26 October 2013

  

GRANADA DAY!

  

I woke up this morning feeling awful. No surprise.

  

I was taking the 7:40 bus, so I had to wake up pretty early. Waking up early for me generally means that I feel physically ill. Also, I still had to finish up packing, and that made me feel bad, too.

  

I was sleepy enough that part of me was just like "Maybe I should spend the weekend here being lazy." But I knew that I didn't really WANT TO. So I forced myself out the door and hightailed it to the bus station, pulling my bag behind me.

  

Since Spanish buses are always slow, I made it to the station with enough time. I boarded the bus and fought nausea, which was being exacerbated by motion sickness, and tried to sleep. I was not in a good mood.

  

But then… well, have you ever driven through Andalucía? Man, that can cheer anyone up. In spite of myself, I couldn't help but start to feel wonderful, in awe of the beautiful scenery. The bus drove on a highway that's positioned with the long, endless blue expanse of the Mediterranean on one side, and steep rocky desert mountains on the other side. The cliffs sometimes jut right into the ocean.

  

God, it's so pretty. It was one of those "STOP COMPLAINING, ERICA, you're in such a beautiful place!" moments. It's easy to remember why I wanted to come here so badly, when I see things like that.

  

So eventually after 3 hours of stopping in strange little towns, we reached the bus station in Granada around 11:15. I got a map from the information desk and hopped on a city bus to the area close to my hostel.

  

I didn't need to check into the hostel until 1 pm, and I was hungry. Specifically, hungry for churros. So I wandered the charming, narrow pedestrian-only streets below the Cathedral until I wound up in a FAMILIAR PLAZA (I was there last year!) and stopped at a cafe.

  

I had breakfast and consulted my map to figure out where my hostel was, and then after lazing a little, I walked to my hostel. I was a little early to check in, but I was sick of dragging my bag around and at least wanted to put it into storage.

  

So the receptionist let me store my bag, and told me my room would be ready around 2. That gave me over an hour to explore, so I set off with my camera and went for a walk.

  

Being a spur-of-the-moment trip and all, I really had no plans for Granada. I visited the Alhambra last year, so I've already seen the most important tourist attraction. Mostly, I wanted to familiarize myself with the city a bit more, so I can plan better for trips in the future and navigate the streets more comfortably.

  

So, I just went for a walk. One of the sad parts of Spain is that I never seem to be able to find secondhand stores. I love thrifting in the states, and I've always been curious to see what sorts of things you can get at Spanish thrift stores.

  

Immediately, I found a thrift shop! I guess it's necessary to explain that Granada is well-known for its scene--hippies, gypsies (but not ones that will rob you), and lots of young people. The clothes there were awesome. So many cool jackets. But I didn't buy anything, since I hadn't really been planning on shopping much and I haven't gotten my paycheck yet. Just a mental note for the future.

  

Right around the corner from that store, I found an awesome record store. SO MANY GOOD ALBUMS, and there was also a whole section of alphabetized 45s.

  

I had to buy Right Now by The Creatures. It was only 4 euros, and it was used in the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's first-ever film, My Best Friend's Birthday. I BOUGHT A JUKEBOX BECAUSE OF QT. So it was a necessary purchase, I believe.

  

Afterwards I stumbled into a cool used book store, and some fantastic shoe stores with reasonable prices. And then I had to leave the stores. Or I would have spent all my money.

  

Anyway, once I get my paycheck and I feel more comfortable spending money, I can see myself doing a lot of shopping in Granada.

  

After walking up and down the main street of Granada, Gran Via, it was almost 2:30 so I went back to my hostel to check into my room and charge my phone a little. It was a cute hostel, and I was the only person in my room at first.

  

After my phone charged a little, I set out for Albaycin, which is the older part of the city. Albaycin is like, built into the hill with VERY narrow cobblestone streets that zigzag up the side of a mountain. The houses are all old architecture, and the scene here is a mix between youthful hippies, Lebanese/Arabic shops, and blatantly tourist restaurants. But it's gorgeous.

  

I wandered (well, hiked) around for a while and then stopped into a téteria (Té=tea). I had an awesome Mediterranean crepe with tuna, olives, and cheese, and some fancy-delicious fruit tea.

  

All these cafes have hookahs on the tables, too, so I smoked some apple shisha and drew pictures. Some Spanish family at the table next to me was being judgy though like "What is that thing (the hookah)? Why is there smoke? Look at that girl smoking, look how weird she is (una chica rara!)!"

  

So that was annoying. Spaniards can be really judgmental, to be honest. It's better in bigger cities, but it's so exhausting to be stared at all the time in El Ejido just for like, having red hair or wearing different shoes. It gets so old.

  

But I'm pretty sure the family in the cafe was from somewhere else and visiting their daughter, and she made the mistake of taking them to a place that was a little too exotic for them. Oh well.

  

Afterwards, the evening was starting to approach, so I hiked up to Mirador de San Nicolas, which is a lookout that offers the best view of the Alhambra and the city. I've been there before, but it's always nice to see, so I relaxed there for a while and looked at the landscape.

  

Afterwards, I walked back down the steep roads and found Grand Via, and made my way back to the hostel. I took a shower, in case I ended up going out later, and then just chilled with some of the people in my hostel. I always meet the coolest people at hostels… everyone is on some sort of different journey, and they all have cool stories.

  

So I hung out with some of the guys in my room, and then a bunch of us went down to have paella and sangria. I talked to a guy from Switzerland and helped him book his next hostel by speaking Spanish on the phone. I met another guy from Canada who has a semester off from grad school and is just traveling through Europe at random, deciding where he wants to go two days before he goes, staying in hostels or couch-surfing.

  

My bunkmate, Shane, was also from Canada. He just came to Spain from Peru, and his next stop is India. Crazy!

  

I was super tired, and most of the people I met had plans early in the morning so they weren't going out… so I didn't go out to the bars and clubs either, which was fine with me. I had a nice long sleep in the hostel bed that night… and I'll be back to Granada soon, I'm sure.

This palace didn't impress me terribly -- inside, especially -- but, I'll get to that in a moment. (It's not the palace's fault.) Highlights of its history will explain...

 

Built from 1698-1702 in Romanian Renaissance style by a fella named Constantin Brancoveanu. That fella was a Wallachian prince. He had a wife and eleven kids -- 4 boys, 7 girls. (This is important.) In 1714, the Ottomans came a-callin'. They took him prisoner and tortured him, trying to get him to say where his treasure was. He never did. They said he (and his sons) could avoid beheading if he would renounce Christianity and convert to Islam. He didn't. All 5 were beheaded the same day, their heads being paraded around on pikes in Istanbul, before being unceremoniously dumped in the Bosporus. His wife and daughters were spared, though I don't remember what happened with them.

 

During the Russo-Turkish War (1868-1874), the palace was destroyed. Post-war, since it was a pile of rubble, it was given to the daughter of a prince, and she turned around and married a Wallachian prince (last name Bibescu), and the palace stayed in their family until the end of WWII. Before WWII ended, though, the Germans managed to bomb the palace to smithereens -- again -- in WWI, 25 years earlier. After WWII, when Romania fell under the realm of the Communist USSR as one of its puppet states, it was nationalized, the owners were arrested, and their art collection magically disappeared. All in all, it's a pretty sad history.

 

Nowadays...it's a museum, and fairly popular. It's a very popular place for young couples in Bucharest (which is about 10 kilometers south) to come take wedding pictures. The grounds and lake behind it are quite pretty. There's also an active church on the grounds. The interior of the palace itself, though, is what I find incredibly unimpressive. If you want to fork over a few bucks -- and it's not much -- to support restoration...fine. Just know you're (hopefully?) doing a good deed. The folks are nice. But nothing inside it screams, "This place has a nice history." Just a bunch of spacious rooms, sparsely furnished and -- in my case -- an unseemly infestation of bugs in a handful of rooms.

 

Mogosoaia is usually combined with a Snagov Monastery visit (which is how I came to be here). Combined...sure, it's a nice day. I think the whole tour price was about $30, which is very reasonable for half a day.

Many parents look forward to the day when their children move out of the house. For some, it is a difficult and emotional transition that may lead to depression, anxiety and even marital problems. Rockville, MD family and marriage therapist Olga Bloch, LCMFT explains the effects of 'empty nest syndrome' on NBC 4 Washington.

Social Bookmarking is a really simple tool that can offer your Extension audience a great deal of value. It's also a great place to get started with eExtension.

OK let me explain, and apologize to Flickr Folks who don't share my love for PLANESPOTTING. I know how crazy this seems. Why all the pictures of the same airline, in this case, FedEx? Well if you look close, you will find a Registration Number that's unique to each airplane. If you type that into Google, you can see that airplane's history, including where it's been flying. I belong to a group Planespotters and they are interested in each individual airplane's history and photographs of it on different days at different airports. So with that, here they are, ENJOY!!!

 

April 17, 2018

Memphis International Airport (MEM), Memphis, Tennessee

Ben explains how calendars are printed. This calendar, Savoring Maine, was printed with some kind of metal printer, as Ben notes--but a metal printer in Maine! (Okay, a giant offset press.)

 

It's gorgeous. Photos by Stacey Cramp; designed by my friend Jessica Simmons. Buy one! Or a dozen. ($19.95 each.) It's full of the foods of Maine, photographed in a pornographically delicious style.

Displayed and explained at the Bishop Museum of Science & Nature, Bradenton. My wife has long been an ardent shell collector, with Sanibel Island’s beaches being a good source of material that she has incorporated into art work.

Diagram showing the different elements of the Jabulani ball, learn about the technology behind this ball here - www.shine2010.co.za/Community/blogs/goodnews/archive/2009...

A docent explains the family lifestyle.

 

"The Ulster American Folk Park is an open-air museum just outside Omagh, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

 

Within the museum there are many restored, original buildings with connections to local families. The park was developed around the Mellon House, the birthplace of Irish-American banker and lawyer Thomas Mellon, founding father of the Mellon banking dynasty. This house and its outbuildings remain in their original location. Visitors can taste samples of traditional Irish and pioneer American foods including freshly baked soda bread and pumpkin pie all made on the hearths and griddles of the exhibit buildings. The museum also includes agricultural displays and an array of farm animals."

will do:

 

I've been gone for a while because my interest in photography was dormant.

I don't even know where it went, it was probably lost in the mail or something.

 

anyway, it's back and I have a crapload of stuff to talk about.

 

I'm sewing more stuff for my etsy so I can save up for a custom boy doll I'm making. he's going to be the doll form of George Harrison and I'm so fricken excited so when I post pictures of my new etsy stuff go buy it, so that little george can come home. no pressure.

 

I've started using PicMonkey to edit photos.

RIP Picnik.

 

hope things are going good.

 

I'm friday on SevenFabulousTeens.

 

starting soccer on thursday.

 

it was my dad's birthday today, and it's the agile beast's tomorrow.

 

so yeah. you haven't missed much.

 

"just when I knew what I wanted to say, the violent winds blew the wires away.

  

we were shocked in the suburbs."

 

-'the month of may'

arcade fire

Unedited

"The Power of WOMM Workshop" (Word of Mouth Marketing) held at LMC conference in Orlando 2011. Facilitated by Craig Flynn & Brian Bunt, it included some WOMM case studies & concepts as well as group participation in the "5 T's workshop" based on Andy Sernovitz's work (see: www.gaspedal.com). The lecture & workshop were an extension of The Empty Bin (www.theemptybin.com) a marketing and WOMM source for pro lumberyards, the building community, and anyone with an interest in WOMM.

Shot back in July of 2016 on an extremely hot day in OKC.

how long "Little Guy" was when he was rescued in 1997 and really was a "little guy" only about 10 inches long. "Little Guy" is a Great Basin rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus lutosus). Photo of Frank and "Little Guy" at Boise State University Reptile and Amphibian Workshop September 17 - 18, 2016 by Scott..

 

Winter 2012

Dr Stuart Clark performing at the Universe Explained at Gorilla, Manchester, on Saturday 20th July 2013

I saw Holy Trinity come up on the Heritage Weekend website, so I thought a nice Sunday afternoon out, a drive, an ice cream, and visit a new church.

 

But turns out that Holy Trinity is the Victorian church the other end of the High Street, and I came to the much older one, which happened to be open, but also explains the rest of the account below......

 

The passing of HM the Queen changed plans somewhat, but I didn't know that.

 

Sittingbourne is not a pretty town. It has a main road driven through the middle of it, and the area around the church, not pretty either. Four Ne'er-do-wells were drinking and smoking in the churchyard, and in time would attract the attention of two PCOs.

 

The blurb talked about visiting the crypt and so on, so I was looking forward to the visit. And upon entering, I was pretty much the only one looking round, in the south aisle a coffee shop had been set up.

 

A woman came up to me and asked:

 

"Are you SFM?", which I assume to be Swale FM, the local radio station.

 

I told her I wasn't. But then I did have my new Tron t shirt on, and and looked like a nerd. The actual nerd came out from behind the organ carrying leads and mics. He was SFM.

 

I introduced the woman to the guy and got on with my shots.

 

A voice behind me asked:

 

"Are you SFM?"

 

Again, I said I wasn't, but there was a guy around who was.

 

It seems a service was being broadcast, and they were setting up equipment, and in time members of the choir arrived and people carrying instruments. Either that or it was the mafia.

 

By then I had my shots, and so we made to leave, as yet more people came into the church, while outside people waited for the service to start.

 

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

 

SITTINGBORNE.

THE next parish westward from Murston is Sittingborne, antiently written Sedingbourne, in Saxon, sœdingburna, i. e. the hamlet by the bourne, or small stream.

 

THE PARISH and town of Sittingborne is situated about forty miles from London, the high road from thence to Dover leading through it. The parish, though rather above the level of the marshes, which bound the northern side of it, from which the ground rises to the town, is still a damp situation, and both from the air and water is not accounted a healthy one, though much more so than several of the neighbouring parishes equally northward, than which it has a more chearful and populous aspect; from the town the ground still keeps rising southward till it joins Tunstall, in the road to which about a quarter of a mile from the town is a good modern house called Glovers, which lately belonged to Thomas Bannister, esq. who resided in it, and died in 1791, and his widow, Mrs. Bannister, now owns it; eastward from which, at about the same distance, are the estates of Chilston and Fulston, and Hysted Forstall, with Golden-wood at the boundary of the parish, part of which is within it, adjoining to Bapchild and Rodmersham. The parish, which is but small, contains little more than eight hundred acres of land, consisting of arable, pasture, orchards, hop ground, and woods. In the upper and western parts it is much inclined to chalk and thin land, but the rest of it is in general a fertile loam, especially about the town, which was formerly surrounded by orchards of apples and cherries, but many of them have been destroyed to make room for plantations of hops, which, however, are not so numerous as formerly, and several of those which remain are kept up only as nurseries for young plantations of fruit trees, to which they must soon in their turn give place. Northward from the town the grounds are entirely pasture and orchards, lying on a descent to the town of Milton and the creek, both about half a mile distant from it; on the latter is a key called Crown key, of great use to this part of the country for the exporting of corn and wood, and relanding the several commodities from London and elsewhere. At a small distance north-west from the town is Bayford-court.

 

It appears by a survey made in the 8th year of queen Elizabeth, that there was then in this parish houses inhabited eighty-eight; lacking inhabitants five; keys two, Crown key and Holdredge key; ships and boats three, two of one ton, and one of twenty-four tons.

 

THE town of Sittingborne is built on each side of the high road at the fortieth mile-stone from London, and stands on a descent towards the east. It is a wide, long street unpaved, the houses of which are mostly modern, being well built of brick, and sashed, the whole having a chearful aspect. The principal support of it has always been from the inns, and houses of reception in it for travellers, of which there are several.

 

The inhabitants boast much of John Northwood, esq. of Northwood, having entertained king Henry V. on his triumphant return from France, at the Red Lion inn, in this town; and though the entertainment was plentiful, and befitting the royalty of his guest, yet such was the difference of the times, that the whole expence of it amounted to no more than 9s. 9d. wine being then sold at two-pence a pint, and other articles in proportion. The principal inn now in it, called the Rose, is perhaps the most superb of any throughout the kingdom, and the entertainment afforded in it equally so, though the traveller probably will not find his reckoning near so moderate as that of John Northwood before-mentioned. About the middle of the opposite side of the town there is a good family seat, which was once the residence of the Tomlyn's, and then for many years of the Lushingtons, several of whom lie buried in this church, of whom a further mention has already been made under Rodmersham manor, which they possessed. At length Thomas Godfrey Lushington left it to reside at Canterbury, and his second son the Rev. James-Stephen Lushington, becoming possessed of it afterwards, sold it to Mr. John May, who resided in it for some time. Since which it has been converted into an inn. At this house, whilst in the possession of the Lushingtons, king George the 1st. and 11d. constantly lodged, whenever they travelled through this town, both in their way to, and return from visiting their German dominions.

 

The church and vicarage stand almost at the east end of the town, near which there rises a clear spring of water in the high road, which flows from thence northward into Milton creek.

 

Queen Elizabeth, by her charter, in her 16th year, incorporated the town of Sittingborne, by the name of a guardian and free tenants thereof; and granted to it a market weekly on a Wednesday, and two fairs yearly, the one at Whitsuntide, and the other at Michaelmas, with many other privileges: which charter was used for several years, and until the queen was pleased, through further favor to grant to it another more ample charter, in her 41st year, by which she incorporated this place, by the name of a mayor and jurats, and regranted the market and fairs, with the addition of a great number of privileges, and among others, of returning two members to parliament.

 

This charter does not appear ever to have been used, or the privileges in it exercised. The market, after having been used for several years, was dropped, and only the two yearly fairs have been kept up, which are still held on Whit-Monday and the two following days, for linen and toys, and on October 10, and the four following days, for linen, woollen, cloaths, hardward, &c. and on the second day of it, for the hiring of servants, both in the town, and in a field, called the Butts, at the back of it.

 

Lewis Theobald, the poet, made famous by Mr. Pope, in his Dunciad, was born at Sittingborne, his father being an attorney at this place.

 

SOME FEW of our antiquarians have been inclined to six the Roman station, called, in the second iter of Antonine, Durolevum, at or near Sittingborne; among which are Mr. Talbot, Dr. Horsley, Baxter, and Dr. Stukeley in his comment upon his favorite Richard of Cirencester; (fn. 1) but they have but little to offer in support of their conjecture, except the distances made use of in one or two copies, which are so different in many of them, that there is no trusting to any one in particular; consequently each alters them as it suits his own hypothesis best. The reader will find more of this subject under the description of both Lenham and Newington.

 

In the year 893, the Danes having fitted out a great number of ships, with an intention of ravaging the coasts of this kingdom, divided them into two fleets; with one of which they failed up the river Limene, or Rother, and with the other, under the command of Hastings, their captain, they entered the mouth of the river Thames, and landed at the neighbouring town of Milton. Near Milton they built a castle, at a place called Kemsley-down, about a quarter of a mile north-east from where the church of Milton now stands, which being overgrown with bushes, acquired the name of Castle rough. King Alfred, on receiving intelligence of these depredations, marched his forces towards Kent, and in order to flop their incursions, some time afterwards built on the opposite or eastern side of the creek, about a mile from the Danish intrenchments, a fortification, part of the ditches of which, and a small part of the stone-work, is still to be seen at Bayford-castle, in this parish.

 

Gerarde, the herbalist, found on the high road near this place,

 

Tragoriganum Dodonæi, goats marjorum of Dodo- næus.

 

Ruta muraria sive salvia vitæ, wall rue, or rue maidenhair; upon the walls of the church-yard here.

 

Colutea minima five coronilla, the smallest bastard sena; on the chalky barren grounds near Sittingborne, (fn. 2) and lately likewise by Mr. Jacob.

 

Hieracium maximum chondrillæ folio asperum; observed by Mr. John Sherard, very plentisully in the road from this place to Rochester.

 

Lychnis saponaria dicta, common sopewort; by him on the same road.

 

Tithymalus Hybernicus, Irish Spurge; between this place and Faversham.

 

Erysimum sophia dictum; found by Mr. Jacob, on the road sides near Sittingborne, and on the Standard Key.

 

Oenanthe cicutæ facie Lobellii, hemlock dropwort, found by him in the water lane between Sittingborne and Milton. (fn. 3)

 

THE MANOR OF MILTON is paramount over this parish, subordinate to which is

 

THE MANOR OF GOODNESTON, perhaps so called from its having been the property of Goodwyne, earl of Kent, who might have secured himself here at Bayford castle, in the year 1052, when having taken up arms against king Edward the Consessor, he raised an army, and ravaged the king's possessions, and among them the town of Milton, which he burnt to the ground.

 

On his death it most probably came to his son king Harold, and after the battle of Hastings into the hands of the crown, whence it seems to have been granted to the eminent family of Leyborne, of Leyborne, in this county. William, son of Roger de Leyborne, died possessed of it in the 3d year of king Edward II.

 

His grand-daughter Juliana, daughter of Thomas de Leyborne, who died in his life-time, became her grandfather's heir, and succeeded in this manor, to which she entitled her several husbands successively, all of whom she survived, and died S. P. in the 41st year of king Edward III. when no one being found, who could make claim to any of her estates, this manor, among the rest of them, escheated to the crown.

 

After which this manor of Goodneston, as it was then called, seems to have been granted by the crown to Robert de Nottingham, who resided at a seat adjoining to this manor, called

 

BAYFORD-CASTLE, where his ancestors had resided for several generations. Robert de Nottingham lived here in the reign of king Edward I. and dates several of his deeds apud castellum suum de Bayford, apud Goodneston. Robert de Nottingham, his successor, who became possessed of the manor of Goodneston as beforementioned, was sheriff in the 48th year of king Edward III. and kept his shrievalty at Bayford, bearing for his arms, Paly, wavy of two pieces, gules and argent, in which year he died, and was found by the inquisition to die possessed of lands at Sharsted, Pedding in Tenham, Newland, La Hirst, Higham in Milsted, Bixle, now called Bix, in Tong, and lastly, Goodneston, with Bayford, in Sittingborne; all which descended to his only son John Nottingham, who died without issue male, leaving Eleanor his daughter his sole heir, who marrying Simon Cheney, of Crall, in Sussex, second son of Sir Richard Cheney, of Shurland, he became, in her right, entitled to it. His grandson Humphry Cheney alienated both Goodneston and Bayford, at the latter end of king Henry VI.'s reign, to Mr. Richard Lovelace, of Queenhyth, in London.

 

His son Launcelot Lovelace was of Bayford, and purchased the manor of Hever in Kingsdown, near Farningham, under which a more ample account of him and his descendants may be seen. His second son William, heir to his eldest brother Sir Richard, who died S. P. at length became possessed of Goodneston, with Bayford, at which he resided, and dying anno 17 king Henry VII. left two sons, John and William Lovelace, esqrs. who possessed this manor and seat between them; the former of whom resided at Bayford, where he died in the 2d year of Edward VI. holding the moiety of this manor in capite, by knight's service, and leaving seven sons, of whom Thomas Lovelace, esq. his eldest son, inherited his interest in this manor and seat. He procured his lands to be disgavelled, by the act passed anno 2 and 3 Edward VI. and afterwards in the 10th year of queen Elizabeth, together with his cousin William Lovelace, by a joint conveyance, alienated Goodneston, with Bayford, to Mr. Ralph Finch, of Kingsdown, in this neighbourhood, whose son Mr. Thomas Finch, of that place, passed it away by sale to Sir William Garrard, who had been lord mayor in 1555, whose ancestors had been of this parish for several generations before, and perhaps were seated at Fulston in it, as many of them lie buried, in the chancel belonging to that seat, in this church. (fn. 4)

 

He died in 1571, and was buried in St. Magnus's church, in London, bearing for his arms, Argent, on a fess sable, a lion passant of the field; which arms, borne by his ancestors, are carved on the roof of the cloysters at Canterbury. After which it descended down to his grandson Sir John Garrard, or Gerrard, as this family now began to spell their name, who was of Whethamsted, in Hertfordshire, and was created a baronet in 1621. He was succeeded in it by his eldest son of the same name (at which time Bayford was become no more than a farm-house, being called Bayford-court farm). He died in 1700, leaving an only daughter and heir Mary, who carried the manor of Goodneston, with Bayford, among the rest of her inheritance, in marriage to Montague Drake, esq. of Shardeloes, in Agmondesham, in Buckinghamshire, who bore for his arms, Argent, a wivern, with wings displayed, and tail moved, gules. In whose descendants it continued down to William Drake, esq. M. P. for the borough of Agmondesham, as his ancestors had been, some few intermissions only excepted, ever since its being restored to its privilege of sending members to parliament, as a borough, anno 21 James I. He died possessed of this estate in 1796, and his heirs are at this time possessed of it.

 

A court baron is held for the manor of Goodneston, with Bayford.

 

CHILTON is a manor situated in the south-east part of this parish, which was formerly accounted a manor, and had owners of that furname, who held the manor of Chilton in Ash, near Sandwich, both which William de Chilton held at his death in the 31st year of king Edward I. one of whose descendants, in the beginning of king Edward III.'s reign, passed it away to Corbie, whose descendant Robert Corbie, of Boughton Malherb, died possessed of this manor of Chilton, alias Childeston, in the 39th year of that reign. (fn. 5) After which it passed by a female heir of this name in like manner as Boughton Malherb, to the family of Wotton, and from them again to the Stanhopes, (fn. 6) in which it continued till Philip, earl of Chesterfield, about the year 1725, alienated it to Richard Harvey, esq. of Dane-court, whose grandson, the Rev. Richard Harvey, died possessed of it in 1772, leaving his widow surviving, since which it has been sold to Balduck, and by him again to Mr. George Morrison, who now owns it, and resides in it.

 

FULSTON, called antiently Fogylston, was a large mansion, situated at a small distance southward from Chilton last-described, which, from the burials of the Garrards in the chancel belonging to this estate in Sittingborne church, seems to have been the early residence of that family in this parish. However that be, in the reign of Henry VIII. it was become the estate and residence of John Cromer, esq. the third son of Sir James Cromer, of Tunstall, who died in 1539, and was buried in this church, leaving his three daughters his coheirs; and in one of the windows of this church were the arms of John Cromer, esq. of Fulston, and his two wives, Guldeford and Grove, and their several quarterings.

 

Probably, by his will, or by a former entail, on his dying without male issue, this seat descended to his nephew Sir James Cromer, of Tunstall, whose grandson, of the same name, dying without male issue in 1613, Christian, one of his daughters and coheirs carried it in marriage to John Hales, esq. eldest son of Sir Edward Hales, of Tenterden, knight and baronet, as has been already more fully mentioned before under Tunstall, and in his descendants it has continued down to Sir Edward Hales, bart. of St. Stephen's, near Canterbury, the present owner of it. The greatest part of this mansion has been pulled down within memory, and a neat farm-house has been erected on the ruins of it.

 

Charities.

JOHN ALLEN, of Sittingborne, by his will in 1615, gave 40s. per annum for repairing the alms-houses in Crown-key-lane, and firing for the poor in them, to be paid out of Glovers, now Mrs. Bannister's.

 

ROBERT HODSOLE, by will in 1684, gave 10s. per annum to the poor, payable every Christmas-day yearly, out of Mrs. Rondeau's land.

 

JOHN GRANT, by will in 1689, gave 20s. per annum, to be paid in corn and bread on January 1, out of Mrs. Trott's farm.

 

FIVE SEAMS of boiling peas are yearly paid from the parsonage, to be distributed to the poor on every Christmas-day yearly.

 

KATHERINE DICKS, by her will, left the sum of 25l. to be put out on land security, the interest of it to be said out for ever in six two-penny loaves, to be given to six poor widows &c. who attend divine service, beginning every year on the first Sunday after Christmas-day, of the annual produce of 1l.

 

The poor annually relieved are about forty; casually eight hundred and fifty.

 

SITTINGBORNE is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JU RISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deany of Sittingborne

 

The church, which is dedicated to St. Michael, is a large, handsome building, of three isles and two chancels, and two cross ones; at the west end is a tower beacon steeple, in which is a clock, a set of chimes, and six bells.

 

On the stone font, which is an octagon, are the arms of archbishop Arundel, a shield, having on it a cross story; and another with the emblems of Christ's crucifixion on it.

 

On the 17th of July, 1762, the wind being exceeding high, a fire broke out on the roof of this church, occasioned by the plumbers, who were repairing the leads, having left their fire burning during their absence at dinner, which consumed the whole of it, except the bare walls and the tower. Next year a brief passed for rebuilding of it, which with the contribution of the inhabitants, and a gift of fifty pounds from archbishop Secker, they were enabled to set about.

 

This was stopped for some little time by the owners of the three chancels, belonging to the Bayford, Chilton, and Fulston estates, refusing to contribute to the rebuilding of them, and they were at length rebuilt at the same cost with the rest of the church; and the whole of it was afterwards completed and fitted up in a very handsome manner. By the fire the monuments against the walls were destroyed, and most of the gravestones broken by the falling of the timbers. The latter, in the rebuilding of the church, have, the greatest part of them, been most absurdly removed from the graves over which they lay, to other parts of the church, and some even from the church-yard, as it suited to make the pavement complete; so that there is now hardly a guess to be made, where the bodies lie, that the inscriptions commemorate, but the gravestones of the Lushingtons, I believe, were none of them removed. In the south cross chancel belonging to the estate of Fulston, is a monument for Thos. Bannister, gent. obt. 1750, arms, Argent, a cross story, sable. The brass plate, on which the inscription was, for John Crowmer, of Fulston, and his two wives, in this chancel, being loose, there was found on the under side of it one in Latin, for Robert Rokele, esq. once dwelling with the most revered lady, the lady Joane de Bohun, countess of Hereford, Essex, and Northton, who died in 1421, an instance of œconomy which has been discovered at times in other churches.

 

The south-east chancel belonged to the Chilton estate; there are many gravestones of the family of Lushington in it. Dr. Lushington's monument was entirely destroyed at the time of the fire. In the upper part of this chancel is a vault, belonging to the Chilton estate, in which is only one coffin, of Mr. Harvey, who died in 1751, and a great quantity of bonespiled up at one end of it.

 

The archdeacon's court, in which he holds his visitation, is at the upper end of this chancel.

 

The coats of arms in the windows of the church, which were many, were entirely destroyed, and they have been since entirely resitted with modern glass.

 

The middle chancel is the archbishop's, and belongs to the parsonage; in which there is a memorial for Mathew, son of Sir John, and grandson of archbishop Parker, who died in 1645. The north chancel is made use of now as a vestry. The north cross chancel belongs to the Bayford estate. In the north wall of it there is the effigies of a woman, lying at length, in the hollow of the wall, with an arch, carved and ornamented, over her, and midway between the arch and figure, a flat table stone of Bethersden marble: the whole of it seems very antient.

 

In this church there was, before the reformation, a chantry, called Busherb's chantry.

 

The church of Sittingborne belonged to the Benedictine nunnery of Clerkenwell, to which it was appropriated before the 8th year of king Richard II. and it remained part of the revenues of it till its dissolution, in the 31st year of king Henry VIII.'s reign.

 

¶This church thus coming into the king's hands, seems to have remained part of the revenues of the crown till queen Elizabeth, in her 3d year, granted the parsonage of it, with the advowson of the vicarage, the former being then valued at 13l. 6s. 8d. to archbishop Parker. Since which they have continued parcel of the possessions of the archbishopric, and remain so at this time.

 

The parsonage has been from time to time leased out on a benesicial lease, at the yearly rent of 13l. 6s. 8d. In 1643 John Olebury, gent. was lessee; in later times, Cockin Sole, esq. of Bobbing, whose son John Cockin Sole, esq. died possessed of it in 1790, since which this lease has been sold under the directions of his will.

 

In the 8th year of king Richard II. this parsonage was valued at 23l. 6s. 8d.

 

In 1578, on a survey of the diocese of Canterbury, it was returned, that this parsonage was impropriate to the queen's majesty; the vicarage also in her gift; dwelling-houses eighty; communicants three hundred; the tenths twenty shillings.

 

The vicarage is valued in the king's books at ten pounds, the yearly tenths being one pound. In 1640, it was valued at fifty-six pounds. Communicants three hundred and eighty.

 

The vicarage is situated not far from the north side of the church-yard, adjoining to which is the only piece of glebe land belonging to it.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol6/pp150-163

Lydia Fravel explaining to Richard Orr and Judy Gallagher how to tell the difference between native and non-native thistle.

 

Caterpillar Safari

Howard County Conservancy

August 29, 2021

6362

Ahhhh, yes, the PC crashed. Really. 4 weeks ago during my week of house-sitting with no internet. Then, I set off on more trips, gatherings, then work again, and finally... I am back at the odd post. Now Elements has been reinstalled, yahoo passwords recovered... may the posting continue now.

This was from shortly after the crash... reuinion with my friends Natascha and Juergen in Berlin. A great day, topped off with a faboulous concert at the Komische Oper - but of course no photos of that.

Egyptian-God Thoth named, with mural explained in the Egyptian "Book of Magic", by E. A. Wallis Budge, roughly 1921...

 

God of all Gods, Te-o-Tee, Teoti, Thoth. As first described by Graham Hancock, Fingerprints of the Gods, 1994, and interpreted by my amateur research theories, we have very faint mural figures all over the Western wall of Teotihuacan.

 

The primary recognizable figure is Tehoti, aka Thoth, aka Djeheuty, who with his staff, as in 'the Wandering Sage', is speaking to the decapitated Osiris moon figure at his feet, (Soker-Osiris), aka Kah-Kah (Titicaca, Texcoco, and Teh-she-co-co / Chicago), and several Northern constellations who are "coming out of the water" level of the Sun Temple.

 

This is the "magic" of Tehoti, the God of all Gods, the Divine Wisdom, Tchaus, Texas. If one wants to be even more "ancient" in research understanding, the role of Thoth, Tehoti and his magic actions, were adopted from an even more massively historic figure called "Heka", or "Heqa", (even "Hockey"). This frog-headed God/Goddess, in dedication to "fishermen and fowlers" and sometimes "fertility" used his/her staff to magically hunt and capture game. "Hackensack", Ur Heqa, Uroquois, are some familiar dedications to this God, from which the modern English name "Hex" and Hockey comes from, I believe.

 

Note 1: Graham Hancock made the hugely significant observation in 1994, "Fingerprints of the Gods", (paraphrased) that the animal-God mural images on the western wall of Teoti-huacan were identical to Egyptian animal-God symbolics.

 

Note 2: The Egyptian name for the Underworld, the 'Otherworld', was the 'Tat Land'. How coincidental is this?! Could the 'Tat- Land', be the Land of the God-of-Gods, TEO-TI, with the suffix, Hua-can?

40 years in the game - Victor Hernandez Cruz at the 9th Annual Voices for the Voiceless Poetry Concert.

“ I always thought good photos were like good jokes. If you have to explain it, it just isn’t that good. I'm hoping I don't have to explain this one...

Advert for Explainers, summer 1999, from the London Evening Standard.

 

I had to make paper-planes in my interview. They also asked who my favourite science communicator was: I said Micheal Faraday because I'd just read a book about him and I'm a big old geek. Apparently everyone else said Carol Vorderman.

 

I stayed six years. When I left I realised I'd been there a quarter of my life. I only have the ad because it got left in my National Record of Achievement (behind my swimming certificates), but I'm going to try to keep it now.

I should explain ...

 

I have really enjoyed the super selective color effects that Jennifer (jjs08) has done, and with her explanation of the process I finally got around to trying one. I do like the focus the selective color provides while leaving all the context, but capitalizing on the effect of B&W.

 

Obviously not all photos are suited to this little technique, but a quick trip to her photostream

jjs08 photos will reveal some really exceptional photos that just bloomed with this treatment. Her Amish family at the zoo and the critters themselves are dandy!! Almost outdone by a couple posted just today (09/13/10)

 

I look forward to trying more of this and some HDR this winter!

EXPLAIN PLEASE

After checking the mail on Sunset Road I was driving and saw this cool formation. I processed it in Snapseed... and I jist got home and checked it... and im assuming thats my eye in the center? How is that possible? I was using the back camera on my Samsung in HDR Mode. Totally freaky!

In the medical field, also popular as hybrid medical animation, this technology is used to visualise the mechanism complexities of science and human anatomy.

“It gets under your skin and lives inside you, and you can’t run from it, you can’t hide. It finds you, and traps you, it grows over your soul like an encasing vine and it stays with you, you can’t get away from it.

It’s like being in a room with 30 radios going all at once, on full volume, and you can’t turn them off, nothing stops it.”

  

Instagram

Lt. Kamber, Croatian Volcano Battery platoon commander, explains trajectory and targeting to U.S. Army officers of the Battle Group Poland prior to the Croatian Volcano Battery Live Fire Exercise, the first outside of Croatia and with the Battle Group Poland near Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, on November 29, 2017.

I explain to this Downy Woodpecker every day that Hummingbird food is NOT a part of a balanced Woodpecker diet. He feels that his diet will be balanced as soon as I fill the suet and peanut feeders. He has managed to break off the perches on my Hummingbird feeder and drains the whole thing in just a couple of days. He tried, unsuccessfully, to hide behind this little perch while I lectured him about his poor diet.

 

Taken in New Jersey, USA

 

© Steve Byland 2007 all rights reserved

Unauthorized use or reproduction for any reason is prohibited

you learn from everything

Explainer: While I wish I could fully dress, wig-up and make-up regularly, those days are rare. So I post these AI renderings. FYI: the photos are AI generated, from actual photos of me, enhanced slightly with FaceApp and then dressed from outfits I see and love on the interweb. Enjoy them or not! I do, that's all that matters! Love, Crystal

Dad was asked a lot of questions. It was a blast sharing information with the boys who listen to every word. One of the joys of being a parent.

They are a group of professional photographers from Paris, they explained, and travel together regularly. One choose a city and locations and models... Aha.

Sweet Sixteen

Digital camera sbap of Sacredness

www.flickr.com/photos/psychoactivartz/4536712083/sizes/l/

www.flickr.com/photos/psychoactivartz/4275957066/sizes/l/...

 

It is da dedication of its use to da pursuit of da Divine ......

.......which renders it a catalyst to worship

...............~~~~~~~~~

"Da inherent imagination and spiritual receptivity is definitely influenced by dis differential chemical endowment.".

"The Hôtel Biron is a jewel of Parisian rocaille architecture, with its park that covers nearly three hectares, adding to its immense attraction and explaining the museum’s very high attendance. In total, it welcomes over 700,000 visitors every year.

 

Late in 2005, the architect Pierre Louis Faloci finished the restoration of the chapel building, making possible the reopening of a temporary exhibition room.

 

Stretching over three hectares, the grounds are divided into a rose garden, north of the Hôtel Biron, and a large ornamental garden, to the south, while a terrace and hornbeam hedge backing onto a trellis concealed a relaxation area, at the bottom of the garden. Pierced by three openings, this trellis reflects the design and proportions of the three bay windows on the mansion’s garden façade. Two thematic walks were also laid out: in the east, plants thrive amidst the rockery in the “Garden of Orpheus”, and, in the west, water is omnipresent in the “Garden of Springs”.

 

Rodin started to place selected works in the overgrown garden that he liked so much in 1908, together with some of the antiques from his personal collection. Male and female torsos, copies made in the Roman or modern period, after Greek works, were presented in these natural surroundings, their contours dappled by the sunlight: “Nature and Antiquity are the two great sources of life for an artist. In any event, Antiquity implies nature. It is its truth and its smile.” (Rodin)

The first bronzes were erected in the gardens before World War I. Since 1993, they have been regularly cleaned and treated so as to preserve their original patinas."

 

www.musee-rodin.fr/en

 

"The Musée Rodin in Paris, France, is a museum that was opened in 1919, dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. It has two sites: the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds in central Paris and just outside Paris at Rodin's old home, the Villa des Brillants at Meudon (Hauts-de-Seine). The collection includes 6,600 sculptures, 8,000 drawings, 8,000 old photographs, and 7,000 objets d’art. The museum receives 700,000 visitors annually.

 

While living in the Villa des Brillants, Rodin used the Hôtel Biron as his workshop from 1908 and subsequently donated his entire collection of sculptures (along with paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that he had acquired) to the French State on the condition that they turn the buildings into a museum dedicated to his works.

 

The Musée Rodin contains most of Rodin's significant creations, including The Thinker, The Kiss, and The Gates of Hell. Many of his sculptures are displayed in the museum's extensive garden. The museum is one of the most accessible museums in Paris. It is located near a Metro stop, Varenne, in a central neighborhood, and the entrance fee is very reasonable. The gardens around the museum building contain many of the famous sculptures in natural settings. Behind the museum building are a small lake and casual restaurant.

 

Additionally, the Metro stop, Varenne, features some of Rodin's sculptures on the platform. The building is served by Métro (line 13: Varenne or Invalides), RER (line C: Invalides), and bus (69, 82, 87, 92).

 

The museum has also a room dedicated to the works of Camille Claudel. Some paintings by Monet, Renoir, and Van Gogh that were in Rodin's personal collections are also presented. The Musée Rodin collections are very diverse, as Rodin used to collect besides being an artist."

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musée_Rodin

 

.....

Maurice Riodan performing at the Universe Explained at Gorilla, Manchester, on Saturday 20th July 2013

So explain to me the difference between fireworks and "pyrotechnics"? These were the "pyrotechnics" that were shot off at CitiField. There are no "bursts" or flower-type fireworks, no big booms at the end -- it was just a bunch of colored lights that rippled around the roof of the stadium -- similar to what you would see at a concert. Boring, but kinda cool at the same time. Oh well.

Explain differentiation This third module of the Teaching series we investigate the planning and design of classes. Professor Eamon Murphy of the Department of Social Sciences at Curtin University devotes an entire chapter of Lecturing at University (1998) to emphasise his view that careful planning is the most important aspect of lecturing.

I passed this castle back in the summer of 2020, I could see the ruins though through large flourishing trees covered in lush greenery, I re-visited Saturday 21st November 2020 on a magnificent Autumn day, offering

better opportunity to capture this magnificent ruin.

 

The first mention of Esslemont is as the 'manor of Eislemont' in the 14th century.

 

The lands of Esslemont were passed by marriage from the family of Mareschal by marriage of the heiress Janet to Francis le Chen of Straloch in the 14th century.

After the castle was burnt in 1493, Henry Cheyne undertook re-building via a king's licence dated 1500. In 1564 Patrick Cheyne was created baron of Esslemont by Queen Mary, who stayed here during her campaign against the Earl of Huntly, and a fortalice and tower were recorded in 1575–6.

 

The castle was then destroyed as the result of a feud between the Cheynes and the Hays.

 

The name of the lands, now as "Essilmounthe", appears in Scottish records in 1609.

 

The castle ceased to be regularly occupied in 1625, when the estate passed to the Errol family. In 1728 it became the property of Robert Gordon and may have been partially occupied till 1769, when the existing mansion, Esslemont House, was erected in its vicinity.

 

In 1938 excavations within the enclosure revealed the lower courses of the earlier castle, a massive, L-shaped towerhouse with walls 6–7 feet (1.8–2.1 m) thick and 6 feet (1.8 m) maximum height. There had been a curtain wall 4 feet (1.2 m) thick. The surrounding ditch may date from the 14th century.

 

Finds from the excavation included 14/15th century potsherds, a medallion, and a worn shilling of William III.

  

In 1938 excavations within the enclosure revealed the lower courses of the earlier castle, a massive, L-shaped towerhouse with walls 6–7 feet (1.8–2.1 m) thick and 6 feet (1.8 m) maximum height. There had been a curtain wall 4 feet (1.2 m) thick. The surrounding ditch may date from the 14th century. Finds from the excavation included 14/15th century potsherds, a medallion, and a worn shilling of William III.

 

The castle is roofless and missing large sections of wall which were reused in building sites nearby. Especially noticeable are the missing dressed stones of the windows.

 

The structure is a L Plan castle with a staircase turret and a round tower at the south east angle. The main building seems on the ground floor to have contained the kitchen, with a wide fireplace in the north gable; the rugged edges of the ruined sides of the flue being visible high up in the gable.

 

Though ruined, the remains are clearly on three stories. The Gordon Arms are visible on the exterior of the castle.

 

Despite standing close beside the road, Esslemont castle is easily missed by motorists looking for a last opportunity to get past two cars and a van before reaching the confines of Ellon's 30mph speed limit! It stands on the north side of the A920 largely hidden by trees, about two miles west of Ellon, in the grounds of Esslemont House - for long the seat of the Wolridge-Gordon family.

 

The building is a variation of the L-plan, with a main block orientated north / south, and a wing extending west (to the left in this photo) from the south end of the main block (parallel with the main road). There was a stair tower in the re-entrant angle on the North West side, and a large round tower, corbelled out to the square at the top, on the outside angle of the L to the south east. The remains of the kitchen chimney flue can also still be traced. The building would have been three storeys and an attic high.

 

This shows the gable of the south end of the main block, with the scant remains of the west wing's stonework to the left, and the round tower on the external angle of the L to the right. The way the round tower is corbelled out to the square at the top, no doubt to form a watch chamber, is reminiscent of Claypotts castle in Dundee. The Wolridge-Gordons must have stabilised the ruins some time back, which would explain the condition of the pointing, which one would expect to be in much worse condition on a castle in this state. The windows in this south gable, as elsewhere in the main block, are rather larger than usual, which might be the result of the castle's dressed stone, including the window surrounds, being taken away for use in other buildings.

 

This crest in the south wall shows beyond doubt that Esslemont Castle has been a Gordon property. It shows three boars heads at the bottom, the Gordon motto "Bydand", meaning steadfast, at the top, and in the centre a stag's head above a crown. Despite this, the castle was not built by the Gordons. It was erected by Henry Cheyne of Straloch under a license dated 1500, and was only regularly lived in for about a century.

 

The previous castle on this site was destroyed as the result of a feud between the Cheynes of Esslemont and the Hays of Ardendracht in 1493 - not the building we see today. Following this event the Privy Council decreed that the Hays should pay 20 pounds compensation to the Cheynes, and no doubt making best possible use of this handsome sum, the Cheynes erected the building we see today, although probably not until nearly a century later. (There are features of the castle's design that date it to the period 1570 to 1590)

 

In 1938 the site of Esslemont Castle was excavated and a considerable amount was discovered, most of which has now vanished back under the undergrowth again. For a start, the foundations of a second castle were discovered a short distance to the west of the present structure. This too was an L-plan castle, and it sat in the middle of a five sided courtyard, which had round towers on all the corners, 19ft in diameter. The round tower of the present castle (see here) sits on the foundations of the easternmost tower of this curtain wall ("wall of enceinte"), and the site of another tower is now under the main road. The report on the excavation of this older castle states that "Traces of fire were abundantly present in and around the tower house", which proves that this was the castle burned down by the Hays, and not the structure we see today. Around the outside of the wall of enceinte there was also a ditch.

 

The existing castle was built by the Cheynes, probably between 1570 and 1590, and was no doubt built using the stones of its predecessor.

 

During the religious troubles of Reformation period it became the property of George Jamesone, a famous painter, who died in 1644.

 

In 1646 it was occupied by a party of Covenanters, but a party from the Royalist garrison at Fyvie castle, under the command of Capt. Blackater attacked Esslemont and drove the Covenanters off "killing thirty six of them, and brought away their horses and arms, with such other stuff as they had".

 

The Earls of Erroll, who had acquired the estate after Jamesone's death, sold it in 1728 to Robert Gordon of Hallhead (near Alford), with whose descendants it remains to this day.

 

1493 ~ Esslemont Castle is attacked and burnt by the Hays of Ardendracht. They are later fined by The Privy Council £20 for the destruction they caused.

 

1500 ~ The Cheynes receive a licence to crenellate a part of their repairs.

 

1564 ~ Mary, Queen of Scots is entertained at the castle.

 

1570 ~ A new two-storey L-plan Tower House is built in a corner of the existing castle with one of the round towers of the curtain wall incorporated into its Tower House. Stone from the original castle is used in its construction.

 

1625 ~ The castle passes to the Errol family but, as they had other residences, Esslemont is neglected.

 

1646 ~ Esslemont is briefly occupied by Covenanter forces but they are driven off by the pro-Royalist forces from Fyvie Castle, "killing thirty six of them, and brought away their horses and arms, with such other stuff as they had"

 

1728 ~ The castle is sold to Robert Gordon and continues to be used as an occasional residence until Esslemont House was built forty years later, thereafter falling into ruin

Esslemont Castle was originally an enclosure castle until being turned into a three storey L-shaped Tower House.

 

It is situated very close to the A920, almost hidden by trees.

 

This crest in the south wall shows that Esslemont Castle was once a Gordon property.

 

There is still plenty of the castle that remains to explore, including extensive foundations of a bakery, brewhouse and stables that lay hidden beneath the undergrowth.

 

Explainer: While I wish I could fully dress, wig-up and make-up regularly, those days are rare. So I post these AI renderings. FYI: the photos are AI generated, from actual photos of me, enhanced slightly with FaceApp and then dressed from outfits I see and love on the interweb. Enjoy them or not! I do, that's all that matters! Love, Crystal