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What you see here is actually only a fraction of the outfits Colleen and I designed for our Raggedy Ann and Andy paper dolls during 2001 and 2002. Back then, I think we spent at least an hour making them new outfits before each doll game. At some point, I think we had over a hundred! Circa 2003 or 2004, we decided to overhaul our vast collection. I designed new family members and furniture, and we thinned out Ann and Andy's ridiculously huge wardrobe. We kept only our favorite outfits, the ones we played with all the time, or the ones that were drawn better. Most of the ones in this picture were drawn and colored in by my sister. There are a few however that I made too (while she was making more clothes, I was usually designing new furniture). Ann and Andy had outfits for literally every occasion you could possibly imagine, and more. The top row features their bathing clothes (which I think they wore in the tub), random play outfits, school outfits (even though they didn't actually go to school), and winter play outfits. In the second row, there are Ann and Andy's tea party clothes, fishing outfits, chef outfits, and their camouflage (I'm not sure what they needed these outfits for). The third row pictures their grocery shopping ensembles (yes, they even had outfits just to run their errands at "Doll Mart"), their Thanksgiving clothes, their zoo outfits, and the clothes they wore to drink hot cocoa. The fourth and final row features Ann and Andy's beach clothes, Hawaiian costumes, and of course the outfits they wore when they tidied their house (which by the way got very messy all the time).
It was easy for me to date these outfits for a variety of reasons. The most obvious being that Colleen and I had an intricate coding system. On the backs of ALL our handmade Ann and Andy stuff, we put a series of numbers and letters. For example, two outfits and their coordinating accessories would all be labeled "A3." When we overhauled our collection in 2003 or 2004 we revamped our coding system, but it was more or less the same, we just scratched out the old codes and restarted the system to eliminate confusion. Plus, we always put our "brand" insignia on the back of their stuff: "S&C Workshop," with the date we completed the outfits (the "S" was for my name, Shelly, the "C" was for Colleen's name). The "S" and the "C" were actually linked together in the center. Colleen and I got a little bit carried away whenever we designed stuff....we sometimes thought we were famous designers and movie producers. Yes, we even used my whiteboard and my chalkboard to write down our cast, their roles, and we even mapped out our setups (which was my FAVORITE thing to do). These clothes are also the ones I remember the best, as we owned them the longest and played with them the most over the years, so even without our detailed labeling, I probably could have figured it out.
It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.
This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty. As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.
United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Leland Stanford was one of the “Big Four” founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, and by mid-century had amassed a fortune of many millions of dollars. When one spoke of a “Robber Baron”, Leland Stanford would be among the first names to come to mind. Yet during the final decade of his life, Leland Stanford had come to the conclusion that American society would in the future be better off if it did not create more tycoons such as himself; instead, that the division between capitalist and laborer should disappear, that the industries of American should come to be owned and managed cooperatively by their very workers. This, Stanford saw as a fulfillment of the dream of American democracy.
Beyond Capitalism:
Leland Stanford’s Forgotten Vision
dynamics.org/~altenber/PAPERS/BCLSFV/
We do not need a Michael Moore's documentary to show us what Wall Street and it's religion "Capitalism" is doing to America and the world. It is clear to all working people and the millions who have lost jobs and homes all across this country the effects of this heartless greed based system. Over the last few years we see millions of families thrown into the streets without a roof over their heads; too bad you did not read the fine print that I was about to rob you of your American dream; young families, the sick and even the elderly alike are not spared. They are left to fend in a nightmare of hopelessness. We know hundreds of thousands die for lack or decent healthcare and millions more continue to live without healthcare in the world wealthiest nation. These greedy capitalist spend billions on slick television commercials, lobbyist and talking heads trying to convince the American people that having universal healthcare is an ungodly thing and bad for them. While they rob the American tax payers of trillions of dollars to save their crumbling empires of greed.
The destruction of American jobs en masse is not a mistake but a deliberate plan by the “Robber Barons” to produce more with less workers and to increase unworldly profits. Over the last 30 years workers are producing more while their salaries and security diminishes. Where is the fairness for the working man and woman that create the wealth with his labor?. When the CEO of a large corporation can make more in one year than a worker can make in a lifetime, something is terrible wrong with the picture. when a CEO can make $42 million in 4 years while millions of the world inhabitants live on less than a dollar a day, something is devilish wrong with that. Those who support this inequality think nothing is wrong with that, I say where is the human conscience in this scenario. Somethings are just plain wrong and this is one of them.
American workers have struggled and fought for a living wage, better working condition and job security over a hundred years. However, their rights have been systemically crushed and weaken; Unions have been marginalized and destroyed. This is what Capitalism loves, it loves a defenseless workforce that it can disposed of without any opposition. Millions of workers have lost Jobs and if you have notice that there has been very little mass workers protest or resistance in this country during all this. Today Wall street is enjoying a comeback they say, raking in billions in profits while the american workers see none of this. The working class and the poor struggle each day to keep their heads above water. We are told that this is the best system for the creation of wealth, but at what cost and for who? surly not for the American workers who are getting poorer while a minority gets richer. The gap between the rich and the poor is now wider than at any other time in human history.
The American working class must wake up to the lie of this system that continue to strangle them. Nowhere in the constitution of America is Capitalism mentioned. It is not synonymous with Democracy or Freedom. China's increase growth and success proves the point that Capitalism does not need Democracy or Political freedoms to survive, it flourishes even under Communist dictatorship. All the "freedom" loving capitalist are now embracing China's money making machine with much excitement. They are very elated with China's model it is what they have been working on in America for decades.
The alternative is to have a wealth creation system that is based on fairness and Democracy. A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and democratically controlled by its worker-owners. Workers who produce wealth should have a greater say and share of that wealth which they produce with their labor. Workers should not beg for crumbs that fall form the fat cats table.
The Second Bill of Rights
was a proposal made by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944 to suggest that the nation had come to recognize, and should now implement, a second bill of rights. Roosevelt did not argue for any change to the United States Constitution; he argued that the second bill of rights was to be implemented politically, not by federal judges. Roosevelt's stated justification was that the "political rights" guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights had "proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness." Roosevelt's remedy was to create an "economic bill of rights" which would guarantee:
A job with a living wage
Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies
A home
Medical care
Education
Recreation
This Second Bill of Rights were never implemented in America. Ironically these are also the same rights that Unions all over the world have been fighting for. However, Capitalism continue to make sure these basic guarantees never happen in America.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Bill_of_Rights
I recommend my visitors to see the Michael Moore Movie "Capitalism: A Love Story" if some are not convinced by what has happened and experienced these last 20 years. Maybe just maybe this film will change some mind.
Franklin Roosevelt -Second Bill of Rights
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwUL9tJmypI
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker_cooperative
Rochdale Principles
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochdale_Principles
Eisenhowers Farewell Address Jan. 1961
Some times the Eco Terrorists (like here) make attacks on high-tech targets as this advanced Spaceport hangar, the usually shoot their way to the core of the base, smashing high-tech equipment is priority and when they finally get cornered enough they use pre 2021 explosives to make as much damage to the tech before they go out...
They usually make a last battle call "for the extinct animals and nature, for natural tech of a pre-2021 natural-technology, I give my soul to the Gaia Goddess!
then the charges usually go off wiping out them and some of the tech-structures!
Jules Photo Challenge Group
June 2013
June 09- Some ideas are just hard to express- so show us something abstract
Spinning wheels make my mind wonder to follow the lines to see what the plan for the man becomes. Word.
a mere fraction of a second after that:
www.flickr.com/photos/qmusaget/2669344052/
please click here: www.flickr.com/photos/qmusaget/?details=1" to see HOW our streams should be preferably [or at least optionally] viewed ---
no GROUP ICONS or AWARDS please (they will be [sadly] deleted) - just comments and critiques ---
It is the 2013 doll season at the Disney Store, and the 17" LE Ariel has joined the group of 17" LE Disney Princess Doll Collection, bring up the total to six from the original ten Disney Princesses. I did not include LE Merida in this group, because she is being stored at a different location and I also still have not mentally changed gears to not think of her as a Pixar character (albeit the first Pixar princess lead character) as opposed to a Disney/Pixar character. Based on the remaining Diamond Edition films yet to be released, of the first ten Disney Princesses, it is anticipated that there will be a LE Aurora doll and a LE Jasmine doll to add to this group eventually, but the chances of a LE Pocahontas or LE Mulan doll seem very slim.
I have done everything possible to keep up with the 17" LE doll collections based on the Disney Princesses and Wonderland since I started collecting them in early 2012, so of course this is just a fraction of my actual 17" LE Disney doll collection. However, these shining beauties really do stand out, some more than others for me.
My favorite will always be the 17' LE Snow White doll. Snow White is my favorite princess and of all of the 17" LE dolls, she received the most in terms of an actual transformation of her iconic outfit while still retaining the spirit of the character and even the spirit of the era that her film was made. To me, her classic beauty is comparable to the glamour of 1930s Hollywood. Her more fitted empire-waist gown is also more chic and sophisticated than Snow White's regular iconic gown from the film, though the colors, collar, sleeves, and cloak make her identity absolutely unquestionable. I still believe that the most attention was provided to LE Snow White over all of the LE dolls since, in that she has more well-crafted accessories, more hand-sewn details (with no glue-on gems), and more of an original design (while still keeping close to the spirit of the character) than any of the dolls released since. Truly, she is still the reigning queen of the 17" LE Disney dolls.
To my great surprise, LE Ariel has taken the second spot in my ranking of the six LE Disney Princess dolls so far. The stock photos showing her over-designed seashell bra, yellowish eye shadow, and the petal scales of her fish tail made me very nervous about everyone's favorite redhead mermaid. However, when I finally received my doll, I was very impressed by her beauty and the fact that she blends in so well with the LE Princess doll collection even though she is not wearing a gown. I did have to give my doll a hand-held prop: a dinglehopper, which only made her more complete. For me, one of the most endearing qualities of LE Ariel is that she exudes a modern style and flair in the same way that LE Snow White shines brightly with her classic old Hollywood beauty, so that the dolls of these two princesses truly reflect the epochs of their important films which both saved the Disney Animation Studios.
My third favorite LE Princess doll is LE Tiana, because as the second LE doll ever made, a lot of fine details were devoted to her too. True, the glue-on gems first started to be used with her, but they really do enhance her gown very well. Her gown is an excellent rendering of her bayou wedding gown, complete with many layers of fabric, which all have different textures and even color gradations. The white lily petals of her skirts are fantastic, and even better they are all separate petals as opposed to a single piece of fabric with several pointy ends. Of the six LE Princess dolls so far, I think that LE Tiana certainly is the most movie-accurate. Her shoes are also very specially designed and the frog Naveen is just adorable.
Ranking fourth is the blonde LE Rapunzel doll, who would have ranked higher if her face were a bit more accurate and if they had not given her those voluminous bell sleeves. I suppose that those sleeves were provided to give her more of a Renaissance feel, but they make her look bulky. Rapunzel's character design is actually rather slim and streamlined, which really brings out the sheer volume of her glorious magical hair. The LE Rapunzel doll's gown actually hides her hair. Still, her gown is otherwise very beautiful, from the puffed sleeves with actual piping details, to her fancy bodice and layered skirts. The fabric of her bodice and inner skirt were made just for her, which is always a nice detail to see. She is a beautiful doll and one of my all-time favorites, but LE Ariel and LE Tiana edged her out by being just a little more fantastic.
Fifth for me is LE Cinderella, who has only two things that I consider less than perfect: her hairstyle and her makeup. Her gown is gorgeous, even without her signature poofy shoulder sleeves. Her hairstyle is as far from classic Cinderella as they could have gone. The double-layered mass of pin curls around the central bun looks more "prom" than royal ball. They also gave her that random side curl on the side of her face, which I have tucked away back through her headband. For me, it was a huge improvement for this doll. Her makeup is very subdued and flat. For a blonde doll with a somewhat tanned complexion, the worst lipstick color is a pale pink. So what did they give LE Cinderella? Pale pink! For fans of the film, the fact that all of the Cinderella dolls that are made are always a pale blonde, as opposed to the sandy-blonde/strawberry blonde that Cinderella is in her own film, is already a sore point, but did they have to really make LE Cinderella look like Malibu Barbie dressed as Cinderella going to the prom? A darker lipstick color (like the coral color she has in the film) would have made LE Cinderella look more glamorous. Another problem with this doll for many people is that the material used to make her glass slippers seems to have a chemical reaction to the metal pole of her doll stand, which damaged the shoes by marring them with blood-red stains. The Disney Store in the USA was unwilling to replace them, so many of these dolls (my doll included) have this unseen flaw. Luckily, her dress is long enough to cover this up.
Finally, to round out the first six of the original ten Disney Princess LE dolls, is LE Belle. There is certainly nothing intrinsically wrong with this doll, but like LE Cinderella, there are a bunch of things that I would have done differently for her. First, her facial expression is that unusually worried look that a lot of DS Belle dolls received in the late 2010-2011 time frame. Part of it is the shape of her eyebrows and the other part is her side-glancing eyes. I think that if she were facing forward, that expression would have been avoided. Second, the silk rosettes on her bodice are fine from a distance or from certain angles, but upon close inspection, they look like a row of flashlights sticking out of her bosom. If they really wanted to go with the rosettes, they should have shaped flatter ones to avoid that. The same type of rosettes are used on her skirt with the organza draping, and there, they look fine. Several of the LE dolls have uncharacteristically long hair, and LE Belle is one of them. The Disney Store has never made a Belle doll with the proper hair length, and LE Belle is no exception. It does not look bad, but it also takes away from the elegant, sophisticated hairdo she had in the film. Last, I would have made her skirt more, well, bell-shaped. LE Belle's skirt looks like a cone instead of the full 17th century skirts that this gown was inspired from. I still like LE Belle a lot, but these details prevent me from loving her.
This time other fraction, Wolfpack. This is one of my favourite nation of Lego Castle. Maybe that gatehouse will be a part of something bigger :) I want to build big fortress based on modular elements, which could be useable in other models. But I’m not sure that my computer has enough power, we will see ;)
If you like my projects, please support my Lego Ideas sets:
ideas.lego.com/projects/416d8d9e-eb83-4b52-b5c0-1601f3295aa8
and
ideas.lego.com/projects/f202a55e-19bc-4b60-bcf7-4ea862bd2e06
Flickr …. it can be addictive! Searching through just a fraction of the interesting historic and of course inspiring images can take an age (or maybe a good way to spend a wet morning).
Anyway, a week or two ago I chanced upon the work of Professeur Filature whose images of old mills both in the UK and abroad are utterly fascinating. One such image is that of the London Silk Mill in Leek Staffordshire.
By coincidence, I had planned to travel through the town quite recently and thought I’d have a look to see the exact spot where the photo had been taken.
Naturally, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to have a go myself, but hopefully to feature the little corner pub as the main subject rather than copy Professeur Filature’s take of the mill.
Formerly a Marstons pub, it was re-opened in 2014. I didn’t have time to venture inside, but a little research shows that it specialises in beers that are unusual for the area, and the house beer (Earl Grey Bitter) is brewed by the Whim micro brewery of Hartington in Derbyshire.
Maybe next time I’ll be able to pop in for a pint!
Hawkman and Hawkgirl, steampunk-style. I also spotted a Steampunk Cobra Commander but these two were way cooler.
These are fabulous costumes. I like them because I can easily imagine them as the stars of a 1930's or 1940's Republic serial. It also reminds me that I don't really know what the canonical definition of "steampunk" is. I'm getting a radio-age vibe from these costumes. Does that get these people in trouble with...I dunno, the Field-Commissioner of Steampunk or something?
Oh, it shouldn't...of course not. I'm just curious about whether there are wet blankets in the Steampunk community who like to argue about such things.
("Point deduction! Insufficient copper tubing and valves for a contrivance designed during a fanciful age of steam! AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE TO SOURCE A BUTTLOAD OF BRASS GEARS, JUST ASK!!!!")
This photo shows a fraction of the thousands of people who flocked each day to visit and pray at "bleeding" statues set up in a yard beside T. Dwan's newsagents, Main Street, Templemore, Co. Tipperary in August 1920. The "manifestations" had appeared following Northamptonshire Regiment reprisals in the area for the killing of an R.I.C. officer by the I.R.A.
A local woman, Miss Maher, told the Irish Independent correspondent that after:
"the outburst in Templemore on Monday night [16 August 1920] some of the statues from which blood had been oozing in her house were taken by Walsh [first man to notice the "manifestations"] to Templemore, and it is believed that it was this action that saved the town from destruction."
(Irish Independent, Monday 23 August 1920)
And the furore did not die down quickly. Nearly a month later, this from the Irish Independent on Monday 13 September 1920:
"The G.S.W.R. ran its first Sunday excursion train, since the war, to Templemore yesterday, at 9.50 a.m. (13/- 3rd class). Five minutes before its departure it was packed with 800 passengers, and 100 persons were left behind. Such was the success of the excursion that the company ran a second special immediately afterwards, consisting of 14 coaches. This train took up passengers from Kildare, Partarlington, and Maryborough. it carried 150 passengers from Dublin..."
Date: 22 August 1920
NLI Ref.: HOG214
Just a tiny fraction of the crowd that filled central London.
Check out these links, all by conscientious Jewish and/or Israeli people ranging from the religious to the secular:
* Background to the Israel-Palestine Crisis by Stephen R. Shalom
* Quotes from Israeli PMs, past and present (Why didn't MEMRI translate these?)
* Albert Einstein's letter to the NYT
* Norman Finkelstein, scholar and child of Holocaust survivors
* Foundation for Middle East Peace - Maps of oppression in the West Bank
* Columns by Israeli Uri Avnery
* Columns by distinguished Israeli journalist Amira Hass
* Condemnation of Israeli policy by Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians
* Orthodox Jews against Zionism
* Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict by Jews for Justice
* True Torah Jews Against Zionism
* Israeli historian Ilan Pappe's The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
If you wish to know why so many billions of American tax dollars go to Israel (more than to any other country by far), and why Israel is using American bulldozers, tanks, F16s, missiles to steal from and kill so many children, women, and elderly:
* The Israel Lobby by Harvard/Chicago profs: John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt
* AIPAC's Hold by Ari Berman
Also, this Australian documentary features several courageous Israelis (including a father who lost his daughter in a bombing) speaking out against injustice.
I always wondered why you don't see a lot of crescent moon photos. Perhaps the insanely difficult exposure is the reason?
cwd16 - The Moon
Seeing only a fraction of what could be seen
Saying far less than what needs to be said
Scratch away all unpleasant urges
Heighten sensation
Inflict thoughtlessly
Until repulsion has been removed
Release your outward scream
Until repulsion has been destroyed
Then justify your behavior
Until your actions are obscured
Read more: www.jjfbbennett.com/2019/01/scratch-away-all-unpleasantne...
Patreon: www.patreon.com/JJFBbennett
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JohnBennettArt/
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/jjfbbennett/
Bangkok, Thailand, jan. 2014.
Copyright © Ioannis Lelakis. All rights reserved.
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'Fraction' project by Primary 4 pupils (Ham and Bacon Fried Rice). Well done children! Fried rice was favourited and enjoyed by whole class. Thank you Lookaew, Ning-ning, Thai, Bank, Nine and Arm for all the preparation and T. Mem for all the help.
"The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions..."
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
memories from Hamamatsu (Japan) Flower Park
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iGcCWysGK0
'There's a fraction too much friction
There's a fraction too much friction
Holding on the bygone era
Everybody shout cos we're getting nearer
There's a fraction too much friction
What we need is some positive action
What we need is some positive thought'
Tim Finn
The Walker Dam – Its Past, Present and Future (William Sell, Vice Chair, Craigiebuckler and
Seafield Community Council)
The Walker Dam, with which many Aberdeen citizens are so familiar, is only a fraction of the
size it was when - in the 1830s - it was constructed in accordance with the plans drawn by
Aberdeen’s first City Architect, John Smith. From the second quarter of the 19th century to
the early 20th century the dam was a deep and massive body of water which extended from
its present location, eastward, to Springfield Road – then called Walker Dam Road – where
its sluice gate would have been opened at the beginning of the working day to allow water
to rush through a culvert under the road, then south-east through a deep man-made
channel (which is still evident today) to feed the steam condensing ponds of the Rubislaw
Bleachfield, the property Richards and Company, textile manufacturers.
Today this treasured green space is one of Aberdeen City Council's 'Local Nature
Conservation Sites', the 'Walker Dam and Rubislaw Link', which is a 3.9 kilometre walk along
a series of connected paths and streets. Popular with dog walkers, joggers and ramblers, the
future of this valuable charming landscaped area with its semi-natural habitats, has been
secured by the initiatives and work of 'Friends of Walker Dam' who are registered with 'Keep
Scotland Beautiful' - a Scottish environment charity – which, independent of governmental
finance and influence, is committed to the improvement of people’s lives and the places
they care for.
The Friends of Walker Dam work in partnership with Aberdeen City Council to deliver the
standards of maintenance and the plans for future improvements to this amenity site. Mr
Allan Davidson, Treasurer of Craigiebuckler and Seafield Community Council who is also a
member of Friends of Walker Dam, has frequent meetings with the City Council's
Environment Manager. Those meetings have been very productive and improvements to the
site have already been achieved. For example, there has been a clean-up of the Dam and the
burn which flows into it; improvements have also been made to the path on the South bank
of the dam, which is part of Aberdeen's core path system. The Walker Dam sign has also
been repainted.
In the near future, a bridge will be constructed at the East bank of the dam to connect its
North and South banks - thus making both banks accessible for the enjoyment of visitors to
the dam. This significant infrastructural improvement has been made possible by a final act
of generosity by Aberdeen Greenspace Trust. Local Councillor Martin Greig is a member of
Greenspace and worked to ensure a donation of £8000 from the Trust towards the upgrade
of the Walker Dam which includes the construction of the bridge, new benches, bins and
various paths and tree works. A further enhancement in the area is a community notice
board.
Thanks to the Friends of Walker Dam, Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen Greenspace Trust
and the work of many volunteers, we have much to look forward to.
Walker Dam
Walker Dam is located within the former Royal Forest of Stocket, part of the Freedom Lands
gifted by Robert I to the burgh (recorded in a charter of 1319). Now it is in the modern
Burnieboozle estate, part of the larger Craigiebuckler estate, which was sparsely populated
countryside until the 1950s, when major housing development began in that area. Walker Dam is
bounded by Springfield Road (which replaced a roadway called Walker Dam Road) to the east
and Woodburn Gardens to the north.
The dam is fed by the Holburn (‘Burn of the Howe’), which has two head waters, the northern
and greater one coming from Hazlehead and through Walker Dam.1
The section entering Walker
Dam is the West Burn of Rubislaw. The two head streams of the Holburn joined together
between Rubislaw Quarry and Springbank Cemetery, and this united stream fed the steamcondensing
ponds at Rubislaw Bleachfield before flowing eastward together as far as Hartington
Road, where they separate. The south branch, the original burn, crossed Union Grove and passed
under the old Holburn Bridge, while the north branch, an artificial mill-lead, went to the Upper
and Lower Justice Mills.2
As a consequence, Walker Dam was at one time closely associated
with the city’s milling operations and, especially, with textile manufacturing. In the nineteenth
century it was a resource integral to the firm once called Maberly’s (established between 1808
and 1811) and later Richards, which had the Broadford Works on Maberly Street and which was
the principal user of the bleachfields. An 1866-67 Ordnance Survey description of Walker Dam
gives it as ‘a very large dam built by the proprietors of the Rubislaw Bleach Field for their own
use.’3
Bleachfields were a development of the eighteenth century Scottish textile and thread
industries. The first bleachfield in Scotland was established in the late 1720s as an alternative to
either small, burnside bleaching operations which were of variable quality, or sending the
unbleached cloth to England, Ireland or Holland for treatment.4
In March 1801, the lands of Springfield were offered for sale. They were described as
comprising about 63 acres, ‘inclosed and subdivided’, and held feu of ‘the Community of
Aberdeen’ at the annual feu-duty of £2 14s 2d sterling. A large house was included in the sale,
and it was noted that ‘the dam for the Justice-mills is situated within this property, and the millburn
passes thro’ it, by which considerable benefit may be derived by a purchaser.’ Other
advantages of the estate were two small plantations of trees, and the fact that the proposed
1
J. Milne, Aberdeen: Topographical, Antiquarian, and Historical Papers on the City of Aberdeen
(Aberdeen, 1911), 49.
2
Milne, Aberdeen, p49. (most of para to this point.)
3
Ordnance Survey Name Book, Aberdeenshire (Vol 69), 1865-1871, 158.
4
A.J. Durie, The Scottish Linen Industry in the Eighteenth Century (Edinburgh, 1979)
1
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
turnpike road to Skene and Alford was to pass through the lands, which would increase their
value.
In 1833 Aberdeen Town Council agreed to have Walker Dam cleaned out and deepened, in
partnership with Messrs Richards and Company, manufacturers in Aberdeen.5
Richards was the
instigator of the plan, to which the Council agreed because the work was expected to be ‘highly
beneficial to the Upper and Nether Justice Mills by affording them an additional supply of water,’
and authorised it providing that the Town’s share of the costs would not exceed £20; the work
would be executed under the sole charge of John Smith, Town Superintendant; and Richards,
which must not spend less than the Council on the project, should not use this as a means of
claiming any right over Walker Dam in future.6
In 1837, Richards proposed to the Council that Walker Dam should be excavated and extended,
citing an 1829 agreement to this effect between the Town and Messrs Maberly and Company, the
previous owners of the manufacturing works now operated by Richards (Maberley’s folded in
1832).7
Richards sought a lease of the dam water at a fixed rent once the work had been
completed.8
The Council remitted consideration of this to a committee previously established to
look at a proposal to move Justice Mill Dam westwards to Rubislaw. Early in 1839, the Council
approved the recommendation of this committee that Walker Dam should be excavated and
enlarged so that it would hold an additional 700,000 cubic feet of water, again on the grounds that
it would provide a more reliable source of water for the town’s mills, especially in the dry
season.9
The new capacity of the dam was expected to be more than adequate for the needs of the
mills. The estimated cost of the works at this stage was £360: should the eventual cost exceed
£400, Richards was to pay the excess. The company was also to pay the Council £75 a year for its
lease of the water, and would be responsible for repair and maintenance of the extended dam, to
the satisfaction of the Town, during the life of its lease. (Richards continued to own rights over
the water for several decades.10)
After further negotiations, a Council meeting of 15 April 1839 approved implementation of the
project and authorised the Town Treasurer to enter into a contract with Richards and Co.11 Work
included the construction of a spillwater tunnel and breast mound for the dam extension, along
5
Meeting of 2 October 1833, Council Register Vol. 72, p.206.
6
Meeting of 2 October 1833, Council Register Vol. 72, p.206.
7
Meeting of 11 April 1837, Council Register Vol 74, p131; R. Duncan, Textiles and Toil: The Factory
System and the Industrial Working Classes in early Nineteenth Century Aberdeen (Aberdeen City Libraries,
1984), p.11.
8
Ibid.
9
Meeting of 7 January 1839, Council Register Vol. 75, p48.
10
Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 6 July 1880, 28 November 1889, 15 March 1894 and 27 November 1895.
11
Meeting of 15 April 1839, Council Register Vol. 75, p83.
2
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
with additional dykes and the installation of a new cast-iron tunnel pipe and sluice.12 The plans,
drawings and a detailed specification produced by the Council formed the basis of the contract,
signed on 17 April 1839.13 The revised estimate of costs based on the plans drawn up by the
Town considerably exceeded the original £400 anticipated; the Council minutes do not record the
new estimate but note that Richards offered to pay the full amount, on the basis that Richards
would receive the original £400 from the Town once the work was completed.14 The Council had
earlier noted that implementation of the project would require the purchase of an adjacent piece
of land owned by Alexander Bannerman and instructed that he should be approached to sell part
of his property near Springfield.15 The necessary land was obtained from Bannerman at a feu-duty
of £20, recorded in a feu charter of 19 April 1839.16
On 1 August 1860, the lands and estates of Craigiebuckler and Burnieboozle, including Walker
Dam, were offered for sale by public roup, as part of the sequestrated estate of John Blaikie,
advocate. (John Blaikie went to Spain in 1860, following the collapse of his business and
financial ruin. He was a son of James Blaikie of Craigiebuckler, Provost of Aberdeen from 1833
to 1835.) Walker Dam is described in the sale notice as ‘an Ornamental Sheet of Water, from
which there is an yearly Revenue of £20 sterling from the Town of Aberdeen’.17 The estates
evidently failed to sell at the advertised ‘upset price’ (the lowest price consistent with the
valuation of a property) of at £5,771 2s 6d, since the estate of Burnieboozle, within which Walker
Dam is situated, was again offered for sale on 3 September 1860, now at £5,500, with
neighbouring lands at Springfield for sale separately.18 Again it failed to realise this amount and
was offered for sale on 5 October 1860 at the further reduced upset price of £5,200.19 At some
point after this date it was purchased by John Stewart, Esq.
The lands of Burnieboozle and Walkerhill were once again offered for sale in August 1865, with
Walker Dam included - the sale notice mentions the annual feu-duty of £20 paid by the Town
Council on it.20 In early September, the Aberdeen Journal reported that ‘The estates of
Craigiebuckler, Burnieboozle, Walkerhill, and others, lately belonging to John Stewart, Esq., were
on Friday purchased for the sum of £31,500 by Lauchlan McKinnon, junior, advocate, on behalf
of John Cardno Couper, Esq., lately of Whampoa, China.’ (Whampoa is now usually known as
12
Classifed advertisement inviting tenders for the work, The Aberdeen Journal, 30 Jan 1839.
13
Town Clerk’s Plans CA/10/1/72 and CA/10/1/76, Record of the Royal Burgh and Fonds/Collection
1179-present, Aberdeen City Archives.
14
Meeting of 15 April 1839, Council Register Vol. 75, p83.
15
Ibid.
16
Meeting of 19 April 1839, Council Register Vol. 75, p85.
17The Aberdeen Journal, 18 July 1860.
18The Aberdeen Journal, 15 and 29 August 1860.
19
The Aberdeen Journal, 12 and 19 September and 3 October 1860.
20The Aberdeen Journal, 9 August 1865.
3
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
Huangpu.) Couper, from Fraserburgh, had served as an apprentice in the Aberdeen shipbuilding
firm of Alexander Hall and Co. before going to Hong Kong and working with his father in their
own highly successful ship-building and repairing company. By the time he returned to Aberdeen
in the 1860s, he had amassed a fortune. He was involved in a number of Aberdeen business
enterprises and in the Church of Scotland. Couper gave a portion of land close to Walker Dam to
be the site of Craigiebuckler Church, built in 1883, of which he was an elder. He died in January
1902 at the age of 82. His son, Lieutenant-Colonel John Cardno Ogston Couper (1st Highland
Brigade), succeeded to the property but died at the age of 48 in 1913. His widow and two young
children remained at Craigiebuckler; his daughter, Florence, went on to marry the ministe
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
The Council’s Finance Committee visited the dam in the aftermath of the tragic incident and
agreed to recommend the repair of the surrounding walls. They also instructed that information
boards should be erected at the site warning of the dangers. During this site visit, one of the
councillors slipped by the side of the stream entering the dam, and fell into the mud. It is not
clear if the children had similarly slipped and landed in the water, or if they had intended to enter
it.
The future of Walker Dam was the subject of two proposals of 1933. Council minutes of 4
December that year record that Aberdeen Land Association intended to donate to the Council the
wooded den lying between Johnston House on Springfield Road and Viewfield Road, on
condition the den should be maintained by the local authority as an open space and that the
Council pay half the cost of a proposed road to be built along the west boundary of the property.
The Council formally accepted this proposal in January of 1934.26
Also in December 1933, the City Engineer, Thomas F. Henderson, wrote to the Council’s Streets
and Works Committee, which was then looking at the widening of Springfield Road and the
layout and construction of a new road between it and Queen’s Road. Henderson asked the
committee to consider the future use of the Council-owned Walker Dam at the same time.
According to Henderson: ‘This dam is formed on a burn which rises in the grounds of Hazlehead
and flows through the dam and joins the West Burn of Rubislaw at a point south-east of
Kepplestone Nursing Home and later forms what is known as the Ferryhill Burn.’ On 12 July
that year, very heavy rainfall had flooded the electricity works and caused damage to property in
Crown Street and Ferryhill Terrace. To prevent further flooding, the water was run out of the dam
on 1 September and although here had been no heavy rain since then, ‘we know that, by
controlling the flow at the outlet of the dam we can reduce the risk of flooding in the lower parts
very considerably.
‘In conjunction with the Superintendant of Parks, I have prepared a plan showing how the Walker
Dam could be laid out as a pleasure ground where the public could leave Springfield Road and
walk through the gardens on to the grounds of Hazlehead. The superintendant of parks is of the
opinion that during storm periods the gardens could be flooded without doing much damage to
the grass or plants. As the Dam is the property of the Common Good, I would suggest that the
sub-committee confer with the Finance Committee and Town Planning Committee and submit a
report.’
26 Council Minute, 15 January 1934.
5
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
The next meeting of full Council on 3 January 1934 agreed that the committee should investigate
further, though it also wanted the remarks of the Superintendant of Parks about flooding not
doing damage to the proposed gardens to be deleted. Also presented to the Council at the same
meeting was a letter to the Town Clerk from Professor James Ritchie of the University of
Aberdeen, suggesting the Council should consider making Walker Dam a bird sanctuary. This
was remitted to Streets and Works Committee for consideration. (The two schemes were possibly
not wholly compatible - some residents opposed turning the site into a pleasure park on the
grounds that it would interfere with the natural beauty and the birdlife of the site.) It seems that
these two proposals had been prompted by the threat of the dam being filled in or otherwise
scrapped: two days after the Council meeting, a reader’s letter to the Aberdeen Journal urged that
the dam should be improved and made safe for children rather than ‘done away with’. The writer
suggested that a low wall could be built around it, ‘made from the old dykes that have been pulled
down in the vicinity’. Whatever enclosure was erected in 1911 after the drowning incident had
evidently not endured.
The same edition of the paper published an old photograph of the dam ‘before it was drained’.
This remark referred to the decision to run off the water in the dam the previous year, to obviate
flood damage to the surroundings. However, doing so had created other problems –
correspondents to the Aberdeen Journal in 1934 complained about the condition of the dam as
‘an evil-smelling mudhole’ and ‘horrible looking and stinking’, especially during hot weather,
and recommended that the Medical Officer of Health should investigate.
Whatever schemes were mooted for the dam, they took a considerable time to be implemented.
The better part of two years later, a short Bon-Accord article of October 1935 reports work being
undertaken to transform Walker Dam, ‘from its present wild state’.27 An accompanying photo
depicts workers filling in part of the dam. According to the piece, Walker Dam ‘is being used by
the Cleansing Department as a tip for hard material, which is being put to a good use in filling up
the dam.’ At the time this article appeared, the newspaper thought there was no definite scheme
approved by the Council for the future of the site, but, ‘One proposal is that the site be converted
into a recreation ground.’ At around the same time, the Council made provision for the
installation of a new sewer at Walker Dam, at a cost of £500.28
27Bon-Accord 11 October 1935, p.163.
28
Minute of Finance Committee, 27 August 1935, included in Minutes and Proceedings of Aberdeen
Town Council, 2 September 1935.
6
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
From the mid-1940s and during the 1950s, Stewart Construction (Aberdeen) Ltd., which was by
then the heritable proprietor of the Craigiebuckler estate, built several housing developments on
the land around Walker Dam.29
The minute of a meeting of the Links and Parks Committee of Aberdeen Town Council, held on
24 August 1964, notes that the committee considered a report by the Director of Parks and agreed
the recommendation that the Council lay out an amenity area on ground lying to the south of the
woodlands at Walker Dam extending to c. 0.75 of an acre. This was one of three proposed (and
agreed) amenity areas to be created in the vicinity and included in the report, the others being a
strip of ground on the south side of Hazledene Road (c. 0.4 acre), and two strips of ground
adjoining Craigiebuckler Avenue (c. 3,150 square yards). The total estimated cost is given as
£1,470.30
By this time Walker Dam had become home to a community of swans. The Press & Journal
reported that the Links and Parks Committee of 30 September 1964 considered a letter from the
Aberdeen Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, requesting the committee ban
fishing in Walker Dam, so as to protect the swans living on it. The committee recommended no
action. This was the second attempt by the association to have fishing banned: it had submitted a
similar request at the previous meeting. The renewal of the request was prompted by the
discovery of a cygnet badly injured by a fishing hook and line.31 Walker Dam is no longer a swan
habitat, but they were a popular feature of Walker Dam for many years. When Walker Dam Infant
School opened in 1966, it adopted the emblem of swans on water as its school badge. (The swans
have also inspired the song, ‘Walker Dam’, by Aberdeen singer-songwriter Bob Knight.) A
Springfield resident, Mrs Nanette Grieve, had left the Council a bequest on her death in 1955 to
fund the services of a warden to protect them.32 At times, much effort was put into ensuring this
protection: the Evening Express in 1972 reported that the Council had mounted a vigil of ‘almost
Loch Garten proportions’ to see that swan eggs made it to hatching. In previous years eggs had
been stolen or lost due to flooding.
As this suggests, the problem of flooding at Walker Dam, highlighted by the City Engineer in
1933, was still an issue over thirty years later. In 1965, the Evening Express published ‘before
and after’ photographs of the flooded area: the latter image shows Council parks and recreation
staff laying out grounds and planting shrubs and other flora capable of surviving immersion for a
29Craigiebuckler Chartulery (Charter Register of Craigiebuckler, 1958-1959), CA/4/21 in Records of
the Royal Burgh and City of Aberdeen, Aberdeen City Archives.
30Minutes and Proceedings of the Town Council 1964-1965 (Aberdeen, 1965), p. 403.
31Press & Journal, 1 October 1964.
32
Aberdeen’s Parks (City of Aberdeen Leisure and Recreation Department publication, undated but
believed to be 1980s.)
7
Dr S. Marshall, 2014
few days. The newspaper also reported that the works were to include provision for the dam
water to be diverted at times into a burn, so relieving the pressure and reducing the silting that
had caused flooding problems in the past. A 1969 article in the Aberdeen Press & Journal refers
to Walker Dam being a body of water ‘shaped and even bottomed by the combined operations of
the Aberdeen Corporation Cleansing and Links & Parks Departments,’ and to a plan by Links &
Parks to provide an amenity walk or nature trail along the course from Johnston Gardens to
Hazlehead, via Walker Dam.
Today (2014) Walker Dam (with Rubislaw Link) is a 3.38 hectare Local Nature Conservation Site,
run by Aberdeen City Council’s Countryside Ranger Service.33 Comprising a mix of open water,
landscaped areas and semi-natural habitats, with a footpath running through it, Walker Dam is an
important recreational and educational resource, being one of the few larger bodies of water in the city.
Just a fraction of my grandfather's razor blade wrappers collection from the 1920s-30s.
(View larger and enjoy the details)
Left is the S.A.R. or South African Republic....(3)
or
Right is the N.D.R. or New Denmark Republic.....(10)
I though I'd share a small fraction of my first commute back to work after the New Year 2019 holiday. A slight drizzle, but still got a pretty cool view of the downtown Houston buildings and lights.
I have two dashcams on my Challenger now - one at the front and one at the back. "Tailgating" is a real problem on the roads around Houston - ChattyKerry and I have had no fewer than 6 incidences when someone has crashed into the back of our car. Most were just fender-benders, but both she and I have had a "total"!
The tally so far since our arrival in the early 00's:
Ford Crown Victoria (4.8l V8, company car) - no incidents
Buick regal (3.8l V6) - minor rear-end fender-bender
Saab 9-3 (2l turbo, convertible) - rear-end crash while stationary (truck) - total loss
Lexus LS400 (4l V8) - anti-lock failure - had an argument with a tree and a telephone pole - total loss
Buick Lucerne (4.6l V8) - no incidents (lots of near-misses though)
Mustang GT Bullitt edition (4.6l V8) - rear-end crash (truck) - total loss
Honda Accord (2.4l coupe) - two rear-end fender-benders (one with a School Bus!)
Dodge Challenger (3.6l V6) - survived a sideswipe that tore off a front wheel (the other driver was uninsured), plus one rear-end fender-bender (truck).
Anyone want to share a ride with us??!!!! 😵
No jokes about magnets please!! 😁🚥
Circleville, West Virginia
Hasselblad 500 C/M, Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8 C T*, Fuji Velvia 50
"Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot." ~ Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot
than a fraction of a second. such a little time to prepare oneself for eternity! [paul gauguin quote]
subtle,
but it is there!
two-thousand-nine
had to make place
for a brand new year
blanc as snow
well, maybe not so blanc
and already a little bit shaped
by the experience of the years before
that your 2010 may be:
well-shaped and colorful
with other words
be blessed
warm greeting
esther emma
This is a tiny fraction of the plateau which is the water source for Pantanal in Brazil - the largest wetland in the world.
A major reason this has managed to stand against the forces of agricultural interests is the incredible rock formations and sheer cliffs, of which only a tiny portion is seen in this panorama - made of around 180 images.
The forest you see on the the floor was until very recently farmed and logged, and it has been a battle to protect and thus enforce conservation for this miniscule corner of the Cerrado. More than 90% of the Cerrado of Brazil has been lost to enormous farms, with it flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth has been lost.
The plant diversity is incredible, and I found so many sweet fruits and sweet scented flowers here. Unfortunately this haven is now surrounded by farms using pesticides, and these toxins are now having an impact on life inside this park. In recent years the insect population has plummeted, and the surrounding farms is the primary suspect.
Visiting this location has been exceptionally difficult in the last decade, as the park authorities have locked down almost all services in the park, due to several incidents with Brazilians for the most part.
They change the rules so frequently that the local tourist industry is unable to function. In fact I was exceptionally lucky to even get to this vista, as it was supposed to be closed off. The park authorities did not allow me to stay later than around 16:00, or in other words do not allow visitors to experience the best hours of the day - dusk and dawn.
Very strange management of a place that needs global attention!
I took this shot because everything aligned in a fraction of a second: the dog walking perfectly across the top of the stairs, framed cleanly between the railings, mid-stride, majestic and almost architectural in its poise. There’s a sculptural quality to the way it slices through the scene, elevated both literally and visually above the beachside café-goers below. What makes it a great shot is the compositional balance: the lines draw the eye upward, the sand-streaked steps ground it in place, and then boom; this regal creature steals the frame like it owns the boulevard. Which, frankly, it probably does.