Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, also known as Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 until the Surname Law of 1934 (c. 1881 – 10 November 1938), was a Turkish field marshal, revolutionary statesman, author, and the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first president from 1923 until his death in 1938. He undertook sweeping progressive reforms, which modernized Turkey into a secular, industrializing nation. Ideologically a secularist and nationalist, his policies and socio-political theories became known as Kemalism.

 

Atatürk came to prominence for his role in securing the Ottoman Turkish victory at the Battle of Gallipoli (1915) during World War I. During this time, the Ottoman Empire perpetrated genocides against its Greek, Armenian and Assyrian subjects; while not directly involved, Atatürk's role in their aftermath has been controversial. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, he led the Turkish National Movement, which resisted mainland Turkey's partition among the victorious Allied powers. Establishing a provisional government in the present-day Turkish capital Ankara (known in English at the time as Angora), he defeated the forces sent by the Allies, thus emerging victorious from what was later referred to as the Turkish War of Independence. He subsequently proceeded to abolish the sultanate in 1922 and proclaimed the foundation of the Turkish Republic in its place the following year.

 

As the president of the newly formed Turkish Republic, Atatürk initiated a rigorous program of political, economic, and cultural reforms with the ultimate aim of building a republican and secular nation-state. He made primary education free and compulsory, opening thousands of new schools all over the country. He also introduced the Latin-based Turkish alphabet, replacing the old Ottoman Turkish alphabet. Turkish women received equal civil and political rights during Atatürk's presidency. In particular, women were given voting rights in local elections by Act no. 1580 on 3 April 1930 and a few years later, in 1934, full universal suffrage. His government carried out a policy of Turkification, trying to create a homogeneous, unified and above all secular nation under the Turkish banner. Under Atatürk, the minorities in Turkey were ordered to speak Turkish in public, but were allowed to maintain their own languages in private and within their own communities; non-Turkish toponyms were replaced and non-Turkish families were ordered to adopt a Turkish surname. The Turkish Parliament granted him the surname Atatürk in 1934, which means "Father of the Turks", in recognition of the role he played in building the modern Turkish Republic. He died on 10 November 1938 at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, at the age of 57; he was succeeded as president by his long-time prime minister İsmet İnönü and was honored with a state funeral.

 

In 1981, the centennial of Atatürk's birth, his memory was honoured by the United Nations and UNESCO, which declared it The Atatürk Year in the World and adopted the Resolution on the Atatürk Centennial, describing him as "the leader of the first struggle given against colonialism and imperialism" and a "remarkable promoter of the sense of understanding between peoples and durable peace between the nations of the world and that he worked all his life for the development of harmony and cooperation between peoples without distinction". Atatürk was also credited for his peace-in-the-world oriented foreign policy and friendship with neighboring countries such as Iran, Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Greece, as well as the creation of the Balkan Pact that resisted the expansionist aggressions of Fascist Italy and Tsarist Bulgaria.

 

The Turkish War of Independence (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns and a revolution waged by the Turkish National Movement, after parts of the Ottoman Empire were occupied and partitioned following its defeat in World War I. The conflict was between the Turkish Nationalists against Allied and separatist forces over the application of Wilsonian principles, especially national self-determination, in post-World War I Anatolia and Eastern Thrace. The revolution concluded the collapse of the Ottoman Empire; the Ottoman monarchy and the Islamic caliphate were abolished, and the Republic of Turkey was declared in Anatolia and Eastern Thrace. This resulted in a transfer of vested sovereignty from the sultan-caliph to the nation, setting the stage for Republican Turkey's period of nationalist revolutionary reform.

 

While World War I ended for the Ottoman Empire with the Armistice of Mudros, the Allied Powers continued occupying and securing land per the Sykes–Picot Agreement, as well as to facilitate the prosecution of former members of the Committee of Union and Progress and those involved in the Armenian genocide. Ottoman military commanders therefore refused orders from both the Allies and the Ottoman government to surrender and disband their forces. In an atmosphere of turmoil throughout the remainder of the empire, sultan Mehmed VI dispatched Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Atatürk), a well-respected and high-ranking general, to Anatolia to restore order; however, Mustafa Kemal became an enabler and eventually leader of Turkish Nationalist resistance against the Ottoman government, Allied powers, and separatists.

 

In an attempt to establish control over the power vacuum in Anatolia, the Allies agreed to launch a Greek peacekeeping force into Anatolia and occupy Smyrna (İzmir), inflaming sectarian tensions and beginning the Turkish War of Independence. A nationalist counter government led by Mustafa Kemal was established in Ankara when it became clear the Ottoman government was appeasing the Allied powers. The Allies soon pressured the Ottoman government in Constantinople to suspend the Constitution, shutter Parliament, and sign the Treaty of Sèvres, a treaty unfavorable to Turkish interests that the "Ankara government" declared illegal.

 

In the ensuing war, Turkish and Syrian forces defeated the French in the south, and remobilized army units went on to partition Armenia with the Bolsheviks, resulting in the Treaty of Kars (October 1921). The Western Front of the independence war is known as the Greco-Turkish War, in which Greek forces at first encountered unorganized resistance. However, İsmet Pasha (İnönü)'s organization of militia into a regular army paid off when Ankara forces fought the Greeks in the First and Second Battle of İnönü. The Greek army emerged victorious in the Battle of Kütahya-Eskişehir and decided to drive on the Nationalist capital of Ankara, stretching their supply lines. The Turks checked their advance in the Battle of Sakarya and eventually counter-attacked in the Great Offensive, which expelled Greek forces from Anatolia in the span of three weeks. The war effectively ended with the recapture of İzmir and the Chanak Crisis, prompting the signing of another armistice in Mudanya.

 

The Grand National Assembly in Ankara was recognized as the legitimate Turkish government, which signed the Treaty of Lausanne (July 1923), a treaty more favorable to Turkey than the Sèvres Treaty. The Allies evacuated Anatolia and Eastern Thrace, the Ottoman government was overthrown and the monarchy abolished, and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (which remains Turkey's primary legislative body today) declared the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923. With the war, a population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, and the abolition of the sultanate, the Ottoman era came to an end, and with Atatürk's reforms, the Turks created the modern, secular nation-state of Turkey. On 3 March 1924, the Ottoman caliphate was also abolished.

 

The ethnic demographics of the modern Turkish Republic were significantly impacted by the earlier Armenian genocide and the deportations of Greek-speaking, Orthodox Christian Rum people. The Turkish Nationalist Movement carried out massacres and deportations to eliminate native Christian populations—a continuation of the Armenian genocide and other ethnic cleansing operations during World War I. Following these campaigns of ethnic cleansing, the historic Christian presence in Anatolia was destroyed, in large part, and the Muslim demographic had increased from 80% to 98%.

 

Following the chaotic politics of the Second Constitutional Era, the Ottoman Empire came under the control of the Committee of Union and Progress in a coup in 1913, and then further consolidated its control after the assassination of Mahmud Shevket Pasha.[citation needed] Founded as a radical revolutionary group seeking to prevent a collapse of the Ottoman Empire, by the eve of World War I it decided that the solution was to implement nationalist and centralizing policies. The CUP reacted to the losses of land and the expulsion of Muslims from the Balkan Wars by turning even more nationalistic. Part of its effort to consolidate power was to proscribe and exile opposition politicians from the Freedom and Accord Party to remote Sinop.

 

The Unionists brought the Ottoman Empire into World War I on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary, during which a genocidal campaign was waged against Ottoman Christians, namely Armenians, Pontic Greeks, and Assyrians. It was based on an alleged conspiracy that the three groups would rebel on the side of the Allies, so collective punishment was applied. A similar suspicion and suppression from the Turkish nationalist government was directed towards the Arab and Kurdish populations, leading to localized rebellions. The Entente powers reacted to these developments by charging the CUP leaders, commonly known as the Three Pashas, with "Crimes against humanity" and threatened accountability. They also had imperialist ambitions on Ottoman territory, with a major correspondence over a post-war settlement in the Ottoman Empire being leaked to the press as the Sykes–Picot Agreement. With Saint Petersburg's exit from World War I and descent into civil war, driven in part from the Ottomans' closure of the Turkish straits of goods bound to Russia, a new imperative was given to the Entente powers to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war to restart the Eastern Front.

 

World War I would be the nail in the coffin of Ottomanism, a monarchist and multicultural nationalism. Mistreatment of non-Turk groups after 1913, and the general context of great socio-political upheaval that occurred in the aftermath of World War I, meant many minorities now wished to divorce their future from imperialism to form futures of their own by separating into (often republican) nation-states.

 

In the summer months of 1918, the leaders of the Central Powers realized that the Great War was lost, including the Ottomans'. Almost simultaneously the Palestinian Front and then the Macedonian Front collapsed. The sudden decision by Bulgaria to sign an armistice cut communications from Constantinople (İstanbul) to Vienna and Berlin, and opened the undefended Ottoman capital to Entente attack. With the major fronts crumbling, Unionist Grand Vizier Talât Pasha intended to sign an armistice, and resigned on 8 October 1918 so that a new government would receive less harsh armistice terms. The Armistice of Mudros was signed on 30 October 1918, ending World War I for the Ottoman Empire. Three days later, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP)—which governed the Ottoman Empire as a one-party state since 1913—held its last congress, where it was decided the party would be dissolved. Talât, Enver Pasha, Cemal Pasha, and five other high-ranking members of the CUP escaped the Ottoman Empire on a German torpedo boat later that night, plunging the country into a power vacuum.

 

The armistice was signed because the Ottoman Empire had been defeated in important fronts, but the military was intact and retreated in good order. Unlike other Central Powers, the Allies did not mandate an abdication of the imperial family as a condition for peace, nor did they request the Ottoman Army to dissolve its general staff. Though the army suffered from mass desertion throughout the war which led to banditry, there was no threat of mutiny or revolutions like in Germany, Austria-Hungary, or Russia. This is despite famine and economic collapse that was brought on by the extreme levels of mobilization, destruction from the war, disease, and mass murder since 1914.

 

Due to the Turkish nationalist policies pursued by the CUP against Ottoman Christians by 1918 the Ottoman Empire held control over a mostly homogeneous land of Muslims from Eastern Thrace to the Persian border. These included mostly Turks, as well as Kurds, Circassians, and Muhacir groups from Rumeli. Most Muslim Arabs were now outside of the Ottoman Empire and under Allied occupation, with some "imperialists" still loyal to the Ottoman Sultanate-Caliphate, and others wishing for independence or Allied protection under a League of Nations mandate. Sizable Greek and Armenian minorities remained within its borders, and most of these communities no longer wished to remain under the Empire.

 

On 30 October 1918, the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I, bringing hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I to an end. The Ottoman Army was to demobilize, its navy and air force handed to the Allies, and occupied territory in the Caucasus and Persia to be evacuated. Critically, Article VII granted the Allies the right to occupy forts controlling the Turkish Straits and the vague right to occupy "in case of disorder" any territory if there were a threat to security. The clause relating to the occupation of the straits was meant to secure a Southern Russian intervention force, while the rest of the article was used to allow for Allied controlled peace-keeping forces. There was also a hope to follow through punishing local actors that carried out exterminatory orders from the CUP government against Armenian Ottomans. For now, the House of Osman escaped the fates of the Hohenzollerns, Habsburgs, and Romanovs to continue ruling their empire, though at the cost of its remaining sovereignty.

 

On 13 November 1918, a French brigade entered Constantinople to begin a de facto occupation of the Ottoman capital and its immediate dependencies. This was followed by a fleet consisting of British, French, Italian and Greek ships deploying soldiers on the ground the next day, totaling 50,000 troops in Constantinople. The Allied Powers stated that the occupation was temporary and its purpose was to protect the monarchy, the caliphate and the minorities. Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe—the British signatory of the Mudros Armistice—stated the Triple Entente's public position that they had no intention to dismantle the Ottoman government or place it under military occupation by "occupying Constantinople". However, dismantling the government and partitioning the Ottoman Empire among the Allied nations had been an objective of the Entente since the start of WWI.

 

A wave of seizures took place in the rest of the country in the following months. Citing Article VII, British forces demanded that Turkish troops evacuate Mosul, claiming that Christian civilians in Mosul and Zakho were killed en masse. In the Caucasus, Britain established a presence in Menshevik Georgia and the Lori and Aras valleys as peace-keepers. On 14 November, joint Franco-Greek occupation was established in the town of Uzunköprü in Eastern Thrace as well as the railway axis until the train station of Hadımköy on the outskirts of Constantinople. On 1 December, British troops based in Syria occupied Kilis, Marash, Urfa and Birecik. Beginning in December, French troops began successive seizures of the province of Adana, including the towns of Antioch, Mersin, Tarsus, Ceyhan, Adana, Osmaniye, and İslâhiye, incorporating the area into the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration North while French forces embarked by gunboats and sent troops to the Black Sea ports of Zonguldak and Karadeniz Ereğli commanding Turkey's coal mining region. These continued seizures of land prompted Ottoman commanders to refuse demobilization and prepare for the resumption of war.

 

The British similarly asked Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Atatürk) to turn over the port of Alexandretta (İskenderun), which he reluctantly did, following which he was recalled to Constantinople. He made sure to distribute weapons to the population to prevent them from falling into the hands of Allied forces. Some of these weapons were smuggled to the east by members of Karakol, a successor to the CUP's Special Organization, to be used in case resistance was necessary in Anatolia. Many Ottoman officials participated in efforts to conceal from the occupying authorities details of the burgeoning independence movement spreading throughout Anatolia.

 

Other commanders began refusing orders from the Ottoman government and the Allied powers. After Mustafa Kemal Pasha returned to Constantinople, Ali Fuat Pasha (Cebesoy) brought XX Corps under his command. He marched first to Konya and then to Ankara to organise resistance groups, such as the Circassian çetes he assembled with guerilla leader Çerkes Ethem. Meanwhile, Kazım Karabekir Pasha refused to surrender his intact and powerful XV Corps in Erzurum. Evacuation from the Caucusus, puppet republics and Muslim militia groups were established in the army's wake to hamper with the consolidation of the new Armenian state. Elsewhere in the country, regional nationalist resistance organizations known as Şuras –meaning "councils", not unlike soviets in revolutionary Russia– were founded, most pledging allegiance to the Defence of National Rights movement that protested continued Allied occupation and appeasement by the Sublime Porte.

 

Following the occupation of Constantinople, Mehmed VI Vahdettin dissolved the Chamber of Deputies which was dominated by Unionists elected back in 1914, promising elections for the next year. Vahdettin just ascended to the throne only months earlier with the death of Mehmed V Reşad. He was disgusted with the policies of the CUP, and wished to be a more assertive sovereign than his diseased half brother. Greek and Armenian Ottomans declared the termination of their relationship with the Ottoman Empire through their respective patriarchates, and refused to partake in any future election. With the collapse of the CUP and its censorship regime, an outpouring of condemnation against the party came from all parts of Ottoman media.

 

A general amnesty was soon issued, allowing the exiled and imprisoned dissidents persecuted by the CUP to return to Constantinople. Vahdettin invited the pro-Palace politician Damat Ferid Pasha, leader of the reconstituted Freedom and Accord Party, to form a government, whose members quickly set out to purge the Unionists from the Ottoman government. Ferid Pasha hoped that his Anglophilia and an attitude of appeasement would induce less harsh peace terms from the Allied powers. However, his appointment was problematic for nationalists, many being members of the liquidated committee that were surely to face trial. Years of corruption, unconstitutional acts, war profiteering, and enrichment from ethnic cleansing and genocide by the Unionists soon became basis of war crimes trials and courts martial trials held in Constantinople.[citation needed] While many leading Unionists were sentenced lengthy prison sentences, many made sure to escape the country before Allied occupation or to regions that the government now had minimal control over; thus most were sentenced in absentia. The Allies encouragement of the proceedings and the use of British Malta as their holding ground made the trials unpopular. The partisan nature of the trials was not lost on observers either. The hanging of the Kaymakam of Boğazlıyan district Mehmed Kemal resulted in a demonstration against the courts martials trials.

 

With all the chaotic politics in the capital and uncertainty of the severity of the incoming peace treaty, many Ottomans looked to Washington with the hope that the application of Wilsonian principles would mean Constantinople would stay Turkish, as Muslims outnumbered Christians 2:1. The United States never declared war on the Ottoman Empire, so many imperial elite believed Washington could be a neutral arbiter that could fix the empire's problems. Halide Edip (Adıvar) and her Wilsonian Principles Society led the movement that advocated for the empire to be governed by an American League of Nations Mandate (see United States during the Turkish War of Independence). American diplomats attempted to ascertain a role they could play in the area with the Harbord and King–Crane Commissions. However, with the collapse of Woodrow Wilson's health, the United States diplomatically withdrew from the Middle East to focus on Europe, leaving the Entente powers to construct a post-Ottoman order.

 

The Entente would have arrived at Constantinople to discover an administration attempting to deal with decades of accumulated refugee crisis. The new government issued a proclamation allowing for deportees to return to their homes, but many Greeks and Armenians found their old homes occupied by desperate Rumelian and Caucasian Muslim refugees which were settled in their properties during the First World War. Ethnic conflict restarted in Anatolia; government officials responsible for resettling Christian refugees often assisted Muslim refugees in these disputes, prompting European powers to continue bringing Ottoman territory under their control. Of the 800,000 Ottoman Christian refugees, approximately over half returned to their homes by 1920. Meanwhile 1.4 million refugees from the Russian Civil War would pass through the Turkish straits and Anatolia, with 150,000 White émigrés choosing to settle in Istanbul for short or long term (see Evacuation of the Crimea). Many provinces were simply depopulated from years of fighting, conscription, and ethnic cleansing (see Ottoman casualties of World War I). The province of Yozgat lost 50% of its Muslim population from conscription, while according to the governor of Van, almost 95% of its prewar residents were dead or internally displaced.

 

Administration in much of the Anatolian and Thracian countryside would soon all but collapse by 1919. Army deserters who turned to banditry essentially controlled fiefdoms with tacit approval from bureaucrats and local elites. An amnesty issued in late 1918 saw these bandits strengthen their positions and fight amongst each other instead of returning to civilian life. Albanian and Circassian muhacirs resettled by the government in northwestern Anatolia and Kurds in southeastern Anatolia were engaged in blood feuds that intensified during the war and were hesitant to pledge allegiance to the Defence of Rights movement, and only would if officials could facilitate truces. Various Muhacir groups were suspicious of the continued Ittihadist ideology in the Defence of Rights movement, and the potential for themselves to meet fates 'like the Armenians' especially as warlords hailing from those communities assisted the deportations of the Christians even though as many commanders in the Nationalist movement also had Caucasian and Balkan Muslim ancestry.

 

With Anatolia in practical anarchy and the Ottoman army being questionably loyal in reaction to Allied land seizures, Mehmed VI established the military inspectorate system to reestablish authority over the remaining empire. Encouraged by Karabekir and Edmund Allenby, he assigned Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Atatürk) as the inspector of the Ninth Army Troops Inspectorate –based in Erzurum– to restore order to Ottoman military units and to improve internal security on 30 April 1919, with his first assignment to suppress a rebellion by Greek rebels around the city of Samsun.

 

Mustafa Kemal was a well known, well respected, and well connected army commander, with much prestige coming from his status as the "Hero of Anafartalar"—for his role in the Gallipoli Campaign—and his title of "Honorary Aide-de-camp to His Majesty Sultan" gained in the last months of WWI. This choice would seem curious, as he was a nationalist and a fierce critic of the government's accommodating policy to the Entente powers. He was also an early member of the CUP. However Kemal Pasha did not associate himself with the fanatical faction of the CUP, many knew that he frequently clashed with the radicals of the Central Committee like Enver. He was therefore sidelined to the periphery of power throughout the Great War; after the CUP's dissolution he vocally aligned himself with moderates that formed the Liberal People's Party instead of the rump radical faction which formed the Renewal Party (both parties would be banned in May 1919 for being successors of the CUP). All these reasons allowed him to be the most legitimate nationalist for the sultan to placate. In this new political climate, he sought to capitalize on his war exploits to attain a better job, indeed several times he unsuccessfully lobbied for his inclusion in cabinet as War Minister. His new assignment gave him effective plenipotentiary powers over all of Anatolia which was meant to accommodate him and other nationalists to keep them loyal to the government.

 

Mustafa Kemal had earlier declined to become the leader of the Sixth Army headquartered in Nusaybin. But according to Patrick Balfour, through manipulation and the help of friends and sympathizers, he became the inspector of virtually all of the Ottoman forces in Anatolia, tasked with overseeing the disbanding process of remaining Ottoman forces. Kemal had an abundance of connections and personal friends concentrated in the post-armistice War Ministry, a powerful tool that would help him accomplish his secret goal: to lead a nationalist movement to safeguard Turkish interests against the Allied powers and a collaborative Ottoman government.

 

The day before his departure to Samsun on the remote Black Sea coast, Kemal had one last audience with Sultan Vahdettin, where he affirmed his loyalty to the sultan-caliph. It was in this meeting that they were informed of the botched occupation ceremony of Smyrna (İzmir) by the Greeks. He and his carefully selected staff left Constantinople aboard the old steamer SS Bandırma on the evening of 16 May 1919.

 

On 19 January 1919, the Paris Peace Conference was first held, at which Allied nations set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers, including the Ottoman Empire. As a special body of the Paris Conference, "The Inter-Allied Commission on Mandates in Turkey", was established to pursue the secret treaties they had signed between 1915 and 1917. Italy sought control over the southern part of Anatolia under the Agreement of St.-Jean-de-Maurienne. France expected to exercise control over Hatay, Lebanon, Syria, and a portion of southeastern Anatolia based on the Sykes–Picot Agreement.

 

Greece justified their territorial claims of Ottoman land through the Megali Idea as well as international sympathy from the suffering of Ottoman Greeks in 1914 and 1917–1918. Privately, Greek prime minister Eleftherios Venizelos had British prime minister David Lloyd George's backing not least from Greece's entrance to WWI on the Allied side, but also from his charisma and charming personality. Greece's participation in the Allies' Southern Russian intervention also earned it favors in Paris. His demands included parts of Eastern Thrace, the islands of Imbros (Gökçeada), Tenedos (Bozcaada), and parts of Western Anatolia around the city of Smyrna (İzmir), all of which had large Greek populations. Venizelos also advocated a large Armenian state to check a post-war Ottoman Empire. Greece wanted to incorporate Constantinople, but Entente powers did not give permission. Damat Ferid Pasha went to Paris on behalf of the Ottoman Empire hoping to minimize territorial losses using Fourteen Points rhetoric, wishing for a return to status quo ante bellum, on the basis that every province of the Empire holds Muslim majorities. This plea was met with ridicule.

 

At the Paris Peace Conference, competing claims over Western Anatolia by Greek and Italian delegations led Greece to land the flagship of the Greek Navy at Smyrna, resulting in the Italian delegation walking out of the peace talks. On 30 April, Italy responded to the possible idea of Greek incorporation of Western Anatolia by sending a warship to Smyrna as a show of force against the Greek campaign. A large Italian force also landed in Antalya. Faced with Italian annexation of parts of Asia Minor with a significant ethnic Greek population, Venizelos secured Allied permission for Greek troops to land in Smyrna per Article VII, ostensibly as a peacekeeping force to keep stability in the region. Venizelos's rhetoric was more directed against the CUP regime than the Turks as a whole, an attitude not always shared in the Greek military: "Greece is not making war against Islam, but against the anachronistic [İttihadist] Government, and its corrupt, ignominious, and bloody administration, with a view to the expelling it from those territories where the majority of the population consists of Greeks." It was decided by the Triple Entente that Greece would control a zone around Smyrna and Ayvalık in western Asia Minor.

 

Most historians mark the Greek landing at Smyrna on 15 May 1919 as the start date of the Turkish War of Independence as well as the start of the "Kuva-yi Milliye Phase". The occupation ceremony from the outset was tense from nationalist fervor, with Ottoman Greeks greeting the soldiers with an ecstatic welcome, and Ottoman Muslims protesting the landing. A miscommunication in Greek high command led to an Evzone column marching by the municipal Turkish barracks. The nationalist journalist Hasan Tahsin fired the "first bullet"[note 4] at the Greek standard bearer at the head of the troops, turning the city into a warzone. Süleyman Fethi Bey was murdered by bayonet for refusing to shout "Zito Venizelos" (meaning "long live Venizelos"), and 300–400 unarmed Turkish soldiers and civilians and 100 Greek soldiers and civilians were killed or wounded.

 

Greek troops moved from Smyrna outwards to towns on the Karaburun peninsula; to Selçuk, situated a hundred kilometres south of the city at a key location that commands the fertile Küçük Menderes River valley; and to Menemen towards the north. Guerilla warfare commenced in the countryside, as Turks began to organize themselves into irregular guerilla groups known as Kuva-yi Milliye (national forces), which were soon joined by Ottoman soldiers, bandits, and disaffected farmers. Most Kuva-yi Milliye bands were led by rogue military commanders and members of the Special Organization. The Greek troops based in cosmopolitan Smyrna soon found themselves conducting counterinsurgency operations in a hostile, dominantly Muslim hinterland. Groups of Ottoman Greeks also formed contingents that cooperated with the Greek Army to combat Kuva-yi Milliye within the zone of control. A massacre of Turks at Menemen was followed up with a battle for the town of Aydın, which saw intense intercommunal violence and the razing of the city. What was supposed to be a peacekeeping mission of Western Anatolia instead inflamed ethnic tensions and became a counterinsurgency.

 

The reaction of Greek landing at Smyrna and continued Allied seizures of land served to destabilize Turkish civil society. Ottoman bureaucrats, military, and bourgeoisie trusted the Allies to bring peace, and thought the terms offered at Mudros were considerably more lenient than they actually were. Pushback was potent in the capital, with 23 May 1919 being largest of the Sultanahmet Square demonstrations organized by the Turkish Hearths against the Greek occupation of Smyrna, the largest act of civil disobedience in Turkish history at that point. The Ottoman government condemned the landing, but could do little about it. Ferid Pasha tried to resign, but was urged by the sultan to stay in his office.

 

Mustafa Kemal Pasha and his colleagues stepped ashore in Samsun on 19 May and set up their first quarters in the Mıntıka Palace Hotel. British troops were present in Samsun, and he initially maintained cordial contact. He had assured Damat Ferid about the army's loyalty towards the new government in Constantinople. However, behind the government's back, Kemal made the people of Samsun aware of the Greek and Italian landings, staged discreet mass meetings, made fast connections via telegraph with the army units in Anatolia, and began to form links with various Nationalist groups. He sent telegrams of protest to foreign embassies and the War Ministry about British reinforcements in the area and about British aid to Greek brigand gangs. After a week in Samsun, Kemal and his staff moved to Havza. It was there that he first showed the flag of the resistance.

 

Mustafa Kemal wrote in his memoir that he needed nationwide support to justify armed resistance against the Allied occupation. His credentials and the importance of his position were not enough to inspire everyone. While officially occupied with the disarming of the army, he met with various contacts in order to build his movement's momentum. He met with Rauf Pasha, Karabekir Pasha, Ali Fuat Pasha, and Refet Pasha and issued the Amasya Circular (22 June 1919). Ottoman provincial authorities were notified via telegraph that the unity and independence of the nation was at risk, and that the government in Constantinople was compromised. To remedy this, a congress was to take place in Erzurum between delegates of the Six Vilayets to decide on a response, and another congress would take place in Sivas where every Vilayet should send delegates. Sympathy and an lack of coordination from the capital gave Mustafa Kemal freedom of movement and telegraph use despite his implied anti-government tone.

 

On 23 June, High Commissioner Admiral Calthorpe, realising the significance of Mustafa Kemal's discreet activities in Anatolia, sent a report about the Pasha to the Foreign Office. His remarks were downplayed by George Kidson of the Eastern Department. Captain Hurst of the British occupation force in Samsun warned Admiral Calthorpe one more time, but Hurst's units were replaced with the Brigade of Gurkhas. When the British landed in Alexandretta, Admiral Calthorpe resigned on the basis that this was against the armistice that he had signed and was assigned to another position on 5 August 1919. The movement of British units alarmed the population of the region and convinced them that Mustafa Kemal was right.

 

By early July, Mustafa Kemal Pasha received telegrams from the sultan and Calthorpe, asking him and Refet to cease his activities in Anatolia and return to the capital. Kemal was in Erzincan and did not want to return to Constantinople, concerned that the foreign authorities might have designs for him beyond the sultan's plans. Before resigning from his position, he dispatched a circular to all nationalist organizations and military commanders to not disband or surrender unless for the latter if they could be replaced by cooperative nationalist commanders. Now only a civilian stripped of his command, Mustafa Kemal was at the mercy of the new inspector of Third Army (renamed from Ninth Army) Karabekir Pasha, indeed the War Ministry ordered him to arrest Kemal, an order which Karabekir refused. The Erzurum Congress was a meeting of delegates and governors from the six Eastern Vilayets. They drafted the National Pact (Misak-ı Millî), which envisioned new borders for the Ottoman Empire by applying principles of national self-determination per Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and the abolition of the capitulations. The Erzurum Congress concluded with a circular that was effectively a declaration of independence: All regions within Ottoman borders upon the signing of the Mudros Armistice were indivisible from the Ottoman state –Greek and Armenian claims on Thrace and Anatolia were moot– and assistance from any country not coveting Ottoman territory was welcome. If the government in Constantinople was not able to attain this after electing a new parliament, they insisted a provisional government should be promulgated to defend Turkish sovereignty. The Committee of Representation was established as a provisional executive body based in Anatolia, with Mustafa Kemal Pasha as its chairman.

 

Following the congress, the Committee of Representation relocated to Sivas. As announced in the Amasya Circular, a new congress was held there in September with delegates from all Anatolian and Thracian provinces. The Sivas Congress repeated the points of the National Pact agreed to in Erzurum, and united the various regional Defence of National Rights Associations organizations, into a united political organisation: Anatolia and Rumeli Defence of Rights Association (A-RMHC), with Mustafa Kemal as its chairman. In an effort show his movement was in fact a new and unifying movement, the delegates had to swear an oath to discontinue their relations with the CUP and to never revive the party (despite most present in Sivas being previous members).[120] It was also decided there that the Ottoman Empire should not be a League of Nations mandate under the United States, especially after the U.S Senate failed to ratify American membership in the League.

 

Momentum was now on the Nationalists' side. A plot by a loyalist Ottoman governor and a British intelligence officer to arrest Kemal before the Sivas Congress led to the cutting of all ties with the Ottoman government until a new election would be held in the lower house of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies. In October 1919, the last Ottoman governor loyal to Constantinople fled his province. Fearing the outbreak of hostilities, all British troops stationed in the Black Sea coast and Kütahya were evacuated. Damat Ferid Pasha resigned, and the sultan replaced him with a general with nationalist credentials: Ali Rıza Pasha. On 16 October 1919, Ali Rıza and the Nationalists held negotiations in Amasya. They agreed in the Amasya Protocol that an election would be called for the Ottoman Parliament to establish national unity by upholding the resolutions made in the Sivas Congress, including the National Pact.

 

By October 1919, the Ottoman government only held de facto control over Constantinople; the rest of the Ottoman Empire was loyal to Kemal's movement to resist a partition of Anatolia and Thrace. Within a few months Mustafa Kemal went from General Inspector of the Ninth Army to a renegade military commander discharged for insubordination to leading a homegrown anti-Entente movement that overthrew a government and driven it into resistance.

 

In December 1919, an election was held for the Ottoman parliament, with polls only open in unoccupied Anatolia and Thrace. It was boycotted by Ottoman Greeks, Ottoman Armenians and the Freedom and Accord Party, resulting in groups associated with the Turkish Nationalist Movement winning, including the A-RMHC. The Nationalists' obvious links to the CUP made the election especially polarizing and voter intimidation and ballot box stuffing in favor of the Kemalists were regular occurrences in rural provinces. This controversy led to many of the nationalist MPs organizing the National Salvation Group separate from Kemal's movement, which risked the nationalist movement splitting in two.

 

Mustafa Kemal was elected an MP from Erzurum, but he expected the Allies neither to accept the Harbord report nor to respect his parliamentary immunity if he went to the Ottoman capital, hence he remained in Anatolia. Mustafa Kemal and the Committee of Representation moved from Sivas to Ankara so that he could keep in touch with as many deputies as possible as they traveled to Constantinople to attend the parliament.

 

Though Ali Rıza Pasha called the election as per the Amasya Protocol to keep unity between the "Istanbul government" and "Ankara government", he was wrong to think the election could bring him any legitimacy. The Ottoman parliament was under the de facto control of the British battalion stationed at Constantinople and any decisions by the parliament had to have the signatures of both Ali Rıza Pasha and the battalion's commanding officer. The only laws that passed were those acceptable to, or specifically ordered by the British.

 

On 12 January 1920, the last session of the Chamber of Deputies met in the capital. First the sultan's speech was presented, and then a telegram from Mustafa Kemal, manifesting the claim that the rightful government of Turkey was in Ankara in the name of the Committee of Representation. On 28 January the MPs from both sides of the isle secretly met to endorse the National Pact as a peace settlement. They added to the points passed in Sivas, calling for plebiscites to be held in West Thrace; Batum, Kars, and Ardahan, and Arab lands on whether to stay in the Empire or not. Proposals were also made to elect Kemal president of the Chamber;[clarification needed] however, this was deferred in the certain knowledge that the British would prorogue the Chamber. The Chamber of Deputies would be forcefully dissolved for passing the National Pact anyway. The National Pact solidified Nationalist interests, which were in conflict with the Allied plans.

 

From February to April, leaders of Britain, France, and Italy met in London to discuss the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire and the crisis in Anatolia. The British began to sense that the elected Ottoman government was under Kemalist influence and if left unchecked, the Entente could once again find themselves at war with the Empire. The Ottoman government was not doing all that it could to suppress the Nationalists.

 

Mustafa Kemal manufactured a crisis to pressure the Istanbul government to pick a side by deploying Kuva-yi Milliye towards İzmit. The British, concerned about the security of the Bosporus Strait, demanded Ali Rıza Pasha to reassert control over the area, to which he responded with his resignation to the sultan.

 

As they were negotiating the partition of the Ottoman Empire, the Allies were growing increasingly concerned about the Turkish National Movement. To this end, the Allied occupational authorities in Istanbul began to plan a raid to arrest nationalist politicians and journalists along with occupying military and police installations and government buildings. On 16 March 1920, the coup was carried out; several Royal Navy warships were anchored in the Galata Bridge to support British forces, including the Indian Army, while they carried out the arrests and occupied several government buildings in the early hours of the morning.

 

An Indian Army operation, the Şehzadebaşı raid, resulted in 5 Ottoman soldiers from the 10th Infantry Division being killed when troops raided their barracks. Among those arrested were the senior leadership of the Turkish National Movement and former members of the CUP. 150 arrested Turkish politicians accused of war crimes were interned in Malta and became known as the Malta exiles.

 

Mustafa Kemal was ready for this move. He warned all the Nationalist organisations that there would be misleading declarations from the capital. He warned that the only way to counter Allied movements was to organise protests. He declared "Today the Turkish nation is called to defend its capacity for civilization, its right to life and independence – its entire future".

 

On 18 March, the Chamber of Deputies declared that it was unacceptable to arrest five of its members, and dissolved itself. Mehmed VI confirmed this and declared the end of Constitutional Monarchy and a return to absolutism. University students were forbidden from joining political associations inside and outside the classroom. With the lower elected Chamber of Deputies shuttered, the Constitution terminated, and the capital occupied; Sultan Vahdettin, his cabinet, and the appointed Senate were all that remained of the Ottoman government, and were basically a puppet regime of the Allied powers. Grand Vizier Salih Hulusi Pasha declared Mustafa Kemal's struggle legitimate, and resigned after less than a month in office. In his place, Damat Ferid Pasha returned to the premiership. The Sublime Porte's decapitation by the Entente allowed Mustafa Kemal to consolidate his position as the sole leader of Turkish resistance against the Allies, and to that end made him the legitimate representative of the Turkish people.

 

The strong measures taken against the Nationalists by the Allies in March 1920 began a distinct new phase of the conflict. Mustafa Kemal sent a note to the governors and force commanders, asking them to conduct elections to provide delegates for a new parliament to represent the Ottoman (Turkish) people, which would convene in Ankara. With the proclamation of the counter-government, Kemal would then ask the sultan to accept its authority. Mustafa Kemal appealed to the Islamic world, asking for help to make sure that everyone knew he was still fighting in the name of the sultan who was also the caliph. He stated he wanted to free the caliph from the Allies. He found an ally in the Khilafat movement of British India, where Indians protested Britain's planned dismemberment of Turkey. A committee was also started for sending funds to help the soon to be proclaimed Ankara government of Mustafa Kemal. A flood of supporters moved to Ankara just ahead of the Allied dragnets. Included among them were Halide Edip and Abdülhak Adnan (Adıvar), Mustafa İsmet Pasha (İnönü), Mustafa Fevzi Pasha (Çakmak), many of Kemal's allies in the Ministry of War, and Celalettin Arif, the president of the now shuttered Chamber of Deputies. Celaleddin Arif's desertion of the capital was of great significance, as he declared that the Ottoman Parliament had been dissolved illegally.

 

Some 100 members of the Chamber of Deputies were able to escape the Allied roundup and joined 190 deputies elected. In March 1920, Turkish revolutionaries announced the establishment of a new parliament in Ankara known as the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNA) that was dominated by the A-RMHC.[citation needed] The parliament included Turks, Circassians, Kurds, and one Jew. They met in a building that used to serve as the provincial headquarters of the local CUP chapter. The inclusion of "Turkey" in its name reflected a increasing trend of new ways Ottoman citizens thought of their country, and was the first time it was formally used as the name of the country. On 23 April, the assembly, assuming full governmental powers, gathered for the first time, electing Mustafa Kemal its first Speaker and Prime Minister.

 

Hoping to undermine the Nationalist Movement, Mehmed VI issued a fatwa to qualify the Turkish revolutionaries as infidels, calling for the death of its leaders. The fatwa stated that true believers should not go along with the Nationalist Movement as they committed apostasy. The mufti of Ankara Rifat Börekçi issued a simultaneous fatwa, declaring that the caliphate was under the control of the Entente and the Ferid Pasha government. In this text, the Nationalist Movement's goal was stated as freeing the sultanate and the caliphate from its enemies. In reaction to the desertion of several prominent figures to the Nationalist Movement, Ferid Pasha ordered Halide Edip, Ali Fuat and Mustafa Kemal to be sentenced to death in absentia for treason.

 

On 28 April the sultan raised 4,000 soldiers known as the Kuva-yi İnzibatiye (Caliphate Army) to combat the Nationalists. Then using money from the Allies, another force about 2,000 strong from non-Muslim inhabitants were initially deployed in İznik. The sultan's government sent the forces under the name of the Caliphate Army to the revolutionaries to arouse counterrevolutionary sympathy. The British, being skeptical of how formidable these insurgents were, decided to use irregular power to counteract the revolutionaries. The Nationalist forces were distributed all around Turkey, so many smaller units were dispatched to face them. In İzmit there were two battalions of the British army. These units were to be used to rout the partisans under the command of Ali Fuat and Refet Pasha.

 

Anatolia had many competing forces on its soil: British troops, Nationalist militia (Kuva-yi Milliye), the sultan's army (Kuva-yi İnzibatiye), and Anzavur's bands. On 13 April 1920, an uprising supported by Anzavur against the GNA occurred at Düzce as a direct consequence of the fatwa. Within days the rebellion spread to Bolu and Gerede. The movement engulfed northwestern Anatolia for about a month. On 14 June, Nationalist militia fought a pitched battle near İzmit against the Kuva-yi İnzibatiye, Anzavur's bands, and British units. Yet under heavy attack some of the Kuva-yi İnzibatiye deserted and joined the Nationalist militia. Anzavur was not so lucky, as the Nationalists tasked Ethem the Circassian with crushing Anzavur's revolt. This revealed the sultan did not have the unwavering support of his own men and allies. Meanwhile, the rest of these forces withdrew behind the British lines which held their position. For now, Istanbul was out of Ankara's grasp.

 

The clash outside İzmit brought serious consequences. British forces conducted combat operations on the Nationalists and the Royal Air Force carried out aerial bombardments against the positions, which forced Nationalist forces to temporarily retreat to more secure missions. The British commander in Turkey, General George Milne—, asked for reinforcements. This led to a study to determine what would be required to defeat the Turkish Nationalists. The report, signed by French Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch, concluded that 27 divisions were necessary, but the British army did not have 27 divisions to spare. Also, a deployment of this size could have disastrous political consequences back home. World War I had just ended, and the British public would not support another lengthy and costly expedition.

 

The British accepted the fact that a nationalist movement could not be defeated without deployment of consistent and well-trained forces. On 25 June, the forces originating from Kuva-i İnzibatiye were dismantled under British supervision. The British realised that the best option to overcome these Turkish Nationalists was to use a force that was battle-tested and fierce enough to fight the Turks on their own soil. The British had to look no further than Turkey's neighbor already occupying its territory: Greece.

 

Eleftherios Venizelos, pessimistic of the rapidly deteriorating situation in Anatolia, requested to the Allies that a peace treaty be drawn up with the hope that fighting would stop. The subsequent treaty of Sèvres in August 1920 confirmed the Arab provinces of the empire would be reorganized into new nations given to Britain and France in the form of Mandates by the League of Nations, while the rest of the Empire would be partitioned between Greece, Italy, France (via Syrian mandate), Britain (via Iraqi mandate), Armenia (potentially under an American mandate), and Georgia. Smyrna would hold a plebiscite on whether to stay with Greece or Turkey, and the Kurdistan region would hold one on the question of independence. British, French, and Italian spheres of influence would also extend into Anatolia beyond the land concessions. The old capital of Constantinople as well as the Dardanelles would be under international League of Nations control.

 

However, the treaty could never come into effect. The treaty was extremely unpopular, with protests against the final document held even before its release in Sultanahmet square. Though Mehmed VI and Ferid Pasha loathed the treaty, they did not want Istanbul to join Ankara in nationalist struggle. The Ottoman government and Greece never ratified it. Though Ferid Pasha signed the treaty, the Ottoman Senate, the upper house with seats appointed by the sultan, refused to ratify the treaty. Greece disagreed on the borders drawn. The other allies began to fracture their support of the settlement immediately. Italy started openly supporting the Nationalists with arms by the end of 1920, and the French signed another separate peace treaty with Ankara only months later.

 

Kemal's GNA Government responded to the Treaty of Sèvres by promulgating a new constitution in January 1921. The resulting constitution consecrated the principle of popular sovereignty; authority not deriving from the unelected sultan, but from the Turkish people who elect governments representative of their interests. This document became the legal basis for the war of independence by the GNA, as the sultan's signature of the Treaty of Sèvres would be unconstitutional as his position was not elected. While the constitution did not specify a future role of the sultan, the document gave Kemal ever more legitimacy in the eyes of Turks for justified resistance against Istanbul.

 

In contrast to the Eastern and Western fronts, it was mostly unorganized Kuva-yi Milliye which were fighting in the Southern Front against France. They had help from the Syrians, who were fighting their own war with the French.

 

The British troops which occupied coastal Syria by the end of World War I were replaced by French troops over 1919, with the Syrian interior going to Faisal bin Al-Hussein's self-proclaimed Arab Kingdom of Syria. France which wanted to take control of all of Syria and Cilicia. There was also a desire facilitate the return of Armenian refugees in the region to their homes, and the occupation force consisted of the French Armenian Legion as well as various Armenian militia groups. 150,000 Armenians were repatriated to their homes within months of French occupation. On 21 January 1920, a Turkish Nationalist uprising and siege occurred against the French garrison in Marash. The French position untenable they retreated to Islahiye, resulting in a massacre of many Armenians by Turkish militia. A grueling siege followed in Antep which featured intense sectarian violence between Turks and Armenians. After a failed uprising by the Nationalists in Adana, by 1921, the French and Turks signed an armistice and eventually a treaty was brokered demarcating the border between the Ankara government and French controlled Syria. In the end, there was a mass exodus of Cilician Armenians to French controlled Syria, Previous Armenian survivors of deportation found themselves again as refugees and families which avoided the worst of the six years violence were forced from their homes, ending thousands of years of Christian presence in Southern Anatolia.[146] With France being the first Allied power to recognize and negotiate with the Ankara government only months after signing the Treaty of Sèvres, it was the first to break from the coordinated Allied approach to the Eastern question. In 1923 the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon under French authority would be proclaimed in former Ottoman territory.

 

Some efforts to coordinate between Turkish Nationalists and the Syrian rebels persisted from 1920 to 1921, with the Nationalists supporting the Faisal's kingdom through Ibrahim Hanunu and Alawite groups which were also fighting the French. While the French conquered Syria, Cilicia had to be abandoned.

 

Kuva-yi Milliye also engaged with British forces in the "Al-Jazira Front," primarily in Mosul. Ali İhsan Pasha (Sabis) and his forces defending Mosul would surrender to the British in October 1918, but the British ignored the armistice and seized the city, following which the pasha also ignored the armistice and distributed weapons to the locals. Even before Mustafa Kemal's movement was fully organized, rogue commanders found allies in Kurdish tribes. The Kurds detested the taxes and centralization the British demanded, including Shaykh Mahmud of the Barzani family. Having previously supported the British invasion of Mesopotamia to become the governor of South Kurdistan, Mahmud revolted but was apprehended by 1919. Without legitimacy to govern the region, he was released from captivity to Sulaymaniyah, where he again declared an uprising against the British as the King of Kurdistan. Though an alliance existed with the Turks, little material support came to him from Ankara, and by 1923 there was a desire to cease hostilities between the Turks and British at Barzanji's expense. Mahmud was overthrown in 1924, and after a 1926 plebiscite, Mosul was awarded to British-controlled Iraq.

 

Since 1917, the Caucasus was in a chaotic state. The border of newly independent Armenia and the Ottoman Empire was defined in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (3 March 1918) after the Bolshevik revolution, and later by the Treaty of Batum (4 June 1918). To the east, Armenia was at war with the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic after the breakup of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, and received support from Anton Denikin's White Russian Army. It was obvious that after the Armistice of Mudros (30 October 1918) the eastern border was not going to stay as it was drawn, which mandated the evacuation of the Ottoman army back to its 1914 borders. Right after the Armistice of Mudros was signed, pro-Ottoman provisional republics were proclaimed in Kars and Aras which were subsequently invaded by Armenia. Ottoman soldiers were convinced not to demobilize lest the area become a 'second Macedonia'.[149] Both sides of the new borders had massive refugee populations and famine, which were compounded by the renewed and more symmetric sectarian violence (See Massacres of Azerbaijanis in Armenia (1917–1921) and Muslim uprisings in Kars and Sharur–Nakhichevan). There were talks going on with the Armenian Diaspora and Allied Powers on reshaping the border. Woodrow Wilson agreed to transfer territories to Armenia based on the principles of national self-determination. The results of these talks were to be reflected on the Treaty of Sèvres (10 August 1920).

 

Kâzım Karabekir Pasha, commander of the XV corps, encountered Muslim refugees fleeing from the Armenian army, but did not have the authority to cross the border. Karabekir's two reports (30 May and 4 June 1920) outlined the situation in the region. He recommended redrawing the eastern borders, especially around Erzurum. The Russian government was receptive to this and demanded that Van and Bitlis be transferred to Armenia. This was unacceptable to the Turkish revolutionaries. However, Soviet support was absolutely vital for the Turkish Nationalist movement, as Turkey was underdeveloped and had no domestic armaments industry. Bakir Sami (Kunduh) was assigned to negotiate with the Bolsheviks.

 

On 24 September 1920, Karabekir's XV corps and Kurdish militia advance on Kars, blowing through Armenian opposition, and then Alexandropol. With an advance on Yerevan imminent, on 28 November 1920, the 11th Red Army under the command of Anatoliy Gekker crossed over into Armenia from Soviet Azerbaijan, and the Armenian government surrendered to Bolshevik forces, ending the conflict.

 

The Treaty of Alexandropol (2—3 December 1920) was the first treaty (although illegitimate) signed by the Turkish revolutionaries. The 10th article in the Treaty of Alexandropol stated that Armenia renounced the Treaty of Sèvres and its allotted partition of Anatolia. The agreement was signed with representatives of the former government of Armenia, which by that time had no de jure or de facto power in Armenia, since Soviet rule was already established in the country. On 16 March 1921, the Bolsheviks and Turkey signed a more comprehensive agreement, the Treaty of Kars, which involved representatives of Soviet Armenia, Soviet Azerbaijan, and Soviet Georgia.

 

Throughout most of his life, Atatürk was a moderate-to-heavy drinker, often consuming half a litre of rakı a day; he also smoked tobacco, predominantly in the form of cigarettes. During 1937, indications that Atatürk's health was worsening started to appear. In early 1938, while on a trip to Yalova, he suffered from a serious illness. He went to Istanbul for treatment, where he was diagnosed with cirrhosis. During his stay in Istanbul, he made an effort to keep up with his regular lifestyle, but eventually succumbed to his illness. He died on 10 November 1938, at the age of 57, in the Dolmabahçe Palace.

 

Atatürk's funeral called forth both sorrow and pride in Turkey, and 17 countries sent special representatives, while nine contributed armed detachments to the cortège. Atatürk's remains were originally laid to rest in the Ethnography Museum of Ankara, but they were transferred on 10 November 1953 (15 years after his death) in a 42-ton sarcophagus to a mausoleum overlooking Ankara, Anıtkabir.

 

In his will, Atatürk donated all of his possessions to the Republican People's Party, provided that the yearly interest of his funds would be used to look after his sister Makbule and his adopted children, and fund the higher education of İsmet İnönü's children. The remainder was willed to the Turkish Language Association and the Turkish Historical Society.

I AM Tinfoil Man....

 

Given the huge number of conspiracies that run rampant throughout the Marvel universe, both on large and small screen, and in the comics, it's no wonder that that Tony Stark needs more than just a tinfoil helmet to cope with them all!

 

Good for blocking out evil mind controlling 'fluence from all those villainous Espers, Teeps, Controllers and whatnot.

 

("Except for the voluptuous Emma Frost" thinks Mr Stark. "Just call me, babe, we'll do breakfast! Again.")

 

Although the Marvel mug and egg combo kind of makes sense any Easter, I am a bit puzzled about the little tin Iron Man 3 lunchbox which hit the department store shelves here one Easter. I mean, it had been a year since that splendid film came out! Perhaps something they planned for the year before that didn't get released at the time.

 

No worries though. It contained a number of small eggs and some Iron man stickers and certainly makes a useful case for storing small toys in.

 

At a guess I'd say most of the Easter Egg foil comes from gifts given to us over the years from our friend, Sally. (Now you know why I'm so meticulous about saving the wrapping!) Ta Sal!

 

The figure under the foil is one of the big 30 cm (12 inch) Hasbro Iron Man Mark III armours, as seen in the first Iron Man movie in 2007. It's the gear that Tony fights Iron Monger in. This variant allows you to take off the helmet and includes lights, sound effects and voice recordings.

  

Thank you everyone so much for sharing your quality photos which is a great way to see and keep in touch with the world from home. Also for your kind comments and favours which are much valued.

I am not able to take on any more members to follow or to post to groups. I prefer not to receive invites to groups

Given my love of pattern mixing, it was only a matter of time before I wore two striped tops at once. The bright tartan scarf was the cherry on top of my stripey confection.

 

Scarf, gift. Cardigan, Old Navy. Turtleneck, Gap (swap). Jeans, Dollhouse (dyed black again this morning). Boots, Dan Post.

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“Memory cannot be understood, either, without a mathematical approach. The fundamental given is the ratio between the amount of time in the lived life and the amount of time from that life that is stored in memory. No one has ever tried to calculate this ratio, and in fact there exists no technique for doing so; yet without much risk of error I could assume that the memory retains no more than a millionth, a hundred-millionth, in short an utterly infinitesimal bit of the lived life. That fact too is part of the essence of man. If someone could retain in his memory everything he had experienced, if he could at any time call up any fragment of his past, he would be nothing like human beings: neither his loves nor his friendships nor his angers nor his capacity to forgive or avenge would resemble ours.

 

We will never cease our critique of those persons who distort the past, rewrite it, falsify it, who exaggerate the importance of one event and fail to mention some other; such a critique is proper (it cannot fail to be), but it doesn't count for much unless a more basic critique precedes it: a critique of human memory as such. For after all, what can memory actually do, the poor thing? It is only capable of retaining a paltry little scrap of the past, and no one knows why just this scrap and not some other one, since in each of us the choice occurs mysteriously, outside our will or our interests. We won't understand a thing about human life if we persist in avoiding the most obvious fact: that a reality no longer is what it was when it was; it cannot be reconstructed.”

 

—Milan Kundera ("Ignorance," 2002)

 

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Theme from Francois Truffaut's "La Nuit Americaine"

   

Given to my friend, Riet, to cheer her up. ATC with hand-made Japanese paper doll.

 

Materials: Background (Japanese design print); kimono and obi (yuzen washi); hair decor (nail art).

Given the high rainfall, steep terrain and granite surfaces over the Faroe Islands there are many waterfalls, some of which, like this one near the village of Bøur on the island of Vágar flow almost directly into the sea.

Any given Sunday Paseo de la reforma Mexico City

  

If you like this shot please go see my ALBUM "Any given Sunday in Mexico City"

 

www.flickr.com/photos/luajr/albums/72157638501177336

 

Or "street Shots"

www.flickr.com/photos/luajr/albums/72177720295921392

 

©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Six metres at 10:06am on Wednesday 28th July 2021 off Central Parade in front of Waltrop Gardens, looking towards the remnants of one of the original piers at the End Of Neptune's Arm at Herne Bay on the Thames Estuary, CT6 5JQ, England.

  

I left at 9am for the One hour journey down with the possibility of sun, cloud and rain showers. At Herne Bay it was time for my usual stop at 'Makcari's Coffee Lounge & Ice Cream Parlour' for a slice of cherry and almond gateaux and a lovely latte coffee before a pleasant stroll on a mixed day. With rain off in the distance I headed back to the car, just getting inside before the heavens opened!

  

Here we see a discarded old vehicle tyre with seaweed attached and making a new home, washed up on the tide and now exposed in the wet sand.

  

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Nikon D850 Hand held with Nikkor VR Vibration Reduction enabled on Normal setting Focal length: 600mm Shutter speed: 1/640s Aperture f/8.0 iso320 RAW (14 bit uncompressed) Image size L 8256 x 5504 FX) Focus mode: AF-C focus AF-Area mode: 3-D tracking Exposure mode: Manual exposure Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance: Auto 1, 0, 0 (5170K) Picture control: (NL) Neutral +2 sharpening

  

Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3DG OS HSM SPORTS (Firmware version 1.00 05/11/2019). Lee SW150 MKI filter holder with MK2 light shield and custom made velcro fitting for the Sigma lens. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Nikon EN-EL15a battery. Black Rapid curve breathe sport shoulder strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Jessops Tripod bag.

  

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LATITUDE: N 51d 22m 24.58s

LONGITUDE: E 1d 7m 41.81s

ALTITUDE: 6.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE SIZE: 90.80MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 38.90MB

  

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PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.01 (16/01/2018) LD Distortion Data 2.017 (20/3/18)

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB SATA storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit (Version 1.2.11 15/03/2018). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit (Version 1.4.7 15/03/2018). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 1.3.2 15/03/2018). Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

     

Colonel David Stirling and SAS Memorial

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NN 75298 00373

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Statue of Colonel Stirling with the names of 317 members of the SAS killed in WWII, on 32 plaques on the ground around the statue (also two with the SAS badge and six blank plaques).

There is also a memorial to the Long Range Desert Group below the statue, near the car park.

---

David Stirling

Founder

of

The Special Air Service

Regiment

1941

---

A REMEMBRANCE

OF ALL THOSE MEMBERS OF THE

SPECIAL AIR SERVICE REGIMENT

WHO HAVE DIED IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY

AND HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES TO UPHOLD THE

PRINCIPLES OF FREEDOM AND JUSTICE

---

E Y ADAMSON

W W ALLAN MM

P J ALLEN

V ANDREWS

J G APPLEYARD DSO MC & Bar

J F S ARBUCKLE

C ASHE

A G ASHLEY

J ASPIN

N F ASTELL

-

F L AUSTIN

C S BAILEY

J H M BAKER

J BALERDI

J H BALL

P BANNERMAN

T J BARKER

D BARRETT

C J R BATEMAN

K BATEMAN

-

J W R BENNETT

L C BENNETT

R T BENSON

J W BENTLEY

A BETTS

T N BINTLEY

R J BIRNIE

L T BISHOP

J D BLACK

J BLAKENEY

-

S BOLDEN MM

S BOLLAND

C F G BOND

J S BOWEN

R CT BOXALL

L R BRADFORD

H BROOK

M J BROPHY

E E BROWN

L J BROWN

-

S P BROWN

B O BRUNT

W BRYSON

H C BUCK MC

G H F BUDDEN

R C L BURY

L G CAIRNS

J A CARMICHAEL

S A S CARTER

R A CASE

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G E CASS

G CASSIDY

G C CASTELLAIN

G CATON

T F T CHAMBERS

J CHEYNE

R CHICK

J D CHISIM

R S CHURCH

J H CLARIDGE

-

C M CLYNES MC

G O COGGER

W H COLLIGAN

R W COLLIS

J J CONWAY

S COOPER

L CORNTHWAITE

W J CREANEY

C CRISP

R CRISP

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J S CROSIER

A J CROUCH

J P CROWLEY

D C CURRIE

L W CURTIS

A DAVIDSON

R D DAVIES

G D DAVIS

S DAVIDSON

A T DENCH

-

W H DEVINE

D G DILL

W DODDS

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Glenhead, War Memorial

War Memorial (21st Century)

Site Name Glenhead, War Memorial

Classification War Memorial (21st Century)

Alternative Name(s) Hill Of Row; David Stirling Memorial

Canmore ID 217053

Site Number NN70SE 110

NGR NN 75293 00379

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink canmore.org.uk/site/217053

Given him some space to look into.

Goethe's Secret Revelation PART TWO THE RIDDLE IN FAUST Esoteric Two Addresses given 11nth and 12th March, 1909, at Berlin . It was in August, 1831, that Goethe sealed up a packet and handed it to his faithful secretary Eckermann and prepared his testamentary directions for the editing of this sealed-up treasure. This packet contained in a comprehensive way the whole striving of Goethe's life. It contained the second part of Goethe's Faust; which was not to be published until after Goethe's death. Goethe was aware that in this work he had given the contents of his rich, many-sided, far-reaching and deeply-penetrating life to human existence, and the importance of this moment for him may be gathered from the words he uttered at the time, ‘I am now finished my life's true work, anything I do further and whether I do it or not, is all the same!’ If we permit a fact such as this to work on the soul we can say: It would not be easy for a human life to become fruitful for the rest of humanity in a more beautiful, harmonious way, or indeed to become fruitful in a more conscious manner. There is something deeply affecting in the thought of Goethe's life at this point of time — for he lived barely one year longer — in that he should have visited Ilmenau once more and there re-read the beautiful verse he had written on the 7th of September, 1783, when he was still a comparatively young man.‘Above all heights Is rest, In the tree tops Thou feelest Scarce a breath,The birds are silent in the woods, Only wait, soon Thou too shalt rest.’One may well ask whether these lines may not have signified at that time a frame of mind regulating Goethe's ideas in a new way as he re-read them in the evening of his life with affecting tears.Goethe's Faust is truly a testament of the very first order when considered with reference to its literary and intellectual standpoint.In 1831 Goethe finished the work which had occupied him from his earliest youth, having worked energetically from the year 1824 at the second part of Faust. We find that Goethe knew from the beginning of 1770 that he had what may be called the Faust disposition and that he began in 1774 to write down the first part of Faust, returning again and again to this poem in the most important moments of his life.Notably he took the first part of Faust with him when he went to Weimar and owing to his position there entered the great world. Certainly it was not produced there. But because one of the Weimar Court ladies, Fräulein von Göchhausen, preserved a copy of the Faust which Goethe took with him to Weimar, we to-day possess the form in which it was when he took it there. We therefore know the form in which Faust was printed for the first time and published in 1790, and further we know the setting in which the whole of Goethe's works appeared in 1808 in the first edition. All that we have of Faust, including that very important document which Goethe left as his testament, shows us the different stages of Goethe's growth. It is endlessly interesting to observe how these four stages of Goethe's Faust-creation appear to us in different ways, according to its inner nature, and how they represent a crescendo in the whole of Goethe's life-endeavour. What Goethe took with him to Weimar is a literary work of a quite personal character into which he had poured the feelings, the degrees of knowledge and also the despair of knowledge, as they went with him through the Frankfort time into the Strassburg time and also into the first Weimar period. It is the work of a man hotly striving after knowledge, striving to feel himself into life, experiencing every despair that an upright honourable man can go through, and all this he had poured into this work. All this is in the first part of Faust. But when Faust appeared in 1790 as a fragment, it was recognized that Goethe had worked at it and transformed it out of a longing lying deep in his soul and inner life which had become enlightened through his contemplation of Italian nature and of Italian works of Art. Out of this personal work of one who had been tossed to and fro in life's storms there emerged the work of one, who to a certain degree, had become unshackled and who had a very clear view of life before his soul.Then came the time of Goethe's friendship with Schiller. The time when in his inner being he learned to know and experience a world which had long become rooted within him. A world of which one can say that he who experiences it has had his spiritual eyes opened, so that he can see into the surrounding spiritual world. And now Faust's personality becomes a being placed between two worlds, between the spiritual world to which man can raise himself through purification, through the ennobling of himself and that world which drags him down. Faust becomes a being placed between the world of good and the world of evil. And while previously we saw in Faust the life of the single striving personality, now we see before us a great conflict carried on between the good and evil powers around man. Man is thus placed in the centre as the worthiest object for which the good and evil beings fight in the world. Though in the very beginning Faust is seen as a man doubting all knowledge, he now comes before us as one placed between heaven and hell. Thus the poem reaches an essentially higher stage and a higher existence.In the form in which Faust appears in 1808 it seems as if thousands of years of human development resound. We are reminded of the great dramatic representation of man's life produced in ancient times in the Book of Job, where the evil spirit went among men and stood up before God, and God said to him: ‘Thou hast been to and fro on the earth, hast thou considered my servant Job?’ What is here said we find in the poem, ‘The Prologue in Heaven’ where God speaks with Mephistopheles, the messenger of the evil spirituality: ‘The self in them expands to a spiritual universe.’ At that time at Frankfort he had the feeling, ‘Away from the mere striving after ideas! Away from the merely perceptive sense observation! There must be a path to the sources of existence!’ and he came into touch with what one can call alchemistic, mystical and theosophical literature. He himself attempted the practice of alchemy. He relates how he came to know of a work through which many sought for similar knowledge at that time, Welling's ‘Opus Mago-Cabalisticum et Theosophicum.’ This book was much thought of then as giving a knowledge of the sources of existence. Goethe studied by degrees Paracelsus, Valentinus and above all a work which from its whole method must have produced a deep impression on all those who strove after such knowledge, ‘Aurea Catena Homeri.’ This was a representation of nature the Mystics in the Middle Ages believed to see. The study of these mystical, alchemistic, theosophical books must have had a similar effect on Goethe to that which a man striving to-day after the same things would experience if he took up the books of Eliphas Levy or any other thinker on the same lines. Indeed at that time these things must have had an even more bewildering effect upon Goethe because these different writers no longer really understood the magic, theosophy, etc., of which they wrote. It was impossible to speak in direct way of the real grandeur and meaning of these things, proceeding from an ancient wisdom which had lived in human souls, for the meaning was hidden under an outer garb which included all kinds of physical and chemical forms. For those who merely saw what appeared outwardly in these books it was the greatest nonsense, and at that time it was most difficult to penetrate behind these secrets and arrive at the real meaning. But we must not forget that Goethe from his deep striving for knowledge had developed an intuitive mind. He must have been greatly pleased when on opening the ‘Aurea Catena Homeri’ he saw on the first page a symbol which had a deep effect on his soul; two triangles interlaced; in the corners the signs of the planets, drawn in a wonderful way, a flying dragon wound round in a circle, beneath which another dragon had fixed stiffening itself, and when he read the words on the first page, saying that the flying dragon symbolizes the stream which sends those forces which stream down from out of the Cosmos to the stiffened dragon, showing how heaven and earth hang together, or as it is expressed there: ‘How the spiritual forces of heaven pour into the earth's centre.’These mysterious signs and words must have made a great impression upon Goethe. For instance, those which depict the whole growth of the earth: ‘From chaos to that which is called the universal quintessence’ — a remarkable sentence, curiously mixed up with signs of a chaotic nature, still undifferentiated right through the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms, right up to man and to that perspective to which man is developing in ever greater refinement. But it was not easy to find a way of penetrating to the deeper meaning. So Goethe left Frankfort in a frame of mind which can be described in the following words: I have found nothing. These seekers into nature can only give me dry, empty ideas; anything that can be squeezed out of them is but life's water. I have busied myself with much that has come down to us from the past from those who declare that they saw into the secrets of life. But the way, the way drives one to despair!This was sometimes the mood in Goethe's soul. He was not to be bewitched by easy speculations or philosophizing, or by confused symbols and explanations from those old books, which worked so wonderfully and forebodingly on him. They looked at him with their mysteries as something to which he could find no way. But anyone who knew Goethe's soul, knew the seed was already sown in his soul which was to germinate later. But he felt himself as one who was rejected and unworthy to unravel the secrets of life. Then he went to Strassburg.There he met people who must have interested him in one way or the other. He got to know Jung-Stilling with his deeply mystical soul, who owing to the development of peculiar forces generally found sleeping in men, had looked deeply into the hidden side of existence. He met Herder at Strassburg, who had gone through similar moods and who in times of desperation had often been at the point of a denial of future life. In Herder he learnt to know a man who suffered from a surfeit of life and who said, I have studied much, discerning sundry things connected with men's works and men's strivings on the earth. But he was unable to say to himself, I have had one moment when my longing after the sources of life has been satisfied. This was when he was ill and inclined to deny everything with bitter irony. Yet it was Herder who pointed out many depths in the riddles of life, and Goethe found in him a truly human Faust. But that side of negation which is not the outcome of mockery and scorn Goethe learnt to know later through his friend Merck. Goethe's mother who disliked criticism of people and all moralizing said of Merck, he can never leave Mephistopheles at home, in him we are quite used to it. In Merck Goethe found a disclaimer of much that is worth striving for in life. Over against all these impressions which Goethe received from the Strassburg people, it was through Nature and his observation of Nature that many of life's puzzles were cleared up for him.At the same time we must think of Goethe as a man possessed of a sharp, penetrating mind; he was not an unpractical man. He was an advocate, but only practised for a short time. Those who knew Goethe's work as an advocate and later as a Minister, were acquainted with his eminently practical mind. As advocate he knew little more than what he had learnt by heart from law books. But he was a man able to decide very quickly on any point laid before him; such a man can also map out clearly life's course.Let us consider Goethe when during his Italian journey, he gradually arrived at the discovery of the primeval plant, he collected stones, prepared himself diligently to take up the work of research, and did not seek to know immediately ‘how one thing strives to enter another’ but said to himself: ‘If you would gain a premonition’ of ‘how one thing works and lives in another’ as heavenly powers rise and fall, offering each the ‘golden urn,’ examine the vertebras of the spinal column and the way in which one bone is connected with the next; and how one faculty helps another. Seek in the smallest thing the picture of the greatest.Goethe became a very diligent student during his travels in Italy, examining everything. He formed the opinion that if an artist acted ‘according to the laws which are followed by nature herself’ and understood by the Greeks, the divine will be present in his works even as it is in the works of creation. For Goethe, art is a ‘manifestation of the secret laws of nature.’ The creations of the artists are works of nature on a higher stage of perfection. Art is man's continuation and conclusion of nature. ‘For since man is the head of nature so he regards himself as a complete nature, but also as one which can call forth a further rise. He strives for this through the acquisition of all accomplishments and virtues which call for choice, order, harmony, and meaning, and at last rises to the production of the work of art.’

We can say that during the Italian journey everything that came before Goethe took on definite forms and through inner soul experiences appeared clearly before him. So once again he took up ‘Faust,’ and we perceive how he endeavoured to bring the separate parts into union. But we also perceive how he interested himself in an objective manner in what Faust could become for the people of the North. In Italy he became particularly conscious of the great difference between people who had been brought up amid classical surroundings and those who had not. He found it strange that so little should be heard in Rome of ghost stories such as were common in the North. In the Villa Borghese he wrote at this time the ‘Witches Kitchen’ scene, as one who had lost touch with all such things, but also as one who recalled to memory the spirit of the earth. When he had previously written about the earth spirit, he represented it in such a way that Faust turned away from it, as from a ‘hideous worm.’ But the fact of turning away from it, even without understanding why, remains in the soul and works on further, as it did in Goethe. But those who become impatient and refuse to wait until after long years the seed grows, are unable to see the way clearly. And when in Italy Goethe knew that a turning away from the terrible countenance would have its effect upon his soul, and now these words arise:‘Sublime Spirit, thou gavest me, gavest me all For which I begged. It was not without reason That thou didst turn thy face in fire to me And for a kingdom gavest me the glorious nature With strength to feel it and to enjoy it. Not A coldly astonished gaze didst thou grant to me But didst permit me to look into her profound bosom As into that of a friend. Past me didst thou lead the ranks of the living And didst teach me to know, in the quiet bushes, In air, and in water, my brother. And when the storm roared and rattled in the woods And there fell the neighbouring branches of the giant fir Squashing the undergrowth and in their fall Sounding like thunder in the hollow of the hills, Thou didst lead me to a safe Grotto, where Thou didst show me myself and opened my heart To deep and secret wonders.’Before Goethe, there stands the possibility of the human soul, through its own development expanding to a spiritual universe. Through a patient sacrificial resigned search, the fruits stand before his soul which as germs were planted when he came into touch with the earth spirit. We can see through this monologue in ‘Wald und Höhle’ (wood and grotto) what a forward jerk this was towards the ripening of the fruits in his soul, for it shows us that the seed already sown was not sown in vain. And as a warning to have patience, to wait until such seeds had ripened in his soul, that fragment of ‘Faust’ meets us which appeared with this setting in 1790. And now we see how Goethe finds the way step by step after being led to his ‘safe grotto where the secret deep wonders of his own heart were opened to him,’ he obtains that comprehensive survey which bids him no longer abide with his own sorrow, but teaches him to rise above his sorrow, to send his foreseeing spirit out into the Macrocosmos, watch the fighting of the good and evil spirits and see men on their battle ground. And in ‘Faust’ in 1808 he sent out beforehand the ‘Prologue in Heaven:’Raphael: ‘The sun-orb sings, in emulation, 'Mid brother-spheres, his ancient round: His path predestined through Creation He ends with step of thunder-sound.’We next see how the macrocosmic Mights oppose the forces of the great world. We see too from out the experiences of Goethe's soul, what a remarkable light falls on the two dragons with which at one time in his youth he came in touch.‘Faust’ is such a universal poem because it contains so many warnings. It also gives us that golden saying: ‘Wait in confidence for the development of thy inner forces, even if that means waiting a very long time!’ These words also sound as a warning which stand as an attribute before Faust, when Goethe looks back to those ‘fluctuating figures which in early days had once shown a troubled countenance’ but which now are flooded with light. Now he had waited so long that the friends who had taken such a vivid interest in Faust as he had appeared to them in the first form, had died, and those who had not died were very far away. Goethe had been obliged to wait for the development of the seed already sown in him.Now these striking words meet us:‘My sorrow speaks to an unknown crowd, Their applause e'en makes my heart feel heavy, And those who once delighted in my song If they still live, in other lands are scattered.’No longer did it matter to those who in youth had felt with him. He had had to wait, as the last lines of this dedication so beautifully express it — ‘What was once a reality to me, has gone into the unreal: but what has remained for me and appears to outer vision as unreal, that to me is now true, and it is only now that I can give it as truth.’ So we see how this poem, even if only looked at in such an external manner as we have to-day, leads us into the depths of the human soul.‘Faust’ was begun in a desultory manner, some parts being pushed in between others, and therefore Goethe was unable to show in a continuous way what he had experienced in his soul. But something else led to the fact that Goethe expressed his deepest experiences in ‘Faust.’The ‘Helena scene’ also belongs to the first part of ‘Faust’ written by Goethe. But we find it was not included even in the ‘Faust’ of 1808. Why not? Because the manner in which Goethe had finished ‘Faust’ at that time would not allow it. What Goethe wished to say through the Helena scene was the expression of such a deep premonition of the deepest riddle of existence, that the first part was not sufficiently prepared to allow of this. Only when Goethe had reached an advanced age, was he able to give a true form to what really was the inner work of his life.We see how his mind had expanded so that he was able to grasp the worlds of the macrocosm, as expressed in the ‘Prologue in Heaven.’ We shall also see the way in which Goethe represents the stages of the soul's experience, leading men from the first stage up to that of imaginative vision, where the soul penetrating ever deeper and deeper, bursts at last the doors of the spiritual world, which Mephistopheles would close. Goethe also represents these inner experiences. For he places in the second part of ‘Faust’ the experiences of a soul through secret scientific study, and we see here one of the deepest riddles of existence, which if recognized, would be found to be an announcement of Western spiritual science given in imposing language. One is tempted to place such a poem as the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ and the second part of ‘Faust’ side by side. For great and powerful wisdom speaks out of such Eastern writings. It seems as if the gods themselves desired in them to speak with men to express the wisdom out of which the world was formed. Indeed it is so.Now let us look at the second part of ‘Faust.’ Here we see a striving human soul which has raised itself to spiritual vision from outer physical perception; we see how it has worked its way up to true clairvoyance when Faust enters the spiritual world and finds the spiritual choir around him ...‘Hearken! Hark! — The Hours careering Sounding loud to spirit-hearing. See the new-born day appearing! Rocky portals jarring shatter, Phœbus' wheels in rolling clatter, With a crash the Light draws near! Pealing rays and trumpet-blazes — Eye is blinded, ear amazes: The Unheard can no one hear!’Faust II, Act I.to that passage where Faust is outwardly dazzled, so that the outer world is lost to his perception and he says to himself: ‘Only within shines clear light! ...’ up to that passage in which the soul works itself up to the spheres of world existence, where the spiritual worlds are to be seen in all their purity, and the riddle of the world discloses itself to the soul. This is a way which we must designate as an esoteric one.The way in which we can penetrate from the outer to the inner life of Goethe's world enigma, we shall see to-morrow, and we shall also see from out of what depths Goethe spoke the word which at last gave him the certainty he needed with reference to all the longings, all the sorrows, pains and strivings for knowledge in his life.‘Whoever zealously strives We can redeem him; And if love from above Feels an interest in him, The blest choir will be there With a friendly greeting.’We shall consider to-morrow how Goethe solved this riddle of existence, and how that which lives in the soul can rise up to its true home. It will give us the answer to what Goethe placed as the riddle of his existence and about which he gives us such a hopeful answer at the end of the second part of ‘Faust:’‘For the spiritual world, That noble member, Is saved from evil. Whoever strives zealously We can redeem him! ...’This tells us Faust can be saved and those spirits will not conquer who by bringing men into the material bring them also to destruction.

 

Information given by ebay seller:

"This young Civil War Soldier 1/6th plate tintype is identified as Great Uncle Newton Ornbaun. We tried to research him, at first with no luck. Fortunately research on Ancestry.com not only confirmed his identity, we were also able to find a photograph of his brother (Andrew Marion Ornbaun) that is identical to the one we are listing in a separate auction. His real name is Henry Newton Ornbaun, not Henry Osborn. When I read the letter from an officer documenting his wounds and bravery, the officer had spelled it wrong. Also when I looked at the draft papers, the name Osborn is intermingled with Ornbaun and Ornbaum. Henry Newton Ornbaun was with the 79th Indiana Infantry. He was injured in November 1863 during the Chattanooga Campaign, and died from his wounds on Dec 1st,1863. We are adding an excerpt from the letter from headquarters, documenting his injury.

 

HDQRS. SEVENTY-NINTH REGT. INDIANA VOLS.,

Chattanooga, Tennessee, November 27, 1863.

CAPT.: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by the Seventy-ninth Regt. Indiana Volunteers and Eighty-sixth Regt. Indiana Volunteers, consolidated, and placed under my command by order of Gen. Beatty, in the battle before Chattanooga:

 

On the 23d instant, at noon, orders were received to march, and leaving our camps we formed at supporting distance, in double column, in rear of the left of Brig.-Gen. Willich's command.

 

The advance being made, we followed in the above order for about a mile, halted, deployed the column, and were ordered to form on the left of Gen. Willich's line. Not a shot was fired by my command during all this time. At night orders were received to fortify our position with rifle-pits and abatis. During the night we succeeded in accomplishing and carrying out the order as directed, and had at the break of day a line

of field-works of much strength. Nothing occurred Tuesday, the 24th, or Wednesday, the 25th, until about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, at which time I was ordered by Gen. Beatty to advance with my command beyond our works and form on the left of the front line of Gen. Willich, to advance and take the rifle-pits of the rebels in our front. The rebels upon our approach abandoned their rifle-pits, which were occupied by our forces. Not having received any order to remain in the rebel works, I ordered my command to advance upon the

mountain side in our front. Crossing the open space beyond the works we met a terrible fire, enfilading my command in all directions. The fire of the rebels becoming very severe, and their infantry in front, who were retreating before us, halting occasionally and firing upon us, I perceived that the safety of my command required it to get the protection of the mountain side to be enabled to take shelter among the trees and rocks. I urged a rapid advance, and with the hearty co-operation of the officers of both regiments the whole line was carried forward in the best order possible, on almost inaccessible ground. Here, protected by the steepness of the mountain, the men were enabled to make good their foothold, and reply to the rebel musketry, which was very galling and almost surrounding us. We advanced steadily step by step. When near the top my attention was called by Capt. Howe to the fact that our advance upon the mountain isolated us from the rest of the line with which we advanced upon the enemy's rifle-pits; there was no support on the right or left, and on looking back perceived our forces occupying the rebel works below; to retrace our steps would have been inevitable

destruction to the entire command. The resolve to advance and hold every inch of ground until supported was our only safety. The line advanced firmly, taking advantage of every obstacle, under a most furious fire of artillery and small-arms, the enemy rolling lighted shells among my men and throwing rocks upon our heads: but the ground was held and contested with the utmost determination. The rebels did not

succeed in forcing us back one step. We remained in our position, our flags and the enemy's almost touching, keeping up a heavy fire, until support came on the right and left, advancing up the mountain. At last orders were given to fix bayonets, and to charge them; once the effort failed, but advancing again, succeeded, and gained the enemy's works,

which were covered with dead and wounded, and full of rebels, who made haste to fling away their guns and to get to our rear. As my men swarmed upon the crest the rebels made another stand, commanded, as ascertained, by the rebel Gen. Hardee, but their resistance was very feeble; they were quickly broken, and fled in the greatest confusion. Here a battle-flag was captured; I regret to say it was torn to shreds by the men in their eagerness to secure mementoes. After pursuing the rebels, and the capture of many pieces of artillery and numerous prisoners, the command bivouacked upon the crest of Missionary Ridge.

 

It is with much pleasure that I can report the loss of both regiments as surprisingly little, when taken into consideration with the magnitude of the effort, and its results. A list of casualties is hereto appended.*

 

I beg leave to call the attention of the general to the following officers whose conduct deserves special mention: Capt.'s Hanna, Jordan, and Howe, Adjutant Ritter, Lieut.'s Mounts and Burns, of the Seventy-ninth Indiana Volunteers; Capt.'s Sims, Gregory, and Carnahan, Lieut.'s McInerny and Laymon, of the Eighty-sixth Indiana Volunteers. They with all other officers did their whole duty.

 

Among the enlisted men, where all displayed such daring, it is hard to make a distinction. First Sergt. William M. Johnston, Company D; Color Sergt. Henry C. Lawrence, First Sergt. Simeon J. Thompson, of Company B; First Sergt. Henry N. Osborn, of K; and John W. Hartpence, a drummer, of Company C, who went into the ranks and fought well--the last three of whom are seriously wounded--as well as all

non-commissioned officers, have acted with intrepidity and great bravery, assisting their officers in every manner.

 

I cannot close this without making my acknowledgments and

thanking Col. George F. Dick, of the Eighty-sixth Indiana

Volunteers, for the valuable assistance rendered me in commanding the two regiments while consolidated during the battle and from the time we left our camps.

 

I have the honor to be, captain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

 

FRED. KNEFLER,

Col. Seventy-ninth Indiana Volunteers."

Given the bald treatment by a lovely and beautiful friend.

Given a snake and ladder board, find the minimum number of dice throws required to reach the destination or last cell from source or 1st cell.Basically, the player has total control over outcome of dice throw and wants to find out minimum number of throws required to reach last cell.

Given a...

 

www.mindsblow.net/product/given-a-snake-and-ladder-board/

YORK, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: during the BUCS Men’s Northern Tier 6 Group C match between York St John University 8ths and Leeds Trinity University 4ths at Haxby Road on October 19th 2022 in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Appleby)

Was given a 'Super Takumar 50mm f2' off an Asahi Pentax S1a that was all jammed up so I gave my really GROTTY Kodak PJ800 dated 1999 another go to do some tests and on some other Super Takumar lenses at full aperture -- only ONE scanned here. This time I rated the grotty film at 100ASA instead of 200ASA and developed longer in my C41 mix and got much better negs but still with the huge grain, so rest of film went into bin ! Camera was my original 1961 Asahi Pentax S3 that I had SOLD 40 years ago and the owner gave it back as 'Not Working' . The older 50mm f2 lens is sharp enough at f2.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

In March 1941 Saab was given the task to design a better fighter than the Seversky Republic P-35s and Reggiane 2000s, at that time the only fighter aircraft Sweden was able or allowed to buy and the air force’s most modern fighters. Several other foreign designs, including the German Bf 109 or even the Japanese Mitsubishi Zero had also been considered.

 

Anyway, during the ongoing war the procurement of foreign equipment had no predictable future, and so a program for an indigenous fighter aircraft was launched the same year. This resulted in two different designs, which were both initially constructed around an imported German DB 603 engine – a deal which had become possible through the allowance of German transport flights to Norway over Swedish territory, a reason why no Allied equipment was sold to Sweden.

 

The resulting designs, the L-21 and L-23, differed considerably from each other. The Saab L-21 was a futuristic twin-boom pusher. This unconventional layout was a technological risk, with ejection seat and all, but it was expected to exploit the DB603 engine to the max, with a low-drag airframe (e .g. with a totally buried radiator installation inside of the inner wings) and a well-balanced center of gravity, which was expected to improve handling and turn radius. It was the favored design of Saab’s engineers.

 

As a fall-back option, though, the L-23 was added. It was a more conservative design with the same DB 603 engine, but with the engine in the classic nose position, a tunnel radiator under the rear fuselage, low tapered wings and a conventional tail. The overall outline resembled the P-51B/C Mustang. Most interestingly, the J 23 was to have a Bofors ejection seat, too, despite its conventional layout.

 

In December 1941 both designs were approved for prototypes, so that a direct comparison of both layouts could be made. The first of three J 21 prototypes flew on 30 July 1943, while the first three J 23 fighters followed on 10 August, just two weeks later.

 

Flight tests and evaluation continued until mid-1944 and, despite less weight and size, the J 23 turned out to be fast (Max. speed 626 km/h (388 mph) with the DB 603), but considerably less maneuverable than the J 21, which in itself was also not a perfect aircraft and frequently faced overheating problems.

 

Faced with two mediocre designs and an urgent need for a modern fighter, it was eventually decided to go ahead with the J 21 for serial production, but a pre-production batch of upgraded J 23 was also ordered for field tests and further development. In the meantime, Sweden had acquired rights to produce the DB 605 in license, and the new fighter was to be adapted to this more modern and powerful engine – it was hoped that the new engine would improve the J 23’s performance, and it was also fitted to the production J 21.

 

This re-engined variant was the J 23A, of which twelve aircraft were constructed at the main plant in Trollhättan and delivered from August 1945, too late to be involved in typical interception duties at the Swedish borders.

Deliveries of the favored J 21 started in December of the same year. The latter’s field performance turned out to be unsuited for the interceptor role, and the cooling problems persisted. Relegated mainly into the bomber and CAS role (the J 21 turned out to be a passable ground attack aircraft and a stable gun platform), the limitation of the J 21’s pusher design led to a revival of the front-engine J 23.

 

The resulting J 23B became the aircraft’s actual production variant, incorporating many improvements which had been developed and tested on the prototypes and the pre-production J 23As. These included aerodynamic modifications like a different airfoil on the outer wings and a lowered horizontal stabilizer, coupled with an extended rear fuselage for better directional stability and a slimmed-down radiator fairing for less drag. These machines were delivered from late 1946 on, and a total of forty-six J 23B airframes were produced until early 1948.

 

In service, the lighter J 23Bs proved to be a better interceptor than the J 21, with a higher top speed and rate of climb, but its handling was less responsive than the pusher aircraft with the same engine and armament.

 

Overall the J 23B was regarded as inferior to the very similar J 26 (the P-51D) in almost any respect, and the J 23B was never really popular with its flight or ground crews. Consequently, the J 23Bs active fighter career was short and the machines were only operated by the F 16 fighter wing and the F 20 Air Force Academy, both based at Uppsala Airfield, primarily used for advanced weapon and air combat training.

 

A new evaluation of the J 21 and the J 23 in 1947 led to the decision to retain the J 21 series but to consider the modification of the airframe to accommodate a jet engine. While production line J 21A series aircraft were first selected for conversion, the initial piston-engine version continued in production in five series "batches" that were completed in 1948–49.

 

Further J 23B production was not resumed, instead the J 26 and J 27 were procured. Anyway, the age of the piston-engine fighter came soon to a close and the Swedish Air Force entered the jet age. Consequently, the J 23B was already phased out, together with the J 21, after 1954.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: one

Length: 9.58 m (31 ft 4 in)

Wingspan: 11.3 m (37 ft 8 in)

Height: 3.96 (13 ft 0 in)

Wing area: 20.00 m² (215.28 ft²)

Empty weight: 2,535 kg (5,583 lb)

Loaded weight: 3,445 kg (7,588 lb)

Max. take-off weight: 3,663 kg (8,068 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Daimler-Benz liquid-cooled, supercharged, 60° inverted V12 DB 605B engine,

rated at 1,085 kW (1,455 hp / 1,475 PS) and license-built by SFA.

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 680 km/h (367 knots, 422 mph)

Cruise speed: 495 km/h (265 knots, 308 mph)

Range: 750 km (466 mi)

Service ceiling: 11,200 m (36,685 ft)

Rate of climb: 17 m/s (3,340 ft/min)

Armament:

1× engine-mounted 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 or Bofors cannon,

firing through the propeller hub

4× 13 mm Bofors-built Colt machine guns in the outer wings nose

Underwing hardpoints for various bombs, drop tanks and unguided rockets

  

The kit and its assembly:

The “Swedish Season” continues! The Saab 23 is another “phantom of the past”, a real world design that never left the drawing board. The J 23 actually started as an alternative to the J 21, but was discarded in late 1941 in favor of the more promising, yet bigger and heavier, pusher design. But that would not stop modelers from trying to build one, even though I have never seen a model of this aircraft? Having recently tried to build a Saab 27 fighter caught me in the right mood for another whiffy Swedish design, so I took a chance on the J 23, too.

 

At first glance you can mistake the J 23 for a P-51B with an engine from a late Bf 109, some sources describe it as “a Swedish Messerschmitt”. But that’s only superficial, much like the later Griffon-powered J 27 project which can be described as a “Super Spitfire”, but this does not do justice to the aircraft’s construction.

Both were independent developments, even though the P-51 (some early specimen were forced to land in Sweden and closely examined) certainly had a massive impact on both designs.

 

Anyway, the information basis surrounding the J 23 is worse than the J 27’s, and I only had rather vague profile drawings/sketches at hand for reference. A basis model was also hard to find: the rear section from a P-51B (in this case an Intech kit from Poland) was settled, since the Mustang’s cockpit shape, dorsal section and fin come really close to the J 23. But you cannot simply mate a P-51 with a Bf 109 nose, it would result in a rather wacky Mustang-thing because the proportions are not right.

 

Finding a good solution was not easy, and I was lucky to find a Hasegawa Ki-61 in the stash – it has a German engine (an earlier DB 601, though) and an overall layout similar to the P-51B. But the Ki-61 is considerably larger than a Bf 109, more in the P-51’s size class. Despite many detail modifications I decided to mate these unlikely aircraft for the J 23s basis – engraved panel lines on both kits made the combination less obvious, too.

 

The InTech P-51B gave its tail and the cockpit section (excluding the radiator tunnel and the wing roots), cut away from the rest of the Mustang fuselage with a Z-shaped cut. With a matching cut on the Ki-61’s fuselage, the engine and the whole wing/fuselage intersection were used. Styrene strips held the fuselage sections in place, on the outside the seams were later blended with nitrous compound putty. One benefit of this solution is that the OOB P-51 canopy could be used (even though the rear end fit necessitated some body work), and the resulting cockpit position was just as far forward as on the J 23, right above the wings. As a consequence the rear fuselage behind the cockpit appears to be rather long, but that is AFAIK correct, the J 23 had these slightly odd proportions!

 

For the J 23’s DB 605 engine a different, bigger spinner had to be mounted – scratched from a massive PZL 23 spinner and single blades (from the Hasegawa Ki-61), together with a metal axis and a styrene tube adapter inside of the nose. Some putty work was necessary to fair over the Ki-61 guns on the cowling, the typical DB 601 front bulge and blend the bigger, new spinner to the rest of the fuselage, but the result looks O.K.

 

The Ki-61’s original wings and landing gear could, thanks to the original fuselage section from the Hasegawa kit, be carried over and easily mounted, even though the wing tips were clipped for a square, Mustang-esque shape (the J 23’s look in all illustrations I’ve seen like upscaled Bf 109E wings).

 

The InTech P-51’s horizontal stabilizers were used, but for a J 23 they had to be placed in a different position: further back (so that wedges for the vertical rudder had to be cut out) and considerably lower, necessitating some (more) body work to hide the original attachment points. The new position adds to the impression of an extended fuselage section behind the cockpit, even though the P-51 donor fuselage section is only a little longer than the Ki-61’s. All tail surface outlines were slightly modified, too.

 

The J 23’s typical, shallow radiator tunnel had to be scratched, the semi-buried construction sits far behind the wings’ training edge. In an initial step, the removed Ki-61 radiator’s gap as well as the P-51 tail wheel well were faired over with styrene sheet and new intake/outlet ramps integrated into the lower rear fuselage. The tunnel itself is the narrow, aerodynamic fairing of a Boulton Paul Defiant’s machine guns behind the turret (raised when not in use), left over from a Pavla kit, opened at both ends.

As a consequence of the new and long radiator tunnel, the P-51 tail wheel well was moved about 5mm further back and the fuselage profile under the tail fin re-shaped.

 

One of the final steps was the cockpit interior, because I was not sure concerning the relative position of the P-51’s canopy (cut into three pieces for open display) and dashboard and the Ki-61’s cockpit floor panel and seat. But both turned out to match relatively well, and I added a tank and radio dummy behind the seat in order to prevent a clear view into the rear fuselage.

 

The landing gear was taken OOB from the Ki-61 – it looks similar to the real J 23 arrangement, so I stuck with it. The tail wheel comes from the InTech P-51, just the covers were scratched for the re-located well.

 

All gun barrels on spinner and wings are hollow steel needles, no ordnance was hung under the wings, even though the Ki-61 hardpoints were retained. After all, it’s a fighter aircraft.

  

Painting and markings:

Once more a classic, if not conservative, livery for a fictional aircraft – and in this case I chose the simple olivgrön/ljust blågrå camouflage of the late Fourties, coupled with contemporary color-coded letters identifying the individual aircraft and its squadron within the Flygflöttilj group.

 

The uniform upper surfaces were painted with RAF Dark Green (Humbrol 163). This tone has an olive drab touch and comes IMHO pretty close to the original Swedish color, the frequently recommended FS 34079 is IMHO too blue-ish. For the underside I used Humbrol 87 (Steel Gray), which is a blue-greenish gray. The authentic tone would be FS 36270, but on a model it appears much too dark, so that the lighter Steel Gray is a handy and individual alternative.

 

A light black ink was applied in order to emphasize the panel lines, some more depth was added through dry-painted panels with lighter shades of the basic colors (in this case, Humbrol 155 and 128).

 

The cockpit interior was painted in dark gray (Humbrol 32), while the landing gear and the wells became Aluminum (Humbrol 56).

 

As an aircraft of the air staff flight, this J 23 received a white spinner and a white code letter on the tail. These and other markings came from various sources and spare decal sheets. Some extra color was added with red warning markings on the wings above the flaps, plus some visual markings - all made with generic decal stripes. The cock nose art is a personal addition - taken from a Spanish Bf 109D, but AFAIK such personal markings were not uncommon on Swedish Air Force aircraft in the post WWII era.

 

An eye-catcher and some variety on the otherwise simple green/gray livery are white high-viz markings on the wing tips and a wide fuselage band. Such additional markings were frequently used in the post WWII-era during exercises, training or public displays. Styles varied considerably, though, between “color blocks” and wide single bands which I used (seen on a J 21) and even dense, thin zebra stripes on wings and fuselage. In this case, the white markings were painted onto wings and fuselage (Humbrol 34).

 

Since most panel lines on the fuselage were lost I painted some new ones with a soft pencil. Finally, after some gun soot and exhaust stains made with grinded graphite as well as some dry-brushed silver on the wings’ leading edges and around the cockpit were added, the kit received a coating with matt acrylic varnish.

  

Another scratch build of an obscure Swedish aircraft that never reached the hardware stage – and pretty successful, IMHO. This sleek J 23 model looks just as harmless and innocent, but involved massive construction work in almost every area as the kitbashed J 27 before. It’s actually the first model rendition of the J 23 I have seen so far – and another funny fact is that this “Swedish Messerschmitt” was built without any Bf 109 part at all!

Given the inlay and pietre dure on the flooring, this was a picture perfect backdrop for this cosplayer dressed in a historical 16th Century German woman's costume.

 

I used Nik Software's Color Efex Pro - Pro Contrast / Dynamic Skin Softener / Film Efex - Vintage (Saturated Fade) filters followed by Dfine to minimize the color noise.

..."This is my body, which is given for you" Luke 22:19

 

HAPPY EASTER.

...a bit difficult to find anything I haven't used before ;o) (Struggling with health issues at the moment, so not able to get out much, to photograph anew.)

I'm not happy with the "look" of the above, but there was such a mix of lighting, plus a dark yew tree just outside the window and grid over it, that I've had to do quite a bit of "tinkering" with it...but it now looks too "digital-ised" for my liking.

The little altar and stained glass window, in St. Olaf, Wasdale Head. The left half depicts Jesus' Baptism, by John the Baptist, and the right half, The Last Supper, only hours before Jesus' arrest and crucifixion.

(Wider view of this delightful little church, in 1st comment box below.)

Rover SD1 is both the code name and eventual production name given to a series of executive cars built by British Leyland (BL), under the Rover marque. It was produced through its Specialist, Rover Triumph and Austin Rover divisions from 1976 until 1986, when it was replaced by the Rover 800. The SD1 was marketed under various names including Rover 3500, Rover 2300 and Rover Vitesse. In 1977 it won the European Car of the Year title.

 

In "SD1", the "SD" refers to "Specialist Division" and "1" is the first car to come from the in-house design team. The range is sometimes wrongly referred to as "SDi" ("i" is commonly used in car nomenclature to identify fuel injection).

 

The SD1 can be considered as the last "true" Rover, being the final Rover-badged vehicle to be produced at Solihull, as well as being the last to be designed largely by ex-Rover Company engineers and also the final Rover car to be fitted with the Rover V8 engine. Future Rovers would be built at the former British Motor Corporation factories at Longbridge and Cowley; and rely largely on Honda.

 

Design

 

The new car was designed with simplicity of manufacture in mind in contrast to the P6, the design of which was rather complicated in areas such as the De Dion-type rear suspension. The SD1 used a well-known live rear axle instead. This different approach was chosen because surveys showed that although the automotive press was impressed by sophisticated and revolutionary designs the general buying public was not, unless the results were good. However, with the live rear axle came another retrograde step – the car was fitted with drum brakes at the rear.

 

Rover's plans to use its then fairly new 2.2 L four-cylinder engine were soon abandoned as BL management ruled that substantially redesigned versions of Triumph's six-cylinder engine were to power the car instead. The Rover V8 engine was fitted in the engine bay. The three-speed automatic gearbox was the BorgWarner 65 model.

 

The dashboard of the SD1 features an air vent, unusually, directly facing the passenger. The display binnacle sits on top of the dashboard in front of the driver to aid production in left-hand drive markets. The air vent doubles as a passage for the steering-wheel column, and the display binnacle can be easily fitted on top of the dashboard on either the left or right-hand side of the car.

 

An estate body had been envisaged, but it did not get beyond the prototype stage. Two similarly specified estates have survived, and are exhibited at the Heritage Motor Centre and the Haynes International Motor Museum respectively. One was used by BL chairman Sir Michael Edwardes as personal transport in the late 1970s. The two cars as befit prototypes differ in the detail of and around the tailgate. One car has a recessed tailgate, while the other has a clamshell arrangement, where the whole tailgate is visible when closed.

 

The SD1 was intended to be produced in a state-of-the-art extension to Rover's historic Solihull factory alongside the TR7. It was largely funded by the British government, who had bailed BL out from bankruptcy in 1975. Unfortunately this did nothing to improve the patchy build quality that then plagued all of British Leyland. That, along with quick-wearing interior materials and poor detailing ensured that initial enthusiasm soon turned to disappointment.

 

Initial model and first additions to range

 

Rover 2300 6-cylinder engine, in situ in SD1

This car was launched on its home market in June 1976 in liftback form only, as the V8-engined Rover 3500: SOHC 2.3 L and 2.6 L sixes followed a year later. The car was warmly received by the press and even received the European Car of the Year award for 1977. Its launch on the European mainland coincided with its appearance at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1977, some three months after the Car of the Year announcement. Dealers had no left-hand drive cars for sale, however, since production had been blocked by a tool makers' strike affecting several British Leyland plants and a "bodyshell dispute" at the company's Castle Bromwich plant. Closer to home, the car and its design team received The Midlander of the Year Award for 1976, because they had between them done most in the year to increase the prestige of the (English) Midlands region.

 

Poor construction quality was apparent even in the company's press department fleet. The British magazine Motor published a road test of an automatic 3500 in January 1977, and while keen to highlight the Rover's general excellence, they also reported that the test car suffered from poor door seals, with daylight visible from inside past the rear door window frame's edge on the left side of the car, and a curious steering vibration at speed which might (or might not) have resulted from the car's front wheels not having been correctly balanced. Disappointment was recorded that the ventilation outlet directly in front of the driver appeared to be blocked, delivering barely a breeze even when fully open; the writer had encountered this problem on one other Rover 3500, although he had also driven other cars of the same type with an abundant output of fresh air through the vent in question. Nevertheless, in March 1977, Britain's Autocar was able to publish an article by Raymond Mays a famous racing driver and team manager during, in particular, the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s, in which Mays explained why, after driving it for 12,000 miles, he considered his Rover 3500 was "the best car he [had] ever had", both for its many qualities as a driver's car and for its excellent fuel economy even when driven hard. Similar problems persisted until 1980 and were reported in tests of the V8-S version.

 

In television shows John Steed in The New Avengers and George Cowley in The Professionals both used yellow Rover 3500 models. Although using different registration numbers both were possibly the same car.

 

[Text from Wikipedia]

St George, Stowlangtoft, Suffolk

 

Given that our parish churches almost without exception underwent restorations in the 19th Century, it should be obvious that when we enter a medieval church, we are encountering a Victorian vision of the medieval. Even when the actual furnishings and fittings are medieval, the whole piece is still a Victorian conception.

 

Inevitably, the question arises of what was there before the restoration and what wasn't. The obvious answer is that we must assume that nothing is as it first appears.

 

A prime example of a church that assumes a continuity that may not actually be the truth is here in the flat fields between Woolpit and Ixworth. This part of Suffolk can be rather bleak in winter, but in summer the churchyard here is verdant and golden, as beautiful a place as any in the county. The church is large, and yet unusually narrow. It sits on a mound that has been cut down on one side by the road. In the churchyard you'll find the well-known memorial to the art critic Peter Fuller and his unborn son, killed in a car crash in 1990.

 

In the churchyard wall there is what appears to be broken medieval window tracery, which is worth noticing, for hereby hangs a tale.

 

St George is one of the great Suffolk churches. Although it may externally appear a little severe, and is by no means as grand as Blythburgh, Long Melford and the rest, it is a treasure house of the medieval inside. Unusually for a church of its date, it was all rebuilt in one go, in the late 14th century, and the perpendicular windows are not yet full of the 'walls of glass' confidence that the subsequent century would see. The tracery appears to have been repaired, and possibly even renewed, which may explain the tracery in the churchyard wall. However, it doesn't take much to see that the tracery in the wall is not perpendicular at all, but decorated. So it may be that the broken tracery is from the original church that the late 14th century church replaced. But the wall itself isn't medieval, so where had it been all those years? Is it possible that the current window tracery is not medieval at all?

 

Stowlangtoft church featured in Simon Jenkins' book England's Thousand Best Churches, which sends plenty of visitors to its locked door, and may help stave off the inevitable for a while, for there is no real congregation here any more and the church is moribund. Regular services are held across the fields at Pakenham, and St George is now only used on special occasions. The key is kept across the road, where the very nice lady told me in February 2018 that the church is now headed for redundancy. It seems likely that care of it will be conveyed into the hands of the Churches Conservation Trust.

 

You step in through the chancel door (the lock here is very awkward, but do persevere) and if you are anything like me you will head straight down to the west end where you will find the font. Likethe window tracery, it asks some questions. Unusually, it features a Saint on seven of the panels, Christ being on the westwards face. Mortlock dates it to the early 14th century, and the Saints it shows are familiar cults from that time: St Margaret, St Catherine, St Peter and St Paul, and less commonly St George. The cult of St George was at its height in the early years of the 14th century. Mortlock describes the font as mutilated, and it certainly isn't looking its best. But I think there is more going on here than meets the eye. Fonts were plastered over in Elizabethan times, and only relief that stood proud of the plaster was mutilated. These are all shallow reliefs, and I do not think they have been mutilated at all. To my eye at least, this stonework appears weathered. I wonder if this font was removed from the church, probably in the mid-17th century, and served an outdoor purpose until it was returned in the 19th century.

 

The story of this church in the 19th century is well-documented. In 1832, as part of his grand tour of Suffolk, David Davy visited, and was pleased to find that the church was at last undergoing repair. The chancel had been roofless, and the nave used for services. A new Rectory was being built. Who was the catalyst behind all this? His name was Samuel Rickards, and he was Rector here for almost the middle forty years of the 19th century. Roy Tricker notes that he was a good friend of John Henry Newman, the future Cardinal, and they often corresponded on the subject of the pre-Reformation ordering of English churches. It is interesting to think how, at this seminal moment, Rickards might have informed the thought of the Oxford Movement. Sadly, when Newman became a Catholic, Rickards broke off all correspondence with him.

 

During the course of the 1840s and 1850s, Rickards transformed Stowlangtoft church. He got the great Ipswich woodcarver Henry Ringham in to restore, replicate and complete the marvellous set of bench ends - Ringham did the same thing at Woolpit, a few miles away. Ringham's work is so good that it is sometimes hard for the inexperienced eye to detect it. However, as at Woolpit, Ringham only copied animals here, and the weirder stuff is all medieval, and probably dates from the rebuilding of the church. The glory of Stowlangtoft's bench ends is partly the sheer quantity - there are perhaps 60 carvings - but also that there are several unique subjects.

 

The carvings appear to be part of the same group as Woolpit and Tostock - you will recognise the unicorn, the chained bear, the bull playing a harp, the bird with a man's head, from similar carvings elsewhere. And then hopefully that little alarm bell in your heard should start to go "Hmmmm....." because some of the carvings here are clearly not from the same group. It is hard to believe that the mermaid and the owl, for example, are from the same workshop, or even from the same decade. The benches themselves are no clue, as it was common practice in the 19th century to replace medieval bench ends on modern benches, or on medieval benches, or even on modern benches made out of medieval timber (as happened at Blythburgh). Could it be that Samuel Rickards found some of these bench ends elsewhere? Could he have been the kind of person to do a thing like that?

 

Well, yes he could. As Roy Tricker recalls, the medieval roof at the tractarian Thomas Mozley's church at Cholderton in Wiltshire is East Anglian. Rickards acquired it after finding it in storage in Ipswich docks. It presumably came from one of the Ipswich churches. In the ferment of the great 19th century restoration of our English churches, there was loads of medieval junk lying around, much of it going begging. But was Samuel Rickards the kind of person to counterfeit his church's medieval inheritance?

 

Well, yes he probably was. The faux-medieval roundels in the windows of the nave are clearly not medieval at all, but were in fact the work of the young Lucy Rickards, daughter of Samuel Rickards himself. Some are clearly to the young girl's design, and Pevsner notes that others are copied from medieval manuscript illustrations in the British Museum, although the Holy Kinship and Presentation in the Temple roundels at least are very close copies of the Flemish roundels of the same subjects in Nowton church on the other side of Bury St Edmunds.

 

Truly medieval is the vast St Christopher wall-painting still discernible on the north wall. It was probably one of the last to be painted. The bench ends are medieval, of course, as is the fine rood-screen dado, albeit repainted. There is even some medieval figure glass in the upper tracery of some of the windows, including St Agnes holding a lamb and four Old Testament prophets. The laughable stone pulpit is Rickard's commission, and the work of William White. What can Rickards have been thinking of? But we step through into the chancel, and suddenly the whole thing moves up a gear. For here are some things that are truly remarkable.

 

In a county famous for its woodwork, the furnishings of Stowlangtoft's chancel are breathtaking, even awe-inspiring. Behind the rood screen dado is Suffolk's most complete set of return stalls. Most striking are the figures that form finials to the stall ends. They are participants in the Mass, including two Priests, two servers and two acolytes. The figure of the Priest at a prayer desk must be one of the best medieval images in Suffolk, and Mortlock thought the stalls the finest in England.

 

The benches that face eastwards are misericords, and beneath them are wonderful things: angels, lions and wodewoses, evangelistic symbols and crowned heads. A hawk captures a hare, a dragon sticks out its tongue. Between the seats are weird oriental faces.

 

Now, you know what I am going to ask next. How much of this is from this church originally? It all appears medieval work, and there is no reason to believe it might not have been moved elsewhere in the church when the chancel was open to the elements. What evidence have we got?

 

Firstly, we should notice that the only other Suffolk church with such a large number of medieval misericords of this quality is just a mile away, at Norton. I don't ask you to see this as significant, merely to notice it in passing. Secondly, I am no carpenter, but it does look to me as though two sets of furnishings have been cobbled together; the stalls that back on to the screen appear to have been integrated into the larger structure of stalls and desks that front them and the north and south walls.

 

However, if you look closely at the figures of the two Deacons, you will see that they are bearing shields of the Ashfield and Peche families. The Ashfield arms also appear on the rood screen, and the Ashfields were the major donors when the church was rebuilt in the 14th century. So on balance I am inclined to think that the greater part of the stall structure was in this church originally from when it was rebuilt. And the misericords? Well, I don't know. But I think they have to be considered as part of the same set as those at Norton. In which case they may have come from the same church, which may have been this one, but may not have been. Almost certainly, the stalls at Norton did not come from Norton church, and folklore has it that they were originally in the quire of Bury Abbey.

 

Other remarkable things in St George include FE Howard's beautiful war memorial in the former north doorway, and in the opposite corner of the nave Hugh Easton's unexpectedly gorgeous St George, which serves the same purpose. He's not an artist I usually admire, but it is as good as his work at Elveden. Back up in the chancel is a delightful painted pipe organ which was apparently exhibited at, and acquired from, the Great Exhibition of 1851.

 

But St George at Stowlangtoft is, of course, most famous for the Flemish carvings that flank the rather heavy altarpiece. They were given to the church by Henry Wilson of Stowlangtoft Hall, who allegedly found them in an Ixworth junk shop. They show images from the crucifixion story, but are not Stations of the Cross as some guides suggest. They date from the 1480s, and were almost certainly the altarpiece of a French or Flemish monastery that was sacked during the French Revolution. The carvings were once brightly painted, and piled up in a block rather than spread out in a line. The niches, and crowning arches above them, are 19th century.

 

One cold winter's night in January 1977, a gang of thieves broke into this locked church and stole them. Nothing more was seen or heard of them until 1982, when they were discovered on display in an Amsterdam art gallery. Their journey had been a convoluted one. Taken to Holland, they were used as security for a loan which was defaulted upon. The new owner was then burgled, and the carvings were fenced to an Amsterdam junk dealer. They were bought from his shop, and taken to the museum, which immediately identified them as 15th century carvings. They put them on display, and a Dutch woman who had read about the Stowlangtoft theft recognised them.

 

The parish instituted legal proceedings to get them back. An injunction was taken out to stop the new owner removing them from the museum. The parish lost the case, leaving them with a monstrous legal bill, but the story has a happy ending. A Dutch businessman negotiated their purchase from the owner, paid off the legal bills, and returned the carvings to Stowlangtoft. Apparently this was all at vast cost, but the businessman gave the gift in thanks for Britain's liberation of Holland from the Nazis. No, thank you, sir.

 

Today, the carvings are fixed firmly in place and alarmed, so they won't be going walkabout again. But a little part of me wonders if they really should be here at all. Sure, they are medieval, but they weren't here originally, and they weren't even in England originally. Wouldn't it be better if they were displayed somewhere safer, where people could pay to see them, and provide some income for the maintenance of the church building? And then, whisper it, when St George is taken on by the CCT they might even be able to leave it open.

 

Aankomst in Rotterdam van het containerschip EVER GIVEN , VB TIGER , ROTTERDAM , SD STINGRAY en RT ROB van Boluda Towage assisteerden naar de ECT in de Amazonehaven.29-7-2021 gezien vanaf de KRVE 71

Model : Nazane

"Abandonnée"...

 

"Life is given to you like a flat piece of land and everything has to be done. I hope that when I am finished, my piece of land will be a beautiful garden, so there is a lot of work."

Jeanne Moreau

  

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New Street garden in the heart of Waterford city has transformed and given a new lease of life to a derelict site once earmarked for a major retail and hotel development. A terrace of beautifully maintained houses owned mainly by elderly residents were purchased as part of the landbank for the potential development but unfortunately the development company fell victim to the recession.The houses on a section of the site fell into disrepair and following a spate of anti-social behaviour they were demolished by Waterford City Council. Weeds, broken bottles, cans and other litter fought for space on the site.

 

Edel Tobin, a local teacher, came up with the idea of a community garden to be developed by the community and for the community with everything from labour, expertise and materials provided for little or no cost.

 

Over a period of six months the site was transformed. Recycles goods such as lamp-stands, old tyres and broken tiles were given a new lease of life to enhance the community/entertainment space which was formally opened by President Michael D. Higgins.

Given to the city's Polish community in 1911, became St Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic church

----

tayloronhistory.com/2013/03/05/torontos-architectural-gem...

 

_DSC3872 Anx2 1200w Q90

Given the advance of Spring I thought I'd try out the M8.2's Infrared characteristics a bit more. Here is a straight shot of bluebells

The Mercedes-Benz W111 was a chassis code given to its top-range vehicles, including 4-door sedans, produced from 1959 to 1968, and 2-door coupes and cabriolets from 1961 to 1971.

 

Mercedes-Benz emerged from World War II as an automaker in the early 1950s with the expensive 300 Adenauers and the 300SL roadsters that gained it fame, but it was the simple unibody Pontons that were the volume models. However, in both their construction and design, the Pontons were archaic, based on 1940s models of U.S. sedans.

 

Work on replacing these cars began in 1956, and the design focused on passenger comfort and safety. The basic Ponton cabin was widened and squared off, with larger glass area improving driver visibility. A milestone in car design were front and rear crumple zones that would absorb kinetic energy from impact. The automaker also patented retractable seatbelts. (The death toll in the new generation cars would be less than half that of the pontons.)

 

The exterior was designed for the European and North American markets. The body was modern and featured a characteristic tailfins that gave gave the models their nickname — the fintail (German: Heckflosse).

 

Series production of the 4-door sedan began in August 1959, and the car was premiered at the Frankfurt Auto Show in autumn. Initially the series consisted of three models the 220b, 220Sb, and the 220SEb. These replaced the 219 W105, the 220S W180 and the 220SE W128 Ponton sedans respectively.

 

Design of a replacement for the two-door Pontons began in 1957, as most of the chassis and drivetrain were to be unified with the sedan, the scope was focused on the exterior styling. Some of the mock-ups and prototypes show that Mercedes-Benz attempted to give the two-door car a front styling almost identical to what would be realised in the Pagoda roadster, but ultimately favoured the work of engineer Paul Bracq. The rear bodywork however, persisted, and thus, though officially still called a fintail the rear end design had no chrome fin highlights. Production began in late 1960, and in February of the next year the coupe was premiered in Stuttgart for the 75th anniversary of the opening of Mercedes-Benz Museum.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

- - -

 

Der Mercedes-Benz W 111 war das erste Oberklassen-Modell der Heckflossen-Serie von Mercedes-Benz, gelegentlich „Große Flosse“ genannt.3

 

Der W 111 folgte der bis 1959 gebauten großen „Ponton“-Serie W 105 und W 180 nach. Seine geradlinig elegante Karosserieform stammte vom damaligen MB-Chefdesigner Karl Wilfert und seinem Team. Die Karosserie zeichnete sich durch eine bis dahin nicht gekannte passive Sicherheit aus: Sie besaß als erste eine stabile Fahrgastzelle und wirksame Knautschzonen. Mercedes führte umfangreiche Crashtests durch, z. B. brachte man ein Fahrzeug mit 80 km/h über eine Rampe zum Überschlagen.

 

n die Baureihen W 111 und W 112 eingeordnet wurden neben den viertürigen Fahrzeugen („Heckflossen“-Limousinen) auch die Coupés und Cabrios in flacheren Karosserien mit runderen, nur noch im Ansatz erkennbaren Finnen. Im Rahmen der Eröffnung des Daimler-Benz-Museums in Untertürkheim am 24. Februar 1961 wurde der neue Mercedes-Benz 220 SE(b) Coupé präsentiert.

 

Im US-Thriller Marathon Man von Regisseur John Schlesinger aus dem Jahr 1976 wird ein W 111 von einer der Hauptfiguren, Klaus Szell bewegt. Dieser kommt in einer Verfolgungsjagd um Leben, nachdem er einen Tanklaster rammt.

 

Im Film Der Richter und sein Henker von 1975 ist eine schwarze Limousine der Baureihe W 111 zu sehen. Diese wurde von Robert Schmied bzw. Walter Tschanz gefahren.

 

Im Film The Hangover wird ein silbernes W-111-Cabrio gezeigt.

 

Im Film Im Geheimdienst Ihrer Majestät fahren die Gegner von Geheimagent James Bond in der Schweiz eine schwarze Limousine, Typ 220 S. Während einer Verfolgungsjagd wird der Wagen spektakulär zerstört.

 

(Wikipedia)

Given this bustling scene in this fascinating photo, you wouldn't know this was the dustbowl decade. This week's Saturday Timewatch features the downtown area of the small town of Rusk, TX, on June 12th 1934 when the population was around 4000, about 1000 less than the current population.

 

Established by an act of the Texas Legislature on April 11, 1846, Rusk was named after Thomas Jefferson Rusk. 10 years earlier he had signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.........from Mexico.

 

Other claims to fame?? Not too many but according to Wiki it does have the longest footbridge in the nation. I thought you'd like to know that.

 

PS : Can any of the vehicle aficionados identify the cars?

Been given a camera to play with for the first time by my lovely Girlfriends dad BIG thank you to him. This is my cat she is very lazy her real name is pearl but as a nick name i call her Ham Cat as ham is her favourite food. :)

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.

 

Some wall paintings are painted on large canvases, which are then attached to the wall (e.g., with marouflage). Whether these works can be accurately called "murals" is a subject of some controversy in the art world, but the technique has been in common use since the late 19th century.

 

HISTORY

Murals of sorts date to Upper Paleolithic times such as the paintings in the Chauvet Cave in Ardèche department of southern France (around 30,000 BC). Many ancient murals have survived in Egyptian tombs (around 3150 BC), the Minoan palaces (Middle period III of the Neopalatial period, 1700-1600 BC) and in Pompeii (around 100 BC - AD 79).

 

During the Middle Ages murals were usually executed on dry plaster (secco). In Italy, circa 1300, the technique of painting of frescos on wet plaster was reintroduced and led to a significant increase in the quality of mural painting.

 

In modern times, the term became more well-known with the Mexican "muralista" art movement (Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros, or José Orozco). There are many different styles and techniques. The best-known is probably fresco, which uses water-soluble paints with a damp lime wash, a rapid use of the resulting mixture over a large surface, and often in parts (but with a sense of the whole). The colors lighten as they dry. The marouflage method has also been used for millennia.

 

Murals today are painted in a variety of ways, using oil or water-based media. The styles can vary from abstract to trompe-l'œil (a French term for "fool" or "trick the eye"). Initiated by the works of mural artists like Graham Rust or Rainer Maria Latzke in the 1980s, trompe-l'oeil painting has experienced a renaissance in private and public buildings in Europe. Today, the beauty of a wall mural has become much more widely available with a technique whereby a painting or photographic image is transferred to poster paper or canvas which is then pasted to a wall surface (see wallpaper, Frescography) to give the effect of either a hand-painted mural or realistic scene.

 

TECHNIQUE

In the history of mural several methods have been used:

 

A fresco painting, from the Italian word affresco which derives from the adjective fresco ("fresh"), describes a method in which the paint is applied on plaster on walls or ceilings. The buon fresco technique consists of painting in pigment mixed with water on a thin layer of wet, fresh, lime mortar or plaster. The pigment is then absorbed by the wet plaster; after a number of hours, the plaster dries and reacts with the air: it is this chemical reaction which fixes the pigment particles in the plaster. After this the painting stays for a long time up to centuries in fresh and brilliant colors.

 

Fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster (secco is "dry" in Italian). The pigments thus require a binding medium, such as egg (tempera), glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall.

 

Mezzo-fresco is painted on nearly-dry plaster, and was defined by the sixteenth-century author Ignazio Pozzo as "firm enough not to take a thumb-print" so that the pigment only penetrates slightly into the plaster. By the end of the sixteenth century this had largely displaced the buon fresco method, and was used by painters such as Gianbattista Tiepolo or Michelangelo. This technique had, in reduced form, the advantages of a secco work.

 

MATERIAL

In Greco-Roman times, mostly encaustic colors applied in a cold state were used.

 

Tempera painting is one of the oldest known methods in mural painting. In tempera, the pigments are bound in an albuminous medium such as egg yolk or egg white diluted in water.

 

In 16th-century Europe, oil painting on canvas arose as an easier method for mural painting. The advantage was that the artwork could be completed in the artist’s studio and later transported to its destination and there attached to the wall or ceiling. Oil paint can be said to be the least satisfactory medium for murals because of its lack of brilliance in colour. Also the pigments are yellowed by the binder or are more easily affected by atmospheric conditions. The canvas itself is more subject to rapid deterioration than a plaster ground. Different muralists tend to become experts in their preferred medium and application, whether that be oil paints, emulsion or acrylic paints applied by brush, roller or airbrush/aerosols. Clients will often ask for a particular style and the artist may adjust to the appropriate technique.

 

A consultation usually leads to a detailed design and layout of the proposed mural with a price quote that the client approves before the muralist starts on the work. The area to be painted can be gridded to match the design allowing the image to be scaled accurately step by step. In some cases the design is projected straight onto the wall and traced with pencil before painting begins. Some muralists will paint directly without any prior sketching, preferring the spontaneous technique.

 

Once completed the mural can be given coats of varnish or protective acrylic glaze to protect the work from UV rays and surface damage.

 

As an alternative to a hand-painted or airbrushed mural, digitally printed murals can also be applied to surfaces. Already existing murals can be photographed and then be reproduced in near-to-original quality.

 

The disadvantages of pre-fabricated murals and decals are that they are often mass-produced and lack the allure and exclusivity of an original artwork. They are often not fitted to the individual wall sizes of the client and their personal ideas or wishes can not be added to the mural as it progresses. The Frescography technique, a digital manufacturing method (CAM) invented by Rainer Maria Latzke addresses some of the personalisation and size restrictions.

 

Digital techniques are commonly used in advertisements. A "wallscape" is a large advertisement on or attached to the outside wall of a building. Wallscapes can be painted directly on the wall as a mural, or printed on vinyl and securely attached to the wall in the manner of a billboard. Although not strictly classed as murals, large scale printed media are often referred to as such. Advertising murals were traditionally painted onto buildings and shops by sign-writers, later as large scale poster billboards.

 

SIGNIFICANCE OF MURALS

Murals are important in that they bring art into the public sphere. Due to the size, cost, and work involved in creating a mural, muralists must often be commissioned by a sponsor. Often it is the local government or a business, but many murals have been paid for with grants of patronage. For artists, their work gets a wide audience who otherwise might not set foot in an art gallery. A city benefits by the beauty of a work of art.

 

Murals can be a relatively effective tool of social emancipation or achieving a political goal. Murals have sometimes been created against the law, or have been commissioned by local bars and coffeeshops. Often, the visual effects are an enticement to attract public attention to social issues. State-sponsored public art expressions, particularly murals, are often used by totalitarian regimes as a tool of mass-control and propaganda. However, despite the propagandist character of that works, some of them still have an artistic value.

 

Murals can have a dramatic impact whether consciously or subconsciously on the attitudes of passers by, when they are added to areas where people live and work. It can also be argued that the presence of large, public murals can add aesthetic improvement to the daily lives of residents or that of employees at a corporate venue.

 

Other world-famous murals can be found in Mexico, New York, Philadelphia, Belfast, Derry, Los Angeles, Nicaragua, Cuba and in India. They have functioned as an important means of communication for members of socially, ethnically and racially divided communities in times of conflict. They also proved to be an effective tool in establishing a dialogue and hence solving the cleavage in the long run. The Indian state Kerala has exclusive murals. These Kerala mural painting are on walls of Hindu temples. They can be dated from 9th century AD.

 

The San Bartolo murals of the Maya civilization in Guatemala, are the oldest example of this art in Mesoamerica and are dated at 300 BC.

 

Many rural towns have begun using murals to create tourist attractions in order to boost economic income. Colquitt, Georgia is one such town. Colquitt was chosen to host the 2010 Global Mural Conference. The town has more than twelve murals completed, and will host the Conference along with Dothan, Alabama, and Blakely, Georgia. In the summer of 2010, Colquitt will begin work on their Icon Mural.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Given to me by my father in 1981. Thank you for the inspiration, the spark, the lessons, the time, and lots of 110 film.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

  

The Mercedes-Benz W111 was a chassis code given to its top-range vehicles, including 4-door sedans, produced from 1959 to 1968, and 2-door coupes and cabriolets from 1961 to 1971.

 

Mercedes-Benz emerged from World War II as an automaker in the early 1950s with the expensive 300 Adenauers and the 300SL roadsters that gained it fame, but it was the simple unibody Pontons that were the volume models. However, in both their construction and design, the Pontons were archaic, based on 1940s models of U.S. sedans.

 

Work on replacing these cars began in 1956, and the design focused on passenger comfort and safety. The basic Ponton cabin was widened and squared off, with larger glass area improving driver visibility. A milestone in car design were front and rear crumple zones that would absorb kinetic energy from impact. The automaker also patented retractable seatbelts. (The death toll in the new generation cars would be less than half that of the pontons.)

 

The exterior was designed for the European and North American markets. The body was modern and featured a characteristic tailfins that gave gave the models their nickname — the fintail (German: Heckflosse).

 

Series production of the 4-door sedan began in August 1959, and the car was premiered at the Frankfurt Auto Show in autumn. Initially the series consisted of three models the 220b, 220Sb, and the 220SEb. These replaced the 219 W105, the 220S W180 and the 220SE W128 Ponton sedans respectively.

 

Design of a replacement for the two-door Pontons began in 1957, as most of the chassis and drivetrain were to be unified with the sedan, the scope was focused on the exterior styling. Some of the mock-ups and prototypes show that Mercedes-Benz attempted to give the two-door car a front styling almost identical to what would be realised in the Pagoda roadster, but ultimately favoured the work of engineer Paul Bracq. The rear bodywork however, persisted, and thus, though officially still called a fintail the rear end design had no chrome fin highlights. Production began in late 1960, and in February of the next year the coupe was premiered in Stuttgart for the 75th anniversary of the opening of Mercedes-Benz Museum.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

- - -

 

Der Mercedes-Benz W 111 war das erste Oberklassen-Modell der Heckflossen-Serie von Mercedes-Benz, gelegentlich „Große Flosse“ genannt.

 

Der W 111 folgte der bis 1959 gebauten großen „Ponton“-Serie W 105 und W 180 nach. Seine geradlinig elegante Karosserieform stammte vom damaligen MB-Chefdesigner Karl Wilfert und seinem Team. Die Karosserie zeichnete sich durch eine bis dahin nicht gekannte passive Sicherheit aus: Sie besaß als erste eine stabile Fahrgastzelle und wirksame Knautschzonen. Mercedes führte umfangreiche Crashtests durch, z. B. brachte man ein Fahrzeug mit 80 km/h über eine Rampe zum Überschlagen.

 

In die Baureihen W 111 und W 112 eingeordnet wurden neben den viertürigen Fahrzeugen („Heckflossen“-Limousinen) auch die Coupés und Cabrios in flacheren Karosserien mit runderen, nur noch im Ansatz erkennbaren Finnen. Im Rahmen der Eröffnung des Daimler-Benz-Museums in Untertürkheim am 24. Februar 1961 wurde der neue Mercedes-Benz 220 SE(b) Coupé präsentiert.

 

Im US-Thriller Marathon Man von Regisseur John Schlesinger aus dem Jahr 1976 wird ein W 111 von einer der Hauptfiguren, Klaus Szell bewegt. Dieser kommt in einer Verfolgungsjagd ums Leben, nachdem er einen Tanklaster rammt.

 

Im Film Der Richter und sein Henker von 1975 ist eine schwarze Limousine der Baureihe W 111 zu sehen. Diese wurde von Robert Schmied bzw. Walter Tschanz gefahren.

 

Im Film The Hangover wird ein silbernes W-111-Cabrio gezeigt.

 

Im Film Im Geheimdienst Ihrer Majestät fahren die Gegner von Geheimagent James Bond in der Schweiz eine schwarze Limousine, Typ 220 S. Während einer Verfolgungsjagd wird der Wagen spektakulär zerstört.

 

(Wikipedia)

My second stay at this hotel. Anxious for my third. As I left, I was given a paper explaining the 522 year history of the hotel. I scanned it and corrected most typos. Here it is:

 

522 years of the Radisson SAS Schwarzer Bock Hotel

 

Martin Luther, the Christian reformist, was only three years old and America had not even been discovered by Christopher Columbus when the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" (black goat hotel) in Wiesbaden was founded in the year 1486. The hotel is the oldest business in the city of Wiesbaden.

 

1800 years ago the Romans had their settlement, Aquae Mattiacorum, in the quarter where the health springs are located, stretching along the Langgasse from the Kranzplatz to the Mauritiusplatz. The Langgasse and the Kirchgasse are ancient Roman roads and the historical Roman bath system is still concealed under the Kranzplatz. Nowadays the curators of monuments regret that a lot of modern buildings have been constructed over these elegant baths.

 

Roman gravestones and bricks were also discovered during construction work in the cellar of the Hotel Schwarzer Bock. Ruins of a Hypocaustum, a Roman floor heating system, were unearthed as well.

 

The Romans were wise enough to make use of the hot springs, but in the times that followed during the conflicts between the Alemannic and the Frankish tribes in the 3rd century A.D., much was destroyed and partly forgotten. The luxurious bathing customs of the Romans cannot be compared to those of the Middle Ages. Life in the Roman baths took place on an entirely different level, while over 1000 years later landlords prepared hot baths from the spring water for their guests in order to earn a small extra income.

 

In those days, all the tiny houses around the Kranzplatz were probably very similar to each other in their appearance: One storey high and half-timbered, with gables, a yard, livestock,and gardens. The figure 1486, the earliest date the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" is mentioned, is inscribed in the door of the bar in today's Radisson SAS Schwarzer Bock Hotel. Wiesbaden's bathhouses however were mentioned already in the 14th century.

 

And how did the "Schwarzer Bock Hotel" get its name?

 

We want to avoid being too scientific, since the ingenious vernacular of the common people is usually correct in such cases: The first proprietor of the bathhouse was the mayor Phillip zu Bock. Because he had black hair, his house was referred to as the "Schwarzer Bock". In 1486, the year of its founding, Wiesbaden had a population of 36 citizens.

 

It was customary at that time to name the houses after their owners. Only since 1450 the landlords used so-called inn-signs carrying the appropriate emblem. Thus the "Schwarzer Bock" had a sign hanging over the street showing the head of a black goat.

Other bathhouses had eagles, stags, swans, lions, and the like on their signboards. Otherwise little is known of the bathhouses in Wiesbaden in those days.

 

Chronological point of-reference: At this time the Turks besieged Vienna.

 

In the 16th century the small town of Wiesbaden suffered great damage by fires which also destroyed the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock". It is mentioned in historical documents that Hermann Burg rebuilt the house in 1578. Then the Thirty Years' War came; during that time imperial troops as well as Swedes, French, and Spaniards passed through Wiesbaden and the officers were accommodated in the bathhouses. The "Schwarzer Bock Hotel" was a special favourite for the billeting of soldiers. Plundering, murder and incendiarism were the order of the day.

 

At the end of the war there were no more than 51 citizens in the small town of Wiesbaden. It is hard to imagine the poverty in those days.

 

For a long time thereafter, the surviving inhabitants were unable to recover from the terrors of the war. The properties lay vacant, bathhouses were no longer required; who of the 51 people should be interested in bathing? And foreigners were no longer coming to visit anyway. Not until Count Johann restored the "Schwarzer Bock Hotel" along with other houses. But it was not until the year 1662 that we learn of the "Schwarzer Bock Hotel" being in operation once again: It had even been provided with two baths for the public.

 

Chronological point of reference: At this time the English were buying New Amsterdam from the Dutch and renaming it New York.

 

Ten years later Wiesbaden had once again to suffer, this time under the movements of the French troops of Louis XIV. Because of this, Count Johannes was constantly concerned about the welfare of his possessions. The town was fortified with trenches, towers, and gates. When he died in 1677 the worst ravages of the Thirty Years War had been set to rights, and the Hotel Schwarzer Bock is found in the list of bathhouses.

 

The Hotel Schwarzer Bock was redecorated in 1712 and in the same year it was enlarged by the acquisition of a pub named Rindsfuss (cattle foot), next door facing the Spiegelgasse. The "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" flourished and in 1736 got awarded for the designation "Bathhouse of the first order." The hot spring supplied water for 8 houses. This also meant that the proprietors had to reach an agreement in all questions of organisation. This was mainly attended by the landlord of the "Hotel Rose" and the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock", Johann Phillip Schramm. The 8 bath house owners who had the rights to use the water began in 1726 to elect two masters of the spring who were in charge of the supervision, repair and cleaning of the hot spring.

The spring water was not only used for supplying water to the baths, but was also very often sold off to Mainz, Frankfurt and other cities. The hot spring water (149°F/65°C) was filled into double walled barrels, sent off in the afternoon on wagons, and arrived the next morning at its destination at the right temperature.

 

Johann Phillip Schramm, the owner of the Hotel Schwarzer Bock installed a bath for horses to make his house profitable. This was an attraction for the small town.

Here it becomes necessary to mention that in 1730 Reverend Hellmund wanted to connect his paupers’ bath to the hot spring. The 8 bath house proprietors refused him, whereupon he lodged a bitter complaint, because the thermal spring was used for horses.

 

After Schramm had died in 1749 the Hotel Schwarzer Bock passed into the hands of the surgeon and hospital supervisor Johann Daniel Freinsheim. His widow continued running the bath house until 1779. As a result of the following division of the inheritance house and inventory were rated of the town councillor, and this list gives exactly information concerning the furnishings and facilities of the bathhouse.

 

At the same time elsewhere in the world: Czar Peter the Great was ruling Russia, the French Revolution, USA gained independence. Birth of Napoleon. Wiesbaden was now one of the most elegant tourist attractions of Europe.

 

In writing up their marriage contracts, ladies of Frankfurt reserved the rights to take the water at Wiesbaden once a year - without their husbands, of course.

 

The Freinsheims do not appear to have managed the house for a very long time, for it was taken over at the end of the century by the owner of the bathhouse Spiegel (mirror), Ferdinand Daniel Bergmann. He closed down the horse bath and expanded his property and procured additional income through the sale of colonial products, wine, and the profits of a company employing a horse drawn carriage.

 

Each bath house proprietor retained his individual economic resources. Not only that there was fowl fluttering around the large yard, there were also pigs, cows, and horses in the stables. Only gradually the custom of bathing became important. And for a long time there were complaints that the baths were not up to the standards of the time.

 

Proprietor Bergmann passed away in 1818, after having achieved a dignified level of prosperity. His widow continued to run the enterprise for further 4 years and then relinquished it to her son-in-Iaw Christian Bauer. In addition to the bathhouse, Bauer also maintained the post office and a wine tavern. Here we see that the sale of wine always played an important part, which is not surprising considering the proximity of the Rhine wine growing district. Following the advice of the government of Nassau he rebuilt the horse bath with room for 2 horses.

At the same time elsewhere in the world: At this time the emperor Napoleon was

conducting wars in an attempt to gain power over Europe.

 

In 1834 the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" was sold to the Rudolphs, a married couple, who passed the bath house to their daughters in 1860/61. In the meantime the house had grown to 47 rooms and was capable of providing 50 baths daily. The guests in the bathhouse were supplied only with lodging and baths. They were responsible for their own victuals and had to cook their meals on the stoves in their rooms.

 

At the same time elsewhere in the world: Japan decided to open itself to the west, the term socialism appeared for the first time. In 1840 the first railway connected Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.

 

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was one of the most famous guests in the "Schwarzer Bock Hotel" who composed the following lines: "The primary duty of every bather - is not to sit and think but rather - to bend to a higher purpose his wit/and make a merry life of it". The popular writer Dostojewski wrote his novel 'The gambler"- the casino is right around the corner.

 

In 1865 the ownership of the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" was transferred to the merchant Theodor August Schäfer, who had presumably married one of Rudolph's daughters. The address book of the year shows Rudolph as the owner and Schäfer as the landlord of the baths.

 

In 1899 Schäfer acquired in addition the pub "Zur goldenen Kette" (golden chain) next door in the Langgasse.

 

All the bathhouses grouped around the Kranzplatz were of considerable age and were hardly able to meet the demands. Schäfer, too, was aware of this. So the bathhouses got replaced with a modern new building just before the First World War.

 

Once the "Zur goldenen Kette" had merged with the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock", the grounds of the "Schwarzer Bock bathhouse" were discovered to contain all the hot springs, and the owners considered about them being unified into a single spring and redefining it. This way they wanted to simplify the prevailing terms of possession and shares, and to effect an improvement in the hygienic conditions.

 

A proposal relating to this was approved by the town council. The city built the facilities and the cost was divided proportionally among the owners of the bathhouses. The new joint spring received the name "Drei Lilien Quelle" (spring of the three lilies) based on the three lilies found in the Wiesbaden coat of arms.

The new facilities were completed in 1906.

 

Untouched by world history, Wiesbaden was now a city of European format and an internationally cure city. The "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" now had baths with electric light, lifts, and 220 beds-room rate: 5 Mark (2,50 Euro). The Schäfer family continued to improve the house in the following years. In 1911/12 the roof was enlarged.

 

In 1927 the emblem of the black goat appeared for the first time on the letterhead of the hotel stationery. In 1929 the Hotel Schwarzer Bock had 260 rooms, all with running water and still for the price of only 5 Mark (2,50 Euro). Baths on the upper floors were built in addition to those on the ground floor.

 

Then the Second World War came along with bombs and occupation. In 1951 Karl Heinz Schäfer's damaged hotel was returned back to him. Bombs had destroyed the upper floors. The façade remained largely intact, but certain alterations were carried out which now give the house a much more sober look. The projections around the windows disappeared, as well as many other pretty decorations. The roof was completely restructured. On two floors in the Langgasse we can still see the magnificent old facades.

 

After the end of the Second World War the Americans occupied the hotel for another 12 years and left it in a sad state of repair. And once again it was necessary to make plans. In the autumn of 1957 the renovation work was completed and the family Schäfer was able to present a new, modern "Hotel Schwarzer Bock".

 

Nowadays you can still find old parts of the Roman foundations from the 3rd century in the cellar and the historical cellar door with the date 1486 inscribed, is today the entry to our Bar 1486.

 

In 1987 the family Schäfer sold the hotel. New proprietor was Winfried D.E. Völcker. He introduced the "Hotel Schwarzer Bock" as the first German hotel in the Association of Distinguished Hotels of the World, whose most famous member is the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. Völcker had tried to preserve the European and German traditions in spite of all its undeniable risks. But Wiesbaden had been a well-known city within Europe since 1834 and became "Weltkurstadt" ("World Destination for Treatments and Cure") in 1852.

 

In 1995 Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts (now Rezidor SAS Hospitality) with headquarters in Brussels took over the management of the hotel and many issues have been solved since then. The oldest hotel in Germany that has received a certificate of the German Hotel Association, rating the hotel officially as a five star hotel, had been renovated for more than 20 million Deutsche Mark (approx. 10,2 million Euro). All 142 guest rooms offer air conditioning, ISDN telephones, modem connections, free WiFi, and marble bathrooms. The traditional bath house is still an attraction for young and elder people, seeking relaxation and well-being. The restaurant "Capricorne" spoils the guests with regional and international dishes, served in an exceptional atmosphere. Tradition blends with modern arts. The flair of the "Ingelheimer Zimmer" - the event room for special occasions - is created by precious wooden carvings from the 16th century.

 

More information to be obtained from:

 

Radisson SAS Schwarzer Bock Hotel, Wiesbaden

Mr. Christian Hoffmann - Director of Sales & Marketing

Phone: +49 611 155 3610

E-Mail: christian.hoffmann@radissonsas.com

  

[14:49] Amara turned the corner, walking into the restaurant and passing Leigh and Ayr as she moved to the counter. "Afternoon you two. Nick, I'd like a medium pie with broccoli, ham, olives, and extra cheese. To go."

 

[14:50] Leigh Parx (Kayleigh Jigsaw) just cracked up laughing. "That ain't a man. An' if you're bein' nice 'nuff ta listen, don't see why I can't do somethin' nice in return. Do you?" Leigh wasn't counting on Ayr fixing her problems, but she did know he usually managed to at least make things seem better. "Aight." Her attention shifted to the NPC waiter for a moment. "One pie with whatever meats ya'll got and a water. Plus whatever he wants despite what he says." She'd jerk her head slightly in Ayr's direction at the words. Amara got a nod. "Hey, boss. Lost your tail?"

 

[14:52] Ayr Bosatsu looks over to Amara when she walks in, chewing on the thoughts Leigh had given him. "I wanted to pick a Better time to do this, and it seems a bit abrupt to do it here and now. But," he'd clear his throat, "Amara I'd like you to Be Beta for a while. Since gage has surrendered her position we've been in need of a new one and few have stepped forward to offer their names. More than a few people have mentioned -your- name though. I'd like you to give it a try for a month and a bit, see how you feel with it." Looking down at his boots he'd huff slightly, "I'm getting too old for these lil heart-string moments."

 

[14:58] Amara was caught between blushing and crying at the announcement. She really had her heart set on just being the lead medic, but she felt rather humbled that others though her a capable Beta. "I'd be honored, Ayr, and I'll do my best. Count on it." She leaned against the counter for support as she smiled at Leigh. "My tails are fine thanks. Are you alright though after what happened yesterday?"

 

[15:07] Leigh Parx (Kayleigh Jigsaw) nodded. "Whatcha mean what happened? Only thing that rankled me any was when it seemed like you were undermining my doing my job." She'd shrug a bit. "Might wanna buy that lady a strap-on and some therapy though? She was compensatin' pretty hard for somethin'. You're welcome to join us." She'd think for a moment before pulling a business card from her pocket and holding it out to Amara.

 

[15:09] Ayr Bosatsu looks at Amara a long moment, even as Leigh speaks to her. His head nodded somewhat, mind scratching back like a broken record to his younger years. Lolling his head forward he'd plant his chin on the desk, stifling proud tears as his heart strings got plucked and played - so much so he could only manage a nod in return to her comment. Quickly standing up to try and shake himself out of it he'd make for the counter and order himself a drink with a lump in his throat, "Cola."

 

[15:14] Amara took the business card and read it over, taking a seat at the table while she waited for her pie to be made. "I do apologize for Lana; Ashagi's been going through some difficult times. Several employees have been attacked or mauled, and we have no idea who's behind them." She sighed, putting the card away knowing it would be useful later. "Her lover was attacked. Arwen was shot...and Adagio..." Amara bit her lip, stopping the sentence short. "She just didn't want someone else to be hurt on her watch. Nothing more."

 

[15:17] Mitka Dover walks in quietly stopping at the table nodding to the pack and leigh"you all been served?"

 

[15:21] Leigh Parx (Kayleigh Jigsaw) shrugged as the NPC put her water on the table. She'd keep her attention mostly focused on those she was with, for now. "Still, yer my boss. I'd rather see ya have someone competent if ya need someone. The way she was actin' ain't gonna do nothin' but end up gettin the people she's tryin' ta protect hurt." Her attention would then shift back to Ayr as she watched him. "So first thing I wanna ask ya is this. Am I a lady?" Yup, true Leigh fashion had the question seeming like it came out of nowhere.

 

[15:24] Ayr Bosatsu nods when Mitka comes in, pulling out his phone quietly. "Well," he scratched behind his ear. "Sometimes I wonder. You seem to be pretty much immune to any guy coming onto you," his eyes drifted to the left and the child outside. The one who gave him birthday cake, "...!" Scrabbling up quickly he'd look at Mitka then point at the child, screaming at the top of his lungs - "Get that child -whatever- she wants to eat, 'cause I'm frontin' the bill!" As his finger pointed at her it wiggled, so much tension and sincerity in his tone that it could not be misunderstood for a sudden paroxysm of drug-fuelled insanity. "...Yes, though, I think you fall under the class of things known as 'woman'." Sinking back down to the table he'd look about bashfully. "..She bought me cake...and i blew her off, sorta..So i feel hella bad."

 

[15:27] Amara nods. "Just waiting on my pizza to be made, Mitka. I'd like a glass of water though." She folded her arms just above her stomach and sighed. "I will look into a personal bodyguard, don't worry. Can't exactly afford injuries right now, but I need to stay close to the city more often than at ho-" She jumped back when Ayr suddenly proclaimed free food for a random child outside, eyes widened in surprise. "Woah...Ayr, don't scare me like that...please."

 

[15:29] Sally-Jean almost jumped when she heard someone yell at the top of their lungs.. OOhhh it was Mister Ayr! She'd look around to see if there was any other child he could be talking about.. didn't look like it so she'd sheepishly walk into the resturant, giving the adults a shy smile and a wave before going to the counter, smiling at Nick. " can I try some spaghetti and meatballs?" she'd ask quietly before glancing at the adults once more and taking her seat in one of the booths.

 

[15:29] Leigh Parx (Kayleigh Jigsaw) tilted her head curiously considering the words. "So you'd say I'm a woman, but not a lady? Explain, please." She glanced over her shoulder to see the child he'd indicated.

 

[15:31] Ayr Bosatsu nods profusely when the child wanders in, "AHHH! You can have it all! Will make sure I pay you back for the cake i didn't give you on your birthday!" Standing up again he'd knock over his chair, pointing at the NPC dude to chop chop to it. "...Food..Whatever she wants, all of it paid by me." Thumbing his chest he'd nod sharply and pick up his chair, "I mean. Women generally tend to respond to sexual advances. You don't from what I've seen. You got boobs and probably a ...you know," he made finger gestures akin to scissors, "..but uhm...You don' got the personality of a lady. You're a tom-boy, unashamedly so." Torn between Leigh, Amara and the kid he'd nod and point a techno viking-esque finger at Nick.

 

[15:33] Mitka Dover reaches into her top to grab her vibrating phone o ut , reads the message, and sets the phone down.She would grab a peice of paper and chucks it at Ayr's head mumbling

 

[15:35] Mitka Dover would also grab Amara the glass of water and walsk over setting it downi nfront of her.She sees the pizza done and brings it too over at the same time"there ya go, eat up Mara...your eating for two."

 

[15:37] Amara didn't know which to laugh at first - Ayr's eccentric manner as far as feeding a child, his definition of what it means to be a lady, or his inability to proper refer to female genitalia. "A lot of things define a lady, Ayr, not just her physical attributes or her response to sexual advances. It's how she carries herself." She smiled at the food and drink being delivered and handed Mitka payment. "Oh don't remind me - I don't even like olives, but that's all I've been craving for three days straight."

 

[15:39] Mitka Dover swats Ayr upside the head mumnbling something under her breath"told you i'd swat you for that ayr..."she closes her phone after sending a text back.She loosk at amara"it's been red meat for me.....and skittles"

 

[15:39] Sally-Jean blinked widely at the highly animated Ayr. She'd tilt her head even, blinking a few more times before speaking up. " Are.. are you okay Mister Ayr?" she'd tap her fingers against her bottom lip. " Maybe there was too much sugar in the cake.." She'd say softly before covering her mouth in a giggle when paper is thrown at him. She'd then widen her eyes as he dashed off like the flash.. she'd look to the adults and shrug her shoulders. " Maybe he needs a nap.. they used to make the younger kids take naps when they got all sugar crazy." she'd nod her head once before staring at her table.

 

[15:40] Leigh Parx (Kayleigh Jigsaw) just blinked. "So that makes me not a lady?" She'd consider this for a few moments before leaning back in her chair and putting her boots up on the edge of the table in Ayr's direction. If he looked, he'd get a nice view of the silky black panties barely covering her. "Alright, so where would you say I rank in the food chain? And feel free to contribute any of your thoughts to this, Amara. It would be welcomed." Her ankles crossed after a moment as an NPC brought out the pie she'd ordered right behind Mitka bringing Amara's. She fished her credits from her pocket and passed them to the guy delivering her meal.

  

[15:45] Amara shook her head at the young girl. "No dear, in all honestly, he's like that naturally sometimes. No sugar required." She nibbled on a slice of the cheesy pizza before gesturing for Leigh to help herself if she wanted a bite. "I think you're one of the more honest with yourself females on this island. It doesn't seem like you care what others think of you as long as you're at peace with yourself. You aren't walking around in heels or anything, but I'm not sure tomboy is the right term."

 

[15:45] Nikolay Fedoseev had turned around deciding he needed a slice and a moments break before heading back out on patrol.. he was in a significantly better mood since fighting with eli last night.. Heading in he just hears leighs comments glancing in her direction to see her sitting with ehr legs up and not crossed in a skirt half her ass hanging out... though he missed the panty shot... Trying to keep his face straight he cant help a small smirk... thank god she's not his daughter.

 

[15:47] Sally-Jean nodded slowly. " Ohhhh.." She'd say before smiling. She'd sit quietly as she waiting for Sam to cook up her spaghetti and meat balls. kind of listening to the grown ups, but at the same time trying to hide it.. as to not get into trouble for eavesdropping.

 

[15:52] Leigh Parx (Kayleigh Jigsaw) dropped her right hand to her lap lightly playing with the edge of her skirt as she continued to leave her feet on the table. "But lady isn't either?" Her left hand snagged a slice of pizza and she took a bite. She'd chew before studying Amara curiously. "But lady isn't the right term, either?" Her tongue ran over her teeth in thought before she took a second bite curiously waiting to see what the response would be.

  

[15:59] Amara nodded to Nik as he strolled in, giving him an acknowledging nod while she ate. "How's the leg fairing, Mr Fedoseev?" Moving on to her second slice, she thought about how to answer. "There are too many definitions for lady, Leigh. It could be a female of high society. To some it's just a proper woman. To others it's any female that looks like she bathes and uses makeup. Feminine is not a term I'd use in your case, but I see you are a lady purely due to your confidence. You don't help to get your shit done." She took one more bite of the pizza. "Not sure a 'lady' would flash her knickers though..." she winked.

 

[16:03] Ayr Bosatsu Clatters back into the restauraunt with a crash. "I needed my hat," he muttered and looked to LEigh and Amara, leaving them to talk as he sunk down into the booth next to lil Sally. "You eating properly?"

 

[16:05] Nikolay Fedoseev turned away form nick after ordering a coffee to glance at amara and then to ayr wondering what the man will do after the shit al stired up last night.. Watching him walk back in tosit with another girl he looks to amara.. "its doing good... this is the second one i've had put on... " he'd glance to leigh arching a brow as he is now in the right position to see her flicking her skirt up with ehr fingers.. giving a half amused snort he shakes his head.. "I'm not even going to touch that one... "

 

[16:06] Sally-Jean looked up. she was about to tell him she was still waiting for her food when Nick brought a medium sized plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Her eyes would widen and she'd smile " I'm about to!" she'd smile at N ick and give him thanks before leaning towards Ayr. " never had Meatballs and Spaghetti before.. so Imma try it." she'd stab a meatball with her fork, about to take a bite before asking. " Did you like your cake? I didn't know what kind you liked.. so I got cheesecake.. because everyone likes cheesecake.. I think.. and the toy fox and toy leopard where new, all clean and stuff."

 

[16:11] Leigh Parx (Kayleigh Jigsaw) just flashed the Judge a sweet smile. "Touch what?" She'd tilt her head back and look at Ayr upside down. "You gonna help me eat this pizza and finish our talk?" Her head was righted as she finished the slice in her hand. "So where would you say I rank on the food chain, all things considered?" Leigh wasn't sure who would know how much about her, even her boss. Well, she knew Ayr would know, but he seemed occupied with the other kid. A smirk crossed her features as she considered Amara's comment on the panty flashing. "I'm wearing knickers?"

 

[16:19] Ayr Bosatsu ((posts since it's been 8 mins and he fig's P.O don't matter here. )) leans over when she does to listen attentively. "Mm..I like meatballs and spaghetti, though I don't make a very good one." His head tilted towards Leigh, realizing he'd almost seen her underwear before scrabbling off. "..Battle Axe is calling," he muttered to Sally and pressed his hands onto the table. "Sáte do.." Dusting off his hands he'd bow to the child, "I really appreciate the Cake. Thank you for thinking of me and giving me it. I'll set up a tab here for you so you can get free nomz whenever you need it. Feel I owe you that much, 'N here's my number if you get a phone and you need some help cha," and thus he did meander back to his chair with a thunk, leaving behind his calling card. A piece of paper with a goofy looking Fox and his number.

 

[16:20] Amara giggled at Ayr. "All that commotion for a hat?" She knew she probably should not sound so surprised; it's Ayr after all. "It's your second leg? Maybe you should see Imrie or the folks at Straylight for a stronger limb, Nik." She glanced back to Leigh, leaned over to check, then asked, "Black...silk or satin I think. Are my eyes mistaken then?" Amara had seen Leigh in less so this hardly bugged her. "You're closer to the tomboy side of the scale than the overly girl side, Leigh. Still wearing skirts and other feminine attire, so calling you a tomboy outright isn't correct, but you aren't walking about half nude."

Bhutan is not a country that is generally well known. If asked, most people might say that it lies somewhere in the Himalayas and is a bit hilly. If pressed, they might think of yaks and snow leopards and rhododendrons, or maybe know it as the land where development is measured in terms of Gross National Happiness rather than Gross Domestic Privation.

 

And in fact, this latter characteristic most fits with my experiences of this mountainous kingdom – the happiness of the people stands out a mile. In the short time that I was there I cannot recall a frown or a curse or even so much as a tiny disagreement. Even the use of the car horn is limited to polite little peeps or playful messages sent to pretty girls as they saunter along the pavement. It is such a gentle society.

 

It’s also an equal and an emancipated one. Women are first in line to inherit following the death of their parents; it is they who get the house and the property and the rights, not the son (whether he’s older or not). Women can have as many spouses as men. Women are very forthright when it comes to flirting: within a couple of hours at my first hotel I was invited to a dance that evening and asked if I wanted to marry one of the waitresses. I didn’t take advantage of either offer but, given the beauty of the women here, I was sorely tempted. They really are extremely lovely – slim and wiggly bodies, velvety black hair that never seems to grey, wonderful dimpled smiles, and eyes that just penetrate into the heart of you.

 

They seem to be a very sexually liberated lot (well, that’s one way of calling it). My guide, Kinlay, was forever talking about his girlfriends (even though he’s married with two sons), hanky-panky (but no spanky, perhaps that was pushing revelations a mite too far given that I’d only just met him), and jiggy-jiggy (or, in local parlance, ‘jeggy-jeggy’), or shouting, ‘Charimdumaray’ (‘You’re lovely’) through the window at any passing female. But then he’s very young, he’s in his thirties … Or maybe he’s just trying to live up to the reputation of his namesake, Lama Drukpa Kunley (1455-1529), aka ‘The Divine Madman’, a saint who had the MO of driving out demons by means of excessive drinking and fornication which sounds a perfectly valid and jolly method of exorcism to me. His signature, a big phallus , now adorns many buildings throughout the area – a sign to ward off evil and protect the household. I wonder how this would go down with the good citizens of Ayr?

 

Many people still revere His Mad Divineship / Holy Madness and consequently many people have been given his name (or that of the temple that was dedicated to him, ‘Chimey Lhakhang’). The first two people I met in Bhutan were called Kunley. Then the third (who was confusingly a woman ) turned out to be a Kunley too. And so was the fourth. I gave up asking after that.

 

Bhutan is now a constitutional monarchy since the present king relinquished absolute rule in 2008. Like a 21 year old with the keys to life, the new democracy is revelling in its liberation, independence and autonomy and is enjoying furnishing its own flat and buying its own clothes and food. But at the same time it looks up to the person who granted it its freedom, and the whole country remains loyal and truly affectionate towards the Royal Family.

 

The king (31, Pisces - they like such details here) married his young betrothed (21, Virgo ) on the 13th October. Every shop had photos of the couple posted outside and inside, decorated with ribbons in the colours of the Buddha – blue (for the sky), white (for the clouds), red (for fire), green (for water) and yellow (for the soil). Huge banners adorned hillsides and town gates. Radio programmes were filled with callers wishing the happy pair a long, fruitful, loving union. And as I watched the wedding in a restaurant in Paro , with the assembled masses in the crowds and in the organised dances that must have taken weeks to rehearse, and thought that there could not be a single person in the nation who was not either at the ceremony or who was not glued to the TV, it occurred to me that this was what it must have been like with QEII 50 years ago . How long will this state of innocent bliss last?

 

Maybe for a long time yet. Not only is this a peaceful society (I never once felt threatened) but it’s also relatively prosperous, well organised, and, crucially and in a real way, it actually is a society. It is not a collection of individuals out to benefit for themselves. This is one big nation of people (about 650 000 of them) who believe they are part of a larger community of family, friends and neighbours. The neighbours may be from the east of the country (300 miles away and effectively 2 days travelling) who speak another dialect and wear different clothes, but they are still part of the same community.

 

Free education for all plays an important role in levelling classes and bringing people together. The king (apparently) lives in a ‘cottage’ and he is certainly one who puts much effort in meeting and greeting. The ceremony he attended in Thimpu, after the wedding, lasted from 0900 to 1700 and for a lot of that time he was moving amongst the crowds, shaking hands and speaking with (not ‘to’ – I don’t think he’s a Charlie. ‘And what do you do?’ – probably isn’t his stock, opening gambit) virtually everyone there.

 

Communities work in unison to improve the environment and their own lives. They harvest the rice together, it’s a communal thing. Often I saw small congregations on the hillside, burning juniper as incense, intoning incantations, chanting with monks. Several times I saw parties of villagers or school children walking along the roadside picking up litter. The land is free of piles of rubbish. This is a clean country. The drains and rivers are not open sewers. Not once did I see a rat.

 

Smoking was banned recently. It’s an offence to smoke – you could be imprisoned. For grass it’s up to three years for possession and 9 years for dealing. This was the first country to outlaw plastic bags too. Unfortunately, however, for both fags and bags neither law is strictly enforced and both are commonly (if expensively for the former) available.

 

But Bhutan is not Shangri La. In 1999 TV was introduced for the first time. Now the two favourite programmes are World Federation Wrestling from the USA, and ‘Bhutan Idol’ (the third series) – it was this programme that Kinlay said would prevent me from watching any footie on TV in the bars. ‘Idol’ was that popular! Everyone now has a TV and there is a good link between the growth in its distribution and the incidence of crime in the country.

Mobile phones came in in 2003 (so my guide said) and they are now ubiquitous. Young people have adopted the global practice of meeting up and then spending all the time texting and / or phoning other friends elsewhere. That’s when they can stop blowing bubble gum for long enough to say anything. One person I met had a sophisticated ring tone system that alerted him to whoever was trying to contact him: his wife’s ring tone was his young son’s crying and gurgling; his mate’s tone was an extract from his favourite blue movie accompanied by the obligatory image of a busty brunette.

 

The people like to dress up for occasions (like the festival – Tseschu – in Thimpu) with their finest national gear: beautiful, iridescent, brightly coloured silk dresses for the women; rather more subdued but still unique skirts and knee-high stockings for the men. When visiting national monuments (such as museums, temples, dzongs ) or events they have to dress in national costume. But these days, for normal everyday wear, they tend far more towards the boring western norm of t-shirts and jeans and track-suits (usually with ‘Man Utd’ written on them. Damn their souls!). There was a great contrast between the clothes worn to the formal Tseschu festival and the far less formal singalong in Thimpu town square – colourful, vibrant, exciting of the exotic compared with the dull, drab, grey and black of the mundane (and the future).

 

Traditional sports seem to be holding their own against the overwhelming and inexorable influence of football . Archery is something the Bhutanese are especially good at having won medals of all colours at recent Olympics. These days they employ carbon composite bows for main competitions. Traditional bows of bamboo are still found and used but mainly to simply maintain the tradition. The target is a wooden board about 40cm high and usually 140m from the archer. No wonder they’re good at it.

 

Darts (not the UK variety) – about 15cm long consisting of a 3cm metal point, a wooden shaft and 5cm feathers – is also played at weekends. The ‘court’ is longer than a cricket pitch and the target is a 30cm wooden board with a bulls-eye near the top. A wall of earth or concrete backdrops the target, really just a sop to health and safety. They are not overly concerned with H&S, which is healthy.

 

For both archery and darts, the opposing team (all wearing fine traditional skirts ) line up alongside the target and watch intently as the projectile is released and heads towards them. The observers’ reaction time for the darts is far less than that for archery. I think I was happier watching the archery. When a dart or arrow actually hits the board it triggers a mediaeval ritual of chanting and dancing by both of the teams, in praise of the gods for such a blessing. If only our supporters and ‘sportsmen’ took win and loss in the same spirit.

 

There are cars in Bhutan as well. Not many of them because there aren’t that many people. They are in good condition and few of them send out blasts of poisonous black smoke. I saw my first privately-owned electric car here. They are generally new (the favourites being Hyundais and Toyota) and without any dents. Motorbikes are rare and tuc-tucs are entirely absent (which is such a relief!). Roads (maintained and built by Indians, and funded by the RoI government) are largely pothole-free and gloriously smooth. It still takes a long time to get anywhere because of the winding nature of the terrain, but at least it’s almost painless.

 

But, of course, this road system comes at a cost. Gangs of Indians, thousands of them, have been imported and have set up semi-permanent residence in Bhutan (without citizen rights, of course) and their sole employment, occupation and raison d’etre is road building and repair. They work very long hours (0600 to 1600 hrs) for a pittance. Their tools are mainly their hands: hauling large stones over cliffs or onto lorries. Primitive implements are provided: back bent double as they use pathetic brushes to sweep the road; women shovelling sand and gravel and throwing it through sieves. Some (men as well as women) actually break rocks with hammers, all day long, like a work detail from a ‘40s state penitentiary, a modern day chain-gang. These gangs have their own settlements and schools; they are separate from mainstream Bhutanese society. But they don’t seem to be discriminated or prejudiced against. There is, at least, no bigotry in Bhutan.

 

Except perhaps against the Nepalese. This is not talked about, but many Bhutanese who originated in Nepal (two or three or more generations back) were forcibly deported in the ‘90s (?) and now reside in refugee camps in Nepal. I met only one person whose ancestors came from Nepal but he seemed contented and calm. He might have said more but we’d been caught up in a delay caused by a landslide and the obstruction had just been removed so we had to move on. 11 days is not enough in Bhutan.

 

You might think that a Buddhist democracy consisting of less than three quarters of a million people might not need or, especially, want an army. How could they justify killing? And anyway, what could their paltry population hope to accomplish against the might of the Indians or Chinese if they chose to invade ? But it’s a career path to some (Kinlay considered it after university (in Chennai) if tourism didn’t work out), and for others the army really is a necessity.

 

Earlier in the noughties there was some trouble with Assamese rebels. They had occupied some of the forests of the duars in Bhutan (just across the border) and were causing problems (not with the locals – the Assamese were generous with their payment for goods – but with the (Indian?) politicians). Negotiations with the rebels were not successful and so the Bhutanese government sent in the troops. This resulted in the insurgents being ousted but at the cost of 12 Bhutanese soldiers being killed. The effects of this battle / war seems to have become deeply embedded within the psyche of the Bhutanese; a large memorial (at Dochu La consisting of 108 chortens) was established to commemorate the conflict and one of the on-going repercussions is that the army are more popular than ever. Not that it would ever sink to the depths of the Burmese army and become a junta. That would be unthinkable.

 

So the army is needed . But what about religious or moral objections, after all Costa Rica doesn’t have a standing army so surely a strict Buddhist nation could do without one? But then the Bhutanese love meat. They are devout devourers of pork and beef and, to a slightly lesser extent, chicken? So long as they don’t have to kill the animals themselves they are happy to consume flesh.

 

Do I hear calls of ‘Hypocracy’? Well, I’m not going to shout them down.

 

But all religions are institutionally hypocritical and Buddhism is no worse than any other. An army of a Buddhist nation sounds contradictory but religion has always been political, nations are essentially political beasts with artificial boundaries, politicians need to maintain and protect those boundaries as well as they can given limited resources, and armies are the main way of providing protection.

 

At least this army is not there to violate other nations or supress the population or support an unauthorised government. It provides comfort and a sense of security, a source of pride, and a life for many people. Who am I to criticise it?

 

The trekking in Bhutan was far better than in Nepal (although Nepal was good). Here it was proper camping, there it was in Guesthouses. Nepal is over-populated, there is no getting away from people; waves of trekkers (ramblers) met you head on along the Poon Hill circuit; football crowds gathered to catch the dawn view of Annapurna; dogs, locals, cows, agricultural terraces … they all swarm and cover the slopes of Nepal.

 

But in Bhutan … ah, it’s different. I met perhaps 10 other trekkers on my 5 day stint. Yes, there were monks and the occasional dog, but mainly it was me in the wild, in untouched, blue pine forests and stands of huge or dwarf rhodies and junipers and alpine meadows of the highest hills. Alongside the soft beats of the wings of the goshawk, and ‘glowps’ of ravens, and cheeky cawings of choughs there was the whisper of winds and ripple of drying leaves. No sounds of machinery. No barking . No drunken laughter . It was heaven.

 

Of course I was spoilt. Apart from the landscape, and the views, and the sky and the clouds, and the wildlife and the vegetation, I had a platoon of (for wont of a better word ) servants to look after my every needs. I had my own chef, and he had a helper. I had a guide who made sure I didn’t fall down a cliff or take the wrong path. I had a horseman who looked after the seven ponies that accompanied our small expedition. The only person I lacked was a masseur (which, incidentally, was what I really needed).

 

They erected my tent and decamped for me. They cooked me three meals a day and washed up after me. I was served at my table and they even ran off to buy beer for me . They set up my own private lav, provided loo paper, and filled the hole in after me. My guide even carried my water bottle. They did everything for me except tuck me in at night (for which I was grateful).

 

It was hard walking, some of the slopes were steep, and it was bloody cold at night. I met a couple of Aussies on the second day and, after I remarked how bloody cold it was the previous night (not that I was fixated or anything), they said, ‘Well, it gets colder. There was frost on the ground two nights ago.’ I said, ‘Great. Good job my sleeping bag isn’t as good as I thought it was (and the zip’s broken), and that I forgot my socks.’ They said, ‘You forgot your socks?! Are you mad?’ I didn’t say anything. ‘But you’re from Scotland, right?’ ‘Aye,’ I said, ‘You’ll be fine then.’ They were nice people but they could afford to be because they’d survived the ordeal and were now heading back to civilisation. They had had socks. Smug bastards. Nice people though.

 

Ten minutes later, as I was watching a huge thanka being unfolded by the Phajoding monks, the lady (to my shame I never did get to know her name) ran up to me and offered, like a true Buddhist using both hands, a pair of socks. ‘They’re a day and a half old,’ she said, ‘but they’ll save your life!’ I didn’t know what to say so I kept repeating, like the simpleton John Miles played in ‘Ryan’s Daughter’, ‘Thank you, thank you.’ I refrained from saying ‘God bless’, but I was genuinely touched (in more ways than one) and didn’t even have the sense to ask for their address so that I could send them back to Oz. Which was just as well. But I would have had them washed.

 

And the socks really were a Godsend. Never before have I held so much regard for footware. They (along with the extra blanket supplied by chef) actually made the next three nights bearable (just. There was still the issue of the bells and the thin mattress). Thanks Australia ;-)

 

Overall, you might think that a minimum of $200 a day to visit and exist in Bhutan is a lot of money. And it is. No argument. But … this money covers everything apart from incidentals such as snacks and souvenirs , and so, although it’s expensive, it’s not that expensive and is, actually, when it comes down to it, damned good value for money. Outside of Bhutan, how much would it cost to have what they provided me? A personal guide (just for little old me) who answers most of the inane and arcane questions I usually pose to myself or strangers (who aren’t good at responding. Either of them) and panders to almost my every whim My own transport (so I can say, ‘Why don’t we go down this wee road?’, ‘Can we just stop here for a minute to take a photo’, and ‘STOP! There’s a bird I haven’t seen, I’m sure of it. Might be new to science too. Come on, we’ll be famous!’ ) My your own private expeditionary force to conquer the Himalayas? The chance to stay in top class hotels (with clean, unstained sheets and electrics that work. Luxury). To have all your meals provided for you (most of them excellent). And to have the flexibility to be able to change itinerary and venues / hotels depending on how you feel … and all this amongst the beauty, serenity and unspoilt splendour of a country which is Bhutan …

 

Well, what can I say? It’s not a perfect country, but it comes damned close to it.

 

Privacy Terms Help

  

Bain News Service,, publisher.

 

Thelma Given

 

[between ca. 1915 and ca. 1920]

 

1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.

 

Notes:

Title from unverified data provided by the Bain News Service on the negatives or caption cards.

Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).

 

Format: Glass negatives.

 

Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

 

Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

 

General information about the Bain Collection is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.ggbain

 

Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.26227

 

Call Number: LC-B2- 4499-1

  

Continuing with posting photos from my archives. Not sure when I will get out for a drive, given that our winter weather continues. November 23 2024: lots of snow and it looked like almost 10-12 inches of snow on top of my back fence. Can't complain, though, as mild, fall weather lasted well into November, which was wonderful. So thankful that I managed to get out for groceries a few days ago, so now I can hibernate for a little while.

 

28 November 2024: got up early, thinking of driving south to the Saskatoon Farm. However, change of plans, as our weather yesterday morning was -17°C (feels like -23°C), with freezing fog. More freezing fog today (29 November 2024), too. Another good day to stay home! Next week is forecast to be 'warmer'.

 

I will be adding the description that I wrote under a different, previously posted image taken on the same day.

 

"This photo was taken on a day out with four friends, driving the area SW of Calgary, on 20 May 2017.

 

Part of that morning was spent at our friend, Barb's, acreage, SW of Calgary, enjoying the variety of birds that visit her property. Thanks so much, Barb, as always, for letting us visit you. Such a joy to see birds like the handsome male Rose-breasted Grosbeak and the Evening Grosbeaks.

 

We then drove the various roads SW of the city, as far south as Turner Valley, hoping to see a few birds. Beautiful scenery in the whole area. In Turner Valley, we called in to see another mutual friend and watch the birds that visited her tiny, but beautifully and thoughtfully designed, back deck. Thanks so much for having us, Jackie - and for the most welcome coffee! - especially at such very short notice!

 

On my way home from this enjoyable day out, I drove a few backroads, looking for any Mountain Bluebirds. Not much luck, though I did see one pair close to their nest box.

 

This coming weekend, it is the annual May Species Count. This year (2017), I am only going to do the Sunday Count - no walking : )"

 

"The count goes May 27-28: Calgary birders have been out in force every May since 1979, contributing to a broad census of the constantly changing patterns of bird distributions in North America. The count circle is the same as previous years, extending from Olds to Nanton, and from Exshaw to Standard, and includes a variety of environments." From Nature Calgary.

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.

 

Some wall paintings are painted on large canvases, which are then attached to the wall (e.g., with marouflage). Whether these works can be accurately called "murals" is a subject of some controversy in the art world, but the technique has been in common use since the late 19th century.

 

HISTORY

Murals of sorts date to Upper Paleolithic times such as the paintings in the Chauvet Cave in Ardèche department of southern France (around 30,000 BC). Many ancient murals have survived in Egyptian tombs (around 3150 BC), the Minoan palaces (Middle period III of the Neopalatial period, 1700-1600 BC) and in Pompeii (around 100 BC - AD 79).

 

During the Middle Ages murals were usually executed on dry plaster (secco). In Italy, circa 1300, the technique of painting of frescos on wet plaster was reintroduced and led to a significant increase in the quality of mural painting.

 

In modern times, the term became more well-known with the Mexican "muralista" art movement (Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros, or José Orozco). There are many different styles and techniques. The best-known is probably fresco, which uses water-soluble paints with a damp lime wash, a rapid use of the resulting mixture over a large surface, and often in parts (but with a sense of the whole). The colors lighten as they dry. The marouflage method has also been used for millennia.

 

Murals today are painted in a variety of ways, using oil or water-based media. The styles can vary from abstract to trompe-l'œil (a French term for "fool" or "trick the eye"). Initiated by the works of mural artists like Graham Rust or Rainer Maria Latzke in the 1980s, trompe-l'oeil painting has experienced a renaissance in private and public buildings in Europe. Today, the beauty of a wall mural has become much more widely available with a technique whereby a painting or photographic image is transferred to poster paper or canvas which is then pasted to a wall surface (see wallpaper, Frescography) to give the effect of either a hand-painted mural or realistic scene.

 

TECHNIQUE

In the history of mural several methods have been used:

 

A fresco painting, from the Italian word affresco which derives from the adjective fresco ("fresh"), describes a method in which the paint is applied on plaster on walls or ceilings. The buon fresco technique consists of painting in pigment mixed with water on a thin layer of wet, fresh, lime mortar or plaster. The pigment is then absorbed by the wet plaster; after a number of hours, the plaster dries and reacts with the air: it is this chemical reaction which fixes the pigment particles in the plaster. After this the painting stays for a long time up to centuries in fresh and brilliant colors.

 

Fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster (secco is "dry" in Italian). The pigments thus require a binding medium, such as egg (tempera), glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall.

 

Mezzo-fresco is painted on nearly-dry plaster, and was defined by the sixteenth-century author Ignazio Pozzo as "firm enough not to take a thumb-print" so that the pigment only penetrates slightly into the plaster. By the end of the sixteenth century this had largely displaced the buon fresco method, and was used by painters such as Gianbattista Tiepolo or Michelangelo. This technique had, in reduced form, the advantages of a secco work.

 

MATERIAL

In Greco-Roman times, mostly encaustic colors applied in a cold state were used.

 

Tempera painting is one of the oldest known methods in mural painting. In tempera, the pigments are bound in an albuminous medium such as egg yolk or egg white diluted in water.

 

In 16th-century Europe, oil painting on canvas arose as an easier method for mural painting. The advantage was that the artwork could be completed in the artist’s studio and later transported to its destination and there attached to the wall or ceiling. Oil paint can be said to be the least satisfactory medium for murals because of its lack of brilliance in colour. Also the pigments are yellowed by the binder or are more easily affected by atmospheric conditions. The canvas itself is more subject to rapid deterioration than a plaster ground. Different muralists tend to become experts in their preferred medium and application, whether that be oil paints, emulsion or acrylic paints applied by brush, roller or airbrush/aerosols. Clients will often ask for a particular style and the artist may adjust to the appropriate technique.

 

A consultation usually leads to a detailed design and layout of the proposed mural with a price quote that the client approves before the muralist starts on the work. The area to be painted can be gridded to match the design allowing the image to be scaled accurately step by step. In some cases the design is projected straight onto the wall and traced with pencil before painting begins. Some muralists will paint directly without any prior sketching, preferring the spontaneous technique.

 

Once completed the mural can be given coats of varnish or protective acrylic glaze to protect the work from UV rays and surface damage.

 

As an alternative to a hand-painted or airbrushed mural, digitally printed murals can also be applied to surfaces. Already existing murals can be photographed and then be reproduced in near-to-original quality.

 

The disadvantages of pre-fabricated murals and decals are that they are often mass-produced and lack the allure and exclusivity of an original artwork. They are often not fitted to the individual wall sizes of the client and their personal ideas or wishes can not be added to the mural as it progresses. The Frescography technique, a digital manufacturing method (CAM) invented by Rainer Maria Latzke addresses some of the personalisation and size restrictions.

 

Digital techniques are commonly used in advertisements. A "wallscape" is a large advertisement on or attached to the outside wall of a building. Wallscapes can be painted directly on the wall as a mural, or printed on vinyl and securely attached to the wall in the manner of a billboard. Although not strictly classed as murals, large scale printed media are often referred to as such. Advertising murals were traditionally painted onto buildings and shops by sign-writers, later as large scale poster billboards.

 

SIGNIFICANCE OF MURALS

Murals are important in that they bring art into the public sphere. Due to the size, cost, and work involved in creating a mural, muralists must often be commissioned by a sponsor. Often it is the local government or a business, but many murals have been paid for with grants of patronage. For artists, their work gets a wide audience who otherwise might not set foot in an art gallery. A city benefits by the beauty of a work of art.

 

Murals can be a relatively effective tool of social emancipation or achieving a political goal. Murals have sometimes been created against the law, or have been commissioned by local bars and coffeeshops. Often, the visual effects are an enticement to attract public attention to social issues. State-sponsored public art expressions, particularly murals, are often used by totalitarian regimes as a tool of mass-control and propaganda. However, despite the propagandist character of that works, some of them still have an artistic value.

 

Murals can have a dramatic impact whether consciously or subconsciously on the attitudes of passers by, when they are added to areas where people live and work. It can also be argued that the presence of large, public murals can add aesthetic improvement to the daily lives of residents or that of employees at a corporate venue.

 

Other world-famous murals can be found in Mexico, New York, Philadelphia, Belfast, Derry, Los Angeles, Nicaragua, Cuba and in India. They have functioned as an important means of communication for members of socially, ethnically and racially divided communities in times of conflict. They also proved to be an effective tool in establishing a dialogue and hence solving the cleavage in the long run. The Indian state Kerala has exclusive murals. These Kerala mural painting are on walls of Hindu temples. They can be dated from 9th century AD.

 

The San Bartolo murals of the Maya civilization in Guatemala, are the oldest example of this art in Mesoamerica and are dated at 300 BC.

 

Many rural towns have begun using murals to create tourist attractions in order to boost economic income. Colquitt, Georgia is one such town. Colquitt was chosen to host the 2010 Global Mural Conference. The town has more than twelve murals completed, and will host the Conference along with Dothan, Alabama, and Blakely, Georgia. In the summer of 2010, Colquitt will begin work on their Icon Mural.

 

WIKIPEDIA

You already have limits, boundaries, desires and preferences that are givens when you have sex. Think of safety as another piece of that pie.

 

Let’s say a limit and desire you have is that sex can only happen in ways safe for you. You then present that to partners in a firm, but relaxed way: If sex is going to happen, it needs to be safer.

 

Someone can say yes to what you need and have sex with you, or they can say no, and that’s fine, but will just mean no sex with you.

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Safer Sex After 50

September 21, 2011 by Heather Corinna

 

msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/09/21/safe-sex-after-50/

 

A new study finds women over 50 want help negotiating safer sex and need better conversations about sex with healthcare providers. This follows reports of increases in STIs amongst those over 45 over the last few years.

 

Gasp! Women over 50 have sex! And not just inside decades-long marriages! (Figured I’d get that out of the way for those who think this is news.)

 

So what does sex ed look like after 50? Most older women have heard of sexually transmitted infections and know safer sex can radically reduce the risk of them. The big missing pieces tend to be comfort and assertiveness talking about sex and sexual health. Here are a few tips to get you started:

 

You already have limits, boundaries, desires and preferences that are givens when you have sex. Think of safety as another piece of that pie. Let’s say a limit and desire you have is that sex can only happen in ways safe for you. You then present that to partners in a firm, but relaxed way: If sex is going to happen, it needs to be safer. Someone can say yes to what you need and have sex with you, or they can say no, and that’s fine, but will just mean no sex with you.

 

---2).....Being assertive and relaxed about safer sex will tend to get the best reception. For instance, if you slide a condom or glove over as if it’s the most normal thing in the world–and for some of us, it is–a partner is more likely to cheerfully use it than if you’re apologetic and make it sound like you’re asking them to make a great sacrifice (it isn’t) or do something horribly unpleasant (it’s not).

 

---3).....Get informed. Unfortunately, some healthcare providers can be less than helpful: Like anyone, they may have biases or outdated education, or be twitchy about sex. If the provider you have isn’t serving you or you don’t feel comfortable talking with them, ask for or seek out another. You can get good information on the Internet or in books; Pepper Schwartz and Joan Price are two educators who focus on senior sex.

Our Bodies, Ourselves addresses sexual health for all ages. Independent, women-friendly sex toy stores often offer workshops and classes, too.

 

---4).....It’s okay to wear water wings. Just because you had some kinds of sex in the past doesn’t mean they’ll be right for you now. If you don’t feel “there yet” with negotiating safer sex, stick to kinds of sex with lower or no STI risks while you learn to swim in this new pool.

 

---5).....Do you really want a partner who isn’t invested in basic ways of caring for your health and theirs? Some bonuses of being past our teens and twenties are that we’re usually more confident in what we want, more capable of asserting ourselves, more aware that a sexual partner who isn’t a good fit for us is not better than none at all. You want an awesome sexual life, which includes valuing your health. Put that goal in front of fears of rejection or conflict, and you’re much more likely to get it.

 

Stay tuned for more from Heather, founder and editor of Scarleteen.com, who will be writing regular, candid, feminist sex advice for the Ms. Blog–and not a moment too soon!

 

Photo from Scarleteen.com.

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.....item 2).... COSMOPOLITAN ... www.cosmopolitan.com/food ... Homepage | Food/Cocktails | Cocktail Recipes ...

 

16 Yummy Cocktails Made With Wine ...

 

Love wine? Don't limit yourself to pouring straight from the bottle—experts swear you can make yummy cocktails using wine. We love these tasty recipes.

 

BY DARA ADEEYO

 

www.cosmopolitan.com/food/cocktails/cocktails-made-with-w...

 

----- Thin Ice

 

1 oz. Inniskillin Cabernet Franc Ice Wine

2 oz. vodka

 

Combine all ingredients in a glass and stir.

 

Source: Karin Stanley, Mixologist

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----- Just Keep Swimming

 

1 oz. Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

1 oz. vodka

1 oz. watermelon juice

1 oz. simple syrup

½ oz. lemon

1½ oz. soda water

 

To make simple syrup, mix equal parts hot water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Combine all ingredients except soda water in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a glass filled with ice. Top with soda water.

 

Source: The Raleigh

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----- French 75

 

1½ oz. Pucker Grape Gone Wild Vodka

¾ oz. lemon juice

¼ oz. simple syrup

1½ oz. sparkling wine

 

To make simple syrup, mix equal parts hot water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Combine all ingredients except wine in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a glass. Top with sparkling wine.

 

Source: Pucker Vodka

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----- The Summer Cup

 

2 oz. sparkling white wine

1 oz. The King's Ginger Liqueur

2 oz. cranberry juice

2 oz. lemonade

 

Combine all ingredients in a glass filled with ice and stir.

 

Source: The King's Ginger

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----- The Star Gazer

 

2 oz. chardonnay

1 oz. dark rum

½ oz. vanilla bean extract

½ oz. pineapple juice

Garnish: lime wedge

 

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

 

Source: H. Joseph Ehrmann, Proprietor of Elixir

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----- Red Splash

 

1½ oz. Camarena Tequila Silver

1½ oz. pinot noir

½ oz. lime juice

½ oz. agave nectar

2 oz. grapefruit soda

Garnish: lime wedge

 

Combine all ingredients except soda in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a glass. Top with soda. Garnish with a lime wedge.

 

Source: Shaher Misif, Mixologist

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----- Cherry Jam

 

1 spoon cherry jam

1/3 oz. lemon juice

1/3 oz. vodka

3 oz. Chandon Brut Classic

 

Combine all ingredients except brut in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a glass. Top with brut.

 

Source: Chandon

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----- San Francisco Sangaree

 

4 cherries

¼ oz. simple syrup

1½ oz. merlot

1 oz. bourbon

1 lemon slice

 

To make simple syrup, mix equal parts hot water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Muddle cherries in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, simple syrup, wine, bourbon, and lemon slice. Shake and strain into a glass.

 

Source: H. Joseph Ehrmann, Proprietor of Elixir

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----- Apple & Pink Julep

 

10 mint leaves

4 oz. Croft Pink Port

1 oz. apple juice

Garnish: mint sprig

 

Muddle mint leaves and apple juice in a cocktail shake. Add wine and ice. Shake and strain into a glass. Garnish with a mint sprig.

 

Source: Kobrand

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----- Red Hot Summer

 

¾ c. red wine

¼ c. lemon-lime soda

Ice

Garnish: lime wheel

 

Combine all ingredients in a glass filled with ice. Stir and garnish with a lime wheel.

 

Source: velvetpalate.com

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.....item 3).... youtube video ... Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here [Full Album] ... 44:20 minutes ...

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_vByFLHuKo&list=FLhbu28jvf-Q...

  

Tracklist;

 

1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5)

2. Welcome To The Machine

3. Have A Cigar

4. Wish You Were Here

5. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9)

 

"Wish You Were Here" is the ninth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd, released in September 1975. The album explores themes of absence, the music business, and former band-mate Syd Barrett's mental decline. It was inspired by material the band composed while performing across Europe, and was recorded over numerous sessions at London's Abbey Road Studios. Early sessions were a difficult and arduous process but it was Roger Waters' idea to split the centrepiece track "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" in two, and join each half with three new compositions. "Shine On" was a tribute to Barrett, who, coincidentally, made an impromptu visit to the studio while it was being recorded. The band initially failed to recognise Barrett, who had gained weight and changed in appearance.

 

As with their previous album, The Dark Side of the Moon, the band made use of studio effects and synthesisers. Roy Harper was a guest vocalist on "Have a Cigar". The album's packaging, again designed by Storm Thorgerson, featured an opaque black sleeve which hid the album artwork. Wish You Were Here was released in September 1975 to instant success; record company EMI was unable to print enough copies to satisfy demand. Although it initially received mixed reviews, the album has since been acclaimed by critics, and appears, in 2012, Wish You Were Here was voted 211th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Band members Richard Wright and David Gilmour have each declared Wish You Were Here their favourite Pink Floyd album.

 

Category:

Music

 

License:

Standard YouTube License

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Given that most of the Enviro 300s are in the new livery now, I don't know what the plan is for 27637 since it has Beachball under its poppy wrap. Here it is in Lincoln bus station with a 6 on 19.4.21

The "confetti mouse" is the name given to a strain of mice genetically engineered so that their cells glow in various combinations of red, blue, yellow, or green markers, depending on what particular proteins those cells are producing. This color coding, demonstrated here in mouse kidney cells, can be especially useful in cancer research, shedding light on subtle molecular differences among tumors and providing clues to what may be driving the spread, or metastasis, of cancer cells beyond the original tumor site.

 

This photo is a 2015 FASEB BioArt winner (www.faseb.org/bioart)

 

More info: directorsblog.nih.gov/2015/12/17/snapshots-of-life-bring-...

 

Credit: Heinz Baumann, Sean T. Glenn, Mary Kay Ellsworth, and Kenneth W. Gross, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY

 

This image is not owned by the NIH. It is shared with the public under license. If you have a question about using or reproducing this image, please contact the creator listed in the credits. All rights to the work remain with the original creator.

 

NIH funding from: National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

  

Farting around with the macro mode on my Lumix.

Given a one-off ride on a Buildbase Suzuki by the generous Stuart Huicken at Mallory Park's Race of the Year

The Sherry-Netherland

781 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10022

 

The Early Years

 

The hotel site at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 59th Street in Manhattan had been occupied by the New Netherland, built by William Waldorf Astor. The chateau like apartment tower facing Fifth Avenue was designed by William H. Hume. Its name came from New Netherland - the name given to a portion of the East Coast of North America by the Dutch Republic. The New Netherland's provincial capital was New Amsterdam which was located at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan.

 

The New Netherland was completed in 1892. The neo-Romanesque steel-framed building was 17 stories (234 feet) and claimed to be the "tallest hotel structure in the world" when it opened.

 

Developer Samuel Keller Jacobs began demolition of the New Netherland in 1926. Replacing it was a new tower apartment hotel occupying the same footprint and frontage on Fifth Avenue. Jacobs contracted with the architect firm Schultze & Weaver to work with high-rise specialist Buchman & Kahn.

 

Originally it was to be a 36-story transient hotel to have the same name - New Netherland. The Grand Army Plaza area was becoming a fashionable area. The Fifth Avenue mansions were giving way to high rise apartment hotels. It was decided to have Schultze & Weaver design a building to insure the wealthy residents of the area could continue their grand life style - but in a high rise apartment. During the construction Jacobs sold the hotel to Louis Sherry, Inc., a subsidiary of Boomer-duPont Properties Corporation. Lucius Boomer was a noted hotel operator and was also affiliated with the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel. Boomer was one of the early endowers to the Cornell Hotel School who made its establishment possible.

 

Louis Sherry (1855-1926) owned Sherry's an extremely successful and regaled restaurant and caterer located at Forty Third Street and Fifth Avenue. Sherry thought it best to close his restaurant business due to prohibition (which commenced in 1920) and what Sherry described as "war-born Bolshevism". The NY Times quoted Sherry "I am not at the point where I cannot increase my staff of waiters without admitting Bolsheviki, but I will not submit my patrons to have their food thrown at them."

 

Sherry and Lucius M. Boomer formed a new corporation (Louis Sherry, Inc.) with the intent to continue the ice cream, candy and catering business and also provide catering services for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Boomer was the chairman of the board for the original Waldorf-Astoria at Fifth Avenue and was also the original owner of Boston's Lenox Hotel.

 

Lucius Boomer renamed the hotel - The Sherry-Netherland - in anticipation of cashing in on the Sherry name known for its high standards of food and service. Louis Sherry died shortly before his name became associated with the new venture. An early brochure for the hotel states: "The Sherry tradition of perfection is drilled into every member of the personnel."

 

Also taking its name from Louis Sherry is the Sherry-Lehmann Wine and Spirits company. Their first store was in the Louis Sherry Building on Madison at 62nd. The store took its name from the name of the building - not the fortified wine of Spain.

 

During construction the hotel's upper floors suffered a fire that was visible from as far away as Long Island. The $10 million 165 apartment hotel was finished in 1927 and at 38-storys was known for a while as the tallest apartment hotel in New York City and the world.

 

At the time of the hotel's construction, the Vanderbilt mansion on Fifth Avenue (now the site of Bergdorf Goodman) was being demolished. Two limestone reliefs from that mansion were installed in the Sherry's entrance vestibule. The ornamental friezes by sculptor Karl Bitter depict a group of girls.

 

Because of Prohibition, the Sherry was designed with smaller public restaurant square footage than other pre-War hotels. Its lobby also designed small - which allowed for maximum street side store rentals. It was reported by the NY Times that a single apartment in 1927 at the Sherry-Netherland rented for a low of $1,600 per month and up to $6,500 per month.

 

The Architects: Schultz & Weaver together with Buchman and Kahn

 

Schultz & Weaver were best known for design work on hotels, including the Hotel Lexington, Hotel Pierre and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The firm’s first completed hotel was the Los Angeles Biltmore now known as the Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles.

 

The hotel's design is noted for its high peaked roof topped with an elaborate Gothic minaret, or fleche. The spire top houses the water tank and even has an observation balcony. Gargoyles protrude from its crown.

 

According to the 1981 Upper East Side Historic District Designation Report the architecture style contains elements of neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic styles. It is a 38-story hotel with stone and dark brown brick facing. The first four floors are travertine marble with three two-story monumental arched windows facing Fifth Avenue. The cornice and balustrade sit over the third floor. The building setbacks begin on the seventeenth leading to a slender tower crowned with a fleche. The setbacks allowed for spacious outdoor private terraces beginning on the eighteenth floor. Single apartments occupied the entire floors from the 24th floor to the 37th floor.

 

The minaret distinguishes the building as one of the most recognized hotel profiles in New York City.

 

Little of the building's architecture has changed since the Sherry-Netherland opened its doors in 1927. The canopy entrance, adorned with the hotel's famous landmark clock and four Italianate lanterns, is guarded by gargoyles on the 37-story Baroque tower. The recently restored vaulted lobby was modeled after the Vatican library. Striking features include sculptured panels from the Vanderbilt Mansion, Louis XV chairs, lavish chandeliers and elaborately designed marble floors with French carpets.

 

The Sherry Netherland’s frontage is elegant, adorned with griffins holding four hanging lanterns on the façade and a sidewalk clock that is gilded in genuine gold leaf.

 

Two Big Hotel Hold-ups - 1974 and 1977

 

On December 9, 1974 a team of five bandits took over the Sherry Netherland hotel for two hours and looted safety deposit boxes of more than $900,000 in cash and valuables. The robbers entered the hotel at 3.25AM and handcuffed 11 employees and 2 hotel guests. General Manager Philip Landau described the heist as "a gentlemen's robbery". The robbers used crowbars and screwdrivers to force open about 40 safe deposit boxes. The police reported the robbers seemed to know which drawers would contain the most bounty.

 

On October 10, 1977 four men walked into the Sherry Netherland's lobby, pulled guns, handcuffed four employees and made off with cash and gems (some belonging to super star Diana Ross) from the hotel' vaults. The haul could have been worth up to $1 million. The robbery was the second in less than three years at the Sherry Netherland.

 

No one was injured in the holdup before dawn Monday at the Fifth Avenue hotel, which was the scene of a similar stickup in 1974 that netted some $900,000 from the safe deposit boxes containing valuables of the hotel's wealthy clientele.

 

According to police reports the hotel lobby was empty when the four heavyset men, dressed in business suits and wearing wigs and false mustaches, entered about 4:30 a.m. They walked up to the desk, pulled handguns and herded night manager Robert Clancey and three other employees into a storage room where they were handcuffed and left inside. As the night security man was "making his rounds on the upper floors, the bandits spent the next 45 minutes prying open more than 100 of the 154 small safety deposit boxes in the vault room.

 

Hotel general manager Philip Landau said after the robbers finished, they went back to the storage room where Clancey, bellman Steve McPartland, night auditor William Farragher and porter Jay Morton were handcuffed and told them not to move for 10 minutes.

 

Professional burglars Samuel Nalo and Robert Comfort were the significant ring leaders for several New York City hotel heists in the 1970's.

 

The Later Years

 

In 1949 The Sherry Netherland was offered to two financiers, Floyd Odlum and Boyd Hatch at an attractive price. They named Serge Obolensky president of the holding company, hiring him away from Hilton which operated the Plaza across the street at that time.

 

During the early 1950's Serge Obolensky focused on the Sherry's profitability and the Carnaval Room- the hotel's supper club. As the talent buyer he contracted with night club performers such as Helene Francis and James Symington (a future U.S Senator from Missouri).

 

Childs Restaurants acquired 90% of the stock in Louis Sherry, Inc. (but not the hotel) from Mrs. Lucius M. Boomer in 1950 for more than $2,000,000.

 

In 1954 the Sherry Netherland's 165 apartments were converted to cooperatives. Today the hotel has approximately 97 co-op residences and 53 hotel room/suites. Co-op owners have the option of putting their apartment in the hotel rental pool while not in use or, “opt out” and use as full-time home. According to hausfitzgerald.com residents of the Sherry-Netherland over the years include Jack Warner, the head of Warner Brothers, Claire Boothe Luce, Diana Ross, Francis Ford Coppola and more recently Judith Sheindlin (Judge Judy).

 

The Sherry Netherland shares the block with the luxury cooperative apartment building, Park V at 785 Fifth Avenue. Usually called the Park Cinq, the eighteen-story building was constructed by the Fisher Brothers developers in 1960.

 

From 1965 to 1972 Jerry Brody (Club Caterers) operated the L’Etoile and the Cafe Bar at the Sherry-Netherland. Jerry Brody was Restaurant Associates founding president and recruited Joe Baum in 1953 to work the Newarker, the white table cloth restaurant at the Newark Airport.

 

In October 1968, the exclusive disco Raffles opened in the basement of the Sherry-Netherland. Jerry Brody was the club's owner and Earl Blackwell managed the membership. Raffles occupied the space known as the Carnaval Room where Sere Obolensky had presided.

 

In 1975 real estate developer Joe Norban (a co-op owner) took over the nightclub hidden away in the belly of the Sherry-Netherland hotel. He named it Doubles and envisioned a private club - with backgammon games, dining and dancing. Daughter Wendy Carduner took over in 1982 and has sustained her father’s vision and grown the non-profit private club to 2,500 members. Doubles' longevity is attributed to being consistent, never being snobbish, and having all kinds of members. Doubles' Executive Chef is Steven Mellina who previously served at The Manhattan Ocean Club and The Helmsley Palace Hotel.

 

In 1985, Lord Charles Forte, with Trusthouse Forte wanted to open a restaurant on the ground floor of New York’s Sherry-Netherland Hotel. Forte and his son, Rocco, thought a Harry’s Bar–style restaurant in the building would persuade the owners to let their company, Trusthouse Forte, take over the management of the hotel. The Fortes flew Arrigo Cipriani to New York to check out the Fifth Avenue location. As soon as Arrigo saw the existing restaurant, called Le Petit Café, with its windows facing Central Park, he knew it was the perfect spot for what would be called Harry Cipriani.

 

So, at the former site of Le Petit Cafe, Giuseppe Cipriani, who founded Harry's Bar in Venice in 1931, opened the street side Harry's Bar at the Sherry Netherland in 1985. Following a brief eviction the family returned to the hotel in 1987 with the restaurant - Harry Cipriani. This restaurant is almost an exact duplicate of the original Harry's Bar in Venice. It’s the sky-high prices that keep this jet setter’s restaurant so exclusive. In 2011 its house drink, The Bellini, costs $19.95. In 2007 the NY Times food critic Frank Bruni said the only thing compelling about Harry Cipriani's is the prices.

 

Philip Landau was the general manager of the Sherry Netherland for 35 years - 1957 to 1982.

 

Louis N. Ventresca was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Sherry Netherland for over 20 years. He died at the age of 58 in 2003. He joined the Sherry Netherland Hotel in 1980 following stints at with PKF and Princess Hotels International.

 

In February, 2004 Michael Littler was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Sherry-Netherland. Littler was the General Manager of the Four Seasons Philadelphia and for eleven year the general manager at the Millennium Broadway.

 

Michael Ullman was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Sherry Netherland Hotel in April, 2010. Previously he was the Managing Director of the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, California from 1995 to 2008. Ullman has served as General Manager at the Ihilani in Hawaii and the Beverly Hills Hotel.

 

Theresa Nocerino has been the Sherry Netherland's Managing Director and Licensed Real Estate Agent from 1985 to present.

 

Text and photos compiled by Dick Johnson

December 2011

richardlloydjohnson@hotmail.com

 

The Sherry-Netherland

781 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10022

 

The 59th Street side of the hotel.

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

 

The Early Years

 

The hotel site at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 59th Street in Manhattan had been occupied by the New Netherland, built by William Waldorf Astor. The chateau like apartment tower facing Fifth Avenue was designed by William H. Hume. Its name came from New Netherland - the name given to a portion of the East Coast of North America by the Dutch Republic. The New Netherland's provincial capital was New Amsterdam which was located at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan.

 

The New Netherland was completed in 1892. The neo-Romanesque steel-framed building was 17 stories (234 feet) and claimed to be the "tallest hotel structure in the world" when it opened.

 

Developer Samuel Keller Jacobs began demolition of the New Netherland in 1926. Replacing it was a new tower apartment hotel occupying the same footprint and frontage on Fifth Avenue. Jacobs contracted with the architect firm Schultze & Weaver to work with high-rise specialist Buchman & Kahn.

 

Originally it was to be a 36-story transient hotel to have the same name - New Netherland. The Grand Army Plaza area was becoming a fashionable area. The Fifth Avenue mansions were giving way to high rise apartment hotels. It was decided to have Schultze & Weaver design a building to insure the wealthy residents of the area could continue their grand life style - but in a high rise apartment. During the construction Jacobs sold the hotel to Louis Sherry, Inc., a subsidiary of Boomer-duPont Properties Corporation. Lucius Boomer was a noted hotel operator and was also affiliated with the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel. Boomer was one of the early endowers to the Cornell Hotel School who made its establishment possible.

 

Louis Sherry (1855-1926) owned Sherry's an extremely successful and regaled restaurant and caterer located at Forty Third Street and Fifth Avenue. Sherry thought it best to close his restaurant business due to prohibition (which commenced in 1920) and what Sherry described as "war-born Bolshevism". The NY Times quoted Sherry "I am not at the point where I cannot increase my staff of waiters without admitting Bolsheviki, but I will not submit my patrons to have their food thrown at them."

 

Sherry and Lucius M. Boomer formed a new corporation (Louis Sherry, Inc.) with the intent to continue the ice cream, candy and catering business and also provide catering services for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Boomer was the chairman of the board for the original Waldorf-Astoria at Fifth Avenue and was also the original owner of Boston's Lenox Hotel.

 

Lucius Boomer renamed the hotel - The Sherry-Netherland - in anticipation of cashing in on the Sherry name known for its high standards of food and service. Louis Sherry died shortly before his name became associated with the new venture. An early brochure for the hotel states: "The Sherry tradition of perfection is drilled into every member of the personnel."

 

Also taking its name from Louis Sherry is the Sherry-Lehmann Wine and Spirits company. Their first store was in the Louis Sherry Building on Madison at 62nd. The store took its name from the name of the building - not the fortified wine of Spain.

 

During construction the hotel's upper floors suffered a fire that was visible from as far away as Long Island. The $10 million 165 apartment hotel was finished in 1927 and at 38-storys was known for a while as the tallest apartment hotel in New York City and the world.

 

At the time of the hotel's construction, the Vanderbilt mansion on Fifth Avenue (now the site of Bergdorf Goodman) was being demolished. Two limestone reliefs from that mansion were installed in the Sherry's entrance vestibule. The ornamental friezes by sculptor Karl Bitter depict a group of girls.

 

Because of Prohibition, the Sherry was designed with smaller public restaurant square footage than other pre-War hotels. Its lobby also designed small - which allowed for maximum street side store rentals. It was reported by the NY Times that a single apartment in 1927 at the Sherry-Netherland rented for a low of $1,600 per month and up to $6,500 per month.

 

The Architects: Schultz & Weaver together with Buchman and Kahn

 

Schultz & Weaver were best known for design work on hotels, including the Hotel Lexington, Hotel Pierre and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The firm’s first completed hotel was the Los Angeles Biltmore now known as the Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles.

 

The hotel's design is noted for its high peaked roof topped with an elaborate Gothic minaret, or fleche. The spire top houses the water tank and even has an observation balcony. Gargoyles protrude from its crown.

 

According to the 1981 Upper East Side Historic District Designation Report the architecture style contains elements of neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic styles. It is a 38-story hotel with stone and dark brown brick facing. The first four floors are travertine marble with three two-story monumental arched windows facing Fifth Avenue. The cornice and balustrade sit over the third floor. The building setbacks begin on the seventeenth leading to a slender tower crowned with a fleche. The setbacks allowed for spacious outdoor private terraces beginning on the eighteenth floor. Single apartments occupied the entire floors from the 24th floor to the 37th floor.

 

The minaret distinguishes the building as one of the most recognized hotel profiles in New York City.

 

Little of the building's architecture has changed since the Sherry-Netherland opened its doors in 1927. The canopy entrance, adorned with the hotel's famous landmark clock and four Italianate lanterns, is guarded by gargoyles on the 37-story Baroque tower. The recently restored vaulted lobby was modeled after the Vatican library. Striking features include sculptured panels from the Vanderbilt Mansion, Louis XV chairs, lavish chandeliers and elaborately designed marble floors with French carpets.

 

The Sherry Netherland’s frontage is elegant, adorned with griffins holding four hanging lanterns on the façade and a sidewalk clock that is gilded in genuine gold leaf.

 

Two Big Hotel Hold-ups - 1974 and 1977

 

On December 9, 1974 a team of five bandits took over the Sherry Netherland hotel for two hours and looted safety deposit boxes of more than $900,000 in cash and valuables. The robbers entered the hotel at 3.25AM and handcuffed 11 employees and 2 hotel guests. General Manager Philip Landau described the heist as "a gentlemen's robbery". The robbers used crowbars and screwdrivers to force open about 40 safe deposit boxes. The police reported the robbers seemed to know which drawers would contain the most bounty.

 

On October 10, 1977 four men walked into the Sherry Netherland's lobby, pulled guns, handcuffed four employees and made off with cash and gems (some belonging to super star Diana Ross) from the hotel' vaults. The haul could have been worth up to $1 million. The robbery was the second in less than three years at the Sherry Netherland.

 

No one was injured in the holdup before dawn Monday at the Fifth Avenue hotel, which was the scene of a similar stickup in 1974 that netted some $900,000 from the safe deposit boxes containing valuables of the hotel's wealthy clientele.

 

According to police reports the hotel lobby was empty when the four heavyset men, dressed in business suits and wearing wigs and false mustaches, entered about 4:30 a.m. They walked up to the desk, pulled handguns and herded night manager Robert Clancey and three other employees into a storage room where they were handcuffed and left inside. As the night security man was "making his rounds on the upper floors, the bandits spent the next 45 minutes prying open more than 100 of the 154 small safety deposit boxes in the vault room.

 

Hotel general manager Philip Landau said after the robbers finished, they went back to the storage room where Clancey, bellman Steve McPartland, night auditor William Farragher and porter Jay Morton were handcuffed and told them not to move for 10 minutes.

 

Professional burglars Samuel Nalo and Robert Comfort were the significant ring leaders for several New York City hotel heists in the 1970's.

 

The Later Years

 

In 1949 The Sherry Netherland was offered to two financiers, Floyd Odlum and Boyd Hatch at an attractive price. They named Serge Obolensky president of the holding company, hiring him away from Hilton which operated the Plaza across the street at that time.

 

During the early 1950's Serge Obolensky focused on the Sherry's profitability and the Carnaval Room- the hotel's supper club. As the talent buyer he contracted with night club performers such as Helene Francis and James Symington (a future U.S Senator from Missouri).

 

Childs Restaurants acquired 90% of the stock in Louis Sherry, Inc. (but not the hotel) from Mrs. Lucius M. Boomer in 1950 for more than $2,000,000.

 

In 1954 the Sherry Netherland's 165 apartments were converted to cooperatives. Today the hotel has approximately 97 co-op residences and 53 hotel room/suites. Co-op owners have the option of putting their apartment in the hotel rental pool while not in use or, “opt out” and use as full-time home. According to hausfitzgerald.com residents of the Sherry-Netherland over the years include Jack Warner, the head of Warner Brothers, Claire Boothe Luce, Diana Ross, Francis Ford Coppola and more recently Judith Sheindlin (Judge Judy).

 

The Sherry Netherland shares the block with the luxury cooperative apartment building, Park V at 785 Fifth Avenue. Usually called the Park Cinq, the eighteen-story building was constructed by the Fisher Brothers developers in 1960.

 

From 1965 to 1972 Jerry Brody (Club Caterers) operated the L’Etoile and the Cafe Bar at the Sherry-Netherland. Jerry Brody was Restaurant Associates founding president and recruited Joe Baum in 1953 to work the Newarker, the white table cloth restaurant at the Newark Airport.

 

In October 1968, the exclusive disco Raffles opened in the basement of the Sherry-Netherland. Jerry Brody was the club's owner and Earl Blackwell managed the membership. Raffles occupied the space known as the Carnaval Room where Sere Obolensky had presided.

 

In 1975 real estate developer Joe Norban (a co-op owner) took over the nightclub hidden away in the belly of the Sherry-Netherland hotel. He named it Doubles and envisioned a private club - with backgammon games, dining and dancing. Daughter Wendy Carduner took over in 1982 and has sustained her father’s vision and grown the non-profit private club to 2,500 members. Doubles' longevity is attributed to being consistent, never being snobbish, and having all kinds of members. Doubles' Executive Chef is Steven Mellina who previously served at The Manhattan Ocean Club and The Helmsley Palace Hotel.

 

In 1985, Lord Charles Forte, with Trusthouse Forte wanted to open a restaurant on the ground floor of New York’s Sherry-Netherland Hotel. Forte and his son, Rocco, thought a Harry’s Bar–style restaurant in the building would persuade the owners to let their company, Trusthouse Forte, take over the management of the hotel. The Fortes flew Arrigo Cipriani to New York to check out the Fifth Avenue location. As soon as Arrigo saw the existing restaurant, called Le Petit Café, with its windows facing Central Park, he knew it was the perfect spot for what would be called Harry Cipriani.

 

So, at the former site of Le Petit Cafe, Giuseppe Cipriani, who founded Harry's Bar in Venice in 1931, opened the street side Harry's Bar at the Sherry Netherland in 1985. Following a brief eviction the family returned to the hotel in 1987 with the restaurant - Harry Cipriani. This restaurant is almost an exact duplicate of the original Harry's Bar in Venice. It’s the sky-high prices that keep this jet setter’s restaurant so exclusive. In 2011 its house drink, The Bellini, costs $19.95. In 2007 the NY Times food critic Frank Bruni said the only thing compelling about Harry Cipriani's is the prices.

 

Philip Landau was the general manager of the Sherry Netherland for 35 years - 1957 to 1982.

 

Louis N. Ventresca was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Sherry Netherland for over 20 years. He died at the age of 58 in 2003. He joined the Sherry Netherland Hotel in 1980 following stints at with PKF and Princess Hotels International.

 

In February, 2004 Michael Littler was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Sherry-Netherland. Littler was the General Manager of the Four Seasons Philadelphia and for eleven year the general manager at the Millennium Broadway.

 

Michael Ullman was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Sherry Netherland Hotel in April, 2010. Previously he was the Managing Director of the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, California from 1995 to 2008. Ullman has served as General Manager at the Ihilani in Hawaii and the Beverly Hills Hotel.

 

Theresa Nocerino has been the Sherry Netherland's Managing Director and Licensed Real Estate Agent from 1985 to present.

 

Text and photos compiled by Dick Johnson

December 2011

richardlloydjohnson@hotmail.com

 

Arjuna (pronounced [ərˈd͡ʑun] in classical Sanskrit) was the 3rd of the Pandava brothers. He is considered the protagonist of the Mahabharata with Krishna and plays a key role in the Bhagavad Gita. He was married multiple times, to Draupadi, Subhadra (Krishna's sister), Ulupi, and Chitrangada. His children included Srutakarma, Iravan, Babruvahana, and Abhimanyu.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES

The name Arjuna means "bright" or "shining" (lit. "bright" or "silver" (cf. Latin argentum)). Arjuna in Sanskrit is also interpreted as 'na arjayate Arjuna' which translates to the 'one who is not un-victorius'

 

The Mahabharata refers to Arjuna by twelve different names. In the story, these names are given when Prince Uttara of Matsya asks Arjuna to prove his identity. The first ten names are spoken by Arjuna himself, while the name "Kapi Dhwaja" is also used to refer to his chariot, the "Nandi Ghosha" . The names and their meanings are as follow:

 

- Arjuna (अर्जुन) - shining or famous like silver.

- Phalguna (फाल्गुन) - one born under the star named 'Uttara Phalguni'.

- Jishnu (जिष्णु) - triumphant.

- Kiritin (किरीटिन्) - one who wears the celestial diadem, Kiriti, presented by Indra.

- Shwetavahana (श्वेतवाहन) - one with white horses mounted to his chariot.

- Bibhatsu (बीभत्सु) - one who always fights wars in a fair manner.

- Vijaya (विजय) - always wins on war.

- Partha (पार्थ) - son of Pritha, another name for Kunti.

- Savyasachin (सव्यसाचिन्) - ambidextrous

- Dhananjaya (धनञ्जय) - one who brings prosperity and wealth in the land where he goes to.

- Gudakesha (गुडाकेश) - someone who have control over sleeps

- Kapidhwaja (कपिध्वज) - having flag of Kapi (monkey) in his chariot (Arjuna's flag displayed an image of Hanuman from a previous encounter).

- Parantapa (परन्तप) - one who concentrates the most, destroyer of enemies from his concentration.

- Gandivadhanvan (गाण्डीवधन्वन्) - one who possessed the mighty bow named 'Gandiva' which was created by Lord Brahma.

- Gandivadhara (गाण्डीवधर) - Gandiva holder

- Madhyapandava (मध्यपाण्डव) - the third of Pandavas, younger to Yudhishthira and Bhima and elder to Nakula and Sahadeva.

 

BIRTH AND YOUTH

Arjuna was born into the royal family of Hastinapura. He was acknowledged as a son of Pandu by his first wife Kunti, though he was fathered by the grace of the god Indra, rather than by Pandu who was cursed that he would die if he tried to father children. Arjuna was the third son, after Yudhishthira and Bhima. Younger to him were the twin sons born of Pandu's second wife Madri, Nakula and Sahadeva.

 

After the death of Pandu (and Madri's subsequent suicide), the Pandavas and their mother lived in Hastinapura, where they were brought up together with their cousins, the Kaurava brothers. Along with his brothers, Arjuna was trained in religion, science, administration and military arts by Bhishma.

 

One day, when the princes were playing a game, they lost their ball in a well. When the rest of the children gave up the ball as being lost, Arjuna stayed behind trying to get it. A stranger came by and extracted the ball for him by making a chain of "sarkanda" (a wild grass). When an astonished Arjuna related the story to Bhishma, Bhishma realized that the stranger was none other than Drona. Bhishma asked Drona to become the Kuru princes' teacher. Seeking refuge from Panchala, Drona agreed.

 

TUTELAGE UNDER DRONA

Under Drona's tutelage, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, along with the princes of Hastinapura's allies and vassals, learned weaponry. Arjuna became Drona's favorite and most accomplished pupil; specifically, he became a master in using the bow and the arrow. In a famous incident, Drona deemed that out of all his students, even his own son Ashwatthama, none but Arjuna had the steadfast focus to shoot the eye of a bird on a tree; he was proven right.

 

In two other incidents, the reader sees how Arjuna's destiny is shaped. Arjuna was the only one with the skill and fortitude to save his teacher from an attack from a crocodile. In reality, the attack was a ruse Drona used to test his students. In another story, Arjuna, noticing Bhima eating in the dark, trained himself to shoot accurately without visualizing his target. Impressed by Arjuna, Drona promised his pupil that he would make Arjuna the greatest archer that ever lived or ever would live. Drona adhered to this vow so strongly, that when he discovered a Kirat prince Ekalavya of superior archery skill, Drona demands him into cutting off the thumb of his hand (needed to draw the bow) so that he kept his promise to Arjuna.

 

As part of his gurudakshina, Arjuna and his brothers, attacked Panchal and captured King Drupada, with Arjuna making the arrest himself. Drona requested this in order to settle an old grudge he had with Drupada. Secretly, Drupada was greatly impressed by Arjuna and wished for him to marry his daughter, Draupadi.

 

At the end of their training, the Kuru princes displayed their talents to their elders in an arena. There, Arjuna steals the show, using divine weapons to great effect. However, before he can be crowned as the victor of the tournament, he is challenged by Karna. Karna matched Arjuna's feats. But due to his low birth, Karna is not allowed to compete and gets insulted by Bhima and the others for being a sutaputra; this incident marks the beginning of a feud between Karna and Arjuna that lasts until the end of the story.

 

As the Pandavas and Kauravas grew older, a crown prince had to be named. Yudhishthira won the nomination over Duryodhana. Angered, Duryodhana plotted with his uncle Shakuni, who masterminded a plan to kill the Pandavas. The Kauravas have a house of wax built; they desired to send the Pandavas vacationing to the wax house, under some pretense, before setting the house on fire. Alerted of the scheme by Vidura, the Pandavas evaded the trap. Arjuna and Bhima wanted to declare war, but Yudhishthira cooled them down. Under his orders, Arjuna, Kunti, and the Pandavas faked their deaths and went into hiding.

 

MARRIAGE TO DRAUPADI

Still in hiding, the Pandavas disguise themselves as brahmins and attend the Swayamvara of Panchala princess Draupadi. Out of all of the great kings and other Kaurava princes, only Karna and Arjuna are able to do the established challenge. The test is to lift, string, and fire Pinakin to pierce the eye of a golden fish whilst only looking at its reflection; Drupada had designed this test with Arjuna in mind. At first Karna is able to lift and string the bow, but when he is aiming to fire the shot, Draupadi rejects Karna (in some depictions with Krishna's prodding) for his low-birth. Afterwards, the disguised Arjuna accomplished the stringing and shooting of the bow.

 

In some versions of the story, Arjuna is the only prince (of the Kaurava/Pandava party) to have interacted with Draupadi before. When attacking/kidnapping Drupada, Draupadi, trained in martial arts due to Panchal's attitudes towards gender neutrality, fights with Arjuna, but Arjuna after some while stops and evades Draupadi, saying that he cannot fight a woman.

 

In some versions of the Swayamvara, Arjuna is forbidden by Kunti to attend the Swayamvara. Kunti's reasoning is that only Yudhishthira and Duryodhana would be acceptable candidates for Draupadi's hand; anyone else, not set to inherit the throne, would be an insult to Panchal. She allows Bhima to attend because he is Yudhishthira's heir and could win Draupadi for his brother without controversy. When Arjuna disobeys her anyways, as he is firing the arrow, he swears to God that if wins Draupadi's hand, he would never disobey his mother's commands.

 

When the brothers returned with Draupadi, Arjuna joked to his mother that they had brought alms. Dismissively, and without looking because she was preoccupied, Kunti asks him to share it with his brothers. Holding his mother's orders as a divine command, he requested his elder brother to accept Draupadi. Draupadi had to marry all five of the Pandavas. Her five sons, one from each of the Pandava brothers, are known as the Upapandavas. Srutakarma is the son of Arjuna.

 

The brothers follow Narada's advice on a sharing arrangement with regard to Draupadi: each brother would have exclusive rights over her for a year, after which the mantle will shift to the next brother. Moreover, any brother intruding on the privacy of the couple would have to go on a twelve-year Tirtha-yatra.

 

At this point in the Mahabharatha, the Pandavas revealed that they were alive. With both Duryodhana and Yudhishthira being crown princes, tensions are high. Under Bhishma's advice, the kingdom is split, with the Kauravas getting Hastinapur and the Pandavas getting Khandavaprastha. Khandavaprastha, however, was an extremely underdeveloped land and had infertile soil, requiring extensive tilling, so the Pandavas set to work rebuilding the land. Their cousins Krishna and Balarama gave them aid.

 

BURNING OF KHANDAVA VANA

In some versions of the story, this was the first time Arjuna meets Krishna. In any case, Khandavaprastha was where Arjuna and Krishna's friendship is truly forged. Once when roaming in the Khandava Vana, Arjuna and Krishna met the god of fire, Agni. Agni was in great hunger and needed to burn down the entire Khandava Vana to quench his hunger. But Takshaka, the serpent-king lived in the same forest and was a friend of Indra's. So the latter brought down heavy rains to thwart Agni's plans to burn the woods. Agni requested Krishna and Arjuna to help him realize his goal.

 

The three of them then invoked Varuna, the God of the oceans, who blessed Arjuna with the Gandiva – the moon bow created by Brahma. In this way, Arjuna came into possession of his famous bow. Agni also gave Arjuna an incandescent chariot with four horses yoked, and bearing a flag that would one-day be occupied by Hanuman. Arjuna also obtained his famous conch.

 

With Krishna using the Sudarshana Chakra Arjuna and Krishna waged a successful battle against Indra and helped Agni burn down the entire Khandava Vana including all its demons and evil spirits. Indra's anger was metered by his pride in his son.

 

SAVING MAYASURA

In their demolition of Khandava Krishna and Arjuna had saved one demon, Mayasura. Owing Arjuna a boon, Mayasura told that he would build a palace for Yudhishtra. As Mayasura was a great architect of the Asuras, he soon constructed the Maya assembly hall – a gigantic palace for the Pandavas, filled with ancient books, artifacts, and jewels. This hall was famous for visual illusions. Thus, Khandavaprastha was renamed Indraprastha.

 

ARJUNA´S TIRTHA-YATRA AND INDRAPRASTHA

During an incident when Takshaka stole Brahmins cows, Arjuna was forced to violate Yudhishthira and Draupadi's privacy while they were playing the game of dice, as he had left the Gandiva in their room. Despite the understanding of all and being forgiven by both Yudhishthira and Draupadi, Arjuna accepted the punishment agreed with Narada and set off on a twelve-year tirtha-yatra.

 

MEETING ULOOPI

Arjuna started his pilgrimage by visiting the source of the river Ganga. It was here that he met the Naga princess, Uloopi. She was mesmerized by Arjun and forcefully took him to Naga Lok (the land of the snake-people) and gave him a choice: if he married her, she would let him go; otherwise, she would not. He married her, and they had a son called Iravan.

 

CHITRANGADAA AT MANIPURA

Arjuna visited other Tirthas in India, including Kalinga and the ashrams of the Saptarishis, Agastya, Vasishta and Bhrigu. Finally he reached the palace of Manipur. Here he met king Chitravahana's daughter, Chitrangadaa. Arjun fell in love with her and requested the king for her marriage. Upon discovering Arjuna's true identity, the king readily agreed. Since Chitrangadaa was his oldest child and Manipur practiced equal primogeniture, which Hastinapur did not practice, the king sought a promise from Arjuna that Chitrangadaa and any of her and Arjuna's children would remain in Manipur as Chitravahana's heirs. Arjuna thought for some while and agreed. They both had a son, who survived the Mahabharata war and ruled the small kingdom peacefully.

 

REACHING DWARKA AND SUBHADRA

Arjuna moved to other Tirthas, including the southern regions in Kerala. Finally he reached Dwarka, the place where his cousin Krishna resided. Arjuna had, in his childhood, heard about Krishna's sister, Subhadra. Krishna, wishing to further tie their families, knew of Arjuna's visit and devised a plan to arrange their meet. Accordingly, Arjuna disguised himself as a “yati” and stayed at Krishna's palace. Arjuna fell in love with Subhadra and desired to marry her . Because Balarama had already promised Subhadra to his favorite disciple, Duryodhana, Krishna advised Arjuna to kidnap Subhadra. Balarama became furious upon learning of the abduction but is pacified by Krishna, after he showed that the wedding rein was in Sudhadra's hand, which showed her consent. The couple stayed in Dwaraka for a year, and then another year in Pushkar. However, Draupadi had made it clear that no other Pandava wife would be allowed to stay in her city, so Arjun, as per Krishna's advice, tricked Draupadi into meeting Subhadra as a milkmaid. Draupadi realized she had been tricked, but she forgave Subhadra and let her stay in Indra-prastha, allowing her to give company to Arjuna in the four years when he was not with Draupadi. In due course,Arjuna and Subhadra gave birth to a son, Abhimanyu.

 

CONQUEST FOR RAJASUYA

Arjuna was sent north by Yudhishthira to subjugate kingdoms for the Rajasuya Yagya, so that he could be crowned Emperor of Indraprastha. The Mahabharata mentions several kingdoms to the east of Indraprastha which were conquered (or otherwise peacefully bent-the-knee) by Arjuna. Some of them are:

- Bhagadatta of Pragjyotisha - He repelled Arjuna for eight days straight but impressed with Arjuna's skill agreed to pay tribute. Bhagadatta was also a great friend of Pandu.

- Vrihanta, the king of Uluka

- Modapura, Vamadeva, Sudaman, Susankula, the Northern Ulukas, and the kings of those countries and peoples

- Devaprastha, the city of Senavindu

- Viswagaswa of Puru's race

- Seven tribes called Utsava-sanketa

- Kshatriyas of Kashmir and also king Lohita along with ten minor chiefs

- Trigartas, the Daravas, the Kokonadas, and various other Kshatriyas

- town of Avisari

- Rochamana ruling in Uraga

- Singhapura adi

- Regions Suhma and Sumala

- Valhikas

- Daradas along with the Kambojas

- Robber tribes that dwelt in the north-eastern regions

- Lohas, the eastern Kambojas, and northern Rishikas

- country of the Limpurushas ruled by Durmaputra

- Harataka

- Various lakes and tanks sacred to the Rishis

- regions ruled by the Gandharvas that lay around the Harataka territories. Here the conqueror took, as tribute from the country, numerous excellent horses called Tittiri, Kalmasha, Manduka.

- North Harivarsha

- city of Sakraprastha

 

EXILE

After Yudhishthira succumbed to Shakuni's challenge in the game of dice, the Pandavas were forced to be in exile for 13 years, which included one year in anonymity.

 

PENANCE FOR PASHUPATASTRA

After the battle at Khandava Indra had promised Arjuna to give him all his weapons as a boon for matching him in battle with the requirement that Shiva is pleased with him. Sensing an impending war with the Kauravas, Sage Vyasa advised Arjuna that he obtain the Pashupatastra from Lord Shiva. Following the advice of Sage Vyasa to go on a meditation or "tapasya" to attain this divine weapon, Arjuna left his brothers for a penance.

 

Arjuna traveled for a while before reaching the mountain Indra keeladri, Vijayawada. Here he sat in meditation in the name of Lord Shiva. Shiva appeared soon enough in the guise of a hunter, who challenged Arjuna to a fight. While being thoroughly dominated by Shiva, Arjuna became confused as to how an ordinary hunter could best a warrior like himself. He prays to Shiva for strength, and then sees the offerings he made to Shiva around the hunter's neck. Shiva was very pleased with the bravery and prowess of the prince. Consequently, Shiva transformed himself to show his real avatar and blessed Arjuna with the Pashupatastra. Shiva lectures Arjuna on the abilities of the weapon, as well as the judgement he must use while wielding it.

 

After Shiva left the Lokapalas appeared before Arjuna and then Kubera, Yama, and Varuna also blessed each of their potent weapons to Arjuna. Indra then invited his son to his palace in heaven.

 

Arjuna was amazed at the splendor of his father's palace at Amaravati. Dancers like Urvashi, Tilottama, Rambha and Menaka entertained him. There was a huge banquet serving different varieties of heavenly dishes. Arjuna learnt song and dance from the Gandharva, Chitrasena and Indra himself taught him all the divine weapons and also gave him his Vajra.

 

REACHING DWARKA AND SUBHADRA

Arjuna moved to other Tirthas, including the southern regions in Kerala. Finally he reached Dwarka, the place where his cousin Krishna resided. Arjuna had, in his childhood, heard about Krishna's sister, Subhadra. Krishna, wishing to further tie their families, knew of Arjuna's visit and devised a plan to arrange their meet. Accordingly, Arjuna disguised himself as a “yati” and stayed at Krishna's palace. Arjuna fell in love with Subhadra and desired to marry her . Because Balarama had already promised Subhadra to his favorite disciple, Duryodhana, Krishna advised Arjuna to kidnap Subhadra. Balarama became furious upon learning of the abduction but is pacified by Krishna, after he showed that the wedding rein was in Sudhadra's hand, which showed her consent. The couple stayed in Dwaraka for a year, and then another year in Pushkar. However, Draupadi had made it clear that no other Pandava wife would be allowed to stay in her city, so Arjun, as per Krishna's advice, tricked Draupadi into meeting Subhadra as a milkmaid. Draupadi realized she had been tricked, but she forgave Subhadra and let her stay in Indra-prastha, allowing her to give company to Arjuna in the four years when he was not with Draupadi. In due course, Arjuna and Subhadra gave birth to a son, Abhimanyu.

 

CONQUEST FOR RAJASUYA

Arjuna was sent north by Yudhishthira to subjugate kingdoms for the Rajasuya Yagya, so that he could be crowned Emperor of Indraprastha. The Mahabharata mentions several kingdoms to the east of Indraprastha which were conquered (or otherwise peacefully bent-the-knee) by Arjuna. Some of them are:

- Bhagadatta of Pragjyotisha- He repelled Arjuna for eight days straight but impressed with Arjuna's skill agreed to pay tribute. Bhagadatta was also a great friend of Pandu.

- Vrihanta, the king of Uluka

- Modapura, Vamadeva, Sudaman, Susankula, the Northern Ulukas, and the kings of those countries and peoples

- Devaprastha, the city of Senavindu

- Viswagaswa of Puru's race

- Seven tribes called Utsava-sanketa

- Kshatriyas of Kashmir and also king Lohita along with ten minor chiefs

- Trigartas, the Daravas, the Kokonadas, and various other Kshatriyas

- town of Avisari

- Rochamana ruling in Uraga

- Singhapura adi

- Regions Suhma and Sumala

- Valhikas

- Daradas along with the Kambojas

- Robber tribes that dwelt in the north-eastern regions

- Lohas, the eastern Kambojas, and northern Rishikas

- country of the Limpurushas ruled by Durmaputra

- Harataka

- Various lakes and tanks sacred to the Rishis

- regions ruled by the Gandharvas that lay around the Harataka territories. Here the conqueror took, as tribute from the country, numerous excellent horses called Tittiri, Kalmasha, Manduka.

- North Harivarsha

- city of Sakraprastha

 

EXILE

After Yudhishthira succumbed to Shakuni's challenge in the game of dice, the Pandavas were forced to be in exile for 13 years, which included one year in anonymity.

 

PENANCE FOR PASHUPATASTRA

After the battle at Khandava Indra had promised Arjuna to give him all his weapons as a boon for matching him in battle with the requirement that Shiva is pleased with him. Sensing an impending war with the Kauravas, Sage Vyasa advised Arjuna that he obtain the Pashupatastra from Lord Shiva. Following the advice of Sage Vyasa to go on a meditation or "tapasya" to attain this divine weapon, Arjuna left his brothers for a penance.

 

Arjuna traveled for a while before reaching the mountain Indra keeladri, Vijayawada. Here he sat in meditation in the name of Lord Shiva. Shiva appeared soon enough in the guise of a hunter, who challenged Arjuna to a fight. While being thoroughly dominated by Shiva, Arjuna became confused as to how an ordinary hunter could best a warrior like himself. He prays to Shiva for strength, and then sees the offerings he made to Shiva around the hunter's neck. Shiva was very pleased with the bravery and prowess of the prince. Consequently, Shiva transformed himself to show his real avatar and blessed Arjuna with the Pashupatastra. Shiva lectures Arjuna on the abilities of the weapon, as well as the judgement he must use while wielding it.

 

After Shiva left the Lokapalas appeared before Arjuna and then Kubera, Yama, and Varuna also blessed each of their potent weapons to Arjuna. Indra then invited his son to his palace in heaven.

 

Arjuna was amazed at the splendor of his father's palace at Amaravati. Dancers like Urvashi, Tilottama, Rambha and Menaka entertained him. There was a huge banquet serving different varieties of heavenly dishes. Arjuna learnt song and dance from the Gandharva, Chitrasena and Indra himself taught him all the divine weapons and also gave him his Vajra.

 

URVASHI´S CURSE

Indra noted the passionate glances exchanged between Arjuna and Urvashi during his stay. However, Arjuna refused her advances, alleging that he had heard of her relationship with his ancestor Pururava, and hence she had the status of a mother, equal in respect to Kunti. Urvashi, annoyed at this, cursed him that he would become a eunuch who would have to live among women, singing and dancing. On Indra's request, and regretting her anger, Urvashi reduced her curse to a period of one year of Arjuna's choice. In some versions of the story, Urvashi curses Arjuna with womanhood, but always reduces the curse to a year's length.

 

NIVATA-KAVACHAS AND HIRANYAPURA

Arjuna gets the opportunity to test his skill when Indra asked him to defeat his enemy as the price of his training. Arjuna was taken to the palace of the Nivata-kavachas, a tribe of Rakshasas who had a magnificent palace under the oceans. Arjuna used the Mohini-astra and the Madhava-astra to demolish these asuras.

 

He was also taken to Hiranyapura, a palace in the sky created by a witch Puloma and his asura tribe of the Kalakanjas. Here Arjuna uses the Raudra-astra and annihilates the demons.

 

MEETING HANUMAN

Continuing his quest, Arjuna visits the site of Rama Setu in Dhanushkodi. There, he openly questions why, if Rama had been such a great archer, he hadn't simply built the bridge out of arrows. Angered at Arjuna's tone and his apparent questioning of Rama's prowess, Hanuman confronts Arjuna in the form of an ordinary monkey and challenges him to prove his superiority by building a bridge of arrows that could bear his (Hanuman's) weight. Tensions escalate until Arjuna pledges to defeat Hanuman or kill himself, going so far as to frivolously use divine weapons to build bridge after bridge, while Hanuman uses his god-given strength to destroy them all. Eventually, Krishna intervenes, chiding Arjuna for his excessive pride and Hanuman for allowing his love of Rama to overcome his pacifism. Regaining his composure, Hanuman pledges to reside in Arjuna's battle standard (flag) during the Kurukshetra war.

 

EUNUCH AT VIRATA´S KINGDOM

Along with his brothers, Arjuna spent his last year of exile in the kingdom of Matsya. This is the place where Urvashi's curse is implemented and Arjuna becomes a eunuch called Brihannala (within themselves Pandavas called him Vijaya).[25] At the palace, he teaches song and dance, qualities he had learnt from Chitrasena [King of the Gandharvas in Devalok], to the King Virata's daughter, Uttarā. Later, Arjuna arranges for Uttara to become his daughter-in-law by marrying his son Abhimanyu to her. At the same time, he prevents Subhadra from marrying Abhimanyu to Balarama's daughter Vatsala, as the Kurus find cousin-cousin marriages taboo. But Arjun and Subhadra are cousins too since Kunti (Arjun's Mother) and Vasudeva (Subhadra's father) are brother and sister.

 

Hearing about the death of Kichaka, Duryodhana surmises that the Pandavas were hiding in Matsya. A host of Kaurava warriors attack Virata, presumably to steal their cattle, but in reality, desiring to pierce the Pandavas' veil of anonymity. Full of bravado, Virata's son Uttar attempts to take on the army by himself while the rest of the Matsya army has been lured away to fight Susharma and the Trigartas. Per Draupadi's suggestion, Uttar takes Brihannala with him, as his charioteer. When he sees the Kaurava army, Uttar loses his nerve and attempts to flee. There, Arjuna reveals his identity and those of his brothers'. Switching places with Uttar, Arjuna takes up the Gandiva and Devadatta. Eager to defend the land that had given him refuge, Arjuna dressed up as Brihannala encountered the legion of Kaurava warriors. Virat war is considered as an interpolation by many schlors.Many versions of Mahabharata do not mention it. In some versions Arjuna was defeated by Bhishma Drona and Karna and Arjuna finally chased duryodhana and defeated him. According to many schlors Virat war is an interpolated medicine to recover the cheater and weak image of Arjuna. Schlors do also argue that if Arjuna defeated the Kaurava army in just half a day then why he had done cheating to kill Bhishma Karna Bhagadatta Bhurisrava and Jayadrath in Kurushetra war.

 

KURUKSHETRA WAR

BHAGAVAD GITA

As the battle draws close, Arjuna is overcome with self-doubt about the righteousness of the war against his own kith and kin. He is distraught at the thought of having to fight with his friends and family such as his dear teacher, Drona and grandsire Bhishma. It was then that Krishna took charge and explained the necessity and inevitability of the war to Arjuna. This conversation is a key part of the Mahabharata known as Bhagavad gita, and is considered as a holy scripture of Hinduism.

 

Arjuna plays the role of the reader in the Bhagavad Gita. As Krishna dispenses the advice, Arjuna asks the questions.

 

The Bhagavad Gita primarily takes the form of a philosophical dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna.

 

BATTLES FOUGHT AT KURUKSHETRA

Arjuna was a key Pandava warrior and played a huge role in the Kurukshetra war. His flag bore the symbol of Hanuman.

 

Some of the crucial battles fought by Arjuna are as follows:

- Death of Bhagadatta: On the thirteenth day when Abhimanyu was slayed. Arjuna was busy fighting Bhagaddata the king of Pragjyotisha who came with a thousand elephants and attacked him. During the battle Bhagaddata shot an irresistible arrow Vaishnavastra which could kill Arjun but he was saved by Krishnas timely intervation. Which fell on Krishna and formed a garland. Bhagadatta was later decapitated by Arjuna's arrow.

- Fall of Bhishma: Throughout the first nine-days of battle, Arjuna was unable to defeat Bhishma. This was partially due to his own reluctance to fight his grandsire, as well as Bhishma's terrific skill. As Krishna became frustrated with Arjuna, he took up arms against Bhishma himself, at least twice. Not wanting history to blame Arjuna for forcing Krishna to break his vow of non-aggression, Arjuna managed to talk Krishna down and fought with renewed vigor. On the tenth day of the war, after asking Bhishma himself how to best defeat him, Arjuna took Shikhandi in his chariot. As Bhishma would not raise weapons against a woman, Arjuna was able to attack Bhishma unimpeded. Tears flowing from his eyes, Arjuna pierced Bhishma's entire body with arrows, eventually forcing Bhishma to fall down with Arjuna's arrows acting as a bed. Per Bhishma's request, he provided a pillow of arrows for his head, as well as water by piercing the earth and allowing Ganga to nourish her son. Bhishma praises Arjuna for this and asks Duryodhana to make peace with the Pandavas.

- Killing of the Trigartas: Attempting to distract him so that Dronacharya could capture Yudhishthira, Susharma and the Trigartas challenged Arjuna to a fight to the death. On the twelfth and thirteenth days of battle, Arjuna killed them to a man. And on the eighteenth day, Arjuna killed Susharma with an arrow which ended the Trigarta saga.

- Death of Jayadratha: Arjuna held Jayadratha responsible for Abhimanyu's death on the thirteenth day of the war. He vowed to kill him the very next day before sunset, failing which he would kill himself by jumping in a pyre. The Kauravas hid Jayadratha from Arjuna in a formation, knowing that Arjuna's death would result in a Kaurava victory. However, Krishna created an artificial eclipse by using his Sudarshana Chakra to hide the sun, forcing Kauravas to believe the day was over and Arjuna's death was imminent. Wishing to mock Arjuna, Jayadratha went to the head of the army in joy, even as the sun emerged from the eclipse. Arjuna makes his arrows to carry away Jayadratha's head. This was because Jayadratha had a boon from his father that whoever would be responsible for his head falling to the ground would have his own head blown up. That is why Arjuna carried the severed head of Jayadratha to his father, who was awoken from his meditation by the sudden landing of a severed head on his body and since he ended up dropping it to the ground, he had his head blown up.

- Death of Karna: Karna and Arjuna were sworn enemies in the epic, each having taken an oath to kill the other in the battle. Anticipating a likely battle to the death between Karna and Arjuna, Krishna warned Arjuna calling Karna to be the foremost of the heroes. Lord Krishna reminded Arjuna about the life, prowess, and past heroic actions of Karna.

 

After the terrible death of Dushassana, Karna decided to personally take on Arjuna and finish him off for once and all. Karna cut his way ruthlessly through the Pandava forces and headed straight for Arjuna. So violet and offensive was Karna's attacks that Arjuna's defenses soon crumbled before it. Karna used Nagastra in an attempt to kill Arjuna, but Krishna saved Arjuna from certain death by lowering the chariot wheel into the earth. Karna and Arjuna then waged a rough war against each other. Karna had Arjuna at his mercy, but spared the latter as the sun was about to set. In some versions, Lord Krishna realized that only a miracle would save Arjuna from death, and he causes the sun to set prematurely.

 

Lord Krishna made plans to kill Karna by deceit and revealed his plan to Arjuna. Lord Krishna told Arjuna that Karna would be defeated while unarmed and distracted, and that Arjuna should not hesitate when Krishna told him to attack.

On the seventeenth day of battle the two foes faced each other once more. This battle between Arjuna and Karna is perhaps the most cataclysmic and awesome of the great epic. The warriors on the battlefield and the devas in heaven watched the battle in speechless amazement and terrified admiration of the strength and skill of these two greatest of warriors. The battle again continued with neither warriors gaining the upper hand; but then Karna's chariot wheel gets stuck in the mud resulting from a prior curse on Karna. Further, owing to a curse Karna received from his guru Parasurama, Karna forgot the mantra to invoke the Brahmanda astra. Karna got down from his chariot to free the wheel and asked Arjuna to pause, reminding him of the etiquette of war. But Krishna reminded Arjuna of all the incidents - Draupadi’s insult, Abhimanyu’s death and the enraged Arjuna attacked Karna while he was trying to lift his sunken chariot wheel. Karna defended himself and invoked Rudraastra against Arjuna and this astra hit Arjuna on his chest. Swooning, Arjuna lost his grip on his bow, Gandiva, which fell down from his hand for the first time. Following the rules of engagement of war, Karna did not try to kill him but instead tried to utilize the time in extracting the wheels of his chariot. Arjuna recovered and using the Anjalika weapon decapitated the weaponless Karna, who was still trying to lift the sunken chariot wheel. Though it was highly forbidden according to the rules of engagement of the war to attack a weaponless warrior or to attack an enemy from the back, Arjuna was spurred by Lord Krishna to do so.

 

CONQUEST FOR ASHVAMEDHA

After the conclusion of the war, the Pandavas take charge of Hastinapura, the undivided realm of their ancestors. Yudhishira appointed Arjuna as the Yuvaraj of Hastinapura.

 

Yudhishthira decided to hold the Ashvamedha Yagna, or "horse sacrifice", to grant them the title of Chakravarti ("Emperor"). Arjuna led the armed forces which followed the horse around its random wanderings. He received the submission of many kings, either without or following an armed confrontation. He was thus instrumental in the expansion of the Pandava domains. Some of the campaigns are as under:

- Uttarapatha, including those of Pragjyotisha, Uluka, Modapura, Vamadeva, Sudaman, Susankula, Northern Uluka, Puru kingdom of Viswagaswa, Utsava-Sanketa, Lohita, Trigarta, Darava, Abhisara, Kokonada, Ursa, Simhapura, Suhma, Sumala, Balhika, Darada, Kamboja.

- Transoxiana region (Sakadvipa or Scythia), the Lohas, Parama Kambojas, Northern Rishikas (or Parama Rishikas), Limpurushas, Haratakas, Gandharvas and the Uttarakurus.

- Trigarta: Ketuvarman and Dhritavarman

- King Vajradatta, son of Bhagadatta

- Saindhava

 

MANIPURA AND DEATH BY BABRUVAHANA

Arjuna went to Manipura, where the king was Babruvahana, his own son with Chitrangadaa. Seeing his father Babruvahana came all the way to receive Arjuna. Arjuna was very upset that Babruvahana did not respect the duties worthy of a King and did not ask for war. He cursed his son as a coward and asked him to prepare for war. In the fight between father and son Babruvahana killed Arjuna, but Ulupi, the snake-princess used the Mritasanjivani, a boon from Ganga Devi to bring Arjuna back to life. It is later stated that the defeat was because of Arjuna's using of Shikhandi to plot Bhishma's death and the unethical killing of Karna.

- Magadha, Rajagriha and King Meghasandhi

- Chedi and other kingdoms

- Kasi, Anga, Kosala, Kirata and Tanga kingdoms. Arjuna accepted due honors from respective rulers.

- Dakarna

- Nishada: Arjuna was able to defeat the Nishada King, the son of Eklavya.

- Andhra people led by Mahishaksha, tribes of Kolwa hills

- Saurashtra, Gokarn city and Prabhaska

- Dwarvati and Vrishni race

- Punjab

- Gandhara

 

ARANMULA PARTHASARATHY TEMPLE

Arjuna built the Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple during his conquest in South India. Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple is one of the "Divya Desams", the 108 temples of Vishnu revered by the 12 poet saints, or Alwars located near Aranmula, a village in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, South India.The temple is dedicated to Parthasarathy, Lord Krishna's role as Arjuna's Charioteer in the Mahabharatha war. Legend has it that Arjuna built this temple, to expiate for the sin of having killed Karna on the battlefield, against the dharma of killing an unarmed enemy.

 

DEATH

After Shri Krishna left his mortal body, Arjuna took the citizens of Dwaraka including 16,000 women that had formed Krishna's harem to Indraprastha. On the way, they were attacked by a group of bandits. Arjuna fought with them but he already lost his divine energy and even lost the power to wield the celestial bow Gandiva. Arjuna forgot all his celestial weapons and soon his inexhaustible quiver become empty due to the disappearance of divine energy owing to the death of Krishna. Arjuna was defeated by mere robbers and in his very sight the ladies of the Vrishnis, Andhakas and the 16000 wives of Krishna were taken away.

 

Upon the onset of the Kali yuga and as per the advice of Vyasa, Arjuna and other Pandavas retired, leaving the throne to their only descendant to survive the war of Kurukshetra, Arjuna's grandson Parikshit. Giving up all their belongings and ties, the Pandavas, accompanied by a dog, made their final journey of pilgrimage to the Himalayas. It is also to be noted that the listener of the Mahabharata is Janamejaya, Parkishit's son.

 

Except for Yudhishthira, all of the Pandavas grew weak and died before reaching heaven (only Yudhishthira is allowed to keep his mortal body). Arjuna was the fourth one to fall after Draupadi, Sahadeva and Nakula. When Bhima asks Yudhishthira why Arjuna isn't permitted the same, the reason given is Arjuna's extreme pride in his skills as an archer. Draupadi also falls because while she claimed to love all the Pandavas equally, she had a soft spot for Arjuna.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

Arjuna is one of the most popular choices of name for Hindu male child in the Indian subcontinent. As per the verses in Harivamsha or Harivamsha purana, the name Arjuna is cursed by sage Parashurama. After the defeat of mighty evil king Kartavirya Arjuna or otherwise called Sahasra Arjuna, sage Parashurama cursed that who ever holds the name Arjuna will never become a king and always be a servant of others.

 

MODERN REFERENCES

Arjuna's extraordinary talents and skills have made him a common name in popular culture.

 

- The American astronomer Tom Gehrels named a class of asteroids with low inclination, low eccentricity and earth-like orbital period as Arjuna asteroids.

- The Arjuna Award is presented every year in India to one talented sportsman in every national sport.

- Arjun is a third generation main battle tank developed for the Indian Army.

- Mayilpeeli Thookkam is a ritual art of dance performed in the temples of Kerala. It is also known as Arjuna Nrithyam (lit. Arjuna's dance) as a tribute to his dancing abilities.

 

There have been a serial and a film based on Arjuna's life and exploits.

- Earth Maiden Arjuna is a Japanese animated television series created by Shoji Kawamori. This series is based on Arjuna and the Mahabharata. Arjuna: Into the Another World is the soundtrack produced for the series.

- Arjun: The Warrior Prince is a 2012 mythological action film narrating the events in Arjuna's life.

 

Additionally, the protagonist in Steven Pressfield's book The Legend of Bagger Vance, Rannulph Junuh, is based in part on Arjuna (R. Junuh).

 

IN MODERN TELEVISION

In B.R.Chopra's Mahabharat, Arjuna's role is played by Arjun (Firoz Khan).

 

In 2013 Mahabharat Television series, Arjuna is portrayed by Shaheer Sheikh.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Housesteads Roman Fort is the remains of an auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall, at Housesteads, Northumberland, England, south of Broomlee Lough. The fort was built in stone around AD 124, soon after the construction of the wall began in AD 122 when the area was part of the Roman province of Britannia. Its name has been variously given as Vercovicium, Borcovicus, Borcovicium, and Velurtion. The 18th-century farmhouse Housesteads gives the modern name. The site is owned by the National Trust and is in the care of English Heritage. Finds can be seen at the site, in the museum at Chesters, and in the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle upon Tyne.

 

Hadrian's Wall was begun in AD 122. A fort was built in stone at the Housesteads Roman Fort site around AD 124 overlying the original Broad Wall foundation and Turret 36B, about two miles north east of an existing fort at Vindolanda. The fort was repaired and rebuilt several times, its northern defences being particularly prone to collapse. A substantial civil settlement (vicus) existed to the south, outside the fort, and some of the stone foundations can still be seen, including the so-called "Murder House", where two skeletons were found beneath an apparently newly-laid floor when excavated.

 

In the 2nd century AD, the garrison consisted of an unknown double-sized auxiliary infantry cohort and a detachment of legionaries from Legio II Augusta. In the 3rd century, it comprised Cohors I Tungrorum, augmented by the numerus Hnaudifridi and the Cuneus Frisiorum, a Frisian cavalry unit, cuneus referring to a wedge formation. The Tungrians were still there in the 4th century, according to the Notitia Dignitatum. By 409 AD the Romans had withdrawn.

  

The northern granary at Vercovicium, looking east. The pillars supported a raised floor to keep food dry and free from vermin. They are not part of a hypocaust.

 

The latrines at Housesteads on Hadrian's Wall, hygienically placed at the lowest corner of the fort. The water tank at left still has original lead sealing between its slabs.

Most other early forts straddle the Wall and therefore protrude into barbarian territory. It is also unusual for Britain in that it has no running water supply and is dependent upon rainwater collection (for which purpose there is a series of large stone-lined tanks around the periphery of the defences). It also has one of the best-preserved stone latrines in Roman Britain.

 

The name of the fort has been given as Borcovicus, Borcovicium, and Velurtion. An inscription found at Housesteads with the letters VER, is believed to be short for Ver(covicianorum) – the letters ver being interchangeable with bor in later Latin. The name of the 18th-century farmhouse of Housesteads provides the modern name.

 

The site is now owned by the National Trust and is currently in the care of English Heritage. Finds from Vercovicium can be seen in the site museum, in the museum at Chesters, and in the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle upon Tyne.

 

Housesteads is a former farm whose lands include the ruins of the fort. In 1604 Hugh Nixon, "Stealer of cattle and receiver of stolen goods", became the tenant of Housesteads farm. From 1663, Housesteads was the home of the Armstrongs, a notorious family of Border Reivers. Nicholas Armstrong bought the farm in 1692, only to have to sell it again in 1694 to Thomas Gibson of Hexham for the sum of £485. They remained as tenants. They were a well-known band of horse thieves and cattle rustlers who used the old fort as a place to hold the stolen horses and cattle. They traded as far afield as Aberdeen and the south of England. At one time every male member of the family was said to have been a 'broken man', formally outlawed by English or Scottish authorities. Nicholas was hanged in 1704, and his brothers fled to America. The Armstrongs lived in a typical 16th-century defensive bastle house of two storeys: the ground floor for livestock and the upper level for living quarters. Its ruins remain built up against the south gate of the Roman fort, with external stone steps and narrow loop windows. A corn-drying kiln was inserted into the gate's guard chamber in the 17th century.

 

In 1698, the farm had been sold to Thomas Gibson who turned the land around the fort to agriculture and thus ploughed up numerous Roman artefacts. The 17th-century bastle house was replaced by a farmhouse located over the Roman hospital, which was sketched by William Stukeley in 1725. Throughout the 18th century Housesteads was farmed by a single tenant farming family. Since Hodgson recorded the presence of William Magnay as the tenant during that period this fixes the tenure. In particular, the well (thought to be Roman) was documented as having actually been built by William, and used by the family as a bath. Interest in the fort increased in the 19th century, particularly after the farm was purchased by the amateur historian John Clayton in 1838, to add to his collection of Roman Wall farms. The Roman site was cleared of later buildings by Clayton, and the present farmhouse built about 1860. John Maurice Clayton attempted to auction the fort in 1929. It did not reach its reserve and was donated to the National Trust in 1930. The farm was later owned by the Trevelyans who gave the land for the site museum.

 

Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of Britannia after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410.

 

Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC as part of his Gallic Wars. According to Caesar, the Britons had been overrun or culturally assimilated by the Belgae during the British Iron Age and had been aiding Caesar's enemies. The Belgae were the only Celtic tribe to cross the sea into Britain, for to all other Celtic tribes this land was unknown. He received tribute, installed the friendly king Mandubracius over the Trinovantes, and returned to Gaul. Planned invasions under Augustus were called off in 34, 27, and 25 BC. In 40 AD, Caligula assembled 200,000 men at the Channel on the continent, only to have them gather seashells (musculi) according to Suetonius, perhaps as a symbolic gesture to proclaim Caligula's victory over the sea. Three years later, Claudius directed four legions to invade Britain and restore the exiled king Verica over the Atrebates. The Romans defeated the Catuvellauni, and then organized their conquests as the province of Britain. By 47 AD, the Romans held the lands southeast of the Fosse Way. Control over Wales was delayed by reverses and the effects of Boudica's uprising, but the Romans expanded steadily northward.

 

The conquest of Britain continued under command of Gnaeus Julius Agricola (77–84), who expanded the Roman Empire as far as Caledonia. In mid-84 AD, Agricola faced the armies of the Caledonians, led by Calgacus, at the Battle of Mons Graupius. Battle casualties were estimated by Tacitus to be upwards of 10,000 on the Caledonian side and about 360 on the Roman side. The bloodbath at Mons Graupius concluded the forty-year conquest of Britain, a period that possibly saw between 100,000 and 250,000 Britons killed. In the context of pre-industrial warfare and of a total population of Britain of c. 2 million, these are very high figures.

 

Under the 2nd-century emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, two walls were built to defend the Roman province from the Caledonians, whose realms in the Scottish Highlands were never controlled. Around 197 AD, the Severan Reforms divided Britain into two provinces: Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior. During the Diocletian Reforms, at the end of the 3rd century, Britannia was divided into four provinces under the direction of a vicarius, who administered the Diocese of the Britains. A fifth province, Valentia, is attested in the later 4th century. For much of the later period of the Roman occupation, Britannia was subject to barbarian invasions and often came under the control of imperial usurpers and imperial pretenders. The final Roman withdrawal from Britain occurred around 410; the native kingdoms are considered to have formed Sub-Roman Britain after that.

 

Following the conquest of the Britons, a distinctive Romano-British culture emerged as the Romans introduced improved agriculture, urban planning, industrial production, and architecture. The Roman goddess Britannia became the female personification of Britain. After the initial invasions, Roman historians generally only mention Britain in passing. Thus, most present knowledge derives from archaeological investigations and occasional epigraphic evidence lauding the Britannic achievements of an emperor. Roman citizens settled in Britain from many parts of the Empire.

 

History

Britain was known to the Classical world. The Greeks, the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians traded for Cornish tin in the 4th century BC. The Greeks referred to the Cassiterides, or "tin islands", and placed them near the west coast of Europe. The Carthaginian sailor Himilco is said to have visited the island in the 6th or 5th century BC and the Greek explorer Pytheas in the 4th. It was regarded as a place of mystery, with some writers refusing to believe it existed.

 

The first direct Roman contact was when Julius Caesar undertook two expeditions in 55 and 54 BC, as part of his conquest of Gaul, believing the Britons were helping the Gallic resistance. The first expedition was more a reconnaissance than a full invasion and gained a foothold on the coast of Kent but was unable to advance further because of storm damage to the ships and a lack of cavalry. Despite the military failure, it was a political success, with the Roman Senate declaring a 20-day public holiday in Rome to honour the unprecedented achievement of obtaining hostages from Britain and defeating Belgic tribes on returning to the continent.

 

The second invasion involved a substantially larger force and Caesar coerced or invited many of the native Celtic tribes to pay tribute and give hostages in return for peace. A friendly local king, Mandubracius, was installed, and his rival, Cassivellaunus, was brought to terms. Hostages were taken, but historians disagree over whether any tribute was paid after Caesar returned to Gaul.

 

Caesar conquered no territory and left no troops behind, but he established clients and brought Britain into Rome's sphere of influence. Augustus planned invasions in 34, 27 and 25 BC, but circumstances were never favourable, and the relationship between Britain and Rome settled into one of diplomacy and trade. Strabo, writing late in Augustus's reign, claimed that taxes on trade brought in more annual revenue than any conquest could. Archaeology shows that there was an increase in imported luxury goods in southeastern Britain. Strabo also mentions British kings who sent embassies to Augustus, and Augustus's own Res Gestae refers to two British kings he received as refugees. When some of Tiberius's ships were carried to Britain in a storm during his campaigns in Germany in 16 AD, they came back with tales of monsters.

 

Rome appears to have encouraged a balance of power in southern Britain, supporting two powerful kingdoms: the Catuvellauni, ruled by the descendants of Tasciovanus, and the Atrebates, ruled by the descendants of Commius. This policy was followed until 39 or 40 AD, when Caligula received an exiled member of the Catuvellaunian dynasty and planned an invasion of Britain that collapsed in farcical circumstances before it left Gaul. When Claudius successfully invaded in 43 AD, it was in aid of another fugitive British ruler, Verica of the Atrebates.

 

Roman invasion

The invasion force in 43 AD was led by Aulus Plautius,[26] but it is unclear how many legions were sent. The Legio II Augusta, commanded by future emperor Vespasian, was the only one directly attested to have taken part. The Legio IX Hispana, the XIV Gemina (later styled Martia Victrix) and the XX (later styled Valeria Victrix) are known to have served during the Boudican Revolt of 60/61, and were probably there since the initial invasion. This is not certain because the Roman army was flexible, with units being moved around whenever necessary. The IX Hispana may have been permanently stationed, with records showing it at Eboracum (York) in 71 and on a building inscription there dated 108, before being destroyed in the east of the Empire, possibly during the Bar Kokhba revolt.

 

The invasion was delayed by a troop mutiny until an imperial freedman persuaded them to overcome their fear of crossing the Ocean and campaigning beyond the limits of the known world. They sailed in three divisions, and probably landed at Richborough in Kent; at least part of the force may have landed near Fishbourne, West Sussex.

 

The Catuvellauni and their allies were defeated in two battles: the first, assuming a Richborough landing, on the river Medway, the second on the river Thames. One of their leaders, Togodumnus, was killed, but his brother Caratacus survived to continue resistance elsewhere. Plautius halted at the Thames and sent for Claudius, who arrived with reinforcements, including artillery and elephants, for the final march to the Catuvellaunian capital, Camulodunum (Colchester). Vespasian subdued the southwest, Cogidubnus was set up as a friendly king of several territories, and treaties were made with tribes outside direct Roman control.

 

Establishment of Roman rule

After capturing the south of the island, the Romans turned their attention to what is now Wales. The Silures, Ordovices and Deceangli remained implacably opposed to the invaders and for the first few decades were the focus of Roman military attention, despite occasional minor revolts among Roman allies like the Brigantes and the Iceni. The Silures were led by Caratacus, and he carried out an effective guerrilla campaign against Governor Publius Ostorius Scapula. Finally, in 51, Ostorius lured Caratacus into a set-piece battle and defeated him. The British leader sought refuge among the Brigantes, but their queen, Cartimandua, proved her loyalty by surrendering him to the Romans. He was brought as a captive to Rome, where a dignified speech he made during Claudius's triumph persuaded the emperor to spare his life. The Silures were still not pacified, and Cartimandua's ex-husband Venutius replaced Caratacus as the most prominent leader of British resistance.

 

On Nero's accession, Roman Britain extended as far north as Lindum. Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, the conqueror of Mauretania (modern day Algeria and Morocco), then became governor of Britain, and in 60 and 61 he moved against Mona (Anglesey) to settle accounts with Druidism once and for all. Paulinus led his army across the Menai Strait and massacred the Druids and burnt their sacred groves.

 

While Paulinus was campaigning in Mona, the southeast of Britain rose in revolt under the leadership of Boudica. She was the widow of the recently deceased king of the Iceni, Prasutagus. The Roman historian Tacitus reports that Prasutagus had left a will leaving half his kingdom to Nero in the hope that the remainder would be left untouched. He was wrong. When his will was enforced, Rome[clarification needed] responded by violently seizing the tribe's lands in full. Boudica protested. In consequence, Rome[clarification needed] punished her and her daughters by flogging and rape. In response, the Iceni, joined by the Trinovantes, destroyed the Roman colony at Camulodunum (Colchester) and routed the part of the IXth Legion that was sent to relieve it. Paulinus rode to London (then called Londinium), the rebels' next target, but concluded it could not be defended. Abandoned, it was destroyed, as was Verulamium (St. Albans). Between seventy and eighty thousand people are said to have been killed in the three cities. But Paulinus regrouped with two of the three legions still available to him, chose a battlefield, and, despite being outnumbered by more than twenty to one, defeated the rebels in the Battle of Watling Street. Boudica died not long afterwards, by self-administered poison or by illness. During this time, the Emperor Nero considered withdrawing Roman forces from Britain altogether.

 

There was further turmoil in 69, the "Year of the Four Emperors". As civil war raged in Rome, weak governors were unable to control the legions in Britain, and Venutius of the Brigantes seized his chance. The Romans had previously defended Cartimandua against him, but this time were unable to do so. Cartimandua was evacuated, and Venutius was left in control of the north of the country. After Vespasian secured the empire, his first two appointments as governor, Quintus Petillius Cerialis and Sextus Julius Frontinus, took on the task of subduing the Brigantes and Silures respectively.[38] Frontinus extended Roman rule to all of South Wales, and initiated exploitation of the mineral resources, such as the gold mines at Dolaucothi.

 

In the following years, the Romans conquered more of the island, increasing the size of Roman Britain. Governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola, father-in-law to the historian Tacitus, conquered the Ordovices in 78. With the XX Valeria Victrix legion, Agricola defeated the Caledonians in 84 at the Battle of Mons Graupius, in north-east Scotland. This was the high-water mark of Roman territory in Britain: shortly after his victory, Agricola was recalled from Britain back to Rome, and the Romans initially retired to a more defensible line along the Forth–Clyde isthmus, freeing soldiers badly needed along other frontiers.

 

For much of the history of Roman Britain, a large number of soldiers were garrisoned on the island. This required that the emperor station a trusted senior man as governor of the province. As a result, many future emperors served as governors or legates in this province, including Vespasian, Pertinax, and Gordian I.

 

Roman military organisation in the north

In 84 AD

In 84 AD

 

In 155 AD

In 155 AD

 

Hadrian's Wall, and Antonine Wall

There is no historical source describing the decades that followed Agricola's recall. Even the name of his replacement is unknown. Archaeology has shown that some Roman forts south of the Forth–Clyde isthmus were rebuilt and enlarged; others appear to have been abandoned. By 87 the frontier had been consolidated on the Stanegate. Roman coins and pottery have been found circulating at native settlement sites in the Scottish Lowlands in the years before 100, indicating growing Romanisation. Some of the most important sources for this era are the writing tablets from the fort at Vindolanda in Northumberland, mostly dating to 90–110. These tablets provide evidence for the operation of a Roman fort at the edge of the Roman Empire, where officers' wives maintained polite society while merchants, hauliers and military personnel kept the fort operational and supplied.

 

Around 105 there appears to have been a serious setback at the hands of the tribes of the Picts: several Roman forts were destroyed by fire, with human remains and damaged armour at Trimontium (at modern Newstead, in SE Scotland) indicating hostilities at least at that site.[citation needed] There is also circumstantial evidence that auxiliary reinforcements were sent from Germany, and an unnamed British war of the period is mentioned on the gravestone of a tribune of Cyrene. Trajan's Dacian Wars may have led to troop reductions in the area or even total withdrawal followed by slighting of the forts by the Picts rather than an unrecorded military defeat. The Romans were also in the habit of destroying their own forts during an orderly withdrawal, in order to deny resources to an enemy. In either case, the frontier probably moved south to the line of the Stanegate at the Solway–Tyne isthmus around this time.

 

A new crisis occurred at the beginning of Hadrian's reign): a rising in the north which was suppressed by Quintus Pompeius Falco. When Hadrian reached Britannia on his famous tour of the Roman provinces around 120, he directed an extensive defensive wall, known to posterity as Hadrian's Wall, to be built close to the line of the Stanegate frontier. Hadrian appointed Aulus Platorius Nepos as governor to undertake this work who brought the Legio VI Victrix legion with him from Germania Inferior. This replaced the famous Legio IX Hispana, whose disappearance has been much discussed. Archaeology indicates considerable political instability in Scotland during the first half of the 2nd century, and the shifting frontier at this time should be seen in this context.

 

In the reign of Antoninus Pius (138–161) the Hadrianic border was briefly extended north to the Forth–Clyde isthmus, where the Antonine Wall was built around 142 following the military reoccupation of the Scottish lowlands by a new governor, Quintus Lollius Urbicus.

 

The first Antonine occupation of Scotland ended as a result of a further crisis in 155–157, when the Brigantes revolted. With limited options to despatch reinforcements, the Romans moved their troops south, and this rising was suppressed by Governor Gnaeus Julius Verus. Within a year the Antonine Wall was recaptured, but by 163 or 164 it was abandoned. The second occupation was probably connected with Antoninus's undertakings to protect the Votadini or his pride in enlarging the empire, since the retreat to the Hadrianic frontier occurred not long after his death when a more objective strategic assessment of the benefits of the Antonine Wall could be made. The Romans did not entirely withdraw from Scotland at this time: the large fort at Newstead was maintained along with seven smaller outposts until at least 180.

 

During the twenty-year period following the reversion of the frontier to Hadrian's Wall in 163/4, Rome was concerned with continental issues, primarily problems in the Danubian provinces. Increasing numbers of hoards of buried coins in Britain at this time indicate that peace was not entirely achieved. Sufficient Roman silver has been found in Scotland to suggest more than ordinary trade, and it is likely that the Romans were reinforcing treaty agreements by paying tribute to their implacable enemies, the Picts.

 

In 175, a large force of Sarmatian cavalry, consisting of 5,500 men, arrived in Britannia, probably to reinforce troops fighting unrecorded uprisings. In 180, Hadrian's Wall was breached by the Picts and the commanding officer or governor was killed there in what Cassius Dio described as the most serious war of the reign of Commodus. Ulpius Marcellus was sent as replacement governor and by 184 he had won a new peace, only to be faced with a mutiny from his own troops. Unhappy with Marcellus's strictness, they tried to elect a legate named Priscus as usurper governor; he refused, but Marcellus was lucky to leave the province alive. The Roman army in Britannia continued its insubordination: they sent a delegation of 1,500 to Rome to demand the execution of Tigidius Perennis, a Praetorian prefect who they felt had earlier wronged them by posting lowly equites to legate ranks in Britannia. Commodus met the party outside Rome and agreed to have Perennis killed, but this only made them feel more secure in their mutiny.

 

The future emperor Pertinax (lived 126–193) was sent to Britannia to quell the mutiny and was initially successful in regaining control, but a riot broke out among the troops. Pertinax was attacked and left for dead, and asked to be recalled to Rome, where he briefly succeeded Commodus as emperor in 192.

 

3rd century

The death of Commodus put into motion a series of events which eventually led to civil war. Following the short reign of Pertinax, several rivals for the emperorship emerged, including Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus. The latter was the new governor of Britannia, and had seemingly won the natives over after their earlier rebellions; he also controlled three legions, making him a potentially significant claimant. His sometime rival Severus promised him the title of Caesar in return for Albinus's support against Pescennius Niger in the east. Once Niger was neutralised, Severus turned on his ally in Britannia; it is likely that Albinus saw he would be the next target and was already preparing for war.

 

Albinus crossed to Gaul in 195, where the provinces were also sympathetic to him, and set up at Lugdunum. Severus arrived in February 196, and the ensuing battle was decisive. Albinus came close to victory, but Severus's reinforcements won the day, and the British governor committed suicide. Severus soon purged Albinus's sympathisers and perhaps confiscated large tracts of land in Britain as punishment. Albinus had demonstrated the major problem posed by Roman Britain. In order to maintain security, the province required the presence of three legions, but command of these forces provided an ideal power base for ambitious rivals. Deploying those legions elsewhere would strip the island of its garrison, leaving the province defenceless against uprisings by the native Celtic tribes and against invasion by the Picts and Scots.

 

The traditional view is that northern Britain descended into anarchy during Albinus's absence. Cassius Dio records that the new Governor, Virius Lupus, was obliged to buy peace from a fractious northern tribe known as the Maeatae. The succession of militarily distinguished governors who were subsequently appointed suggests that enemies of Rome were posing a difficult challenge, and Lucius Alfenus Senecio's report to Rome in 207 describes barbarians "rebelling, over-running the land, taking loot and creating destruction". In order to rebel, of course, one must be a subject – the Maeatae clearly did not consider themselves such. Senecio requested either reinforcements or an Imperial expedition, and Severus chose the latter, despite being 62 years old. Archaeological evidence shows that Senecio had been rebuilding the defences of Hadrian's Wall and the forts beyond it, and Severus's arrival in Britain prompted the enemy tribes to sue for peace immediately. The emperor had not come all that way to leave without a victory, and it is likely that he wished to provide his teenage sons Caracalla and Geta with first-hand experience of controlling a hostile barbarian land.

 

Northern campaigns, 208–211

An invasion of Caledonia led by Severus and probably numbering around 20,000 troops moved north in 208 or 209, crossing the Wall and passing through eastern Scotland on a route similar to that used by Agricola. Harried by punishing guerrilla raids by the northern tribes and slowed by an unforgiving terrain, Severus was unable to meet the Caledonians on a battlefield. The emperor's forces pushed north as far as the River Tay, but little appears to have been achieved by the invasion, as peace treaties were signed with the Caledonians. By 210 Severus had returned to York, and the frontier had once again become Hadrian's Wall. He assumed the title Britannicus but the title meant little with regard to the unconquered north, which clearly remained outside the authority of the Empire. Almost immediately, another northern tribe, the Maeatae, went to war. Caracalla left with a punitive expedition, but by the following year his ailing father had died and he and his brother left the province to press their claim to the throne.

 

As one of his last acts, Severus tried to solve the problem of powerful and rebellious governors in Britain by dividing the province into Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior. This kept the potential for rebellion in check for almost a century. Historical sources provide little information on the following decades, a period known as the Long Peace. Even so, the number of buried hoards found from this period rises, suggesting continuing unrest. A string of forts were built along the coast of southern Britain to control piracy; and over the following hundred years they increased in number, becoming the Saxon Shore Forts.

 

During the middle of the 3rd century, the Roman Empire was convulsed by barbarian invasions, rebellions and new imperial pretenders. Britannia apparently avoided these troubles, but increasing inflation had its economic effect. In 259 a so-called Gallic Empire was established when Postumus rebelled against Gallienus. Britannia was part of this until 274 when Aurelian reunited the empire.

 

Around the year 280, a half-British officer named Bonosus was in command of the Roman's Rhenish fleet when the Germans managed to burn it at anchor. To avoid punishment, he proclaimed himself emperor at Colonia Agrippina (Cologne) but was crushed by Marcus Aurelius Probus. Soon afterwards, an unnamed governor of one of the British provinces also attempted an uprising. Probus put it down by sending irregular troops of Vandals and Burgundians across the Channel.

 

The Carausian Revolt led to a short-lived Britannic Empire from 286 to 296. Carausius was a Menapian naval commander of the Britannic fleet; he revolted upon learning of a death sentence ordered by the emperor Maximian on charges of having abetted Frankish and Saxon pirates and having embezzled recovered treasure. He consolidated control over all the provinces of Britain and some of northern Gaul while Maximian dealt with other uprisings. An invasion in 288 failed to unseat him and an uneasy peace ensued, with Carausius issuing coins and inviting official recognition. In 293, the junior emperor Constantius Chlorus launched a second offensive, besieging the rebel port of Gesoriacum (Boulogne-sur-Mer) by land and sea. After it fell, Constantius attacked Carausius's other Gallic holdings and Frankish allies and Carausius was usurped by his treasurer, Allectus. Julius Asclepiodotus landed an invasion fleet near Southampton and defeated Allectus in a land battle.

 

Diocletian's reforms

As part of Diocletian's reforms, the provinces of Roman Britain were organized as a diocese governed by a vicarius under a praetorian prefect who, from 318 to 331, was Junius Bassus who was based at Augusta Treverorum (Trier).

 

The vicarius was based at Londinium as the principal city of the diocese. Londinium and Eboracum continued as provincial capitals and the territory was divided up into smaller provinces for administrative efficiency.

 

Civilian and military authority of a province was no longer exercised by one official and the governor was stripped of military command which was handed over to the Dux Britanniarum by 314. The governor of a province assumed more financial duties (the procurators of the Treasury ministry were slowly phased out in the first three decades of the 4th century). The Dux was commander of the troops of the Northern Region, primarily along Hadrian's Wall and his responsibilities included protection of the frontier. He had significant autonomy due in part to the distance from his superiors.

 

The tasks of the vicarius were to control and coordinate the activities of governors; monitor but not interfere with the daily functioning of the Treasury and Crown Estates, which had their own administrative infrastructure; and act as the regional quartermaster-general of the armed forces. In short, as the sole civilian official with superior authority, he had general oversight of the administration, as well as direct control, while not absolute, over governors who were part of the prefecture; the other two fiscal departments were not.

 

The early-4th-century Verona List, the late-4th-century work of Sextus Rufus, and the early-5th-century List of Offices and work of Polemius Silvius all list four provinces by some variation of the names Britannia I, Britannia II, Maxima Caesariensis, and Flavia Caesariensis; all of these seem to have initially been directed by a governor (praeses) of equestrian rank. The 5th-century sources list a fifth province named Valentia and give its governor and Maxima's a consular rank. Ammianus mentions Valentia as well, describing its creation by Count Theodosius in 369 after the quelling of the Great Conspiracy. Ammianus considered it a re-creation of a formerly lost province, leading some to think there had been an earlier fifth province under another name (may be the enigmatic "Vespasiana"), and leading others to place Valentia beyond Hadrian's Wall, in the territory abandoned south of the Antonine Wall.

 

Reconstructions of the provinces and provincial capitals during this period partially rely on ecclesiastical records. On the assumption that the early bishoprics mimicked the imperial hierarchy, scholars use the list of bishops for the 314 Council of Arles. The list is patently corrupt: the British delegation is given as including a Bishop "Eborius" of Eboracum and two bishops "from Londinium" (one de civitate Londinensi and the other de civitate colonia Londinensium). The error is variously emended: Bishop Ussher proposed Colonia, Selden Col. or Colon. Camalodun., and Spelman Colonia Cameloduni (all various names of Colchester); Gale and Bingham offered colonia Lindi and Henry Colonia Lindum (both Lincoln); and Bishop Stillingfleet and Francis Thackeray read it as a scribal error of Civ. Col. Londin. for an original Civ. Col. Leg. II (Caerleon). On the basis of the Verona List, the priest and deacon who accompanied the bishops in some manuscripts are ascribed to the fourth province.

 

In the 12th century, Gerald of Wales described the supposedly metropolitan sees of the early British church established by the legendary SS Fagan and "Duvian". He placed Britannia Prima in Wales and western England with its capital at "Urbs Legionum" (Caerleon); Britannia Secunda in Kent and southern England with its capital at "Dorobernia" (Canterbury); Flavia in Mercia and central England with its capital at "Lundonia" (London); "Maximia" in northern England with its capital at Eboracum (York); and Valentia in "Albania which is now Scotland" with its capital at St Andrews. Modern scholars generally dispute the last: some place Valentia at or beyond Hadrian's Wall but St Andrews is beyond even the Antonine Wall and Gerald seems to have simply been supporting the antiquity of its church for political reasons.

 

A common modern reconstruction places the consular province of Maxima at Londinium, on the basis of its status as the seat of the diocesan vicarius; places Prima in the west according to Gerald's traditional account but moves its capital to Corinium of the Dobunni (Cirencester) on the basis of an artifact recovered there referring to Lucius Septimius, a provincial rector; places Flavia north of Maxima, with its capital placed at Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to match one emendation of the bishops list from Arles;[d] and places Secunda in the north with its capital at Eboracum (York). Valentia is placed variously in northern Wales around Deva (Chester); beside Hadrian's Wall around Luguvalium (Carlisle); and between the walls along Dere Street.

 

4th century

Emperor Constantius returned to Britain in 306, despite his poor health, with an army aiming to invade northern Britain, the provincial defences having been rebuilt in the preceding years. Little is known of his campaigns with scant archaeological evidence, but fragmentary historical sources suggest he reached the far north of Britain and won a major battle in early summer before returning south. His son Constantine (later Constantine the Great) spent a year in northern Britain at his father's side, campaigning against the Picts beyond Hadrian's Wall in the summer and autumn. Constantius died in York in July 306 with his son at his side. Constantine then successfully used Britain as the starting point of his march to the imperial throne, unlike the earlier usurper, Albinus.

 

In the middle of the century, the province was loyal for a few years to the usurper Magnentius, who succeeded Constans following the latter's death. After the defeat and death of Magnentius in the Battle of Mons Seleucus in 353, Constantius II dispatched his chief imperial notary Paulus Catena to Britain to hunt down Magnentius's supporters. The investigation deteriorated into a witch-hunt, which forced the vicarius Flavius Martinus to intervene. When Paulus retaliated by accusing Martinus of treason, the vicarius attacked Paulus with a sword, with the aim of assassinating him, but in the end he committed suicide.

 

As the 4th century progressed, there were increasing attacks from the Saxons in the east and the Scoti (Irish) in the west. A series of forts had been built, starting around 280, to defend the coasts, but these preparations were not enough when, in 367, a general assault of Saxons, Picts, Scoti and Attacotti, combined with apparent dissension in the garrison on Hadrian's Wall, left Roman Britain prostrate. The invaders overwhelmed the entire western and northern regions of Britannia and the cities were sacked. This crisis, sometimes called the Barbarian Conspiracy or the Great Conspiracy, was settled by Count Theodosius from 368 with a string of military and civil reforms. Theodosius crossed from Bononia (Boulogne-sur-Mer) and marched on Londinium where he began to deal with the invaders and made his base.[ An amnesty was promised to deserters which enabled Theodosius to regarrison abandoned forts. By the end of the year Hadrian's Wall was retaken and order returned. Considerable reorganization was undertaken in Britain, including the creation of a new province named Valentia, probably to better address the state of the far north. A new Dux Britanniarum was appointed, Dulcitius, with Civilis to head a new civilian administration.

 

Another imperial usurper, Magnus Maximus, raised the standard of revolt at Segontium (Caernarfon) in north Wales in 383, and crossed the English Channel. Maximus held much of the western empire, and fought a successful campaign against the Picts and Scots around 384. His continental exploits required troops from Britain, and it appears that forts at Chester and elsewhere were abandoned in this period, triggering raids and settlement in north Wales by the Irish. His rule was ended in 388, but not all the British troops may have returned: the Empire's military resources were stretched to the limit along the Rhine and Danube. Around 396 there were more barbarian incursions into Britain. Stilicho led a punitive expedition. It seems peace was restored by 399, and it is likely that no further garrisoning was ordered; by 401 more troops were withdrawn, to assist in the war against Alaric I.

 

End of Roman rule

The traditional view of historians, informed by the work of Michael Rostovtzeff, was of a widespread economic decline at the beginning of the 5th century. Consistent archaeological evidence has told another story, and the accepted view is undergoing re-evaluation. Some features are agreed: more opulent but fewer urban houses, an end to new public building and some abandonment of existing ones, with the exception of defensive structures, and the widespread formation of "dark earth" deposits indicating increased horticulture within urban precincts. Turning over the basilica at Silchester to industrial uses in the late 3rd century, doubtless officially condoned, marks an early stage in the de-urbanisation of Roman Britain.

 

The abandonment of some sites is now believed to be later than had been thought. Many buildings changed use but were not destroyed. There was a growing number of barbarian attacks, but these targeted vulnerable rural settlements rather than towns. Some villas such as Chedworth, Great Casterton in Rutland and Hucclecote in Gloucestershire had new mosaic floors laid around this time, suggesting that economic problems may have been limited and patchy. Many suffered some decay before being abandoned in the 5th century; the story of Saint Patrick indicates that villas were still occupied until at least 430. Exceptionally, new buildings were still going up in this period in Verulamium and Cirencester. Some urban centres, for example Canterbury, Cirencester, Wroxeter, Winchester and Gloucester, remained active during the 5th and 6th centuries, surrounded by large farming estates.

 

Urban life had generally grown less intense by the fourth quarter of the 4th century, and coins minted between 378 and 388 are very rare, indicating a likely combination of economic decline, diminishing numbers of troops, problems with the payment of soldiers and officials or with unstable conditions during the usurpation of Magnus Maximus 383–87. Coinage circulation increased during the 390s, but never attained the levels of earlier decades. Copper coins are very rare after 402, though minted silver and gold coins from hoards indicate they were still present in the province even if they were not being spent. By 407 there were very few new Roman coins going into circulation, and by 430 it is likely that coinage as a medium of exchange had been abandoned. Mass-produced wheel thrown pottery ended at approximately the same time; the rich continued to use metal and glass vessels, while the poor made do with humble "grey ware" or resorted to leather or wooden containers.

 

Sub-Roman Britain

Towards the end of the 4th century Roman rule in Britain came under increasing pressure from barbarian attacks. Apparently, there were not enough troops to mount an effective defence. After elevating two disappointing usurpers, the army chose a soldier, Constantine III, to become emperor in 407. He crossed to Gaul but was defeated by Honorius; it is unclear how many troops remained or ever returned, or whether a commander-in-chief in Britain was ever reappointed. A Saxon incursion in 408 was apparently repelled by the Britons, and in 409 Zosimus records that the natives expelled the Roman civilian administration. Zosimus may be referring to the Bacaudic rebellion of the Breton inhabitants of Armorica since he describes how, in the aftermath of the revolt, all of Armorica and the rest of Gaul followed the example of the Brettaniai. A letter from Emperor Honorius in 410 has traditionally been seen as rejecting a British appeal for help, but it may have been addressed to Bruttium or Bologna. With the imperial layers of the military and civil government gone, administration and justice fell to municipal authorities, and local warlords gradually emerged all over Britain, still utilizing Romano-British ideals and conventions. Historian Stuart Laycock has investigated this process and emphasised elements of continuity from the British tribes in the pre-Roman and Roman periods, through to the native post-Roman kingdoms.

 

In British tradition, pagan Saxons were invited by Vortigern to assist in fighting the Picts, Scoti, and Déisi. (Germanic migration into Roman Britannia may have begun much earlier. There is recorded evidence, for example, of Germanic auxiliaries supporting the legions in Britain in the 1st and 2nd centuries.) The new arrivals rebelled, plunging the country into a series of wars that eventually led to the Saxon occupation of Lowland Britain by 600. Around this time, many Britons fled to Brittany (hence its name), Galicia and probably Ireland. A significant date in sub-Roman Britain is the Groans of the Britons, an unanswered appeal to Aetius, leading general of the western Empire, for assistance against Saxon invasion in 446. Another is the Battle of Deorham in 577, after which the significant cities of Bath, Cirencester and Gloucester fell and the Saxons reached the western sea.

 

Historians generally reject the historicity of King Arthur, who is supposed to have resisted the Anglo-Saxon conquest according to later medieval legends.

 

Trade

During the Roman period Britain's continental trade was principally directed across the Southern North Sea and Eastern Channel, focusing on the narrow Strait of Dover, with more limited links via the Atlantic seaways. The most important British ports were London and Richborough, whilst the continental ports most heavily engaged in trade with Britain were Boulogne and the sites of Domburg and Colijnsplaat at the mouth of the river Scheldt. During the Late Roman period it is likely that the shore forts played some role in continental trade alongside their defensive functions.

 

Exports to Britain included: coin; pottery, particularly red-gloss terra sigillata (samian ware) from southern, central and eastern Gaul, as well as various other wares from Gaul and the Rhine provinces; olive oil from southern Spain in amphorae; wine from Gaul in amphorae and barrels; salted fish products from the western Mediterranean and Brittany in barrels and amphorae; preserved olives from southern Spain in amphorae; lava quern-stones from Mayen on the middle Rhine; glass; and some agricultural products. Britain's exports are harder to detect archaeologically, but will have included metals, such as silver and gold and some lead, iron and copper. Other exports probably included agricultural products, oysters and salt, whilst large quantities of coin would have been re-exported back to the continent as well.

 

These products moved as a result of private trade and also through payments and contracts established by the Roman state to support its military forces and officials on the island, as well as through state taxation and extraction of resources. Up until the mid-3rd century, the Roman state's payments appear to have been unbalanced, with far more products sent to Britain, to support its large military force (which had reached c. 53,000 by the mid-2nd century), than were extracted from the island.

 

It has been argued that Roman Britain's continental trade peaked in the late 1st century AD and thereafter declined as a result of an increasing reliance on local products by the population of Britain, caused by economic development on the island and by the Roman state's desire to save money by shifting away from expensive long-distance imports. Evidence has been outlined that suggests that the principal decline in Roman Britain's continental trade may have occurred in the late 2nd century AD, from c. 165 AD onwards. This has been linked to the economic impact of contemporary Empire-wide crises: the Antonine Plague and the Marcomannic Wars.

 

From the mid-3rd century onwards, Britain no longer received such a wide range and extensive quantity of foreign imports as it did during the earlier part of the Roman period; vast quantities of coin from continental mints reached the island, whilst there is historical evidence for the export of large amounts of British grain to the continent during the mid-4th century. During the latter part of the Roman period British agricultural products, paid for by both the Roman state and by private consumers, clearly played an important role in supporting the military garrisons and urban centres of the northwestern continental Empire. This came about as a result of the rapid decline in the size of the British garrison from the mid-3rd century onwards (thus freeing up more goods for export), and because of 'Germanic' incursions across the Rhine, which appear to have reduced rural settlement and agricultural output in northern Gaul.

 

Economy

Mineral extraction sites such as the Dolaucothi gold mine were probably first worked by the Roman army from c. 75, and at some later stage passed to civilian operators. The mine developed as a series of opencast workings, mainly by the use of hydraulic mining methods. They are described by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History in great detail. Essentially, water supplied by aqueducts was used to prospect for ore veins by stripping away soil to reveal the bedrock. If veins were present, they were attacked using fire-setting and the ore removed for comminution. The dust was washed in a small stream of water and the heavy gold dust and gold nuggets collected in riffles. The diagram at right shows how Dolaucothi developed from c. 75 through to the 1st century. When opencast work was no longer feasible, tunnels were driven to follow the veins. The evidence from the site shows advanced technology probably under the control of army engineers.

 

The Wealden ironworking zone, the lead and silver mines of the Mendip Hills and the tin mines of Cornwall seem to have been private enterprises leased from the government for a fee. Mining had long been practised in Britain (see Grimes Graves), but the Romans introduced new technical knowledge and large-scale industrial production to revolutionise the industry. It included hydraulic mining to prospect for ore by removing overburden as well as work alluvial deposits. The water needed for such large-scale operations was supplied by one or more aqueducts, those surviving at Dolaucothi being especially impressive. Many prospecting areas were in dangerous, upland country, and, although mineral exploitation was presumably one of the main reasons for the Roman invasion, it had to wait until these areas were subdued.

 

By the 3rd and 4th centuries, small towns could often be found near villas. In these towns, villa owners and small-scale farmers could obtain specialist tools. Lowland Britain in the 4th century was agriculturally prosperous enough to export grain to the continent. This prosperity lay behind the blossoming of villa building and decoration that occurred between AD 300 and 350.

 

Britain's cities also consumed Roman-style pottery and other goods, and were centres through which goods could be distributed elsewhere. At Wroxeter in Shropshire, stock smashed into a gutter during a 2nd-century fire reveals that Gaulish samian ware was being sold alongside mixing bowls from the Mancetter-Hartshill industry of the West Midlands. Roman designs were most popular, but rural craftsmen still produced items derived from the Iron Age La Tène artistic traditions. Britain was home to much gold, which attracted Roman invaders. By the 3rd century, Britain's economy was diverse and well established, with commerce extending into the non-Romanised north.

 

Government

Further information: Governors of Roman Britain, Roman client kingdoms in Britain, and Roman auxiliaries in Britain

Under the Roman Empire, administration of peaceful provinces was ultimately the remit of the Senate, but those, like Britain, that required permanent garrisons, were placed under the Emperor's control. In practice imperial provinces were run by resident governors who were members of the Senate and had held the consulship. These men were carefully selected, often having strong records of military success and administrative ability. In Britain, a governor's role was primarily military, but numerous other tasks were also his responsibility, such as maintaining diplomatic relations with local client kings, building roads, ensuring the public courier system functioned, supervising the civitates and acting as a judge in important legal cases. When not campaigning, he would travel the province hearing complaints and recruiting new troops.

 

To assist him in legal matters he had an adviser, the legatus juridicus, and those in Britain appear to have been distinguished lawyers perhaps because of the challenge of incorporating tribes into the imperial system and devising a workable method of taxing them. Financial administration was dealt with by a procurator with junior posts for each tax-raising power. Each legion in Britain had a commander who answered to the governor and, in time of war, probably directly ruled troublesome districts. Each of these commands carried a tour of duty of two to three years in different provinces. Below these posts was a network of administrative managers covering intelligence gathering, sending reports to Rome, organising military supplies and dealing with prisoners. A staff of seconded soldiers provided clerical services.

 

Colchester was probably the earliest capital of Roman Britain, but it was soon eclipsed by London with its strong mercantile connections. The different forms of municipal organisation in Britannia were known as civitas (which were subdivided, amongst other forms, into colonies such as York, Colchester, Gloucester and Lincoln and municipalities such as Verulamium), and were each governed by a senate of local landowners, whether Brythonic or Roman, who elected magistrates concerning judicial and civic affairs. The various civitates sent representatives to a yearly provincial council in order to profess loyalty to the Roman state, to send direct petitions to the Emperor in times of extraordinary need, and to worship the imperial cult.

 

Demographics

Roman Britain had an estimated population between 2.8 million and 3 million people at the end of the second century. At the end of the fourth century, it had an estimated population of 3.6 million people, of whom 125,000 consisted of the Roman army and their families and dependents.[80] The urban population of Roman Britain was about 240,000 people at the end of the fourth century. The capital city of Londinium is estimated to have had a population of about 60,000 people. Londinium was an ethnically diverse city with inhabitants from the Roman Empire, including natives of Britannia, continental Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. There was also cultural diversity in other Roman-British towns, which were sustained by considerable migration, from Britannia and other Roman territories, including continental Europe, Roman Syria, the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa. In a study conducted in 2012, around 45 percent of sites investigated dating from the Roman period had at least one individual of North African origin.

 

Town and country

During their occupation of Britain the Romans founded a number of important settlements, many of which survive. The towns suffered attrition in the later 4th century, when public building ceased and some were abandoned to private uses. Place names survived the deurbanised Sub-Roman and early Anglo-Saxon periods, and historiography has been at pains to signal the expected survivals, but archaeology shows that a bare handful of Roman towns were continuously occupied. According to S.T. Loseby, the very idea of a town as a centre of power and administration was reintroduced to England by the Roman Christianising mission to Canterbury, and its urban revival was delayed to the 10th century.

 

Roman towns can be broadly grouped in two categories. Civitates, "public towns" were formally laid out on a grid plan, and their role in imperial administration occasioned the construction of public buildings. The much more numerous category of vici, "small towns" grew on informal plans, often round a camp or at a ford or crossroads; some were not small, others were scarcely urban, some not even defended by a wall, the characteristic feature of a place of any importance.

 

Cities and towns which have Roman origins, or were extensively developed by them are listed with their Latin names in brackets; civitates are marked C

 

Alcester (Alauna)

Alchester

Aldborough, North Yorkshire (Isurium Brigantum) C

Bath (Aquae Sulis) C

Brough (Petuaria) C

Buxton (Aquae Arnemetiae)

Caerleon (Isca Augusta) C

Caernarfon (Segontium) C

Caerwent (Venta Silurum) C

Caister-on-Sea C

Canterbury (Durovernum Cantiacorum) C

Carlisle (Luguvalium) C

Carmarthen (Moridunum) C

Chelmsford (Caesaromagus)

Chester (Deva Victrix) C

Chester-le-Street (Concangis)

Chichester (Noviomagus Reginorum) C

Cirencester (Corinium) C

Colchester (Camulodunum) C

Corbridge (Coria) C

Dorchester (Durnovaria) C

Dover (Portus Dubris)

Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) C

Gloucester (Glevum) C

Great Chesterford (the name of this vicus is unknown)

Ilchester (Lindinis) C

Leicester (Ratae Corieltauvorum) C

Lincoln (Lindum Colonia) C

London (Londinium) C

Manchester (Mamucium) C

Newcastle upon Tyne (Pons Aelius)

Northwich (Condate)

St Albans (Verulamium) C

Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum) C

Towcester (Lactodurum)

Whitchurch (Mediolanum) C

Winchester (Venta Belgarum) C

Wroxeter (Viroconium Cornoviorum) C

York (Eboracum) C

 

Religion

The druids, the Celtic priestly caste who were believed to originate in Britain, were outlawed by Claudius, and in 61 they vainly defended their sacred groves from destruction by the Romans on the island of Mona (Anglesey). Under Roman rule the Britons continued to worship native Celtic deities, such as Ancasta, but often conflated with their Roman equivalents, like Mars Rigonemetos at Nettleham.

 

The degree to which earlier native beliefs survived is difficult to gauge precisely. Certain European ritual traits such as the significance of the number 3, the importance of the head and of water sources such as springs remain in the archaeological record, but the differences in the votive offerings made at the baths at Bath, Somerset, before and after the Roman conquest suggest that continuity was only partial. Worship of the Roman emperor is widely recorded, especially at military sites. The founding of a Roman temple to Claudius at Camulodunum was one of the impositions that led to the revolt of Boudica. By the 3rd century, Pagans Hill Roman Temple in Somerset was able to exist peaceably and it did so into the 5th century.

 

Pagan religious practices were supported by priests, represented in Britain by votive deposits of priestly regalia such as chain crowns from West Stow and Willingham Fen.

 

Eastern cults such as Mithraism also grew in popularity towards the end of the occupation. The London Mithraeum is one example of the popularity of mystery religions among the soldiery. Temples to Mithras also exist in military contexts at Vindobala on Hadrian's Wall (the Rudchester Mithraeum) and at Segontium in Roman Wales (the Caernarfon Mithraeum).

 

Christianity

It is not clear when or how Christianity came to Britain. A 2nd-century "word square" has been discovered in Mamucium, the Roman settlement of Manchester. It consists of an anagram of PATER NOSTER carved on a piece of amphora. There has been discussion by academics whether the "word square" is a Christian artefact, but if it is, it is one of the earliest examples of early Christianity in Britain. The earliest confirmed written evidence for Christianity in Britain is a statement by Tertullian, c. 200 AD, in which he described "all the limits of the Spains, and the diverse nations of the Gauls, and the haunts of the Britons, inaccessible to the Romans, but subjugated to Christ". Archaeological evidence for Christian communities begins to appear in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Small timber churches are suggested at Lincoln and Silchester and baptismal fonts have been found at Icklingham and the Saxon Shore Fort at Richborough. The Icklingham font is made of lead, and visible in the British Museum. A Roman Christian graveyard exists at the same site in Icklingham. A possible Roman 4th-century church and associated burial ground was also discovered at Butt Road on the south-west outskirts of Colchester during the construction of the new police station there, overlying an earlier pagan cemetery. The Water Newton Treasure is a hoard of Christian silver church plate from the early 4th century and the Roman villas at Lullingstone and Hinton St Mary contained Christian wall paintings and mosaics respectively. A large 4th-century cemetery at Poundbury with its east–west oriented burials and lack of grave goods has been interpreted as an early Christian burial ground, although such burial rites were also becoming increasingly common in pagan contexts during the period.

 

The Church in Britain seems to have developed the customary diocesan system, as evidenced from the records of the Council of Arles in Gaul in 314: represented at the council were bishops from thirty-five sees from Europe and North Africa, including three bishops from Britain, Eborius of York, Restitutus of London, and Adelphius, possibly a bishop of Lincoln. No other early sees are documented, and the material remains of early church structures are far to seek. The existence of a church in the forum courtyard of Lincoln and the martyrium of Saint Alban on the outskirts of Roman Verulamium are exceptional. Alban, the first British Christian martyr and by far the most prominent, is believed to have died in the early 4th century (some date him in the middle 3rd century), followed by Saints Julius and Aaron of Isca Augusta. Christianity was legalised in the Roman Empire by Constantine I in 313. Theodosius I made Christianity the state religion of the empire in 391, and by the 5th century it was well established. One belief labelled a heresy by the church authorities — Pelagianism — was originated by a British monk teaching in Rome: Pelagius lived c. 354 to c. 420/440.

 

A letter found on a lead tablet in Bath, Somerset, datable to c. 363, had been widely publicised as documentary evidence regarding the state of Christianity in Britain during Roman times. According to its first translator, it was written in Wroxeter by a Christian man called Vinisius to a Christian woman called Nigra, and was claimed as the first epigraphic record of Christianity in Britain. This translation of the letter was apparently based on grave paleographical errors, and the text has nothing to do with Christianity, and in fact relates to pagan rituals.

 

Environmental changes

The Romans introduced a number of species to Britain, including possibly the now-rare Roman nettle (Urtica pilulifera), said to have been used by soldiers to warm their arms and legs, and the edible snail Helix pomatia. There is also some evidence they may have introduced rabbits, but of the smaller southern mediterranean type. The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) prevalent in modern Britain is assumed to have been introduced from the continent after the Norman invasion of 1066. Box (Buxus sempervirens) is rarely recorded before the Roman period, but becomes a common find in towns and villas

 

Legacy

During their occupation of Britain the Romans built an extensive network of roads which continued to be used in later centuries and many are still followed today. The Romans also built water supply, sanitation and wastewater systems. Many of Britain's major cities, such as London (Londinium), Manchester (Mamucium) and York (Eboracum), were founded by the Romans, but the original Roman settlements were abandoned not long after the Romans left.

 

Unlike many other areas of the Western Roman Empire, the current majority language is not a Romance language, or a language descended from the pre-Roman inhabitants. The British language at the time of the invasion was Common Brittonic, and remained so after the Romans withdrew. It later split into regional languages, notably Cumbric, Cornish, Breton and Welsh. Examination of these languages suggests some 800 Latin words were incorporated into Common Brittonic (see Brittonic languages). The current majority language, English, is based on the languages of the Germanic tribes who migrated to the island from continental Europe

Given the date, you'd think this is a joke but alas it's not. Branded for route 333 between Faversham and Maidstone, ARRIVA Kent & Surrey Optare Versa V110 - KX13 DHN (4243) is looking lost as it is seen at Medway Maritime Hospital, Gillingham on 1st April 2016 whilst on route 177 to Hazlemere Drive