthermore, you have to use superglue everywhere, just as on a resin kit. On the other side, surface details are finely molded and crisp, even though many bits have to be added manually. However, the molded metal pins that hold the wheels are very robust and relatively thin – a feature I exploited for a modified running gear (see below).

For the modified Panther in my mind I had to retrograde the turret back to a late standard turret with mantlet parts left over from a Hasegawa kit – they fitted perfectly! The PzBeobWg V only comes with a stubby gun barrel dummy. But I changed the armament, anyway, and implanted an aftermarket white metal and brass KwK 40 L48, the weapon carried by all Syrian Panzer IVs, the Jagdpanzer IVs as well as the StuG IIIs. This standardization would IMHO make sense, even if it meant a performance downgrade from the original, longer KwK 42 L70.

For a Syrian touch, inspired by installations on the Panzer IVs, I added a mount for a heavy DShK machine gun on the commander’s cupola, which is a resin aftermarket kit from Armory Models Group (a kit that consists of no less than five fiddly parts for just a tiny machine gun!).

To change and modernize the Panther’s look further, I gave it side skirts, leftover from a ModelCollect T-72 kit, which had to be modified only slightly to fit onto the molded side skirt consoles on the Panther’s metal hull. A further late addition were the fuel barrels from a Trumpeter T-54 kit that I stumbled upon when I looked for the skirts among my pile of tank donor parts. Even though they look like foreign matter on the Panther’s tail, their high position is plausible and similar to the original arrangement on many Soviet post-WWII tanks. The whip antennae on turret and hull were created with heated black sprue material.

As a modern feature and to change the Panther’s overall look even more, I replaced its original solid “dish” road wheels with T-54/55 “starfish” wheels, which were frequently retrofitted to T-34-85s during the Fifties. These very fine aftermarket resin parts (all real-world openings are actually open, and there’s only little flash!) came from OKB Grigorovich from Bulgaria. The selling point behind this idea is/was that the Panther and T-54/55 wheels have almost the same diameter: in real life it’s 860 vs. 830 mm, so that the difference in 1:72 is negligible. Beneficially, the aftermarket wheels came in two halves, and these were thin enough to replace the Panther’s interleaved wheels without major depth problems.

Adapting the parts to the totally different wheel arrangement was tricky, though, especially due to the Dragon kit’s one-piece white metal chassis that makes any mods difficult. My solution: I retained the inner solid wheels from the Panther (since they are hardly visible in the “3rd row”), plus four pairs of T-54/55 wheels for the outer, more rows of interleaved wheels. The “inner” T-54/55 wheel halves were turned around, received holes to fit onto the metal suspension pins and scratched hub covers. The “outside” halves were taken as is but received 2 mm spacer sleeves on their back sides (styrene tube) for proper depth and simply to improve their hold on the small and rounded metal pin tips. This stunt worked better than expected and looks really good, too!

Painting and markings:

Basically very simple, and I used pictures of real Syrian Panzer IVs as benchmark. I settled for the common green livery variant, and though simple and uniform, I tried to add some “excitement” to it and attempted to make old paint shine through. The hull’s lower surface areas were first primed with RAL 7008 (Khakigrau, a rather brownish tone), then the upper surfaces were sprayed with a lighter sand brown tone, both applied from rattle cans.

On top of that, a streaky mix of Revell 45 and 46 – a guesstimate for the typical Syrian greyish, rather pale olive drab tone - was thinly applied with a soft, flat brush, so that the brownish tones underneath would shine through occasionally. Once dry, the layered/weathered effect was further emphasized through careful vertical wet-sanding and rubbing on all surfaces with a soft cotton cloth.

The rubber side skirts, as well as the rubber r

The model then received an overall washing with a highly thinned mix of grey and dark brown acrylic artist paint. The vinyl tracks (as well as the IP spare track links on the hull) were painted, too, with a mix of grey, red brown and iron, all acrylic paints, too, that do not interact chemically with the soft vinyl.

The decals/markings are minimal; the Arabian scribble on the turret (must be a name?), using the picture of a Syrian Panzer IV as benchmark, was painted in white by hand, as well as the white circle on the turret roof. The orange ID triangles are a nice contrast, even though I was not able to come up with real-life visual evidence for them. I just found a color picture of a burned T-34-85 wreck with them, suggesting that the color was a dull orange red and not florescent orange, as claimed in some sources. I also found illustrations of the triangles as part of 1:35 decal sets for contemporary Syrian T-34-85s from FC Model Trend and Star Models, where they appear light red. For the model, they were eventually cut out from decal sheet material (TL-Modellbau, in a shade called “Rotorange”, what appears to be a good compromise).

Dry-brushing with light grey and beige to further emphasize edges and details followed. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic vanish overall, and some additional very light extra dry-brushing with silver was done to simulate flaked paint. Dirt and rust residues were added here and there with watercolors. After final assembly, the lower areas of the model were furthermore powdered with mineral pigments to simulate dust.

Expecting and nursing mothers require social protection but workers in the informal economy are often not covered. Maternity protection has been a primary concern of the ILO since its creation in 1919. Workplace support for mothers who are breastfeeding has been a basic provision of maternity protection.

The Philippines expanded maternity leave benefits in 2019 to align with international labour standards. The ILO also promoted exclusive breastfeeding in the workplace to advance women’s rights to maternity protection and to improve nutrition security for Filipino children. Know more: www.ilo.org/manila/projects/WCMS_379090/lang--en/index.htm

Photo ©ILO / E. Tuyay

November 2011

Manila, Philippines

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/deed.en_US.

Yes, we're pregnant. No, I am not leaving my job at Gonzaga.

(Will we find out if it is a girl or boy? No- We want it to be a surprise.)

I will do my best to refrain from pregnancy/ baby photos, so this is it!

More photos posted on the Blog

------------------------------------------

© Becka Lynn Photography

Santa Rosa Maternity Photographer | Do Not Copy

Nearly 1,000 Students to Participate in WSSU Commencement on May 15

WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- Christina Wareâs story is one of the many inspiring testimonials of the nearly 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students from near and afar who are expected to participate in Winston-Salem State Universityâs commencement ceremony on Friday, May 15, at 9:45 a.m., at Bowman Gray Stadium, 1250 South Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

Academy Award-winning recording artist, activist and actor Common will be the keynote speaker. There are no guest limits or ticket requirements for the ceremony.

It is conceivable that Wareâs story of work ethic, undeniable spirit and enthusiasm encapsulates the sentiment of her graduating 2015 classmates.

Ware, 43, of Winston-Salem, is quite active on and off campus as a mentor to other students, a member of the non-traditional student organization, the first president of Epsilon Chapter 130 of Tau Sigma National Honor Society at WSSU, a wife and proud mother of two. She is also legally blind. She wants to blaze trails, set examples and raise the bar for others with disabilities.

âIn 2007, I lost my eyesight. After a six-month pity party, I decided to continue my education and make a difference for others. Since 2008, I have spent every day of my life proving to society that having a disability does not mean we are weak. I am now an advocate for persons with disabilities,â Ware, a business major, said, "We are not handicapped, we are handy capable!"

Ware, who can be described as always pleasant and having an unlimited enthusiasm for life, says every day alive is like Christmas. She demands to be treated like everyone else and has been noted to say, âI may physically fall, but mentally I can get back up and pull a 4.0 semester.â After graduation she wants to start a Kosher/Halal foods business and become active on community boards.

The China Connection

From the City of Harbin, the capital and largest city of the Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China, WSSU Master of Arts in the Teaching of English as a Second Language and Applied Linguistics students Yaowen Xing and Chunling Zhang have found a second home at WSSU and in Winston-Salem. They perhaps have come the farthest distance attend the university.

With a population of more than five million people, Harbin is situated in the northeast region of China so close to Russia that only the Songhua River separates the two countries. Nicknamed the Ice City, the average winter temperature is -3.5 °F with annual lows hitting -31.0 °F. Itâs no wonder the students say the warmer weather here in the Piedmont Triad has not been lost in translation with them and itâs one of the things they enjoy.

âWe really love the weather in North Carolina, especially the long summer time, since our hometown is so cold with snow for almost 6 months of the year,â Xing, 30, noted. âWe also love the people at WSSU and the faculty who all are nice and it has been a really good experience.â

Xing and Zhang, 35, are in America as part of a Chinese education immersion program to help exchange the cultures between China and America. They enjoy working as cultural ambassadors to students in both the cultures. The two came to the U.S. in 2013 and have been teaching at Konnoak Elementary school during the early hours and studying and researching later in the day. âComing to America was a dream for me after learning about it through books, movies and music, and my time here it has been amazing,â Xing said.

Zhang, said she didnât know much about WSSU or Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUâs), but after a short time here she knew WSSU would be was special part of life. âI have met many African- Americans who have been friendly and helpful. I now can say I truly have many black friends,â Zhang said. She and Xing have taken advantage of the HBCU experience. They have been often seen attending evening lectures and presentations, sports events, musical and visual arts events. With their WSSU master degrees they will return to China one day in the future to make an impact on teaching and the quality of education there.

The All-In Approach

Olivia N. Sedwick, 21, a political science major from Indianapolis, has taken âthe all-in approach" to her WSSU experience. The current WSSU student government president (SGA), honorâs student and champion athlete, chose WSSU over other schools she could have attended.

Featured in a USA Today article highlighting the HBCU experience released last June, Sedwick is quoted as saying about WSSU, âI fell in love with the school.â She says, âWe talked about things that I had never had the chance to before coming from a predominantly white high school.â

Liking the intellectual and social environment, she was comfortable becoming involved around campus. In her first year, a walk-on athlete for the womenâs track and field team, she was a 2013 CIAA Indoor Womenâs Track and Field All-Conference competitor and the WSSU womenâs shot put record holder until earlier this year, although she never competed in the throws until coming to college. In her second year she served as the sophomore class vice president while also being appointed to serve on many committees throughout the university. In that same year, she was a delegate to the UNC Association of Student Governments (UNCASG), representing WSSU students on a state-wide level. At the end of that year, she became the first African-American female elected senior vice president of UNCASG and served in that capacity for the entirety of her third year while being active as the chief of staff for the WSSU student government association that year also. Toward the end of her term in UNCASG, she decided to run for student body president and has served as the voice of the students for the duration of her last year. With all of her activities, she has maintained a 3.95 GPA throughout her time in college.

Sedwick has been selected as a UNC General Administration Presidential Intern, which begins in July. Upon completion of the prestigious one-year appointment, Sedwick plans to attend Howard University School of Law.

A Drum Major who will March for a Noble Cause

Willie Davis, 22, a social work major from Fayetteville, N.C., who has led WSSUâs Red Sea of Sound Marching Band as a drum major for his senior year, will now march to lead the charge for helping veterans and their families cope with typical and unique challenges of serving in military. Davis will be one of four Cadets with the distinct honor of being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant U.S. in the U.S. Army during this yearâs commencement ceremony. Despite that professionally Davis will help vets, military and families with things like dealing with emotions, he said, âI donât think I will be ready for the commissioning part (of commencement) emotionally.â

Readiness for Davis is an understatement. The youngest of three siblings, who was age 10 when his father died, Davis has been an A average student throughout life. He was in the top ten of his high school class and the first generation in his family to attend college. At WSSU, besides maintaining high academic achievement and serving in the U.S. Army ROTC, Davis has been active with the WSSU Band, the University Choir, a Campus Ambassador, a mentor to freshmen students, vice president of the WSSU chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, a Veterans Helping Veterans Heal intern and a member of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.

After graduation, Davis is going to graduate school at the University of South Carolina. He plans to complete that program in one year and begin his military duties. As a clinical social worker, his responsibilities may range from clinical counseling, crisis intervention, disaster relief, critical event debriefing, teaching and training, supervision, research, administration, consultation and policy development in various military settings. He wants to specialize in helping military veterans who suffer from different traumas such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), paranoid schizophrenia and other conditions.

Before March 2 2015, please come here to nominate the entire Chinatown as the historic site to be preserved, don't expect City of Vancouver to save Chinatown when the Council approved more condo to be built in Chinatown at rapid rate to destroy the Chinatown.

www.heritagebc.ca/blog?articleid=162

Chinese Historic Places Recognition Project

THE HERITAGE BATTLE FOR CHINATOWN

Historic Vancouver neighbourhood is being redeveloped, raising fears it will lose its character.

By JOHN MACKIE, VANCOUVER SUN November 15, 2014

The marketing line for the Keefer Block condo development in Chinatown is “Heritage Meets Modern.”

But just how much heritage will be left after a wave of modern developments washes over the historic district is a matter of debate.

A new proposal for the 700-block of Main Street would demolish the last three buildings from Hogan’s Alley, a once-notorious back lane that was the longtime home of Vancouver’s black community.

Another condo development at 231 Pender would replace a funky, Chinese-themed garage that is listed on Canada’s Register of Historic Places. Angelo Tosi’s family has owned their building at 624 Main since 1930. It may date back to 1895, and looks it — the fixtures and shelving are as old as the hills.

But Tosi is 82, and will probably sell when the price is right. He doesn’t expect his store to survive.

“It’ll be gobbled up by the monstrous buildings,” said Tosi. “And then they’ll take it all, and it’s finished. They won’t keep the heritage on the bottom, they’ll put down whatever they want.”

His fatalistic attitude reflects the changes in Chinatown, which is undergoing a development boom after zoning changes by the City of Vancouver.

The protected “historic” area of Chinatown is now Pender Street, while much of Main, Georgia and Keefer can now be redeveloped, with heights of up to 90 feet (nine storeys). A few sites can go even higher.

Two towers are going up at Keefer and Main — the nine-storey, 81-unit Keefer Block, and the 17-storey, 156-unit 188 Keefer. Up the street at 137 Keefer, a development permit application has just gone in for a new nine-storey “multi-family building.”

None of them has stirred up much controversy. But a recent public meeting about a 12-storey, 137-unit condo to be built on an empty lot at Keefer and Columbia got people riled up.

“There was a lot of angry people that night,” said Henry Yu, a UBC history professor who feels a “vision plan” the Chinatown community worked on with the city for several years is being ignored.

“The vision plan gets passed, (but it has) no teeth,” said Yu. “Actually (there is) no policy, it’s a wish list of ‘Oh, we’d like seniors housing, we’d like to do this, we’d like to do that.’

“Almost immediately, the two (highrise) buildings in the 600-, 700-block Main go up, and they’re just basically Yaletown condos. Not even Yaletown — Yaletown has more character.

“These are straight out of the glass tower (model), no (historic) character, obliterating everything in terms of tying it to the kind of streetscape of Chinatown. You’re going to split the historic two or three blocks of Chinatown with a Main Street corridor of these glass towers.”

Yu says Chinatown has historically been small buildings on 25-foot lots, which makes for a jumble of small stores that gives it a unique look and character. But the new developments are much wider, and just don’t look like Chinatown.

“The two 600-, 700-block buildings have a rain shield that’s an awning, a glass awning that runs the whole block,” said Yu. “That’s the design guideline for the city as a whole, but it was nothing to do with Chinatown, (which is) narrow frontages, changing awnings.

“We said that (to the city planners), we raised it and raised it, but the planners just shoved it down our throat.”

Kevin McNaney is Vancouver’s assistant director of planning. He said the city changed the zoning in parts of Chinatown to help revitalize the neighbourhood, which has been struggling.

“We have been taking a look across Chinatown,” said McNaney. “What we’re finding is that rents are dropping, and vacancies are rising. And that’s a big part of the strategy of adding more people to revitalize Chinatown.

“There are only 900 people currently living in Chinatown, many of them seniors. It’s just not the population base needed to support businesses, so a lot of the businesses are going under. Along Pender Street you see a lot of vacancies right now.

“So at the heart of this plan is to bring more people to revitalize Chinatown, and also use that development to support heritage projects, affordable housing projects and cultural projects.”

Henry Yu disagrees. “The idea that you need density in Chinatown itself, that you need your own captive customer base, is moronic,” he said.

“Where else in the city would you make that argument, that nobody can walk more than two blocks, that no one is going to come in here from somewhere else?

“They will. People go to the International Summer Market in Richmond in an empty gravel field. Ten thousand people at night come from everywhere in the Lower Mainland, because there’s something worth going to.

“The problem isn’t that you need a captive audience that has no other choice but to shop in Chinatown — that’s just stupid, there’s plenty of people in Strathcona. The problem is, is there something worth coming to (in Chinatown)? And that has to do with the character, what the mix is, what kind of commercial.”

Ironically, all the new construction comes just as Chinatown seems to be undergoing a bit of a renaissance. Several new businesses have popped up in old buildings, attracted by the area’s character and cheap rents.

The très-hip El Kartel fashion boutique recently moved into a 6,000 sq. ft space at 104 East Pender that used to house Cathay Importers. It’s on the main floor of the four-storey Chinese Benevolent Association Building, which was built in 1909.

Across the street at 147 East Pender is Livestock, a runner and apparel store that is so cool it doesn’t even have a sign. “We were in Gastown at the corner of Cordova and Abbott, (and) just felt a change was needed,” said store manager Chadley Abalos.

“We found the opportunity in Chinatown, so we decided to move here. We feel it’s one of the new spots that are booming. You see a lot of new businesses — restaurants, clothing stores, furniture. We see the potential in it growing.”

Russell Baker owns Bombast, a chic furniture store at 27 East Pender. But he is not new to the neighbourhood — Bombast has been there for 10 years.

“I think (Chinatown is) one of the most interesting parts of the city,” he said.

“It’s still got some variety, some texture, architecturally, socially, economically. A lot of what’s happened to the downtown peninsula (in recent years) constitutes erasure. This is one of the places that still sort of feels like … it feels more urban than some parts of downtown. I would say downtown is a vertical suburb.

“If you like cities, Chinatown feels like one. That’s why we’re here.”

Baker said he expected Chinatown to happen a lot sooner than it did. Retailers that do well there still tend to be destinations, rather than stores that rely on heavy street traffic. “The buzz is that Chinatown is happening, but it’s really strategic, what’s happening,” he said. “Fortune Sound Club, that’s a niche market that’s destination. That’s the kind of thing that works down here. We’re destination, Bao Bei (restaurant) is destination.”

The new businesses make for an interesting mix with the old ones. The 200 block East Georgia Street is hopping with hipster bars (the Pacific Hotel, Mamie Taylor’s) and art galleries (Access Gallery, 221A, Centre A). But it also retains classic Chinatown shops like the Fresh Egg Mart and Hang Loong Herbal Products.

The question is whether the small businesses will be displaced as the area gentrifies. Real estate values have soared — Soltera paid $6.5 million for the northwest corner of Keefer and Main in 2011, Beedie Holdings paid $16.2 million for two parcels of land at Columbia and Keefer in 2013.

That seems like a lot for a site that’s two blocks from the troubled Downtown Eastside, but Houtan Rafii of the Beedie Group said that’s what land costs in Vancouver.

“It is a significant, substantial amount of money, but compared to most every area in Vancouver, it’s not dissimilar, whether you’re in Gastown, downtown, Concord-Pacific, even on the boundaries of Strathcona or on Hastings close to Clark or Commercial,” said Rafii. “It’s not an obscene amount of money, it’s market.”

Rafii said the Beedie Group met with local groups for a year about its development, and was surprised at the reaction it got at the public meeting, which was held because Beedie is looking to rezone the site to add an additional three storeys.

Yu doesn’t have a problem with the Beedie proposal per se, but feels it’s on a key site in Chinatown, and should be developed accordingly.

“It’s not the building’s fault,” said Yu.

“People are going ‘What’s wrong with this glass tower, it’s working everywhere else, and Chinese people love buying this stuff if it’s UBC.’

“That’s not the point. There’s plenty of room around the city to build glass towers (that are) 40 storeys, 50 storeys, whatever. Why do they need to be in this spot?

“This one is right in the heart (of Chinatown). Across the street is the Sun Yat-sen (garden), the Chinese Cultural Centre. On the same street is the (Chinese workers) monument. Next door is the back alley of Pender.”

Yu said a recent study found there will be a need for 3,300 income-assisted senior housing beds in the Lower Mainland over the next 15 years. He said the Columbia and Keefer site would be perfect for a seniors project.

“There’s a particular kind of resonance to the idea this is a traditional place where a lot of Chinese seniors can retire to,” he said.

“There is a five-year waiting list for the Simon K.Y. Lee Success long-term care home, so there’s huge demand, huge need, this is a place where they want to go. (Building a seniors home) would actually would help revitalize (Chinatown), because seniors bring sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters into a community.

“That’s the Chinatown vision plan, that’s what’s in there, that’s what those discussions were about. And yet what we’ve got is 137 luxury condo units for hip youngsters. That’s the Beedie proposal, and that’s what the last two towers (on Main) were. It’s not just insulting, it’s the thwarting of the very promise (of the vision plan).”

Wu would like to see a moratorium on new developments in Chinatown “until design guidelines are actually built to create a zone that respects the (area’s special) character.”

Retired city planner Nathan Edelson agrees. Which is significant, because he worked on the Chinatown vision plan for over a decade.

“My suggestion is that there should be a moratorium on the rezonings, for sure, until they can get an assessment of what the current new development is,” said Edelson. “To what degree are they contributing to, or harming Chinatown, the historic character of Chinatown? And it’s not an obvious answer.”

Read more:

www.vancouversun.com/business/Battle+Chinatown/10384991/s...

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Photos from the 2012 premiere of What to Expect When You're Expecting in New York.

David Shankbone

And you were expecting a chicken coop!

I think my new tattoo is almost healed. It's been just over a week and it's itchy. It was nice out again today, nice enough for me to put my suit on and sit on the back deck without freezing so here you have it. I wore this bathing suit bottom when I got it and realized it is a lot lower than most of my other suits so it may only show a bit. Eh.

Here you will see the artist doing the work.

So SM. Just what about it can't you believe? I'm curious. That I got a tattoo at all? Or at my age? Where it is located? The design? Tell me. . .

SKC? Your issue? Perhaps that I said I would never get a tattoo at all? Like I said, I guess one should never say never.

CVP? Your comment? P1280397

www.donthaophotography.com

Nearly 1,000 Students to Participate in WSSU Commencement on May 15

WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- Christina Wareâs story is one of the many inspiring testimonials of the nearly 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students from near and afar who are expected to participate in Winston-Salem State Universityâs commencement ceremony on Friday, May 15, at 9:45 a.m., at Bowman Gray Stadium, 1250 South Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

Academy Award-winning recording artist, activist and actor Common will be the keynote speaker. There are no guest limits or ticket requirements for the ceremony.

It is conceivable that Wareâs story of work ethic, undeniable spirit and enthusiasm encapsulates the sentiment of her graduating 2015 classmates.

Ware, 43, of Winston-Salem, is quite active on and off campus as a mentor to other students, a member of the non-traditional student organization, the first president of Epsilon Chapter 130 of Tau Sigma National Honor Society at WSSU, a wife and proud mother of two. She is also legally blind. She wants to blaze trails, set examples and raise the bar for others with disabilities.

âIn 2007, I lost my eyesight. After a six-month pity party, I decided to continue my education and make a difference for others. Since 2008, I have spent every day of my life proving to society that having a disability does not mean we are weak. I am now an advocate for persons with disabilities,â Ware, a business major, said, "We are not handicapped, we are handy capable!"

Ware, who can be described as always pleasant and having an unlimited enthusiasm for life, says every day alive is like Christmas. She demands to be treated like everyone else and has been noted to say, âI may physically fall, but mentally I can get back up and pull a 4.0 semester.â After graduation she wants to start a Kosher/Halal foods business and become active on community boards.

The China Connection

From the City of Harbin, the capital and largest city of the Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China, WSSU Master of Arts in the Teaching of English as a Second Language and Applied Linguistics students Yaowen Xing and Chunling Zhang have found a second home at WSSU and in Winston-Salem. They perhaps have come the farthest distance attend the university.

With a population of more than five million people, Harbin is situated in the northeast region of China so close to Russia that only the Songhua River separates the two countries. Nicknamed the Ice City, the average winter temperature is -3.5 °F with annual lows hitting -31.0 °F. Itâs no wonder the students say the warmer weather here in the Piedmont Triad has not been lost in translation with them and itâs one of the things they enjoy.

âWe really love the weather in North Carolina, especially the long summer time, since our hometown is so cold with snow for almost 6 months of the year,â Xing, 30, noted. âWe also love the people at WSSU and the faculty who all are nice and it has been a really good experience.â

Xing and Zhang, 35, are in America as part of a Chinese education immersion program to help exchange the cultures between China and America. They enjoy working as cultural ambassadors to students in both the cultures. The two came to the U.S. in 2013 and have been teaching at Konnoak Elementary school during the early hours and studying and researching later in the day. âComing to America was a dream for me after learning about it through books, movies and music, and my time here it has been amazing,â Xing said.

Zhang, said she didnât know much about WSSU or Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUâs), but after a short time here she knew WSSU would be was special part of life. âI have met many African- Americans who have been friendly and helpful. I now can say I truly have many black friends,â Zhang said. She and Xing have taken advantage of the HBCU experience. They have been often seen attending evening lectures and presentations, sports events, musical and visual arts events. With their WSSU master degrees they will return to China one day in the future to make an impact on teaching and the quality of education there.

The All-In Approach

Olivia N. Sedwick, 21, a political science major from Indianapolis, has taken âthe all-in approach" to her WSSU experience. The current WSSU student government president (SGA), honorâs student and champion athlete, chose WSSU over other schools she could have attended.

Featured in a USA Today article highlighting the HBCU experience released last June, Sedwick is quoted as saying about WSSU, âI fell in love with the school.â She says, âWe talked about things that I had never had the chance to before coming from a predominantly white high school.â

Liking the intellectual and social environment, she was comfortable becoming involved around campus. In her first year, a walk-on athlete for the womenâs track and field team, she was a 2013 CIAA Indoor Womenâs Track and Field All-Conference competitor and the WSSU womenâs shot put record holder until earlier this year, although she never competed in the throws until coming to college. In her second year she served as the sophomore class vice president while also being appointed to serve on many committees throughout the university. In that same year, she was a delegate to the UNC Association of Student Governments (UNCASG), representing WSSU students on a state-wide level. At the end of that year, she became the first African-American female elected senior vice president of UNCASG and served in that capacity for the entirety of her third year while being active as the chief of staff for the WSSU student government association that year also. Toward the end of her term in UNCASG, she decided to run for student body president and has served as the voice of the students for the duration of her last year. With all of her activities, she has maintained a 3.95 GPA throughout her time in college.

Sedwick has been selected as a UNC General Administration Presidential Intern, which begins in July. Upon completion of the prestigious one-year appointment, Sedwick plans to attend Howard University School of Law.

A Drum Major who will March for a Noble Cause

Willie Davis, 22, a social work major from Fayetteville, N.C., who has led WSSUâs Red Sea of Sound Marching Band as a drum major for his senior year, will now march to lead the charge for helping veterans and their families cope with typical and unique challenges of serving in military. Davis will be one of four Cadets with the distinct honor of being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant U.S. in the U.S. Army during this yearâs commencement ceremony. Despite that professionally Davis will help vets, military and families with things like dealing with emotions, he said, âI donât think I will be ready for the commissioning part (of commencement) emotionally.â

Readiness for Davis is an understatement. The youngest of three siblings, who was age 10 when his father died, Davis has been an A average student throughout life. He was in the top ten of his high school class and the first generation in his family to attend college. At WSSU, besides maintaining high academic achievement and serving in the U.S. Army ROTC, Davis has been active with the WSSU Band, the University Choir, a Campus Ambassador, a mentor to freshmen students, vice president of the WSSU chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, a Veterans Helping Veterans Heal intern and a member of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.

After graduation, Davis is going to graduate school at the University of South Carolina. He plans to complete that program in one year and begin his military duties. As a clinical social worker, his responsibilities may range from clinical counseling, crisis intervention, disaster relief, critical event debriefing, teaching and training, supervision, research, administration, consultation and policy development in various military settings. He wants to specialize in helping military veterans who suffer from different traumas such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), paranoid schizophrenia and other conditions.

Before March 2 2015, please come here to nominate the entire Chinatown as the historic site to be preserved, don't expect City of Vancouver to save Chinatown when the Council approved more condo to be built in Chinatown at rapid rate to destroy the Chinatown.

www.heritagebc.ca/blog?articleid=162

Chinese Historic Places Recognition Project

THE HERITAGE BATTLE FOR CHINATOWN

Historic Vancouver neighbourhood is being redeveloped, raising fears it will lose its character.

By JOHN MACKIE, VANCOUVER SUN November 15, 2014

The marketing line for the Keefer Block condo development in Chinatown is “Heritage Meets Modern.”

But just how much heritage will be left after a wave of modern developments washes over the historic district is a matter of debate.

A new proposal for the 700-block of Main Street would demolish the last three buildings from Hogan’s Alley, a once-notorious back lane that was the longtime home of Vancouver’s black community.

Another condo development at 231 Pender would replace a funky, Chinese-themed garage that is listed on Canada’s Register of Historic Places. Angelo Tosi’s family has owned their building at 624 Main since 1930. It may date back to 1895, and looks it — the fixtures and shelving are as old as the hills.

But Tosi is 82, and will probably sell when the price is right. He doesn’t expect his store to survive.

“It’ll be gobbled up by the monstrous buildings,” said Tosi. “And then they’ll take it all, and it’s finished. They won’t keep the heritage on the bottom, they’ll put down whatever they want.”

His fatalistic attitude reflects the changes in Chinatown, which is undergoing a development boom after zoning changes by the City of Vancouver.

The protected “historic” area of Chinatown is now Pender Street, while much of Main, Georgia and Keefer can now be redeveloped, with heights of up to 90 feet (nine storeys). A few sites can go even higher.

Two towers are going up at Keefer and Main — the nine-storey, 81-unit Keefer Block, and the 17-storey, 156-unit 188 Keefer. Up the street at 137 Keefer, a development permit application has just gone in for a new nine-storey “multi-family building.”

None of them has stirred up much controversy. But a recent public meeting about a 12-storey, 137-unit condo to be built on an empty lot at Keefer and Columbia got people riled up.

“There was a lot of angry people that night,” said Henry Yu, a UBC history professor who feels a “vision plan” the Chinatown community worked on with the city for several years is being ignored.

“The vision plan gets passed, (but it has) no teeth,” said Yu. “Actually (there is) no policy, it’s a wish list of ‘Oh, we’d like seniors housing, we’d like to do this, we’d like to do that.’

“Almost immediately, the two (highrise) buildings in the 600-, 700-block Main go up, and they’re just basically Yaletown condos. Not even Yaletown — Yaletown has more character.

“These are straight out of the glass tower (model), no (historic) character, obliterating everything in terms of tying it to the kind of streetscape of Chinatown. You’re going to split the historic two or three blocks of Chinatown with a Main Street corridor of these glass towers.”

Yu says Chinatown has historically been small buildings on 25-foot lots, which makes for a jumble of small stores that gives it a unique look and character. But the new developments are much wider, and just don’t look like Chinatown.

“The two 600-, 700-block buildings have a rain shield that’s an awning, a glass awning that runs the whole block,” said Yu. “That’s the design guideline for the city as a whole, but it was nothing to do with Chinatown, (which is) narrow frontages, changing awnings.

“We said that (to the city planners), we raised it and raised it, but the planners just shoved it down our throat.”

Kevin McNaney is Vancouver’s assistant director of planning. He said the city changed the zoning in parts of Chinatown to help revitalize the neighbourhood, which has been struggling.

“We have been taking a look across Chinatown,” said McNaney. “What we’re finding is that rents are dropping, and vacancies are rising. And that’s a big part of the strategy of adding more people to revitalize Chinatown.

“There are only 900 people currently living in Chinatown, many of them seniors. It’s just not the population base needed to support businesses, so a lot of the businesses are going under. Along Pender Street you see a lot of vacancies right now.

“So at the heart of this plan is to bring more people to revitalize Chinatown, and also use that development to support heritage projects, affordable housing projects and cultural projects.”

Henry Yu disagrees. “The idea that you need density in Chinatown itself, that you need your own captive customer base, is moronic,” he said.

“Where else in the city would you make that argument, that nobody can walk more than two blocks, that no one is going to come in here from somewhere else?

“They will. People go to the International Summer Market in Richmond in an empty gravel field. Ten thousand people at night come from everywhere in the Lower Mainland, because there’s something worth going to.

“The problem isn’t that you need a captive audience that has no other choice but to shop in Chinatown — that’s just stupid, there’s plenty of people in Strathcona. The problem is, is there something worth coming to (in Chinatown)? And that has to do with the character, what the mix is, what kind of commercial.”

Ironically, all the new construction comes just as Chinatown seems to be undergoing a bit of a renaissance. Several new businesses have popped up in old buildings, attracted by the area’s character and cheap rents.

The très-hip El Kartel fashion boutique recently moved into a 6,000 sq. ft space at 104 East Pender that used to house Cathay Importers. It’s on the main floor of the four-storey Chinese Benevolent Association Building, which was built in 1909.

Across the street at 147 East Pender is Livestock, a runner and apparel store that is so cool it doesn’t even have a sign. “We were in Gastown at the corner of Cordova and Abbott, (and) just felt a change was needed,” said store manager Chadley Abalos.

“We found the opportunity in Chinatown, so we decided to move here. We feel it’s one of the new spots that are booming. You see a lot of new businesses — restaurants, clothing stores, furniture. We see the potential in it growing.”

Russell Baker owns Bombast, a chic furniture store at 27 East Pender. But he is not new to the neighbourhood — Bombast has been there for 10 years.

“I think (Chinatown is) one of the most interesting parts of the city,” he said.

“It’s still got some variety, some texture, architecturally, socially, economically. A lot of what’s happened to the downtown peninsula (in recent years) constitutes erasure. This is one of the places that still sort of feels like … it feels more urban than some parts of downtown. I would say downtown is a vertical suburb.

“If you like cities, Chinatown feels like one. That’s why we’re here.”

Baker said he expected Chinatown to happen a lot sooner than it did. Retailers that do well there still tend to be destinations, rather than stores that rely on heavy street traffic. “The buzz is that Chinatown is happening, but it’s really strategic, what’s happening,” he said. “Fortune Sound Club, that’s a niche market that’s destination. That’s the kind of thing that works down here. We’re destination, Bao Bei (restaurant) is destination.”

The new businesses make for an interesting mix with the old ones. The 200 block East Georgia Street is hopping with hipster bars (the Pacific Hotel, Mamie Taylor’s) and art galleries (Access Gallery, 221A, Centre A). But it also retains classic Chinatown shops like the Fresh Egg Mart and Hang Loong Herbal Products.

The question is whether the small businesses will be displaced as the area gentrifies. Real estate values have soared — Soltera paid $6.5 million for the northwest corner of Keefer and Main in 2011, Beedie Holdings paid $16.2 million for two parcels of land at Columbia and Keefer in 2013.

That seems like a lot for a site that’s two blocks from the troubled Downtown Eastside, but Houtan Rafii of the Beedie Group said that’s what land costs in Vancouver.

“It is a significant, substantial amount of money, but compared to most every area in Vancouver, it’s not dissimilar, whether you’re in Gastown, downtown, Concord-Pacific, even on the boundaries of Strathcona or on Hastings close to Clark or Commercial,” said Rafii. “It’s not an obscene amount of money, it’s market.”

Rafii said the Beedie Group met with local groups for a year about its development, and was surprised at the reaction it got at the public meeting, which was held because Beedie is looking to rezone the site to add an additional three storeys.

Yu doesn’t have a problem with the Beedie proposal per se, but feels it’s on a key site in Chinatown, and should be developed accordingly.

“It’s not the building’s fault,” said Yu.

“People are going ‘What’s wrong with this glass tower, it’s working everywhere else, and Chinese people love buying this stuff if it’s UBC.’

“That’s not the point. There’s plenty of room around the city to build glass towers (that are) 40 storeys, 50 storeys, whatever. Why do they need to be in this spot?

“This one is right in the heart (of Chinatown). Across the street is the Sun Yat-sen (garden), the Chinese Cultural Centre. On the same street is the (Chinese workers) monument. Next door is the back alley of Pender.”

Yu said a recent study found there will be a need for 3,300 income-assisted senior housing beds in the Lower Mainland over the next 15 years. He said the Columbia and Keefer site would be perfect for a seniors project.

“There’s a particular kind of resonance to the idea this is a traditional place where a lot of Chinese seniors can retire to,” he said.

“There is a five-year waiting list for the Simon K.Y. Lee Success long-term care home, so there’s huge demand, huge need, this is a place where they want to go. (Building a seniors home) would actually would help revitalize (Chinatown), because seniors bring sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters into a community.

“That’s the Chinatown vision plan, that’s what’s in there, that’s what those discussions were about. And yet what we’ve got is 137 luxury condo units for hip youngsters. That’s the Beedie proposal, and that’s what the last two towers (on Main) were. It’s not just insulting, it’s the thwarting of the very promise (of the vision plan).”

Wu would like to see a moratorium on new developments in Chinatown “until design guidelines are actually built to create a zone that respects the (area’s special) character.”

Retired city planner Nathan Edelson agrees. Which is significant, because he worked on the Chinatown vision plan for over a decade.

“My suggestion is that there should be a moratorium on the rezonings, for sure, until they can get an assessment of what the current new development is,” said Edelson. “To what degree are they contributing to, or harming Chinatown, the historic character of Chinatown? And it’s not an obvious answer.”

Read more:

www.vancouversun.com/business/Battle+Chinatown/10384991/s...

The festival celebrates the finest in both gardening and food. Visitors can expect stunning show gardens and nursery displays alongside a bounty of food producers, shopping and top tips from garden experts and celebrity chefs.

Set against the picturesque Malvern Hills, show gardens are always a number one destination, with five designers being awarded with RHS Gold Medals in 2016.

The Floral Marquee is bursting with examples of the finest nurseries in the UK and abroad, with many old favourites and new varieties on sale.

The foodie hotspot, Festival Food and Drink Pavilion, is a lively market of food producers offering a variety of artisan produce. At the heart is a Kitchen Theatre where celebrity guests and local producers showcase their skills and produce.

Other festival favourites include the School Gardens, Get Going Get Growing pavilion and Family Day (Sunday).

RHS Malvern Spring Festival is a joint partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society and Three Counties Agricultural Society.

An entirely new vision brings RHS Malvern Spring Festival into full bloom for 2017, taking inspiration from the event’s Spa town heritage. The landmark four-day spectacle, taking place from Thursday 11 – Sunday 14 May at the Three Counties Showground, welcomes all new features and exhibits and a vibrant line up of the finest in gardening, food and lifestyle.

Jane Furze, Head of RHS Malvern Spring Festival, said: “We are so excited to share the glorious plans that are afoot for RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2017. It really is going to be a sensational year for our leading event with plenty for everyone. Whether you’re a newcomer to gardening, a veteran horticulturalist or simply looking for a family day out, RHS Malvern Spring Festival has it all. We look forward to welcoming visitors to our stunning showcase of spring in May.”

The new vision for RHS Malvern Spring Festival takes inspiration from Malvern Spa’s Victorian heyday as a fashionable health resort – a place where day-trippers descended to take advantage of the clean air and to enjoy the health giving waters amongst the romantic beauty of the hills and into a town of pleasure gardens, assembly rooms and numerous eating-places.

Promising a bountiful day out for everyone, visitors can expect:

NEW FOR 2017

FLORAL MARQUEE

RHS Malvern Spring Festival boasts the UK’s longest Floral Marquee at over 195 metres – the equivalent length of four Olympic swimming pools. The Floral Marquee welcomes more than 65 leading UK and international nurseries, setting the horticultural standards with impressive displays of prized blooms and new varieties. Exhibitors in the Floral Marquee represent the very best in plants and advice available. Here visitors can browse and buy from the very best.

JOE SWIFT’S PLANT HUNTER PARLOUR

BBC Gardeners’ World presenter and acclaimed garden expert, Joe Swift brings to life a new centerpiece of the Floral Marquee – Joe’s Plant Hunter Parlour. This immersive experience like no other features daily talks from award winning nurseries and welcomes budding gardeners big and small to discover, learn and indulge their inner plant hunter.

LIVE WELL

Newly introduced for the very first time, this dedicated zone interprets and explores the theme of health and wellbeing in the 21st century.

JEKKA MCVICAR’S HEALTH & WELLBEING GARDEN

The centrepiece of the Live Well zone, British Queen of Herbs, Jekka McVicar designs and builds a specially commissioned permanent garden, bringing to life the role gardens continue to play in our health and sense of wellbeing. Jekka’s garden is a living working space for mind, body and senses.

The garden is both a tranquil seating space where visitors can spend time amongst the aromatic herb beds, and a place to learn and explore what living well meant in yesteryear and what it means today. Visitors are invited to join daily ‘herbal conversations’ with Jekka herself and explore the awe-inspiring world of alternative therapies. The garden is in support of Pathways, a day service for adults with learning disabilities and difficulties.

GROW

A horticultural experience by Jon Wheatley, RHS Gold Medal winning gardener and Chairman of RHS South West in Bloom, Grow takes inspiration from interactive Country gardens and wildflower borders, showcasing a variety of edible beds and bountiful Grow To Show competitions.

SPA GARDENS

A brand new category introduced for the very first time to RHS Malvern Spring Festival, offering a unique platform for emerging gardening talent. Glorious gardens from up and coming designers bring to life the new vision and reflect the thirst for knowledge, new horizons and innovative technology at the heart of Malvern’s Victorian heritage. Gold Medal winning Chelsea garden designer, Jo Thompson is mentoring the new talent as they embark on this exciting new challenge. The Spa Gardens category also features one garden from an international designer supported by the esteemed Moscow Flower Show. This is part of a newly introduced exchange programme, which in return offers one selected British Spa Garden designer the once in a lifetime chance to showcase at Moscow Flower Show in July.

INDOOR SHOPPING ARCADES

A premium quality shopping experience, it is here that visitors can pick up unique pieces in fashion, furniture, homewares, horticulture, gifts and more from independent designers, craftsmen, artisans and artists.

PLANT ARCADES

An exciting open-air shopping experience with over 35 nurseries, each showcasing a wonderful array of plants. Plant steals aplenty can be found here, especially during the famous sell-off on Sunday.

MAKING A WELCOME RETURN

FESTIVAL GREEN

The heart of RHS Malvern Spring Festival featuring a colourful array of pleasure gardens, a bandstand of live music, an impressive collection of classic cars, an array of global flavours from the International Street Food Market, and plenty of places to picnic. It is here visitors rediscover the Victorian love of amusement, surprise and delight, alongside enjoying unique show gardens unlike any other.

FESTIVAL THEATRE

Hosted by RHS Malvern Spring Festival favourite and award winning writer and broadcaster, James Alexander-Sinclair, the Festival Theatre plays host to a lively line up of leading experts and familiar faces. Visitors may take a seat and enjoy demonstrations, talks and exciting features as personalities share their knowledge and passion for all things gardening and food. Confirmed experts include Carol Klein, Joe Swift, Jekka McVicar and Jon Wheatley with plenty more to be announced soon.

SHOW GARDENS

The highest standard of garden design is showcased in the Show Gardens of RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2017. Leading designers create awe-inspiring gardens as they compete for prestigious RHS accolades including Gold medals and the coveted Best In Show. RHS Malvern Spring Festival is famed as the show that raises the bar for design and horticultural talent with numerous RHS Gold medals awarded in 2016. This year is tipped to be no exception.

FOOD & DRINK PAVILION

A foodie hotspot, the Food & Drink Pavilion is a magnificent celebration of British tastes with bountiful offerings from the country’s best-loved artisan producers. Expect the freshest field produce, big cheeses, bread of heaven, specialty gins, decadent bakes and more.

KITCHEN GARDEN THEATRE

This animated live kitchen, hosted by Mark Diacono, showcases a line up of delicious cookery demonstrations from culinary experts and the country’s top chefs. Mark shares advice from his home farm cookery school, Otter Farm and experience as head gardener at River Cottage.

YOUNG GARDENER

A hive of activity tailored to inspire the next generation of gardeners and horticulturalists with fun hands-on activities to help children learn and explore the wonderful world of plants and gardens.

FAMILY DAY

Budding gardeners great and small are invited to get green fingered with a dedicated Family Day on the Sunday of RHS Malvern Spring Festival. This exciting and educational day with plenty of hands on activities is the ideal opportunity to engage children in the fun of gardening and the great outdoors. Expect Kids Cookery demonstrations, make and take crafts, Kids Plant and Grow workshops with BBC Blue Peter Gardener, Chris Collins and more.

SCHOOL GARDENS

RHS Malvern Spring Festival is one of the only RHS Shows in the UK to have a collection of Show Gardens designed and built entirely by young people. This year sees over 12 schools and educational groups from across the three counties taking part, led by BBC Blue Peter Gardener, Chris Collins.

RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2017 will take place from Thursday 11 May until Sunday 14 May. For more information, please call 01684 584900 or visit

British Queen of Herbs, Jekka McVicar will unveil the first ever specially commissioned permanent garden at RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2017. A magnificent centrepiece of the celebrated event’s all-new Live Well zone, Jekka’s garden will bring to life the contribution horticulture continues to make to our health and wellbeing in today’s bustling modern world. The Health & Wellbeing Garden will be launched when the show opens its gates on Thursday 11 May at the Three Counties Showground.#

RHS Ambassador for Health through Horticulture, Jekka McVicar said: “I am delighted to have been asked to create a lasting garden for RHS Malvern Spring Festival. I want the Health & Wellbeing Garden to be a usable and beautiful space that is embraced by people of all ages – a space for growth, education and reflection. With the Malvern Hills as a dramatic backdrop, RHS Malvern Spring Festival is such a beautiful place and because it’s at the start of the summer, it’s always a time of such optimism. It is a real privilege to bring this garden to life as part of such a dynamic and exciting show.”

Jekka’s Health & Wellbeing garden, as the focus for the new Live Well Zone, is inspired by the increasing need for reflection and escape from the stresses of modern life. It also seeks to preserve and share the vital knowledge of how horticulture and its associated therapies can help the mind, body and soul. The garden will be a living, working space with a tranquil seating area, where visitors can immerse themselves amongst the aromatic herb beds, and also educate themselves on the place that herbs and horticulture play in today’s society.

Head of RHS Malvern Spring Festival, Jane Furze said: “It is a real pleasure to be working with Jekka to build a garden not only for this year’s event, but also for the future. Jekka’s designs look spectacular and we cannot wait to see these brought to life and shared with our many visitors. The Health & Wellbeing Garden will no doubt be a real highlight of RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2017 and for many years to come.”

Throughout the 4-days of RHS Malvern Spring Festival, Jekka will host daily ‘herb conversations’ in the garden, unearthing hidden gems from the world of alternative therapies, food and gardening. Jekka will also provide insights into herbs as the foundation of modern medicine, seeking to preserve the knowledge that over time is danger of being lost.

The Health & Wellbeing Garden is in support of Pathways, a work-focused day service for adults with learning disabilities and difficulties. Pathways use gardening and the environment as an educational tool to introduce young adults to the working world. Clients of Pathways benefit from gaining vital skills for entering the working world, these include trust, communication, interaction with peers, taking direction and responsibility for themselves and others.

Leaving a legacy, Jekka’s garden will provide Pathways with a nurturing space to continue their works in encouraging clients to grow. Throughout the show times, Pathways will sell plants and refreshments from the garden. Funds raised from these sales go towards covering the costs of the residential trip taken twice each year for clients of Pathways, a vital retreat for clients that contributes to their sense of wellbeing. Outside of show days, Pathways and local schools will host sessions in the garden. The garden aims to inspire visitors of all ages and abilities with engaging elements tailored for all.

Jekka’s design will incorporate the unique and flexible WoodBlocX system, specially selected to provide permanent raised bed structures to house the garden’s vast selection of herbs and edibles. The centrepiece of the garden contains four large planted sections featuring smooth curves constructed from the unique WoodBlocX system. WoodBlocX use sustainable, long-lasting, organic and FSC accredited wooden bricks, which can be used to create any shape such as the naturally fluid curves seen in Jekka’s elegant design.

Considered an unmatched expert by the UK’s top chefs and horticulturalists, Jekka McVicar is an enterprising British herb grower, organic gardening expert, author and broadcaster. Jekka’s Herb Farm, in nearby South Gloucestershire, boasts the largest collection of culinary herbs in the UK with more than 500 different varieties.

Alongside her RHS Ambassadorship for Health through Horticulture, Jekka’s accolades include 62 RHS Gold Medals, Garden Media Guild Lifetime Achievement Award and the RHS Lawrence Medal for the best exhibit shown at any RHS show in 2009. Jekka is also a Vice President of the RHS, Vice President of the Herb Society, is a founder member of the RHS Herb advisory group, and a member of the RHS Three Counties Agricultural Society Joint Committee. Jekka has herself exhibited at RHS Malvern Spring Festival since 1993 and has been a vital contributor to the team at Three Counties for over a decade.

RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2017 will take place from Thursday 11 May until Sunday 14 May. Tickets are now on sale. For more information and to book tickets, please call

I expected anvil crawlers out of this storm but only bright sheet lightning,still exciting though :)

Twaz quite hard as it was still raining and keeping the camera firmly wrapped in a towel using both hands.

The weather forecast for Monday at Highley said to expect the odd shower...well I don't think the crew of "Sir Keith Park" were expecting this particular shower!

I wasn't expecting the fog to be so thick or last so long when I planned a sunrise photoshoot. Two hours later it was starting to clear a bit, so I decided to fly the quadcopter to see what was visible. The fog bank was thicker than 100 m, but patches were clearing and I was able to grab a panorama of the old Walker Sawmill.

This 360° aerial panorama was stitched from 26 photographs with PTGUI Pro and touched up in Affinity Photo and Aperture.

Original size: 13000 × 13000 (169.0 MP; 340.96 MB).

Location: East Duffins Headwaters, Ontario, Canada

Nearly 1,000 Students to Participate in WSSU Commencement on May 15

WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- Christina Wareâs story is one of the many inspiring testimonials of the nearly 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students from near and afar who are expected to participate in Winston-Salem State Universityâs commencement ceremony on Friday, May 15, at 9:45 a.m., at Bowman Gray Stadium, 1250 South Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

Academy Award-winning recording artist, activist and actor Common will be the keynote speaker. There are no guest limits or ticket requirements for the ceremony.

It is conceivable that Wareâs story of work ethic, undeniable spirit and enthusiasm encapsulates the sentiment of her graduating 2015 classmates.

Ware, 43, of Winston-Salem, is quite active on and off campus as a mentor to other students, a member of the non-traditional student organization, the first president of Epsilon Chapter 130 of Tau Sigma National Honor Society at WSSU, a wife and proud mother of two. She is also legally blind. She wants to blaze trails, set examples and raise the bar for others with disabilities.

âIn 2007, I lost my eyesight. After a six-month pity party, I decided to continue my education and make a difference for others. Since 2008, I have spent every day of my life proving to society that having a disability does not mean we are weak. I am now an advocate for persons with disabilities,â Ware, a business major, said, "We are not handicapped, we are handy capable!"

Ware, who can be described as always pleasant and having an unlimited enthusiasm for life, says every day alive is like Christmas. She demands to be treated like everyone else and has been noted to say, âI may physically fall, but mentally I can get back up and pull a 4.0 semester.â After graduation she wants to start a Kosher/Halal foods business and become active on community boards.

The China Connection

From the City of Harbin, the capital and largest city of the Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China, WSSU Master of Arts in the Teaching of English as a Second Language and Applied Linguistics students Yaowen Xing and Chunling Zhang have found a second home at WSSU and in Winston-Salem. They perhaps have come the farthest distance attend the university.

With a population of more than five million people, Harbin is situated in the northeast region of China so close to Russia that only the Songhua River separates the two countries. Nicknamed the Ice City, the average winter temperature is -3.5 °F with annual lows hitting -31.0 °F. Itâs no wonder the students say the warmer weather here in the Piedmont Triad has not been lost in translation with them and itâs one of the things they enjoy.

âWe really love the weather in North Carolina, especially the long summer time, since our hometown is so cold with snow for almost 6 months of the year,â Xing, 30, noted. âWe also love the people at WSSU and the faculty who all are nice and it has been a really good experience.â

Xing and Zhang, 35, are in America as part of a Chinese education immersion program to help exchange the cultures between China and America. They enjoy working as cultural ambassadors to students in both the cultures. The two came to the U.S. in 2013 and have been teaching at Konnoak Elementary school during the early hours and studying and researching later in the day. âComing to America was a dream for me after learning about it through books, movies and music, and my time here it has been amazing,â Xing said.

Zhang, said she didnât know much about WSSU or Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUâs), but after a short time here she knew WSSU would be was special part of life. âI have met many African- Americans who have been friendly and helpful. I now can say I truly have many black friends,â Zhang said. She and Xing have taken advantage of the HBCU experience. They have been often seen attending evening lectures and presentations, sports events, musical and visual arts events. With their WSSU master degrees they will return to China one day in the future to make an impact on teaching and the quality of education there.

The All-In Approach

Olivia N. Sedwick, 21, a political science major from Indianapolis, has taken âthe all-in approach" to her WSSU experience. The current WSSU student government president (SGA), honorâs student and champion athlete, chose WSSU over other schools she could have attended.

Featured in a USA Today article highlighting the HBCU experience released last June, Sedwick is quoted as saying about WSSU, âI fell in love with the school.â She says, âWe talked about things that I had never had the chance to before coming from a predominantly white high school.â

Liking the intellectual and social environment, she was comfortable becoming involved around campus. In her first year, a walk-on athlete for the womenâs track and field team, she was a 2013 CIAA Indoor Womenâs Track and Field All-Conference competitor and the WSSU womenâs shot put record holder until earlier this year, although she never competed in the throws until coming to college. In her second year she served as the sophomore class vice president while also being appointed to serve on many committees throughout the university. In that same year, she was a delegate to the UNC Association of Student Governments (UNCASG), representing WSSU students on a state-wide level. At the end of that year, she became the first African-American female elected senior vice president of UNCASG and served in that capacity for the entirety of her third year while being active as the chief of staff for the WSSU student government association that year also. Toward the end of her term in UNCASG, she decided to run for student body president and has served as the voice of the students for the duration of her last year. With all of her activities, she has maintained a 3.95 GPA throughout her time in college.

Sedwick has been selected as a UNC General Administration Presidential Intern, which begins in July. Upon completion of the prestigious one-year appointment, Sedwick plans to attend Howard University School of Law.

A Drum Major who will March for a Noble Cause

Willie Davis, 22, a social work major from Fayetteville, N.C., who has led WSSUâs Red Sea of Sound Marching Band as a drum major for his senior year, will now march to lead the charge for helping veterans and their families cope with typical and unique challenges of serving in military. Davis will be one of four Cadets with the distinct honor of being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant U.S. in the U.S. Army during this yearâs commencement ceremony. Despite that professionally Davis will help vets, military and families with things like dealing with emotions, he said, âI donât think I will be ready for the commissioning part (of commencement) emotionally.â

Readiness for Davis is an understatement. The youngest of three siblings, who was age 10 when his father died, Davis has been an A average student throughout life. He was in the top ten of his high school class and the first generation in his family to attend college. At WSSU, besides maintaining high academic achievement and serving in the U.S. Army ROTC, Davis has been active with the WSSU Band, the University Choir, a Campus Ambassador, a mentor to freshmen students, vice president of the WSSU chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, a Veterans Helping Veterans Heal intern and a member of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.

After graduation, Davis is going to graduate school at the University of South Carolina. He plans to complete that program in one year and begin his military duties. As a clinical social worker, his responsibilities may range from clinical counseling, crisis intervention, disaster relief, critical event debriefing, teaching and training, supervision, research, administration, consultation and policy development in various military settings. He wants to specialize in helping military veterans who suffer from different traumas such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), paranoid schizophrenia and other conditions.

A1(M) Bramham 22/06/2017

"To expect happiness without giving up negative action is like holding your hand in a fire and hoping not to be burned.

Of course, no one actually wants to suffer, to be sick, to be cold or hungry -- but as long as we continue to indulge in wrong doing we will never put an end to suffering.

Likewise, we will never achieve happiness, except through positive deeds, words, and thoughts. Positive action is something we have to cultivate ourselves; it can be neither bought nor stolen, and no one ever stumbles on it just by chance. "

-- H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones

www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-0-87773-493...

"His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–1991) was a revered meditation master and scholar of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Respected and beloved by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism—and by practitioners of other Buddhist traditions—he is recognized as one of the greatest masters of meditation and compassionate action."

Metro Milan, Italy

Leica mini 3

Paradies DIA 100 35mm

Slide Film Scan

I was not expecting them to arrive tomorrow so was excited when the UPS truck pulled up with 2 large boxes, each containing one of these Pioneer SP-FS52-LR Andrew Jones speakers (www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008NCD2S4/).

They are the same ones Gardner Campbell had when I visited him in Virginia, and he said I had to get a pair for myself…. since I scored a bargain on the amplifier ($15 at the thrift store) I felt I earned them.

The not only sound awesome they fit perfectly n the rather narrow spaces on the sides of my center.

I am set now for my retro media.

www.yahoo.com/news/unprecedented-heat-wave-pacific-northw...

Yahoo News, June 25, 2021

Unprecedented heat wave in Pacific Northwest

starts roasting the region

By Andrew Freedman

The most severe heat wave on record in the Pacific Northwest and southwestern Canada kicks into high gear Friday and will intensify throughout the weekend and into next week.

Why it matters: Heat waves like this one are significant public health threats, particularly in areas like the Northwest, where many people lack air conditioning.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

Extreme heat tends to be the biggest weather-related killer each year in the U.S., outranking even tornadoes and hurricanes.

Numerous daily, monthly and all-time high temperature records will be shattered.

More than 13 million residents from Northern California through much of Oregon and Washington, and eastward to Idaho are under excessive heat warnings.

The big picture: Extreme heat events are directly tied to human-caused global warming, with studies showing that severe heat events are now on average about 3°F to 5°F hotter than they would be without emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel burning, deforestation and other activities.

Some recent studies have shown that certain extreme heat events could not have occurred without the added boost from human-caused warming.

What they're saying: NWS forecasters in Seattle said Friday they “have never seen Pacific Northwest data like this.”

The National Weather Service, which is typically cautious in its word choices with the public, is not holding back in its messaging this time around.

The agency's forecast office in Portland, for example, issued a forecast discussion Friday morning stating, "...UNPRECEDENTED HEAT WAVE EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND INTO NEXT WEEK..."

Agency social media accounts have also been relaying hot weather safety tips and directing people to cooling shelters.

Driving the news: A highly unusual weather pattern is setting up over the Pacific Northwest, with a record-strong high-pressure area aloft — known as a "heat dome" — settling over the region and intensifying through Monday. Such a heat dome, if it reaches the strength that computer models are projecting, would yield temperature departures from average of between 25 and 45°F across multiple states and British Columbia.

Weather balloons launched from NWS offices in the Northwest Friday found the freezing level at or above 18,000 feet in some areas, prompting concerns about meltwater runoff from unusually warm weather affecting mountain snow fields and glaciers.

This heat, combined with a worsening drought, will raise the risk of wildfires across multiple Western states.

It will also cause power demand to spike.

By the numbers: Virtually all of Oregon and Washington, plus portions of California, Idaho and Montana, are under excessive heat watches and warnings. This is the case even in downtown Portland and Seattle.

Portland, Oregon, is forecast to reach low triple-digits on Saturday through at least Monday. The city is likely to break its June heat record, its record for most 100-degree days in June, and surpass its all-time high of 107°F, perhaps by a few degrees.

In Seattle, where the average high temperature this time of year is in the low-to-mid 70s, the National Weather Service (NWS) predicts a high of 102°F on Sunday, which would break the record for the city's hottest temperature during the month of June.

Seattle's all-time high temperature record is 103°F, and the city has only seen three 100-degree days in its history.

Medford, Oregon and Spokane, Washington, are also predicted to shatter their all-time high temperature record by a few degrees.

The heat will be most intense in inland areas of Washington and Oregon. There, temperatures are forecast to soar to between 100°F and 115°F on Saturday through Tuesday, and remain extremely hot through much of next week.

Nearly every location along the I-5 corridor from Northern California to Washington is likely to set a monthly or even an all-time high temperature record during this event.

Canada will also see extreme heat, and it's possible the country's all-time high temperature record of 113°F (45°C) will be equaled or eclipsed.

How it works: One of the reasons why the Pacific Northwest will get so hot is that the core of the heat dome will be parked to the north-northeast of the region for several days.

Due to the clockwise flow of air around the high, this will produce surges of air moving from high-to-lower elevation areas in Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

When air sinks, such as when it moves out of mountainous regions and into valleys, it compresses, increasing temperatures and getting drier in the process

Didn’t expect much from this vintage lens, but the glow it gives is kind of addicting. It’s not just a blur, it’s like it wraps the subject in light.

Not the sharpest thing in the world, but I’m starting to care less about that. It makes my Fuji files feel more human somehow.

Expecting and nursing mothers require social protection but workers in the informal economy are often not covered. Maternity protection has been a primary concern of the ILO since its creation in 1919. Workplace support for mothers who are breastfeeding has been a basic provision of maternity protection.

The Philippines expanded maternity leave benefits in 2019 to align with international labour standards. The ILO also promoted exclusive breastfeeding in the workplace to advance women’s rights to maternity protection and to improve nutrition security for Filipino children. Know more: www.ilo.org/manila/projects/WCMS_379090/lang--en/index.htm

Photo ©ILO / E. Tuyay

November 2011

Manila, Philippines

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/deed.en_US.

I couldn't see what else was in with the tree. But a nice concept.

Fotoreportage van Hester nog een paar weken te gaan... Inmiddels al één dag over tijd...

Thank you very much for your visit. Please leave your comments / suggestion / advice.

Nearly 1,000 Students to Participate in WSSU Commencement on May 15

WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- Christina Wareâs story is one of the many inspiring testimonials of the nearly 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students from near and afar who are expected to participate in Winston-Salem State Universityâs commencement ceremony on Friday, May 15, at 9:45 a.m., at Bowman Gray Stadium, 1250 South Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

Academy Award-winning recording artist, activist and actor Common will be the keynote speaker. There are no guest limits or ticket requirements for the ceremony.

It is conceivable that Wareâs story of work ethic, undeniable spirit and enthusiasm encapsulates the sentiment of her graduating 2015 classmates.

Ware, 43, of Winston-Salem, is quite active on and off campus as a mentor to other students, a member of the non-traditional student organization, the first president of Epsilon Chapter 130 of Tau Sigma National Honor Society at WSSU, a wife and proud mother of two. She is also legally blind. She wants to blaze trails, set examples and raise the bar for others with disabilities.

âIn 2007, I lost my eyesight. After a six-month pity party, I decided to continue my education and make a difference for others. Since 2008, I have spent every day of my life proving to society that having a disability does not mean we are weak. I am now an advocate for persons with disabilities,â Ware, a business major, said, "We are not handicapped, we are handy capable!"

Ware, who can be described as always pleasant and having an unlimited enthusiasm for life, says every day alive is like Christmas. She demands to be treated like everyone else and has been noted to say, âI may physically fall, but mentally I can get back up and pull a 4.0 semester.â After graduation she wants to start a Kosher/Halal foods business and become active on community boards.

The China Connection

From the City of Harbin, the capital and largest city of the Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China, WSSU Master of Arts in the Teaching of English as a Second Language and Applied Linguistics students Yaowen Xing and Chunling Zhang have found a second home at WSSU and in Winston-Salem. They perhaps have come the farthest distance attend the university.

With a population of more than five million people, Harbin is situated in the northeast region of China so close to Russia that only the Songhua River separates the two countries. Nicknamed the Ice City, the average winter temperature is -3.5 °F with annual lows hitting -31.0 °F. Itâs no wonder the students say the warmer weather here in the Piedmont Triad has not been lost in translation with them and itâs one of the things they enjoy.

âWe really love the weather in North Carolina, especially the long summer time, since our hometown is so cold with snow for almost 6 months of the year,â Xing, 30, noted. âWe also love the people at WSSU and the faculty who all are nice and it has been a really good experience.â

Xing and Zhang, 35, are in America as part of a Chinese education immersion program to help exchange the cultures between China and America. They enjoy working as cultural ambassadors to students in both the cultures. The two came to the U.S. in 2013 and have been teaching at Konnoak Elementary school during the early hours and studying and researching later in the day. âComing to America was a dream for me after learning about it through books, movies and music, and my time here it has been amazing,â Xing said.

Zhang, said she didnât know much about WSSU or Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUâs), but after a short time here she knew WSSU would be was special part of life. âI have met many African- Americans who have been friendly and helpful. I now can say I truly have many black friends,â Zhang said. She and Xing have taken advantage of the HBCU experience. They have been often seen attending evening lectures and presentations, sports events, musical and visual arts events. With their WSSU master degrees they will return to China one day in the future to make an impact on teaching and the quality of education there.

The All-In Approach

Olivia N. Sedwick, 21, a political science major from Indianapolis, has taken âthe all-in approach" to her WSSU experience. The current WSSU student government president (SGA), honorâs student and champion athlete, chose WSSU over other schools she could have attended.

Featured in a USA Today article highlighting the HBCU experience released last June, Sedwick is quoted as saying about WSSU, âI fell in love with the school.â She says, âWe talked about things that I had never had the chance to before coming from a predominantly white high school.â

Liking the intellectual and social environment, she was comfortable becoming involved around campus. In her first year, a walk-on athlete for the womenâs track and field team, she was a 2013 CIAA Indoor Womenâs Track and Field All-Conference competitor and the WSSU womenâs shot put record holder until earlier this year, although she never competed in the throws until coming to college. In her second year she served as the sophomore class vice president while also being appointed to serve on many committees throughout the university. In that same year, she was a delegate to the UNC Association of Student Governments (UNCASG), representing WSSU students on a state-wide level. At the end of that year, she became the first African-American female elected senior vice president of UNCASG and served in that capacity for the entirety of her third year while being active as the chief of staff for the WSSU student government association that year also. Toward the end of her term in UNCASG, she decided to run for student body president and has served as the voice of the students for the duration of her last year. With all of her activities, she has maintained a 3.95 GPA throughout her time in college.

Sedwick has been selected as a UNC General Administration Presidential Intern, which begins in July. Upon completion of the prestigious one-year appointment, Sedwick plans to attend Howard University School of Law.

A Drum Major who will March for a Noble Cause

Willie Davis, 22, a social work major from Fayetteville, N.C., who has led WSSUâs Red Sea of Sound Marching Band as a drum major for his senior year, will now march to lead the charge for helping veterans and their families cope with typical and unique challenges of serving in military. Davis will be one of four Cadets with the distinct honor of being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant U.S. in the U.S. Army during this yearâs commencement ceremony. Despite that professionally Davis will help vets, military and families with things like dealing with emotions, he said, âI donât think I will be ready for the commissioning part (of commencement) emotionally.â

Readiness for Davis is an understatement. The youngest of three siblings, who was age 10 when his father died, Davis has been an A average student throughout life. He was in the top ten of his high school class and the first generation in his family to attend college. At WSSU, besides maintaining high academic achievement and serving in the U.S. Army ROTC, Davis has been active with the WSSU Band, the University Choir, a Campus Ambassador, a mentor to freshmen students, vice president of the WSSU chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, a Veterans Helping Veterans Heal intern and a member of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.

After graduation, Davis is going to graduate school at the University of South Carolina. He plans to complete that program in one year and begin his military duties. As a clinical social worker, his responsibilities may range from clinical counseling, crisis intervention, disaster relief, critical event debriefing, teaching and training, supervision, research, administration, consultation and policy development in various military settings. He wants to specialize in helping military veterans who suffer from different traumas such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), paranoid schizophrenia and other conditions.

My 2nd maternity shoot. Tried a few without the backdrop this time as the colours looked pretty good. Also, there wasn't loads of room to set up the backdrop due to the shape of the room.

For the shots without the backdrop I used both my Sony F42 flashguns with white shoot-through umbrellas.

For the backdrop shots I had a bare flash behind the backdrop and one camera right with a reflector on the floor aiming back up into Matt & Kiley.

This is probaby what a lot of my friends were expecting I'd see when I said I was going on a tour of "Soviet architecture": factory-cast concrete panels and framing members, craned into place on site, fast and cheap. Such techniques were explored across Europe (including the USSR) before the war, but it took the full mobilization of centralized postwar bureaucracies to achieve the promised economies of scale. This took place in the West as well, notably in the Netherlands, but has come to be associated principally with the Iron Curtain states, with East Germany's Plattenbauten perhaps being the most infamous. There are tons in the Soviet Union itself, typically low-rise affairs (to cut out costly elevator equipment) but with some massive slabs like this one in bigger, denser cities. The new approach was pushed heavily by Khruschev even before he became the General Secretary and announced an overall shift of architectural priorities towards highly engineered, efficient construction - hence the Russian name for such structures: "Khrushchyovka." Many of these were built under the pretense that they were a temporary stopgap to manage the housing shortage, and they have not aged well. This is maybe not a typical example, but I really wanted to have at least one shot of this kind of thing; keep this in your mind as we look at the somewhat zestier and stylistically varied public buildings that characterize the final decades of Soviet architecture.

Apartment building on Leningradsky Prospekt, directly opposite Dinamo Stadium. Architect and dates unknown; probably 1970s.

The IMCOM Academy, building 4022 on the new IMCOM Headquarters campus at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, is expected to be complete by Aug. 1, 2011. The state-of-the-art facility consists of a student wing on the right and an administration wing on the left. The Academy will be used for IMCOM staff and personnel training and includes large and small classrooms with projectors and VTC capabilities.

_____________________________________________

About the U.S. Army Installation Management Community:

IMCOM handles the day-to-day operations of U.S. Army installations around the globe - We are the Army's Home. Army installations are communities that provide many of the same types of services expected from any small city. Fire, police, public works, housing, and child-care are just some of the things IMCOM does in Army communities every day. We endeavor to provide a quality of life for Soldiers, Civilians and Families commensurate with their service. Our professional workforce strives to deliver on the commitments of the Army Family Covenant, honor the sacrifices of military Families, and enable the Army Force Generation cycle.

Our Mission: To provide standardized, effective and efficient services, facilities and infrastructure to Soldiers, Civilians and Families for an Army and Nation engaged in persistent conflict.

Our Vision: Army installations are the Department of Defense standard for infrastructure quality and are the provider of consistent, quality services that are a force multiplier in supported organizations' mission accomplishment, and materially enhance Soldier, Civilian and Family well-being and readiness.

To learn more about IMCOM, visit us online:

IMCOM Official Web Site - www.imcom.army.mil/hq/

Flickr Photostream - www.flickr.com/photos/imcom

YouTube - www.youtube.com/installationmgt

Twitter - www.twitter.com/armyimcom

Facebook - www.facebook.com/InstallationManagementCommunity

Scribd - www.scribd.com/IMCOMPubs

CNN iReport - www.ireport.com/people/HQIMCOMPA/

DoD Live Blog - usarmyimcom.armylive.dodlive.mil/

The IMCOM Academy, building 4022 on the new IMCOM Headquarters campus at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, is expected to be complete by Aug. 1, 2011. The state-of-the-art facility consists of a student wing on the right and an administration wing on the left. The Academy will be used for IMCOM, FMWR and AEC staff and personnel training and includes large and small classrooms with projectors and VTC capabilities.

_____________________________________________

About the U.S. Army Installation Management Community:

IMCOM handles the day-to-day operations of U.S. Army installations around the globe - We are the Army's Home. Army installations are communities that provide many of the same types of services expected from any small city. Fire, police, public works, housing, and child-care are just some of the things IMCOM does in Army communities every day. We endeavor to provide a quality of life for Soldiers, Civilians and Families commensurate with their service. Our professional workforce strives to deliver on the commitments of the Army Family Covenant, honor the sacrifices of military Families, and enable the Army Force Generation cycle.

Our Mission: To provide standardized, effective and efficient services, facilities and infrastructure to Soldiers, Civilians and Families for an Army and Nation engaged in persistent conflict.

Our Vision: Army installations are the Department of Defense standard for infrastructure quality and are the provider of consistent, quality services that are a force multiplier in supported organizations' mission accomplishment, and materially enhance Soldier, Civilian and Family well-being and readiness.

To learn more about IMCOM, visit us online:

IMCOM Official Web Site - www.imcom.army.mil/hq/

Flickr Photostream - www.flickr.com/photos/imcom

YouTube - www.youtube.com/installationmgt

Twitter - www.twitter.com/armyimcom

Facebook - www.facebook.com/InstallationManagementCommunity

Scribd - www.scribd.com/IMCOMPubs

CNN iReport - www.ireport.com/people/HQIMCOMPA/

DoD Live Blog - usarmyimcom.armylive.dodlive.mil/

Day 2 of 2017 Mid-Season Invitational Group Stage at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 11 May 2017.

Be Inspired

Work continues on the OR 217 auxiliary lane project

Expect to see a lot of these Realtoy MAN TGS Fire Engine Ladder Trucks uploaded onto here in the next few weeks as i've now reached August 2016 of backlog clearing and to be blatantly honest I bought several cartons worth of Realtoy in that particular month! An unashamed glut of buying totally in keeping with my diecast purchasing habits at that time especially when such a rare occurrence of new castings appearing from the Realtoy stable! For the price this is a truly glorious modern Fire Engine, looking and feeling just as good as a Majorette with its highly accurate and detailed metal cab and fully functioning rear ladders. Now replaced at Tesco by a highly generic and toy like equivalent made by HTI. Mint and boxed.

As we walked along in a sort of sleepy daze, we suddenly heard a loud hoot! For a moment I was confused. Spying a potential photo opportunity, I'd checked the timetables and wasn't expecting a train until around 10am.

But of course! It's the Caledonian Sleeper on it's way to Fort William! There was absolutely no legitimate reason for the train to hoot – it's a single track line and there's no passing places. If you're the driver of the Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William, the only reason to hoot is because you want to wave at two weary West Highland Way walkers! And wave he did! In fact, if you zoom in close, you can just about make out their hand!

As we waved back, there were waves from the seated and lounge cars! This was one very friendly sleeper train!

Toot toot! And good morning to you too!

..novas expectativas.

Com a cabeça bem longe da minha rotina...

Expecting the rice paddy is about ready to harvest but it wasn't yet..should be back within 20 days to get a golden yellow color on the terraces..

Serial #: 44-89320

Construction #:

539-C1537

Civil Registration:

N345GP

Model: P-47N

Name: Expected Goose

Status: Display

History:

Miguel Such Vocational School, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1954-1967.

Displayed by PR ANG as 489320/PR ANG, Muniz ANGB, Isla Verde, 1967-1970.

Major Gabriel Penagarico/Thunderbolt Inc, Santurce, PR, 1970-78, registered N345GP.

Restored, San Juan, first flight Sep. 20, 1972, flew as 489320/SA-Z.

Damaged (tipped on nose), Myrtle Beach AFB, SC, June 10, 1977.

Impounded by US Government due to breach of sale conditions.

USAF Armaments Museum, Eglin AFB, FL, Nov. 1978-2002, displayed as 89320/126 "Expected Goose."

So in love and so excited to welcome their first baby!