From the autumn 2016 trip to Vietnam:

Touchdown brings me ‘round again to find…solid ground. Though I sometimes do feel like a rocket man. Including layovers, this trip to Vietnam consisted of 8 separate flights. The third one brought me to tiny Phu Quoc Island, a tropical island 40 kilometers west of the southern tip of Vietnam (and less than 5 kilometers from Cambodia on the mainland). The island, then, is actually west of the southern tip of Vietnam, and less than an hour flight from Saigon. The flight goes something like this: “Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated as it’s time for take…and now we’re landing.”

There are actually two tropical islands off the southern coast of Vietnam that I would have liked visiting, Phu Quoc being the more appealing of the two. (The other, for those curious, are the Con Dao Islands which actually are south of the mainland…but there doesn’t seem to be daily flights to/from there, which took it out of this trip’s consideration.)

Compared with Thailand, you would probably never think of coming to Vietnam for a tropical island experience – mainly because it’s not developed – and you’d be correct. I can easily name a handful of islands in Thailand (or Malaysia) that I would prefer to visit from an island standpoint.

However, that’s not to say that I was disappointed by Phu Quoc. On the contrary, I love the island. I found myself thinking, many times, “If I were an investor interested in developing a tourist resort, this would almost be at the top of my list.” (So, any investors reading this…feel free to take a slightly closer look at this island.)

It’s an easily accessible island with many daily flights to Saigon, and also flights to Hanoi. It claims to be an international airport, so I assume there are flights from Cambodia, as well, though I can’t say for certain. I can only say…it’s easy to get here.

Once you get here, you’ll find Vietnam’s largest island (though not large in comparison with many others). It’s 50 kilometers from north to south and 25 kilometers at its widest. It’s triangular in shape and, poetically speaking, can be said to look like a tear drop. Located in the Gulf of Thailand, the island also includes smaller neighboring islands as well.

Phu Quoc has slightly over 100,000 full-time residents, mostly living in Duong Dong, the island’s main town on the midpoint of the west coast of the island. Other than tourism, the economy here is driven, obviously, by the sea. Fishing, seafood, and so on are the staple here. Phu Quoc is the producer of the most famous fish sauce coming out of Vietnam. (Phu Quoc’s fish sauce can be found on grocery store shelves around the world.)

It’s also an island of hills. Our tour guide claimed that Phu Quoc has 99 mountains and, while I can’t (or won’t) dispute that, it struck me as a curious claim. There are hilly parts, though, and they include two waterfalls, one of which we visited on a day trip.

I mention that Phu Quoc struck me as being somewhat underdeveloped. I’ll elaborate by saying that they have a solid foundation – lots of restaurants (catered to foreigners; western food, pizza joints, etc., in addition to local/Vietnamese cuisine) – and hotels ranging from budget to top end. The basic utilities on the island (electricity, internet, etc.) are also completely stable and reliable. Where they could develop more is in the following: infrastructure and the actual amenities of tourism.

The roads weren’t shoddy, by many standards, though there’s still a lot of room for development. Once this is improved, it’ll make getting around more comfortable for anyone who wants to be completely insulated from “natural.”

The other thing that struck us as a little odd is that there doesn’t seem to be much going on at night (unless you’re a fisherman). It’s still a very quiet island and there weren’t many options for bars, clubs, live music, for example. (This is a huge difference between here and, say, Koh Chang in Thailand; the only other nearby island I have for comparison.) There aren’t convenience stores here that are open 24 hours a day and they don’t have much to offer after dark…besides the Night Market. Perhaps that’s the way they want to keep it, but there’s certainly potential here.

During the daytime, though, there’s plenty for tourists. As a photographer not equipped with waterproof gear, I was much more limited, but for the typical tourist you have options of fishing, diving, snorkeling, and swimming. The beaches were, in my opinion, a little dirty, but there are others on the island that are better, I think. (All in all, it would be nice to see things cleaned up a bit…)

In addition to water pursuits, there’s Phu Quoc National Park (that we didn’t visit; apparently better other times of the year) and – though the crux of the economy is tied to the sea – there are also other aspects of the economy that they represent well: pearl farms, pepper farms, cashew plantations, fish sauce factories, and local wine (wine aficionados, don’t get your hopes up).

For the land-loving folks, this is far from a crowded island. There are a number of beaches, the national park in the northern part of the island, and a few small waterfalls (one a classic, the other more of a rapids where you can swim). In short, there’s not a lack of things to do during the day.

With the long-winded generalities about the island out of the way, time to carry on with our experience. We took an early flight out of Saigon, around 9 or 10 o’clock. Flying into the airport, in the heart of the island (on the south side), my first impressions were “green” and “hilly.”

Naturally, it’s a small airport – everything here is small – which made it easy to get our things and be on our way to the hotel. I paid about $5 for the ride into Duong Dong. Our hotel, the Sea Breeze, had very friendly staff. (I can actually say that about every hotel we stayed at, with the New Moon in Danang being the least friendly…and they weren’t bad by any means at all.)

Anyway, the Sea Breeze was a fine place to sleep, though the Cat Huy was slightly nicer. But, for three nights, this hotel was perfect. Comfortable bed…and they did same day laundry service. I don’t remember the cost, but it was probably between $20-30 USD/night.

The hotel wasn’t one that had a restaurant or breakfast included (Saigon, Hoi An, Hue, and Hanoi all did), but there was a restaurant attached and a few feet away. I had breakfast there two of the three mornings and, while not the best western breakfast I’ve had, the staff were exceptionally friendly. I think that’s a Vietnamese quality…be really cordial to folks.

We had most of Friday on the island, plus the entire weekend, with a Monday morning flight to Danang (via Saigon) around 10:00 in the morning. Friday, then, was a completely unplanned day. So we spent Friday toddling around Duong Dong.

The first place we went (besides the hotel, obviously), was to find something to eat. We ended up going with was a decidedly non-Vietnamese restaurant named Buddy’s, walking there via the Night Market street. For me, I loved ‘em because they had milkshakes with real ice cream. Didn’t matter what else they had. That was enough to get me to go back 2-3 times.

After lunch and sitting around Buddy’s for a while, we walked across the street and followed the river out to its mouth in the Gulf of Thailand. (The river is why the main town was built at this spot.)

At the river’s head is a curiously named spot called Dinh Cau Castle. There is nothing about this place that shouts out “castle” if you were to just chance upon it. It’s actually a combination lighthouse-temple. The temple aspect is just a small room with a statue dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea. The lighthouse, obviously, has its practical purposes. It’s more a light station, though; there’s no house for a keeper.

However, this was a very enjoyable spot (much nicer than the Thien Hau “Pagoda” in Saigon) and would end up being the spot where we watched the sunset on Friday and Saturday. The lighthouse-station-temple was built in 1937. There are a few tables benches on an upper platform to sit and enjoy the view of the sea (or the river mouth with its fishing fleet behind you) and there’s also a jetty going out into the sea that gives some nice perspectives. I can only say that I was surprisingly pleased with both Friday and Saturday’s sunsets.

Staying at Dinh Cau well past sunset, we strolled back towards the Sea Breeze via the Night Market, which is rather clean as far as Asian markets go. (I mention this to contrast it with Phu Quoc’s Day Market, mentioned below.)

Before getting back to the hotel, we stopped at the recently (2015) established Crab House (Nha Ghe Phu Quoc) on the main road at the south end of the market. The owner was – as all seem to be – very friendly and talkative. I was curious to know why the interior had banners from a handful of SEC schools (US folks will know what this is) along with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Turns out, the guy used to live in Muskegon, Michigan, which isn’t terribly far from where I was born (and a town I’ll be passing near in about 3-4 weeks’ time).

Junebug & I split the Crab House battered garlic pepper fries (65,000 VND); miniature crab cakes with sweet mango coulis (175,000 VND); and com ghe: hot, steamy jasmine rice with fresh, sweet crab meat, julienne cucumber, and nuoc mam cay (Phu Quoc fish sauce) for 175,000 VND. Add in two cans of Sprite at 20,000 VND a pop and that’s a happy stomach. (The exchange rate, while we were there, was around 21,000-22,000 VND to the US dollar, so we’re looking at…$20-25 for a fresh seafood dinner for two.) With a thoroughly happy stomach, it was time to call it a night, even though it was barely 8:00.

Saturday brought with it another day trip with a small group. This was similar to the Saigon trip with Bao in terms of time and what we did, though I think Bao was a better guide than the girl here. She seemed disinterested half the time, though was never rude or mean, per se. Anyway, at $11/person, it wasn’t a bad way to spend the day.

Since the one part of this tour I was looking forward to most was a waterfall, I was grateful that it was overcast almost the entire day. For parts of it, rain was pretty heavy. (It even made me mildly – albeit very mildly concerned about the flight out on Monday as it was the first of two for the day.)

First up, though, was a pearl farm where I found it interesting to see them pulling pearls out of oysters. That thrill lasted for about a minute or two. However, we were scheduled to be here for close to an hour. (They were hoping that people would buy pearl jewelry.) Given that we were in a fairly heavy rain, I was surprised that there were so many people here. It made me think the entire day would be like this with overcrowded spots. (Forunately, that didn’t come to pass.)

With no interest in buying jewelry, I spent the hour on the back patio looking out at the very rough and stormy sea, and a few of these shots are from there. Finally ready to go, we were waiting on two Vietnamese women from the group (a recurring theme for the day) before we headed off to the next stop: a pepper farm.

To call it a pepper farm would be to stretch one’s imagination to its utmost. It was about 5 rows of pepper trees with each row being no more than 10 meters long. (I’d like to hope this is just the “sample” section they show us dopey tourists.) Much more attractive was the attached shop where they hoped you’d buy pepper. This time around, I pulled out my wallet. There’s one of us born every minute, you know. I bought four separate jars of pepper, one of which wasn’t a powder (and was subsequently confiscated in Guangzhou as I rarely check luggage and this trip was no exception). At about a dollar a jar, it wasn’t a bad deal.

From the pepper farm we were off to the wine shop. This tour was beginning to feel like just going from one spot to another to buy local goods. This wasn’t grape wine, but was a berry wine and was, for the most part very sweet. Don’t think port or sherry, though. It wasn’t quite that sweet, but it was close. Certainly not bad, but also something I could’ve done without. However, they seemed proud of their wine, and I don’t blame them. (It’s better than most of what I had in Korea.) Once again being held up by the Vietnamese ladies, we finally all settled back into the van and went off to Suoi Tranh.

The waterfall was actually much nicer than I expected. Apparently, half the year, it’s dry, so it worked out well that we came at the end of the rainy season. The fall is a classic cascade in a very nice, wooded setting. (Even if it were sunny, it probably would’ve photographed rather well because it had enough cover to give it shade.) We were given 45 minutes to walk the 600 meters up to the falls and back, which meant a bit of a rush for me, but…fortunately, the Vietnamese ladies were even slower than I was.

The creek leading up to the falls had some nice rapids, too, but it also had some unfortunate eyesores: a manmade fall at the entrance (why would you need that when you have the real thing a few minutes away?) and, worse, some fake animal statuary. Count my lucky stars, but these all disappeared after the first 100-200 meters, and you were left with a tasteful and well-made natural path leading up to the falls.

After this – it was around 12:00 or 12:30 by this point – we hopped in the van and headed to Sao Beach at the southern tip of the island. To get here required driving down a very bumpy road for a few minutes at the end. (As I said…they can still do a little infrastructure work here unless one of the unstated tourist goals is to make people feel like they’re bouncing around in a bag of popcorn.)

The beach was…pleasant, I guess I can say. It wasn’t a large beach. In length, it covered a small cove, so it had a nice setting. It also isn’t a wide beach; only about 30 meters from the restaurant to the water, and maybe even less than 20 meters. I saw a little too much trash around which disheartened me, though we aren’t talking dirty to levels that I’m accustomed to seeing in China. I didn’t go swimming, and the lunch at the restaurant here – though Vietnamese – was among the most unimpressive meals we had in the entire two weeks here. The best part of the time at the beach is that the weather cleared up from overcast and rainy to mostly cloudy. So it wasn’t crowded here, nor was it raining.

We left the beach at 2:00 and drove to a nearby fish sauce factory. This was a lot like the pearl farm, pepper farm, and wine shop. “We make this here. Please buy it.” Of the four of these places, the pearl farm is the only one who actually had some kind of “demonstration,” and that lasted about a minute.

If it seems I’m being critical of the roped in commercialism of these types of tours, perhaps I am a little jaded. The spots in and of themselves are actually quite interesting and I just accept this as an unnecessary evil. They need to survive somehow, and for that, I guess I’m grateful that they do this. Back to the actual tour, the fish sauce factory was quick and interesting. (Though I don’t like seafood that much, I do like fish sauce to add flavor.)

The last “scheduled” stop was Nha Tu Phu Quoc – Coconut Tree Prison – right across the street. This isn’t a place that I would otherwise go out of my way to visit, though in conjunction with the beach and the fish sauce factory, it was perfect. (Individually, none of the three spots amazed me, but as a whole, they were quite pleasing.)

The prison was built by the French in the 1940s and this was one of the ARVN’s POW camps during the Vietnam War. Apparently, prisoner treatment here was quite inhumane, as detailed by the signs around the barracks. The recreations of people, though, aren’t the most lifelike I’ve ever seen and seem kind of cheap. There aren’t any period photographs, so there’s a little “oomph” missing here, but it’s still a good effort all around.

Our last stop before being dropped off back in Duong Dong was at Ham Ninh, a small fishing village on the east coast of the island (almost directly across the island from Duong Dong. We didn’t do anything here except have 15-20 minutes to walk to the end of the pier and come back. As uneventful as that may sound, I enjoyed it a lot because the surrounding scenery and seeing the fishing fleet up close (along with a lot of small floating restaurants) made it unique and worthwhile to me.

When we got dropped off, we went right back to Buddy’s and repeated the same thing from Friday night (minus eating at the Crab House). I can’t recall what we ate for dinner on Saturday night and perhaps we didn’t. Lunch at Buddy’s was late enough that I doubt we were terribly hungry by evening except for some snacks.

The only difference between Friday & Saturday was my positioning to photograph the sunset. Friday night was from up near the lighthouse, and Saturday was a little ways out on the jetty. Skies were equally moody both nights.

I’m easy like Sunday morning. No rush to wake up since there was absolutely nothing whatsoever on the agenda. Brunch, around 9:00 or 10:00, after stopping by the post office to send off some postcards, was at Buddy’s. From there, we crossed the river to the day market and spent about an hour or so wandering up and down the street photographing a variety of things.

Going back to the west side of the river, we spent a little while at Dinh Cau, but decided not to watch the sunset there for the third night in a row. We had a late (and small) lunch of a wood-fired pizza, which was surprisingly delicious – so much so that I considered going back for dinner.

Instead, we went to one of the few access points for Long Beach (the beach nearest the hotel) to watch the least spectacular of the three sunsets in my opinion. Sunday night’s was cloudier than Friday and Saturday’s. However, there are still some interesting pictures. It’s just the most muted of the three, by far, and there’s simply less to work with.

After sundown, we walked the few hundred meters north up the main road, passing the Sea Breeze, and stopped at a local restaurant. (I suggested it not because it was local, but because they proudly talked of the ice cream that they have.) The food was not terribly great. I had fish and chips that didn’t have enough tartar and was a bit bland. I also ordered some smoked cheese that, when they brought it, they didn’t say what it was and, since it looked more like noodles than cheese, didn’t eat it. The ice cream, however, was sorbet, and it was wonderful.

All in all, Phu Quoc was about as good as I wished it would be, and I was lucky enough to have three reasonably good sunsets and decent weather for the weekend. Also, the waterfall was actually nicer than I had expected, we ate well (for the most part), and it was a relaxing weekend. Not a bad way to spend life.

After breakfast Monday morning, we grabbed our bags and headed to the airport at 9:00 for the first of two flights on the day.

As always, thanks for dropping by and viewing these pictures. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments and I’ll answer as I have time.

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About the FX’s Justified

Based on Elmore Leonard’s novella Fire in the Hole, Justified was developed by Graham Yost and stars Timothy Olyphant as ‘Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens,’ a lawman who finds himself drawn back to his home state of Kentucky. This January, Raylan confronts the Crowes, a deadly, lawless family from Florida intent on settling in Harlan with new criminal enterprises in mind. Meanwhile, ‘Boyd Crowder’ (Walton Goggins) struggles to free his imprisoned fiancée ‘Ava’ (Joelle Carter) as he partners with the Dixie Mafia’s ‘Wynn Duffy’ (Jere Burns). For more info visit:

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My heart to you is given;

Oh, do give yours to me;

we'll lock them up together,

And throw away the key

~ Frederick Saunders

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my project so far

The Mahy boys were each given a car by their father: Ivan got a small Volugrafo Bimbo from just after World War Two; his younger brother Hans an Amilcar CGSS from 1927. While not yet even in their teens, the two young rascals raced their cars around the grounds of the family villa at Sint-Denijs-Westrem, just outside Ghent. One day, an unresponsive steering shaft caused Ivan to miss a bend and the Bimbo bashed into the Amilcar. The slender French sports car lost a headlamp and a wing and both boys got a good telling-off from Ghislain. The damaged Amilcar was added to the other half-wrecks in the collection still awaiting repair. And there it has remained for the past 70 years, slowly deteriorating further.

Founded in 1921 by Joseph Lamy and Emile Akar, the fortunes of Amilcar (an incomplete anagram of the two names) soared as the Roaring Twenties progressed. At their base in Saint-Denis, Amilcar designed lively ‘cyclecars’, which were a kind of hybrid between a car and a motor bike. The most well known of these C models was the Grand Sport and its derivative, the Grand Sport Surbaissé, with a lowered chassis. Between 1926 and 1929, Amilcar constructed no fewer than 4,700 of these cars in Germany, Austria and Italy. The CGSS had a 1074 cc engine behind its gleaming nose and brakes on all four wheels. This powerful combination helped André Lefèbvre to win the 1927 edition of the Monte Carlo Rally, an exhausting race for both man and machine, starting in what is now Kaliningrad (Russia) and finishing on the Grimaldi’s rock overlooking the Mediterranean. On a cool September evening of that same year, the American dancer Isadora Duncan climbed into an Amilcar CGSS in Nice. With the promise of an unforgettable evening ahead, race driver Benoît Falchetto sped off into the night. The dramatic Duncan threw a shawl around her neck to keep out the cold. It was a fatal gesture. The fabric became entangled in the spokes of the Amilcar’s wheel and broke her neck. Her last words were ‘Adieu, mes amis. Je vais à l’amour.’ Goodbye, dear friends. I am going to where love is.

1.074 cc

4 In-line

Expo : Mahy, a family of cars - The Barnfind Collection

07/07/2023 - 03/09/2023

Autoworld

www.autoworld.be

Brussels - Belgium

August 2023

St Martin, New Buckenham, Norfolk

New Buckenham is a south Norfolk new town, but this being Norfolk it is a 12th Century new town rather than a 20th Century one. William d'Albini, who we have already met at Wymondham and Castle Acre, was given the manor of Buckenham by the Conqueror. He rebuilt the castle a mile or so to the east, and a new town grew up below it. It appears, from the street grid which survives, to have been a planned town, although it is possible to drive through and not realise this, because the Attleborough road tears through mercilessly. But on foot you get a better sense of it, and it really deserves to be better known.

Much of what survives in the village is late medieval, and the best example of this period is St Martin. Externally this is a grand, urban building, easily the equal of most of the churches of Norwich and Ipswich, from the pinnacles on the tower to the crisp array of clerestory windows. There are minor remnants of an earlier 13th century building, but this might as well have been a complete rebuild. The narrowness of the graveyard only accentuates the way it rises like a rocket above the roof tops.

The Victorians seem to have taken this urban triumphalism as their motif for the inside. The interior is spacious, with a sense of height and width, but it has been pretty well scoured of any former character. It might just as well be anywhere. But it feels well used and looked after, and there are a number of interesting and unusual survivals.

The most interesting is the font. The stem is that of a typical East Anglian font of the 15th Century, guarded by wild men and lions, but placed on top of it now is an early 17th century bowl. Fonts of this kind are often considered 'Laudian', but in fact this predates Laud's reign as Archbishop of Canterbury by 13 years. There are several of these interesting fonts in Norfolk, but this one has the added detail of the churchwardens' names, Thomas Colman and Christopher Sudbury, and a very precise date, February 1st 1619. The stem has been recut, more likely by the Victorians than the Jacobeans.

At the west end of the nave there are several curious carved bargeboards that probably date from the 16th Century. They came from the market cross on the village green, and one of them has a carved relief of the town as it was before the Civil War.

The best glass here is 20th Century, designed by AL Wilkinson for King and Son. WWII memorial glass depicts St George, while a later window of the Adoration includes medieval Norfolk shepherds who would have been quite at home in this parish when the church was rebuilt.

In the south-east corner of the nave a Madonna and Child sits on a windowsill, and the inscription below reads Remember here Hugh Whitwham, Priest Vicar of this parish 1959-1977 who restored this chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary for worship after 400 years of disuse. That's all, nothing fancy, just a cool white space, and it suits well the simplicity of modern Anglican spirituality as well as being a memory of a recent Anglo-catholic tradition here at New Buckenham.

Finally, outside in the churchyard, a headstone with a carved relief of a lamb on a globe, bottle, glass, haunch and bell between open books above the inscription Life is short. The inscription below it tells us that Near to this place lies Honest John, Was a friend but to few, a foe to none...

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

Uruguay, like several other countries in South America, has been a traditional customer of US military hardware. In Uruguay’s case, this first example were 40 M3A1 Stuart light tanks delivered in 1944-1945. In the years following the Second World War and the Korean War, obsolete armored vehicles which were no longer deemed as required for the current situation of the US military were given as military aid to US allies, particularly in Latin America. It was in this context that Uruguay would receive 17 M24 Chaffee light tanks and 12 M4A3E8 Sherman medium tanks in 1957-1958 from American surplus stock.

Uruguay retired its M4 fleet around 2012, but the light M24s soldiered on until 2019, when the last WWII type in Uruguayan service was eventually sorted out, after a long process that was delayed by a lack of an export permission for M41s as replacement from the United States for no less than six years.

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator/hull machine gun operator)

Weight: 33.7 tons combat loaded

Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in) hull only

8.21 m (26 ft 10 1/2 in) overall with gun forward

Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only

Height: 3,45 m (11 ft 3 3/4 in) w/o AA machine gun

Tread: 89 in

Ground clearance: 17 in (0.43 m)

Fire Height: 90 in (2.29 m)

Suspension: Horizontal volute spring

Fuel capacity: 168 gallons 80 Octane gasoline

Armor:

0.5 – 4.5 in (13 – 114 mm)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 30 mph (48 km/h) in a dash

26 mph (42 km/h) sustained on road

Operational range: 120 mi (193 km) on roads

Maximum grade: 60 percent

Maximum trench: 7.5 feet

Maximum vertical Wall: 24 inches

Maximum fording depth: 36 inches

Minimum turning circle: (diameter) 62 feet

Power/weight: 13.5 hp/ton

Ground pressure: Zero penetration 11.0 psi

Engine & transmission:

Continental AOS-895-3 six-cylinder air-cooled petrol engine with 500 bhp (370 kW),

coupled with an Allison CD-500-3 gearbox with 2 ranges forward, 1 reverse

Armament:

1× 90 mm (L/52) Cockerill Mk. 7 gun with 55 rounds

2× 7.62 mm Browning M1919 machine guns with a total of 4,750 rounds,

one co-axial with the main gun, another in the front glacis plate

1× 12.7 mm Browning M2HB anti-aircraft machine gun on the commander cupola with 600 rounds

The kit and its assembly:

This whiffy M4 Sherman was inspired by two things: one was that I have so far never built a fictional M4 before, despite the type’s large number in WWII and thereafter. And I had a surplus turret from a Japanese 1:72 Type 61 tank (Trumpeter kit) in the donor bank, which frequently grinned at me – but I never had a proper idea how to use it.

This changed when I combined both, and the idea of a post-WWII M4 conversion/modernization was born, inspired by the successful Israeli M50/51 upgrades. I also settled for an M4A3E8 chassis, because I wanted a relatively modern Sherman with a welded hull and the new running gear as the basis – and the choice fell on the respective Hasegawa kit (which has its fundamental scale and proportions flaws, but it was cheap and readily available). Using an alternative Trumpeter kit might have been a better choice from a detail point of view, but I think that the Hasegawa kit’s weaknesses are negligible – and this here is whifworld, after all.

The next conceptual problem arose quickly, though: who’d be the operator of this tank? A natural choice was Japan’s JGSDF, because they received M4A3E8s from the USA (the Hasegawa kit even provides decals for such a vehicle), and the Type 61 was its successor. But the Sherman was not very popular in Japan – it was quite big, with logistics problems (tunnel sizes, train transport), and the interior was not suited to the smaller Japanese crews. The JGSDF was quite happy to get rid of the vintage Shermans.

The IDF was another candidate, but the M50/51s were “already there”. After long further research I went across Middle and South America. Chile, for instance, operated a highly modified M4A3E8 upgrade with a 60 mm high-velocity gun called “M-60”. And Paraguay decided to re-activate its M3 and M4 fleet in 2014, even though only for training purposes.

I eventually settled for a small and rather exotic operator: Uruguay! I found a very good article about the M24 Chaffee’s active duty in this country, which lasted from 1958 until 2019(!), and these Chaffees underwent massive conversions and upgrades during their long career – and some M4s would be a nice and plausible company. Another selling point was that the Uruguayan Army’s roundel was easy to replicate, and, as a bonus, the M24s carried a very attractive camouflage early in their career.

With this concept, the build was straightforward: The M4A3E8 was basically built OOB, it went together with no trouble, even though its details appear rather clumsy and almost toylike these days. A good thing about the kit is, though, that you can paint the small road wheels separately, while the HVSS suspension can be attached to the hull. This makes painting quite easy and convenient.

Trumpeter’s Type 61 turret was another matter, though, because its fit was rather dubious and called for some PSR. Furthermore, it was incomplete: some small parts of it had already been used in other projects, so that I had to improvise.

First, I had to create an adapter so that it could be combined with the Sherman hull – it was created from styrene sheet and profiles, together with a “floor” for the turret with 0.5 mm sheet. But now the turret can be mounted into the original opening, and it fits like a glove into the intended space. Even the low deflector walls that protect its base fit snuggly around it, it’s a very natural combo (at least on the Hasegawa hull!).

Biggest problem was the missing original commander cupola. The spare box did not yield a proper replacement, so I ordered M48/M60 cupolas from Bulgaria-based OKB Grigorovich – very crisp stuff, the set comes with four pieces and the cupolas are even made from clear resin so that the periscopes have a natural look on the model. As a lucky coincidence, the cupola’s diameter perfectly matched the respective hole in the turret, so that the implant looks very natural. Because the cupola came with a separate hatch, I fixed it in an open position and added a crew figure from the Hasegawa Sherman.

The dozer blade was a late addition, inspired by equipment carried by some real Uruguayan M24s. However, in this case the device was scratched from the remains of a dozer blade from a WWII Bergehetzer. Hydraulic rams to lift it and some hoses were scratched from steel wire and various bits and pieces. Improvised, but it looks the part, and it’s a nice detail that fits well into the model’s real world historic background.

Painting and markings:

The camouflage is based on a single-color picture I was able to find of a Uruguayan M24 wearing it, providing a guesstimate basis for the four tones, and a profile drawing of the same vehicle, just from the other side. I settled upon Humbrol 63, 75, and mix of 150 with 63 and 10 with 85 for the respective tan (which appears very yellow-ish), dark green, light green and the very dark brown tone. The pattern is a free interpretation of what could be discerned on the reference material, with guesstimates for front, back and upper surfaces. As it is a retrofitted piece, the dozer shield became all dark green.

The model then received an overall washing with a highly thinned mix of black and dark brown acrylic artist paint. The vinyl tracks were painted, too, with a mix of grey, red brown and iron, all acrylic paints, too, that do not interact chemically with the soft vinyl in the long run.

Markings are minimal; the Uruguayan Army roundel is an Argentinian cocarde from an Airfix Skyhawk (and a bit pale) with a separate red decal stripe placed over it – unfortunately it’s a bit obscured by the handles running along the turret. The tactical code number came from an Israeli tank, and it had to be placed quite high because of the handles/rails.

Uruguayan tanks from the Eighties and earlier seem to have carried additional registration numbers, too, and I gave the Sherman the fictional code "A 247" on the glacis plate and its flanks. The nickname "Caesar" is a personal twist.

Dry-brushing with earth brown to further emphasize edges and details followed. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic vanish (Italeri) overall, and some very light extra dry-brushing with silver and light grey was done to simulate flaked paint, esp. on the dozer blade. Dirt and rust residues were added here and there. After final assembly (the vinyl tracks refused to stick to the road wheels!), the lower areas of the model were powdered with mineral pigments to simulate dust.

All in all, this fictional Uruguayan Sherman update looks very natural and convincing. The Type 61 turret matched the M4A3E8 hull in an almost unnatural fashion, and the dozer blade adds a certain twist to the tank, even though this detail is rooted in Uruguay’s tank operations history. The disruptive “tiger stripes” paint scheme is also very attractive, and together with the unusual roundels the whole thing has a very exotic look – but it’s not unbelievable. :D

Full Name: Portia Mae Givens

Born: June 3, 1995

Age: 18

Hometown: Beverly Hills, California

Nationality: Indian

Likes: Being rich, pretty, summer,skimpy clothes

Dislikes: Poor people and losers.

Fav Food: Low fat, low carbs, low everything.

Least Fav Food: Foods that make you fat.

BFFS: Rachael Collins and Alanna Allan

Enemies: Summer Wilhelm, alot of people

I'm rich, part of the Bahama Beach clan. If you want me take a number.

given what a huge role this man played in exploration of the American West in the 19th century, i always find it startling that he's buried in the cemetery behind my sister's house in NY.

instant collection

Given that the name of the subject is printed on the bottom of this cabinet card, it might well be a photo of a celebrity of some sort, produced in quantity for public sale. G.H. Young studio, Chicago, c. 1890.

“60th Anniversary” “Diamond Anniversary”

“Timeline of disaster”

“0745: Princess Victoria leaves Stranraer

0900: Wave bursts through stern doors

0946: First emergency signal sent: No tugs available

1032: SOS call: "Car deck flooded"

1100: Portpatrick lifeboat given wrong directions

1300: Starboard engine room flooded - position critical

1308: Ship lying on beam end

1315: "We are preparing to abandon ship"

1330: Steamer passes Victoria without seeing her

1340: Passengers ordered to deck

1358: Last message from ferry's radio operator”

“Princess Victoria sinking remembered 60 years on”

Sixty years ago, the MV Princess Victoria sank off the County Down coast in treacherous weather, with the loss of 133 lives.

Stop anyone on the street and ask them about Titanic, chances are they will know something about the maritime tragedy.

But despite the fact that no women or children survived the sinking of the Princess Victoria, you might get a more quizzical look.

Now the grief, heroism and the impact this tragic story had on communities in Northern Ireland and Scotland is retold in a BBC Radio Ulster documentary on Sunday.

Almost 60 years ago this sea disaster - one of the worst to happen in British coastal waters - dominated the headlines and devastated families and communities in Larne, Stranraer and further afield.

The omens were not good on the day the ferry sank - 31 January 1953.

Parts of western Europe and the UK were in the grip of freak weather from the north Atlantic.

Severe gales battered coastlines and floods hit many areas, killing hundreds of people. It was in these treacherous conditions that the Princess Victoria set sail from Stranraer.

Larne man, John McKnight, 92, is one of the few remaining survivors. He was chief cook on the ferry and remembers that day vividly.

"I started work at 5.30am and the train from London arrived (in Stranraer) at 6am. Everything had to be prepared for breakfast, we served that to the passengers before setting sail. The ferry proceeded up Loch Ryan and soon we discovered that there was a severe gale blowing," he recalled.

Fate sealed

At the helm of the Princess Victoria that day was 55-year-old Captain James Ferguson. An experienced seaman, he had worked on the Larne - Stranraer route for many years.

Captain Ferguson's troubles started when he steered the ferry out of Loch Ryan.

Jack Hunter, a retired school teacher from Stranraer, who has written about the tragedy, explained what happened next.

"Out of the shelter of the loch, Captain Ferguson discovered that the sea was much worse and perhaps with a change of direction, the ship was having more difficulty," he said.

"For one reason or another, the captain decided to try turn back and head for Stranraer. It was at this point that the ferry had a calamitous encounter with a large wave, which stove in the stern doors."

This brush with mother nature at her worst was, ultimately, to seal the fate of the Princess Victoria.

A memorial to those who lost their lives in the Princess Victoria tragedy stands in Stranraer

With the stern doors irreparably damaged, water flooding the car deck and inadequate drainage on board, Captain Ferguson decided the best course of action was to try and steer the ship towards Northern Ireland.

Passengers and crew

As disaster unfolded, the 127 passengers and 49 crew members found themselves locked in a terrible and increasingly impossible struggle for survival.

On board were people from all social classes.

Families with young children, servicemen, Short Brothers workers from the company's Scottish base and two politicians - the Northern Ireland deputy prime minister, Maynard Sinclair and Sir Walter Smiles, the north Down MP. Both men died when the ship went down.

At 09:46 GMT, the Princess Victoria sent its first request for help. David Broadfoot, the ship's radio officer, was not supposed to be working that day but had swapped shifts with another crew member.

Stephen Cameron, author of a book on the Princess Victoria tragedy, said David Broadfoot was posthumously awarded the George Cross for his heroic actions."He stayed in his cabin broadcasting continuously, at one stage he even apologised to radio stations (that were picking up his signals) for the poor quality of his Morse code. David's last message was sent as the ship went under," he said.

In those final traumatic hours, many other people showed fortitude and compassion in the face of certain death.

One of them was Castlerock woman, Nansy Bryson, who has been called the "heroine of the Princess Victoria".

She worked as a missionary in Kenya and was back home with her husband and three children, visiting relatives.

Nansy had travelled to Scotland for some meetings and was returning to Northern Ireland on the ferry. Her daughter, Margaret Njonjo, hasn't talked about the tragedy in public before and shared her pride in her mother.

"She was one of the bravest women on board who whispered words of comfort to other passengers and led them in singing a hymn. She also tried to help a three year old child into one of the lifeboats but failed to do so, going under (the water) herself in the process," Margaret said.

"My sisters and I are glad to know she found immense strength in her own faith, to the point of being able to help others."

Rescue attempt

When Captain Ferguson made the final call to abandon ship, eyewitnesses say he was at the bridge as the Princess Victoria went under. It happened just five miles off the Copeland Islands and within sight of the north Down coast.

Some passengers and crew were able to reach the ship's lifeboats although, tragically, one carrying women and children crashed against the side of the ferry, throwing everyone into the icy waters. All of them died.

The frantic search for survivors involved steamers, trawlers, a naval boat and the Donaghadee lifeboat, the Sir Samuel Kelly. Its crew eventually plucked 33 men to safety. Bravery medals were awarded to many for their valiant rescue efforts that day.

Only 44 men survived the sinking of the Princess Victoria - more than three times that number perished. For families, especially in Larne and Stranraer, the news that a loved one had died was too much to bear.

Captain Ferguson's son, Jim, who was 18 when the tragedy happened, remembers the show of support from his father's colleagues.

Jack Peoples was the youngest crew member to die

"A few of the sailors who survived, came to our house over the next few days to speak to my mother. She appreciated it very much, particularly in times of difficulty and stress for them," Jim remembered.

Emotion

"I still feel his loss, very much so, I loved my father."

When Betty Crawford thinks of her brother Jack Peoples, it is often with raw emotion. At 16, the Larne teenager was the youngest crew member to die.

"(On the day of the tragedy) my mum disappeared. I found her in the garden where she was praying to God to please bring back his body. And God answered her prayer because she got his body back," Betty said.

"Jack's was one of the first funerals to take place, I remember throngs of people there and men with tears running down their cheeks. There was a numbness about it all and disbelief."

Two months after the disaster, a court of inquiry was convened in Belfast. A verdict was reached that the Princess Victoria was not a seaworthy ship, because of the inadequate strength of the stern doors and a lack of drainage on its car deck.

On two previous occasions - in 1949 and 1951 - these same design faults had caused problems on the ferry. Jack Hunter believes if they had been fixed back then, things might have been very different.

"Most certainly, it is a disaster that could have, and should have been avoided. The problems were discovered, they were known to be there, one assumes they were reported through official channels, yet nothing was done about them," he said.

Whatever the causes of the Princess Victoria sinking to a watery grave on that stormy Saturday afternoon in January 1953, the passing of time has not erased the sorrow felt by many, whose loved ones went down with the ship.

They are commemorated every year at services in Larne, Stranraer and in Donaghadee - and on the forthcoming 60th anniversary, the overriding sentiment will remain the same.

“Never forget”

1953: 130 die in ferry disaster. The Princess Victoria, a British Railways car ferry, bound for Larne in Northern Ireland, had left Stranraer on the south-west coast of Scotland an hour before when the stern gates to the car deck were forced open in heavy seas.

Water flooded into the ship and as the cargo shifted, the ferry, one of the first of the roll on-roll off design, fell onto her side and within four hours she sank.

Among the passengers who perished were the Northern Ireland Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Major J M Sinclair, and Sir Walter Smiles, the Ulster Unionist MP for North Down.

The Princess Victoria went down off the coast near Donaghadee with a loss of 133 lives, only 44 men survived and no women or children. All the ship's officers including the Captain, James Ferguson, perished. It was the worst 20th century peacetime disaster in British waters.

The Donaghadee lifeboat (along with the Portpatrick and Cloughy lifeboats) went out into the raging seas of the great storm and under coxswain Hugh Nelson the crew of the Sir Samuel Kelly rescued 33 of the 44 survivors in seas with waves reported to be 50 to 60 feet high.

Today; the Sir Samuel Kelly sits in Donaghadee behind a builders fence.

YORK, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 04: during the West Riding County FA Development West League match between i2i Albion and i2i County at Haxby Road on November 4th 2022 in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Appleby)

Original Caption: Exercise to Shoulder and Elbow to Increase Motion Following Fracture and Dislocation of Humerous Is Being Given by an Army Therapist to a Soldier Patient., 1940 - 1945

U.S. National Archives' Local Identifier: 86-WWT-57(10)

Subjects:

World War, 1939-1945

Labor

Women

Persistent URL: research.archives.gov/description/522885

For more information about records related to women and women’s issues at the U.S. National Archives, visit:

www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/women/.

Repository: Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001.

For information about ordering reproductions of photographs held by the U.S. National Archives' Still Picture Unit, visit: www.archives.gov/research/order/still-pictures.html.

Reproductions may be ordered via an independent vendor. The U.S. National Archives maintains a list of vendors at www.archives.gov/research/order/vendors-photos-maps-dc.html.

Access Restrictions: Unrestricted

Use Restrictions: Unrestricted

"The Deep Sinking" is the name given to a long cutting the Royal Canal passes through between Castleknock and Clonsilla. It starts just after the 12th lock near Castleknock railway station, and continues for about three miles to the new railway bridge across the canal a little west of Clonsilla Station. This massive cutting, along with the monumental Ryewater Aqueduct in Leixlip would not have been needed at all had the Duke of Leinster not insisted that the canal pass his seat at Carton House in Maynooth. Because of this kind of uneconomical megalomaniacal nonsense progress on the Royal Canal was much slower than that on the more southerly Grand Canal (which also connects Dublin to the river Shannon), and costs much higher, handicaps the canal never really overcame, being financially unsuccessful for most of it's working life.

Bear in mind that the canal was built around 1800 (work started in 1790 and finished in in 1817), so this massive cutting was dug out with manual labour. They did have gunpowder to blast the rocks apart, but they didn't have earth movers to move it, so that was all done with man power by so-called 'navies'. It cost £40,000 to build the sinking, which was a very large sum of money in deed around the turn of the 19th century! The Ryewater Aqueduct cost a further £27,000, and took 6 years to build. Had they just followed the originally planned more northerly route, they would have needed just one lock, rather than a three mile cutting and a giant aqueduct!

As well as being a waste of money, the cutting was also a serious hazard to navigation. It is very narrow in places, so boats had trouble passing each other, and, with the towpath up much higher than the canal, many horses were dragged into the canal and drowned. Worse still, in November 1845 there was a serious accident in the cutting. A passenger boat hit a rock on the edge of the cutting at night, and capsized deep in the cutting, drowning 16 people.

The Dublin to Sligo railway line now runs along the top of the cutting on the south bank of the canal (and across the Ryewater Aqueduct). You can look down on the sinking from the train. If you're ever on a train passing this way, bear a thought for the lunacy of the whole scheme, and the loss of life in the still and peaceful water below you.

The Verona Arena (Arena di Verona) is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy, which is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind. Amphitheatre

The building itself was built in AD 30 on a site which was then beyond the city walls. The ludi (shows and games) staged there were so famous that spectators came from many other places, often far away, to witness them. The amphitheatre could host more than 30,000 spectators in ancient times.

The round façade of the building was originally composed of white and pink limestone from Valpolicella, but after a major earthquake in 1117, which almost completely destroyed the structure's outer ring, except for the so-called "ala", the stone was quarried for re-use in other buildings. Nevertheless it impressed medieval visitors to the city, one of whom considered it to have been a labyrinth, without ingress or egress. Ciriaco d'Ancona was filled with admiration for the way it had been built and Giovanni Antonio Panteo's civic panegyric De laudibus veronae, 1483, remarked that it struck the viewer as a construction that was more than human. Musical theatre

The first interventions to recover the arena's function as a theatre began during the Renaissance. Some operatic performances were later mounted in the building during the 1850s, owing to its outstanding acoustics.

And in 1913, operatic performances in the arena commenced in earnest due to the zeal and initiative of the Italian opera tenor Giovanni Zenatello and the impresario Ottone Rovato. The first 20th-century operatic production at the arena, a staging of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, took place on 10 August of that year, to mark the birth of Verdi 100 years before in 1813. Musical luminaries such as Puccini and Mascagni were in attendance. Since then, summer seasons of opera have been mounted continually at the arena, except in 1915â18 and 1940â45, when Europe was convulsed in war.

Nowadays, at least four productions (sometimes up to six) are mounted each year between June and August. During the winter months, the local opera and ballet companies perform at the L'Accademia Filarmonica.

Modern-day travellers are advised that admission tickets to sit on the arena's stone steps are much cheaper to buy than tickets giving access to the padded chairs available on lower levels. Candles are distributed to the audience and lit after sunset around the arena.

Every year over 500,000 people see productions of the popular operas in this arena.[3] Once capable of housing 20,000 patrons per performance (now limited to 15,000 because of safety reasons), the arena has featured many of world's most notable opera singers. In the post-World War II era, they have included Giuseppe Di Stefano, Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi and Renata Tebaldi among other names. A number of conductors have appeared there, too. The official arena shop has historical recordings made by some of them available for sale.

The opera productions in the Verona Arena had not used any microphones or loudspeakers until an electronic sound reinforcement system was installed in 2011.

In recent times, the arena has also hosted several concerts of international rock and pop bands, among which Laura Pausini, Pink Floyd, Alicia Keys, One Direction, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, Deep Purple, The Who, Dire Straits, Mike Oldfield, Rod Stewart, Sting, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Björk, Muse, Paul McCartney, Jamiroquai, and Whitney Houston.

In 1981, 1984 and 2010 it hosted the podium and presentation of the Giro d'Italia with thousands packing the arena to watch the prizes being handed out.

The 2011 Bollywood film Rockstar directed by Imtiaz Ali starring Ranbir Kapoor with music composed by Academy Award winner A.R.Rahman opens and closes with musical concerts shot here.

On 26 March 2013, Paul McCartney confirmed a show at the venue as part of his 2013 Tour. The show is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 25 June 2013.

British-Irish boy band One Direction performed on 19 May 2013 as part of their Take Me Home Tour

Piazza Bra , or simply the Bra (a name derived from a corruption of the term "Braida", which in turn derives from the Lombard breit , or "off"), is the largest square in Verona , located in its center historian .

The square of Piazza Bra began to turn into only the first half of the sixteenth century , when the architect Michele San Micheli concluded the palace of Honorij : this building was to delimit the western side of the square of the future, as well as to establish a correct outlook on the ' Arena . The first attempt to transform the clearing dirt road instead of walking, however, was the mayor Alvise Mocenigo, who wanted to create a meeting place for the rising bourgeoisie Verona: he was able to inaugurate the first part of the Liston , a paved sidewalk that lines connecting the Bra Corso Porta Nuova in Via Mazzini , in 1770. La Gran Guardia , begun by the Venetians in the seventeenth century and completed by the Austrians in the ' Nineteenth Century , went to delimit the southern side of the square, while in 1836 the architect Giuseppe Barbieri designed the eastern edge, where a hospital were demolished, some houses and a church, which was built in place of the Gran Guardia Nuova , better known as Palazzo Barbieri. This, initially used as a barracks by the Austrians, became, as a result of ' annexation of Veneto to the Kingdom of Italy , the seat of the municipality of the City of Verona.

History

Origins

In Roman times , the place where you would then open the Bra was outside the city and yet away from the main roads. It is only since the first century AD, when it was built the ' amphitheater in the Roman Empire, better known as the Arena of Verona , who came to define the northern edge of what centuries later would become one of the main squares of Verona. In 305 the Emperor Galerius , during a short stay in the city, he opened a door along the walls which was built in 265 by the Emperor Gallienus , which surrounded the Arena went thus creating a first connection between the city and the place where later would be born Bra.

The square, however, began to abbozzarsi only in the Middle Ages: the walls of the city was enlarged at that point between 1130 and 1153, going to close so that piece of land that later would become, coming to have the size of a square. Those areas between the walls and the Roman city walls were called braide, from the Lombard breit ; the braida that could match the current Bra in the twelfth century was far more extensive than at the edge of the square today.

A door that the Braida along the city walls is already mentioned in a document dated 1257, but later his place was taken by the gates of the Bra , probably due to the Visconti and to the Venetians : the first arch is dated to the late fourteenth century and the second to the second half of the fifteenth century. The clock that is located between the two arches of the gates of the Bra was a gift of Count Antonio Nogarola made ââin 1871: it was installed with the dials is visible from one side on the other walls. The clock was inaugurated on June 2, 1872 and refurbished in 1879 because of its vagueness.

Development

Piazza Bra after the arrangement of the central gardens

Piazza Bra in the mid-twentieth century.

The Bra began to be defined as a square only in the first decade of the seventeenth century, when they started on the south side of the factories Gran Guardia and the seat of the ' Accademia Filarmonica of Verona . In conjunction with the factory della Gran Guardia became the leveling the square as possible, and also create some gradients to regulate the flow of stormwater, operation up to that time never practiced because the space was used by stonemasons, that here, as well as work, abandoning the resulting material, and because the clearing was used for the discharge of material from construction in progress in the area.

For others, one hundred and fifty years the space was in clay, in fact, only in 1770 the foundations were laid of Liston will of the mayor Alvise Mocenigo. On March 13, 1782 Francis Menegatti presented a project to the final lastricamento of Liston that the City Council approved and, after this surgery, the bra became the favorite place for afternoon walks in place of Piazza dei Signori . Goethe , in his essay Journey to Italy , describes enjoyed the arrival carriage with ladies and gentlemen, and said that the sunset loitered along the rim of the amphitheater enjoying the most beautiful views of the city. I insole and down on the pavement off the Bra 'walked a multitude of people .

The square was smoothed more times: in 1808 he was entrusted with the task of remaking the Liston architect Luigi Trezza and in 1820 excavations were carried out along the Arena, in order to bring to light the basis of the same, as it was buried about two feet because of the sediments that were deposited after the numerous floods that had undergone the city. He also opted for a lowering of the average level of Bra about 70 centimeters along a line slightly inclined from the Gran Guardia At Arena, lowering the share of Liston.

Plan of Bra in a drawing by Giuseppe Barbieri

As for the lighting, until the eighteenth century the bra at night was totally immersed in the dark; only in the nineteenth century were installed lights in oil and gas lighting in 1845, so that the Liston also became a place for evening strolls. Then important for the conformation of the square today, is the accommodation in the central part of the garden Bra occurred in 1873: the central gardens were created with three circles forming a triangle with a central fountain.

Between 1884 and 1951 the square was affected by the rails of the tramway town .

Events

It is interesting to read the description of Liston of an astonished reporter of the magazine Esperia in an article of 1837:

" ... the audience is walking the plank of 'Veronesi, extended space, which is located in a few cities: here business people are dining and comforting conversation, idleness is recreated, and the beautiful flock there to get tributes of glances and sighs of their worshipers ... and many cafes offer brilliant and sufficient acceptance to the numerous meetings that there agree. Street musicians and improvisers, unpleasant indeed, but the liveliness of the inhabitants always well received, breaking the monotony of chatter; and the music of the military garrison increase much fun. Very pleasing to the eye is in the summer thousands of people of both sexes, and before sitting under the porch; and a more active crowd by constantly prowling the paths formed by the rows of seats, and now dispense with a bow, and now dwell near some nice, vibrate envious compliments and words of hope and voting ... while the beautiful turn cautious gaze looking at the confused teeming with ill-concealed impatience, greeting or stop most expensive among the happy meeting ... "

In the past, however, the Bra was used for uses other than those described well by this reporter: in particular, after the twelfth century it was included in the city walls it was used for the wood, hay, straw and cattle, so that in ancient documents is called the Bra cattle market. More often is cited as the parade ground, as was the case here the review of the troops from the beginning of the Venetian rule, which is why this was one of the points of conflict between the French and Venetian soldiers during the Veronese Easters in 1797 . Starting from 1633, after the approval of the Venetian Senate for the creation of an exhibition of goods in the city, there were held two annual fairs fifteen days each, which continued to be held until one of them was destroyed by fire October 28, 1712, and then restored in another place, it was established only in 1822, a new exhibition, which would last in Piazza Bra for twenty years.

Fair in very old custom is instead to Saint Lucia : it takes place every year from 11 to 13 December, but do not know its origins. Legend has it that, probably in the communal, an epidemic broke out in the city that struck my eyes, it was so that the Veronese decided to make a pilgrimage to the church of Saint Lucia (no longer exists): the children, who did not want to participate , were persuaded to return with the promise that they would find the shoes filled with gifts. The miracle occurred, and since then the fair is held to coincide with the feast of Saint Lucia.

The comet of Verona during a night snowfall

During the Christmas season takes place within the Arena arches dell ' Arena, the International Festival of the Nativity , an event born in 1984 from the mind of Alfredo Troisi , along with the comet symbol of the event, from the reservoir from the Arena, go to dive in Bra. Over the years the star has taken on meanings and values ââare independent of the review of the nativity, as to be appreciated by itself. This architecture-sculpture was designed by architect and designer Rinaldo Olivieri : his intuition came to looking at a map of the city, characterized by two large voids, one of the auditorium and that of the square in front of the Arena. It was from this impression that he was born an ideal line, a huge arch that connects the Arena with the urban space, an arc of light and steel from the Temple of the music goes to fall and explode among citizens.

The Verona Arena (Arena di Verona) is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy, which is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind. Amphitheatre

The building itself was built in AD 30 on a site which was then beyond the city walls. The ludi (shows and games) staged there were so famous that spectators came from many other places, often far away, to witness them. The amphitheatre could host more than 30,000 spectators in ancient times.

The round façade of the building was originally composed of white and pink limestone from Valpolicella, but after a major earthquake in 1117, which almost completely destroyed the structure's outer ring, except for the so-called "ala", the stone was quarried for re-use in other buildings. Nevertheless it impressed medieval visitors to the city, one of whom considered it to have been a labyrinth, without ingress or egress. Ciriaco d'Ancona was filled with admiration for the way it had been built and Giovanni Antonio Panteo's civic panegyric De laudibus veronae, 1483, remarked that it struck the viewer as a construction that was more than human. Musical theatre

The first interventions to recover the arena's function as a theatre began during the Renaissance. Some operatic performances were later mounted in the building during the 1850s, owing to its outstanding acoustics.

And in 1913, operatic performances in the arena commenced in earnest due to the zeal and initiative of the Italian opera tenor Giovanni Zenatello and the impresario Ottone Rovato. The first 20th-century operatic production at the arena, a staging of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, took place on 10 August of that year, to mark the birth of Verdi 100 years before in 1813. Musical luminaries such as Puccini and Mascagni were in attendance. Since then, summer seasons of opera have been mounted continually at the arena, except in 1915â18 and 1940â45, when Europe was convulsed in war.

Nowadays, at least four productions (sometimes up to six) are mounted each year between June and August. During the winter months, the local opera and ballet companies perform at the L'Accademia Filarmonica.

Modern-day travellers are advised that admission tickets to sit on the arena's stone steps are much cheaper to buy than tickets giving access to the padded chairs available on lower levels. Candles are distributed to the audience and lit after sunset around the arena.

Every year over 500,000 people see productions of the popular operas in this arena.[3] Once capable of housing 20,000 patrons per performance (now limited to 15,000 because of safety reasons), the arena has featured many of world's most notable opera singers. In the post-World War II era, they have included Giuseppe Di Stefano, Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi and Renata Tebaldi among other names. A number of conductors have appeared there, too. The official arena shop has historical recordings made by some of them available for sale.

The opera productions in the Verona Arena had not used any microphones or loudspeakers until an electronic sound reinforcement system was installed in 2011.

In recent times, the arena has also hosted several concerts of international rock and pop bands, among which Laura Pausini, Pink Floyd, Alicia Keys, One Direction, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, Deep Purple, The Who, Dire Straits, Mike Oldfield, Rod Stewart, Sting, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Björk, Muse, Paul McCartney, Jamiroquai, and Whitney Houston.

In 1981, 1984 and 2010 it hosted the podium and presentation of the Giro d'Italia with thousands packing the arena to watch the prizes being handed out.

The 2011 Bollywood film Rockstar directed by Imtiaz Ali starring Ranbir Kapoor with music composed by Academy Award winner A.R.Rahman opens and closes with musical concerts shot here.

On 26 March 2013, Paul McCartney confirmed a show at the venue as part of his 2013 Tour. The show is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 25 June 2013.

British-Irish boy band One Direction performed on 19 May 2013 as part of their Take Me Home Tour

Piazza Bra , or simply the Bra (a name derived from a corruption of the term "Braida", which in turn derives from the Lombard breit , or "off"), is the largest square in Verona , located in its center historian .

The square of Piazza Bra began to turn into only the first half of the sixteenth century , when the architect Michele San Micheli concluded the palace of Honorij : this building was to delimit the western side of the square of the future, as well as to establish a correct outlook on the ' Arena . The first attempt to transform the clearing dirt road instead of walking, however, was the mayor Alvise Mocenigo, who wanted to create a meeting place for the rising bourgeoisie Verona: he was able to inaugurate the first part of the Liston , a paved sidewalk that lines connecting the Bra Corso Porta Nuova in Via Mazzini , in 1770. La Gran Guardia , begun by the Venetians in the seventeenth century and completed by the Austrians in the ' Nineteenth Century , went to delimit the southern side of the square, while in 1836 the architect Giuseppe Barbieri designed the eastern edge, where a hospital were demolished, some houses and a church, which was built in place of the Gran Guardia Nuova , better known as Palazzo Barbieri. This, initially used as a barracks by the Austrians, became, as a result of ' annexation of Veneto to the Kingdom of Italy , the seat of the municipality of the City of Verona.

History

Origins

In Roman times , the place where you would then open the Bra was outside the city and yet away from the main roads. It is only since the first century AD, when it was built the ' amphitheater in the Roman Empire, better known as the Arena of Verona , who came to define the northern edge of what centuries later would become one of the main squares of Verona. In 305 the Emperor Galerius , during a short stay in the city, he opened a door along the walls which was built in 265 by the Emperor Gallienus , which surrounded the Arena went thus creating a first connection between the city and the place where later would be born Bra.

The square, however, began to abbozzarsi only in the Middle Ages: the walls of the city was enlarged at that point between 1130 and 1153, going to close so that piece of land that later would become, coming to have the size of a square. Those areas between the walls and the Roman city walls were called braide, from the Lombard breit ; the braida that could match the current Bra in the twelfth century was far more extensive than at the edge of the square today.

A door that the Braida along the city walls is already mentioned in a document dated 1257, but later his place was taken by the gates of the Bra , probably due to the Visconti and to the Venetians : the first arch is dated to the late fourteenth century and the second to the second half of the fifteenth century. The clock that is located between the two arches of the gates of the Bra was a gift of Count Antonio Nogarola made ââin 1871: it was installed with the dials is visible from one side on the other walls. The clock was inaugurated on June 2, 1872 and refurbished in 1879 because of its vagueness.

Development

Piazza Bra after the arrangement of the central gardens

Piazza Bra in the mid-twentieth century.

The Bra began to be defined as a square only in the first decade of the seventeenth century, when they started on the south side of the factories Gran Guardia and the seat of the ' Accademia Filarmonica of Verona . In conjunction with the factory della Gran Guardia became the leveling the square as possible, and also create some gradients to regulate the flow of stormwater, operation up to that time never practiced because the space was used by stonemasons, that here, as well as work, abandoning the resulting material, and because the clearing was used for the discharge of material from construction in progress in the area.

For others, one hundred and fifty years the space was in clay, in fact, only in 1770 the foundations were laid of Liston will of the mayor Alvise Mocenigo. On March 13, 1782 Francis Menegatti presented a project to the final lastricamento of Liston that the City Council approved and, after this surgery, the bra became the favorite place for afternoon walks in place of Piazza dei Signori . Goethe , in his essay Journey to Italy , describes enjoyed the arrival carriage with ladies and gentlemen, and said that the sunset loitered along the rim of the amphitheater enjoying the most beautiful views of the city. I insole and down on the pavement off the Bra 'walked a multitude of people .

The square was smoothed more times: in 1808 he was entrusted with the task of remaking the Liston architect Luigi Trezza and in 1820 excavations were carried out along the Arena, in order to bring to light the basis of the same, as it was buried about two feet because of the sediments that were deposited after the numerous floods that had undergone the city. He also opted for a lowering of the average level of Bra about 70 centimeters along a line slightly inclined from the Gran Guardia At Arena, lowering the share of Liston.

Plan of Bra in a drawing by Giuseppe Barbieri

As for the lighting, until the eighteenth century the bra at night was totally immersed in the dark; only in the nineteenth century were installed lights in oil and gas lighting in 1845, so that the Liston also became a place for evening strolls. Then important for the conformation of the square today, is the accommodation in the central part of the garden Bra occurred in 1873: the central gardens were created with three circles forming a triangle with a central fountain.

Between 1884 and 1951 the square was affected by the rails of the tramway town .

Events

It is interesting to read the description of Liston of an astonished reporter of the magazine Esperia in an article of 1837:

" ... the audience is walking the plank of 'Veronesi, extended space, which is located in a few cities: here business people are dining and comforting conversation, idleness is recreated, and the beautiful flock there to get tributes of glances and sighs of their worshipers ... and many cafes offer brilliant and sufficient acceptance to the numerous meetings that there agree. Street musicians and improvisers, unpleasant indeed, but the liveliness of the inhabitants always well received, breaking the monotony of chatter; and the music of the military garrison increase much fun. Very pleasing to the eye is in the summer thousands of people of both sexes, and before sitting under the porch; and a more active crowd by constantly prowling the paths formed by the rows of seats, and now dispense with a bow, and now dwell near some nice, vibrate envious compliments and words of hope and voting ... while the beautiful turn cautious gaze looking at the confused teeming with ill-concealed impatience, greeting or stop most expensive among the happy meeting ... "

In the past, however, the Bra was used for uses other than those described well by this reporter: in particular, after the twelfth century it was included in the city walls it was used for the wood, hay, straw and cattle, so that in ancient documents is called the Bra cattle market. More often is cited as the parade ground, as was the case here the review of the troops from the beginning of the Venetian rule, which is why this was one of the points of conflict between the French and Venetian soldiers during the Veronese Easters in 1797 . Starting from 1633, after the approval of the Venetian Senate for the creation of an exhibition of goods in the city, there were held two annual fairs fifteen days each, which continued to be held until one of them was destroyed by fire October 28, 1712, and then restored in another place, it was established only in 1822, a new exhibition, which would last in Piazza Bra for twenty years.

Fair in very old custom is instead to Saint Lucia : it takes place every year from 11 to 13 December, but do not know its origins. Legend has it that, probably in the communal, an epidemic broke out in the city that struck my eyes, it was so that the Veronese decided to make a pilgrimage to the church of Saint Lucia (no longer exists): the children, who did not want to participate , were persuaded to return with the promise that they would find the shoes filled with gifts. The miracle occurred, and since then the fair is held to coincide with the feast of Saint Lucia.

The comet of Verona during a night snowfall

During the Christmas season takes place within the Arena arches dell ' Arena, the International Festival of the Nativity , an event born in 1984 from the mind of Alfredo Troisi , along with the comet symbol of the event, from the reservoir from the Arena, go to dive in Bra. Over the years the star has taken on meanings and values ââare independent of the review of the nativity, as to be appreciated by itself. This architecture-sculpture was designed by architect and designer Rinaldo Olivieri : his intuition came to looking at a map of the city, characterized by two large voids, one of the auditorium and that of the square in front of the Arena. It was from this impression that he was born an ideal line, a huge arch that connects the Arena with the urban space, an arc of light and steel from the Temple of the music goes to fall and explode among citizens.

Full details on The Brothers Brick.

(Photos shared with written permission from The LEGO Group.)

Given Naruto Uzumaki's nature, his use of transformation magic should come as no surprise. One of his most effective early uses of this is the infamous Sexy no Jutsu (Sexy Technique), in which the teenage and male Naruto transforms into a naked young woman--with mist covering her private parts. (One suspects this is more to satisfy TV censors rather than any modesty on Naruto's part.)

It's a rather effective technique, in that it's highly distracting, especially to perverted males, which are a staple of anime.

The use of surprise nudity and sex-as-distraction is an honored literary device--James Bond has used it, and the pulp heroine Modesty Blaise was notorious for it. And we won't even mention Power Girl or Vampirella...

Though the Sexy no Jutsu and its various "improved" versions are always good for a laugh in Naruto, I don't think anyone ever thought someone would try it as a cosplay. Someone forgot to tell this cosplayer that, because she showed up at Anime Central 2007 as the Sexy no Jutsu in all its glory, with just some styrofoam clouds to preserve her modesty. (I have no idea if she was wearing anything beneath it--"Are you wearing underwear" is the about last thing you ask a cosplayer, unless you want to be introduced to con security or a fist.) The geta sandals are a nod to ACen's policy on footwear at all times; Naruto's Sexy no Jutsu doesn't wear anything, period.

This cosplay actually caused something of a minor uproar. Technically, she was within the bounds of ACen's cosplay policy, but con security worried about her safety. She was allowed to wear her Sexy no Jutsu cosplay for one day, but not the whole con.

She was a very good sport about the whole thing, and was more than happy to pose for pictures. Naturally, I was not going to let this unique cosplay go by without getting a picture. Today, I use this shot as an example of what NOT to wear as cosplay, if for no other reasons than meteorlogical.

He was given the task of chopping snow that blocked the vehicular entrance to the construction site he was working on. Perhaps he was the most recent hire, and therefore subject to being assigned menial tasks, when required. One does need access to a construction site, so snow-chopping must occur...

I made this shot from a cab in Midtown. I was impressed by the fluorescent green of his uniform. Very eye-catching!

Midtown Manhattan

New York City

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

Given all the rumours, I thought I'd go and establish some facts today, starting with a trip to Sunray Travel's depot in Woking, the old Countryliner one.

The large group of VOR buses complied:

1) Dart SLF/Marshall Capital DM43 (V361 DLH).

2) MPD DP35 (T337 TVM).

3) MAN 14.220/East Lancs Myllennium MEM7 (RX53 LFH).

4) MAN 14.220/MCV Evolution MRM2 (AE06 VPZ).

5) MAN 14.220/East Lancs Myllennium MEM11 (MM53 BLU).

6) Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer DP42 (P307 HDP).

7) Mercedes-Benz Sprinter BU04 UTP.

8) MPD DP10 (W921 JNF).

In this shot, from left to right, are DP35 (T337 TVM), DM43 (V361 DLH), MEM7 (RX53 LFH) and MRM2 (AE06 VPZ).

The depot is off Monument Way East, but the back of it is visible from the canal towpath.

Basingstoke Canal towpath, Maybury, Woking, Surrey.

The Verona Arena (Arena di Verona) is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy, which is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind. Amphitheatre

The building itself was built in AD 30 on a site which was then beyond the city walls. The ludi (shows and games) staged there were so famous that spectators came from many other places, often far away, to witness them. The amphitheatre could host more than 30,000 spectators in ancient times.

The round façade of the building was originally composed of white and pink limestone from Valpolicella, but after a major earthquake in 1117, which almost completely destroyed the structure's outer ring, except for the so-called "ala", the stone was quarried for re-use in other buildings. Nevertheless it impressed medieval visitors to the city, one of whom considered it to have been a labyrinth, without ingress or egress. Ciriaco d'Ancona was filled with admiration for the way it had been built and Giovanni Antonio Panteo's civic panegyric De laudibus veronae, 1483, remarked that it struck the viewer as a construction that was more than human. Musical theatre

The first interventions to recover the arena's function as a theatre began during the Renaissance. Some operatic performances were later mounted in the building during the 1850s, owing to its outstanding acoustics.

And in 1913, operatic performances in the arena commenced in earnest due to the zeal and initiative of the Italian opera tenor Giovanni Zenatello and the impresario Ottone Rovato. The first 20th-century operatic production at the arena, a staging of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, took place on 10 August of that year, to mark the birth of Verdi 100 years before in 1813. Musical luminaries such as Puccini and Mascagni were in attendance. Since then, summer seasons of opera have been mounted continually at the arena, except in 1915â18 and 1940â45, when Europe was convulsed in war.

Nowadays, at least four productions (sometimes up to six) are mounted each year between June and August. During the winter months, the local opera and ballet companies perform at the L'Accademia Filarmonica.

Modern-day travellers are advised that admission tickets to sit on the arena's stone steps are much cheaper to buy than tickets giving access to the padded chairs available on lower levels. Candles are distributed to the audience and lit after sunset around the arena.

Every year over 500,000 people see productions of the popular operas in this arena.[3] Once capable of housing 20,000 patrons per performance (now limited to 15,000 because of safety reasons), the arena has featured many of world's most notable opera singers. In the post-World War II era, they have included Giuseppe Di Stefano, Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi and Renata Tebaldi among other names. A number of conductors have appeared there, too. The official arena shop has historical recordings made by some of them available for sale.

The opera productions in the Verona Arena had not used any microphones or loudspeakers until an electronic sound reinforcement system was installed in 2011.

In recent times, the arena has also hosted several concerts of international rock and pop bands, among which Laura Pausini, Pink Floyd, Alicia Keys, One Direction, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, Deep Purple, The Who, Dire Straits, Mike Oldfield, Rod Stewart, Sting, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Björk, Muse, Paul McCartney, Jamiroquai, and Whitney Houston.

In 1981, 1984 and 2010 it hosted the podium and presentation of the Giro d'Italia with thousands packing the arena to watch the prizes being handed out.

The 2011 Bollywood film Rockstar directed by Imtiaz Ali starring Ranbir Kapoor with music composed by Academy Award winner A.R.Rahman opens and closes with musical concerts shot here.

On 26 March 2013, Paul McCartney confirmed a show at the venue as part of his 2013 Tour. The show is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 25 June 2013.

British-Irish boy band One Direction performed on 19 May 2013 as part of their Take Me Home Tour

Piazza Bra , or simply the Bra (a name derived from a corruption of the term "Braida", which in turn derives from the Lombard breit , or "off"), is the largest square in Verona , located in its center historian .

The square of Piazza Bra began to turn into only the first half of the sixteenth century , when the architect Michele San Micheli concluded the palace of Honorij : this building was to delimit the western side of the square of the future, as well as to establish a correct outlook on the ' Arena . The first attempt to transform the clearing dirt road instead of walking, however, was the mayor Alvise Mocenigo, who wanted to create a meeting place for the rising bourgeoisie Verona: he was able to inaugurate the first part of the Liston , a paved sidewalk that lines connecting the Bra Corso Porta Nuova in Via Mazzini , in 1770. La Gran Guardia , begun by the Venetians in the seventeenth century and completed by the Austrians in the ' Nineteenth Century , went to delimit the southern side of the square, while in 1836 the architect Giuseppe Barbieri designed the eastern edge, where a hospital were demolished, some houses and a church, which was built in place of the Gran Guardia Nuova , better known as Palazzo Barbieri. This, initially used as a barracks by the Austrians, became, as a result of ' annexation of Veneto to the Kingdom of Italy , the seat of the municipality of the City of Verona.

History

Origins

In Roman times , the place where you would then open the Bra was outside the city and yet away from the main roads. It is only since the first century AD, when it was built the ' amphitheater in the Roman Empire, better known as the Arena of Verona , who came to define the northern edge of what centuries later would become one of the main squares of Verona. In 305 the Emperor Galerius , during a short stay in the city, he opened a door along the walls which was built in 265 by the Emperor Gallienus , which surrounded the Arena went thus creating a first connection between the city and the place where later would be born Bra.

The square, however, began to abbozzarsi only in the Middle Ages: the walls of the city was enlarged at that point between 1130 and 1153, going to close so that piece of land that later would become, coming to have the size of a square. Those areas between the walls and the Roman city walls were called braide, from the Lombard breit ; the braida that could match the current Bra in the twelfth century was far more extensive than at the edge of the square today.

A door that the Braida along the city walls is already mentioned in a document dated 1257, but later his place was taken by the gates of the Bra , probably due to the Visconti and to the Venetians : the first arch is dated to the late fourteenth century and the second to the second half of the fifteenth century. The clock that is located between the two arches of the gates of the Bra was a gift of Count Antonio Nogarola made ââin 1871: it was installed with the dials is visible from one side on the other walls. The clock was inaugurated on June 2, 1872 and refurbished in 1879 because of its vagueness.

Development

Piazza Bra after the arrangement of the central gardens

Piazza Bra in the mid-twentieth century.

The Bra began to be defined as a square only in the first decade of the seventeenth century, when they started on the south side of the factories Gran Guardia and the seat of the ' Accademia Filarmonica of Verona . In conjunction with the factory della Gran Guardia became the leveling the square as possible, and also create some gradients to regulate the flow of stormwater, operation up to that time never practiced because the space was used by stonemasons, that here, as well as work, abandoning the resulting material, and because the clearing was used for the discharge of material from construction in progress in the area.

For others, one hundred and fifty years the space was in clay, in fact, only in 1770 the foundations were laid of Liston will of the mayor Alvise Mocenigo. On March 13, 1782 Francis Menegatti presented a project to the final lastricamento of Liston that the City Council approved and, after this surgery, the bra became the favorite place for afternoon walks in place of Piazza dei Signori . Goethe , in his essay Journey to Italy , describes enjoyed the arrival carriage with ladies and gentlemen, and said that the sunset loitered along the rim of the amphitheater enjoying the most beautiful views of the city. I insole and down on the pavement off the Bra 'walked a multitude of people .

The square was smoothed more times: in 1808 he was entrusted with the task of remaking the Liston architect Luigi Trezza and in 1820 excavations were carried out along the Arena, in order to bring to light the basis of the same, as it was buried about two feet because of the sediments that were deposited after the numerous floods that had undergone the city. He also opted for a lowering of the average level of Bra about 70 centimeters along a line slightly inclined from the Gran Guardia At Arena, lowering the share of Liston.

Plan of Bra in a drawing by Giuseppe Barbieri

As for the lighting, until the eighteenth century the bra at night was totally immersed in the dark; only in the nineteenth century were installed lights in oil and gas lighting in 1845, so that the Liston also became a place for evening strolls. Then important for the conformation of the square today, is the accommodation in the central part of the garden Bra occurred in 1873: the central gardens were created with three circles forming a triangle with a central fountain.

Between 1884 and 1951 the square was affected by the rails of the tramway town .

Events

It is interesting to read the description of Liston of an astonished reporter of the magazine Esperia in an article of 1837:

" ... the audience is walking the plank of 'Veronesi, extended space, which is located in a few cities: here business people are dining and comforting conversation, idleness is recreated, and the beautiful flock there to get tributes of glances and sighs of their worshipers ... and many cafes offer brilliant and sufficient acceptance to the numerous meetings that there agree. Street musicians and improvisers, unpleasant indeed, but the liveliness of the inhabitants always well received, breaking the monotony of chatter; and the music of the military garrison increase much fun. Very pleasing to the eye is in the summer thousands of people of both sexes, and before sitting under the porch; and a more active crowd by constantly prowling the paths formed by the rows of seats, and now dispense with a bow, and now dwell near some nice, vibrate envious compliments and words of hope and voting ... while the beautiful turn cautious gaze looking at the confused teeming with ill-concealed impatience, greeting or stop most expensive among the happy meeting ... "

In the past, however, the Bra was used for uses other than those described well by this reporter: in particular, after the twelfth century it was included in the city walls it was used for the wood, hay, straw and cattle, so that in ancient documents is called the Bra cattle market. More often is cited as the parade ground, as was the case here the review of the troops from the beginning of the Venetian rule, which is why this was one of the points of conflict between the French and Venetian soldiers during the Veronese Easters in 1797 . Starting from 1633, after the approval of the Venetian Senate for the creation of an exhibition of goods in the city, there were held two annual fairs fifteen days each, which continued to be held until one of them was destroyed by fire October 28, 1712, and then restored in another place, it was established only in 1822, a new exhibition, which would last in Piazza Bra for twenty years.

Fair in very old custom is instead to Saint Lucia : it takes place every year from 11 to 13 December, but do not know its origins. Legend has it that, probably in the communal, an epidemic broke out in the city that struck my eyes, it was so that the Veronese decided to make a pilgrimage to the church of Saint Lucia (no longer exists): the children, who did not want to participate , were persuaded to return with the promise that they would find the shoes filled with gifts. The miracle occurred, and since then the fair is held to coincide with the feast of Saint Lucia.

The comet of Verona during a night snowfall

During the Christmas season takes place within the Arena arches dell ' Arena, the International Festival of the Nativity , an event born in 1984 from the mind of Alfredo Troisi , along with the comet symbol of the event, from the reservoir from the Arena, go to dive in Bra. Over the years the star has taken on meanings and values ââare independent of the review of the nativity, as to be appreciated by itself. This architecture-sculpture was designed by architect and designer Rinaldo Olivieri : his intuition came to looking at a map of the city, characterized by two large voids, one of the auditorium and that of the square in front of the Arena. It was from this impression that he was born an ideal line, a huge arch that connects the Arena with the urban space, an arc of light and steel from the Temple of the music goes to fall and explode among citizens.

The Verona Arena (Arena di Verona) is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy, which is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind. Amphitheatre

The building itself was built in AD 30 on a site which was then beyond the city walls. The ludi (shows and games) staged there were so famous that spectators came from many other places, often far away, to witness them. The amphitheatre could host more than 30,000 spectators in ancient times.

The round façade of the building was originally composed of white and pink limestone from Valpolicella, but after a major earthquake in 1117, which almost completely destroyed the structure's outer ring, except for the so-called "ala", the stone was quarried for re-use in other buildings. Nevertheless it impressed medieval visitors to the city, one of whom considered it to have been a labyrinth, without ingress or egress. Ciriaco d'Ancona was filled with admiration for the way it had been built and Giovanni Antonio Panteo's civic panegyric De laudibus veronae, 1483, remarked that it struck the viewer as a construction that was more than human. Musical theatre

The first interventions to recover the arena's function as a theatre began during the Renaissance. Some operatic performances were later mounted in the building during the 1850s, owing to its outstanding acoustics.

And in 1913, operatic performances in the arena commenced in earnest due to the zeal and initiative of the Italian opera tenor Giovanni Zenatello and the impresario Ottone Rovato. The first 20th-century operatic production at the arena, a staging of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, took place on 10 August of that year, to mark the birth of Verdi 100 years before in 1813. Musical luminaries such as Puccini and Mascagni were in attendance. Since then, summer seasons of opera have been mounted continually at the arena, except in 1915â18 and 1940â45, when Europe was convulsed in war.

Nowadays, at least four productions (sometimes up to six) are mounted each year between June and August. During the winter months, the local opera and ballet companies perform at the L'Accademia Filarmonica.

Modern-day travellers are advised that admission tickets to sit on the arena's stone steps are much cheaper to buy than tickets giving access to the padded chairs available on lower levels. Candles are distributed to the audience and lit after sunset around the arena.

Every year over 500,000 people see productions of the popular operas in this arena.[3] Once capable of housing 20,000 patrons per performance (now limited to 15,000 because of safety reasons), the arena has featured many of world's most notable opera singers. In the post-World War II era, they have included Giuseppe Di Stefano, Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi and Renata Tebaldi among other names. A number of conductors have appeared there, too. The official arena shop has historical recordings made by some of them available for sale.

The opera productions in the Verona Arena had not used any microphones or loudspeakers until an electronic sound reinforcement system was installed in 2011.

In recent times, the arena has also hosted several concerts of international rock and pop bands, among which Laura Pausini, Pink Floyd, Alicia Keys, One Direction, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, Deep Purple, The Who, Dire Straits, Mike Oldfield, Rod Stewart, Sting, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Björk, Muse, Paul McCartney, Jamiroquai, and Whitney Houston.

In 1981, 1984 and 2010 it hosted the podium and presentation of the Giro d'Italia with thousands packing the arena to watch the prizes being handed out.

The 2011 Bollywood film Rockstar directed by Imtiaz Ali starring Ranbir Kapoor with music composed by Academy Award winner A.R.Rahman opens and closes with musical concerts shot here.

On 26 March 2013, Paul McCartney confirmed a show at the venue as part of his 2013 Tour. The show is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 25 June 2013.

British-Irish boy band One Direction performed on 19 May 2013 as part of their Take Me Home Tour

Piazza Bra , or simply the Bra (a name derived from a corruption of the term "Braida", which in turn derives from the Lombard breit , or "off"), is the largest square in Verona , located in its center historian .

The square of Piazza Bra began to turn into only the first half of the sixteenth century , when the architect Michele San Micheli concluded the palace of Honorij : this building was to delimit the western side of the square of the future, as well as to establish a correct outlook on the ' Arena . The first attempt to transform the clearing dirt road instead of walking, however, was the mayor Alvise Mocenigo, who wanted to create a meeting place for the rising bourgeoisie Verona: he was able to inaugurate the first part of the Liston , a paved sidewalk that lines connecting the Bra Corso Porta Nuova in Via Mazzini , in 1770. La Gran Guardia , begun by the Venetians in the seventeenth century and completed by the Austrians in the ' Nineteenth Century , went to delimit the southern side of the square, while in 1836 the architect Giuseppe Barbieri designed the eastern edge, where a hospital were demolished, some houses and a church, which was built in place of the Gran Guardia Nuova , better known as Palazzo Barbieri. This, initially used as a barracks by the Austrians, became, as a result of ' annexation of Veneto to the Kingdom of Italy , the seat of the municipality of the City of Verona.

History

Origins

In Roman times , the place where you would then open the Bra was outside the city and yet away from the main roads. It is only since the first century AD, when it was built the ' amphitheater in the Roman Empire, better known as the Arena of Verona , who came to define the northern edge of what centuries later would become one of the main squares of Verona. In 305 the Emperor Galerius , during a short stay in the city, he opened a door along the walls which was built in 265 by the Emperor Gallienus , which surrounded the Arena went thus creating a first connection between the city and the place where later would be born Bra.

The square, however, began to abbozzarsi only in the Middle Ages: the walls of the city was enlarged at that point between 1130 and 1153, going to close so that piece of land that later would become, coming to have the size of a square. Those areas between the walls and the Roman city walls were called braide, from the Lombard breit ; the braida that could match the current Bra in the twelfth century was far more extensive than at the edge of the square today.

A door that the Braida along the city walls is already mentioned in a document dated 1257, but later his place was taken by the gates of the Bra , probably due to the Visconti and to the Venetians : the first arch is dated to the late fourteenth century and the second to the second half of the fifteenth century. The clock that is located between the two arches of the gates of the Bra was a gift of Count Antonio Nogarola made ââin 1871: it was installed with the dials is visible from one side on the other walls. The clock was inaugurated on June 2, 1872 and refurbished in 1879 because of its vagueness.

Development

Piazza Bra after the arrangement of the central gardens

Piazza Bra in the mid-twentieth century.

The Bra began to be defined as a square only in the first decade of the seventeenth century, when they started on the south side of the factories Gran Guardia and the seat of the ' Accademia Filarmonica of Verona . In conjunction with the factory della Gran Guardia became the leveling the square as possible, and also create some gradients to regulate the flow of stormwater, operation up to that time never practiced because the space was used by stonemasons, that here, as well as work, abandoning the resulting material, and because the clearing was used for the discharge of material from construction in progress in the area.

For others, one hundred and fifty years the space was in clay, in fact, only in 1770 the foundations were laid of Liston will of the mayor Alvise Mocenigo. On March 13, 1782 Francis Menegatti presented a project to the final lastricamento of Liston that the City Council approved and, after this surgery, the bra became the favorite place for afternoon walks in place of Piazza dei Signori . Goethe , in his essay Journey to Italy , describes enjoyed the arrival carriage with ladies and gentlemen, and said that the sunset loitered along the rim of the amphitheater enjoying the most beautiful views of the city. I insole and down on the pavement off the Bra 'walked a multitude of people .

The square was smoothed more times: in 1808 he was entrusted with the task of remaking the Liston architect Luigi Trezza and in 1820 excavations were carried out along the Arena, in order to bring to light the basis of the same, as it was buried about two feet because of the sediments that were deposited after the numerous floods that had undergone the city. He also opted for a lowering of the average level of Bra about 70 centimeters along a line slightly inclined from the Gran Guardia At Arena, lowering the share of Liston.

Plan of Bra in a drawing by Giuseppe Barbieri

As for the lighting, until the eighteenth century the bra at night was totally immersed in the dark; only in the nineteenth century were installed lights in oil and gas lighting in 1845, so that the Liston also became a place for evening strolls. Then important for the conformation of the square today, is the accommodation in the central part of the garden Bra occurred in 1873: the central gardens were created with three circles forming a triangle with a central fountain.

Between 1884 and 1951 the square was affected by the rails of the tramway town .

Events

It is interesting to read the description of Liston of an astonished reporter of the magazine Esperia in an article of 1837:

" ... the audience is walking the plank of 'Veronesi, extended space, which is located in a few cities: here business people are dining and comforting conversation, idleness is recreated, and the beautiful flock there to get tributes of glances and sighs of their worshipers ... and many cafes offer brilliant and sufficient acceptance to the numerous meetings that there agree. Street musicians and improvisers, unpleasant indeed, but the liveliness of the inhabitants always well received, breaking the monotony of chatter; and the music of the military garrison increase much fun. Very pleasing to the eye is in the summer thousands of people of both sexes, and before sitting under the porch; and a more active crowd by constantly prowling the paths formed by the rows of seats, and now dispense with a bow, and now dwell near some nice, vibrate envious compliments and words of hope and voting ... while the beautiful turn cautious gaze looking at the confused teeming with ill-concealed impatience, greeting or stop most expensive among the happy meeting ... "

In the past, however, the Bra was used for uses other than those described well by this reporter: in particular, after the twelfth century it was included in the city walls it was used for the wood, hay, straw and cattle, so that in ancient documents is called the Bra cattle market. More often is cited as the parade ground, as was the case here the review of the troops from the beginning of the Venetian rule, which is why this was one of the points of conflict between the French and Venetian soldiers during the Veronese Easters in 1797 . Starting from 1633, after the approval of the Venetian Senate for the creation of an exhibition of goods in the city, there were held two annual fairs fifteen days each, which continued to be held until one of them was destroyed by fire October 28, 1712, and then restored in another place, it was established only in 1822, a new exhibition, which would last in Piazza Bra for twenty years.

Fair in very old custom is instead to Saint Lucia : it takes place every year from 11 to 13 December, but do not know its origins. Legend has it that, probably in the communal, an epidemic broke out in the city that struck my eyes, it was so that the Veronese decided to make a pilgrimage to the church of Saint Lucia (no longer exists): the children, who did not want to participate , were persuaded to return with the promise that they would find the shoes filled with gifts. The miracle occurred, and since then the fair is held to coincide with the feast of Saint Lucia.

The comet of Verona during a night snowfall

During the Christmas season takes place within the Arena arches dell ' Arena, the International Festival of the Nativity , an event born in 1984 from the mind of Alfredo Troisi , along with the comet symbol of the event, from the reservoir from the Arena, go to dive in Bra. Over the years the star has taken on meanings and values ââare independent of the review of the nativity, as to be appreciated by itself. This architecture-sculpture was designed by architect and designer Rinaldo Olivieri : his intuition came to looking at a map of the city, characterized by two large voids, one of the auditorium and that of the square in front of the Arena. It was from this impression that he was born an ideal line, a huge arch that connects the Arena with the urban space, an arc of light and steel from the Temple of the music goes to fall and explode among citizens.

The Portraits of Hogwarts

Hanging on the walls of the Hogwarts Castle were nearly 350 enchanted portraits honouring centuries-old wizards and witches. However, as a tribute, many of the film's crew were given the opportunity to be immortalised in hand-painted portraits throughout the castle.

People the world-over have been enchanted by the Harry Potter films for nearly a decade. The wonderful special effects and amazing creatures have made this iconic series beloved to both young and old - and now, for the first time, the doors are going to be opened for everyone at the studio where it first began. You'll have the chance to go behind-the-scenes and see many things the camera never showed. From breathtakingly detailed sets to stunning costumes, props and animatronics, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London provides a unique showcase of the extraordinary British artistry, technology and talent that went into making the most successful film series of all time. Secrets will be revealed.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London provides an amazing new opportunity to explore the magic of the Harry Potter films - the most successful film series of all time. This unique walking tour takes you behind-the-scenes and showcases a huge array of beautiful sets, costumes and props. It also reveals some closely guarded secrets, including facts about the special effects and animatronics that made these films so hugely popular all over the world.

Here are just some of the things you can expect to see and do:

- Step inside and discover the actual Great Hall.

- Explore Dumbledore’s office and discover never-before-seen treasures.

- Step onto the famous cobbles of Diagon Alley, featuring the shop fronts of Ollivanders wand shop, Flourish and Blotts, the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Eeylops Owl Emporium.

- See iconic props from the films, including Harry’s Nimbus 2000 and Hagrid’s motorcycle.

- Learn how creatures were brought to life with green screen effects, animatronics and life-sized models.

- Rediscover other memorable sets from the film series, including the Gryffindor common room, the boys’ dormitory, Hagrid’s hut, Potion’s classroom and Professor Umbridge’s office at the Ministry of Magic.

Located just 20 miles from the heart of London at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the very place where it all began and where all eight of the Harry Potter films were brought to life. The Studio Tour is accessible to everyone and promises to be a truly memorable experience - whether you’re an avid Harry Potter fan, an all-round movie buff or you just want to try something that’s a little bit different.

The tour is estimated to take approximately three hours (I was in there for 5 hours!), however, as the tour is mostly self guided, you are free to explore the attraction at your own pace. During this time you will be able to see many of the best-loved sets and exhibits from the films. Unique and precious items from the films will also be on display, alongside some exciting hands-on interactive exhibits that will make you feel like you’re actually there.

The magic also continues in the Gift Shop, which is full of exciting souvenirs and official merchandise, designed to create an everlasting memory of your day at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.

Hogwarts Castle Model - Get a 360 degree view of the incredible, hand sculpted 1:24 scale construction that features within the Studio Tour. The Hogwarts castle model is the jewel of the Art Department having been built for the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It took 86 artists and crew members to construct the first version which was then rebuilt and altered many times over for the next seven films. The work was so extensive that if one was to add all the man hours that have gone into building and reworking the model, it would come to over 74 years. The model was used for aerial photography, and was digitally scanned for CGI scenes.

The model, which sits at nearly 50 feet in diameter, has over 2,500 fibre optic lights that simulate lanterns and torches and even gave the illusion of students passing through hallways in the films. To show off the lighting to full effect a day-to-night cycle will take place every four minutes so you can experience its full beauty.

An amazing amount of detail went into the making of the model: all the doors are hinged, real plants are used for landscaping and miniature birds are housed in the Owlery. To make the model appear even more realistic, artists rebuilt miniature versions of the courtyards from Alnwick Castle and Durham Cathedral, where scenes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone were shot.

The Templar Kirkyard at Maryculter

The Order of the Knights Templars, whose function was to protect those on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, was introduced to Scotland in 1128 by David I. The Order was given extensive grants of land and the Knights in their white cloaks decorated with the scarlet cross of the Order soon became familiar figures throughout Scotland.

The Knights Templars first gained land on Deeside in the late 12th century when William the Lion, King of the Scots, granted them that portion of the lands of Culter which lay on the south side of the River Dee. Around 1225 Walter Bisset established a Preceptory of Templars on these lands and in 1287 the Templars built a chapel here dedicated to their patron, St. Mary, the Blessed Virgin. As there was already a chapel dedicated to St. Peter on the north side of the Dee, Culter was then divided into two parished, Peterculter to the north of the river and Maryculter to the south.

The Order became extremely wealthy and powerful and in 1312 was abolished by Philip IV of France in conjunction with Pope Clement V after being accused of plotting to overthrow various European thrones. All the Templars' possession in Scotland, including the lands of Maryculter, passed to the Order of the Knights Hospitallers, sometimes knowen as the Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. The Hospitallers, who wore black cloaks with a white cross, prosperred until the time of the Reformation when the Order was dissolved and thier lands passed to the Crown.

The Knights Hospitallers of Maryculter had, however, in q1535 taken advantage of an Act of Parliament which permitted them to feu their lands to "men of substance": Kingcausie was feued to the Irvines, Auchlonles to the Collisons and Blairs to the Menzies. In 1827 John Menzies gifted Blairfs to the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland to establish a college for boys wishing to become priests. The tower and spire of the college and its chapel may be glimpsed through the trees from the South Deeside Road. The college closed in 1986.

The Church of St. Mary, which the Templars built on the haught of the Dee in the late 13th century, remained in use until 1782 when a new parish church was erected about one kilometre to the south.

An air of tranquility prevails within the high sheltering walls of this ancient kirkyard. The plant known as Cuckoo Pint or Lords and Ladies (Arum maculatum), which was brought by the Hospitallers from the Holy Land and grown in their herb garden for medicinal use, still flourishes below the horse chestnut trees. The fragmentary ruins of the Chaple of St. Mary built by the Knights Templars lie in the centre of the kirkyard. There are no other visible remains of the Preceptory buildings but it is believed that the vaulted basement of the Preceptor's lodging may have been incorporated into the 17th Ha' House, now part of Maryculter House Hotel.

The chapel, comprising a single chamber approximately 23m long by 7m wide, was a simple and dignified Gothic structure typical of late 13th century churches in this area. Examination of the ruin and of the few remaining molded stones lying within it suggests that it was similar to the Chapel of St. Mary of the Storms at Cowie, near Stonehaven, which dates from 1276.

Built into the south wall of the chapel is an unusually fine piscina with a delicately fluted bowl carried by a small shaft. Effigies of a knight in armour and his lady, beutifully carved in freestone, once lay within the ruined chapel. the knight's head rested upon a helmet and the lady's upon an embroidered cushion. A little dog lay at the feet of each effigy. The effigies, believed to be of Gilbert Menzies, who feued the lands of Blairs from the Hospitallers in 1535, and his wife, Marjory, were removed to the West Kirk of St. Nicholas, Aberdeen, around 1890. Gilbert, one of a long line of the Menzies family promenent in Aberdeen civic life, was Provost of the city for 25 years.

Within the walls of the chapel are buried the Irvine-Boswells and the Irvine-Fortescues, descendants of the first laird of Kingscausie, Henry Irvine, who was granted the feu of the land by the Hospitallers in 1535. Among those who rest here is John Irvine-Boswell, who introduced modern methods of agriculture and did much to improve the fertility of the estate. His epitaph describes him as "a man who walked with God and loved his Saviour, who in a careless time was not ashamed of his religion, but bore a good Testimony". After his death in 1860 his widow erected the prominent Boswell Tower on the Hill of Auchlee (some 5 kilometres to the southeast) to his memory. Here also is the grave of Ann Johnston, "nurse and friend of the Fortescue family" for 45 years.

Below the mossy turf of the kirkyard are innumerable graves, many of which are unmarked. Several early stones, such as the one illustrated here, are beautifully decorated. Many inscriptions have been rendered illegible with the passage of time but a ?? of those still discernible yields much of interest. Clustered together are stones commemorating several generations of a family, such as those of the Shepherds and the Donalds, farmers in the district since the early 18th century. Below the yews to the west of the old kirk rest the Duguids, descendants of Isobel Barclay Irvine Fortescue; and Peter Duguid.

South of the ruined kirk will be found the graves of Alexander Gordon, his wife and family. A stone in memory of his third son, Richard Lewis Hobart, a midshipman, tells that he drowned at the wreck of HMS Challenger off the coast of Chile on 20th May 1835 "in the performance of a dangerous service remitted to the safety of his shipmates, for which he had volunteered". Nearby is a railed enclosure, the burial place of the Hectors: here Susanna Davidson was laid to rest in 1819, "leaving a husband and twelve affectionate children to lament her loss and emulate her virtues". A table shaped stone in memory of the Reverend John Glennie, minister at Dalmaik for 13 years and, at Maryculter for 39 years, bears a lengthy inscription in Latin exsulting his virtues, it tell that he died in peace "after a life spent in preaching the Gospel, instructing the young and bringing up his children to live well and happily". Closer to the south boundary wall is the headstone erected in memory of Uphemia Arthur, who died in 1835 aged 102 years.

Several stones display winged souls, skulls, crossed bones, crossed spades and turfcutters, and hourglasses. Of particular interest are two stone in memory of young people which show the hourglass in a horizontal position, symbolising that they died before the sands of time had run out naturally. Trade emblems are rare in this kirkyard but the headstone of Alexander Ethershank, "late smith in Cr?? who died the 19 day of August 1776 aged 71 years" has the ?? and hammer of the Hammermen. The back of a stone commemorating Alexander Grant, a farmer who died in 1798, bears the sack and ?? of the plough alongside some excellent and uncommon mortality symbols where the bones are crossed with the sextion's tools.

The Verona Arena (Arena di Verona) is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy, which is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind. Amphitheatre

The building itself was built in AD 30 on a site which was then beyond the city walls. The ludi (shows and games) staged there were so famous that spectators came from many other places, often far away, to witness them. The amphitheatre could host more than 30,000 spectators in ancient times.

The round façade of the building was originally composed of white and pink limestone from Valpolicella, but after a major earthquake in 1117, which almost completely destroyed the structure's outer ring, except for the so-called "ala", the stone was quarried for re-use in other buildings. Nevertheless it impressed medieval visitors to the city, one of whom considered it to have been a labyrinth, without ingress or egress. Ciriaco d'Ancona was filled with admiration for the way it had been built and Giovanni Antonio Panteo's civic panegyric De laudibus veronae, 1483, remarked that it struck the viewer as a construction that was more than human. Musical theatre

The first interventions to recover the arena's function as a theatre began during the Renaissance. Some operatic performances were later mounted in the building during the 1850s, owing to its outstanding acoustics.

And in 1913, operatic performances in the arena commenced in earnest due to the zeal and initiative of the Italian opera tenor Giovanni Zenatello and the impresario Ottone Rovato. The first 20th-century operatic production at the arena, a staging of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, took place on 10 August of that year, to mark the birth of Verdi 100 years before in 1813. Musical luminaries such as Puccini and Mascagni were in attendance. Since then, summer seasons of opera have been mounted continually at the arena, except in 1915â18 and 1940â45, when Europe was convulsed in war.

Nowadays, at least four productions (sometimes up to six) are mounted each year between June and August. During the winter months, the local opera and ballet companies perform at the L'Accademia Filarmonica.

Modern-day travellers are advised that admission tickets to sit on the arena's stone steps are much cheaper to buy than tickets giving access to the padded chairs available on lower levels. Candles are distributed to the audience and lit after sunset around the arena.

Every year over 500,000 people see productions of the popular operas in this arena.[3] Once capable of housing 20,000 patrons per performance (now limited to 15,000 because of safety reasons), the arena has featured many of world's most notable opera singers. In the post-World War II era, they have included Giuseppe Di Stefano, Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi and Renata Tebaldi among other names. A number of conductors have appeared there, too. The official arena shop has historical recordings made by some of them available for sale.

The opera productions in the Verona Arena had not used any microphones or loudspeakers until an electronic sound reinforcement system was installed in 2011.

In recent times, the arena has also hosted several concerts of international rock and pop bands, among which Laura Pausini, Pink Floyd, Alicia Keys, One Direction, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, Deep Purple, The Who, Dire Straits, Mike Oldfield, Rod Stewart, Sting, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Björk, Muse, Paul McCartney, Jamiroquai, and Whitney Houston.

In 1981, 1984 and 2010 it hosted the podium and presentation of the Giro d'Italia with thousands packing the arena to watch the prizes being handed out.

The 2011 Bollywood film Rockstar directed by Imtiaz Ali starring Ranbir Kapoor with music composed by Academy Award winner A.R.Rahman opens and closes with musical concerts shot here.

On 26 March 2013, Paul McCartney confirmed a show at the venue as part of his 2013 Tour. The show is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 25 June 2013.

British-Irish boy band One Direction performed on 19 May 2013 as part of their Take Me Home Tour

Piazza Bra , or simply the Bra (a name derived from a corruption of the term "Braida", which in turn derives from the Lombard breit , or "off"), is the largest square in Verona , located in its center historian .

The square of Piazza Bra began to turn into only the first half of the sixteenth century , when the architect Michele San Micheli concluded the palace of Honorij : this building was to delimit the western side of the square of the future, as well as to establish a correct outlook on the ' Arena . The first attempt to transform the clearing dirt road instead of walking, however, was the mayor Alvise Mocenigo, who wanted to create a meeting place for the rising bourgeoisie Verona: he was able to inaugurate the first part of the Liston , a paved sidewalk that lines connecting the Bra Corso Porta Nuova in Via Mazzini , in 1770. La Gran Guardia , begun by the Venetians in the seventeenth century and completed by the Austrians in the ' Nineteenth Century , went to delimit the southern side of the square, while in 1836 the architect Giuseppe Barbieri designed the eastern edge, where a hospital were demolished, some houses and a church, which was built in place of the Gran Guardia Nuova , better known as Palazzo Barbieri. This, initially used as a barracks by the Austrians, became, as a result of ' annexation of Veneto to the Kingdom of Italy , the seat of the municipality of the City of Verona.

History

Origins

In Roman times , the place where you would then open the Bra was outside the city and yet away from the main roads. It is only since the first century AD, when it was built the ' amphitheater in the Roman Empire, better known as the Arena of Verona , who came to define the northern edge of what centuries later would become one of the main squares of Verona. In 305 the Emperor Galerius , during a short stay in the city, he opened a door along the walls which was built in 265 by the Emperor Gallienus , which surrounded the Arena went thus creating a first connection between the city and the place where later would be born Bra.

The square, however, began to abbozzarsi only in the Middle Ages: the walls of the city was enlarged at that point between 1130 and 1153, going to close so that piece of land that later would become, coming to have the size of a square. Those areas between the walls and the Roman city walls were called braide, from the Lombard breit ; the braida that could match the current Bra in the twelfth century was far more extensive than at the edge of the square today.

A door that the Braida along the city walls is already mentioned in a document dated 1257, but later his place was taken by the gates of the Bra , probably due to the Visconti and to the Venetians : the first arch is dated to the late fourteenth century and the second to the second half of the fifteenth century. The clock that is located between the two arches of the gates of the Bra was a gift of Count Antonio Nogarola made ââin 1871: it was installed with the dials is visible from one side on the other walls. The clock was inaugurated on June 2, 1872 and refurbished in 1879 because of its vagueness.

Development

Piazza Bra after the arrangement of the central gardens

Piazza Bra in the mid-twentieth century.

The Bra began to be defined as a square only in the first decade of the seventeenth century, when they started on the south side of the factories Gran Guardia and the seat of the ' Accademia Filarmonica of Verona . In conjunction with the factory della Gran Guardia became the leveling the square as possible, and also create some gradients to regulate the flow of stormwater, operation up to that time never practiced because the space was used by stonemasons, that here, as well as work, abandoning the resulting material, and because the clearing was used for the discharge of material from construction in progress in the area.

For others, one hundred and fifty years the space was in clay, in fact, only in 1770 the foundations were laid of Liston will of the mayor Alvise Mocenigo. On March 13, 1782 Francis Menegatti presented a project to the final lastricamento of Liston that the City Council approved and, after this surgery, the bra became the favorite place for afternoon walks in place of Piazza dei Signori . Goethe , in his essay Journey to Italy , describes enjoyed the arrival carriage with ladies and gentlemen, and said that the sunset loitered along the rim of the amphitheater enjoying the most beautiful views of the city. I insole and down on the pavement off the Bra 'walked a multitude of people .

The square was smoothed more times: in 1808 he was entrusted with the task of remaking the Liston architect Luigi Trezza and in 1820 excavations were carried out along the Arena, in order to bring to light the basis of the same, as it was buried about two feet because of the sediments that were deposited after the numerous floods that had undergone the city. He also opted for a lowering of the average level of Bra about 70 centimeters along a line slightly inclined from the Gran Guardia At Arena, lowering the share of Liston.

Plan of Bra in a drawing by Giuseppe Barbieri

As for the lighting, until the eighteenth century the bra at night was totally immersed in the dark; only in the nineteenth century were installed lights in oil and gas lighting in 1845, so that the Liston also became a place for evening strolls. Then important for the conformation of the square today, is the accommodation in the central part of the garden Bra occurred in 1873: the central gardens were created with three circles forming a triangle with a central fountain.

Between 1884 and 1951 the square was affected by the rails of the tramway town .

Events

It is interesting to read the description of Liston of an astonished reporter of the magazine Esperia in an article of 1837:

" ... the audience is walking the plank of 'Veronesi, extended space, which is located in a few cities: here business people are dining and comforting conversation, idleness is recreated, and the beautiful flock there to get tributes of glances and sighs of their worshipers ... and many cafes offer brilliant and sufficient acceptance to the numerous meetings that there agree. Street musicians and improvisers, unpleasant indeed, but the liveliness of the inhabitants always well received, breaking the monotony of chatter; and the music of the military garrison increase much fun. Very pleasing to the eye is in the summer thousands of people of both sexes, and before sitting under the porch; and a more active crowd by constantly prowling the paths formed by the rows of seats, and now dispense with a bow, and now dwell near some nice, vibrate envious compliments and words of hope and voting ... while the beautiful turn cautious gaze looking at the confused teeming with ill-concealed impatience, greeting or stop most expensive among the happy meeting ... "

In the past, however, the Bra was used for uses other than those described well by this reporter: in particular, after the twelfth century it was included in the city walls it was used for the wood, hay, straw and cattle, so that in ancient documents is called the Bra cattle market. More often is cited as the parade ground, as was the case here the review of the troops from the beginning of the Venetian rule, which is why this was one of the points of conflict between the French and Venetian soldiers during the Veronese Easters in 1797 . Starting from 1633, after the approval of the Venetian Senate for the creation of an exhibition of goods in the city, there were held two annual fairs fifteen days each, which continued to be held until one of them was destroyed by fire October 28, 1712, and then restored in another place, it was established only in 1822, a new exhibition, which would last in Piazza Bra for twenty years.

Fair in very old custom is instead to Saint Lucia : it takes place every year from 11 to 13 December, but do not know its origins. Legend has it that, probably in the communal, an epidemic broke out in the city that struck my eyes, it was so that the Veronese decided to make a pilgrimage to the church of Saint Lucia (no longer exists): the children, who did not want to participate , were persuaded to return with the promise that they would find the shoes filled with gifts. The miracle occurred, and since then the fair is held to coincide with the feast of Saint Lucia.

The comet of Verona during a night snowfall

During the Christmas season takes place within the Arena arches dell ' Arena, the International Festival of the Nativity , an event born in 1984 from the mind of Alfredo Troisi , along with the comet symbol of the event, from the reservoir from the Arena, go to dive in Bra. Over the years the star has taken on meanings and values ââare independent of the review of the nativity, as to be appreciated by itself. This architecture-sculpture was designed by architect and designer Rinaldo Olivieri : his intuition came to looking at a map of the city, characterized by two large voids, one of the auditorium and that of the square in front of the Arena. It was from this impression that he was born an ideal line, a huge arch that connects the Arena with the urban space, an arc of light and steel from the Temple of the music goes to fall and explode among citizens.

Although the airfield is actually closer to the village of Langham, it was given the name Boxted, an adjoining village, because there was already an airfield by the name of Langham in north Norfolk.

Boxted was built as a heavy bomber base and was opened in 1943. It was built to the Class A airfield standard set by the Air Ministry, the main feature of which was a set of three converging runways each containing a concrete runway for takeoffs and landings, optimally placed at 60 degree angles to each other in a triangular pattern. Boxted's main runway was 6,000 feet long on a SW-NE axis (01/19) and the two intersecting runways were 4,200 feet each in length (05/23), (16/34). There were fifty hardstands, chiefly loops but with some frying-pan types connecting to an enclosing perimeter track, of a standard width of 50 feet. Tarmac and wood chips were applied to the concrete surface and Mark 11 airfield lighting was installed for the main runway.

The ground support station was constructed largely of Nissen huts of various sizes. The support station was where the group and ground station commanders and squadron headquarters and orderly rooms were located. Also on the ground station were where the mess facilities; chapel; hospital; mission briefing and debriefing; armory and bombsite storage; life support; parachute rigging; supply warehouses; station and airfield security; motor pool and the other ground support functions necessary to support the air operations of the group. These facilities were all connected by a network of single path support roads.

The technical site, connected to the ground station and airfield consisted of two T-2 type hangars, one on the south and one on the west side of the airfield. A single blister hangar was erected which occupied a dispersal area at the northern end of the airfield, which used a farmhouse as its administrative and headquarters building. Various organizational, component and field maintenance shops along with the crew chiefs and other personnel necessary to keep the aircraft airworthy and to quickly repair light and moderate battle damage. Aircraft severely damaged in combat were sent to repair depots for major structural repair. The Ammunition dump was located on the east side of the airfield, outside of the perimeter track surrounded by large dirt mounds and concrete storage pens for storing the aerial bombs and the other munitions required by the combat aircraft.

Various domestic accommodation sites were constructed dispersed south of the airfield, but within a mile or so of the technical support site, also using clusters of Maycrete or Nissen huts. The Huts were either connected, set up end-to-end or built singly and made of prefabricated corrugated iron with a door and two small windows at the front and back. They provided accommodation for 2.841 personnel, including communal and a sick quarters.

USAAF use

The airfield was used by the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force and Ninth Air Forces. It was known as USAAF Station AAF-150 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. It's USAAF Station Code was "BX".

386th Bombardment Group (Medium)

Although Boxted was scheduled to receive the 96th Bombardment Group in June 1943, plans were changed and the B-17 Flying Fortress group went instead to RAF Snetterton Heath in Norfolk. In its place, the 386th Bombardment Group (Medium) was moved from Snetterton on 12 June to consolidate the Martin B-26 Marauder groups in Essex for operations. The group was assigned to the VIII Bomber Command 3d Bomb Wing and flew both B-26B/C Marauder aircraft. Its operational squadrons were:

552d Bomb Squadron (RG)

553d Bomb Squadron (AN)

554th Bomb Squadron (RU)

555th Bomb Squadron (YA)

The group flew its first mission on 20 July, with operations concentrating on airfields but also attacked marshalling yards and gun positions along the channel coast.

The group was transferred to RAF Great Dunmow on 24 September 1943.

354th Fighter Group

Construction work at Boxted was not finished until late 1943 when the airfield was turned over to the Ninth Air Force for use by the first fighter group to be equipped with the P-51B Mustang. However, the 354th Fighter Group, was under the operational control of the VIII Fighter Command during its stay at Boxted, arriving from RAF Greenham Common on 13 November 1943 Its combat squadrons were:

353d Fighter Squadron (FT)

355th Fighter Squadron (GQ)

356th Fighter Squadron (AJ)

The group provided long-range escort for US heavy bombers and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its activities up to mid-May 1944 during which the 354th was instrumental in the development of the P-51 for use in long-range missions to escort heavy bombers on raids deep into enemy territory. As a result, priority for the Mustang was shifted from the Ninth to the Eighth Air Force, which converted 14 of its 15 fighter groups to the P-51. The 354th also gained the distinction of destroying more enemy aircraft in aerial combat than any other USAAF fighter group (701).

During that same period Colonel James H Howard won the Medal of Honor for his single-handed efforts to defend a bomber formation that was attacked by a large force of enemy planes while on a mission to Oschersleben, Germany on 11 January 1944. Colonel Howard attacked a formation of thirty German aircraft. Pressing home the attack for more than thirty minutes he destroyed three aircraft and. even when he was low on fuel and his ammunition was exhausted, he continued his aggressive tactics to protect the bombers.

In mid-April 1944, the 354th flew south to RAF Lashenden in Kent prior to moving to the Continent after the invasion of Normandy.

56th Fighter Group

With the departure of the 354th, its place was taken by the 56th Fighter Group which was transferred from RAF Halesworth on 19 April 1944 to enable that base to be converted to a heavy bomber installation. Its operational squadrons were:

61st Fighter Squadron (HV)

62d Fighter Squadron (LM)

63d Fighter Squadron (UN)

Flying the P-47 Thunderbolt, the 56th Fighter Group was the most successful of the Eighth Air Force groups in air-to-air combat, and the second most successful in the USAAF with 665.5 (the 354th FG had 701 while the Pacific-based 49th FG had 664). It engaged in counter-air and interdictory missions during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Supported Allied forces for the breakthrough at St Lo in July. Participated in the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944-January 1945. Helped to defend the Remagen bridgehead against air attacks in March 1945.

While at Boxted, the group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for strikes against antiaircraft positions while supporting the airborne attack on Holland on September 18, 1944, an operation in which 16 P-47s were shot down or crashlanded in Allied territory.

The commander of the 61st FS, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Gabreski, destroyed his 28th enemy aircraft in air combat, a record unequalled by any American fighter pilot in Europe. On 20 July 1944, Gabreski had to make a belly landing in his P-47 Thunderbolt after his propellor clipped the ground while strafing an airfield near Koblenz, Germany. Although he avoided capture for five days before being finally arrested and interrogated by the Germans, he was greeted with the words: 'Hello Gabby, we've been waiting for you for a long time!'

The unit flew its last combat mission on 21 April 1945. After the war ended two unusual aircraft could be seen at Boxted - an FW-190A and an He-111H which had been 'acquired' by the 56th on the Continent to be used as personal transport.

The 56th remained at Boxted until October when it returned to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, being deactivated on 18 October 1945.

5th Emergency Rescue Squadron.

Originally designated as Detachment B of the 65th Fighter Wing, the 5th Emergency Rescue Squadron was activated at Boxted in May 1944. The squadron's mission was to perform air/sea rescue missions with war weary P-47 Thunderbolts transferred from other fighter groups. The squadron's fuselage code was "5F".

The aircraft were modified to carry dinghies, marker buoys and flares on their bomb racks. The mission of the unit was to locate pilots who had bailed out over the North Sea and would drop liferafts and inform sea-based rescue units who would then pick up the pilots.

The unit moved to RAF Halesworth in January 1945.

RAF Fighter Command use.

After the war, Boxted was taken over by RAF Fighter Command and used at first by de Havilland Mosquito night fighters and then, in 1946, by a Gloster Meteor jet squadron No. 234. By the end of that year, the flying units had moved on and work had begun on resurfacing the main runway.

However in view of its proximity to Colchester, over which the main runway approach lay, the Air Ministry decided to abandon plans to make Boxted a permanent fighter aerodrome and the work was never completed. It was closed on August 9, 1947.

Civil Use.

With the end of military control, Boxted was briefly used for private flying but very little now remains on this site to identify it as a wartime airfield. The airfield was sold in 1963 and during the 1960s the runways, perimeter track and dispersal hardstands were removed.

Today, only a ghostly outline of the airfield remains with single lane far roads as the airfield has almost been completely returned to agriculture. The control tower has been demolished and a cluster of Nissen Huts remain on the south side of the airfield close to Langham Lodge.

A grass airstrip (04/22) has been built over the north end of the former wartime main runway, with a small amount of wartime concrete at the entrance along Park Lane. The Northern side of the Airfield is being redeveloped into a housing estate.

A different closet, the one of the guest room at my uncle's (mom's brother's) house in Monterey, CA. I've managed to get out of my house for awhile, "in disguise" as a boy. (And I can laugh that I joke about my boy-mode self as being a disguise. It all depends on how I feel at any given time on any given day.)

Anyway, I thought about one of the responses to one of my "Caught?!" photos a while back, and I paid homage to it a couple nights ago with my "Go Topless" moderate-flagged photo for brankingston. (Plus bellybutton bonus. ^_^;)

I'm sitting here, writing the text for the upload here, with a repeat of "The Colbert Report" playing on the TV in the background. I thought about Mom's closet, and how comforting it felt, and I remembered a few brief moments of my youth, and earlier today, I immediately longed for that comforting, safe place where I could take refuge in.

And so, wearing a long-sleeve nightrobe, my wig, my ballet bow flats, and little else, I opened the door, and went inside, closing it behind me, letting the absolute darkness embrace me.

I longed to seek the comfort of my youth, and find the place where I could let down my defenses, being symbolically and literally stripped naked beneath my robe, and just let out the feelings I had bottled up inside of me.

I thought about a friend of mine I came out to, and how I felt he wasn't fully grasping the seriousness of what I've been dealing with. I thought about the last time I broke down and cried in front of my Mom, also having to do with a very stressful and long conversation with that same friend (But having nothing to do with crossdressing.), and I took it to another level - As I'm apt to do, I keep running a script in my head where I finally have that talk with Mom, trying to figure out how I'll tell her, and reassure her that it's not her fault, she and Dad did nothing wrong, and I still love them, and I hope they will accept me.

It took a while, but the floodgates burst open, and the tears came rushing out... I surrendered myself to a 20-25 minute "cleansing" cry, not caring if anyone heard my sobs and heaving cries. All I could do was rock back and forth, letting it all out, all the while hearing a voice deep within me say, "It's okay. Just let it out. There's nothing to be ashamed of. You're safe here."

I resolved, after the tears subsided, to be stronger, and face every moment from that time forward, being stronger than I've been before. Maybe I'm talking too much, or perhaps I may make people worry about my state of mind, but, at that moment, I needed to go there. I needed to just have that moment of release.

I got up, opened the door, and got on with the rest of my day.

A few hours later, I'm here in Monterey with my Mom, having had dinner on the wharf (Ate too much, or at least it feels like it...), and I've managed to "break into" my uncle's router (Took no time at all to figure out WPS, and guess his password, since I forgot what it was that I stored on my other laptop. ^_^;) - i need to have a talk with him on the importance of having stronger passwords, and strengthening security on his router. (And I'll add "Network+", along with "A+" to my certification goals.)

So, for now, coping with sleeping in a room in a house with next to no insulation or air conditioning. There's a fan going in here at a good speed. Steven Colbert is doing something off the wall with a Boba Fett action figure, grated cheese, and a mushroom. Do I care? Not really.

There's some World War II books (non fiction, and fiction - Pacific theatre), Arthur C. Clarke's first three "Odyssey" books, some of J.R.R. Tolkien's books (alas, no actual Lord Of The Rings books), a few books by James A. Michener, Tom Clancy, Craig (Firefox) Thomas, two books in the Dune series by Frank Herbert, quite a few of the classic Ian Fleming "James Bond" stories, even a Joseph Wambaugh book.

I don't think I'll have any problem drifting off to a restful, relaxing sleep.

Good night, space travellers...

Kitoko given King's ovocation at his arrival in Kigali / 12 July 2017

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]

Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell, CBE, PC, MP (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British Labour politician who held Cabinet office in Clement Attlee's governments, and was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until his death in 1963. He was responsible for introducing prescription charges in the National Health Service, which caused Aneurin Bevan to resign from the Cabinet in 1951.

He was born in Kensington, London, the third and youngest child of Arthur Gaitskell (1870–1915), of the Indian Civil Service, and Adelaide Mary Gaitskell, née Jamieson (died 1956), whose father, George Jamieson, was consul-general in Shanghai and prior to that had been Judge of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan. He was educated at the Dragon School from 1912 to 1919, at Winchester College from 1919 to 1924 and at New College, Oxford, from 1924 to 1927, where he gained a first class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1927.

His serious interest in politics came about as a result of the General Strike of 1926, and he lectured in economics for the Workers' Educational Association to miners in Nottinghamshire. Gaitskell moved to University College London in the early 1930s at the invitation of Noel Hall, and became head of the Department of Political Economy when Hall was appointed Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research in 1938. He also worked as a tutor at Birkbeck College.

Gaitskell was attached to the University of Vienna for the 1933–4 academic year and witnessed first-hand the political suppression of the social democratic workers movement by the conservative Engelbert Dollfuss's government in Vienna in February 1934. This event made a lasting impression, making him profoundly hostile to conservatism but also making him reject as futile the Marxian outlook of many European social democrats. This placed him in the socialist revisionist camp.

In the 1935 General Election, he stood for Chatham as the Labour candidate, but was defeated by the Conservative Leonard Plugge.

During World War II, Gaitskell worked with Noel Hall and Hugh Dalton as a civil servant for the Ministry of Economic Warfare which gave him experience of government. For his service, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1945. He was elected Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds South in the Labour landslide victory of 1945.

He quickly rose through the ministerial ranks, becoming Minister of Fuel and Power in 1947. He then served briefly as Minister for Economic Affairs in February 1950. His rapid rise was largely due to the influence of Hugh Dalton, who adopted him as a protégé.

In October 1950, Stafford Cripps was forced to resign as Chancellor of the Exchequer due to failing health, and Gaitskell was appointed to succeed him. His time as Chancellor was dominated by the struggle to finance Britain's part in the Korean War which put enormous strain on public finances. The cost of the war meant that savings had to be found from other budgets, and a controversial decision was made to introduce charges for prescription glasses and dentures on the National Health Service.

In addition, purchase tax was increased from 33% to 66% on certain luxury items such as cars, television sets, and domestic appliances, while entertainment tax was increased on cinema tickets. At the same time, however, taxation on profits was raised and pensions increased to compensate retirees for a rise in the cost of living, while the allowances for dependent children payable to widows, the unemployed, and the sick, together with marriage and child allowances, were also increased. In addition, a number of small items were removed from purchase tax, while the amount of earnings allowed without affecting the pension was increased from 20 shillings to 40 shillings a week.

The budget caused a split in the government and caused him to fall out with Aneurin Bevan who resigned over this issue, seeing the prescription charges as a blow to the principle of a free health service. Bevan was later joined by Harold Wilson and John Freeman who also resigned. Later that year, Labour lost power to the Conservatives in the 1951 election.

Gaitskell later defeated Bevan in the contest to be the party treasurer. After the retirement of Clement Attlee as leader in December 1955, Gaitskell beat Bevan and the ageing Herbert Morrison in the party leadership contest.

Gaitskell's election as leader coincided with one of the Labour Party's weakest periods, which can be partly attributed to the post-war prosperity that Britain was experiencing under the Conservatives. His time as leader was also characterised by factional infighting between the 'Bevanite' left of the Labour party led by Aneurin Bevan, and the 'Gaitskellite' right.

During the Suez Crisis of 1956, in one of the highlights of his career as leader, Gaitskell passionately condemned the Anglo-French and Israeli military intervention to secure the Suez Canal. Gaitskell had himself told the Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Harold Macmillan at a dinner with King Faisal II of Iraq on 26 July 1956, that he would support the use of military action against the Egyptian dictator Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, but warned Eden he would have to keep the Americans closely informed. The Conservatives later accused Gaitskell of betrayal when he publicly condemned the military operation in November. Gaitskell's position had become more cautious during the summer, and he had suggested the dispute with Egypt should be referred to the United Nations. In two letters to Eden sent on 3 and 10 August Gaitskell condemned Nasser, but warned that he would not support any action that violated the United Nations charter. In his letter of 10 August, Gaitskell wrote: "Lest there should be any doubt in your mind about my personal attitude, let me say that I could not regard an armed attack on Egypt by ourselves and the French as justified by anything which Nasser has done so far or as consistent with the Charter of the United Nations. Nor, in my opinion, would such an attack be justified in order to impose a system of international control over the Canal - desirable though this is. If, of course, the whole matter were to be taken to the United Nations and if Egypt were to be condemned by them as aggressors, then, of course, the position would be different. And if further action which amounted to obvious aggression by Egypt were taken by Nasser, then again it would be different. So far what Nasser has done amounts to a threat, a grave threat to us and to others, which certainly cannot be ignored; but it is only a threat, not in my opinion justifying retaliation by war."

The Labour Party had been widely expected to win the 1959 general election, but did not. Gaitskell was undermined during it by public doubts concerning the credibility of proposals to raise pensions and by a highly effective Conservative campaign run by Harold Macmillan under the slogan "Life is better with the Conservatives, don't let Labour ruin it", which capitalised on the economic prosperity of Britain. This election defeat led to questions being asked as to whether Labour could ever win a general election again, but Gaitskell remained as leader.

Following the election defeat, bitter internecine disputes resumed. Gaitskell blamed the Left for the defeat and attempted unsuccessfully to amend Labour's Clause IV—which its adherents believed committed the party to further nationalisation of industry, while Gaitskell and his followers believed it had become either superfluous or a political liability. He also, successfully, resisted attempts to commit Labour to a unilateralist position on nuclear weapons – losing the vote in 1960 and then rousing his supporters to "fight, fight and fight again to save the party we love". The decision was reversed the following year, but it remained a divisive issue, and many on the Left continued to call for a change of leadership. He was challenged unsuccessfully for the leadership by Harold Wilson in 1960 and again in 1961 by Anthony Greenwood.

Battles inside the party produced the Campaign for Democratic Socialism to defend the Gaitskellite position in the early 1960s. Many of the younger CDS members were founding members of the SDP in 1981. Gaitskell alienated some of his supporters by his apparent opposition to British membership of the European Economic Community. In a speech to the party conference in October 1962, Gaitskell claimed that Britain's participation in a Federal Europe would mean "the end of Britain as an independent European state, the end of a thousand years of history!" He added: "You may say, all right! Let it end! But, my goodness, it's a decision that needs a little care and thought."

He died in January 1963, aged 56, after a sudden flare of lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease. His death left an opening for Harold Wilson in the party leadership; Wilson narrowly won the next general election for Labour 21 months later.

The abrupt and unexpected nature of his death led to some speculation that foul play might have been involved. The most popular conspiracy theory involved a supposed KGB plot to ensure that Wilson (alleged by the supporters of these theories to be a KGB agent himself) became prime minister. This claim was given new life by Peter Wright's controversial 1987 book Spycatcher, but the only evidence that ever came to light was the testimony of a Soviet defector, Anatoliy Golitsyn. Golitsyn was a controversial figure who also claimed, for example, that the Sino-Soviet split was a deception intended to deceive the West. His claims about Wilson were repeatedly investigated and never substantiated.

He was married from 1937 to Anna Dora Gaitskell, who became a Labour life peer one year after his death. They had two daughters: Julia, born in 1939, and Cressida, born in 1942. Gaitskell had a number of affairs, including with the socialite Ann Fleming, the wife of James Bond creator Ian Fleming.

In private, Hugh Gaitskell was said to be humorous and fun loving, with a love of ballroom dancing. This contrasted with his stern public image. He was a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group.

The Temple of Dendur

•Period: Roman Period

•Reign: reign of Augustus Caesar

•Date: completed by 10 B.C.

•Geography: From Egypt, Nubia, Dendur, West bank of the Nile River, 50 miles South of Aswan

•Medium: Aeolian sandstone

•Dimensions:

oTemple Proper:

Height: 6.40 m (21 ft.)

Width: 6.40 m (21 ft.)

Length: 12.50 m (41 ft.)

oGate:

Height: 8.08 m (26.5 ft.)

Width: 3.66 m (12 ft.)

Depth: 3.35 m (11 ft.)

•Credit Line: Given to the United States by Egypt in 1965, awarded to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1967, and installed in The Sackler Wing in 1978

•Accession Number: 68.154

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 131.

Egyptian temples were not simply houses for a cult image but also represented, in their design and decoration, a variety of religious and mythological concepts. One important symbolic aspect was based on the understanding of the temple as an image of the natural world as the Egyptians knew it. Lining the temple base are carvings of papyrus and lotus plants that seem to grow from water, symbolized by figures of the Nile god Hapy. The two columns on the porch rise toward the sky like tall bundles of papyrus stalks with lotus blossoms bound with them. Above the gate and temple entrance are images of the sun disk flanked by the outspread wings of Horus, the sky god. The sky is also represented by the vultures, wings outspread, that appear on the ceiling of the entrance porch.

On the outer walls between earth and sky are carved scenes of the king making offerings to deities who hold scepters and the ankh, the symbol of life. The figures are carved in sunk relief. In the brilliant Egyptian sunlight, shadows cast along the figures’ edges would have emphasized their outlines. Isis, Osiris, their son Horus, and the other deities are identified by their crowns and the inscriptions beside their figures. These scenes are repeated in two horizontal registers. The king is identified by his regalia and by his names, which appear close to his head in elongated oval shapes called cartouches; many of the cartouches simply read “pharaoh.” This king was actually Caesar Augustus of Rome, who, as ruler of Egypt, had himself depicted in the traditional regalia of the pharaoh. Augustus had many temples erected in Egyptian style, honoring Egyptian deities. This small temple, built about 15 B.C., honored the goddess Isis and, beside her, Pedesi and Pihor, deified sons of a local Nubian chieftain.

In the first room of the temple, reliefs again show the “pharaoh” praying and offering to the gods, but the relief here is raised from the background so that the figures can be seen easily in the more indirect light. From this room one can look into the temple past the middle room used for offering ceremonies and into the sanctuary of the goddess Isis. The only carvings in these two rooms are around the door frame leading into the sanctuary and on the back wall of the sanctuary, where a relief depicts Pihor worshiping Isis, and below—partly destroyed—Pedesi worshiping Osiris.

Curatorial Interpretation

History

After the conquest of Egypt in 31 B.C., Augustus confiscated the property of Egyptian temples and centralized their administration. As a kind of compensation, he commissioned at least 17 building projects for local gods, including the small Isis-temple of Dendur (ancient Tutzis) in Lower Nubia. No date for the temple’s construction is recorded except that the cartouches include the name of the “Autokrator Kaisaros,” that is Augustus. But one assumes reasonably that it was built during the peaceful years following the Roman-Kushite wars of 25-22 B.C., which had ended with the treaty of Samos of the year 21 B.C.

The dates 20 or 15 B.C. are usually given. Since Augustus only died in 14 A.D., a later date can not be ruled out. There is also no evidence for the Roman prefect who may have commissioned the building. The three possible candidates are:

•Gaius Petronius or Publius Petronius: 24 B.C. - 21 B.C. (who destroyed Napata)

•Publius Rubrius Barbarus: to 12 B.C.

•Gaius Turranius: 7 B.C. - 4 B.C.

A detailed Coptic inscription states that in 577 (or 559?) A.D. the temple was converted into a Christian church. Since 1820, the temple has been a favorite travel destination for explorers and artists, who produced numerous depictions and early photographs of the temple. Graffiti on the pronaos walls recall their visits.

The first Aswan dam brought the water 3 m below the doorsill of the temple. In 1908, conservation work was carried out in preparation for a seasonal flooding of the building. The building was completely drowned annually by the two raisings of the first Aswan dam, in 1907-12 and 1929-33. Remains of the wall paint were washed away but the walls remained structurally unharmed. Lake Nasser, created in 1970 by the building of the Aswan High Dam, would have submerged the temple forever. In 1962, the gate and temple were therefore documented and taken down as part of the Nubian salvage campaign. In recognition of the American contribution to the campaign, the gate and temple were presented to the United States in 1965.

Thanks to the initiative of Henry Fischer and Thomas Hoving, the temple was awarded to the Metropolitan Museum and in 1974/75 rebuilt in the newly created Sackler wing designed by Kevin Roche (born 1922) and John Dinkeloo (1918-81). The architects were faced with the problem that the temple was not free standing but built into a sloping rock surface, a landscape that was not desired by the Museum. The temple therefore had to be squeezed into the shape of a freestanding building, presented on a granite stage. The material chosen (red granite and “mason granite”) reflects with its shiny, polished surfaces the architect’s imagination of imperial-style pharaonic architecture. The stepped planes in front and around the temple house are modern creations that do not follow the original arrangement. These alterations, implemented for practical reasons, are quite appealing for the visitor but not hold up against modern conservation standards. The opening was celebrated on September 27, 1978.

Description

a)Cult Terrace

The temple towered impressively over the water of the Nile, visually supported by a 3.5 m high, 15 m broad and 16 m deep terrace (much higher than the reconstruction in the Museum). The front of the terrace had no opening but a front curving inward, probably better to withstand the torrent of the Nile. Similar terraces are known at Elephantine, Philae, Qasr Ibrim, Kalabsha, Ajuala and Dabod (see Jaritz 1980, pls. 48-49). The waterfront and the sides were closed with low parapet walls, which were underpinned by a heavy, protruding ledge. The re-creation in the Museum is made of granite because the original sandstone would not have withstood the museum’s traffic. The granite parapet wall designed by Roche-Dinkeloo consisted originally of two courses of blocks. The upper course was removed in 1995 in order to improve the vista on the temple terrace.

b)Temple Enclosure and Gate

The temple enclosure (temenos) rose on top of a 90 cm high step above the rear (west) side of the terrace. A monumental gate in the center formed the east front of the temenos.

The gate was for unknown reasons not exactly aligned with the temple-house behind. The visible parts of the gate are decorated with relief. The gate is 6.50 m high (including the cavetto), the doorway is 1.60 m wide and 4.35 m (from the court level). A staircase of 5 steps leads from the gate down onto the cult terrace.

The rough outer sidewalls of the gate suggest that it was incorporated in a massive wall or pylon built of brick or stone, closing off the Nile front of the temenos. Apparently no traces of a pylon were noticed at the site and it could well be that it was never built. However, the existence of a pylon is implied in the Museum’s reconstruction by a layer of irregular stones.

One would expect that high walls running east-west from the pylon to the mountain slope behind would have enclosed the sides of the temenos. Blackman’s plan shows the remains of these walls, but they no longer appear on Ashiri’s plan of 1972. In the Museum reconstruction, the parapet walls flanking the front platform suggest a continuation backwards in the direction of the cliffs.

The interior floor of the temenos was never completely level and the rock surface began to slope up beginning at the pronaos. The irregular lower edge of the exterior reliefs of the temple walls indicate the inclination of the slope. The center of the east court was treated differently. There, the gate and temple were connected by a 7 m broad walkway, made of masonry and rising 50 cm above the rough court level. This walkway is clearly visible on an old photo of the site. However, the photo was taken after modern consolidation of the temple and how much of it was modern is not recorded.

A door in the lateral south wall is shown on Blackman’s plan. Perhaps another one opened in the north side. However, there was no processional approach from the riverside because the cult terrace blocked an axial approach.

c)Temple House

The temple was primarily dedicated to Isis, mistress of Philae, who was the patron saint of Lower Nubia, an area known as the Dodekaschoinos. Attached was the cult of two brothers, Pedesi and Pihor, the sons of a local Nubian chieftain Quper. They carry the title hesy, which is normally bestowed on people drowned in the Nile. One assumes that Quper and his sons had earned merit in the Meroitic wars of the Romans.

The actual temple house represents a distyle in antis, with two quatrefoil column capitals in the front opening. This temple type was common in Ptolemaic times (as seen for example in tomb chapels at Tuna el-Gebel and Dakka) with several larger variations that include a wider pronaos with more front columns. The temple house is ca. 13 m long, 6.5 m wide and 5 m high (to the roof) and includes 3 consecutive rooms: entrance hall or pronaos; offering hall; and sanctuary. Depictions from the 19th century suggest that the cavetto cornice of the temple house was still largely in place around 1839. Today, only one block is left.

The entrance hall or pronaos has an open front with two 3.95 m high columns (including the abacus) columns carrying the architraves. The columns have quatrefoil papyrus capitals with a four-story lily decoration. The lateral interspaces were closed with screen walls.

The pronaos has a small side door in the southwest corner. This door was part of the temple structure and is incorporated into the decoration of the walls. Another, smaller side door in the northeast corner was cut through the existing building, damaging the wall reliefs. Both doors suggest that the access from the front of the pronaos was not always possible.

A large room follows behind, assumed to have been the offering hall. Except for the door in the rear wall, the room is undecorated, and was apparently unfinished.

The walls of the sanctuary are also undecorated except for a stela-like panel in the center of the rear wall. Its decoration depicts Pihor worshiping Isis, and below – partly destroyed – Pedesi worshiping Osiris. The floor and lowermost part of the rear and sidewalls are carved from the rock.

All the rest of the interior and exterior is covered with relief, showing the “pharaoh” (“kaisaros autokrator”) praying and offering to the gods.

d)Rock Chamber

In the cliff behind the temple was a small rock chamber with a basin in the floor. In front was a court with a kind of tiny pylon. One assumes that this was the tomb of the two brothers and perhaps the predecessor of the temple. The entrance was behind the stela of Pedesi and Pihor.

The 1.65 m thick rear wall of the temple-house includes a built-in secret chamber accessed from the south end through a door closed with a thin, removable block. This crypt has been explained as the tomb of one of the brothers or as a hiding place for a priest giving oracles through a hole in the wall. The crypt could also have been a hiding place for liturgical equipment.

e)Evaluation

The Dendur temple is comparatively small but impressive and a major example of Roman architecture based on the Ptolemaic building tradition in Egypt. The temple demonstrates an important aspect of Egyptian architecture. The modern viewer is impressed by the monumental gate or pylon forming the front of the temple. However, the gate of temples like that of Dendur cannot be reached by a frontal, axial approach. The access is blocked by a cult terrace (for example the first pylon of Karnak or the pylon of Medinet Habu). These pylons/gates were not intended as entrances but as exits, monumental stages where the god (in the form of a cult figure) emerges from the interior and performs his/her appearance at the “gates of appearances.” From the gate of the Dendur temple, the divinity descended onto the cult terrace, were it reposed and viewed the Nile and the realm. Jaritz (1980, pp. 61-654) has shown that the cult terrace of the Khnum temple on Elephantine also was the gathering place for cult communities who celebrated repasts with the divinity.

Dieter Arnold 2016

Provenance

Given to the United States by the Egyptian Government, 1965. Awarded to the Museum by the U.S. Government, 1967.

Selected References

•Gau, Francois Chretien 1822. Antiquités de la Nubie : ou, Monumens inédits des bords du Nil, situés entre la première et la seconde cataracte, dessinés et mesurés en 1819. Stuttgart, pl. 23-5.

•Rifaud, Jean-Jacques 1830. Voyage en Égypte, en Nubie et lieux circonvoisins depuis 1805 jusqu’en 1827. Paris: Crapelet, pp. 27-8.

•Blackman, Aylward M. 1911. The temple of Dendûr. Cairo: Imprimerie de l’Institut Français d’Archeologie Orientale.

•Monnet-Saleh, Janine 1969. “Observations sur le temple de Dendour.” In Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, 68, pp. 1–13.

•El-Achiri, Hassan, M. Aly, F.-A. Hamid, and Ch. LeBlanc 1972. Le temple de Dandour, 1-3. Collection scientifique (Markaz Tasjīl al-Āthār al-Miṣrīyah), Cairo.

•Jaritz, Horst 1980. Elephantine III : Die Terrassen vor den Tempeln des Chnum und der Satet : Architektur und Deutung. Mainz am Rhein: Zabern.

•Bagnall, Roger 1985. “Publius Petronius, Augustan Prefect of Egypt.” In Papyrology. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 85-93.

•Bianchi, Robert Steven 1998. “The Oracle at the Temple of Dendur.” In Egyptian Religion. The Last Thousand Years. Studies Dedicated to the Memory of Jan Quaegebeur, 85, pp. 773-80.

•Arnold, Dieter 1999. Temples of the Last Pharaohs. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 244-46.

•Hill, Marsha 2000. “Roman Egypt.” In The Year One: Art of the Ancient World East and West, edited by Elizabeth J. Milleker. New Haven: Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 84-5, figs. 62-63, p. 207.

•Metropolitan Museum of Art 2012. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, p. 58.

•Metropolitan Museum of Art 2012. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York and New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, p. 58.

Timeline of Art History (2000-Present)

Timelines

•Egypt, 1-500A.D.

MetPublications

•The Art of Ancient Egypt: A Resource for Educators

•“Dendur: The Six-Hundred-Forty-Third Stone”: Metropolitan Museum Journal, v. 33 (1998)

•Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

•Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic)

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Chinese)

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (French)

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German)

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Italian)

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Japanese)

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean)

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Portuguese)

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian)

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Spanish)

•The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1, Egypt and the Ancient Near East

•One Met. Many Worlds.

•“The Temple of Dendur”: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 36, no. 1 (Summer, 1978)

•The Year One: Art of the Ancient World East and West

Tatiana Riabouchinska (1917-2000) was one of a trio of “baby ballerinas,” a nickname given to her and two other gifted daughters of Russian emigres, Irina Baronova and Tamara Toumanova, by the ballet writer Arnold Haskell in 1933. They soon became the talk of New York and London. Famous at age 14 as a featured dancer in Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Riabouchinska matured into one of the most beautiful and admired dancers of her generation.

The ballet Sleeping Beauty was first performed in Russia in 1890. With music by Tchaikovsky and choreography by Marius Petipa, the Sleeping Beauty has become one of the world’s most famous ballets. It is also Tchaikovsky’s longest ballet at nearly three hours in length.

Sergei Diaghilev produced a shorter, 45- minute version in 1922 for his Ballets Russes which he called Le Mariage d’Aurore (Aurora’s Wedding). This abridged version was largely confined to the final part of Sleeping Beauty, the marriage feast of Aurora and her prince, and it premiered at the Paris Opera on May 18, 1922. Tchaikovsky’s score was partly re-orchestrated by Stravinsky and Marius Petipa’s choreography was re-arranged and supplemented with additional dances by Bronislava Nijinska. A year earlier, Diaghilev had produced a lavish version of Sleeping Beauty he called “The Sleeping Princess” which was a financial failure.

“With little money to create entirely new works, but with a loyal cohort of experienced dancers looking to him for employment, he decided to stage the final act of The Sleeping Princess as Le Mariage d’Aurore using the music score that he had retained. He decided to re-use a mélange of costumes from his stock, including a number of key eighteenth-century style outfits from his 1909 production of Le Pavillon d’Armide. Premiered with the new work, Le Renard (The fox), developed by Stravinsky and designed by Larionov, Le Mariage d’Aurore proved to be a popular, if artistically compromised, production that would remain in the repertoire of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes successors during the 1930s.” [National Gallery of Australia]

“The Walt Disney Company currently has a trademark application pending with the US Patent and Trademark Office, filed March 13, 2007, for the name "Princess Aurora" that would cover all live and recorded movie, television, radio, stage, computer, Internet, news, and photographic entertainment uses, except literature works of fiction and nonfiction. This has caused controversy because "Princess Aurora" is also the name of the lead character in Tchaikovsky's ballet version of the story, from which Disney acquired some of the music for its animated 1959 film Sleeping Beauty.” [Wikipedia]

La Scala’s excellent production of the ballet Sleeping Beauty is on Youtube in high definition:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDHT3XV1v7U

----------------------------- JESUS ✝️ SAVES-------------------------------

SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST - ALONE!

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

❤️❤️ IT'S ALL JESUS AND NONE OF OURSELVES! ❤️❤️

16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the SALVATION of everyone WHO BELIEVES: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM GOD IS REVEALED, a righteousness that is by FAITH FROM FIRST TO LAST, just as it is written: "THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH." (Romans 1:16-17)

16 KNOW that a man is NOT justified by observing the law, but by FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be JUSTIFIED BY FAITH in CHRIST and NOT by observing the law, BECAUSE BY OBSERVING THE LAW NO ONE WILL BE JUSTIFIED. (Galatians 2:16)

1. Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2. BY THIS GOSPEL YOU ARE SAVED, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4. that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5. and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8. and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

9. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. (1 Corinthians 15:1-11)

7. Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9. I am the gate; whoever enters through me WILL BE SAVED. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10. The thief comes only to STEAL and KILL and DESTROY; I have come that they may have LIFE, and have it to the FULL. (John 10:7-10)

1 Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

5 Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them." 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 "or 'Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:1-13)

Jesus came to bring spiritual LIFE to the spiritually dead and set the captives FREE! FREE from RELIGION, ERROR and outright LIES, so WE might serve THE LIVING GOD! In SPIRIT and in TRUTH!

So you'll KNOW, and not think you're to bad for God to love. The Christian LIFE isn't about how good WE are, because NONE of us are! It's about how GOOD JESUS IS! Because JESUS LOVES US, so much he died in our place and took the punishment for all of our sins on himself. The wages of sin is DEATH, and Jesus took the death WE so richly deserved for us and died in our place. The good news is, there's no more punishment for sin left. WE, you and I were all born forgive as a result of the crucifixion of God himself on the cross that took away the sins of the whole world. All we have to do is believe it, and put your Faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. That my friends is REAL UNCONDITIONAL LOVE! YOU ARE LOVED. ❤️ ✝️ ❤️

For the best Biblical teaching in the last 2 centuries! Please listen to and down load these FREE audio files that were created with YOU in mind. It's ALL FREE, if you like it, please share it with others. ❤️

archive.org/details/PeopleToPeopleByBobGeorgeFREE-ARCHIVE...

www.revealedinchrist.com

CLICK ON THE LETTER "L" TO ENLARGE.

My THANK'S to all my Flickr friends who've favored and/or commented on my photos, I very much appreciate you're kindness! ❤️

© All Rights reserved no publication or copying without permission from the author.

The U.S. flag and other honors given to the Unknown of World War II. On display in the Memorial Display Room in the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., in the United States.

Originally designed to be a reception hall, it was turned into display area at some point in time. (Good luck finding out when.) The south hall contains display cases which contain flags, medals, citations, and other awards given by the United States and other countries to the Unknowns who lie in the vaults at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. Nearly all the displays in the south hall showcase honors given them at the time of their burial.

The north display hall contains honors given to the Unknowns at other times in history. It is not uncommon for other nations, military societies, U.S. states, or veterans' groups to create honors for the Unknowns and present them during ceremonies. These many honors are displayed in the north hall.

The original Amphitheater at the cemetery was constructed of wood in 1874. It was used for some of the first Memorial Day observances, but within 20 years proved too small for the large crowds using the facility. The Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans group composed of men who had served in the Union Army in the American Civil War, began pushing Congress to build a new amphitheater.

Congress authorized construction of the Memorial Amphitheater on March 4, 1913. Ground-breaking occurred on March 1, 1915, and President Woodrow Wilson placed the cornerstone on October 15, 1915. It was dedicated on May 15, 1920. The architect was Thomas Hastings of the New York City firm of Carrère and Hastings. The white marble came from Danby, Vermont. Ulysses A. Ricci designed the various friezes, ornamental devices, and decorative elements of the amphitheater.

The amphitheater itself sits about 5,000 people on low marble benches. It is elliptical, with an east-west depth of 200 feet and a north-south dept of 250 feet. The amphitheater is surrounded by a double-column colonnade. Above the west entrance is a quote from the Roman poet Horace: "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" ("It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country"). The names of battles -- from the American Revolution through the Spanish-American War -- are inscribed on the frieze above the colonnade inside the amphitheater.

A raised stage occupies the east side of the amphitheater. The names of 14 U.S. Army generals and 14 U.S. Navy admirals important in American history prior to World War I are inscribed on each side of the amphitheater stage. A quote from General George Washington's June 26, 1775, letter to the Continental Congress is inscribed inside the apse: "When we assumed the soldier we did not lay aside the citizen." A quote from President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is inscribed above the stage: "We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain."

Halfway between the stage and the floor of the amphitheater is a narrow dais on which stands a carved marble throned. This platform was intended to be the seat for speakers, while guests sat on the upper stage. But it has almost never been used as such.

A small chapel is located beneath the amphitheater stage. There is a small below-ground kitchen and a small below-ground service room on either side of the stairs leading down to the chapel.

The Memorial Display Room occupies most of the ground floor of the west side of Memorial Amphitheater. It is open to the public, and contains displays about the unknown soldiers buried in the nearby Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. These displays include medals given to the unknown dead, the flags which covered them, and the history of the Tomb. Main stairs lead left and right to the second floor. On the second floor are offices and a reception room. Originally, the reception room on the upper floor was supposed to house the memorial displays, but these were moved downstairs at some point prior to the 1980s and now the upper floors are used for VIP guests. The marble of the Memorial Display Room is imported Botticino, from Italy.

The Triumph Renown is strictly the name given to the Triumph's large saloon car made from 1949 to 1954 but it is, in reality, part of a three-car series of the 1800, 2000 and Renown models. Together with the Triumph Roadster, they were the first vehicles to carry the Triumph badge following the company's takeover by the Standard Motor Company.

Overview

ManufacturerStandard Motor Company

Production1946–54. 15,491 made[1]

Body and chassis

Body style4 door saloon, limousine.

Powertrain

Engine1766 cc or 2088 cc Straight-4 overhead valve

Transmission3-speed manual

Dimensions

Wheelbase108 in (2,743 mm) 1800, 2000 & Renown

111 in (2,819 mm) TDC & limousine[2]

Length168 in (4,267 mm) 2000

178 in (4,521 mm)Renown

181 in (4,597 mm) TDC & limousine[2]

Width64 in (1,626 mm)[2]

Height65 in (1,651 mm)[3]

Bodywork[edit]

The cars were distinctively styled in the later 1930s vogue for Razor Edge coachwork used in the 1940s by others including Austin for its big Sheerline. The six light (featuring three side windows on each side) design and the thin C pillars at the rear of the passenger cabin anticipated the increased window areas that would become a feature of British cars during the 1960s. The car's side profile resembled that of the contemporary prestigious Bentley saloons, which some felt was more than a coincidence. Similar styling subsequently appeared on the smaller Triumph Mayflower. The Managing Director of the Standard Motor Company at that time, Sir John Black, commissioned the design of the Razoredge saloon. There has been much discussion over the years as to exactly which designers of that period were responsible for the styling but it is very clear from the records that Sir John drove the production forward and used the Triumph name from the prewar Triumph company that had been bought by the Standard Motor Company.

The body was built by Mulliners of Birmingham in the traditional coachbuilder's method of sheet metal over a wooden frame.[1] The principal panels were constructed not from steel, which was in short supply in the wake of the Second World War, but from aluminium. It had been used extensively for aircraft manufacture during the war, which had taken place in a number of car plants (known at the time as "shadow factories") in the English Midlands. But by the mid-1950s aluminium had become the more expensive metal, which may have hastened the Renown's demise.Triumph Renown Mk I TDB 1949–52[edit]

The car was renamed the Renown in October 1949. It had an entirely new chassis based on the Standard Vanguard with pressed steel sections replacing the tubes previously used. The front suspension changed to coil springing. Although the 3-speed column change transmission was retained, from June 1950 an overdrive unit was offered as an option. Inside there was a new instrument layout.

A Renown tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1950 had a top speed of 75.0 mph (120.7 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 24.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of 23.9 miles per imperial gallon (11.8 L/100 km; 19.9 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £991 including taxes.[5]

Of the 6501 produced, fewer than 100 are known to have survived.[4]

Triumph Renown Limousine 1951–54[edit]

(188 in 1952; 3 in 1953; 3 in 1954)

In 1951 a limousine version was announced with an extra 3 in (76 mm) in the wheelbase. A division (glass partition) was placed behind the driver separating the front and back of the car. A radio and heater were fitted as standard.

A limousine with overdrive tested by The Motor magazine in 1952 had a top speed of 77.5 mph (124.7 km/h) slightly quicker than they had recorded two years earlier for the saloon and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 25.0 seconds. The reported fuel consumption was 21.6 miles per imperial gallon (13.1 L/100 km; 18.0 mpg-US). The test car cost £1440 including taxes.[3]

A total of 190 were made[4] though only very small numbers remain.

wikipedia

Given to my son's kindergarden teacher. Cameos done by all 16 students.

We're not scared of the big bad fake plastic owl....

On any given day, non-profit Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) is caring for and training a new litter of frisky puppies at their school campus. More than 800 per year are whelped and raised by a dedicated team at GDB’s National Headquarters located in San Rafael, California.

Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture, in association with Animal Arts Design Studios, was selected to design the new 28,000 square foot Puppy Center. Applying the latest in animal care design best practices, this new puppy birthing and enrichment facility supports GDB’s mission of preparing highly-qualified service canines to be lifelong partners for individuals who are visually impaired. By providing a healthier, more ergonomic and socially enriching environment for the puppies and their caretakers, GDB will better equip these future companions to reach their full potential. The facility also includes a Learning Lab (in lobby), which will help educate the public through interactive displays, dedicated areas to view puppy enrichment, and other learning spaces.

The Puppy Center includes 19 neonatal kennels and eight new whelping kennels for moms and puppies, and 30 new puppy kennels in the Young Heroes Academy where the puppies stay until 10 weeks of age. Each area will have dedicated gown-in facilities, medical support spaces, staff work areas, laundry, food preparation area and restrooms. The building systems include industry best practices in biological risk management, acoustics, air quality, radiant heating, and lighting.

A new park and plaza across from the entrance from the Puppy Center is an outdoor practice area for handlers and dogs. The area includes a bridge, open courtyard, walking paths, grass picnic area and various exhibits throughout for use in teaching the dogs how to navigate different outdoor situations.

Photo by David Wakely.

I was given a sweet tour of the LASD grounds in Whittier, CA by The Tez!

The Memorial for officers who were killed in the line of duty while serving the people of Los Angeles County:

Randy Hamson - 2008

Raul Gama - 2007

Maria C. Rosa - 2006

Pierre W. Bain - 2006

Luis Gerardo Ortiz - 2005

James P. Tutino - 2004

Michael Richard Arruda - 2004

Stephen D. Sorensen - 2003

David A. Powell - 2002

David W. March - 2002

Jake Kuredjian - 2001

Brandan G. Hinkle - 2001

Michael L. Hoenig - 1997

Shayne D. York, 1997

Antranik Geuvjehizian - 1995

Stephen W. Blair - 1995

Jimmie R. Henry - 1995

Richard B. Hammack - 1992

Nelson Yamamoto - 1992

Rosemary Iris May - 1989

James D. McSweeney - 1988

Roy A. Chester - 1988

Jack B. Miller - 1988

Charles R. Anderson - 1987

George L. Arthur - 1985

David L. Holguin - 1984

B. Loyd Brooks - 1984

James P. Clark - 1983

Larrell K. Smith - 1983

Lawrence M. Lavieri - 1983

Kenneth D. Ell - 1982

Constance E. Worland - 1981

Jack D. Williams - 1979

George Barthel - 1979

Robert M. Cartmell II - 1978

Walter Hannan - 1978

Thomas H. Pohlman - 1978

Arthur E. Pelino - 1978

Charles Plumleigh - 1978

Gregory L. Low - 1978

Edward J. Russell - 1977

Didier Hurdle - 1977

Lynn L. Lewis - 1977

Didier M. Hurdle - 1977

Darden Hollis - 1975

Theodor A. Abrey - 1974

James J. Foote - 1974

Carl E. Wilson - 1973

Donald W. Schneider - 1973

Joseph R. Herrera - 1972

Charles O. Ley - 1972

Barry Jon Hoffman - 1971

Gary D. Saunders - 1971

Louis C. Wallace - 1970

Gordon D. Erickson - 1970

Lionel W. Dashley - 1969

Charles D. Rea - 1969

Robert K. Schnur - 1968

Gary E. McCullah - 1968

James W. Waygood - 1967

Michael V. Wigderson - 1967

Ronald Ludlow - 1965

John M. Slobojan - 1964

Lloyd G. Constantine - 1964

Willard Ballard - 1964

William A. White - 1964

Timothy J. Harnett - 1961

Manuel A. Ayon - 1961

Lee E. Sawyer - 1960

Harold A. Reis, Jr. - 1958

Ronald J. Gillis - 1958

David A. Horr - 1958

Harold S. Blevins - 1957

Vernon J. Corbeil - 1957

Edwin M. Falkowski - 1955

Elbert J. Hall - 1949

Fred P. Guiol - 1946

John N. Hedge - 1933

Rudolph G. Vejar, Sr. - 1932

Frank D. De War - 1932

Robert E. Magee - 1923

William E. Funkhouser - 1922

Henry J. Ronsse - 1922

Herbert E. Glidden - 1920

Harold B. Broadwell - 1919

Michael V. Van Vliet - 1918

George Wilson - 1896

William C. Getman - 1858

James R. Barton - 1857

A much-maligned and harshly regarded bird (given that they are Australian native and not, as many think, an introduced species like the Common or Indian Mynah). I like 'em!

Only by for Austria successful outcome of Ottoman wars in Europe the conditions were given to turn the old Hofburg, which until now was more fortress than imperial residence, into a befitting palace of a powerful dynasty. When Emperor Charles VI in 1711 succeeded to the throne, stood along the Schaufler alley until St. Michael's square yet the old two-story Chancellery Wing from the time of Ferdinand I. It was significantly lower than the Amalien wing and the Leopoldine wing, bordering the Interior Castle courtyard on the southwest and the southeast side. Between the Chancellery Wing and the Swiss courtyard there was a by Daniel Suttinger created Gate construction. In its place erected Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt in 1712 the so-called Carolingian Triumphal Arch but which was as well demolished in 1728 because now they had laid the foundation for a much more representative Chancellery Wing and in 1723 started the construction work. Hildebrandt's plans provided the unification of the entire inner castle but failed in the end due to the immense cost. 1726 he had to cede construction management to in the meantime appointed Court architect Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach. This one let the already finished construction at Schaufler alley remain but put in front of it the splendid late baroque wing at the courtyard side. Fischer too could due to lack of sufficient liquid funds of the Imperial family his ideas which comprehended also the entire castle not fully realize. Work came to a halt in 1735 and was finally discontinued. The St. Michael's gate was only from 1888 after the demolition of the old Hofburg theater finished.

Herakles of Mattielli

In Chancellery wing were until 1806 when Emperor Franz II/I resigned the Roman-German Imperial Crown the central offices of the administration of the Holy Roman Empire housed. This included especially as the most important Imperial authority the Aulic Councel. 1810 lived here the French ambassador Berthier, when he, on behalf of Napoleon, asked for the hand of Maria Louise, the daughter of Francis I. At the time of the Vienna Congress in some rooms of the Imperial Chancellery Wing was housed the king of Bavaria. 1848 served archduke Johann a suite of rooms as an apartment. In the summer of this year, he received in Great Audience Hall a delegation from Frankfurt Imperial Diet, offering him the dignity of a "German Imperial Regent". A few years later the rooms were renovated, refurbished and converted into apartments for the Imperial family. Traditionally, no Austrian Emperor has taken over the apartment of his predecessor. Franz Joseph moved into his apartment in 1857, three years after his marriage, and lived there until his death in 1916. The apartment of his wife Elisabeth was in the neighboring Amalien wing. Today, the Imperial Apartments as well as the recently opened Sisi Museum and the former Court Silver and Table Room can be visited. The latter is dedicated to the culture of courtly household and the court ceremonial.

While the front is not very spectacular in Schaufler alley, turns the five-story face side of the Imperial Chancellery Wing towards the interior courtyard. This one served till the 16th century as a tournament court. In 1561 issued Thurnierbuch (tournament book) is yet of tournaments of the future Emperor Maximilian II reported which this one had held here in June of last year. In the 17th century but here no more tournaments took place but mounted tournaments, as the then popular horse ballet. The long facade facing the courtyard is accented by three only little projecting risalits with portals and balconies (1727/29) and divided by giant pilasters. The design of the façade is already reminiscent of the design language of French classicism. Franz Joseph and Elisabeth got through the Imperor's gate in central projection to their rooms on the first floor. The leading upwards Emperor's stairway has a magnificent stucco marble equipment and is decorated with gilted bronze vases. But it is hardly ever used. Today's visitor entrance to the Imperial Apartments is located beneath the dome of St. Michael's gate. The five windows above the Emperor's gate are preceded by a long balcony which rests on strong consoles. On the attic of the central projection is attached the huge blazon of Emperor Charles VI with the double-headed eagle. It is overtopped by the German imperial crown and surrounded by a golden chain with the Golden Fleece. Flanked is it by two, carrying trumpets genii. Beside the portals of the side projections stand each two sandstone sculptures of Lorenzo Mattielli. They show the deeds of Hercules. On the ground floor were housed until 1918 various court offices, as the Chamber for payments of the Court, the House, Court and State Archives (until 1902) and the Control office of the Court. In the premises of once Imperial linen room was from 1921 to 1987 the Vienna tapestry manufacture whose leading products have been exported throughout the world.

Study of Franz Joseph

Additionally to the living quarters of the Emperor - those of the Empress were in neighboring Amalien wing - belongs to the Imperial Apartments the Guard room where the bodyguards were on sentry duty but most of all the large Audience waiting room and the Audience chamber, where the Emperor, standing at his desk, used to receive his visitors individually. Under Maria Theresa, took place the deliberations of the Imperial, Court and State Councils of the former Imperial Chancellery in Audience waiting room. Unfortunately, this beautiful, decorated in white, red and gold hall was similarly to fairy-tale grotto recently equipped with figurines in the national costume of the individual crown lands in order to document that here waited people from all walks of life and from all provinces of the country for an audience. During his long reign, there were at least more than 250,000. In this room, hang large, many-figured murals (1832) of Biedermeier painter Peter Krafft, showing scenes from the life of Emperor Franz I. From the ceiling hangs a eighty-flammy Bohemian crystal chandelier still dating from the time of Maria Theresa. The originally fitted with candles chandelier of the Imperial apartments were in 1891 electrified. The ornate pottery kilns partly still stem from the 18th century. They were heated externally via the situated behind the rooms heating passage with wood. In the equipment of his private rooms the personal modesty of the emperor is reflected. Unlike his wife, he had not even running water injected. Noteworthy is also the simple iron military bed that served him for decades as a place to sleep. His office, in which he most of the time was yet active from six o'clock in the morning is adorned with numerous photos and paintings of his family. Here hangs also a famous portrait of the Empress by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. The equipment of the 22 official and residential premises of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Elisabeth, which today can be visited as Imperial Apartments, stems from several eras: from late Baroque to Rococo and the Empire to the 19th century neo-Baroque. These include also the four rooms of Stephan's apartment which is named after Archduke Stephan Viktor. The former theater corridor which enabled a direct connection to the old Hofburg Theater is walled off today.

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Hair and Make up by: Myca V Feng

A much reduced country estate with Tudor / Stuart origins. Given to the National Trust in 2007

One of the most common questions people have regarding #cannabis is exactly what it is, and what types of cannabis tinctures you can have and how they compare to other products.

Given that they are similar to the #CBD #oil that you see, a lot of times people mistake it for that. But what can you do differently with it?

That’s what we’re about to go into here, with the difference between a tincture and other products, and of course, why it matters.

What is a tincture

If you see #tinctures, you’re probably familiar with the little droppers that are attached to the caps of this.

But it’s pretty much a solution that has an alcohol solvent, along with animal extracts, and they’re oftentimes quite concentrated.

So, consuming them like you would a normal drink is not a good thing to do, but instead a drop or two goes a long way.

You need to use the dropper with this, because otherwise too much can impact the state of your body and mind as well.

How do they Work?

They’ve been around for centuries, and they are actually the main choice for delivering herbal medicine to others.

Why is that the case though?

They actually have a very powerful nature to them, and they do have higher concentration of compounds within this, and they can hit the affected areas quite fast.

Most of these used to be made with both #vinegar and #glycerin, but today, glycerin is on the list, but #alcohol is the main choice in these instances too.

The solvents are able to dissolve the #compounds of the organic matter that’s there, which is a fancy name for plant parts, and take the #ingredients that are out of them.

The process then brings those compounds directly to the body, and it does it so much faster than other sorts of means, and it’s a lot more potent than others too, sometimes more than #edibles in some cases too.

CBD Tinctures?

CBD tincture sis pretty much alcohol-based extracts, and most of the time, the manufacturer may use a higher level of alcohol to extract this, and in other cases, they use glycerin.

There are CBD tinctures and THC tinctures, and the main difference is the CBD one is CBD alcohol, and the THC one is THC alcohol infusions, and of course, neither of them are completely devoid of the other component either.

How to Use

You can use this in one of two ways.

The first, is you take that dropper and put either a drop or two directly underneath the tongue, and the effects happen within an hour of you doing this type of method.

The second way is additives. Take a food or a drink that you have, put it in, and consume it. While it does take longer for this to happen, if you don’t feel like buying or making your own edibles, this is a good way to do it.

The tinctures are not good to be used with application topically and aren’t considered good topicals in general.

The best way to start with tinctures is one drop, and then go from there. If you don’t feel the effects within an hour or so, you should then try again, or try another day in order to see if those effects are right for you.

The use of tinctures is important for so many who are interested in making sure that they get the most effects that they can out of this, and here, you learned about it.