A lesson in mathematics from eBay.

Beautiful Mazzarò beach at the foot of Taormina's hill . The Lido of Mazzarò has grown from an ancient settlement of fishermen. The bay faces the Ionian Sea, surrounded by bright colors or blue depending on water depth, or from the different angle of sunlight. Mazzarò (alias Taormina mare) is a coastal fraction of Taormina. Tourists have plenty of choice, to make their way from Taormina that leads to the sea and vice versa. You can drive along the Via Pirandello and continue on the SS.114, or by the cable car that connects in few minutes Mazzarò to Taormina center and vice versa. For those who wants to enjoy the colors of Sicily can undertake a walk that starts from the beautiful panoramic view and ends with the arrival of the front bay of Isola Bella, immersed in an evergreen garden full of flowers and prickly pears characteristic of the Mediterranean. From the Bay of Mazzarò you can reach any other costal area : The Grotta Azzurra, the Capo Taormina one of the most exclusive area , also for its emerald green sea.

 

Mazzarò è una piccola spiaggia di Taormina in Sicilia e si trova direttamente sotto la collina.La spiaggia di Mazzarò a Taormina mare si trova direttamente sul lato nord della "piccola perla" di Isola Bella.La spiaggia nella baia di Mazzarò non è sicuramente tra le spiagge più grandi della zona ma senza dubbi tra le più belle. La sabbia è grossa con sassolini.Nella baia di Mazzarò, durante l' alta stagione, si trova qualche spiaggia libera e numerosi lidi a pagamento con ombrelloni e lettini. La spiaggia di Mazzarò si raggiunge da Taormina in soli 10 minuti con la funivia Taormina - Mazzarò.

 

Taormina is a comune and small town on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy, in the Province of Messina, about midway between Messina and Catania. Taormina has been a very popular tourist destination since the 19th century. It has popular beaches (accessible via an aerial tramway) on the Ionian sea, which is remarkably warm and has a high salt content. Taormina can be reached via highways from Messina from the north and Catania .Just south of Taormina is the Isola Bella, a nature reserve. Tours of the Capo Sant' Andrea grottos are also available. Taormina is built on an extremely hilly coast, and is approximately a forty-five minute drive away from Europe's largest active volcano, Mount Etna.A stay at Taormina is not just a seaside vacation. This area, rich in charm and history, must be experienced in a spirit that is outside the ordinary, and for one simple reason: here, everything is extraordinary. Every stone is a thousand-year-old piece of history, the glorious sea reflects Taormina's beauty, as it shapes and marks the passage of time, and the places that enchanted the Greeks create to this day a vibrant and exciting ambiance. But trying to describe in words what makes Taormina unique is truly difficult.

 

Taormina ist eine Stadt mit 11.076 Einwohnern (Stand 31. Dezember 2010) an der Ostküste Siziliens. Die Gründung der Stadt geht auf die Sikuler zurück, die schon vor der griechischen Kolonisation auf den Terrassen des Monte Tauro siedelten. Im 4. Jahrhundert vor Christus wurde die Stadt griechisch. Die heutige Stadt ist eine Neugründung aus dem Mittelalter, nachdem die Araber die antike Stadt zerstört hatten.Auf Grund der malerischen Landschaft, des milden Klimas und zahlreicher historischer Sehenswürdigkeiten entwickelte sich die Stadt im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert zu einem der wichtigsten Touristenzentren Siziliens. Besonders bekannt und sehenswert sind das antike Theater mit Blick auf den Ätna und den Golf von Giardini-Naxos und die kleine Insel Isola Bella vor der Küste Taorminas.

 

Taormina (griego antiguo Ταυρομένιον, Tauromenion, latín Tauromenium) es una ciudad situada en la costa este de la isla de Sicilia (Italia), en la provincia de Mesina, a medio camino entre Mesina y Catania. Cuenta con 10.991 habitantes.Está casi en el límite de la provincia de Catania, se extiende por el monte Tauro, a 200 m de altitud, y se halla en un balcón sobre el mar, enfrente del volcán Etna. Es un centro turístico muy importante desde el siglo XIX.Posee magníficas playas (accesibles mediante teleférico) y un patrimonio histórico muy rico, cuyo máximo exponente es el célebre teatro greco-romano. Además, se conserva un castillo árabe, que ocupa el lugar de la antigua ciudadela o Arx.Taormina y el volcán Etna al fondo, desde el teatro griego.La ciudad fue fundada por los griegos en el 736 a. C., con el nombre de Naxos.La leyenda cuenta que los marinos griegos que pasaban por la costa oriental de Sicilia olvidaron realizar sacrificios en honor a Poseidón, y él, encolerizado, les hizo naufragar. El único superviviente, Teocles, llegó al Capo Schico, próximo a Naxos, y volvió a Grecia para contar las maravillas de Sicilia, convenciendo a sus compatriotas para instalarse en la isla.

 

Taormine, en italien Taormina, est une commune de la province de Messine en Sicile (Italie).Taormine est située sur la côte est de la Sicile, à peu près à mi-chemin entre Messine et Catane (50 km), presque à la limite de la province de Catane.Elle s’étend sur le Mont Tauro à 200 m d’altitude. La ville est en balcon sur la mer face à l’Etna. La Calabre, distante d'environ 30 km, est visible par temps clair ainsi que la nuit.La légende dit que des marins grecs, passant sur la côte orientale de la Sicile, avaient oublié de sacrifier à Neptune. Celui-ci, en colère, fit chavirer leur embarcation. Le seul survivant, Théocle, parvint au Cap Schiso, non loin du site de Naxos (aujourd'hui Giardini-Naxos). Il retourna ensuite en Grèce pour narrer à ses compatriotes les merveilles de la Sicile. Certains, convaincus, décidèrent de venir s’y installer.

 

Taormina è un comune di 10.991 abitanti della provincia di Messina. E' uno dei centri balneari di maggiore rilievo di tutta la regione. Il suo aspetto, il suo paesaggio, i suoi luoghi, le sue bellezze riescono ad attirare turisti provenienti da tutto il mondo.Situata su una collina a 206 m di altezza sul livello del mare , sospesa tra rocce e mare su un terrazzo del monte Tauro, in uno scenario di bellezze naturali unico per varietà e contrasti di motivi , splendore di colori e lussureggiante vegetazione.Il clima è dolcemente mite.Molto belle le mezze stagioni , Primavera e Autunno infatti vantano un clima idealmente mite.La storia di Taormina è sicuramente costellata da molteplici dominazioni, e questo è possibile vederlo passeggiando per le strade del centro storico che mostrano i segni lasciati dai vari popoli passati per Taomina. Essendo situata al centro del mediterraneo la Sicilia fu sempre una preda ambita per la sua posizione strategica di passaggio,situata sulla parte est e in posizione fortificata su una collina permetteva già da allora di controllare buona parte della costa ionica e ha sempre rappresentato un ottimo punto di fortificazione e controllo nelle stradegie di guerra. Dopo aver attestato l'esistenza di una sede di siculi ( antichi abitanti dell'isola, detti anche sicani) presso Taormina, per certo vi passarono e vi lasciarono le loro tracce I Greci, i Romani, i Saraceni, dunque gli Arabi, i Bizantini ,I Normanni , Gli Aragonesi , e per ultimi i Borboni.Un soggiorno a Taormina non è semplicemente una vacanza al mare. Questi luoghi, pregni di storia e di fascino, chiedono infatti di essere vissuti con uno spirito diverso da quello comune e la ragione è semplice: qui tutto è fuori dall'ordinario.Ogni pietra reca in sé una storia millenaria, il mare meraviglioso su cui Taormina riflette tutta la sua bellezza, condiziona e scandisce lo scorrere del tempo ed i luoghi che furono l'incanto dei greci trasmettono tutt'oggi un'atmosfera vibrante di emozioni. Ma tentare di descrivere con le parole ciò che rende unica Taormina è davvero difficile.

 

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Matt Fraction & David Aja inspired Hawkguy.

 

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Fraction of a six-wheeled automatic combat vehicle.

 

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Bolingbroke Castle is now a fraction of its former glory but - in its day - it was a handsome and important building. As the birthplace of Henry of Bolingbroke, later King Henry IV, it could be argued that Bolingbroke was the cradle of the so-called 'Wars of the Roses' as it was Henry who overthrew the unpopular Richard II - but his act of rebellion also established a precedent. Two generations later the House of York overthrew his equally unpopular grandson, Henry VI.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/albums/7215768230649... to see the full set.

 

The area had been fortified by the Saxons in the 6th or 7th century AD but in the 12th century the Normans built a motte and bailey castle on a nearby hill. The present castle was founded by Ranulf, Earl of Chester in 1220 shortly after he returned from the Fifth Crusade. Its imposing round towers were fashionable and he may have been inspired by castles he saw on his travels. He also chose to build without a keep although the huge gatehouse may have served a double function of both keep and gate.

 

The site is an irregular hexagon with round towers at the salient points and a handsome twin-towered gateway facing the present village. The moat to the main site was 90-100 feet wide with the water lapping at the base of the walls when built. Today, so much material has fallen into the moat that there is now a wide berm around the base of the exterior wall where visitors can walk. When built it was lime-washed in white and traces of this remain on some of the walls today.

 

Ranulf had died in 1232 without a male heir, and his titles, lands and castles passed to his sisters. Following the death of the first Duke of Lancaster in 1361 Bolingbroke passed through marriage into the ownership of John of Gaunt. His wife Blanche, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, was born at the Castle in 1345. John and Blanche's son, Henry was also born at Bolingbroke Castle in 1367 and became known as "Henry of Bolingbroke" before he took the throne in 1399.

 

In addition to this main castle there is a ditched outer enclosure (see aerial photo) which may have served an agricultural purpose. Within this there is a mysterious earthwork of roughly 'playing card' shape with its long side facing towards the castle. This earthwork has not been positively identified but the ditch is still deep enough to be flooded today and was clearly defensive. It is probably a siege earthwork from 1643 (its in the right position and at the right range for muskets and cannon) but the enclosure also strongly resembles the king's 'pleasaunce' which Henry IV's son, Henry V, constructed at Kenilworth Castle during his reign. At Kenilworth this functioned as a secure pleasure palace to entertain friends, and the ladies, at the far end of the huge lake and moat. Bolingbroke's may have been an earlier essay in the craft given that Henry of Bolingbroke was under constant threat when he got into dispute with Richard II. Henry snr may have needed somewhere outside the smells and claustrophobia of the castle's main walls where he could kick back and enjoy himself in relative security. The outer ditched area around would then lend itself to riding and hawking. Think of it as a 'man cave' in the garden perhaps? Of is it just a Parliamentarian siege work?

 

The local building material was poor in quality and by the 16th century, the castle had fallen into disrepair. Some work was carried out during the Tudors. In 1636 a survey found that all of the towers were - effectively - beyond repair.

 

A bad castle is better than no castle, so at the start of the English Civil War Bolingbroke was garrisoned by the Royalists. In 1643 it was damaged in a siege and the nearby Battle of Winceby. The following year, the castle was recaptured from Parliament but was lost again later. In 1652 the castle was 'slighted' (deliberately damaged) to prevent any further use. The towers and walls were torn down and dumped into the moat. The last major tower fragment collapsed in 1815.

 

Of course none of this collapse would have been helped by locals robbing the stone for their own buildings. Large parts of the castle are probably in the village and in surrounding farms and villages!

 

The site is free to visit, supported by a local friends group.It is in the care of English Heritage via a Lincolnshire heritage group.

La Fraction at AS220.

Bia hơi (literally translated: fresh beer), is a type of draught beer popular in Vietnam.

 

Bia hơi is available primarily in northern Vietnam. It is mostly to be found in small bars and on street corners. The beer is brewed daily, then matured for a short period and once ready each bar gets a fresh batch delivered every day in steel barrels. It is a very light (~3% alcohol) refreshing lager at a fraction of the cost of draft or bottled beer in the Western-style bars. Bia hơi production is informal and not monitored by any health agency. It is typically priced between 8,000VND and 12,000VND.

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Hanoi; Vietnamese: Hà Nội is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts and 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế, the imperial capital of Vietnam during the Nguyễn Dynasty (1802–1945), but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam, and it became the capital of a reunified Vietnam in 1976, after the North's victory in the Vietnam War.

 

The city lies on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi is 1,760 km north of Ho Chi Minh City and 120 km west of Hai Phong city.

 

October 2010 officially marked 1000 years since the establishment of the city. The Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural is a 4 km ceramic mosaic mural created to mark the occasion.

 

NAMES

Hanoi (河內) has had many names throughout history. During the Chinese occupation of Vietnam, it was known first as Long Biên, then Tống Bình (宋平, "Song Peace") and Long Đỗ (龍肚, "Dragonbelly"). In 866, it was turned into a citadel and named Đại La (大羅, "Big Net"). During the Lê dynasty, Hanoi was known as Đông Kinh (東京, "Eastern Capital"); this gave the name to Tonkin.

 

HISTORY

Pre-Thăng Long period

Hanoi has been inhabited since at least 3000 BC. The Cổ Loa Citadel in Dong Anh district served as the capital of the Âu Lạc kingdom founded by the Shu emigrant Thục Phán after his 258 BC conquest of the native Văn Lang.

 

In 197 BC, Âu Lạc Kingdom was annexed by Nanyue, which ushered in more than a millennium of Chinese domination. By the middle of the 5th century, in the center of ancient Hanoi, the Liu Song Dynasty set up a new district (縣) called Songping (Tong Binh), which later became a commandery (郡), including two districts Yihuai (義懷) and Suining (綏寧) in the south of the Red River (now Từ Liêm and Hoài Đức districts) with a metropolis (the domination centre) in the present inner Hanoi. By the year 679, the Tang dynasty changed the region's name into Annan (Pacified South), with Songping as its capital.

 

In order to defeat the people’s uprisings, in the later half of the 8th century, Zhang Boyi (張伯儀), a Tang dynasty viceroy, built Luocheng (羅城, La Thanh or La citadel, from Thu Le to Quan Ngua in present-day Ba Dinh precinct). In the earlier half of the 9th century, it was further built up and called Jincheng (金城, Kim Thanh or Kim Citadel). In 866, Gao Pian, the Chinese Jiedushi, consolidated and named it Daluocheng (大羅城, Dai La citadel, running from Quan Ngua to Bach Thao), the then-largest citadel of ancient Hanoi.

 

Thăng Long, Đông Đô, Đông Quan, Đông Kinh

In 1010, Lý Thái Tổ, the first ruler of the Lý Dynasty, moved the capital of Đại Việt to the site of the Đại La Citadel. Claiming to have seen a dragon ascending the Red River, he renamed the site Thăng Long (昇龍, "Soaring Dragon") - a name still used poetically to this day. Thăng Long remained the capital of Đại Việt until 1397, when it was moved to Thanh Hóa, then known as Tây Đô (西都), the "Western Capital". Thăng Long then became Đông Đô (東都), the "Eastern Capital."

 

In 1408, the Chinese Ming Dynasty attacked and occupied Vietnam, changing Đông Đô's name to Dongguan (Chinese: 東關, Eastern Gateway), or Đông Quan in Sino-Vietnamese. In 1428, the Vietnamese overthrew the Chinese under the leadership of Lê Lợi, who later founded the Lê Dynasty and renamed Đông Quan Đông Kinh (東京, "Eastern Capital") or Tonkin. Right after the end of the Tây Sơn Dynasty, it was named Bắc Thành (北城, "Northern Citadel").

During Nguyễn Dynasty and the French colonial period

In 1802, when the Nguyễn Dynasty was established and moved the capital to Huế, the old name Thăng Long was modified to become Thăng Long (昇龍, "Soaring Dragon"). In 1831, the Nguyễn emperor Minh Mạng renamed it Hà Nội (河内, "Between Rivers" or "River Interior"). Hanoi was occupied by the French in 1873 and passed to them ten years later. As Hanoï, it became the capital of French Indochina after 1887.

 

DURING TWO WARS

The city was occupied by the Japanese in 1940 and liberated in 1945, when it briefly became the seat of the Viet Minh government after Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independence of Vietnam. However, the French returned and reoccupied the city in 1946. After nine years of fighting between the French and Viet Minh forces, Hanoi became the capital of an independent North Vietnam in 1954.

 

During the Vietnam War, Hanoi's transportation facilities were disrupted by the bombing of bridges and railways. These were all, however, promptly repaired. Following the end of the war, Hanoi became the capital of a reunified Vietnam when North and South Vietnam were reunited on July 2, 1976.

 

MODERN HANOI

On May 29, 2008, it was decided that Hà Tây Province, Vĩnh Phúc Province's Mê Linh District and 4 communes of Lương Sơn District, Hòa Bình Province be merged into the metropolitan area of Hanoi from August 1, 2008. Hanoi's total area then increased to 334,470 hectares in 29 subdivisions with the new population being 6,232,940., effectively tripling its size. The Hanoi Capital Region (Vùng Thủ đô Hà Nội), a metropolitan area covering Hanoi and 6 surrounding provinces under its administration, will have an area of 13,436 square kilometres with 15 million people by 2020

 

Hanoi has experienced a rapid construction boom recently. Skyscrapers, popping up in new urban areas, have dramatically changed the cityscape and have formed a modern skyline outside the old city. In 2015, Hanoi is ranked # 39 by Emporis in the list of world cities with most skyscrapers over 100 m; its two tallest buildings are Hanoi Landmark 72 Tower (336m, tallest in Vietnam and second tallest in Southeast Asia after Malaysia's Petronas Twin Towers) and Hanoi Lotte Center (272m, also second tallest in Vietnam)

 

GEOGRAPHY

LOCATION - TOPOGRAPHY

Hanoi is located in northern region of Vietnam, situated in the Vietnam’s Red River delta, nearly 90 km away from the coastal area. Hanoi contains three basic kind of terrain, which are the delta area, the midland area and mountainous zone. In general, the terrain is gradually lower from the north to the south and from the west to the east, with the average height ranging from 5 to 20 meters above the sea level. The hills and mountainous zones are located in the northern and western part of the city. The highest peak is at Ba Vi with 1281 m, located in the western part of the region.

 

CLIMATE

Hanoi features a warm humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) with plentiful precipitation. The city experiences the typical climate of northern Vietnam, with 4 distinct seasons. Summer, from May until August, is characterized by hot and humid weather with abundant rainfall. September to October is fall, characterized by a decrease in temperature and precipitation. Winter, from November to January, is dry and cool by national standards. The city is usually cloudy and foggy in winter, averaging only 1.5 hours of sunshine per day in February.

 

Hanoi averages 1,680 millimetres of rainfall per year, the majority falling from May to September. There are an average of 114 days with rain.

 

The average annual temperature is 23.6 °C with a mean relative humidity of 79%. The highest recorded temperature was 42.8 °C on May 1926 while the lowest recorded temperature was 2.7 °C on January 1955.

 

ADMINISTRATIVES DIVISIONS

Hà Nội is divided into 12 urban districts, 1 district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. When Ha Tay was merged into Hanoi in 2008, Hà Đông was transformed into an urban district while Sơn Tây degraded to a district-leveled town. They are further subdivided into 22 commune-level towns (or townlets), 399 communes, and 145 wards.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

Hanoi's population is constantly growing (about 3.5% per year), a reflection of the fact that the city is both a major metropolitan area of Northern Vietnam, and also the country's political centre. This population growth also puts a lot of pressure on the infrastructure, some of which is antiquated and dates back to the early 20th century.

 

The number of Hanoians who have settled down for more than three generations is likely to be very small when compared to the overall population of the city. Even in the Old Quarter, where commerce started hundreds of years ago and consisted mostly of family businesses, many of the street-front stores nowadays are owned by merchants and retailers from other provinces. The original owner family may have either rented out the store and moved into the adjoining house or moved out of the neighbourhood altogether. The pace of change has especially escalated after the abandonment of central-planning economic policies and relaxing of the district-based household registrar system.

 

Hanoi's telephone numbers have been increased to 8 digits to cope with demand (October 2008). Subscribers' telephone numbers have been changed in a haphazard way; however, mobile phones and SIM cards are readily available in Vietnam, with pre-paid mobile phone credit available in all areas of Hanoi.

 

ECONOMY

Hanoi has the highest Human Development Index among the cities in Vietnam. According to a recent ranking by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hanoi will be the fastest growing city in the world in terms of GDP growth from 2008 to 2025. In the year 2013, Hanoi contributed 12.6% to GDP, exported 7.5% of total exports, contributed 17% to the national budget and attracted 22% investment capital of Vietnam. The city's nominal GDP at current prices reached 451,213 billion VND (21.48 billion USD) in 2013, which made per capita GDP stand at 63.3 million VND (3,000 USD). Industrial production in the city has experienced a rapid boom since the 1990s, with average annual growth of 19.1 percent from 1991–95, 15.9 percent from 1996–2000, and 20.9 percent during 2001–2003. In addition to eight existing industrial parks, Hanoi is building five new large-scale industrial parks and 16 small- and medium-sized industrial clusters. The non-state economic sector is expanding fast, with more than 48,000 businesses currently operating under the Enterprise Law (as of 3/2007).

 

Trade is another strong sector of the city. In 2003, Hanoi had 2,000 businesses engaged in foreign trade, having established ties with 161 countries and territories. The city's export value grew by an average 11.6 percent each year from 1996–2000 and 9.1 percent during 2001–2003. The economic structure also underwent important shifts, with tourism, finance, and banking now playing an increasingly important role. Hanoi's business districts are traditionally Hoàn Kiếm and the neighborhood; and a newly developing Cầu Giấy and Từ Liêm in the western part.

 

Similar to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi enjoys a rapidly developing real estate market. The current most notable new urban areas are central Trung Hoa Nhan Chinh, Mỹ Đình, the luxurious zones of The Manor, Ciputra and Times City.

 

Agriculture, previously a pillar in Hanoi's economy, has striven to reform itself, introducing new high-yield plant varieties and livestock, and applying modern farming techniques.

 

Together with economic growth, Hanoi's appearance has also changed significantly, especially in recent years. Infrastructure is constantly being upgraded, with new roads and an improved public transportation system.

 

LANDMARKS

As the capital of Vietnam for almost a thousand years, Hanoi is considered one of the main cultural centres of Vietnam, where most Vietnamese dynasties have left their imprint. Even though some relics have not survived through wars and time, the city still has many interesting cultural and historic monuments for visitors and residents alike. Even when the nation's capital moved to Huế under the Nguyễn Dynasty in 1802, the city of Hanoi continued to flourish, especially after the French took control in 1888 and modeled the city's architecture to their tastes, lending an important aesthetic to the city's rich stylistic heritage. The city hosts more cultural sites than any other city in Vietnam, and boasts more than 1,000 years of history; that of the past few hundred years has been well preserved.

 

OLD QUARTER

The Old Quarter, near Hoàn Kiếm Lake, has the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi. At the beginning of the 20th century the city consisted of only about 36 streets, most of which are now part of the old quarter. Each street then had merchants and households specializing in a particular trade, such as silk or jewelry. The street names nowadays still reflect these specializations, although few of them remain exclusively in their original commerce. The area is famous for its small artisans and merchants, including many silk shops. Local cuisine specialties as well as several clubs and bars can be found here also. A night market (near Đồng Xuân Market) in the heart of the district opens for business every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening with a variety of clothing, souvenirs and food.

 

Some other prominent places are: The Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu), site of the oldest university in Vietnam 1010; One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột); Flag Tower of Hanoi (Cột cờ Hà Nội). In 2004, a massive part of the 900-year-old Hanoi Citadel was discovered in central Hanoi, near the site of Ba Đình Square.

 

LAKES

A city between rivers built from low land, Hanoi has many scenic lakes and is sometimes called "city of lakes." Among its lakes, the most famous are Hoàn Kiếm Lake, West Lake, and Bay Mau Lake (inside Thongnhat Park). Hoan Kiem Lake, also known as Sword Lake, is the historical and cultural center of Hanoi, and is linked to the legend of the magic sword. West Lake (Hồ Tây) is a popular place for people to spend time. It is the largest lake in Hanoi and there are many temples in the area. The lakeside road in the Nghi Tam - Quang Ba area is perfect for bicycling, jogging and viewing the cityscape or enjoying lotus ponds in the summer. The best way to see the majestic beauty of a Westlake sunset is to view it from one of the many bars around the lake, especially the Sofitel Plaza rooftop bar.

 

COLONIAL HANOI

Under French rule, as an administrative centre for the French colony of Indochina, the French colonial architecture style became dominant, and many examples remain today: the tree-lined boulevards (e.g. Phan Dinh Phung street) and its many villas and mansions, Grand Opera House, State Bank of Vietnam (formerly The Bank of Indochina), Presidential Palace (formerly the Palace of the Governor-General of French Indochina), St. Joseph's Cathedral, and the historic Hotel Metropole. Many of the colonial structures are an eclectic mixture of French and traditional Vietnamese architectural styles, such as the National Museum of Vietnamese History, the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts and the old Indochina Medical College. Gouveneur-Général Paul Doumer (1898-1902) played a crucial role in colonial Hanoi's urban planning. Under his tenure there was a major construction boom.

 

Critical historians of empire have noted that French colonial rule imposed a system of white supremacy on the city. Vietnamese subjects supplied labor and tax revenue, but the privileges and comforts of the city went to the white population. French efforts at rat eradication revealed some of the colonial city's racial double-standards.

 

MUSEUMS

Hanoi is home to a number of museums:

- National Museum of Vietnamese History

- Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts

- Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

- Vietnam Museum of Revolution

- Hỏa Lò Prison (Hanoi Hilton)

- Ho Chi Minh Museum

- Hanoi Contemporary Arts Centre

- Vietnam Military History Museum

- Hanoi Museum

 

TOURISM

Hanoi is a very picturesque city, the leafy metropolis sometimes dubbed the "Paris of Asia." With its tree-fringed boulevards, more than two dozen lakes and thousands of French colonial-era buildings, Hanoi is a popular tourist attraction and one of only a few Asian capitals to retain its historic charm amid rapid modernization and population growth.

  

In 2015, Hanoi ranks #4 in TripAdvisor's list of the World's Best Destinations (Travellers' Choice).

 

And Hanoi is the most affordable international destination in TripAdvisor's annual TripIndex report. Created to help travelers plan and budget their summer holiday, the TripIndex looks at the average cost of a three-night trip in 60 key tourist cities around the world.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

A variety of options for entertainment in Hanoi can be found throughout the city. Modern and traditional theaters, cinemas, karaoke bars, dance clubs, bowling alleys, and an abundance of opportunities for shopping provide leisure activity for both locals and tourists. Hanoi has been named one of the top 10 cities for shopping in Asia by Water Puppet Tours. The number of art galleries exhibiting Vietnamese art has dramatically increased in recent years, now including galleries such as "Nhat Huy" of Huynh Thong Nhat.

 

A popular traditional form of entertainment is Water puppetry, which is shown, for example, at the Thăng Long Water Puppet Theatre."

 

CUISINE

Hanoi has rich culinary traditions. Many of Vietnam's most famous dishes, such as phở, chả cá, bánh cuốn and cốm are believed to have originated in Hanoi. Perhaps most widely known is Phở - a simple rice noodle soup often eaten as breakfast at home or at street-side cafes, but also served in restaurants as a meal. Two varieties dominate the Hanoi scene: Phở Bò, containing beef, and Phở Gà, containing chicken.

 

Vietnam's national dish phở has been named as one of the Top 5 streetfoods in the world by globalpost.

 

Hanoi has a number of restaurants whose menus specifically offer dishes containing dog, snake and various species of insects. Insect-inspired menus can be found at a number of restaurants in Khuong Thuong village, Hanoi. The signature dishes at these restaurant are those containing processed ant-eggs, often in the culinary styles of Thai people or Vietnam's Muong and Tay ethnic people.

 

EDUCATION

Hanoi, as the capital of French Indochina, was home to the first Western-style universities in Indochina, including: Indochina Medical College (1902) - now Hanoi Medical University, Indochina University (1904) - now Hanoi National University (the largest), and École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine (1925) - now Hanoi University of Fine Art.

 

After the Communist Party took control over Hanoi in 1954 with support from the Soviet Union, many new universities were built, among them, Hanoi University of Technology, still the largest technical university in Vietnam. Recently ULIS (University of Languages and International Studies) was rated as one of the top universities in Southeast Asia for languages and language studies at the undergraduate level. Other universities that are not part of Vietnam National University or Hanoi University include Hanoi School for Public Health and Hanoi School of Agriculture.

 

Hanoi is the largest centre of education in Vietnam. It is estimated that 62% of the scientists in the whole country are living and working in Hanoi. Admissions to undergraduate study are through entrance examinations, which are conducted annually and open for everyone (who has successfully completed his/her secondary education) in the country. The majority of universities in Hanoi are public, although in recent years a number of private universities have begun operation. Thăng Long University, founded in 1988, by some Vietnamese mathematics professors in Hanoi and France is the first private university in Vietnam. Because many of Vietnam's major universities are located in Hanoi, students from other provinces (especially in the northern part of the country) wishing to enter university often travel to Hanoi for the annual entrance examination. Such events usually take place in June and July, during which a large number of students and their families converge on the city for several weeks around this intense examination period. In recent years, these entrance exams have been centrally coordinated by the Ministry of Education, but passing marks are decided independently by each university.

 

Although there are state owned kindergartens, there are also many private ventures that serve both local and international needs. Pre-tertiary (elementary and secondary) schools in Hanoi are generally state run, but there are also some independent schools. Education is equivalent to the K–12 system in the US, with elementary school between grades 1 and 5, middle school (or junior high) between grades 6 and 9, and high school from grades 10 to 12.

 

TRANSPORT

Hanoi is served by Noi Bai International Airport, located in the Soc Son District, approximately 15 km north of Hanoi. The new international terminal (T2), designed and built by Japanese contractors, opened in January 2015 and is a big facelift for Noibai International Airport. In addition, a new highway and the new Nhat Tan cable-stay bridge connecting the airport and the city center opened at the same time, offering much more convenience than the old road (via Thanglong bridge). Taxis are plentiful and usually have trip meters, although it is also common to agree on the trip price before taking a taxi from the airport to the city centre.

 

Hanoi is also the origin or departure point for many Vietnam Railways train routes in the country. The Reunification Express (tàu Thống Nhất) runs from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City from Hanoi station (formerly Hang Co station), with stops at cities and provinces along the line. Trains also depart Hanoi frequently for Hai Phong and other northern cities. The Reunification Express line was established during French colonial rule and was completed over a period of nearly forty years, from 1899 to 1936. The Reunification Express between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City covers a distance of 1,726 km and takes approximately 33 hours. As of 2005, there were 278 stations on the Vietnamese railway network, of which 191 were located along the North-South line.

 

The main means of transport within Hanoi city are motorbikes, buses, taxis, and a rising number of cars. In recent decades, motorbikes have overtaken bicycles as the main form of transportation. The increased number of motorcycles can cause gridlock. To minimize this and the negative consequences for the environment and health, the local government is trying to increase public transportation. Public buses run on many routes and fares can be purchased on the bus, with very cheap prices (30 cents for a journey where a taxi might cost $10).

 

There are 2 metro lines under construction in Hanoi now. The first one is expected to be operational in 2016, the second in 2018

 

Persons on their own or traveling in a pair who wish to make a fast trip around Hanoi to avoid traffic jams or to travel at an irregular time or by way of an irregular route often use "xe ôm" (literally, "hug bike"). Motorbikes can also be rented from agents within the Old Quarter of Hanoi.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Quelle émotion de recevoir plus de 150 messages de tout le pays pour Alain. Des personnalités comme Gérard Filoche, Myriam Martin, Roger Martelli Francis Wurtz, des dizaines de camarades d’hier et d’aujourd’hui, et aussi des messages de personnes que nous ne connaissons pas. Parfois les plus touchants. Tout n’est pas encore corrigé, nous mettrons cette page à jour petit à petit.

Jean-Claude, Blois

 

Alain a été pour moi un professeur de par sa philosophie et sa conscience politique qui ne m'a jamais quitté, je lui dois beaucoup.

Courage à toute sa famille

 

François C

 

Comme pour de très nombreux et nombreuses camarades, même si c'était devenu une perspective malheureusement de plus en plus proche, le décès d'Alain Krivine constitue un vrai choc émotionnel et, forcément, l'occasion d'un retour sur toute une période.

 

Comme c'est l'usage – et parce que cela fait du bien en des circonstances dramatiques – beaucoup vont évoquer des souvenirs, des rencontres, des débats, avec Alain.

 

Il est vrai que la vie militante d'Alain a été particulièrement riche : de la fraction de Gauche de l'UEC au NPA, en passant par la lutte contre la sale guerre d'Algérie, la fondation de la Jeunesse Communiste Révolutionnaire, Mai 68, la fondation de la Ligue Communiste. Et puis, ensuite, encore une cinquantaine d'années de combats sans concession.

 

Dans notre tentative de retracer l’essentiel de cette aventure – C’était la Ligue (Hélène Adam, François Coustal) – le nom d’Alain Krivine revient significativement plus d’une centaine de fois. Il faut dire qu’il y eut, pendant des décennies, pour les militants, pour les autres courants politiques de gauche et pour les médias une assez large identification entre « la Ligue » et Alain. Du fait d'une aversion issue de son parcours antistalinien à tout ce qui pouvait ressembler au culte de la personnalité, c'était une tendance qui ne lui plaisait pas beaucoup. Du fait, également, d'une réelle modestie qui n'est pas toujours la règle générale, y compris au sein de la gauche radicale.

 

Cédant à la tradition, j'évoquerai donc – parmi beaucoup d'autres possibles -- deux souvenirs, en rapport avec ce qui précède.

 

Mon premier concerne les séances d’ouverture des congrès de la LCR dans la période un peu difficile des années 90. Dans notre tradition, ces séances étaient consacrées à un débat (sans vote) sur le bilan de la période écoulée depuis le congrès précédent. Un membre de la direction y présentait ce qu’avaient été les activités, les projets, les réalisations de la Ligue. Ses succès (modestes) et ses difficultés (nombreuses). En gros : dans des circonstances peu propices, on a fait ce que l’on pouvait...

 

Il faut bien le dire : la Ligue était alors à la peine et ça ne se bousculait pas vraiment au sein du noyau de direction pour présenter un bilan certes respectable mais peu enthousiasmant. Et, immédiatement suivi – la Ligue étant la Ligue – par une déferlante de critiques, genre « feu sur le quartier général ». Alors ? Alors, bien souvent, c’est Alain qui s’y collait. Pour un exercice où il n’y avait que des coups à prendre !

 

Le second souvenir concerne l’ouvrage à caractère autobiographique d’Alain, Ça te passera avec l’âge, pour lequel j’ai effectué quelques travaux de vérifications documentaires et, donc, rencontré Alain à de nombreuses reprises. Alain s’était laissé convaincre de céder à la sollicitation des éditions Flammarion, mais sans être réellement convaincu : « ça ne va intéresser personne »… Il avait en horreur « les anciens combattants », ceux pour qui la participation au Printemps révolutionnaire de 1968 constituait une rente de situation alors même qu’ils avaient renoncé à continuer le combat.

 

Manifestement, lui qui n’avait pas renoncé, était plus intéressé par la nouvelle campagne à lancer, la prochaine manifestation à organiser pour le samedi suivant que par la recension d’anciens faits d’armes. Et, surtout, il rechignait à se mettre en avant, à raconter « son histoire », alors pourtant que celle-ci se confondait largement avec celle de la gauche révolutionnaire. Le biais qu’il avait trouvé était l’usage fréquent d’un humour lesté d’une bonne dose d’autodérision, mais au service de convictions révolutionnaires inchangées.

 

Vladimir N

 

Je présente mes sincères condoléances à sa famille, ses amis, ses camarades.

 

Il fut pour moi, comme pour des milliers de militants, une boussole qui indiquait sans relâche le sens de l'internationalisme prolétarien en 2 mots : résister et reconstruire. Alain c'était la résistance à l'air du temps, la résistance face aux reniements et aux compromissions. Chapeau bas pour Alain !

 

Gérard, 64

 

Quelques souvenirs personnels sur Alain Krivine.

 

J’ai fait la connaissance d’Alain Krivine dans les années 60 à l’époque où il dirigeait l’opposition de gauche au sein de l’Union des étudiants communistes (l’opposition de droite était ceux qu’on appelait les « Italiens » euro-communistes), puis je l’ai vu plus tard à plusieurs reprises lors des nombreuses rencontres entre Voix Ouvrière et la Ligue communiste.

 

De plus nous avions des amis communs à Paris qui militaient à la Voie communiste, un journal lancé en 1958 autour duquel se regroupaient des oppositionnels au sein du Parti communiste. C’est dans ce cadre que j’ai passé plusieurs soirées à discuter avec lui et d’autres et que nous avons entretenu au cours des années des liens amicaux malgré nos évidentes divergences politiques. Je l’ai revu pour la dernière fois il y a une dizaine d’années, lors d’une réunion publique du NPA à Bayonne.

 

J’ai eu l’occasion de passer une semaine entière enfermé avec lui à l’école de police au Fort de Vincennes après notre arrestation, début juillet 1968. Il explique assez bien ce qui s’est passé à l’époque dans un passage de son livre Ça te passera avec l’âge (page 136).

 

Quelques mots d’explications pour comprendre ce passage. « Spart », diminutif de Spartacus, n’était pas vraiment un pseudonyme mais un surnom dont m’avait affublé à l’époque Gérald Supervielle, un vieux militant de la Voie communiste qui se passionnait pour les révoltes d’esclaves dans l’Antiquité et pour lequel j’avais traduit quelques textes du latin en français. Le surnom m’était resté, y compris parmi des camarades de la Ligue communiste.

 

Un fait qui m’a marqué au cours de cette semaine d’emprisonnement plutôt bon enfant est qu’un jeune policier avait sympathisé avec nous. Il nous avait expliqué qu’il avait rejoint la police sur injonction de son futur beau-père, flic lui-même, qui avait mis cela comme condition pour qu’il puisse épouser sa fille. Mais c’était un travail qui ne lui plaisait pas. Il avait alors demandé à Krivine s’il pouvait l’aider à rédiger un CV et une lettre de motivation pour un autre emploi. Ce que Krivine avait accepté bien volontiers et qu’il fit très gentiment.

 

La police manquant de moyens, j’étais interrogé tous les jours par un commissaire spécialisé… dans les faux tableaux. Il ne me posa jamais de questions gênantes car il pataugeait entre les différents groupes d’extrême gauche qui, à l’évidence, n’étaient pas sa tasse de thé. Krivine, considéré comme une plus grosse prise que moi, eut droit au commissaire Jacques Delarue connu pour avoir écrit plusieurs livres sur l’Occupation, et notamment la police.

 

J’ai été libéré de l’école de police au bout d’une semaine. Krivine, lui, a pris ensuite la direction de la prison de la Santé où il est resté un mois.

 

Enfin une dernière anecdote : à ma sortie de prison, certains de mes propres camarades étaient persuadés que j’avais eu, sans les prévenir, un rendez-vous clandestin avec Krivine et voulait en savoir la raison. La vérité était tout autre, même si j’ai eu un peu de mal à les convaincre. Je venais de participer à une réunion de travail avec des camarades, à Rouen, et au retour, je suis tombé tout à fait par hasard, en sortant de la gare Saint-Lazare, sur Michèle Krivine puis Alain. A l’évidence, lui revenant de Belgique et moi de province, c’est sans doute Michèle qui était « filochée » par la police.

 

Plus tard j’ai eu l’occasion de le revoir assez souvent et à chaque fois il se montrait chaleureux. C’était un type bien, une belle personne. Ein Mensch, comme on dit en allemand.

 

Olivier H

 

Cher Alain, je t'écris ces mots bien que je sache que tu n'auras pas l'occasion de les lire, tu viens bêtement de passer l'arme à gauche et les larmes me sont montées aux yeux quand je l'ai appris. J'ai participé à ta campagne présidentielle de 1969. Je me souviens de ta prise de parole devant Renault-Billancourt, couverte par les vociférations d'un comité d'accueil CGT-PCF : ces cris ? « Krivine à l'armée ». Tu étais bidasse à l'époque. Le candidat du PCF, J. Duclos, stalinien endurci, avait fait de la prison dans sa jeunesse pour propagande antimilitariste (contre la guerre du Rif). Les vociférateurs le savaient-ils ? J'ai appris par la presse que ta famille était d'origine ukrainienne. Tiens, comme Trotsky.

 

Je ne vais pas m'appesantir sur le fait que tu sois toujours resté du même côté de la barricade, celui des canuts lyonnais, des ouvriers parisiens de juin 1848 : tous les commentateurs le soulignent ; beaucoup parmi eux ne peuvent pas en dire autant.

 

Françoise D

 

Je suis très peinée d'apprendre le décès d'Alain. J'ai eu la chance de le rencontrer lors des Universités du NPA en 2018.

Salut à toi Militant et mes condoléances à toute sa famille

 

Samy Johsua

 

Le même sentiment d'injustice qu'à la mort de Daniel. Une courte dépêche AFP, une brève au 20 h pour Alain, quelques articles plus fouillés dans la presse sérieuse. Pas au niveau ni des camarades ni de leur combat. Pas seulement parce qu'ils étaient la chair de notre chair. Mais parce que c'est leur combat lui-même qui est dévalorisé.

 

Et pourtant guère de vies plus nobles que celle d' Alain. Perdue, comme pour tant d'entre nous, quelque part dans les nuages des images des révolutions passées ? Oui, mais pas seulement. Dans le cœur des indignations quotidiennes. Alain faisant front contre les flics forçant les portes de l'église Saint Bernard occupée par des sans-papiers. Pas la prise du Palais d'Hiver. Même pas les barricades du 10 Mai 1968. Mais là, toujours. Parce que l'indignation ne se découpe pas en tranches. Et que ce monde, si merveilleux parfois, est pourri pourtant jusqu'à la moelle. Et qu'alors celles et ceux qui le combattent comptent triple. C'est pourquoi Alain, redevenant Tinville, terminait ses meetings, toujours chauffés à blanc et pourtant plein de cet humour qui lui était si particulier, en posant la sempiternelle question inquiète : « ça allait pour les camarades » ?

 

Que les grands médias traitent ceci en un tour de main, finalement, c'est cohérent avec l'acceptation de l'inacceptable. Mais l'émotion qu'on a sentie dans toute la gauche radicale et au-delà à l'annonce de son décès donne aussi l'autre cohérence. Celle qui, jusqu'au dernier souffle, a rendu concret le « ce n'est qu'un début, le combat continue pour notre camarade ». Presente!

 

Sophie, une camarade Lutte Ouvrière

 

Chers camarades, je tenais à m’associer à votre douleur suite au décès d’Alain Krivine. Sa disparition me touche profondément, car avec lui disparaît un militant qui incarnait un lien vivant avec le mouvement trotskyste depuis son origine. J’ai le souvenir de notre campagne commune en 1999, où il était tête de liste aux côtés de notre camarade Arlette. Tous deux représentent à mes yeux une génération qui a su préserver l’héritage communiste révolutionnaire dans une période où c’était particulièrement difficile. Alain Krivine, contrairement à tant d’autres, n’a jamais renié ses idées, son camp, son idéal. Pour cela il a toute mon admiration. Je vous adresse, à vous ses camarades, ainsi qu’à sa famille et à ses proches, mes plus sincères condoléances.

Adieu camarade !

 

Stéphane P

 

J' ai rencontré plusieurs fois Alain à Reims à la LCR en tant que militant dans les années 90 lorsque j' avais 20 ans. Il a été pour moi un repère dans ma vie. Je dois beaucoup à la LCR et à Alain sur les superbes années militantes, de camaraderie, de réflexions que j' ai connues.

 

Michel K

 

Bien triste nouvelle en ce dimanche matin pluvieux. Toutes nos condoléances à sa famille et à ses camarades et amis. Savoir rester ferme dans ses convictions tout en étant sincèrement unitaire, pouvoir se remettre en cause et ne manifester aucune trace de sectarisme.

Alain Krivine était porteur de toutes ces qualités.

 

Pascal C

 

Respect. Exclu aussi du parti communistes fidèle aux idées révolutionnaire comme lui. Je m' incline avec respect. Condoléances

 

Jean-Noël

 

Cinq ou six rencontres avec Alain auront suffi pour découvrir un type ouvert prêt à écouter et respecter les plus humbles, à savoir vite effacer son image de leader pour n'être qu'un simple camarade, l'égal des autres. Quand il avançait son expérience et son passé politiques, c'était pour témoigner et donner à penser, jamais pour donner de leçons.

Ni la tristesse, la mémoire et l'estime ne passeront avec l'âge.

 

Anna B

 

Je vous salue le poing fermé . La vie est belle. Que les générations futures la libèrent de tout mal, de toute oppression et de toute violence, et en jouissent pleinement.

 

Jean-Luc

 

Je ne l'avais rencontré qu'une fois à l'occasion d'une Université d'été ! Mais combien il a influencé et notre réflexion et nos engagements !! Il sera toujours présent dans nos combats !!

 

Hasta sempre companero !

 

Michael Löwy

 

Notre cher Alain nous a quittés, c’est un peu comme si l’esprit de Mai 68 était parti. Il a été fidèle jusqu’au dernier souffle aux idéaux du communisme, de la liberté, de la révolution. Et il a su résister, avec courage, détermination, et beaucoup d’humour et d’ironie, à l'air du temps. Essayons de lui rendre hommage en continuant son combat.

 

Hasta siempre, camarade Alain !

 

Vivien

 

Je suis passé par les JCR, la LCR, le NPA. j'ai dû t'apercevoir à des meetings à Paris. J'ai entendu maintes histoires sur les passages de valise pendant la guerre d'Algérie, le bouillonnement soixante-huitard, les barres à mine contre les fachos. Tu auras toujours été un « patriarche », un homme avec de la bouteille qui a tant bien que mal essayé de tenir un cap contre le capitalisme, la lutte collective contre la tentation individualiste, l'internationale contre les nationalismes.

Je suis d'humeur absconse en ce moment, ta mort rajoute une couche d'ombre dans ce monde tellement obscurci et décevant à bien des égards.

Mes sentiments les plus sincères de sympathie et de compassion à ta famille, tes ami·es proches, celles et ceux qui t'ont profondément ou quotidiennement connu. En tout cas, pour moi tu resteras AK41.

 

José T

 

Alain, je viens d'apprendre que tu es parti. J'en suis tout bouleversé. Des personnes comme toi semblent toujours immortelles. Je t'ai connu dans les années 80, quand j'ai adhéré à la Ligue. Enfin, on se connaissait de vue. Tu retenais toujours un visage et tu ne manquais pas de me dire « salut » quand on se croisait. Que de souvenirs de manifs, meetings où tu étais toujours brillant. Avec ton moral inoxydable, tu nous poussais toujours à continuer la lutte et à ne rien lâcher. Je retiendrai toujours de toi le sourire, la gentillesse et l'énergie dans l'action.

Je suis tellement triste mais tellement chanceux de t'avoir connu.

 

Merci Alain

Michèle D, Orléans

 

Militante dans les années 80 de la LCR, je garde une grande admiration pour la personne d’Alain Krivine, brillant dans ses interventions, sachant allier humanité et militantisme. Je garde en souvenir sa présence et son intelligence. Toutes mes pensées accompagnent sa famille dans la douloureuse épreuve qu’elle traverse.

 

Armand C

 

À Michèle son épouse et à ses proches

Je viens d’apprendre la disparition d’Alain Krivine. Même si je m’y attendais, j’ ai du mal à le croire. Cela m'apparaît irréel tellement il fait partie, avec Daniel Bensaïd, quelque part de mon paysage intérieur, comme je crois de celui de toute la génération de mai 68 qui les a découverts alors dans la lutte et les a accompagnés avec enthousiasme dans la belle aventure de la LC puis de la LCR. Tant de souvenirs surgissent d’Alain « bidasse » en campagne présidentielle en 1969; emprisonné après le 21 juin 1973 ; à ses côtés dans des meetings à Montpellier et à Lyon ; lors des stages de rentrée du comité central en région parisienne où il râlait de se « taper » trop souvent seul la vaisselle pour l’exemple ; lors d’échanges toujours chaleureux lorsqu’il me logeait chez lui ; lorsqu’il me confia, empêché, une « mission de représentation » auprès de membres d’une communauté de gens du voyage endeuillés ; lorsqu’il me « défendit » suite à une réunion unitaire parisienne où ça s’était mal passé. La dernière fois où nous avons échangé par mail, c' était pour le 5​​0e anniversaire de Mai 68.

 

Mais jamais je n’oublierai la dernière rencontre physique avec Alain. Ce fut dans une Fête de l’Huma en 2012 ou 2013 où, fidèle à lui-même, dirigeant prestigieux mais toujours militant de terrain et profondément humain, il distribuait un tract du NPA devant le stand dans l' allée très fréquentée. Nous avons échangé sur mon parcours et notre expérience d’élus ( Européen pour lui , Régional pour moi), pris nos coordonnées et je lui ai posé furtivement une bise en le quittant. Celle-là je la garde avec moi pour toujours. Adieu Alain, adieu grand frère de combat.

 

Janick L

 

Merci, Alain Krivine, pour votre combat et votre camaraderie.Fraternellement.

 

François V

 

En souvenir de ses meetings, de son opiniâtreté et de ses livres notamment Questions sur la révolution.

J'adresse mes sincères condoléances à ses proches.

 

Pierre

 

Je me souviens de cet homme honnête. Côtoyé dans les manifs, et surtout à Dunkerque du temps de la LCR dont j'étais militant. Je suis resté fidèle à la IV comme lui, même si je ne suis plus militant. Comme l’a dit Daniel Bensaïd, je suis un ancien, et pas un "ex"...

Condoléances à toute sa famille

 

Simon, 76

 

Militant de Lutte ouvrière, je tiens à saluer chez Alain le fait qu'il a été fidèle, durant toute sa vie, à la défense de ses idées, à la construction et la vie d'une organisation anticapitaliste. Son exemple doit nous servir d'appui dans la situation tragique que produit la crise du capitalisme.

Hmanou A

 

Paix a son âme. Toutes mes condoléances à sa famille et ses proches.

Antoine R

 

Mes camarades, mes pensées, mon affection vont vers vous ce soir. Je suis bien sûr triste, mais comme vous le dites : Salut, Krivine, et merci pour tout. On continue le combat !

 

Shehrazade, Toulouse

 

Merci Alain de m’avoir fait aimer la politique, ta politique, humaniste et juste. Cette nouvelle est un choc pour moi. Nous continuons ton combat. Toutes nos condoléances à tes proches.Bises fraternelles à toi. On ne t’oubliera jamais. Paix à ton âme

 

Cédric L

 

Chers camarades, j'ai appris avec tristesse à la radio le décès d'Alain Krivine. Lors de la Fête de l'Huma sur le stand du NPA où l'accueil est toujours chaleureux et riche de discussions, j'avais été fier de présenter à mon fils celui qui a été le fondateur de la LCR et Monsieur Krivine avait répondu à la fois avec humour et modestie qu'il n'avait pas été le seul dans la lutte. Modestie encore, quand je l'avais croisé en banlieue de Paris dans sa Renault 19. Belle leçon d'humilité de la part d'un camarade et encore une fois fier d'avoir croisé un grand militant de 68, garant et mémoire vive de la grande histoire de l'extrême gauche française. Merci !

 

Mustapha R

 

Notre militant révolutionnaire nous quitte, ma sympathie et ma compassion à toute sa famille et à toutes et tous les militants révolutionnaires.

Gilbert S

 

Alain Krivine, mon camarade et ami, tu nous a quittés. Je t’entends encore dire que la plus belle manière de célébrer la mémoire des disparus est de perpétuer leur combat. Celui de toute une vie te concernant, sans jamais renoncer. Le faire sans toi n’aura plus jamais la même saveur.

Merci pour ce très bel hommage

 

Roger Martelli

 

J’ai connu Alain il y a trente ans, au début de l’aventure des « refondateurs communistes ». Il m’a immédiatement fasciné par sa chaleur, son intelligence, son ouverture, sa passion pour l’histoire et la culture révolutionnaires. J’ai compris qu’il était indéfectiblement un communiste et que mon antigauchisme primaire devait être mis au placard. Il est de ceux qui, à l’instar de Bensaïd, son alter ego, et de bien d’autres, m’ont fait comprendre la tragédie ineffaçable qu’a été la coupure du communisme stalinisé et de la souche trotskiste. Quel qu’ait été le destin politique des deux branches séparées, quelle qu’ait été leur place dans l’histoire de la gauche et du mouvement ouvrier, les deux ont payé cher leur détestation et leur longue ignorance réciproques. J’ai eu de l’estime, du respect et même de l’affection pour cet homme. C’est sincèrement que je dis ma peine et ma solidarité, à sa famille et à ses camarades, qui sont aussi devenus les miens. Nous n’avons pas toujours marché ensemble, mais je suis convaincu que nous avons essayé d’aller dans la même direction. Je sais donc ce que je lui dois. Et, comme vous, j’espère que nous saurons poursuivre son engagement.

 

Anne-Marie et Claude M

 

Ce soir la Révolution , notre Révolution est en deuil. Elle n’aura plus jamais la même saveur, même si le combat continue de plus belle. Nous prions tous ceux qui ont aimé Alain sincèrement de bien vouloir accepter nos plus sincères condoléances au décès du grand homme. Car ne nous y trompons pas, il était et restera à jamais un grand Homme, un grand Militant, un grand Révolutionnaire.

 

Hasta Siempre.

 

GG

 

Dès 72, premier contact dans un resto à Dijon après un meeting mémorable – au

moins pour moi – il discutait avec chaque militant·e l'un après l'autre. Moi, petit nouveau

émerveillé… Sûr qu'il sera toujours là pour moi

 

Salomé, Orléans

 

On est là à 33 ans, les bras ballants, on se sent con. On a perdu un oncle. La première fois que j’ai rencontré Alain, c’était en février 2012, pour le procès de camarades d’A Manca à Toulon. On était une petite dizaine de militant·es NPA, quelques membres d’autres organisations du continent et des corses de la diaspora. J’étais jeune dans le parti, dans un courant qui n’était pas en odeur de sainteté, et j’étais probablement un peu dogmatique. J’étais stressée pour ne pas dire nerveuse ou inquiète, il y avait l’atmosphère du procès, je ne savais pas comment ça se passerait avec lui… et puis merde, quoi, c’était Krivine ! « Un grand dirigeant ! » Quelqu’un qui a fait 68 et n’a pas trahi. Qui j’étais à côté avec mon expérience du CPE, des LRU et mon syndicalisme étudiant ? Et ça s’est bien passé. Ça s’est super bien passé. On a passé une bonne partie de la journée à discuter, du NPA, de la Corse, de théorie. On ne s’est pas convaincues mais c’était pas le plus important. On galérait déjà suffisamment à imposer la première candidature de Philippe, on n’allait pas polémiquer. Il y a eu d’autres occasions dont des CPN, on n’était pas plus d’accord mais quand on se croisait j’étais bien contente de l’écouter et de discuter. Il s’est retiré de toutes les instances après le congrès de 2018, n’habitant plus Paris je ne l’ai plus recroisé. Malheureusement.

On est là à 33 ans, les bras ballants, on se sent con. On a perdu un oncle. Repose en paix camarade.

 

Marie-Madeleine Mension

 

Même lorsqu'on sait qu'un événement douloureux va arriver, le choc, le chagrin sont aussi forts. Depuis 1968, des combats partagés, avec mon compagnon Jean-Michel Mension (Alexis Violet). Impasse Guéménée, Montreuil, Saint-Denis, la Mutualité, Clichy au moment de la mort de Jean-Michel. Quelle chance de t'avoir connu Alain, d'avoir combattu avec toi, grâce à toi nous continuerons de combattre le poing levé contre les injustices de ce monde. Adieu, merci, nous ne t'oublierons pas, nous ferons vivre tes espérances. Amandine Vague

Sylvain Garel

 

Je n'ai jamais été à la Ligue, ni au NPA. Mais j'ai toujours eu beaucoup de respect pour les engagements et la ténacité dans les convictions d'Alain Krivine. Je l'ai croisé et salué dans plusieurs manifestations. Condoléances à ses camarades et à sa famille.

Gérard V

 

J'ai eu l'occasion de le rencontrer et de lui parler lors d'un meeting à Limoges du temps de la LCR.

En mai 68 aussi à Paris lors d'une manif monstre, un vrai militant ne se prenant pas au sérieux et totalement dévoué au combat pour changer la société capitaliste par la révolution sociale. Alain était le genre de politique qui donnait envie de militer et d'y croire. Le genre de personne qui donne envie de militer et d'y croire. Sincères condoléances à sa famille.

 

Yann K.

 

Le plus ancien souvenir que j'ai d'Alain, c'est un passage télé, sans doute à l'occasion d'une campagne électorale. Pas pour sa première candidature en 1969, quand il était bidasse et portait le costume cravate alors qu'il regardait fixement la caméra pour dire des trucs transitoires du genre : ​​« Notre programme est d'installer la dictature du prolétariat en brisant l'appareil d'État de la bourgeoisie, au pire dans les 3 semaines qui viennent » – il était marrant quand il racontait avec ironie ses premiers passages télé, des années après. Pas celle-là, j'étais pas né. Je ne pense pas que ce soit pour celle de 1974, parce que j'avais deux ans et forcément je ne me souviens de rien. Si ce n'est que j'aurais paraît-il reconnu Mitterrand sur la couverture d'un magazine dans la salle d'attente du docteur Muller, et crié « Mitterrand Président ! » suffisamment fort pour que ma grand-mère soit gênée. On n'y comprend que dalle à la politique, quand on a deux ans. Je ne savais alors pas que Krivine et ses potes de l'UEC avaient été exclus en 1965 précisément parce qu'ils avaient refusé de suivre le PC dans son appel à voter Mitterrand dès le premier tour (contrairement à Mamie, d’ailleurs, qui elle a fait ça toute sa vie, mais qui concédait quand même qu’elle aimait bien Krivine, selon cet axe politique particulier : « parce que c’est un beau mec ».) Ça devait donc être 1981, et j’avais 9 ans. C’était plutôt les législatives, vu que la LCR n’avait pas réussi à présenter Alain faute des 500 signatures. Mais je me souviens très bien que ma mère regardait la télé dans le bureau, que je lui avais demandé qui était ce gars, et qu’elle m’a répondu un truc du genre : « C’est un peu un extrémiste, il veut refaire une révolution ». Étant donné que pour moi la révolution c’était tous les trucs qu’on apprenait sur la révolte du peuple en 1789, ça me semblait pas mal, comme perspective. Après, en 1988, j’ai pas pu voir Alain à la télé, parce que le candidat soutenu par la Ligue c’était Juquin. Mais ça me bottait quand même, et c’est par ce biais que j’ai commencé à vouloir prendre contact avec des militants, et très vite rejoint la Ligue, parce que, à l’image d’Alain, c’était les plus militants dans le type de militantisme qui m’attirait alors. Et là on rencontrait forcément très vite Alain, puisque comme il faisait un gros travail d’organisation et pas seulement de représentation, on avait rapidement affaire à lui. Et invariablement, tout le monde trouvait que c’était un gars en or. Je me souviens de ce qui devait être le premier meeting à l’organisation duquel je participais à Metz, de la LCR ou d’une structure unitaire genre antifasciste, et que quand il est arrivé il avait refusé de boire le pot qu’on lui offrait en tant qu’intervenant, en expliquant que tout le monde paye.

 

J’ai eu la tronche d’Alain dans mes chiottes pendant deux ans à Forbach, sur une affiche de campagne commune LO-LCR pour des européennes, avec un slogan qui disait « votez pour l’extrême gauche parce que » ...je sais plus quoi, mais c’était une très bonne raison. Il se trouve aussi que mon père et Alain se sont ressemblés physiquement à une époque, et que quand mon père allait dans une manif où Alain pouvait être présent, par exemple à Paris, y a plein de gens inconnus qui le saluaient plutôt chaleureusement, je crois. Car il y avait une foule de gens qui aimaient bien Alain. Et surtout, je crois qu’Alain aimait vraiment bien les gens. Y compris les gens en foule. Forcément.

 

Pierre C

 

Je salue la mémoire d'Alain Krivine, sa fidélité à ses engagements de jeunesse force le respect.

Intègre, loyal, honnête et plein d'humour, il manquera au courant révolutionnaire français et international. Mes pensées vont à ses proches, à ses amis, aux militants et sympathisants du NPA.

Continuons le combat !

 

Pierre, militant associatif région parisienne

 

Domi V

 

De l'émotion à l'annonce de la mort d'Alain Krivine. Il reste le symbole de ma première réunion politique, c'était à Carmaux, dans les années 70, nous étions une dizaine… Mais enthousiastes et motivés ! Contrairement au titre ironique de sa biographie, ça ne m'a pas passé avec l'âge : soutien de la LCR dans les années 70 et 80, je les ai suivis en soutenant le NPA, de meetings d'Olivier Besancenot en meetings de Philippe Poutou, toujours pour la révolution des esprits : anticapitaliste, écologiste, mondialiste, féministe !

Je ne t’oublierai pas ! Nous ne t’oublierons pas !

 

Angela S

 

Merci pour ton exemplarité, ta fidélité, ta persévérance dans toutes les luttes. On a compris ton message concret : On continuera !

 

Anthony B

 

Alain, ce fut d'abord une figure racontée par ma mère. Alain ce fut ensuite un nom dans des bouquins, des articles de Rouge que j'ai commencé à lire en 1996.

Puis Alain ce fut celui qui m'a accueilli à Roto un matin d'août 2002, quand je suis devenu permanent.

Alain, c'était un dirigeant qui s'attachait toujours au concret, qui partait de la réalité de la situation et de notre organisation. Alain c'était celui qui blaguait quand Marianne et moi avons eu Missak, notre fils, en juillet 2005 : « il est né le même jour que moi » ! Mais oui, Alain, tu n'as jamais été vieux.

Jamais vieux, jamais hautain, donneur de conseils, mais jamais de leçons.

Je ne l'avais pas vu depuis quatre ans. Aujourd'hui, je suis triste. Et heureux de t'avoir connu.

Élise

 

Je ne milite plus mais je ne peux m'empêcher de vouloir dire « Merci Alain pour ces plus de 30 années‌ de militantisme partagé ». Il y avait, pour les camarades de province, le rendez-vous plus ou moins annuel du « Meeting avec Alain Krivine ». C'était l'assurance d'une soirée militante réussie et on repartait de l'avant! ! Tribun bouillonnant et tellement convaincant, il était capable de redonner le moral et l'espoir dans des lieux – la Lorraine des années 80, par exemple – où il était bien difficile d'envisager un avenir radieux ! Je salue les camarades qui poursuivent tes combats.

Marc M

 

Triste ce samedi 12 mars.

 

On le savait fragilisé, malade, retiré en maison de retraite; on s'attendait à la mauvaise nouvelle... Alain Krivine est parti ce samedi au ​​« paradis des révolutionnaires », un lieu utopique et réaliste ! Il me revient tous ces meetings et manifs auxquels j'ai participé depuis 1979 avec lui et les camarades, un tribun exceptionnel, amical et fraternel ! Il donnait envie ! Journaliste à Rouge, le quotidien puis hebdomadaire de la LCR, Alain avait une belle plume sous son pseudonyme et un talent journalistique et éditorialiste affirmé ! Une intelligence brillante et modeste. Un dirigeant politique doué du partage et de l'ouverture aux luttes nouvelles, sans-papiers, logement, écologie,...

 

Lors de la manif intersyndicale du 27 janvier 2022, une camarade de Lutte ouvrière m'a demandé de l'aider à traverser et à rejoindre son cortège. Je l'ai reconnue, il s'agissait d'Armonie Bordes. Je lui fît savoir ma reconnaissance et le plaisir de lui parler : elle fut élue députée européenne avec Alain Krivine de 1999 à 2004. Nous avons parlé de l'état de santé d'Alain...

 

Comme Daniel Bensaïd, Alain fut l'un de mes mentors politiques. Chaque phrase, chaque discours, chaque session de formation furent des moments de jubilation, d'intelligence partagée et de respirations politiques nous conduisant à espérer pouvoir construire un autre monde débarrassé du capitalisme prédateur des Hommes, des ressources, des richesses produites et de la Nature ! L'écologie, le féminisme, l'alternative Rouge et Verte, la fraternité et la liberté de débat dans l'organisation LCR, constituairent le ferment de beaucoup d'expériences pour des milliers de militants et de sympathisants.

 

De la Fête Rouge à Olivier Besancenot et Philippe Poutou, « la Ligue », comme on l'appelait tous par sympathie, a marqué l'histoire politique d'une gauche 100% à Gauche, sans combines, ni renoncements ! On le doit en grande partie à la ténacité et la constance d'Alain à « tenir la boutique », la barque, le gouvernail collectif ! Alain fut un bel Homme…Hasta siempre, camarade Alain !

 

Marc, militant JCR 1979-1986, LCR (78 Trappes-SQY) 1986-2006, membre d'Ensemble Insoumis-es, militant CGT commerce puis FERC Sup depuis 1988

Bernard G

 

Au-delà de la tristesse, je veux retenir chez lui que militantisme rime avec humanité, humour, bonne humeur et humilité. Alain en effet, s'inquiétait toujours des camarades, maniait l'humour y compris sur lui-même, communiquait la bonne humeur et était là aussi pour toutes les tâches militantes ( ranger une salle après une réunion). On va essayer de retenir ta leçon « le combat continue »

 

Bernard Galin, LCR de 1974 à 2009 puis NPA jusque 2012 et depuis GA puis FI et Ensemble.

Michèle L

 

En souvenir de vacances passées à La Roque Gageac avec Étienne Valette.

Comment oublier ton sourire et ton humour ?

Adieu, Alain.

Au revoir, Camarade.

 

Francis D

 

Alain Krivine une personnalité faite de détermination autant que d’humilité, forces d' une vraie conviction. Conscient des limites de son organisation dont il déplora une décision malheureuse en 1979 suite à l'invasion soviétique de l'Afghanistan, lucide lors de la chute de l'URSS en 1991 il sut reconnaître que l'idéal communiste était discrédité pour longtemps. En outre, il ne disait pas du bien de la régression indigéniste et communautariste, même « ouvert », qui paralyse une partie des forces de gauche. Sorti de Mai 68 à la tête d'une petite cohorte étudiante enthousiaste, il parvint patiemment, avec bien d'autres, à construire et faire vivre une organisation qui trouva sa place dans le mouvement ouvrier. Une vie de fidélité militante qui, à la différence de bien des intellectuels, sut tourner son amour-propre vers l'avant.

 

Bernard P

 

Alain, c'est avec une immense tristesse que j'apprends que tu nous as quittés.

 

C'est un honneur pour moi de t'avoir connu et d'avoir échangé avec toi, à quelques Universités d'été en particulier, toi qui m'appelait le Corse.

 

C'était un réel plaisir de converser avec toi. Tu étais chaleureux, humain, drôle et tu avais de l'esprit. Et tu étais un combattant révolutionnaire toujours fidèle à ses idéaux. La première fois que je t'ai vu, c'était à la télévision en 1969. Je n'avais pas 12 ans.

 

Merci pour tout ce que tu nous a apporté. Tu vas nous manquer. Nous continuons le combat. Adieu Alain.

Sincères condoléances à la famille d'Alain.

 

Guillaume V

 

Mon cher camarade Alain Krivine, tu étais notre camarade, tu étais notre ami.

Et ceux qui te connaissaient t'appréciaient

Pour l'homme intègre que tu as été toute ta vie

C'est pourquoi on t'aimait et tous te respectaient

J'ai eu la chance de te connaître en toute simplicité

Toujours fidèle à tes combats tu as été présent

Ainsi j'ai pu faire un bout de chemin à tes côtés

Et m'apercevoir ce qu'était un vrai militant

Tu resteras gravé au fond de moi avec cette image

Où dans les manifs tu distribuais inlassablement

Des tracts aux tout venant, eux te rendaient hommage

Venant te saluer amicalement et très chaleureusement

De même je ne peux m'empêcher de penser à toi

Pour tes luttes obstinées de ce temps quotidien

Au journal que tu vendais le matin d'un dimanche

À l'affiche que l'on colle au mur du lendemain

En pensant à notre grand poète qu'était Jean Ferrat

Nous savons tous que nous devons partir un jour

Aujourd'hui tu nous quittes, notre coeur est en peine,

je te souhaite que là où tu sois de reposer en paix pour toujours

Nous, on continuera la lutte quand même,

Hasta la victoria siempre !

 

Olivier S

 

J'ai été longtemps militant de la JC, de l'UEC du PCF et de l'UNEF, des années 70-80. Stalinien aurais tu dit, ce que je n'ai jamais été dans l'âme. Ton histoire, tes actions, me renvoyaient l'image d'un cousin, avec un idéal révolutionnaire, une énergie dans l'action, et une fidélité forçant le respect. D'une famille de juifs ukrainiens ayant fui les pogroms, exactement comme moi, tu as contribué à me faire ressentir intimement ce poids de l'Histoire, des pogroms jusqu'à la guerre du Vietnam. Mes choix politiques ne me feront jamais renier l'héritage que tu as laissé dans la certitude que les combats contre l'oppression, les inégalités, l'extrême droite et la logique capitaliste, ont été et sont toujours d'une actualité pressante.

 

Tu es de ceux qui ont semé des graines, toujours présentes.

 

Anonyme

 

Pour Alain Krivine

 

Je ne pourrais jamais jamais oublier ! la personne défendrice qui a lutté longtemps contre ce système d'argent. Je me rappelle aussi ce jour où nous nous étions rencontrés à la Fête de l'Huma, avec une photo.

 

À la Fête de l’Huma

Karina

 

Cette photo d'Alain prise à Port Leucate en 2009. Je l'avais rencontré en septembre 1989, jeune militante aux JCR à Rennes et alors que je partais à Prague sur les traces de Milan Kundera, il m'avait donné une traduction en tchèque de la Révolution trahie de Trotsky pour Petr Uhl (ministre de Vaclav Havel après la révolution) que j'avais rencontré rapidement (cause clandestinité) et qui nous a quittés lui aussi il y a peu.

 

La mort est absurde.

 

Alain Krivine à Port Leucate

Philippe S

 

J'ai suivi Alain Krivine dans ses combats au sein de la LCR au cours des années 70-80, et ce fut une excellente école d'éducation politique. Aujourd'hui chez les Insoumis, je demeure cependant respectueux du combat du mouvement trotskiste et rend un hommage affectueux pour celui qui m'a ouvert l'esprit.

 

Jean B

 

Notre ami, notre camarade, notre concitoyen, notre voisin Alain Krivine est mort.

 

Un choc. Une grande perte.

 

Je le connaissais depuis 1968, militant aux JCR je crois, que j’apercevais près du lycée Jacques-Decour à Paris où je travaillais comme pion. Il se réunissait avec ses ami·es au café Les Oiseaux. Puis tout le mouvement de 1968. Puis des centaines de mobilisations avec la LCR puis le NPA. On le rencontrait toujours, tant théorie et pratique ne faisaient qu’un pour lui. Sans être toujours d’accord, c’était un plaisir d’échanger, il était toujours prêt. Et notre très proche proximité d’habitat à Saint-Denis dans l’îlot Basilique a forgé des liens avec aussi Michèle, sa femme formidable et ses filles.

 

Pas un dimanche matin sans sa présence pour vendre son journal aux 4 Rues. Toujours circonstances d’échanges, pour moi toujours riches ainsi qu’avec ses camarades. Nos accords, nos combats communs étaient les plus forts malgré nos différences, lui LCR puis NPA, moi PCF longtemps puis Ensemble et LFI.

 

Un homme véritable, modeste, ouvert, ferme sur les principes, la classe ouvrière d’abord, humain. Un parcours, une histoire depuis l’enfance qui résonne tellement avec la mienne. Un partage inouï.

 

Alain notre camarade, présent !

 

Toutes mes pensées à sa famille, à ses ami·es, à ses camarades, à tous ses proches et ils se comptent par milliers.

J’ai beaucoup de peine.

 

Jean-Paul, 83

 

Je viens de prendre connaissance de cette terrible nouvelle. Je suis très affecté, connaissant Alain et ayant fait un bout de chemin militant avec lui depuis… 1969. Avec les disparitions de Daniel Bensaïd, d'Henri Weber puis avec celle d'Alain, c'est une bonne part de nous qui s'en va.

 

Plein de bons souvenirs remontent à la surface et j'ai toujours apprécié son écoute et sa gentillesse, notamment à Paris à diverses occasions, et lors de l'université d'été à Leucate autour d'un verre sur la terrasse, face à la mer. Lors d'une séance de dédicace de son livre Ça te passera avec l'âge, séance ayant eu lieu à La Brèche, il a écrit ces mots sur le livre qui figure en bonne place dans ma bibliothèque : « À Jean-Paul, bien placé pour savoir que pour lui, comme pour moi, ce titre est faux, ouf ! » Son humour.…

 

Toutes mes condoléances et mon soutien à toute la famille Krivine, en ces moments douloureux.

Les camarades du NPA/ Vaucluse s'associent à ces quelques mots.

 

Sophie, Louviers

 

C'est avec une profonde tristesse que j'ai appris pendant la marche climat le décès de notre ami et camarade Alain. Une partie de notre vie militante à tous, un attachement fort à cet homme si combatif, si charismatique qui a marqué des générations par son engagement, sa gentillesse, sa disponibilité, sa force militante. Que de souvenirs ici à Louviers avec Alain ! J'ai beaucoup de peine ce soir. Toutes mes plus sincères condoléances à ses proches. Nous, ses camarades de Louviers, nous nous souviendrons d'Alain qui restera dans nos souvenirs mais aussi dans nos discussions présentes et futures. Cher Alain qui ne peut plus m'entendre, sache qu'on continuera, que ton exemple nous aidera à poursuivre les combats. Adieu cher Alain.

 

Gilles J, mineur, Carmaux

 

Il se sentait comme un poisson dans l'eau dans ce pays minier où tant de combats ont été menés… Quand il arrivait, c'était toujours « salut ça va toi ? Et ta famille ? »

 

Mon premier meeting à ses côtés à Carmaux en novembre 1980 et nos 2 bouilles dans la presse le lendemain… je venais de rentrer à la mine... le début de 30 ans de combats communs… je n'oublierais jamais sa simplicité, sa gentillesse et sa fidélité à nos idéaux.

Aujourd'hui je suis triste. Adieu Camarade...

 

Paul André C

 

Nous étions trois lycéens dans une petite ville du Lot-et-Garonne à nous réclamer de la Ligue dans les années 70. On collait des affiches la nuit que nous fabriquions nous-mêmes. On se frittait avec les fachos de cette ville petite-bourgeoise à l’époque. On s’engueulait avec les quelques Anars ou Maoïstes qui avaient émergé sur la scène militante post soixante-huitarde, comme nous. En pleine ruralité. Loin des grandes villes. Alain Krivine, Weber, Bensaïd … des noms que l’on idéalisait. Une organisation qui nous faisait rêver. Mais à cette époque pas un copain trotskiste de l’organisation à côtoyer. Alors on a bâti de conséquents Comités Rouge dans notre région, jusqu’au jour où un prof toulousain, Paco, un célèbre trotskiste toulousain, muté à Agen, nous contacte. La Ligue devenait réalité après 3 ans d’activisme effréné, à notre sauce.

 

J’ai milité 10 ans. J’ai beaucoup appris. Depuis, j’ai douté. Pourquoi le socialisme, le vrai, celui pour lequel nous avons mis tant de convictions, d’énergie et de débat, a toujours tourné mal. Rien que des échecs ! À croire que l’économie planifiée socialiste ne réussira jamais à devenir une alternative heureuse au système capitaliste, à l’économie de marché.

 

Alain Krivine n’a jamais douté. C’est beau mais inquiétant aussi, ce manque d’esprit critique pour un militant aussi critique de nature. Malgré cela, quel respect pour ce camarade merveilleux, comme l’ont toujours été les militants de cette organisation qui nous a ouvert les yeux sur le monde, la société, les mouvements de lutte en France et au delà de nos frontières, et surtout, qui a formé au plus profond de nous une conscience antifasciste, anti nationaliste-anti raciste-anti xénophobe qu’aucun courant de gauche n’a développé avec autant de force en France et ailleurs. C’est en nous, sans aucun compromis possible. LFI et Mélenchon se sont perdus avec leur « patriotisme » qui les a conduit à …Poutine, un dirigeant nationaliste comme Trump aux USA, Netanyaou en Israël et tant d’autres en ces années inquiétantes de radicalisation fascisante.

 

Comme beaucoup d’anciens militants de la Ligue, je m’en suis éloigné mais tout en étant toujours proche, au moins « romantiquement », heureux de venir de là, de ce courant trotskyste très structurant de nos jeunes têtes de l’époque. Le NPA s’est perdu sans l’avant-garde forte que représentait la LCR.

 

À mes yeux, comme « Bensa » comme on l’appelait à la Ligue, Alain Krivine restera un mythe, un militant sincère, désintéressé, intéressant, heureux de vivre, ouvert, tellement respectable.

Son départ , aujourd’hui, me fait beaucoup de peine.

Pensées affectueuses à ses proches. Amitiés à mes compagnons de route d’un autre temps.

 

Toulouse, le 12 mars 2022.

 

Paul André Cohen, ex musicien, 10 ans journaliste à La Dépêche du Midi, ancien cadre dirigeant chez André Trigano, puis créateur-fondateur de plusieurs entreprises touristiques à succès.Une vie active comme l’ont été les dix années fondatrices vécues à la Ligue des années 70-80.

 

Marc et Maryse

 

Une belle personne, Alain qui nous manque déjà.

 

Plusieurs rencontres à Poitiers nous ont permis de le connaître un peu et il sera dans nos mémoires comme un militant infatigable, gentil et source d'optimisme.

 

Continuons le combat !

 

Pagani

 

Salut Alain. J’ai lâché le combat il y a bien longtemps. Ta persévérance et ta fidélité méritent notre respect. En t’accompagnant pendant la campagne de 1974 j’ai compris ta soif d’explication et ton envie de convaincre sans te prendre au sérieux comme candidat à la Présidentielle. Merci pour ton engagement.

 

Christine J

 

Condoléances à la famille, à vous tous.

 

Le combat continue...

 

Léa V

 

Étudiante en Lettres modernes, je n'aurai certes pas les mots que j'aimerais appropriés pour un hommage. Ma famille et moi penserons à lui, ce soir, de nouveau : nous le connaissions, un peu. Donc beaucoup.

 

Pensées à vous et à ses proches.

 

Yves T

 

Rien n'est plus difficile que de trouver les mots devant une telle perte.

 

Je me souviens de ses premières apparitions à la télé en 1969. J'avais 15 ans. Mai 68 résonnait toujours dans toutes les têtes. Il avait beau être en cravate, les cheveux courts au moment où tout le monde abandonnait costume et cheveux courts. Il en imposait et dans ma famille PCF, personne ne le voyait comme un « flic », contrairement à ce que clamait l'Huma. Il faisait partie de notre grande famille communiste, quoique un peu turbulent. Aussi, quand l'année suivante j'ai rejoint la Ligue, personne, même si ça ne plaisait pas, ne m'en a fait grief…

 

Bien plus tard, en 1985 ou 86, en Alsace, nous avons eu l'occasion d'organiser un meeting avec lui dans la petite ville minière de Wittelsheim. La salle était pleine et même le maire officiellement chrétien-démocrate, mais n'hésitant à chanter l'Internationale avec les mineurs quand ils défilaient pour leur emploi, était venu pour le remercier de sa venue. Des années après, en 1998, venant le voir à Montreuil, il se souvenait encore de cette journée-là.

 

Il faisait partie de nos vies. La mère de mes enfants, qui a vécu cette période, même si elle s'est éloignée politiquement du courant LCR, a toujours gardé en souvenir la simplicité et la gentillesse de son contact. Je me souviens avec quelle fierté il nous racontait avoir vu une de ses filles être dans la foule à un de ses meetings. On pouvait ne pas être d'accord avec Tinville, mais son humanité profonde faisait l'unanimité des gens que je connais.

 

Adelk

 

Profondément affecté par le décès de mon camarade et ami Alain Krivine. Un militant révolutionnaire que j'ai connu début 1980 en tant que compagnon de lutte algérien partageant le même courant politique et cette éthique militante qui m'a tant marqué. Chaque séjour parisien était l'occasion de discuter sur notre courant, de l'Algérie, des luttes en France et de la dimension internationaliste de la lV.

 

De l'humour et des idées autour du couscous du resto kabyle du coin.

 

Adieu l'ami, le camarade.

Sincères condoléances à Hubert Krivine, à toute sa famille et aux camarades du NPA.

 

Philippe L.

 

Hommage et respect pour un homme demeuré toute sa vie fidèle à ses convictions.

 

Philippe L., militant de la IVe Internationale d'octobre 1969 à février 1989

 

Hugo M

 

Je connaissais Alain Krivine de réputation, parce que mon père était durant mon enfance militant à la LCR, et qu'Alain revenait régulièrement dans les conversations à table.

 

Mais la toute première fois que j'ai eu la chance de voir et d'écouter Alain en vrai, c'était début mai 2006, à Rennes, juste après la fin du mouvement anti-CPE. Il était venu participer à une réunion publique de la section rennaise à laquelle j'appartenais alors, la réunion se tint à l'Espace de deux rives près de la rue Alphonse-Guérin. J'avais 18 ans.

 

Puis, les années ont passé, les mobilisations étudiantes et les mouvements sociaux aussi, 2007, 2009, 2010, Daniel Bensaïd nous a quittés en janvier 2010, bien trop tôt, et, puis j'ai contacté Alain pour la première fois au début de l'année 2013 pour les besoins de mes modestes recherches en histoire.

 

Avec son autorisation, je suis donc allé lui rendre visite à Montreuil au local du NPA pour l'interroger sur l'histoire de l'organisation, la Ligue, qu'il avait incarnée aux yeux du plus grand nombre, en France comme à l'étranger, pendant des décennies. Il m'a ouvert les portes de son bureau, et, bien que je sois très intimidé devant ce monument de l'histoire de l'organisation à laquelle j'avais appartenu trois ans années, nous avons échangé ensemble sur les rapports entre la Ligue et les gauches institutionnelles, PCF/PS, dans les années 1970-1980. Par la suite, il a toujours pris le temps de me répondre avec la même gentillesse, lorsque je le sollicitais pour obtenir, par exemple, l'identité réelle de tel militant qui se cachait derrière tel pseudonyme, et par là même son contact.

 

Je garderai de ce grand monsieur et de cet immense cadre marxiste-révolutionnaire le souvenir ému d'une personne généreuse, accessible, humble, avenante, fière à raison de ses convictions humanistes et révolutionnaires, attentive, très cultivée, et chaleureuse.

J'adresse mes sincères condoléances à ses proches, aux militant·es du NPA, et à tous les anciennes et anciens qui ont fait avec Alain la très riche histoire militante de « la Ligue ».

 

Rita, NPA 78

 

Je te salue camarade, nous ne t'oublierons pas et on se reverra peut-être un jour. Le combat continuera là-haut et ici-bas.

Je présente mes sincères condoléances à toute sa famille.

Patrick V

 

Affections et tristesse.

 

Alain Krivine

 

Jean B

 

J’ai connu pour la première fois Alain à Paris en octobre 1968 et j'ai apprécié tout de suite sa gentillesse tout particulièrement auprès de jeunes camarades qu'il aimait conseiller, sans pour autant jouer au « professeur rouge » ou au « dirigeant infaillible ». Puis, après la création de la Ligue, à laquelle j'ai adhéré, je n'ai pas cessé d'apprécier sa chaleur, son humour lors de réunions nationales ou de séances du Comité central dont j'ai été membre de 1978 à 1982. Lorsque j'ai quitté le NPA, avec la Gauche Anticapitaliste, lors de la conférence de Nanterre en juillet 2012, il m'avait dit combien il était triste de voir de « vieux militants comme moi quitter le mouvement », même si je l'assurais de la poursuite de notre engagement commun, au sein de la 4e Internationale.

 

Un militant, un dirigeant exemplaire qui n'a jamais renoncé à ses convictions révolutionnaires, qui a toujours su porter très haut le drapeau de l'internationalisme prolétarien, dont la perte est irremplaçable !

 

Adieu Alain, mon ami, mon camarade ! Le plus grand hommage que nous puissions te rendre, c'est de continuer le combat ! Hasta la victoria, siempre !

 

Jean, Nantes, militant de la LC puis de la LCR de 1969 à 2009, militant d'Ensemble ! Et de la QI.

Chouchenn et Pilar

 

Salut camarade, tu as su enflammer notre vie de militants. Ta gentillesse, ton empathie et ta fidélité sans faille à notre idéal politique, font que tu demeures à jamais dans nos cœurs.

 

Nous présentons nos condoléances à tous ses proches.

Éric M

 

Quelle tristesse en cette période si sombre d'apprendre la mort d'Alain que j'ai eu fréquemment l'occasion de côtoyer impasse Guéménée, aussi souvent au café voisin que dans le local. Il savait toujours, sans paternalisme, avec humour souvent, avec respect toujours, répondre aux interrogations du jeune militant que j'étais alors. J'associe sa mémoire à celle de Daniel Bensaïd qui a tant compté dans notre engagement militant. Comme l'a écrit Daniel que je cite de mémoire, Alain était de ceux qui avaient l'étoffe des « hérétiques » qui ne se sont pas « convertis​​ » pour quelque passage dans un ministère ou sur un plateau télévisé à « l'air du temps ».

 

Une question me taraude, à laquelle, il ne pourra malheureusement plus répondre : comment faire face au déferlement des fascismes et rester fidèles à nos idéaux internationalistes ?

 

Salut et fraternité,

 

Gustave M

 

Alain Krivine a toujours été fidèle à son idéal révolutionnaire. Il a participé, sans jamais faiblir, à la longue construction d'une gauche radicale et révolutionnaire. Je voudrais rappeler le long compagnonnage qui nous a liés depuis les débuts de la création du Cedetim, dans les années 1960. Nous avions partagé, dans une camaraderie prolongée, nourrie par des débats constants, les mobilisations sur la guerre d'Algérie, pour le soutien à la lutte du peuple vietnamien, pendant mai 1968, pour les luttes des travailleurs immigrés, contre l'impérialisme français. À plusieurs occasions, nous nous sommes retrouvés dans la construction de mouvements majeurs. Je voudrais en rappeler deux qui nous ont beaucoup marqués. En 1973, nous avons construit ensemble le Comité de soutien à la lutte révolutionnaire du peuple chilien, qui a compté plus de 400 comités en France. Nous nous sommes aussi retrouvés dans la mobilisation « dettes, colonies, apartheid ; ça suffat comme ci » le 14 juillet 1989, avec la manifestation des mouvements et des syndicats et le concert à la Bastille avec Renaud, Johnny Clegg, les Négresses vertes. Cette mobilisation a été organisée avec un comité formé de Alain Krivine et la LCR, du Cedetim, de Renaud, Gilles Perrault, Monseigneur Gaillot et Catherine Sinet. C'était déjà l'affirmation du mouvement altermondialiste. Nous reviendrons sur l'hommage à rendre à Alain Krivine. Merci à notre ami et camarade Alain pour sa fidélité, son ouverture et sa constance internationaliste.

 

Ghislaine B

 

Je suis une citoyenne française et j’ai ressenti beaucoup de chagrin à l’annonce de la disparition de Monsieur Alain Krivine. Je suis admirative des combats qu’il a menés toute sa vie, sans jamais changer de cap. Quelle force et quel courage il nous donne.

 

Mes plus sincères condoléances à ses proches ainsi qu'à ses amis.

 

Pascal P

 

Honneur et respect à celui de ma génération qui n’a pas trahi.

 

Jean-Claude M

 

Alain, homme d’action

 

Lorsque j’ai connu et vu Alain Krivine pour la première fois à Paris (je venais de Besançon), sans doute au début des années 1970, il avait conclu un débat sur « l’analyse de la situation ». Moi j’écoutais tout le monde, j’étais un peu perdu, il y avait des discours savants. C’était la Ligue ! Et puis Alain conclut. Tout s’éclaire. Il propose en cinq mots simples de faire ceci, et de faire cela. Pourquoi ? Parce que, dit-il, « nous devons d’abord nous tourner vers l’action ».

 

Tout devenait évident avec lui. Il y avait la théorie (on admirait le riche langage de Daniel) et Alain nous tournait simplement vers l’action.

 

Plus tard, au début des années 1980, il est venu à Montbéliard-Sochaux (où est l’usine Peugeot). On discutait chez Nénesse et Marie-Ange, et avec des ouvriers. C’était le « tournant » vers les usines.

 

Plus tard encore, je me suis éloigné de lui tout en étant proche de son bureau tapissé du drapeau kanak. Dans des moments durs, je le voyais griffonner des trucs pour des débats. Je me disais : j’ai des divergences avec lui mais c’est un lion. Il veut agir.

 

Salut !

 

Nils I

 

Alain Krivine, ce vrai punk…(évocation toute personnelle)

 

Sûr que quand on ne connaît pas les gens, même les grands, leur mort nous affecte pas plus que ça. La preuve, quand Bensaïd est parti, j'écoutais un peu distraitement les plaintes sincères des camarades qui l'avaient côtoyé. Ça m'a vite gonflé d'ailleurs. Bensa ceci, Bensa cela... Vivant, je connaissais à peine son nom. À sa mort, je pouvais presque écrire sa bio.

 

Krivine, ben c'est pas pareil. Du tout. C'était pas un « proche » comme on l'entend habituellement, c'est sûr, mais j'ai eu cette chance de militer auprès de lui pendant 5 bonnes années dans le comité NPA de Saint-Denis. Du coup on se voyait assez souvent. Plutôt pas mal même. Les mardis. Quasi tous. Les samedis aussi. Le matin. Et les dimanches quand je me levais. Suffisamment en tout cas pour qu'il devienne important pour moi. Au point que j'en ai fait un des personnages de mon roman. C'est dire ! Ceux qui ont lu savent. Avant même que je n'envisage de quitter la section (moribonde) de Sarcelle pour celle de Saint-Denis, Krivine, ça m'évoquait plein de choses. Assez lointaines. La LCR. Mai 68 bien sûr. Et surtout le candidat révolutionnaire qui restait super sympa lorsqu'on tentait de le faire passer pour un con à la télé. À la fac du Mirail, les camarades marxistes léninistes disaient que c'était un traitre (je disais que j'étais d'accord sans vraiment comprendre pourquoi). Pourtant j'étais loin de savoir qui était Alain Krivine. Je l'imaginais comme les autres « grands » dirigeants d'extrême gauche : un peu traitres oui, mais surtout inaccessibles, douloureusement intellos, importants. Historiques. Aussi, j'étais à la fois ultra impressionné et hyper fier quand je me suis retrouvé à quelques mètres de lui lors de ma première AG dionysienne (à la bourse du travail, je m'en souviendrai toujours). Il avait l'air si sérieux ! Il correspondait bien à l'idée que je m'en faisais. J'ai proposé de (re)lancer une feuille locale qu'on pourrait appeler l'Anticapitaliste et il s'est contenté d'approuver vaguement de la tête, tout en continuant à prendre des notes. C'était déjà pas mal.

 

Mais en fait, c'était pas lui. Je l'ai rencontré après, le vrai Krivine. Lorsqu'au cours de ma première diff', il est venu me dire à quel point il trouvait ça super chouette cette idée de feuille locale. J'en croyais pas mes oreilles. D'abord, ça faisait longtemps que je n'avais pas entendu cette expression, « super chouette ». Mais surtout, ce type était l'un des leaders de 68 et il était sincèrement enthousiaste face à ma bien pauvre proposition et contribution à la lutte internationaliste. Voilà, je l'avais devant moi, le vrai Alain. Enfin... celui qui constituait à mes yeux un type exceptionnel. N'importe quel militant avec le quart de son expérience n'aurait pas daigné commenter une idée si banale. Alain si. Il reçut avec le même enthousiasme ma proposition (encore plus prosaïque) de faire une diff' de tract le samedi devant Carrefour... ! Si tous les militants réagissaient comme Alain, il n'y aurait plus de timide dans les AG. Oui, ses réactions super bienveillantes et enthousiastes (oui je sais, ce mot revient souvent mais ça le résume tellement bien !) m'ont (presque) mis en confiance, moi, le mec qui rougit et transpire un quart d'heure avant une intervention, tellement j'ai peur d'être jugé et exécuté par mes pairs. En fait, depuis que je suis parti de Saint-Denis, je n'ai jamais retrouvé cette humilité. Chez aucun camarade.

 

Alors oui, j'ai vraiment aimé le fréquenter ce Krivine, loin de l'image glaciale et chiante du « dirigeant » trotskiste. Celui qui signe AK, et parfois AK47 (je crois qu'il me reste un mail perso avec cette signature hahaha), celui avec qui vous preniez un plaisir assez étonnant à parler autant du Trianon au chocolat de chez carrefour que de la dernière motion votée au CPN. Le vieux, ou l'éternel ado enclin à déconner, se moquer, parfois avec férocité, des bargeots de notre camp. On pouvait se lâcher avec lui, c'était pas le genre à vous rappeler à la modération. Et tellement détaché de tout folklore militant, de toute propriété, qu'elle fusse politique ou non (il m'a donné spontanément l'intégrale des œuvres de Trotski qui appartenait à son frère, et même une superbe platine disque bien chère que sa famille a récupéré in extremis ; lui s'en foutait). Ouais, n'en déplaise à celles et ceux qui le conspuaient souvent (pour des raisons politiques certes...) : il vivait en phase avec ce qu'il prônait. Et ça c'est rare dans notre milieu. Il était finalement bien plus punk que beaucoup de camarades qui s'en donnent l'air…

 

Bref, vous avez compris, il a marqué ma vie militante. Ma vie tout court. Et bien que je ne l'ai pas vu ces dernières années, c'est maintenant que je me rends compte à quel point il manque.

Paolo M

 

À un homme debout qui croyait à une élévation des travailleurs par leur révolution intime pour le bien commun. C'est une figure que nous regrettons

 

Soutien à ses proches éprouvés.

André R

 

Je ne vais pas répéter tous les messages que je viens de lire. Il y a peut-être un moment qui n'a pas encore été rappelé, celui du stage que les jeunes adhérents de la IV ont tenu à Briançon en décembre 1965. À l'UEC, Hermier cornaqué par Juquin avait repris la majorité, et dès la rentrée suivante il dissolvait le Secteur Lettres que tenait la « fraction de gauche », dont les membres entristes du PCI étaient les principaux animateurs, mais pas toujours de façon ouverte. Le débat était donc : puisque nous allons devoir constituer une nouvelle organisation de jeunesse, devait-elle être une JCI, ouvertement liée à la IV, ou devions-nous dans un premier temps au moins constituer une JCR. Dans ma mémoire, Alain avec son flair déjà reconnu a contribué à faire pencher la balance pour une JCR, et je n'ai jamais entendu quiconque dire que cela avait été une erreur !

 

L'autre histoire, je n e l'ai pas vécue, on me l'a racontée (en l'occurrence Jean-Paul Deléage). On est en 1975. première grande manifestation pour le solaire, contre le nucléaire. Les luttes antinucléaires, Rouge en parlait déjà, mais jamais la LCR n'avait pris position sur le fond, et se posait donc la question d'appeler. Jean-Paul Deléage y était très favorable, est invité au BP pour présenter un texte, attend un peu dans le couloir parce que ce n'est pas le premier point à l'ordre du jour, et lit son texte au BP réuni, un texte principiel sur le refus du nucléaire. Un grand et long silence suit. Et au bout d'un moment, Alain le rompt : « Bon, de toute façon, cette manif, on y va ! » Je ne l'ai pas vécue, mais elle me parait terriblement crédible. Sans peut-être théoriser outre mesure, Alain avait compris que l'aventure nucléaire, la LCR devait se situer contre.

 

Bon, demain, je vais voir si je retrouve moi aussi des photos des meetings Krivine, au Havre, à Périgueux, à Bergerac, à Bordeaux...

 

Plus on repense à lui, et plus on se dit qu'on n'a pas le droit de laisser tomber. Alain, on ne lâchera rien.

Irène L

  

NetJets Cessna 560XL Citation XLS Reg: CS-DXV "Fraction 961 Uniform" departing Dublin.

1991’s Aerial Intruder from the Blacktron II fraction enters the LEGO City!

 

The ‘Big’ ship from a fan favorite (myself decidedly included) sub-theme is actually not all that big compared to the other Space sub-themes’ flagships. This ship checks the majority of my criteria for what made an excellent spaceship play set as a kid!

 

Great color scheme and cool large transparent elements?

Blacktron 2 has arguably the best + printed large windshield!

 

Detachable base with usable interior space?

The center of the ship is large when opened and has an aft storage compartment. While tight when loaded with cargo, great when side-builds are deployed

 

Dropship/Escape Pod?

Two of the best designed simple ships that deploy from the sides, that are also designed to be compatible with the rest of the sub-theme! So simple and genius

And a bonus jetpack element that is classic

 

Rover?

Two! Yes, super simple, but very standard for the time.

 

Action features?

The simple rover launch action definitely suffices.

 

Droid/Robot?

Not for this faction, but I believe that’s because they were outlaws. Correct me if I’m wrong?

 

Yes, I’m a really big fan of this old spaceship. Any detractors, like having 5 pilot-able options with only two minifigs can be understood with all their buddies they’d have to break from the Space Police II

 

This Absolute Classic brings me to the conclusion of my look back at some of my favorite LEGO from the ‘90s. I’m sure I’ll do more shoots with these sets in the future, but I’ve got a ton of contemporary sets to showcase for now and a large MOC in progress.

 

What did you think of this ship? Did you have it? Does it hold up today?

     

#LEGO #Blacktron2 #ClassicSpace #6981 #AerialIntruder #LEGO1991 #LEGOSpace #Legoblacktron #blacktron #afol #legomania #LegoArialInteuder #LegoJetPack #LegoPhotography #RetroLego #LEGO6981 #LEGOSystem #Legoland #toyPhotography #LegoPics #toyPics #90sLEGO #LegoCity #NeonLegoBricks #ToyNostalgia #LEGOSpaceship #ClassicLego #LegoSpaceMan #NeonBricks #Vaporwave #VintageLego

Not my photo: displayed on site by English Heritage.

 

***

 

Bolingbroke Castle is now a fraction of its former glory but - in its day - it was a handsome and important building. As the birthplace of Henry of Bolingbroke, later King Henry IV, it could be argued that Bolingbroke was the cradle of the so-called 'Wars of the Roses' as it was Henry who overthrew the unpopular Richard II - but his act of rebellion also established a precedent. Two generations later the House of York overthrew his equally unpopular grandson, Henry VI.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/albums/7215768230649... to see the full set.

 

The area had been fortified by the Saxons in the 6th or 7th century AD but in the 12th century the Normans built a motte and bailey castle on a nearby hill. The present castle was founded by Ranulf, Earl of Chester in 1220 shortly after he returned from the Fifth Crusade. Its imposing round towers were fashionable and he may have been inspired by castles he saw on his travels. He also chose to build without a keep although the huge gatehouse may have served a double function of both keep and gate.

 

The site is an irregular hexagon with round towers at the salient points and a handsome twin-towered gateway facing the present village. The moat to the main site was 90-100 feet wide with the water lapping at the base of the walls when built. Today, so much material has fallen into the moat that there is now a wide berm around the base of the exterior wall where visitors can walk. When built it was lime-washed in white and traces of this remain on some of the walls today.

 

Ranulf had died in 1232 without a male heir, and his titles, lands and castles passed to his sisters. Following the death of the first Duke of Lancaster in 1361 Bolingbroke passed through marriage into the ownership of John of Gaunt. His wife Blanche, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, was born at the Castle in 1345. John and Blanche's son, Henry was also born at Bolingbroke Castle in 1367 and became known as "Henry of Bolingbroke" before he took the throne in 1399.

 

In addition to this main castle there is a ditched outer enclosure (see aerial photo) which may have served an agricultural purpose. Within this there is a mysterious earthwork of roughly 'playing card' shape with its long side facing towards the castle. This earthwork has not been positively identified but the ditch is still deep enough to be flooded today and was clearly defensive. It is probably a siege earthwork from 1643 (its in the right position and at the right range for muskets and cannon) but the enclosure also strongly resembles the king's 'pleasaunce' which Henry IV's son, Henry V, constructed at Kenilworth Castle during his reign. At Kenilworth this functioned as a secure pleasure palace to entertain friends, and the ladies, at the far end of the huge lake and moat. Bolingbroke's may have been an earlier essay in the craft given that Henry of Bolingbroke was under constant threat when he got into dispute with Richard II. Henry snr may have needed somewhere outside the smells and claustrophobia of the castle's main walls where he could kick back and enjoy himself in relative security. The outer ditched area around would then lend itself to riding and hawking. Think of it as a 'man cave' in the garden perhaps? Of is it just a Parliamentarian siege work?

 

The local building material was poor in quality and by the 16th century, the castle had fallen into disrepair. Some work was carried out during the Tudors. In 1636 a survey found that all of the towers were - effectively - beyond repair.

 

A bad castle is better than no castle, so at the start of the English Civil War Bolingbroke was garrisoned by the Royalists. In 1643 it was damaged in a siege and the nearby Battle of Winceby. The following year, the castle was recaptured from Parliament but was lost again later. In 1652 the castle was 'slighted' (deliberately damaged) to prevent any further use. The towers and walls were torn down and dumped into the moat. The last major tower fragment collapsed in 1815.

 

Of course none of this collapse would have been helped by locals robbing the stone for their own buildings. Large parts of the castle are probably in the village and in surrounding farms and villages!

 

The site is free to visit, supported by a local friends group.It is in the care of English Heritage via a Lincolnshire heritage group.

Arbatax, Tortolì fraction, is one of the most important ports on the east coast of Sardinia, located on the northern tip of the promontory of Capo Bellavista, the town is built around a tower of the late sixteenth century, which served as a munitions depot. Arbatax is famous for the characteristic red rocks, a cliff of red porphyry, which is located near the harbor, behind the east pier. Beyond the reef opens a passage carved into the rock through which you go to a beach at the foot of the red rocks.

Arbatax is a territory rich in green Mediterranean scrub and the characteristic red rocks and masses of porphyritic granite.

Arbatax is a stunning place to be in the spring, when you can see an explosion of colours with the contrast of the rocks of the headland and the reef, the white sandy beaches and the limpid waters. A natural frame to this panorama are the surrounding mountains, the highest on the island.

 

Arbatax (in sardo Arbatassa) è una frazione costiera del comune di Tortolì, in provincia dell'Ogliastra, sede di porto e di aeroporto (Tortolì-Arbatax).

Arbatax si trova su una penisola, (Capo Bellavista), al centro della costa orientale sarda, a ridosso dello Stagno di Tortolì. I centri abitati più vicini sono Tortolì (che è il capoluogo del comune di cui la frazione Arbatax fa parte: a 5 km), Girasole (a 7 km) e Lotzorai (ad 9 km).Le Rocce Rosse sono il Monumento Naturale più conosciuto di Arbatax, oltre che uno dei simboli dell'Isola. Vengono anche detti, meno diffusamente, "Scogli Rossi" e rappresentano una delle tante formazioni di filoni di porfido rosso affiorante dell'Ogliastra, (come per esempio i faraglioni di Cea a Bari sardo). Situate tra il Porto e Cala Moresca, queste rocce di porfido rosso dalla forma particolare che va man mano a stagliarsi nelle acque del Mediterraneo, non sono solo un monumento naturale ma rappresentano anche lo spendido e panoramico scenario della piccola spiaggia di scogli bianchi e di granito rosa, nonchè scenario dell'appuntamento annuale del ROCCE ROSSE & BLUES, una manifestazione musicale molto famosa

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_ncG0-vl2M

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfVJ9gvbWxQ

From dailytypespecimen.com

Arbatax, Tortolì fraction, is one of the most important ports on the east coast of Sardinia, located on the northern tip of the promontory of Capo Bellavista, the town is built around a tower of the late sixteenth century, which served as a munitions depot. Arbatax is famous for the characteristic red rocks, a cliff of red porphyry, which is located near the harbor, behind the east pier. Beyond the reef opens a passage carved into the rock through which you go to a beach at the foot of the red rocks.

Arbatax is a territory rich in green Mediterranean scrub and the characteristic red rocks and masses of porphyritic granite.

Arbatax is a stunning place to be in the spring, when you can see an explosion of colours with the contrast of the rocks of the headland and the reef, the white sandy beaches and the limpid waters. A natural frame to this panorama are the surrounding mountains, the highest on the island.

 

Arbatax (in sardo Arbatassa) è una frazione costiera del comune di Tortolì, in provincia dell'Ogliastra, sede di porto e di aeroporto (Tortolì-Arbatax).

Arbatax si trova su una penisola, (Capo Bellavista), al centro della costa orientale sarda, a ridosso dello Stagno di Tortolì. I centri abitati più vicini sono Tortolì (che è il capoluogo del comune di cui la frazione Arbatax fa parte: a 5 km), Girasole (a 7 km) e Lotzorai (ad 9 km).Le Rocce Rosse sono il Monumento Naturale più conosciuto di Arbatax, oltre che uno dei simboli dell'Isola. Vengono anche detti, meno diffusamente, "Scogli Rossi" e rappresentano una delle tante formazioni di filoni di porfido rosso affiorante dell'Ogliastra, (come per esempio i faraglioni di Cea a Bari sardo). Situate tra il Porto e Cala Moresca, queste rocce di porfido rosso dalla forma particolare che va man mano a stagliarsi nelle acque del Mediterraneo, non sono solo un monumento naturale ma rappresentano anche lo spendido e panoramico scenario della piccola spiaggia di scogli bianchi e di granito rosa, nonchè scenario dell'appuntamento annuale del ROCCE ROSSE & BLUES, una manifestazione musicale molto famosa

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_ncG0-vl2M

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfVJ9gvbWxQ

Latrine opening. This is larger than others on site as it was next to the kitchen and was probably used for kitchen waste as well.

 

*** *** ***

 

Bolingbroke Castle is now a fraction of its former glory but - in its day - it was a handsome and important building. As the birthplace of Henry of Bolingbroke, later King Henry IV, it could be argued that Bolingbroke was the cradle of the so-called 'Wars of the Roses' as it was Henry who overthrew the unpopular Richard II - but his act of rebellion also established a precedent. Two generations later the House of York overthrew his equally unpopular grandson, Henry VI.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/albums/7215768230649... to see the full set.

 

The area had been fortified by the Saxons in the 6th or 7th century AD but in the 12th century the Normans built a motte and bailey castle on a nearby hill. The present castle was founded by Ranulf, Earl of Chester in 1220 shortly after he returned from the Fifth Crusade. Its imposing round towers were fashionable and he may have been inspired by castles he saw on his travels. He also chose to build without a keep although the huge gatehouse may have served a double function of both keep and gate.

 

The site is an irregular hexagon with round towers at the salient points and a handsome twin-towered gateway facing the present village. The moat to the main site was 90-100 feet wide with the water lapping at the base of the walls when built. Today, so much material has fallen into the moat that there is now a wide berm around the base of the exterior wall where visitors can walk. When built it was lime-washed in white and traces of this remain on some of the walls today.

 

Ranulf had died in 1232 without a male heir, and his titles, lands and castles passed to his sisters. Following the death of the first Duke of Lancaster in 1361 Bolingbroke passed through marriage into the ownership of John of Gaunt. His wife Blanche, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, was born at the Castle in 1345. John and Blanche's son, Henry was also born at Bolingbroke Castle in 1367 and became known as "Henry of Bolingbroke" before he took the throne in 1399.

 

In addition to this main castle there is a ditched outer enclosure (see aerial photo) which may have served an agricultural purpose. Within this there is a mysterious earthwork of roughly 'playing card' shape with its long side facing towards the castle. This earthwork has not been positively identified but the ditch is still deep enough to be flooded today and was clearly defensive. It is probably a siege earthwork from 1643 (its in the right position and at the right range for muskets and cannon) but the enclosure also strongly resembles the king's 'pleasaunce' which Henry IV's son, Henry V, constructed at Kenilworth Castle during his reign. At Kenilworth this functioned as a secure pleasure palace to entertain friends, and the ladies, at the far end of the huge lake and moat. Bolingbroke's may have been an earlier essay in the craft given that Henry of Bolingbroke was under constant threat when he got into dispute with Richard II. Henry snr may have needed somewhere outside the smells and claustrophobia of the castle's main walls where he could kick back and enjoy himself in relative security. The outer ditched area around would then lend itself to riding and hawking. Think of it as a 'man cave' in the garden perhaps? Or is it just a Parliamentarian siege work?

 

The local building material was poor in quality and by the 16th century, the castle had fallen into disrepair. Some work was carried out during the Tudors. In 1636 a survey found that all of the towers were - effectively - beyond repair.

 

A bad castle is better than no castle, so at the start of the English Civil War Bolingbroke was garrisoned by the Royalists. In 1643 it was damaged in a siege and the nearby Battle of Winceby. The following year, the castle was recaptured from Parliament but was lost again later. In 1652 the castle was 'slighted' (deliberately damaged) to prevent any further use. The towers and walls were torn down and dumped into the moat. The last major tower fragment collapsed in 1815.

 

Of course none of this collapse would have been helped by locals robbing the stone for their own buildings. Large parts of the castle are probably in the village and in surrounding farms and villages!

 

The site is free to visit, supported by a local friends group.It is in the care of English Heritage via a Lincolnshire heritage group.

The Walker Dam – Its Past, Present and Future

 

28 years I have lived in Aberdeen, never knowing this beautiful piece of land was less than a 15 minute drive through the city centre from my home.

 

I visited today 3rd May 2018, and walked the whole area taking photos of everything that lured me, on my walk I saw herrons, mandarin ducks , mallards etc, it was a joy.

 

The weather was overcast though warm and bright, I will revisit in the summer on a golden day to get the best of this beautiful area of Aberdeen.

 

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 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.

 

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.

 

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.’

 

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.

 

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.’

 

In 1833 Aberdeen Town Council agreed to have Walker Dam cleaned out and deepened, in partnership with Messrs Richards and Company, manufacturers in Aberdeen.

 

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.

 

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).

 

Richards sought a lease of the dam water at a fixed rent once the work had been completed.

 

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.

 

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.)

 

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.

 

Work included the construction of a spillwater tunnel and breast mound for the dam extension,with additional dykes and the installation of a new cast-iron tunnel pipe and sluice.

 

The plans,drawings and a detailed specification produced by the Council formed the basis of the contract, signed on 17 April 1839.

 

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.

 

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

 

The necessary land was obtained from Bannerman at a feu-duty of £20, recorded in a feu charter of 19 April 1839.

 

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’.

 

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 Classifed advertisement inviting tenders for the work, The Aberdeen Journal, 30 Jan 1839.

  

urgh, 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.’

 

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’.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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 Craigiebuckler Chartulery (Charter Register of Craigiebuckler, 1958-1959), CA/4/21 in Records of the Royal Burgh and City of Aberdeen, Aberdeen City Archives.

 

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 animportant recreational and educational resource, being one of the few larger bodies of water in the city.

 

La Fraction on a boat on Lake Travis, Texas

HP5+ in XTOL

Nikon N60

Built for Flickr LUGNuts 4th anniversary build challenge to the theme - "Alternate Fuels". Shown here is the late 2011 model year upgrade to the long running Ford Australia Falcon. Now code named FG II, the model bring upgrades to the FG Falcon launched in 2008.

 

Also new for 2011, though launched just prior to the FG upgrade is a new fuel delivery technology LPi. This stands for Liquid Phase Injection. In this case, for LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas). LPG is made of light fractions of crude oil, or straight from gas fields. The hydrocarbon fractions are mainly Propane and Butane, the mix of which varies from season to season. The interest in this fuel in Australia stems from the abundance of these fractions in Australia's petroleum reserves, and the minimal effort required to produce the usable fuel stock. Additionally, the consumer price of the fuel (approximately $0.65 per litre) is around 40-50% of the cost of regular unleaded petrol (gasolene).

 

The new LPi technology is analogous to a multi-point port fuel injection on a modern gasolene engine, enabling accurate metering of fuel, precise fueling pattern into the combustion chamber past the inlet valves and reduced fule vaporisation in the inlet charge. This replaces the older type system of a single point inlet vaporisation system. Capitalising on these benefit, the compression ration of the engine can be increased to over 11:1, yielding a more efficient burn (and consumption) and increased torque and power. In independent tests, the LPi fueled Ford Falcon consistently iout performs its gasolene equivalent. Specific fuel consumption is still poorer, however, due to the lower calorific content of the base fuel. A side benefit though, is a measured reduction in the production of CO2, due to the fewer carbon molecules contained in the hydrocarbon chains.

 

All these benefits yield a vehicle with increased peformance (approximately 200kW and 420 Nm) from the 4.0 litre naturally aspirated engine, with a lower fuel running cost than a small car segment vehicle such as a Toyota Corolla.

 

The vehicle architecture requirements of the ECOLPi system are chiefly a high-strength steel pressure vessel LPG gas tang, fitted aft of the rear suspension system, minimising the impact on luggage volume.

 

LPi is a system of fuel delivery optimised to the Australia/Pacific and S.E. Asia markets and is an enabler for reduced greenhouse emissions and energy security. The uptake of gaseous fueled vehicle in the growing Indian market is indicative of their benefits.

 

ECOLPi in the Ford Falcon has been on e of the vehicle design and engineering projects I have been involved with at Ford Australia's Product Develpment facilities.

 

www.caradvice.com.au/139156/2-grand-prix-pits-ford-falcon...

 

www.ford.com.au/servlet/Satellite?c=DFYPage&cid=12489...

 

Check out my set "Most Interesting 100" here!

 

Visit my Waldorfschool/Steinerschool related pinboards here!

 

Check out my set "Most Interesting 500" here!

 

Visit my Waldorfschool/Steinerschool related pinboards here!

The top fraction of an inch is the O horizon, decaying organic material. The next four inches are the A horizon, the decayed organic material and parent material where most of the root structures are found. The white flecks are fungi. The last several inches are the B horizon, very sandy and loose in this case.

A fraction of my late father in law's record collection.

 

I got a book called 104 Things to Photograph to expand my mind on photography. So far it's working!

 

-A Sweatshirt —

-A Somersault —

-Messy Hair —

-A Belly Laugh —

-Jumping Rope

-Shoelaces Tied Together —

-A Different Point of View—

-Clouds That Look Like Something Else —

-A Happy Reunion —

-A Bald Spot —

-Disappointment —

-Siblings —

-Behind the Scenes —

-A Stain —

-A Wonderful Surprise —

-Chapped Lips —

-Incognito —

-A Chain-Link Fence —

-A Cat Sleeping in a Window —

-Afternoon Light —

-Christmas Lights —

-A Reflection —

-Book Covers —

-Hanging Laundry —

-Strangers —

-Black and White —

-Pierced Ears —

-Thumb Wrestling

-An Arrow Pointing Up —

-Soft —

-Green —

-A Splash —

-A Blur —

-Wrinkles —

-A View from Above —

-Something Hidden —

-Half Full —

-What’s in Your Pocket —

-Peeking —

-An Empty Table —

-Your Next Door Neighbor

-The Inside of Your Fridge —

-Night in the City —

-A Drawing of a Photograph —

-A Collection —

-Dancing —

-A Haunted House —

-A Security Guard —

-A Funny Shape —

-A Smiling Baby —

-An Accident Waiting to Happen —

-Nerds —

-A Closed Sign —

-A Vacant Lot —

-An Optical Illusion —

-Thinking —

-A Neon Sign —

-Today’s Date —

-A Celebration —

-Your Parents, their picture —

-Under the Covers —

-A Barking Dog —

-In a Hurry —

-Graffiti —

-A Wild Animal —

-Downtown —

-A Spiderweb —

-Broken Glass —

-Makeup —

-Running Water —

-A Deserted Street —

-A Family Heirloom —

-Rocks —

-An Unmade Bed —

-From Big to Little —

-A Winding Staircase

-A High Five

-A Long Time —

-Melting Ice Cream —

-Sparks —

-Messy Wires —

-A Hole in the Ground —

-Power Lines —

-A Flock of Birds —

-A Graveyard —

-Sunny Side Up —

-The Tallest Building —

-A Movie Marquee —

-A Butterfly Kiss —

-A List —

-Hand Shadows —

-A Fighter —

-Stripes —

-A Bridge —

-Fashion —

-A Yellow Traffic Light —

-Silence —

-Hard Work —

-A Rip —

-Cozy —

-A Fork in the Road —

-A Winner —

-Homemade —

-A Hiding Place —

A tiny fraction of the stellar nursery known as Sh2-284 is visible in this glittering, star-filled NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. This immense region of gas and dust is the birthing place of stars, which shine among the clouds. Bright clusters of newborn stars glow pink in infrared light, and clouds of gas and dust, resembling puffy cumulus clouds, are dotted with dark knots of denser dust.

 

This image shows an infrared view from Hubble, giving an excellent view of the stars that might otherwise be obscured by Sh2-284’s clouds. Unlike visible light, infrared wavelengths can travel through clouds of gas and dust, providing a glimpse of the stars forming within the obscuring clouds.

 

The nebula is shaped by a young central star cluster, Dolidze 25 (not visible in the Hubble image), whose stars range from 1.5 to 13 million years old (our Sun, in contrast, is 4.6 billion years old). The cluster blasts out ionizing winds and radiation, pushing at the gas and dust of the nebula and carving out intricate shapes and pillars, as seen in detail here. This ionizing radiation gives Sh2-284 its classification as an HII region, an emission nebula consisting primarily of ionized hydrogen. An emission nebula like Sh2-284 glows with its own light as stars within or nearby energize its gas with a flood of intense ultraviolet radiation.

 

Sh2-284 is also a low-metallicity region, which means it is poor in elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. These conditions mimic the early universe, when matter was mostly helium and hydrogen and heavier elements were just beginning to form via nuclear fusion within massive stars. Hubble took these images as part of an effort to examine how low metallicity influences stellar formation and how this would apply to the early universe.

 

Sh2-284 resides 15,000 light-years away at the end of an outer spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy, in the constellation Monoceros.

 

Image credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Andersen (European Southern Observatory - Germany); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

 

For more information: science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-unveils-a-glitter...

 

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Sebastian Ricks's brow climbs a fraction higher at the bared teeth, but his own expression doesn't change. Interest, sure, but amusement in equal measure. "I hear you, ese, but it's not worth it to -me.- The UAC finds out I'm involved, I lose my business. Maybe more." His teeth flash in a twisted smile. Death, of course, was the penalty for that, but he doesn't look terribly concerned. "Five or six. With guns. It can be done. Question is... why." He turns away and strolls toward the couch. "My guess is either robbery--not in -my- best interest, you understand--or something anti-Legion. Care to elaborate? All secrets are safe at the Hellfire." He glances back at them both. "King of secrets, me."

 

Catabolis Plutonian cleared his throat, giving "Casindra" a nudge. He considered the man carefully - the turn of a back. A skilled trafficker in secrets knew the gesture meant "trust me" in the purest of senses - it was the offer to bury a blade or draw gun, unbidden, that earned his trust. Catabolis spoke clearly and carefully. "You aren't stupid, Mr. Ricks. Well, unless you're a suicide king, you won't traffick in this one - a team of armed hybrids is going to attempt to free a prisoner. Bails -" Yes, he'd use it. "You can show him. We are behind in the ante - your chip is next."

 

Bailey Longcloth looks up at Cata with a look that said he'd better be right, her life was hanging in the balance. Slowly she'd pull at her hair revealing a fluffy black ear and then another. "Mr Ricks, my name is Bails, I believe you know someone very important to me, Elise.." she'd say in a hushed tone.

 

Sebastian Ricks slowly crosses his arms over his chest and half-turns toward them both. Amusement twists his lips again. No, he wasn't stupid, but he did enjoy a challenge. And it wouldn't be the first time he'd slipped armed hybrids into Leviathan--a fact he now had no doubt the other man knew (or at least had guessed). He taps his tongue against his teeth, eyes slightly narrowed in interest, then he shifts his attention to... Bails? when she begins to speak. For a moment--a very brief moment--his expression changes. There's a flicker of genuine surprise behind his eyes, shuttered swiftly. With a glance at the doorway, he looks back at them both, and cants his head--a silent invitation to come closer. "I know her, yeah."

 

Catabolis Plutonian put his hand on the small of her back, moving forward again - taking Bails with him. He'd mutter to her softly. "Clean yourself up, love. Never know when someone will round the wrong corner, and I'd prefer not to have to kill tonight." Not true, but lies were inherent to negotiations. Leather-soled loafers scuffed on the dance floor, his pale face taking on the queer green light of the club as the music raged around him. Something about Sebastian was vaguely off-putting; in a flight of fancy, he rather imagined that, around Sebastian, -he- felt how others must around -him.- "Instruction followed, Sebastian. Let's get to terms, yes? It is a time of great tension, and a Poison would do us all good."

 

Bailey Longcloth steps forward tucking her ears back under her hair, she'd gotten good at this lately. "Elise is in Leviathon Sebastian, a guest of the UAC" Ears tucked away she'd stand beside Cata. Human for all the world to see.

 

Sebastian Ricks is not a man easily thrown off-step, but it's a near thing now. He looks away from them both, although he's listening intently. With the shift of his head, the glasses conceal his eyes again, their smoked lenses catching and throwing back the club's green light. "There had been conflicting reports..." is all he says, almost to himself. He makes a mental note to slit his Legion contact's throat. Silent for a moment, considering, he suddenly looks back at Bails. "You're getting her out?"

 

Bailey Longcloth nods, "Yes, I will get her out but... I need your help" she'd be a bit surprised at his reaction but wouldn't show it. If nothing else she'd learned the far reach her Matron had in this city.

 

Catabolis Plutonian crossed his arms, canting his head. LIke a serpent - that's it. He reminded him of a snake in the grass, his glasses like the hypnotic eyes of a snake. But in Catabolis' cold steel-blues there'd be a match, and an answer elaborated on for Bails. "If we can secure transport. The press release said Saturday would be her execution, if necessary. Assuming it's necessary - we might have an opening."

 

Sebastian Ricks reaches inside his coat. He draws out his phone and sends a text, then slides it away again. Elegant fingers. Sleight of hand. "Transport can be arranged. Five or six, a reasonable number. Any more than that, I'd need to secure other arrangements. Weapons too, you said?"

 

Catrin Finesmith looks down at her PDA in surprise. "Maftet, come to me," she calls beyond Guin.

 

Ravenne Karu blinked and turned back to Catrin, tilting her head before nodding once and stepping over to her. "Of course Mistress. What can I do for you?"

 

Catrin Finesmith smiles at Guin. Genuine. "More tolerable." She nods shortly, then looks down when Maftet comes over. "Maftet, your master has need of you," she says in a near whisper. Her hand would slide over the pet's hair, and give her a gentle nudge toward the back room.

 

Ravenne Karu tilts her head up into the hand in her soft hair, before nodding, and stepping quickly back on bare feet to the dance floor.

 

Catabolis Plutonian would nod. "Yes, with weapons. I'd imagine loads of them." He takes a minute to notice Maftet's approach, tensing somewhat.

 

Bailey Longcloth simply nods. She'd glance toward Maftet but not say anything to her.

 

Sebastian Ricks looks up as Maftet enters the room. He extends a hand for her, and if she takes it, draws her between himself and Bails. He would turn her around to face them both, his hands on her waist. "Do you know this chica?" he asks Maftet, deceptively soft.

 

Ravenne Karu turns to Cassindra and peers at her, before taking off her blindfold for a moment and running her hand over her, from the bottom of her back to the top of her legs just to be sure. "I do now.." she says quietly, glancing to Sebastian, her act dropped for just a moment.

 

Catabolis Plutonian seems surprised at the cat, his eyes widening a bit. The off-putting little "blind" one...had she been investigating him, then? Mysteries upon mysteries. A throat cleared, his. "We're legitimate."

 

Bailey Longcloth looks at Maftet and smiles, "Thank you" she'd mouth to her

 

Sebastian Ricks's sharp, hooded eyes remain on Bails. "She says she's here to help Elise. Truth or fiction?" His gaze flicks toward Catabolis. "Maftet," he says softly, his grin twisting, "is my Cassandra."

 

Catabolis Plutonian murmured, the gaze of the man unsettling. God, he'd swear lizard blood ran in his veins. Probably tasted like the sole of a shoe. "I thought no one believed Cassandra?" It was a rhetorical question of course.

 

Ravenne Karu nods to him and murmurs. "She is.. I would have introduced you.. but.. I didn't know it was her until just now. Had suspicions though.." she glanced over at Cata, wondering why he had stepped in to help.

 

Bailey Longcloth looks at Sebastian directly, meeting his gaze, "I apologize for the subterfuge in my appearance but it was necessary given the circumstances and the need to move quickly"

 

Sebastian Ricks meets Bails' gaze steadily. "Thank you, Maftet," he says. He is silent a moment, thinking, although little is betrayed on his face. Finally, he nods--short and expressionless. "You'll have the help you need. Give 'Maftet' here a time for the shipment to be picked up in Midian. She'll see it gets to me. The boat will be waiting at the old cement dock in Apoc, below the bookstore. And I'll get you out again." He glances at Catabolis. "No terms. I owe Elise."

 

Catabolis Plutonian felt an eyebrow go up, his senses on red alert. No way a man like him would...would he? Everything screamed trap, from the weird inspection to the offer of free help. Free lunches never were, and the man was famous for selling Poison. "If you cross me, Ricks..." Catabolis' face was one, big snarl. "I didn't think anything in your little storefront had a price tag of -free.- Either she came through for you in quite a moment, or you're going to fuck me. Or, more accurately, you're going to try - and then things will become very, very -bad- for you." A flash of teeth, then - were they longer than usual? There and gone.

 

Ravenne Karu turns and nearly, -nearly-, snapped at Cata, but she refrained and murmured. "If he says he owes someone, he owes them. If he tell you you owe him.. you owe him. Just how it is.. chico.." she grinned a cheshire grin and put her blindfold back on, running the silk through her fingers as she slipped back into her role. She turned to the two, murrling out. "Can I get either of you anything? Master Ricks, would you like a drink?.."

 

Bailey Longcloth nods to Sebastian, her eyes not leaving his. "Thank you Sebastian" She'd not say anything else, relieved would be an understatement. Something in Sebastian's face told her he'd be true to his word. She'd reach for Cata's arm instinctively.

 

Sebastian Ricks's eyes narrow speculatively behind his glasses, but the glimpse of teeth--it's too swift, the light too strange. He is suddenly sharply aware of the Harpy concealed at his wrist, and how he had offered that same wrist to someone else, and been pleaded with, refused. He studies Catabolis intently. "No drink, chiquita," he says to Maftet. He takes one step closer to Catabolis--not in threat, precisely. A mocking intimacy. "If I wanted to fuck you over, ese," he says softly, "you'd never see it coming. I owe Elise. I'm a man of my word, and I always pay my debts."

 

Catabolis Plutonian spoke evenly, in the midst of a steady nod. His eyes were like dead galaxies full of cold planets, devoid of life. The eyes of the undead. "We will see. As of right now, you have a receivable. We'll see how that works out, hmm? B...Casindra...let's leave Mr. Ricks to his thoughts." He'd squeeze her around the waist a bit. "I, for one, could use a drink."

 

Bailey Longcloth nods "I could use a drink myself." She'd nod to Sebastian, an unspoken gesture of thanks. She'd lean in to the squeeze at her waist, slipping back into her role as Casinda

It has been a challenge to photograph the minute flower structures of this plant, largely because these are so small (the stigmas are a fraction of the diameter of a human hair, and a cluster of several anthers would easily pass through the eye of a needle), but also because these become obscured in most views (in frontal images, the stigmas virtually disappear, and the anthers look like indistinct pale patches lying on the surface).

 

A profile view, and strong side lighting reveal the threadlike stigmas, and focus stacking techniques have provided the necessary depth of field to reveal details in the anthers. Both structures appear to initially develop beneath the surface of the receptacle, and rupture through as they mature.

 

This is a composite image of 48 photos, merged together utilizing Helicon 6.2.2 software.

 

The Dorstenias are a unique group of generally smallish, perennial, herbaceous, or shrubby plants belonging to the Moraceae, or Fig Family. The genus is widespread, occurring in northeast Africa, the Arabian peninsula, Madagascar, and Central and South America. According to online sources, approximately 105 species are presently recognized - although older references have indicated as many as 170 species had once been recognized. The majority of the species are non-succulent, but some species are succulent, - either producing a tuber-like rhizome, or a succulent caudex. The genus is characterized by its distinctive inflorescence: many minute (often microscopic) flowers are produced on a fleshy receptacle. Depending upon the species and variety, the inflorescence may be flat, cupped or irregular, with long, fleshy bracts radiating outwards from its center. Virtually all the species are monecious, with each receptacle producing both male and female flowers; Dorstenia lavrani is one of the few (or perhaps the only) species which is dioecious, producing male and female flowers on different plants.

 

Following pollination, seeds develop just beneath the surface of the receptacle, and rupture through to the surface as they ripen. When ripe, the seeds are forcibly ejected from the plant and may travel many feet from the parent plant.

 

Only a handful of the succulent species have been in regular cultivation, and several of these (including Dorstenia gigas, D. gypsophila, and D. lavrani ) are still comparatively uncommon in the trade and command fairly high prices. This is not the case with Dorstenia foetidia, which has been widely available (through mail-order nurseries and Cactus and Succulent Society sales) for decades, and is usually offered at very reasonable prices. It is one of the easiest of the succulent Dorstenias to grow and propagate. Young plants have a nice, squat appearance: The caudex is a translucent green, mottled with small paler green splotches, and prominently marked with brownish - grey leaf scars. Typically the stems of this species are unbranched at this stage, but the illustrated plant shows the beginnings of multiple stems - to my eye, the young plants have the appearance of a mostly melted green candle stub with leaves. The growth rate at this stage is fairly rapid, I have seen plants grow from tiny seedlings, less than an inch from leaf tip to leaf tip to flowering sized adolescents in less than a year. Younger plants seem to produce a succession of inflorescences over a fairly long period, while more mature plants have tended to produce fewer "flowers" over a shorter period of time.

 

The inflorescences on my plants are small, often less than an inch across (including the fleshy bracts). The male flowers appear to produce a single minute filament topped with a tiny anther (the anthers appear as tiny yellow spots on my photographs). The greater portion of the female flowers are imbedded within the receptacle, with only the minute, hair-like styles protruding above the surface of the receptacle.

 

As the plant matures, the stems develop an opaque grey "bark". At this stage, growth slows considerably, with the primary stems growing a little taller each year. Ultimately, this species may attain a height of about 12 inches, but my plant is approximately 6 inches in height after about 8 years of growth in my care. The leaves are non-succulent, with barely crisped margins, but the leaves are highly variable in this species, and may be narrower, or more crisped in plants from other sites. In years past, some nurseries offered plants identified as "Dorstenia crispa", and "Dorstenia lancifolia" based largely on the shape and degree of "crisping" on the margins of the leaves. Even at that time, these names seemed to be applied rather arbitrarily - so there was often confusion as to which "species" any plant belonged to. It appears that these plants have become more or less merged together in recent treatments, although some growers will still recognize varieties crispa or lancifolia based upon details of the leaf and region of origin.

 

The original label on my plant was lost many years ago, I have a vague recollection that it was originally identified as D. crispa, but I have chosen to identify it as D. sp. aff. foetidia here. The species was named foetidia due to the fetid odor of its sap. This odor also appears to be fairly variable, and may vary in degree from plant to plant and due to genetics and differing growing conditions.

 

This is a very easy plant to grow: it responds well to my general guidelines on growing cacti and other succulents, with a few modifications. First of all, I have found that this plant grows best under warm conditions throughout the year: it shows some stress when subjected to extended cold during its winter dormancy. While my plants have survived brief exposure to considerably colder temperatures (almost to freezing), they fare best when they are kept relatively warm in the winter - with temperatures dipping to about the upper 50's or the lower 60's during their dormancy. During their growing season, they fare best with temperatures ranging from the high 70's to the upper 80's - at higher temperatures this plant seems to produce less growth. Also, while this species seems to tolerate full sun, it seems to grow best when given dapple shade outdoors. (Indoors, it may fare better with full sun). Plants must be grown from seed, and while I have had some success in growing this plant from seed harvested from the receptacle and immediately surface sewn onto a gritty medium, it is far easier to harvest the "volunteer" seedlings from adjacent pots and re-pot these. While this species has the potential to become a nuisance (some of its tropical cousins are definitely weedy), I have never been overwhelmed with unwanted seedlings in my collection - I have little trouble in selling or trading the self sewn seedlings, so the appearance of a few stray seedlings is more serendipitous than annoying.

 

All things considered, I am rather surprised that the Dorstenias are not more widely grown. For the most part they are easy plants to grow, tolerating a wide variety of growing conditions, and (in many species) tolerating somewhat lower light conditions than most succulents. The succulent species are generally smallish plants which produce an interesting caudex, attractively marked with white or paler green leaf scars, and topped with a short rosette of leaves which often produce nicely undulate margins. Many growers find Dorstenia "flowers" to be strangely attractive or odd to the point of being interesting, and grow these plants for these alone. In Dorstenia foetidia the "flowers" are generally produced either continuously, or in several successive waves over much of the growing season, which differs from the flowering habits of most other succulents, which generally produce flowers during a comparatively short blooming season. More often than not, if is actively growing, chances are good that this plant will be producing "flowers".

 

The small size of this species makes it suitable for windowsills, or growing under fluorescent lights. These plants do not produce spines (a real plus for those persons who may have pets and young children), however, many Dorstenias will produce a latex, which in some species, may be irritating or toxic. These plants have not found their way into the "Big Box" nurseries, and probably never will; they are available from mail order nurseries specializing in succulents, on E-bay, and from most cactus and succulent society sales. If you ever get an opportunity to grow this plant, give it a try.

 

1991’s Aerial Intruder from the Blacktron II fraction enters the LEGO City!

 

The ‘Big’ ship from a fan favorite (myself decidedly included) sub-theme is actually not all that big compared to the other Space sub-themes’ flagships. This ship checks the majority of my criteria for what made an excellent spaceship play set as a kid!

 

Great color scheme and cool large transparent elements?

Blacktron 2 has arguably the best + printed large windshield!

 

Detachable base with usable interior space?

The center of the ship is large when opened and has an aft storage compartment. While tight when loaded with cargo, great when side-builds are deployed

 

Dropship/Escape Pod?

Two of the best designed simple ships that deploy from the sides, that are also designed to be compatible with the rest of the sub-theme! So simple and genius

And a bonus jetpack element that is classic

 

Rover?

Two! Yes, super simple, but very standard for the time.

 

Action features?

The simple rover launch action definitely suffices.

 

Droid/Robot?

Not for this faction, but I believe that’s because they were outlaws. Correct me if I’m wrong?

 

Yes, I’m a really big fan of this old spaceship. Any detractors, like having 5 pilot-able options with only two minifigs can be understood with all their buddies they’d have to break from the Space Police II

 

This Absolute Classic brings me to the conclusion of my look back at some of my favorite LEGO from the ‘90s. I’m sure I’ll do more shoots with these sets in the future, but I’ve got a ton of contemporary sets to showcase for now and a large MOC in progress.

 

What did you think of this ship? Did you have it? Does it hold up today?

     

#LEGO #Blacktron2 #ClassicSpace #6981 #AerialIntruder #LEGO1991 #LEGOSpace #Legoblacktron #blacktron #afol #legomania #LegoArialInteuder #LegoJetPack #LegoPhotography #RetroLego #LEGO6981 #LEGOSystem #Legoland #toyPhotography #LegoPics #toyPics #90sLEGO #LegoCity #NeonLegoBricks #ToyNostalgia #LEGOSpaceship #ClassicLego #LegoSpaceMan #NeonBricks #Vaporwave #VintageLego

66117 WBAT MARGAM TC 796O32CG26 4 * DOLLANDSM N 11D A

 

Despite it being still being a month until the clocks change it is already becoming increasingly difficult to photograph 6O32 when it reaches here with the daylight fading especially on evenings when it is overcast or raining. Here DB Schenker's class 66 (JT42CWR) number 66117 in English, Welsh and Scottish Railway maroon with zigzag gold band works 6O32 from Margam to Dollands Moor on 26 August 2014 hauling 18 loaded IHA bogie steel coil carrier wagons. Ultimately this service takes steel from Tata's Port Talbot steelworks to Rotterdam or Maubeuge France via Calais Frethun (for the full route taken see www.flickr.com/photos/99279135@N05/14092887923/).

 

66117 was built by General Motors EMD, London, Ontario, Canada in 1999 and unloaded from the Heavy Lift Ship MV "Gajah Borneo" at Newport Docks on 20 June 1999.

 

The steel flow from South Wales to Maubeuge (France) and to Broekman (Holland) stopped running through the Channel tunnel at the end of November 2015. The flow to Maubeuge was cancelled as the cold mill which produced this material was mothballed as part of the Tata Steel strip downsizing programme. Instead Maubeuge is supplied from Tata Steels Limuiden plant (Holland). 2 grades of steel were also supplied by Tata Steel to Broekman Group to make oil drums. With one grade being sourced from elsewhere the remaining 700 tonnes per week of the second grade was not sufficient to run a block train.

 

According to Realtime Trains the route and timings were;

Margam Terminal Complex...........1000...............1019........19L

Margam Moors Junction................1005...............1024.......19L

Stormy.................................................1014................1035.......21L

Bridgend [BGN] 2.............................1020...............1039½....19L

Pontyclun [PYC]................................1033...............1051.........18L

Cardiff Central [CDF].......................1057................1106.........9L

Marshfield...........................................1108................1117...........9L

Ebbw Junction...................................1113.................1121..........8L

Newport [NWP]..................................1116.................1125.........9L

Maindee West Junction...................1118.................1126.........8L

Llanwern West Junction..................1122................1131...........9L

Llanwern Steelworks East...............1247...............1244.........3E

Severn Tunnel Junction [STJ] 4......1300..............1303.........3L

Severn Tunnel West..........................1301...............1307..........6L

Severn Tunnel East...........................1307...............1312..........5L

Pilning [PIL] 1.......................................1310................1315.........5L

Patchway [PWY] 1..............................1319½.............1322........2L

Bristol Parkway [BPW] 3..................1322...............1323½.......1L

Westerleigh Junction.......................1328½............1329.........RT

Hullavington.................................1400/1416...NoRep/1416....RT

Wootton Bassett Junction..............1437................1435.........2E

Swindon [SWI]...................................1445................1446..........1L

Challow...............................................1532................1459.......33E

Wantage Road.............................1537/1557......1503/1503..54E

Didcot Parkway [DID] 4.............1609/1614........1611/1612.....2E

Didcot East Junction.......................1616.................1613..........3E

Reading West Junction..................1634................1634..........RT

Reading [RDG] 15.............................1635................1637½......2L

Kennet Bridge Junction..................1636½............1640..........3L

Twyford [TWY] 4...............................1643½............1645½.......2L

Maidenhead [MAI] 4........................1651½.............1653½.......2L

Slough [SLO] 5..................................1659...............1701............2L

Heathrow Airport Junction............1713.................1715............2L

Southall [STL]....................................1718.................1719½..........1L

Ealing Broadway [EAL]....................1741.................1740½........RT

Acton West.........................................1742½............1742............RT

Acton Wells Junction.......................1757................1754............3E

Mitre Bridge Junction [XMB]..........1811.................1806...........5E

North Pole Junction.........................1812½.............1809...........3E

Kensington Olympia [KPA] 3..........1816................1814½..........1E

Latchmere Junction.........................1823½............1826............2L

Factory Junction.........................1839/1845....NoRep/1842....3E

Voltaire Road Junction [XVJ]......1846½...............1845.............1E

Brixton [BRX]...................................1850..................1851..............1L

Herne Hill [HNH] 3.........................1852..................1853.............1L

Beckenham Junction [BKJ] 3......1900½..............1902.............1L

Shortlands Junction [XOR]...........1902½..............1904.............1L

Bromley South [BMS]....................1905½...............1908...........2L

Bickley Junction [XLY]...................1910...................1913.............3L

Petts Wood Junction [XPE]..........1913...................1915.............2L

Orpington [ORP] 3..........................1915½...............1917½..........2L

Sevenoaks [SEV] 3.........................1929.................1928.............1E

Tonbridge [TON].............................1937..................1936.............1E

Paddock Wood [PDW]...................1943.................1941½...........1E

Headcorn [HCN].............................1954.................1955..............1L

Ashford International [AFK] 6.....2010.................2008...........2E

Dollands Moor Sidings [XLM].....2024................2030...........6L

File name: 10_03_002523a

Binder label: Shoes

Title: C. M. Henderson & Co., Chicago. Red School House shoes - class in fractions [front]

Date issued: 1870 - 1900 (approximate)

Physical description: 1 print : chromolithograph ; 8 x 12 cm.

Genre: Advertising cards

Subject: Women; Children; Shoes; Blackboards

Notes: Title from item. Item verso is blank.

Statement of responsibility: C. M. Henderson & Co.

Collection: 19th Century American Trade Cards

Location: Boston Public Library, Print Department

Rights: No known restrictions.

Arbatax, Tortolì fraction, is one of the most important ports on the east coast of Sardinia, located on the northern tip of the promontory of Capo Bellavista, the town is built around a tower of the late sixteenth century, which served as a munitions depot. Arbatax is famous for the characteristic red rocks, a cliff of red porphyry, which is located near the harbor, behind the east pier. Beyond the reef opens a passage carved into the rock through which you go to a beach at the foot of the red rocks.

Arbatax is a territory rich in green Mediterranean scrub and the characteristic red rocks and masses of porphyritic granite.

Arbatax is a stunning place to be in the spring, when you can see an explosion of colours with the contrast of the rocks of the headland and the reef, the white sandy beaches and the limpid waters. A natural frame to this panorama are the surrounding mountains, the highest on the island.

 

Arbatax (in sardo Arbatassa) è una frazione costiera del comune di Tortolì, in provincia dell'Ogliastra, sede di porto e di aeroporto (Tortolì-Arbatax).

Arbatax si trova su una penisola, (Capo Bellavista), al centro della costa orientale sarda, a ridosso dello Stagno di Tortolì. I centri abitati più vicini sono Tortolì (che è il capoluogo del comune di cui la frazione Arbatax fa parte: a 5 km), Girasole (a 7 km) e Lotzorai (ad 9 km).Le Rocce Rosse sono il Monumento Naturale più conosciuto di Arbatax, oltre che uno dei simboli dell'Isola. Vengono anche detti, meno diffusamente, "Scogli Rossi" e rappresentano una delle tante formazioni di filoni di porfido rosso affiorante dell'Ogliastra, (come per esempio i faraglioni di Cea a Bari sardo). Situate tra il Porto e Cala Moresca, queste rocce di porfido rosso dalla forma particolare che va man mano a stagliarsi nelle acque del Mediterraneo, non sono solo un monumento naturale ma rappresentano anche lo spendido e panoramico scenario della piccola spiaggia di scogli bianchi e di granito rosa, nonchè scenario dell'appuntamento annuale del ROCCE ROSSE & BLUES, una manifestazione musicale molto famosa

 

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Beautiful Mazzarò beach at the foot of Taormina's hill . The Lido of Mazzarò has grown from an ancient settlement of fishermen. The bay faces the Ionian Sea, surrounded by bright colors or blue depending on water depth, or from the different angle of sunlight. Mazzarò (alias Taormina mare) is a coastal fraction of Taormina. Tourists have plenty of choice, to make their way from Taormina that leads to the sea and vice versa. You can drive along the Via Pirandello and continue on the SS.114, or by the cable car that connects in few minutes Mazzarò to Taormina center and vice versa. For those who wants to enjoy the colors of Sicily can undertake a walk that starts from the beautiful panoramic view and ends with the arrival of the front bay of Isola Bella, immersed in an evergreen garden full of flowers and prickly pears characteristic of the Mediterranean. From the Bay of Mazzarò you can reach any other costal area : The Grotta Azzurra, the Capo Taormina one of the most exclusive area , also for its emerald green sea.

 

Mazzarò è una piccola spiaggia di Taormina in Sicilia e si trova direttamente sotto la collina.La spiaggia di Mazzarò a Taormina mare si trova direttamente sul lato nord della "piccola perla" di Isola Bella.La spiaggia nella baia di Mazzarò non è sicuramente tra le spiagge più grandi della zona ma senza dubbi tra le più belle. La sabbia è grossa con sassolini.Nella baia di Mazzarò, durante l' alta stagione, si trova qualche spiaggia libera e numerosi lidi a pagamento con ombrelloni e lettini. La spiaggia di Mazzarò si raggiunge da Taormina in soli 10 minuti con la funivia Taormina - Mazzarò.

 

Taormina is a comune and small town on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy, in the Province of Messina, about midway between Messina and Catania. Taormina has been a very popular tourist destination since the 19th century. It has popular beaches (accessible via an aerial tramway) on the Ionian sea, which is remarkably warm and has a high salt content. Taormina can be reached via highways from Messina from the north and Catania .Just south of Taormina is the Isola Bella, a nature reserve. Tours of the Capo Sant' Andrea grottos are also available. Taormina is built on an extremely hilly coast, and is approximately a forty-five minute drive away from Europe's largest active volcano, Mount Etna.A stay at Taormina is not just a seaside vacation. This area, rich in charm and history, must be experienced in a spirit that is outside the ordinary, and for one simple reason: here, everything is extraordinary. Every stone is a thousand-year-old piece of history, the glorious sea reflects Taormina's beauty, as it shapes and marks the passage of time, and the places that enchanted the Greeks create to this day a vibrant and exciting ambiance. But trying to describe in words what makes Taormina unique is truly difficult.

 

Taormina ist eine Stadt mit 11.076 Einwohnern (Stand 31. Dezember 2010) an der Ostküste Siziliens. Die Gründung der Stadt geht auf die Sikuler zurück, die schon vor der griechischen Kolonisation auf den Terrassen des Monte Tauro siedelten. Im 4. Jahrhundert vor Christus wurde die Stadt griechisch. Die heutige Stadt ist eine Neugründung aus dem Mittelalter, nachdem die Araber die antike Stadt zerstört hatten.Auf Grund der malerischen Landschaft, des milden Klimas und zahlreicher historischer Sehenswürdigkeiten entwickelte sich die Stadt im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert zu einem der wichtigsten Touristenzentren Siziliens. Besonders bekannt und sehenswert sind das antike Theater mit Blick auf den Ätna und den Golf von Giardini-Naxos und die kleine Insel Isola Bella vor der Küste Taorminas.

 

Taormina (griego antiguo Ταυρομένιον, Tauromenion, latín Tauromenium) es una ciudad situada en la costa este de la isla de Sicilia (Italia), en la provincia de Mesina, a medio camino entre Mesina y Catania. Cuenta con 10.991 habitantes.Está casi en el límite de la provincia de Catania, se extiende por el monte Tauro, a 200 m de altitud, y se halla en un balcón sobre el mar, enfrente del volcán Etna. Es un centro turístico muy importante desde el siglo XIX.Posee magníficas playas (accesibles mediante teleférico) y un patrimonio histórico muy rico, cuyo máximo exponente es el célebre teatro greco-romano. Además, se conserva un castillo árabe, que ocupa el lugar de la antigua ciudadela o Arx.Taormina y el volcán Etna al fondo, desde el teatro griego.La ciudad fue fundada por los griegos en el 736 a. C., con el nombre de Naxos.La leyenda cuenta que los marinos griegos que pasaban por la costa oriental de Sicilia olvidaron realizar sacrificios en honor a Poseidón, y él, encolerizado, les hizo naufragar. El único superviviente, Teocles, llegó al Capo Schico, próximo a Naxos, y volvió a Grecia para contar las maravillas de Sicilia, convenciendo a sus compatriotas para instalarse en la isla.

 

Taormine, en italien Taormina, est une commune de la province de Messine en Sicile (Italie).Taormine est située sur la côte est de la Sicile, à peu près à mi-chemin entre Messine et Catane (50 km), presque à la limite de la province de Catane.Elle s’étend sur le Mont Tauro à 200 m d’altitude. La ville est en balcon sur la mer face à l’Etna. La Calabre, distante d'environ 30 km, est visible par temps clair ainsi que la nuit.La légende dit que des marins grecs, passant sur la côte orientale de la Sicile, avaient oublié de sacrifier à Neptune. Celui-ci, en colère, fit chavirer leur embarcation. Le seul survivant, Théocle, parvint au Cap Schiso, non loin du site de Naxos (aujourd'hui Giardini-Naxos). Il retourna ensuite en Grèce pour narrer à ses compatriotes les merveilles de la Sicile. Certains, convaincus, décidèrent de venir s’y installer.

 

Taormina è un comune di 10.991 abitanti della provincia di Messina. E' uno dei centri balneari di maggiore rilievo di tutta la regione. Il suo aspetto, il suo paesaggio, i suoi luoghi, le sue bellezze riescono ad attirare turisti provenienti da tutto il mondo.Situata su una collina a 206 m di altezza sul livello del mare , sospesa tra rocce e mare su un terrazzo del monte Tauro, in uno scenario di bellezze naturali unico per varietà e contrasti di motivi , splendore di colori e lussureggiante vegetazione.Il clima è dolcemente mite.Molto belle le mezze stagioni , Primavera e Autunno infatti vantano un clima idealmente mite.La storia di Taormina è sicuramente costellata da molteplici dominazioni, e questo è possibile vederlo passeggiando per le strade del centro storico che mostrano i segni lasciati dai vari popoli passati per Taomina. Essendo situata al centro del mediterraneo la Sicilia fu sempre una preda ambita per la sua posizione strategica di passaggio,situata sulla parte est e in posizione fortificata su una collina permetteva già da allora di controllare buona parte della costa ionica e ha sempre rappresentato un ottimo punto di fortificazione e controllo nelle stradegie di guerra. Dopo aver attestato l'esistenza di una sede di siculi ( antichi abitanti dell'isola, detti anche sicani) presso Taormina, per certo vi passarono e vi lasciarono le loro tracce I Greci, i Romani, i Saraceni, dunque gli Arabi, i Bizantini ,I Normanni , Gli Aragonesi , e per ultimi i Borboni.Un soggiorno a Taormina non è semplicemente una vacanza al mare. Questi luoghi, pregni di storia e di fascino, chiedono infatti di essere vissuti con uno spirito diverso da quello comune e la ragione è semplice: qui tutto è fuori dall'ordinario.Ogni pietra reca in sé una storia millenaria, il mare meraviglioso su cui Taormina riflette tutta la sua bellezza, condiziona e scandisce lo scorrere del tempo ed i luoghi che furono l'incanto dei greci trasmettono tutt'oggi un'atmosfera vibrante di emozioni. Ma tentare di descrivere con le parole ciò che rende unica Taormina è davvero difficile.

 

Font : Wikipedia

 

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The Walker Dam – Its Past, Present and Future

 

28 years I have lived in Aberdeen, never knowing this beautiful piece of land was less than a 15 minute drive through the city centre from my home.

 

I visited today 3rd May 2018, and walked the whole area taking photos of everything that lured me, on my walk I saw herrons, mandarin ducks , mallards etc, it was a joy.

 

The weather was overcast though warm and bright, I will revisit in the summer on a golden day to get the best of this beautiful area of Aberdeen.

 

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 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.

 

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.

 

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.’

 

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.

 

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.’

 

In 1833 Aberdeen Town Council agreed to have Walker Dam cleaned out and deepened, in partnership with Messrs Richards and Company, manufacturers in Aberdeen.

 

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.

 

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).

 

Richards sought a lease of the dam water at a fixed rent once the work had been completed.

 

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.

 

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.)

 

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.

 

Work included the construction of a spillwater tunnel and breast mound for the dam extension,with additional dykes and the installation of a new cast-iron tunnel pipe and sluice.

 

The plans,drawings and a detailed specification produced by the Council formed the basis of the contract, signed on 17 April 1839.

 

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.

 

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

 

The necessary land was obtained from Bannerman at a feu-duty of £20, recorded in a feu charter of 19 April 1839.

 

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’.

 

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 Classifed advertisement inviting tenders for the work, The Aberdeen Journal, 30 Jan 1839.

  

urgh, 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.’

 

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’.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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 Craigiebuckler Chartulery (Charter Register of Craigiebuckler, 1958-1959), CA/4/21 in Records of the Royal Burgh and City of Aberdeen, Aberdeen City Archives.

 

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 animportant recreational and educational resource, being one of the few larger bodies of water in the city.

 

I was sick there for a bit. But I'm back in the saddle.

Vernissage expo "une fraction de lumière". J2MC Photo, Théatre "le Mille Feuille"