Honors Given and Duties Done in Occupied Zone.

 

GENERAL PERSHING DECORATING BRIG. GEN. EDWIN B. WINANS WITH DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS AT DIERDORF, GERMANY.

 

AN AMERICAN INDIAN, CORPORAL GEORGE MINER, 128TH INFANTRY, ON GUARD AT THE MOST ADVANCED SECTOR IN THE BRIDGEHEAD ZONE.

 

ARTILLERY MEN OF THE AMERICAN ARMY OF OCCUPATION KEEPING IN EXCELLENT CONDITION AND A HIGH STATE OF MILITARY EFFICIENCY BY DAILY DRILLS ON THE MEADOWS INLAND FROM THE RHINE.

  

=====================================================

 

The war of the nations: portfolio in rotogravure etchings: compiled from the Mid-week pictorial. New York: New York Times, Co, 1919. Book.

Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/19013740/. (Accessed November 08, 2016.)

 

Images from "The War of the Nations : Portfolio in Rotogravure Etchings : Compiled from the Mid-Week Pictorial" (New York : New York Times, Co., 1919)

 

Notes: Selected from "The War of the Nations: Portfolio in Rotogravure Etchings," published by the New York Times shortly after the 1919 armistice. This portfolio compiled selected images from their "Mid-Week Pictorial" newspaper supplements of 1914-19. 528 p. : chiefly ill. ; 42 cm.; hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/collgdc.gc000037

 

Subjects: World War, 1914-1918 --Pictorial works.

New York--New York

Format: Rotogravures --1910-1920.

 

Rights Info: No known restrictions on reproduction

Repository: Library of Congress, Serials and Government Publications Division, Washington, D.C. 20540

  

Part Of: Newspaper Pictorials: World War I Rotogravures, 1914-1919 (DLC) sgpwar 19191231

 

General information about the Newspaper Pictorials: World War I Rotogravures, 1914-1919 digital collection is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/collgdc.gc000037

 

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Given all of the steel coil cars in its this eastbound Norfolk Southern train might have made a pickup at Burns Harbor, Indiana. It is shown in Porter.

“I was given an opportunity by VisionFund República Dominicana that no one else would give me. They took a leap of faith with my dream and me. I wouldn’t be here without them,” says Francisco Nunez.

 

Talking with Francisco outside his rural Dominican house, he seemed like a typical Dominican man. Soon after meeting Francisco, hearing his story and catching his dream, there was a quick realisation the he was anything but typical.

 

Nearly two years ago, Francisco had an idea to start a fish breeding company. This was unheard of in his community, but he was unfazed. He started his business by gathering used water bottles, old buckets and even discarded refrigerators, which he delivered to his house by strapping them to his back while riding his bike. To others, this was all trash. To Francisco, this was the start of his business and perfect materials for fish tanks. After he had filled his containers with local river water he determined which ones would be good for each fish species and began breeding them.

 

The fish were breeding, but not nearly as fast as they should be. Francisco realised that this was due to the local river water not being clean for the fish. That’s when he decided to go to VisionFund República Dominicana and ask for a loan to drill a well for fresh water. VisionFund wasn’t the first place he went to for a loan, but there were the first to say yes. It was a leap of faith for them because Francisco had no credit, very little income, a family to feed and a crazy business idea. They took a risk for him and gave him a sizeable loan of $1,100 USD to drill a well at his home.

 

Since Francisco took out his loan he has yet to miss a payment. His water well has also greatly increased the rate of breeding for his fish and the quality of fish bred. Betta fish are his best sellers, many of which are bought by local individuals and children, but he also ships many of his prized fish to large cities in the Dominican Republic.

 

Francisco has never had this dream so that he can become wealthy though. He has a heart to serve his community, giving away his well water for free to his neighbours and friends. Francisco states, “I want to help others and give them opportunities in life, just like I have been given opportunities.”

 

As Francisco helped his wife Suleika get their three children Sailin (age 12), Francelis (age 9) and Frandi (age 5), ready for school, he stated that his dream is even bigger than what he has accomplished so far. “I plan to pay off my loan, grow my business, and get another loan to make cement fish pools and put water filters in each one” says Francisco. “I also want to improve my house so that my family can be comfortable and so my three children don’t have to share the same bed anymore.”

 

Francisco’s story isn’t just about starting a business or having big dreams, it’s also about having very little and yet having a big heart to give to others. It’s about empowering communities to dream big and love a lot. That’s who Francisco is and what his dream is all about.

Seen here at the top of Hollinwood Lane, heading for Halifax on the 576 Bradford to Halifax service is ex Halifax NCME Daimler Fleetline 3087. At the time of the photo, there were very few crews who used the via blind. However, there were always exceptions, I was one, and the fellow driving here, a certain John Bottomley was one of only a few others.

Recently of course, sacrilage has taken place, in that Bradford now operate the 576. From my experience on that route, it will be interesting to see if the drivers on the 576 are still followed by the local services down the road, as they are all from the same district now so it matters not a jot now!!!

ist der Horgner Bergweiher, CH

 

of Horgner mountain lake, CH

 

Better on black....

 

All rights are reserved, pls do not use my photos without my permission. Thanks

Thanks for all comments, faves and invites !

Michael, master of initiation, is chief of the celestial militia, and each of us belongs to it thanks to his guardian angel, who, according to René Guénon, is our archetype on the informal plane. Initiatory realization would identify us with him, the first of the higher states. In a Judeo-Christian text (the Precepts of Hermas), it is said that “a spirit given by God, possessing the power of divinity, speaks of its own accord, for it comes from above, from the power of the divine Spirit. When a man, who has the Spirit of God within him, enters an assembly, then the angel of the prophetic Spirit who assists this man takes hold of him and the man thus filled with the Holy Spirit, addresses the crowd with the words that God wants”. It is the sixth sense, that of eternity, which the initiate acquires when he truly achieves his initiation. The Hebrew Kabbalah says of Metatron: “His name is like that of his master”, and Metatron is likened to Schaddaï, one of the divine names. Metatron and Schaddaï have the same numerical value 314. Schaddaï translates as the Almighty, who is the God of Abraham, hence the God of the Covenant. Albulafia, a famous Kabbalist of the Middle Ages, asserts that Metatron, identified with Schaddaï, was his spiritual master, attesting, as has been said, that he is the initiator of angels and men. And commenting on the divine voice speaking to him, Albulafia says: “the meaning of Shaddai is corporeal... and it is impossible to reveal more explicitly on this subject because there is a numerical equivalence between corporeal (hagashmi) and Messiah (Moshiah)” (G.C. Scholem, Les grands courants de la mystique juive p. 391 note 72).

www.ledifice.net/P072-3.html

 

Metatron was an angel and the Scribe of God who recorded the Word of God. In Heaven, Metatron was personally selected by God to write down his word and then God disappeared. Eventually, out of fear that the Archangels would steal the information of God from him, Metatron left Heaven and hid among Native American tribes and modern day Americans until discovered by the Winchesters in 2013.

 

In Season 8, learning that all the Archangels were either dead or in Hell, Metatron then sought to take vengeance upon the other Angels for forcing him to leave, using Castiel to make a spell written on the Angel tablet, and emptied Heaven of all angels.

 

In Season 9, Metatron's actions caused many angel rebellions on Earth and upon his own disappointment of being alone in Heaven, Metatron started working to rebuild with Gadreel as his second in command, using the Angel Tablet to attain god-like power, accepting only the angels he sought fit and either killing or using those he didn't like. Once done so he attempted to become a god to mankind itself, rallying many human followers until confronted by Dean himself. After Castiel shattered the angel tablet and tricked Metatron into revealing his true intentions, at the cost of Gadreel's self-sacrifice, Metatron was overthrown and locked in Heaven's dungeon, but not before he killed Dean and caused his transformation into a demon.

 

In Season 10, Metatron remained locked in Heaven's dungeon plotting his revenge until Castiel and Sam Winchester released him to help remove the Mark of Cain from Dean. They removed his grace, turning him human, but spared his life in exchange for the location of the rest of Castiel's grace after he revealed he didn't know how to remove the Mark. However, this is really a trick so that Metatron can get the grace himself and the demon tablet which he had stored in the same location, a library. While Metatron escapes with the demon tablet, Castiel gets his grace back and is left worried about what Metatron will do with the tablet and his freedom.

 

In Season 11, the Winchesters and Castiel search for Metatron in hopes that he can tell them about Amara and how to beat her. Castiel eventually locates Metatron in his new job as a videographer and captures him, retrieving the demon tablet. After nearly tricking Castiel into killing him, Metatron informs him of the true nature of the Darkness and Castiel lets him go, believing him to no longer be a threat and now pitiable. After getting called upon by God to write his autobiography, Metatron teamed up with the Winchesters to rescue Lucifer. After a failed attempt to harm Amara, Metatron was imploded by her.

  

Contents

1History

1.1Background

1.2Season 8

1.3Season 9

1.4Season 10

1.5Season 11

1.6Season 13

1.7Season 14

1.8Season 15

2Personality

3Physical Appearance

4Powers and Abilities

4.1Former Powers

4.2Powers with the Angel Tablet

4.3As a Human

5Weaknesses

6Death

6.1Killed By

7Appearances

8Trivia

9See also

10References

 

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History

Background

“I'm not one of them. I'm not an archangel. I'm really more run-of-the-mill. I worked in the secretarial pool before God chose me to take down the word. Anyway, he seemed very worried about his work, what would happen to it when he left, so he had me write down instructions. Then he was gone. After that... the archangels took over. They cried, and they wailed. They wanted their father back. I mean, we all did. But then -- then they started to scheme. The archangels decided if they couldn't have dad, they'd take over the universe themselves. But they couldn't do anything that big without The Word of God. So I began to realize maybe they would realize... they needed me.”

— Metatron describing his early life to Sam and Dean

in The Great Escapist

Although originally presumed to be an archangel, Metatron himself revealed that he was simply a common angel with a secretarial position. He was chosen by God to be his Scribe sometime before God's departure from Heaven, as Castiel described "he took down dictation when creation was being formed." Metatron received instructions to write down the Word of God. Metatron stated that, before he was chosen to be the Scribe, he lived a life of isolation and obscurity among his fellow angels. As such, he was overjoyed to be chosen above all others as God's scribe. When God left, the archangels despaired, and soon after began conspiring to claim the universe as their own. This prompted Metatron to distance himself from Heaven, so as to protect the Word of God and to prevent the archangels from claiming the tablets. Metatron also left a personal note on the demon tablet. It mentions the angel taking leave of his master and letting humans take responsibility of the compendium of tablets.

 

Metatronsymbol

Metatron's signature

 

Metatron hid himself along with the First Nation Tribe of the Two Rivers, where he blessed the tribe with immortality in exchange for stories and books. However, when talking to Gadreel later, he claimed that he never got used to them and had to isolate himself to keep sane. He noted the chaotic nature of humanity as fascinating but would be annoyed by the emotion and energy they expressed.

 

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Season 8

Sam Trigger

Sam and Dean meet Metatron

 

Sam and Dean eventually tracked him down, in his vessel Marv, and convince him to aid them. They learned that Metatron had been reading books and ignoring all the angel chaos since their arrival on Earth and Sam, going through the trials, wanted Metatron to kill him out of anger towards the scribe. After Dean gave him a lecture on how he should have been helping them, and his prophet Kevin Tran, he rescued Kevin from being killed by Crowley and revealed that the third trial is to cure a demon. Metatron also gave warning to Sam and Dean that even if they succeed in closing Hell it will come with consequences and they must be ready to face those retributions.

 

Naomi and the angels captures Metatron

Naomi and the angels takes Metatron away

 

Metatron had a plan all along to bade the time by until Heaven would ultimately fall, pretending to have a wanting to save it, Metatron would recruit Castiel to help him complete the 3 "trials" that would apparently close Heaven off, doing this, Metatron believed that he could close angels off into a space where they'd need to sort out their own problems. The first trial, to kill an angel/human hybrid called a Nephilim, went successfully. The second trial, to take the bow of a Cupid, was also a victory, Metatron is then captured by Naomi and brought to Heaven to be tested on so that Naomi could see into the scribe of heaven's eyes. Once she does, however, she becomes aware of Metatron's plans and warns Dean and Castiel that Metatron has been lying to them, at first they don't believe her, but once Kevin confirms (or at least tries to) that neither of Metatron's trials were even inscribed onto the angel tablet, Castiel travels to Heaven to find out, despite Dean telling him to wait while he saved Sam.

 

“Do you have any idea what it would be like to be plucked from obscurity, to sit at God's feet, to be asked to write down his word? The ache I felt when he was gone, telling myself, 'Father's left, but look what he's left us -- Paradise.' But you and your archangels couldn't leave well enough alone. You ran me from my home. Did you really think you could do all of that to me and there'd be no payback.”

— Metatron, to Naomi

MetatronFinale

Metatron reveals his true motives

 

Once Castiel arrives, Metatron reveals that Naomi was telling the truth, he captures Castiel and ties him to Naomi's operating chair and steals his grace as part of the third trial. He revealed that their acts were for a spell to expel all angels from Heaven, rather than seal them in. With Castiel's grace gone, he is now human, the spell is complete and before Castiel is to fall, Metatron tells him to live a normal life as a human, get married, have children, and once Castiel dies, and his soul reaches Heaven, to come back to Metatron, and tell him what his life was like as a mortal being. Metatron then seals Heaven off, and thousands of Angels fall from the sky around the world, the Men-of-Letters headquarters is put on red alert as the hierarchy of Heaven has collapsed, Metatron is last seen teleporting Castiel out of the operating room. Shortly afterwards, the angels fell.

 

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Season 9

Metatron's spell caused the deaths of several angels, including Sophia, Azrael and Ezekiel. His spell also caused the angel uprising and civil war between Bartholomew and Malachi leading the creation of their respective factions. Metatron's spell also closed Heaven from all human souls destined to ascend there who would be stuck in the Veil and putting Reapers out of business. Some of these reapers like Maurice and April Kelly would side with Bartholomew while others like Tessa, still faithful to their mission, would become incredibly saddened and almost suicidal at being unable to help the human souls in pain.

 

SPN 0437

Metatron manipulates Gadreel

 

Metatron eventually reappears on Earth. He confronts Ezekiel, revealing his true nature as "Gadreel", with an opportunity to serve as his second-in-command, and informs him that he can allow certain angels to return to Heaven. He reveals that he still has access to Heaven, and contrary to his earlier thoughts of enjoying being the only angel still there, he finds it rather boring. He explains that they are going to be rebuilding Heaven with a select few angels allowed inside, and Metatron will rule as the new God (although he would simply be known as X). As a test of loyalty, he orders Gadreel to kill somebody he regards as a threat to their new order, and sends him after Kevin Tran. Gadreel kills Kevin and goes to rejoin Metatron.

 

In "Captives", Bartholomew's followers are trying to find Metatron by marking his sightings on Earth and recording the photos taken at each sighting.

 

In "Road Trip, Metatron continues to give Gadreel names of people to kill, including the latter's former torturer Thaddeus as a show of good will. Metatron has also "flipped a switch" in Heaven to prevent the continuation of Prophets after Kevin's death. Metatron also gave him that name of an angel who had abused Gadreel in prison. While at a bar, ironically with Gadreel's first vessel as the bartender, Gadreel arrives to give Metatron the tablets and is getting sick of killing humans and angels but Metatron gives him another which turns out to be a cellmate of Gadreel's in Heaven who he reluctantly kills. Metatron also tells Gadreel that his place isn't to question but to obey. Later Metatron is waiting at the bar again to a status update when Gadreel does not contact him. Gadreel does eventually arrive but in his angelic form and possesses his first vessel again. Metatron instantly assumes the Winchesters have set him back.

 

SPN 1357

Metatron smugly gloats to Dean, Sam and Castiel

 

In "Meta Fiction", Metatron has holed himself in a room with a typewriter, surrounded by Chuck's novels. He captures Castiel, bringing him to him under the illusion of a fictional scenario he created. In the illusion, the archangel Gabriel has returned to life to try and convince Castiel to lead the angels against Metatron. After Castiel breaks free from the illusion, Metatron tells him that he wants him to be the villain in his own story in which Metatron is the hero. Metatron then hears about his right-hand man, Gadreel, being taken hostage by the Winchesters. Metatron proposes a trade, Castiel for Gadreel. When he arrives at the meeting place, he lets himself fall into a holy fire trap set by Sam and Dean to show that he can't get out of it, which he does. He then honors their deal but reminds them that no matter what they come up with, they can't win against him. Later, Metatron gets back to work and speaks to Gadreel who asks him if the Winchesters capturing him was part of Metatron's plan. Metatron explains that in a story, sometimes characters do surprising things but as long as he knows the ending, what happens on the journey is of little importance.

 

MetatronGadreel

Metatron and Gadreel meets with Tyrus

 

In "Stairway to Heaven", Metatron tries on a trench-coat similar to Castiel's and then meets with angelic faction leader Tyrus. Tyrus refuses to listen to Metatron's offer and points out that if Gadreel kills him, his faction will just join Castiel. He challenges Metatron to a round of bowling to see if he'll listen to the offer, but Metatron loses. As Metatron and Gadreel are leaving, Constantine arrives and blows himself up, killing Tyrus and injuring Gadreel. Metatron then contacts Castiel's faction and offers them all amnesty if they switch sides immediately, telling them about Castiel's fading grace and that he only cares about Sam and Dean. Metatron is pleased when Castiel's angels join him, revealing to a disgusted Gadreel that it was his plan all along and he planted the suicide bombers to draw all angels to his side. However, Gadreel is so disgusted by Metatron's actions, he switches sides.

 

CastielMetatron9x23

Metatron finally exposed

 

In "Do You Believe In Miracles?", Metatron makes a broadcast to all the angels across "angel radio" stating that he is going to Earth and the portal to Heaven will be closed until his return. Metatron, taking on a scruffy homeless appearance, resurrects a young woman hit by a truck and heals a homeless man of his diabetes, earning him human followers who look to him as their new savior. When an angel reveals the truth, Metatron nearly attacks him until his new followers do it for him and kill the angel with Metatron's angel blade. That night, Dean arrives and faces against Metatron with the First Blade. Metatron is amused since the Angel Tablet grants him great powers and he knows that Castiel and Gadreel are failing in their mission to break his link to it. Metatron easily overpowers Dean and stabs him with his blade, mortally wounding him and eventually killing him. At the same time Castiel shatters the tablet, breaking Metatron's connection to it and removing his added powers. Metatron quickly flees when Sam swings an angel blade at him. Metatron goes to Heaven where he traps Castiel in a chair and taunts him about Dean's death and how the angels are just "sheep" who will follow Metatron wherever he leads them no matter what he's done to bring them under him. As Metatron goes to kill Castiel, Castiel reveals that he broadcasted the whole conversation over "angel radio" and the angels storm Metatron's office and overpower Metatron. Rather than killing him for his actions, Castiel locks Metatron in Heaven's dungeon.

 

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Season 10

MegatronPrison

Metatron in Heaven's prison

 

In Black, Hannah tells Castiel that Metatron is still locked up and that his prison door has been made permanent.

 

Castiel arrives to stop Hannah from let Metratron out

Castiel arrives in time to stop Hannah from releasing Metatron

 

In Reichenbach, Metatron is still imprisoned in Heaven's prison, confined to a straitjacket when Hannah goes to visit him regarding Castiel's stolen grace. Metatron offers to give the grace to her, but only if she releases him as he has had time to reflect on his actions and doesn't want to shut down Heaven anymore. Before Hannah can answer his deal, Castiel shows up and says "no", refusing to work with Metatron as he's made deals in the past that have gone bad. When Castiel is alone with Metatron, it's revealed that he hasn't changed as he vows to kill everyone whenever he is finally free from his captivity.

 

MetatronDean

Dean tortures Metatron

 

In The Hunter Games, Castiel has Ingrid bring Metatron to Earth for him and the Winchesters to question about how to remove the Mark of Cain, believing that as the Scribe of God, he would know. Metatron is amused when he learns that Dean is alive and not a demon, but has gone "nuclear." He agrees to tell them and tells Sam and Dean they need the First Blade which is hidden. Later, Dean visits Metatron and demands the rest of the spell, but Metatron refuses, saying he wants things each time he gives away a tidbit of information and there is a lot. Dean starts beating on Metatron who goads him, telling him it brings him further under the Mark's power each time. As Sam and Castiel try to break in, Dean starts cutting Metatron with an angel blade, seriously wounding him. Before Dean can kill Metatron, Castiel and Sam break in and Sam restrains Dean. Castiel decides to return Metatron to Heaven rather than risk his life, but Metatron leaves a possible clue that Dean mulls over: "Behold, the river shall end at the source!"

 

MetatronGrace

Castiel takes Metatron's Grace

 

In Inside Man, Castiel and Bobby Singer break Metatron out of prison after assuring him that he'll be Castiel's punching bag instead of Dean's this time. On Earth, Metatron taunts Castiel and Sam about how he has all the leverage, but Castiel removes his grace, making him human at which point Sam shoots him in the leg. Now vulnerable, Metatron cowers and admits he doesn't know how to remove the Mark of Cain and was lying before to buy himself some time until he could screw them over. Metatron explains that the Mark is God-level or Lucifer-level power and its not covered on the tablets. While Sam doesn't believe him, Castiel can tell that Metatron is actually telling the truth. When Sam goes to kill him, Metatron quickly tells them that he wasn't lying about there still being some of Castiel's grace left and offers to take him to it in exchange for his life. Castiel reluctantly agrees and he and Metatron take off in his car to find it while Sam returns to the Bunker.

 

Metatron killed Trucker Cupid

Metatron killed Trucker Cupid

 

During Book of the Damned, Castiel and Metatron continue their road trip to retrieve Castiel's grace. Metatron starts to enjoy his new humanity, but annoys Castiel with his antics, resulting in Castiel punching Metatron. Eventually they stop for food which Metatron enjoys but turns out to be lactose intolerant and makes a mess. As they leave, Castiel and Metatron are attacked by an angry Cupid who nearly kills Castiel before Metatron saves him and kills the Cupid. However, this doesn't endear him to Castiel as he'd hoped.

 

MetatronTablet

Metatron escapes with the demon tablet

 

Reaching a library, Metatron reveals that it is where the grace is hidden as no one visits a library anymore. While Castiel is able to sense that his grace is actually there, he can't sense its location and Metatron reveals he doesn't know it either. Under threat, Metatron explains that he had another angel hide the grace, even from him so he couldn't give up its location under torture. However, he had the angel hide clues in the books and he and Castiel search finding the first clue: "what's the most insane thing a man can do?" Looking for a book with that title, Metatron tries to talk to Castiel about what he will do once he gets all of the remaining angels back into Heaven since Hannah has put it back in order. Castiel refuses to talk and Metatron uses the distraction to cast a spell to stun Castiel. Metatron reveals that the clues are actually book titles and that he's there to retrieve Castiel's grace as well as the demon tablet which is hidden there also. Metatron retrieves the demon tablet, but finds that Castiel has gotten to his grace first so he flees with just the tablet. It is later revealed that he steals Castiel's car when he goes. Getting his grace back restores Castiel to his full power and rank as a Seraphim, but he and Sam worry about what Metatron could do with the demon tablet. Castiel also lies to Dean about how he got his grace back, saying that Hannah got it out of Metatron and not telling him about Metatron's escape despite the threat it poses.

 

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Season 11

In Form and Void, Efram and Jonah torture Castiel for information on Metatron's escaped, not believing Castiel didn't help him since Castiel has Metatron's grace. Hannah attempts to help them through trickery, but fails as Castiel honestly knows nothing and sees through the deception.

 

In The Bad Seed, the Winchesters and Castiel search for Metatron, hoping that as he's the Scribe of God, he may know something about Amara. However, their searches turn up nothing as Metatron hasn't had any accidents with Castiel's car which would've led them to him. Castiel is a bit surprised, commenting that after centuries of being a shut-in, Metatron wouldn't be expected to be a good driver.

 

Castiel discovers that Metatron is the cameraman

Castiel finds out that Metratron is the videographer

 

In Our Little World, while watching a news clip of a violent crime, Castiel spots that the videographer is Metatron from his reflection in a car's mirror.

 

Spn1106 1359

Castiel finally tracks down Metatron

 

Metatron films the aftermath of a shooting, stealing the man's wallet and money only to discover that he is still alive. Metatron bemoans how he used to be able to heal such wounds with ease, though he can't anymore and wouldn't anyway. As Metatron tells the man that he's "not that guy" anymore and can't save him, Castiel appears behind him and tells Metatron that he can save the guy. Castiel heals the man's wound as Metatron video tapes, explaining that he found Metatron by scanning the police radio and then getting to the scene of the crime before the cops. Seeing Metatron recording him, Castiel knocks the camera out of his hand and breaks it, to Metatron's annoyance as he had to steal and pawn a lot of stuff to pay for his camera and felt the footage of a real-life angel would get him more than a homicide. As a police car arrives, Castiel grabs Metatron and drags him away.

 

Spn1106 2270

Severely beaten, Metatron reveals the Darkness's true identity

 

Castiel takes Metatron to an old warehouse where he is disgusted by what Metatron is doing for money. Metatron points out that Castiel only tried to live as a human for around a month but Metatron is human forever. He tells Castiel that he was nothing when Castiel took his grace, on the run from angels without money but he managed to build his own business. Metatron claims that religion and literature are dead so he has caught up with the times through videography. Metatron tells him that reality is the new literature of the era and he's out on the streets every night capturing it, seeing himself as reality's author. An annoyed Castiel starts to ask Metatron about Amara, but Metatron misunderstands what he wants and believes he wants the demon tablet. Metatron tries to claim that he hid it where Castiel and the Winchesters will never find it, but Castiel just pulls the demon tablet out of his coat and tells Metatron he found it under Metatron's mattress after searching his apartment. Castiel asks Metatron about the Darkness, but while Metatron admits he knows something, he refuses to tell Castiel. When Castiel threatens him, Metatron calls him broken, scarred deep and paralyzed by trauma and fear. Telling Metatron its not fear, Castiel attacks Metatron, beating him badly and demanding answers about the Darkness. Metatron simply continues to taunt Castiel about how everyone uses him enraging Castiel into further attacking and leaving Metatron badly beaten. Castiel nearly beats Metatron to death, but when Metatron asks Castiel to finish the job, he stops himself. Castiel realizes Metatron wants to die and asks him about what he said about being happy as a human and building a life for himself. Metatron admits he lied and can't stand a human life anymore. Castiel refuses to kill Metatron, telling him that Metatron was right about Castiel being tired of having his strings pulled and he won't let the former angel off easy. Castiel asks Metatron again about the Darkness and Metatron reveals the truth about it: the Darkness is God's sister that he had to give up in order to create the world.

 

After getting what he needs from Metatron, Castiel lets him go to the Winchesters' annoyance. Castiel explains that Metatron isn't going anywhere as if he draws any sort of attention, the angels will destroy him. Castiel tells the Winchesters that Metatron is now human "and a pitiable one at that" and that he left him in traction.

 

ChuckMetatron

Metatron meets God

 

Many weeks later in Don't Call Me Shurley, Metatron is desperately searching for food inside a dumpster. When he finds a burger, he kindly gives it to a stray dog, forcing himself to continue digging finding nothing before he shouts that he gives up. Suddenly, he and the dog are summoned to a bar, where he finds Chuck Shurley, the author of the Supernatural books. Metatron wondered if he was going to be destroyed as he went on rant about his life as he criticizes Chuck's books, which he deems not even close to cracking the top 10,000 best books he's ever read. Chuck soon revealed his knowledge of Metatron burning one of his books as the latter questioned his knowledge of that.

 

When Chuck offers him a pair of sunglasses, Metatron is awe-struck when he witnesses Chuck reveal himself to be God, prompting a worried Metatron to take back everything he said.

 

GodMetatron

Metatron's talk with God

 

God, or preferably "Chuck", requests Metatron for help in completing his auto-biography. Metatron is initially delighted, even jokingly asking if he can be angel again if its good but his suggestion is denied which he agrees. He soon realizes that Chuck intends to finish this book regardless if the world is destroyed by The Darkness, due to having grown disappointed in all of his creations. Furthermore, when Metatron angers him he is thrown out of the bar and is disappointed when Chuck tells him that the only reason he chose him as his scribe was because he was "the closest to the door". Despite that, they continue writing the biography with Metatron even revealing he took over Heaven to get God's attention as he voices the imperfections of humans but how they never give up.

 

It is thanks to Metatron's persistent pleas and demands that Chuck eventually accepts his former role as God and goes off to help Sam and Dean Winchester deal with a rabid situation, as well as revealing himself to them for the first time.

 

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In All in the Family, Metatron is in a bar when he sees a news report on Amara's fog in Hope Springs, Idaho. After spotting the Winchesters meeting with Chuck in the report, Metatron calls Dean and asks to meet to show him something.

 

Later that night, the Winchesters meet with Metatron at the bar where he tells them of his meeting with Chuck and reveals the latter plans to meet with the Darkness and sacrifice himself to her. Metatron proves this by giving the Winchesters Chuck's autobiography, which Metatron refers to as "a suicide note".

 

Sam, Metatron and Donatello arrives at the building where Lucifer is being held

Sam, Metatron and Donatello come to Lucifer's rescue

 

After Dean has an unsuccessful meeting with Chuck, Sam lets Metatron into the Bunker after he repeatedly texts them. Metatron offers his help in defeating the Darkness, pointing out the level of knowledge he possesses as the Scribe of God. Metatron explains that he's been by God's side since the Creation and now that he wants to kill himself, Metatron feels that if there's anything he can do to save him and his creation, he should. Dean explains to Metatron that they plan to rescue Lucifer from the Darkness and work with him and God to defeat her.

 

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Metatron is killed by Amara

 

As Dean acts as a distraction for the Darkness, Sam, Metatron and Donatello Redfield travel to where Lucifer is trapped. Metatron sets to work examining his binds, horrified by the state Lucifer is in. Metatron casts a spell and frees Lucifer who is unable to teleport them out. After Donatello senses the Darkness coming, Metatron tells them to go while he stays behind to hold her off. Metatron draws an angel banishing sigil and uses it on the Darkness to no effect when she arrives. Metatron tells Amara that God meant well and asks her to spare the universe. Amara tells Metatron to "spare this" and then surrounds him with darkness, imploding Metatron into nothing. Dean later comments that he didn't see it coming that Metatron would sacrifice himself as he did.

 

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Season 13

In The Big Empty, the Shadow shows Castiel a vision of Metatron stealing his grace.

 

In War of the Worlds, while wondering if the angels have Jack, Castiel asks Duma if Jack is potentially in Metatron's old cell. However, Duma assures him that this is not the case as the angels intend to enslave Jack if they can get their hands on him, not imprison him.

 

In Funeralia, Naomi reveals that she survived Metatron's attack on her, but it took her years to recover to the point that she is now "mostly here."

 

Season 14

In Byzantium, the Shadow's attack on Heaven to get Jack's soul is stated to have opened all of the gates of Heaven, even the ones that Metatron permanently sealed years before.

 

Season 15

In Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven, the Winchesters and Castiel have Prophet Donatello Redfield search through the Demon Tablet in hopes of finding something to lock God up. Donatello finds Metatron's annotated notes on the tablet which Donatello states appears to be an effort by Metatron to give context to God's actions. Donatello finds out from Metatron's notes that God has a secret fear which he guards closely and only shared with favorite which they realize means Michael.

 

In Inherit the Earth, Metatron appears in the flashback sequence at the end.

 

Personality

“So I'm a fake. Do you have any idea how much pan-cake makeup and soft lighting it took to get God to work a rope line? He hated it. And, you know, humans sense that. So they prayed harder and longer and fought more wars in his name. And for what?! So they could die of malaria? Leukemia? And all the while, blaming themselves! "Oh, if only I'd been more prayerful, God would have loved me! God would have saved me!" You know what?! God didn't even know their name! But I do. Because I've walked among them. And I can save them.”

— Metatron in Do You Believe In Miracles?

For an angel, Metatron appeared to be quite human-like, openly expressing emotions such as joy, admiration, disdain and sympathy. He does not show the arrogance or pettiness that other celestial beings do. He admired humans, due to their use of free will, and particularly enjoyed their stories, seeing it as a great example of free will. Metatron views existence as his own personal story, with himself as the hero and his opponents as villains. He even purposely spares many of his enemies and encourages them to oppose him, simply so that they will be playing the roles he has assigned them in his story.

 

However Metatron disliked other angels, and was fearful and suspicious of them, particularly of the Archangels. Metatron appeared benevolent and helped humans with his powers. However, he was suspicious when dealing with those he did not know. Metatron is also very logical and intelligent.

 

However, he has also proved to be very bitter, vengeful and manipulative with angels as well. It was revealed he wanted to expel all angels from Heaven as revenge for his own exile. So he tricked and manipulated Castiel into completing the "trials" and expelled every angel from Heaven. Despite this, he claims that he is "an entity of his word" and he does trade the Winchesters Castiel for Gadreel as they agreed. While showing respect for God and believing him to be a fair individual, Metatron shows disdain for God "publishing the first draft" and believes firmly on re-writing and working at something until it is perfect. Metatron also believes himself to be extremely funny and claims he even made God laugh twice.

 

Metatron later reveals that he had changed his mind, as he became lonely upstairs, and now plans to rebuild Heaven, now with a select few angels. He also reveals his opinion of humans isn't as high as he originally stated, revealing although he doesn't hate them, he does find them "chaotic" and "exhausting" due to their endless expression of emotions and desires and claims that isolating himself was the only thing that kept him sane while he was on earth. Metatron is also quite cruel, capricious and uncaring as he sacrifices several of his own followers to turn his enemies against Castiel and takes gleeful pleasure in watching a fallen angel be attacked by people who are defending him. Metatron's ultimate goal is to assign himself as the new God while completing his own story which he sees as his "masterpiece."

 

Metatron can be incredibly arrogant, much of it coming from the god-like power he attains. However, even without this, he is still arrogant, telling Castiel that no one will believe Castiel's story and those who did can be easily dealt with. He also indicates to Castiel that he believes he himself to be one of if not the best storyteller there is and shows great disgust for humans and little respect for other angels, dismissing them as sheep that will follow blindly. This proves to be his downfall as when Castiel causes him to broadcast his true beliefs and intentions over "angel radio," Metatron is too arrogant to realize that he's being duped and too shocked to react quickly.

 

After his imprisonment, Metatron became vengeful, declaring that he would one day get out and destroy everything in revenge. However, Metatron is revealed to actually be a coward at heart: after Sam and Castiel took him to the Bunker, he lied about knowing how to remove the Mark of Cain in order to save himself and when he lost all his leverage when Sam and Castiel removed his grace, Metatron cowered and admitted to all his lies, breaking easily.

 

After Castiel turns him human, Metatron attempts to enjoy human experiences such as eating food but has trouble. After spending months as a human, Metatron becomes what Castiel calls a vulture, prying on human crime to make money to survive, video taping the aftermath of crimes and stealing money. Metatron tells him that religion and novels are dead and he now sees reality as the new literature which is why he got into videography as he is now the "author of reality". Though Metatron claims to have built a life for himself as a human and to be enjoying it, he actually wants to die rather than continue as he finds the human things he has to do undignified. As a result, Castiel lets him live, seeing Metatron as not being a threat anymore and a rather pitiable human now. While talking to a mortally wounded man, Metatron expressed regret over losing his former powers which would've allowed him to heal the man easily, but stated he wouldn't have done it even if he could've at the time. However, he does show some regret that he can't save the man even while planning to use his death to make money.

 

While Metatron was a skilled liar as an angel, he is a terrible liar as a human, telling Castiel he hid the demon tablet where he could never find it while it was just under his mattress in his apartment. Despite his dislike of being human, Metatron displayed an ability to adapt well to his new situation, being a good enough driver to steal Castiel's car and not draw attention with it, have an apartment, pay bills and get a job as a videographer. He also understands technology well enough to scour the police scanners for crimes and get to the scene before authorities even without being able to teleport.

 

After many weeks of being a helpless human, Metatron has come to accept humanity and adore them. He even gave a meal he found in a dumpster to a stray dog. His compassion for humanity was so strong that Metatron bravely spoke back against his creator, God, when the latter proved willing to just let his sister destroy the entire human race. During this encounter, Metatron also admitted to finding his own period as "God" to have been lame and silly, and his cruelty had solely been based on his desire for God's attention. Metatron also seems to have accepted that he will never become an angel again, as when he asked God if he would be allowed to become an angel again, he quickly accepted that it was a 'good call' not to have him become one.

 

After learning that God was going to sacrifice himself to Amara, Metatron aided the Winchesters in an effort to save God. Metatron explains to them that while at one time he didn't care, he has been by God's side since the Creation and God believed in him. As a result, if there's anything Metatron can do to save God and humanity, he is willing to do it. During the rescue of Lucifer, Metatron is shown to be horrified by the state of the archangel and after Lucifer can't teleport them out, decides to sacrifice himself to buy Sam time to get Lucifer to safety. At the end of his life, Metatron faces down Amara bravely and simply asks her to spare the universe, having no thought for himself as he did in the past.

 

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Physical Appearance

Metatron's true form was able to deteriorate the flesh off of Crowley's vessel. It is unknown what he truly looks like, however, as an angel, he does have at least two large, feathered wings. On Earth, he manifests in the embodiment of a middle-aged, pot bellied, bearded man. Metatron's clothing choice changes several times over the course of the series from his more casual clothes in "The Great Escapist" to a more ostentatious outfit while writing his "masterpiece", to a grungier look when he pretends to be homeless. He later wears a straight-jacket briefly, but is dressed in regular clothes once more when he's brought to Earth to be interrogated about the Mark of Cain, clothes he remains in afterwards. After becoming a human videographer, Metatron adds a cap with the words "Marv Corp" to his ensemble. He loses this after Castiel captures him.

 

Powers and Abilities

“So, you took Abaddon's scalp, then you figured you'd take on little old nebbishy me. What could go wrong? And you're powered by the bone of a jackass, and it is just awesome, right? Here's a tip - next time, try to be powered by the Word of God.”

— Metatron to Dean

in Do You Believe In Miracles?

Metatron had the power of regular angels as well as few rare ones that are exclusive to him as God's scribe, and was able to use them all despite leaving Heaven for a long time, similar to seraphim, grigori and archangels. Additionally, as the Scribe of God, he was able to erase any Enochian sigils planted to ward off angels. Apart from his powers, he was incredibly intelligent. He was able to avoid detection by Heaven's forces for thousands of years. Possessing at least the demon and angel tablets and being the King of Heaven (or, as he sees it, the new "God"), he became even more powerful, gaining god-like powers such as being able to blow out a holy fire ring. After Castiel shattered the angel tablet, these extra powers were removed. Following the loss of the angel tablet, Metatron retained his powers as a regular angel, but later lost them when Castiel took his grace and rendered him human.

 

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Former Powers

Angelic Possession - Metatron possessed a human vessel to exist in corporeal form.

Biokinesis - Metatron manipulated angelic biology by searing and etching the names of all the prophets into the angels' brains.[1][2]

Geokinesis - Metatron was able to hide the Word of God tablets in the vault of the Earth for safe keeping.

Cosmic Awareness - As the Scribe of God, he articulated several documents referred to as the Words of God. He, therefore, possessed an acute knowledge of many creatures, including demons, Leviathans, and even his own kind. He also possessed a keen sense of spiritual realms, although he had no knowledge of who the Winchesters were, that Michael and Lucifer were trapped in the Cage or that Gabriel and Raphael were dead, due to him purposely separating himself from Heaven, however he caught up quickly. He also said to know how to remove the Mark of Cain, but it's revealed to be a lie of his.

Teleportation - He traveled from Heaven to Earth to relinquish the tablets. He also teleported across the room when confronting Sam and Dean. He was able to teleport Kevin with him to safety. And since he was the one that caused all of the angels to fall, he might be the only angel left with unbroken wings and the only angel able to teleport after the fall, besides Grigori and Archangels.

Invisibility - As Metatron attacked Crowley with his holy white light, he was nowhere to be seen.

Immortality - As an angel, Metatron didn't age and was immune to any earthly disease and toxin.

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Metatron healing Kevin

 

Healing - Metatron was able to heal Kevin Tran after Crowley nearly strangled him to death. He also healed Castiel after having cut his throat with an angel blade to extract his grace (even the blood from the wound disappeared with not even a smear). Metatron was able to heal a young woman's injuries while resurrecting her and a man's diabetes. When human and standing over a mortally wounded man, Metatron bemoaned his lack of power, stating the he could've once healed the man with a snap of his fingers. He likely meant that he could do this when he had god-like power since he required touch to heal Kevin.

Power Granting - Metatron was able to grant the Native Americans who gave him stories a much longer life than humanly possible.

Photokinesis - Metatron used this ability when saving Kevin Tran by burning Crowley. Interestingly, the Prophet's eyes lit up when Metatron arrived and used his white light. Whether this suggested Metatron temporarily possessed the prophet or merely channeled his power into the prophet is unknown or his true form reflected in his eyes.

Warding Removal - As the Scribe of God, Metatron could erase wardings and sigils without being affected by it. However, he could't remove a symbol or sigil that was already affecting him, shown as the supernatural handcuffs worked on him.

Spell Casting - Metatron was an extremely adept and skilled magician, easily one of the most proficient to appear to date. He was able to cast a powerful spell to expel all angels from Heaven. He was able to cast such a powerful spell on a door requiring the solving of the riddle that Castiel couldn't break it no matter how hard he tried with his super strength.

Apporting - Metatron was able to send Castiel back to Earth after he stripped the latter of his grace. Metatron was also able to summon a pair of handcuffs with binding sigils on them to trap Castiel in a chair.

Telekinesis - While powered by the Angel Tablet at least, Metatron displayed formidable telekinesis. He effortlessly whammed Dean and Sam into the Impala by simply shooting up his hands and opened the trunk with a lazy movement of his finger. He also easily threw Dean around the room during their fight despite Dean's possession of the Mark of Cain.

Mental Manipulation - Metatron was able to give Castiel all of his knowledge of human culture such as books and movies allowing Castiel to understand them instantly. He also implanted an illusion into Castiel's mind.

Control over the Portal to Heaven - Metatron could go to heaven or allow other beings to go to heaven because he had control over where the portal to heaven was or would be. By having the portal constantly moving, it would remain undetectable by other angels.

Resurrection - Metatron resurrected a young woman killed after being struck by a car.

Super Strength - As a common angel, Metatron possessed such strength that he could overpower humans and was naturally stronger than humans, ghosts, monsters, and demons. The angel tablet seemed to have lifted his strength to an intense level, to the point where he was able to effortlessly overpower Dean even when armed with the First Blade. While stronger than humans and demons while at normal strength, Metatron was easily overpowered when a group of ordinary angels ganged up on him at the same time. He was also easily overpowered by Naomi and her angels when they captured him. Although the Scribe of God, he doesn't seem to be a particularly strong angel, as he told Castiel he's not a warrior and relied on Castiel to do the fighting for him. He is also far inferior to archangels without the tablet. As a normal human without his grace, Metatron wasn't particularly strong anymore.

Skilled Liar and Manipulator - Due to his level of knowledge and time seeking revenge, Metatron was incredibly intelligent and resourceful and used this skill to manipulate people into doing his dirty work. In his quest to get revenge by casting the angels out, Metatron was able to manipulate Castiel with ease into aiding him despite Castiel having been used in the past. He also used Gadreel's desire for redemption to manipulate him into joining him despite his reluctance to take innocent life. Metatron continued this by manipulating Castiel's army through suicide bombers into believing Castiel was using them and turning them against him. Even while human, Metatron retained just sufficient amount of manipulating and lying ability that he was able to use Castiel's desire to get his grace back to successfully trick him into falling into a trap, managing to escape and acquire the Demon Tablet. However, Metatron's ability do this has severely diminished since becoming human as he tried to lie about the location of the demon tablet to Castiel and did so badly and was unable to manipulate Castiel into killing him.

Super Stamina - When Dean tortured Metatron for information on the Mark of Cain, Metatron was easily able to hold out despite Dean having learned torture from Alastair and took more pleasure in verbally tormenting him as he tried. However, he wasn't unbreakable as he indicated to Castiel that enough torture could break him as he had another angel hide Castiel's grace and the demon tablet so he couldn't tell anyone even under torture.

Regeneration - After Dean tortured Metatron for information on the Mark of Cain, he was eventually able to heal himself of the damage.

Supernatural Perception - Metatron could sense prophets like he did with Donatello.

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Powers with the Angel Tablet

Metatron was able to tap into the power of the Angel Tablet and it empowered him with high-tier powers no normal angel could ever dream of.

 

Lower Tier Nigh-Omnipotence - When he was powered by the angel tablet, Metatron's angelic powers were dramatically enhanced, explosively increasing his powers to near omnipotent levels. Noted to wield power similar to God's, although Metatron's later comments towards God implied he was never as powerful as God is even with the Angel Tablet powering him, he could effortlessly overcome most angelic weaknesses such as Holy Fire and Angel Blades now, the former of which he easily blew out like a candle.

Conjuration - Metatron was able to conjure single-malt whiskey in a flask for George to celebrate Metatron curing his diabetes with. He claimed he could create grace and a bowling alley. It can be inferred that he can create Angel Wings as well, seeing as the new graces wouldn't have been affected by the Expelling Angels spell.

Reality Warping - Like his Master, Metatron could rewrite the fabric of reality to suit his purposes.

Perception Altering - While powered by the Angel Tablet, Metatron was capable of altering the perception of even fellow angels, as he was able to implant an illusion in Castiel's mind and also to brainwash several of Castiel's followers into killing themselves.

Super Breath - When trapped in a circle of Holy Fire, Metatron was able to simply blow it out like a candle.

Portal Creation - According to Ezra, Metatron could open a portal to Heaven anywhere on Earth at will.

Prophet Control - Metaton was able to make it so no new Prophets were born.

Advanced Telepathy - Metatron was able to speak to all the angels on earth in their minds.

As a Human

Metatron passed his last years as a human with no special powers of his own since he had his grace removed.

 

Spell Casting - Even as a human, Metatron retained a limited ability to cast spells. He was able to cast the Angel Depowering Spell to escape. However, as a human, he lacked his innate spell casting abilities and instead relied on blood sigils. Despite this Metatron was able to cast a spell to release Lucifer from Amara's hold and was able to "narrow down" the spell when constrained by time. He was also able to cast a variation of the angel banishing sigil.

Electronics Knowledge - Metatron has shown himself to be adept at using electronics, using a camera to record crimes and hacking the police scanner to get to crime scenes faster than the police to record said crimes.

High Pain Tolerance - While not as resistant to pain as when he was an angel, even as a human Metatron was more resistant to pain than a regular person. He was still able to function with a gun shot wound to the leg to the point that he could walk around and act normally unless his wound was directly gripped. However, he was more prone to breaking easily under torture due to his mortality as Castiel only had to have Sam shoot him in the leg as a demonstration and then threaten his life to get him to tell them what they wanted to know. He was also able to taunt Castiel during a massive beating, though this partly had to do with the fact that he wanted Castiel to kill him.

Superhuman Intelligence - Despite being human, Metatron retained his knowledge from his time as an angel, including all the things he learned from God the other angels don't know. Metatron later told the Winchesters that he retained all of his knowledge of what was on the tablets including the various spells they contained.

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Weaknesses

Holy Fire - Metatron could be trapped in a ring of holy fire, and crossing the flames would kill him and his vessel.

Angel Blades - An angel blade could kill Metatron.

Loss of the Angel Tablet - Metatron's godly powers were removed when his connection to the Angel Tablet was severed.

Supernatural Handcuffs - Metatron could be bound by the supernatural handcuffs.

Grace Removal - Losing his grace caused him to become a human and lose all of his powers.

Mortality - Metatron was vulnerable to all mortal injuries after Castiel and Sam removed his grace. He was easily harmed by Sam shooting him in the leg and Castiel's beating which leaved him in traction.

Primordial Entities - Amara destroyed Metatron effortlessly. God was able to telekinetically throw him out of his bar.

Death

Killed By

Amara

In order to buy Sam time to escape with Lucifer and Donatello Redfield, Metatron attacked Amara with a modified version of an angel banishing sigil. However, the sigil had no effect on Amara. After Metatron pleaded with Amara to spare the universe, Amara imploded Metatron into nothingness.

 

Appearances

Season 7

Reading Is Fundamental (mentioned only)

Season 8

A Little Slice of Kevin (mentioned only)

The Great Escapist

Clip Show

Sacrifice

Season 9

Holy Terror

Road Trip

Captives (photo only)

Meta Fiction

King of the Damned (photos only)

Stairway to Heaven

Do You Believe In Miracles?

Season 10

Black (mentioned only)

Reichenbach

Soul Survivor (mentioned only)

The Hunter Games

Halt & Catch Fire (mentioned only)

Inside Man

Book of the Damned

Season 11

The Bad Seed (mentioned only)

Baby (mentioned only)

Our Little World

Don't Call Me Shurley

All in the Family

Season 13

The Big Empty (flashback only)

War of the Worlds (mentioned only)

Funeralia (mentioned only)

Season 14

Byzantium (mentioned only)

Season 15

Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven (mentioned only)

Inherit the Earth (flashback only)

A Very Special Supernatural Special (archive footage)

Supernatural: The Men of Letters Bestiary: Winchester Family Edition (non-canon, mentioned only)

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Trivia

Metatron is the main antagonist of Season 9, along with Abaddon. He is a minor antagonist in seasons 10 and 11.

Metatron is an Archangel according to Jewish cultures. He is also the highest of all Angels and the angel of the Veil, with millions of wings, personifying God's Voice. In some versions, was the human Enoch who rose to Heaven as an Archangel. In some cases, he is called "the lesser YHVH".

Metatron's name means a guardian, a leader or the sun's servant.

The Leviathan Tablet said Metatron was an Archangel, but Metatron said he was a regular angel before he wrote The Word of God, so its possible God promoted him to Archangel in order to protect him while he made the Word of God.

Metatron is also a major antagonist in His Dark Materials, where he also wants to become God and usurp him. Just like in His Dark Materials, Metatron in Supernatural is easily defeated once stripped of the Angel Tablet's power. Both of the versions of Metatron also admire humans and are easily fooled by them.

In Road Trip it is implied that Metatron has had more than one vessel during his centuries on Earth.

The hotel room Metatron occupies in The Great Escapist, 366, is a reference to Biblical lore in which Metatron had a human incarnation as the prophet Enoch, who is said to have written 366 books in his lifetime.

When first learning of Metatron, Sam misunderstands his name to be Megatron, the main enemy of the Transformers franchise. This could have been an early indicator that Metatron was not a good guy.

According to Metatron, he apparently has made God laugh twice before.

Metatron is the second main antagonist to have killed Dean Winchester. First was Lilith when she set her hellhounds on him in Season 3 but Metatron is the first antagonist to have directly killed him.

In Meta Fiction, as part of his "story," Metatron uses Gabriel to trick Castiel. During the episode, its left ambiguous if its an illusion generated by Metatron or the actual Gabriel working for him and still alive. In Season 13's Devil's Bargain, Gabriel is revealed to still be alive. However, Gabriel's story subsequently shows that Gabriel had been a prisoner of Asmodeus since shortly after his "death" during the Apocalypse, making Gabriel one of Metatron's illusions. Metatron's Gabriel is in a weakened state relying on human transportation like the other angels while the real Gabriel retains his wings and full powers, including teleportation.

Metatron is the third main antagonist not to be killed. The first being Lucifer who didn't die but got trapped back into his cage in Season 5's Swan Song. Then Crowley in Season 6's The Man Who Knew Too Much where Castiel let him go while killing Raphael, then in Season 8's Sacrifice where Sam was curing Crowley but stopped because he would have died. In Metatron's case, he is defeated and imprisoned in Do You Believe In Miracles? before escaping in Book of the Damned. After being recaptured in Our Little World, Castiel lets him go once more as he doesn't see him as a threat and thinks he is now pitiable instead. While he is later killed in All in the Family, he dies fighting on the side of good rather than the side of evil and is not an antagonist at his death.

He is one of the only six angels to have ever seen God prior to the series. The other five being the Archangels and the angel Gadreel.

Castiel becomes a seventh angel in Alpha and Omega.

While Metatron's plan to use suicide bombers worked in turning Castiel's army against him, it also led to his defeat as it led to Gadreel's defection. With Gadreel being Metatron's second-in-command, he proved to be a valuable asset to the Winchesters and Castiel in their efforts to stop Metatron as he knew all of Metatron's plans, where he hid the angel tablet and was able to get Castiel into Heaven where he was able to break the angel tablet and set up Metatron's defeat.

After seeing Metatron in Sam's mind, psychic Oliver Pryce calls him "some creep-ass hobbit looking fella." After seeing Metatron, Bobby Singer also refers to him as "a fraggle" which Metatron takes as a compliment.

Metatron was turned into a human after having his grace removed by Castiel. This is ironic as he did exactly the same thing to Castiel a year and a half earlier.

When Castiel stole Metatron's grace, it was in a mirror to the scene where Metatron stole Castiel's own grace: Castiel stole the grace in the same way and even healed Metatron's throat injury in the same fashion as Metatron did his.

Metatron's vessel appears to be lactose intolerant. Coincidentally, in the series Dan Vs, the main protagonist, Dan, who is voiced by Curtis Armstrong is also lactose intolerant.

Considering that Metatron has apparently been using his vessel for many millennia, it actually makes a lot of sense, since Lactase persistence, which allows humans to continue digesting lactose after weaning, only started becoming widespread around 7 millennia ago.

Castiel got his grace back, ironically presumably using the information on popular culture Metatron had uploaded into his brain earlier to find the right book. This allowed him to get there before Metatron despite being stunned.

Castiel expresses surprise in The Bad Seed that there's no sign of Metatron crashing his car or having moving violations with it. Castiel points out that after being a shut-in so long, it's surprising that Metatron is a good driver. After capturing Metatron, Castiel is shown in The Devil is in the Details to have reclaimed his car.

After becoming a human videographer, Metatron used the name "Marv Corp" for his company, Marv being his preferred name as a human.

After stealing the demon tablet, despite indicating he was going to do a lot with it, Metatron simply hid it under his mattress in his apartment where Castiel easily found it when he searched the apartment.

Metatron has bed bugs in his apartment.

Metatron is the first Big Bad to die since Abaddon. However, unlike the other Big Bads, Metatron sacrificed himself to save his former enemies.

While Metatron begins as a villain, he finds a measure of redemption in the end, sacrificing himself to buy the Winchesters time to escape from Amara rather than fleeing with them.

After becoming human Metatron gets a cell phone. When he calls Dean in All in the Family, Dean's phone displays Scribe Calling. Metatron also sends "300 texts" and a lot of emojis to get Dean to let him into the Bunker.

Metatron's experience as a human, while something he loathed at first seemed to change him for the better. This can be demonstrated by him feeding a stray dog food he dug out of a dumpster for himself while giving the dog a fond look and his changed outlook on humanity at the end of his life.

In Our Little World, when describing the truth about God and Amara, Metatron mentions about people wanting God to be a "finger-snapping, all-powerful creator." In All in the Family, Chuck in fact does snap his fingers when using his powers.

While Metatron resented being human at first, by the end of his life, he had adapted well to his situation, possibly aided by the centuries he spent living amongst the Native Americans before the Winchesters found him. He was also human for longer than Castiel, the only other angel to ever be forcibly turned human, incidentally by Metatron himself.

In Do You Believe In Miracles?, Metatron pretended to be homeless to turn a homeless encampment to worshiping him instead of God. While human in Don't Call Me Shurley, Metatron has in fact become homeless.

Metatron is singularly the only character to not exist in some form after death, as Amara completely destroyed his body and soul.

It's unknown if Metatron transcribed the Apocalypse World's Words of God or if a doppelganger of his did, which would make him the only known angelic being without a counterpart, if he dictated the tablets in the multiverse.

supernatural.fandom.com/wiki/Metatron

Given the 86" rise to the main trunk line, heavier items will remain in the floor sweep during clean up. These too can be sucked up by putting a conventional straw broom across the floor sweep opening, thus increasing the air flow rate.

Sorry I am so busy like a monkey now, talk fast, move fast trying to do so many, many things within 24 hrs a day.. Guess couple of day, I will have a time to breathe fully and will vist yyour pages.

 

I walked upstair to the temple at Dumbulla in Sri Lanka. It was crowded with people so I had to walk in limited area and sometimes walked so near the monkey who sat along the wall..

This shot was shot very close almost face to face to the monkey and i felt quite cautious to be so near to the monkey.

 

Quite surprised, the monkey gave that pose as long as I wanted to take the shot. After that he still sat there but not in this pose.

 

I was about 30 cm far from the monkey..

 

Dumbulla temple

Sri Lanka

YORK, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 12: during an i2i Soccer Academy Training Session at Haxby Road on December 12th 2022 in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Appleby)

History of the Queen's House

Introduction

The Queen's House, Greenwich, was commissioned by Anne of Denmark, wife of James I (reigned 1603–25). James was often at the Tudor Palace of Greenwich, where the Old Royal Naval College now stands – it was as important a residence of the early Stuart dynasty as it had been for the Tudors. Traditionally he is said to have given the manor of Greenwich to Anne in apology for having sworn at her in public, after she accidentally shot one of his favourite dogs while hunting in 1614.

 

17th and 18th centuries

Greenwich and London from One Tree Hill.

Greenwich and London from One Tree Hill.

In 1616 Anne commissioned Inigo Jones (1573–1652), who had risen to fame as a designer of court entertainments and was appointed Surveyor of the King's Works the following year, to design a new pavilion for her at Greenwich. It was apparently a place of private retreat and hospitality and was also designed as a bridge over the Greenwich to Woolwich Road, between the palace gardens and the Royal Park.

 

James I, 1566-1625

James I, 1566-1625

Jones had recently spent three years in Italy studying Roman and Renaissance architecture. It was his first important commission and the first fully Classical building seen in England. Though generally called Palladian in style, its prime model was the Medici villa at Poggio a Caiano, by Giuliano de Sangallo.

 

Anne of Denmark

Anne of Denmark

Work stopped on the House in April 1618 when Anne became ill: she died the following year. It was thatched over at first floor level and building only restarted when James's son Charles I gave Greenwich to his queen, Henrietta Maria (daughter of Henri IV of France), in 1629. It was structurally completed in 1635. Reflecting Renaissance ideas of mathematical, Classical proportion and harmony, the House's design was revolutionary in Britain at a time when even the best native building was still in red-brick, Tudor-derived style.

 

Leading European painters - including Jordaens and Orazio Gentileschi - were commissioned to provide decorative ceiling panels and other art works, and Classical sculpture was provided from the collection Charles had purchased en bloc from the Gonzaga dukes of Mantua. Of this original splendour all that survives in the House is the 'grotesque' style painted ceiling of the Queen's Presence Chamber, the ironwork of the 'tulip stairs' (the first centrally unsupported spiral stair in Britain), the much discoloured but original painted woodwork of the Hall, and its finely laid 1635 marble floor.

 

Gentileschi's ceiling panels, much altered, survive in Marlborough House, London, since Queen Anne allowed their removal in the early-18th century.

 

Queen Henrietta Maria, 1609-69

Queen Henrietta Maria, 1609-69

Henrietta Maria had little time to enjoy the House. The Civil War broke out in 1642 shattering the Stuart idyll. Always an object of suspicion because of her Catholicism, the Queen went into exile in France and Charles was beheaded in 1649, his property being seized and dispersed by the Commonwealth regime (1649–60). The House lost its treasures and became an official government residence. It however survived, while the Tudor palace on the riverside fell into decay.

 

Charles I (1600-1649)

Charles I (1600-1649)

After his restoration to the throne (1660), Henrietta Maria's son, Charles II, refitted the House for her temporary use in 1662 before she moved to Somerset House, though she died in Paris in 1669. His principal changes were the addition of two upper 'bridge' rooms to east and west over the road. This produced a square plan on the first floor, rather than the original 'H' of two separate blocks either side of the roadway only connected by a central first-floor bridge.

 

A Mediterranean brigantine wrecked on a rocky coast

A Mediterranean brigantine wrecked on a rocky coast

From 1673 studio space in the House was allocated to the Willem van de Veldes, father and son Dutch marine artists.

 

They came to England at the invitation of Charles and founded the English school of marine painting. Find out more about the van de Veldes in the Art of the van de Veldes gallery in the Queens' House.

 

The House continued to be used for various Royal 'grace-and-favour' residential purposes in the 18th century, when the replacement of most of its original windows with Georgian sashes gave it its modern external appearance.

 

19th century to present day

In 1805, George III granted the Queen's House to the Royal Naval Asylum - a charity caring for and educating the orphan children of seamen. This moved to Greenwich from Paddington the following year and eventually became part of the Royal Hospital School, which itself moved to Suffolk in 1933.

 

Playing cricket

Schoolboys playing cricket in front of the Queen's House, c.1898

In 1807–12, to meet the need for dormitories, classrooms and other facilities, the architect Daniel Asher Alexander added the Colonnades and immediately flanking wings which still frame the House in its modern role as the 'jewel in the crown' of the National Maritime Museum which took over in 1934.

 

Staircase in the Queen's House

Staircase in the Queen's House

The House was first restored to something approaching its 1660s form and was fitted out to display the Museum's early collections in 1933–37. Further major restoration, including of all its services, was completed in 1990 with additional work in 1998–99.

 

The last included replacement of an unimportant 18th century service stairway with a new public stair and lift connecting basement, ground and first floor, augmenting the original 'tulip stairs' on the Hall (north) side.

 

From 1990 to 1998 the upper floor of the House was partly refitted as and furnished to give an impression of its use as a Royal residence of the 1670s, and to display the NMM's early art collection. It was also increasingly used as a place for appropriate events and corporate entertainment (analogous to some of its original courtly functions).

 

Images of Seapower, Queen's House

Images of Seapower, Queen's House

Images of Seapower, Queens House

Images of Seapower, Queens House

Since 2001 the House has been reorganised to showcase the Museum's fine-art collection, with an ongoing programme of displays and temporary exhibitions, including contemporary work. It has an active events and education programme and continues in its successful role as a place for corporate and private entertainment.

St Margaret of Antioch, Cowlinge, Suffolk

 

Given its proximity to the Cambridgeshire border, some people would argue that this Suffolk church is closer to civilisation than most, and yet St Margaret of Antioch, Cowlinge, has a decidedly remote feel to it. Gentle hills enfold these pretty villages, and St Margaret stands distant from the houses it serves. Cowlinge, pronounced coo-linj, stands about a mile north of the Haverhill to Bury road, not far from the better-known Denston. You approach it up a track from the north, where it is rather hemmed in, but the graveyard opens up widely beyond on the other side.

 

The first impression is one of redness. From the outside, Cowlinge seems a rather pretty accretion of centuries' work, its tower a typical red brick 18th century rebuilding - there are similar ones across the county at Grundisburgh and Layham. The chancel and nave appear to have met each other by chance as much as intention, and all is pleasantly patched up, with solid red-brick buttressing and just about every kind of window you can think of. There are aisles, there is a clerestory, but this is not a grand church. Rather, it is the kind of building a DIY enthusiast might put together if he wanted a late medieval one in his back garden.

 

And somehow, this makes it beautiful, especially if seen from the south-east or north-east. You might expect the interior to be similarly ramshackle, but you step through the north door into cool whiteness, and as you walk through this treasure chest of a church, unusual vistas open up at each turn. This is a complex church.

 

Facing east to start with, the first impression is of the wall-painting above the chancel arch, and the gated rood screen beneath. There are gates in the screens at nearby Withersfield and Denston, but unlike those these doors rise to the full height of the screen. The screen itself is perhaps not as beautiful as the parclose screen enclosing the chapel in the south aisle. Mortlock points out how similar it is to the one up the road at Dalham. The paleness of the wood is very pleasing.I thought it compared very well with the parclose at Dennington, which has been repainted gaudily. Another good parclose of the same age is at Westhorpe. A memorial window contains 1920s glass by Christopher Webb of Christ with the fishermen at Galilee.

 

One the wall beside the parclose in the south aisle is a small exposed area of wall painting. It appears to be an unbearded male saint holding something that may well be a chalice, in which case it is St John the Evangelist. The better-known wall painting here is the one I mentioned earlier, above the chancel arch. It is often referred to as a doom, but it is organised rather differently to others of its kind. Instead of the day of judgement, with God in Majesty overseeing the parting of the ways into hell on his right and heaven on his left, it depicts St Michael, to the south of the arch, balancing a set of scales in which a sinner is being weighed against his sins.

 

St Michael is a common feature of doom paintings - he appears nearby at Stoke by Clare and on the famous doom at Wenhaston. The unusual aspect of this one, however, is to the north of the arch, where the Virgin Mother of God stands. She reaches out with a wand, and tips the balance of the scales. Simon Jenkins, in his England's Thousand Best Churches, suggests that she is tipping the balance in the favour of the virtuous. This is, of course, exactly what she is not doing. The virtuous had no need of intervention; the good in them would outweigh their sins in any case. Mary is intervening on behalf of sinners who have prayed to her for her help, and she is tipping the scales in the favour of those sinners. It represents the efficacy of intercessions to Our Blessed Lady, and as such it was anathema to the 16th century reformers.

 

In common with other wall paintings, this priceless art treasure was whitewashed over rather than destroyed. It would be interesting to know when this happened. We know that during William Dowsing's iconoclastic progress through Suffolk and Cambridgeshire in 1644, he found no wall paintings still in existence. It has always been assumed that they were covered by the Anglicans when the new Church of England took possession of our parish churches a century earlier. But I do wonder if they might have been done away with a century before even that, perhaps around the middle of the 15th century, when the ruling classes were enforcing orthodox Catholic dogma in the face of the superstitions of the ordinary people. Part of this process involved setting up larger roods at the east end of the nave, and I think this wall-painting may have been covered before that happened here.

 

The chancel arch beneath the doom is also extensively painted, and also of interest on all of the pillars a large amount of medieval graffiti, some of which is described as being consecration crosses. This, of course, cannot be so, for the medieval church ordered its liturgical needs rather better than this, and these are no doubt the work of some bored 17th century vandal.

 

Stepping through into the chancel, it is at once one of the loveliest in Suffolk, and one of the most dominated, since Peter Scheemakers' ugly 18th century memorial for Francis Dickins glowers against the north wall. Dickins was responsible for the building of the tower. The figures are life size, and the monument is wholly secular, even pagan. They look like nothing so much as a couple on their way to a toga party pausing to pose with the FA Cup.

 

Near the north door, a plaque on the wall records the visitation of 1618 when permission was given for the local house of correction to set up seating here for its inmates. There are still banked benches below, but these are later, and were probably intended for the village schoolchildren. Seating on a similar scale can be seen at nearby Kedington, divided there into boys' and girls' sections. On a somewhat larger scale they can also be seen at Laxfield.

 

A fine view of this church can be had by climbing to the spacious gallery beneath Dickins' tower. Once up here, the space is dominated by another huge classical memorial to Dickins and above it a George II royal arms, which also records that George Finton and Henry Seabrook were the churchwardens who set it up in 1731.

 

St Margaret is everything a historic church should be. Well-ordered, welcoming, suited to its Protestant present and mindful of its Catholic past. It used to be left open all the time, but a traumatic assault on the building some five years ago by a mentally ill man suffering from a religious mania, during which both screens and the altar were set fire to, means that it is now kept locked, but with a very cheerful churchwarden who was most happy to come and open up.

Bob Given Photography

Whyalla. Population 21,200.

Hummock Hill was sighted and named by Matthew Flinders in 1802 and soon after given French names by Captain Baudin. The first pastoral runs were taken out here in the 1850s as it had the Middle Back ranges, coastal access and Port Augusta not too far distant. One of the early pastoralists was James Patterson who took out the Iron Knob leasehold of over 160 square miles in 1854 near Iron Knob. To the north and west of his leasehold was that of James Loudon who took out Caroona station in 1862. Other leaseholds in the region of Whyalla were Point Lowly, Pandurra and Middleback. In the early 1870s Loudon sold Caroona to Sir Samuel Davenport and Sir John Morphett and it was Davenport, with his interest in minerals and mining, who sent the first ore samples to England in 1878 for analysis. This resulted in a mining lease taken out in 1880 by Ernest Siekman. The lease lapsed as he did not pay the annual rental. BHP took out nine mining leases in 1896 and the future of iron Knob and the future Whyalla began. BHP began taking iron ore for smelting to Port Augusta in 1899 which took bullock drays two days. The Hundred of Randell which covered this area was declared in 1895 as interest in the ore deposits increased.

 

In 1896 the government released land fronting Spencers Gulf for lease. One of the first to take up land where Whyalla stands was Humphrey Cowled who leased 30,000 acres on the gulf which he called Nonowie. The town of Hummock Hill emerged in 1900 after BHP developed their ore leases. The ore was used for flux in the Port Pirie smelter and it was shipped across Spencers Gulf. Most of the early settler families at Hummock Hill also came by ship across the gulf from Port Pirie. These families remained the backbone of the Whyalla population until World War Two. In 1900 BHP proposed to the government of SA to enact a bill that would allow them to build a tramway from Iron Knob to Hummock Hill on the coast with a permanent leasehold of the route. Port Augusta Council opposed this as they wanted the tramway built to Port Augusta and its already existing port. There was some logic in this opposition as a tramway to Port Augusta would be 46 miles in length whereas the tramway to Hummock Hill was about 35 miles, not a significantly shorter distance. The government enacted legislation for a BHP tramway to Hummock Hill in 1901 and BHP had developed a small jetty and port by 1903. At the same time the town of Hummock Hill emerged partly on BHP leasehold land. By 1905 the settlement had its first school, a general store and a tin Institute in which the school was conducted. Church services were also held in the hall. In 1903 the community was pleased when Mr Delprat, the general manager of the Broken Hill mine visited Hummock Hill and Iron Knob. The first hotel opened in 1905 on the site that later became the Whyalla Hotel 20 or so years later. The beer was shipped to the hotel from Port Pirie. The isolation of Hummock Hill was reduced when a telephone service began in 1911. Gradually stone houses replaced early tin and timber houses and the town took shape. The government officially surveyed and changed the name of the town to Whyalla in 1914 which means “sound of the sea” in a local Aboriginal language. The new solid Institute was opened in 1920 by Mr Delprat the BHP manager in Broken Hill. At the time Whyalla had a population of around 1,000 people with sporting clubs, RSL, banks, and commercial enterprises. Water was shipped from Port Pirie when necessary. BHP established a dairy to provide milk for the residents and a small desalination plant was built to provide additional fresh water. The impressive red ironstone buildings, often in the Art Deco style were erected in the late 1930s or early 1940s as the city’s industrial base expanded to steel making and ship building. The iron stone Whyalla Hotel opened in 1933. It was enlarged in 1940. This was a company town run by BHP with the exception of the Post Office, the School and the Police Station run by the government and the commercial enterprises of the town. BHP was a paternalistic employer and during the Depression of the 1930s as work slowed BHP found other jobs for married male employees such as re grading the tramway from Iron Knob etc.

During World War One Mr Delprat had suggested a steel furnace and steel works in Whyalla but this did not happen. The steel industry in Australia began with a small furnace and plant at Lithgow in the Blue Mountains in 1901. This plant was superseded by the bigger steel works in Newcastle in 1915 and Whyalla jetty was then expanded to ship iron ore direct to Newcastle. The third steel plant in Australia was established at Port Kembla (Wollongong) in 1928 and Iron Knob ore was also shipped there. With the rise of Hitler and Third Reich in Europe in 1933 and the ominous threat of world war Australia began to be concerned about its future as it was clear we were no longer isolated from the rest of the world. In 1937 the SA government passed legislation for the Morgan to Whyalla Murray River water pipeline to ensure water reliability for Whyalla and this was an essential for the first production of steel by BHP. The 1937 act set aside 1,000 acres for BHP to establish the plant and adjacent harbour. Progress was not hasty and the furnace and harbour began in 1939. After the outbreak of World War Two work progressed quickly. The first steel was produced in 1941 and called pig iron. Port Kembla also produced pig iron or steel and its export to Japan in 1938 led to the Attorney General Robert Menzies being called Pig Iron Bob by striking wharf unionists. The union slogan at the time was “No scrap for the Jap.” At that time Japan was fighting the Sino-Japanese War and needed more steel. The industrial dispute at Port Kembla ended in January 1939 when the waterside workers loaded the ships at Port Kembla. In 1940 the Royal Australia Navy asked BHP if they could build ships in Whyalla and this became urgent with the war and work began in 1940 on the hulls of several ships before the steel blast furnace was completed. The town grew rapidly with an influx of new workers and the construction of the hospital, an abattoirs, the Spencer Hotel, and the establishment of a Whyalla newspaper in 1941/42. During the War the population rose from 1,350 in 1937 to 7,900 in 1944. During most of World War Two BHP employed around 2,500 men and women with a peak of 2,750 employees in 1941. During the War BHP also established an ammunitions annex to produce shells for war arms. In a couple of years Whyalla produced 748,000 shell cases. The Combined Unions Council negotiated with BHP for workers’ wages and conditions. The newly employed women to offset the war time labour shortage were employed in the war effort in the shell annex, the tool room and in ship building. The women received 90% of the men’s wages for the same job.

The first ship was launched in 1941 and named the HMAS Whyalla (650 tonnes) which is now part of the Information Centre and Maritime Museum. It was one of four corvettes made in Whyalla for the Royal Australia Navy and they mainly worked as minesweepers and surveillance. During and after World War Two Whyalla built 36 ships for the Australian Navy, four for Indian navy and 20 for the British Admiralty. After the War most of the ships built in Whyalla shipyards were mainly cargo and iron ore carriers. A total of 63 ships, one oil rig and two barges were built in Whyalla by 1978 when shipbuilding was closed down. Most of the corvettes manufactured in Whyalla had South Australian town names- Whyalla, Gawler and Pirie. Whyalla also built the Kalgoorlie corvette for the Royal Navy. Other SA named corvettes built interstate were the Kapunda, the Glenelg and the Wallaroo. After the war BHP built commercial ships and eventually in 1958 they decided to build an integrated steel works in Whyalla (completed 1965) to process the ore into steel. Railway lines and ships were among the steel products produced.

As a shipbuilding site and producer of ammunition shells Whyalla needed special consideration and defence during World War Two. Defence installations were erected on Hummock Hill during the Second World War (1942) as Whyalla was a potential Japanese bombing target. Four anti-aircraft guns were on the ready at Hummock Hill. Other defence installations were built south of Cowell at Port Gibbon to forewarn of a Japanese attack. Complacency about war threats was overturned when German shipping mines were discovered in Spencers Gulf in 1940 designed to impede BHP ore carriers to Newcastle and Wollongong. Across the Gulf Port Pirie produced half of Britain’s lead so it too needed special protection. A survey recommended special defences for both Iron Triangle cities but only Whyalla got special protection. As the threat of Japan increased anti-aircraft guns were sent to Hummock Hill and arrived on 4 February 1942. Ten days later (14 th February) Singapore fell to the Japanese and on 19th February 1942 Darwin was bombed and partially destroyed by the Japanese. The hummock Hill anti-aircraft guns were operational by 23rd March. One Royal Navy ship guarded the entrance to Whyalla for most of the War until 1944. Search lights were installed at Hummock Hill late in 1942. But no threat emerged during the War. Air raid practices were conducted by BHP from time to time warning people to take cover when the BHP siren sounded. Despite the practices and preparations no raid occurred but the need for precaution was not unfounded. Three of BHP’s merchant ships were sunk off the coast of NSW on their way to or from Whyalla with a total loss of 85 lives. By early 1944 Australia’s home defences were known to be out of danger but gunners at Whyalla had been withdrawn in August 1943 and their tasks taken over by civilian defence.

By 1943 Whyalla had a population of 5,000 people and people began to query the lack of local government as the city was run by BHP. Local government was instituted in 1944 with three elected and three BHP appointed councillors. 1944 was also the year the Morgan to Whyalla water pipeline was completed. In 1960 Whyalla became a city as it had around 14,000 residents. The Commission system of local government was ended in 1970 when locals could finally elect all councillors to their city. By 1976 Whyalla had 33,000 residents, the largest city outside of Adelaide but with the loss of shipbuilding in 1978 the city’s population declined to about 20,000. BHP sold their Whyalla works to OneSteel in 2000 which changed its name to Arrium. Sanjeev Gupta bought the insolvent Arrium steelworks in 2017 and has revitalised it albeit with recent difficulties. The Whyalla steel works are critical to the whole of Australia as steel is only made at Whyalla and Port Kembla. Whyalla is the only plant to make steel rail for all sorts of uses not just railways. In late 2024 Whyalla steel works employed 4,800 people directly and countless more indirectly in other firms. (Port Kembla employs around 3,000 people.) Perhaps the future of the city will be revitalised even more if the hydrogen hub proceeds. Whether that happens or not billions of dollars of investment are needed to move Whyalla steel works away from coal fired furnaces to gas or hydrogen fired furnaces. On the way to Hummock Hill lookout in Gay St. we pass the Whyalla Institute with a classical façade with the date as 1920. This was also the site of the first timber Institute opened in February 1905. The first Whyalla School opened in this Institute in April 1905.The current port of Whyalla exports iron ore and steel mainly. Port Bonython 16 kms north of Whyalla mainly exports crude oil and liquid gas from South Australia’s Cooper basin.

Some historic buildings in Whyalla.

Starting at the corner of Horwood Street and Darling Terrace.

1. On the corner is the Art Deco Courthouse and next to it in Darling St the original 1930s neo Georgian style Courthouse with two roof ventilators on it. The newer part was built in 1944 and the single storey part was built around 1930.

2. Opposite in Darling St is the former Whyalla Hotel with massive scale opened in 1933 by the SA Brewing company. Enlarged in 1940. Now the Whyalla Playford Apartments.

3. At the next corner turn right into Forsyth St. On the corner is the red iron stone and cement rendered brick Spencer Hotel with a clock tower. Look carefully at the frieze below the parapet roof line as they have indented sculptures of the steelworks, the port and the HMAS Whyalla corvette etc. The Hotel Spencer was completed in 1939 so the frieze with the Whyalla corvette was made a bit later

4. Next on the left is Lutine House in red ironstone with pilasters and a classical façade. This became chambers for local lawyers but it began life as a bank. Built around 1940.

5. On the next corner left is the Bay View Hotel also built in Art Deco style but in brick in 1941. Rounded corners, small tower.

6. Return to the Spencer Hotel and turn right into Darling Tce again and on next corner is the old Whyalla Primary School. Parts still date from its origin in 1915 but with many later additions. Opposite is the Catholic Convent (1942) and the Catholic High School – Samaritan College. St Theresa’s Catholic Church was here too. It was built in 1929 and became the Parish hall when the new church as built in 1941. About 3 minutes’ walk along Darling Tce you come to a roundabout

and the street ahead is Broadbent Tce. On the corner is the Whyalla High School. This impressive building was built in 1943 during the War and its central wing has an unusual wooden weather vane/vent. Return to the Main Street.

 

Mount Laura homestead dates from the origins of Hummock Hill. An earlier owner M Goode started building the homestead in 1910 completing the main homestead in 1922. The Nicholson family took out a 288 square mile leasehold in 1919 near Whyalla. After they purchased Mt Laura homestead in 1933 from the Goode family they

built the bungalow style stone front section of the homestead in 1933. The Nicholsons lived here until 1954 when the state government acquired it and the land around it for expansion of the city. The government donated the homestead to the National Trust in 1969. It is now their museum which includes the first BHP galvanised iron Office from 1914 which was located in Gray Street.

 

The new standard gauge line from Port Augusta to Whyalla opened on 6 October 1972. The Iron Triangle train service, using American Budd cars was initiated in 1975 by the Commonwealth Railways and Sth Australian Railways. The Budd car trains were made in Philadelphia and introduced by Commonwealth Railways in 1951 for the service between Woomera and Adelaide. The passenger service from Adelaide to Whyalla began in 1972 and the service closed in 1975. The 1972 to 1975 trains left Adelaide Monday to Friday at 12:30 pm and reached Whyalla at 1:15 am with an extra service Fridays leaving Adelaide at 7:35 am and reaching Whyalla at 3:25 pm. Another service operated from Adelaide on Sunday evenings from 4:45 pm reaching Whyalla at 11:15 pm. Trains departed Whyalla Monday to Friday at 10:20 am and on Sundays at 2:50 pm and on Fridays at 3:50 pm. There was also an overnight service on Fridays departing Whyalla at 10:15 pm and reaching Adelaide at 6:40 am. The train service to Whyalla re-opened eleven years later in April 1986 with refurbished American Budd rail cars with the service known as the Iron Triangle Limited. When the refurbished Budd car trains started in 1986 the timetable was more efficient and fast. Trains left Adelaide Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays at 5:30 pm arriving in Whyalla at 10:25 pm. Trains left Whyalla on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays at 5:00 am and reached Adelaide at 10:00 am. What a pity this train service ceased on 31 December 1990. Budd cars were taken out of service in 1990 after 39 years of service. Australian National rail closed down all passenger services in South Australia in 1990.

 

19/05/2023. Ladies European Tour 2023. Aramco Team Series Presented by Public Investment Fund, Trump International, West Palm Beach, Florida, United States of America. -19- 21 May. Ellie Givens of England during the first round. Credit: Tristan Jones/ LET

Bob Given Photography

Given the choice this older gentleman eyes two beauties but it appears youth wins out over age

 

1935 Ford roadster

1931 Ford A coupe

 

Beach Hop Whangamata New Zealand

 

For my video; youtu.be/y9S_S3bV6zs

given to me by Toni Bröhl, card was sent in 1985

“I was given an opportunity by VisionFund República Dominicana that no one else would give me. They took a leap of faith with my dream and me. I wouldn’t be here without them,” says Francisco Nunez.

 

Talking with Francisco outside his rural Dominican house, he seemed like a typical Dominican man. Soon after meeting Francisco, hearing his story and catching his dream, there was a quick realisation the he was anything but typical.

 

Nearly two years ago, Francisco had an idea to start a fish breeding company. This was unheard of in his community, but he was unfazed. He started his business by gathering used water bottles, old buckets and even discarded refrigerators, which he delivered to his house by strapping them to his back while riding his bike. To others, this was all trash. To Francisco, this was the start of his business and perfect materials for fish tanks. After he had filled his containers with local river water he determined which ones would be good for each fish species and began breeding them.

 

The fish were breeding, but not nearly as fast as they should be. Francisco realised that this was due to the local river water not being clean for the fish. That’s when he decided to go to VisionFund República Dominicana and ask for a loan to drill a well for fresh water. VisionFund wasn’t the first place he went to for a loan, but there were the first to say yes. It was a leap of faith for them because Francisco had no credit, very little income, a family to feed and a crazy business idea. They took a risk for him and gave him a sizeable loan of $1,100 USD to drill a well at his home.

 

Since Francisco took out his loan he has yet to miss a payment. His water well has also greatly increased the rate of breeding for his fish and the quality of fish bred. Betta fish are his best sellers, many of which are bought by local individuals and children, but he also ships many of his prized fish to large cities in the Dominican Republic.

 

Francisco has never had this dream so that he can become wealthy though. He has a heart to serve his community, giving away his well water for free to his neighbours and friends. Francisco states, “I want to help others and give them opportunities in life, just like I have been given opportunities.”

 

As Francisco helped his wife Suleika get their three children Sailin (age 12), Francelis (age 9) and Frandi (age 5), ready for school, he stated that his dream is even bigger than what he has accomplished so far. “I plan to pay off my loan, grow my business, and get another loan to make cement fish pools and put water filters in each one” says Francisco. “I also want to improve my house so that my family can be comfortable and so my three children don’t have to share the same bed anymore.”

 

Francisco’s story isn’t just about starting a business or having big dreams, it’s also about having very little and yet having a big heart to give to others. It’s about empowering communities to dream big and love a lot. That’s who Francisco is and what his dream is all about.

(See links). John Oliver (1793–1863), a veteran of the War of 1812, and his wife Lucretia Frazier (1795–1888) were the first permanent European settlers in Cades Cove. The Olivers, originally from Carter County, arrived in 1818, accompanied by Joshua Jobe, who had initially persuaded them to settle in the cove. While Jobe returned to Carter County, the Olivers stayed, struggling through the winter and subsisting on dried pumpkin given to them by friendly Cherokees. Jobe returned in the Spring of 1819 with a herd of cattle in tow, and gave the Olivers two milk cows to ease their complaints.

 

The John Oliver Cabin was constructed c. 1822-1823 by the cove's first permanent European settlers. Dunn reports that the Olivers spent the winter of 1818-1819 in an abandoned Cherokee hut, and built a crude structure the following year. The Oliver Cabin was built as a replacement for this first crude structure, which was located a few meters behind the cabin.

 

Cades Cove is an isolated valley located in the Tennessee section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. The valley was home to numerous settlers before the formation of the national park. Today Cades Cove, the single most popular destination for visitors to the park, attracts more than two million visitors a year because of its well preserved homesteads, scenic mountain views, and abundant display of wildlife. The Cades Cove Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

The John Oliver Place in Cades Cove is a log home was built around 1820. No nails were used to build the cabin and mud was used for insulation. The John Oliver Place is one of the most popular stops on the Cades Cove Loop Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

 

National Park Planner

 

Scenic USA

 

The cabin visitors to Cades Cove see today at the location known as John Oliver Place is actually the "honeymoon house" John Oliver constructed for his son. When John and Lucretia Oliver arrived as the first white settlers in Cades Cove in 1818, they spent their first winter in an abandoned Cherokee hut.

 

In 1822, they constructed a dwelling of their own, located approximately 50 yards in front of their first "home" in Cades Cove. Even the shingles on the roof were made from trees. The Olivers purchased their own land in 1826, and the cabin site remained in the family until the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The site can be accessed today via a 10-minute uphill stroll from the loop road.

 

John and Lucretia Oliver, the original owners of the cabin, were the first permanent white settlers in Cades Cove. When they moved to Cades Cove in the 1820s, the only road into the cove was a primitive trail and there was not a working grist mill. In the absence of a grist mill, the Olivers had to beat corn into cornmeal using only a mortar and pestle. During the early years, Lucretia feared she would starve to death.

 

Now, the Oliver cabin is one of the most visited historical structures in the National Park. The cabin is held together by gravity and notched corners – it does not need pegs or nails to hold it together. Although the National Park Service eventually took control of the structure, it was one of the last historical structures to be vacated. The cabin remained in the Oliver family for over 100 years!

 

Bike riding at the Cades Cove loop.

 

Cades Cove, TN. 071520.

I've been given, over time, about three different names for this plant/flower. Can someone give me a definite answer, please?

 

Thank you to Plantaholic Sheila for the ID:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumaria_officinalis

 

Better viewed large and thank you for your favourites.

Entrance into the Derby arboretum, built 1852

 

In the early C19 the site was a private pleasure and kitchen garden belonging to Joseph Strutt (1765(1844). Strutt was the third son of Jedediah Strutt (1726-97), a prosperous Derby industrialist who had pioneered the improvement of the stocking frame. Strutt lived at Darley Abbey from 1818 until the death of his only son and his wife c 1840, when he returned to live in St Peter's Street, Derby (Account of Joseph Strutt, DRO). In May 1839 Strutt commissioned a plan from J C Loudon (1783-1843) for a garden which he owned near his home to be laid out for public use. The commission required various existing features to be retained including some mature trees, a flower garden, a cottage, and an ivy-clad tool shed (Loudon 1840): these features had formed part of the earlier garden in which Strutt's children had played (Account). The public garden was not to be expensive to maintain, a factor which encouraged Loudon to propose an arboretum. Work on laying out the new public garden commenced in July 1839 under the supervision of Mr Tomlinson of Derby, while the formation of earth mounds and the planting of the new trees and shrubs was carried out by Loudon's assistant, Mr Rauch (Loudon 1840). Trees and shrubs were supplied by Messrs Whitley and Osborn of Chelsea and William Masters of Canterbury, while roses were sent from Thomas Rivers of Sawbridgeworth and mistletoe was supplied by Mr Godsall of Hereford; other plants were obtained from the Horticultural Society's garden (ibid). Two lodges and shelters designed by E B Lamb were built by Thompson of Derby, while seats and vases were donated and positioned by Strutt. The Arboretum was opened on 16 September 1840, when it was handed over to a board of trustees as a place of recreation for the inhabitants of Derby who might 'enjoy a rare opportunity of expanding their minds by the contemplation of nature' (ibid; Garden Hist 1995). Strutt did not provide an endowment for the upkeep of the Arboretum, believing that while it should be open to the general public free of charge on Sunday afternoon and Wednesday, on other days 'a small sum should be required from persons entering the garden' (Loudon 1840); a system of annual subscription was also implemented. For some forty years, the anniversary of the opening of the Arboretum was celebrated with a fete which on average attracted 25,000 people from Derby and surrounding towns (CL 1976).

Joseph Strutt died in 1844, and the Arboretum continued to be managed by a committee of trustees along the lines outlined by Loudon in his Directions (1840) until c 1880. In 1882 the Arboretum was transferred from the trustees to Derby Town Council; today (2000) the site remains in the care of its successor, Derby City Council.

During the mid C19 few changes were made to the Arboretum: a lodge incorporating a statue of Strutt and new entrance were constructed from Arboretum Square to the north to designs by Duesbury c 1850; and in 1852 a public subscription was raised to lay out a recreation ground to the south of the Arboretum (Account). Further changes were made in the mid and late C20 when surrounding mid C19 streets were demolished and new housing constructed to the north and west of the site. The site was subject to a restoration programme in the late 1980s.

The site is set in a mid C19 residential district, and is surrounded by domestic and commercial properties. To the west a brick wall separates the site from gardens in Twyford Street and Harriet Street, while to the south-west the boundary is formed by Loudon Street. Brick walls similarly separate the site from domestic properties in Madeley Street to the south-west and Reginald Street to the south-east. The southern boundary fronting Rose Hill Street is formed by tall, C19, painted cast-iron spiked railings set on a low stone wall. To the east a brick-walled yard adjoins Reginald Street, while to the north-east further brick walls separate the site from a school and industrial premises on Osmaston Road, and domestic properties in Arboretum Square. To the north and north-west the site merges with mid and late C20 housing which has been constructed north-west of Morleston Street and on the site of Grove Street. The site is naturally level, but in 1839(40 Loudon formed a series of earth mounds running from north-west to south-east through the Arboretum; the mid C19 recreation ground to the south remains level (2000). Significant internal views are formed by Loudon's earth banks and planting, but due to the level nature of the surroundings there are few external views. To the south-east, the ornamental facade of the public baths constructed east of Reginald Street in 1903 is visible, while to the south, houses on the south side of Rose Hill Street terminate the vista through the recreation ground. To the north-east the tapered C19 brick chimney of the Crown Derby factory rises through surrounding trees.

[Historic England]

 

Arboretum Street, Derby

The State of Iowa takes time to honor officers who have given their lives in the line of duty. At a ceremony today on the Capitol Complex, four officers were officially added to the Peace Officers’ Memorial.

 

This year, there are four peace officers who will be formally honored:

 

Des Moines Police Department, Officer Susan Louise Farrell, E.O.W. 03-26-2016

Officer Farrell was killed in a head-on collision, on I-80 west of Des Moines, while on duty on March 26, 2016.

 

Des Moines Police Department, Officer Carlos Bernabe Puente-Morales, E.O.W. 03-26-2016

Officer Puente-Morales was killed in a head-on collision, on I-80 west of Des Moines, while on duty on March 26, 2016.

 

Ames Police Department, Sergeant Howard James Snider, E.O.W. 06-17-2012

Sergeant Snider drown while in a lake, off duty on June 17, 2012, due to the setting of a pulmonary embolism from an injury he sustained while on duty.

 

Iowa Parole Board, Field Agent Albert Paul, E.O.W. 02-05-1938

Agent Paul was killed in a single-vehicle crash while on duty, transporting a paroled fugitive from back California to Iowa on February 5, 1938.

 

The State of Iowa takes time to honor officers who have given their lives in the line of duty. At a ceremony today on the Capitol Complex, four officers were officially added to the Peace Officers’ Memorial.

 

This year, there are four peace officers who will be formally honored:

 

Des Moines Police Department, Officer Susan Louise Farrell, E.O.W. 03-26-2016

Officer Farrell was killed in a head-on collision, on I-80 west of Des Moines, while on duty on March 26, 2016.

 

Des Moines Police Department, Officer Carlos Bernabe Puente-Morales, E.O.W. 03-26-2016

Officer Puente-Morales was killed in a head-on collision, on I-80 west of Des Moines, while on duty on March 26, 2016.

 

Ames Police Department, Sergeant Howard James Snider, E.O.W. 06-17-2012

Sergeant Snider drown while in a lake, off duty on June 17, 2012, due to the setting of a pulmonary embolism from an injury he sustained while on duty.

 

Iowa Parole Board, Field Agent Albert Paul, E.O.W. 02-05-1938

Agent Paul was killed in a single-vehicle crash while on duty, transporting a paroled fugitive from back California to Iowa on February 5, 1938.

28/10/2021. Ladies European Tour 2021. Dubai Moonlight Classic presented by EGA, Emireats Golf Club, Faldo Course, Dubai, UAE. October 27-29 2021. Eleanor Givens of England during the second round. Credit: Tristan Jones/LET

There was a good selection of visiting coaches on March 16th 2025, when Wembley Stadium hosted its first showpiece final of the season, with Liverpool meeting Newcastle United in the EFL Cup (Carabao Cup). One such vehicle pictured transporting supporters to the game was TRZ 49, a Volvo B11RT/Jonckheere JSV2 coach new to Shaw (The Travellers Choice), Carnforth, Lancashire as SB19 GNU in May 2019 and given its current mark in February 2024.

 

Want to find out more? Join The PSV Circle - Details at www.psvcircle.org.uk

 

Copyright © P.J. Cook, all rights reserved. It is an offence to copy, use or post this image anywhere else without my permission.

2012 Mattel USA Spring Catalog. This was a catalog given to store managers, a vendor catalog, with manufacturing numbers so store managers could order items to then sell in their stores. All items in this catalog should have a packaging date of 2011, the date on the Barbie box or fashion pack should be 2011. The photographs in this catalog are similar to production, press or prototype information so the actual dolls and fashions sold in store might be slightly different have different colors, etc. This is especially true for the cheaper items and playsets. special editions and store exclusives may not be listed here. I no longer share catalogs without the website name on them because people posted my images on Facebook and Pinterest without giving me credit. You are welcome to download and repost catalog pages with the BarbieReference.com watermark on them. A link back to my website is also appreciated. If you found this useful please stop by BarbieReference.com and click an ad to support the site. More pages from this catalog are only available on BarbieReference.com

 

Bob Given Photography

Given that Amy (aka badskirt ~ Amy) has declared October 2010 as Sew Not Stare with our oh, so coveted stash of Flea Market Fancy prints, I've mastered a plan and I've begun to cut. . .yes, 40 FMF prints and 2 Kona solids ~ Kona Crush in white and a sweet dusty blue.

 

I didn't want those trimmings to go to waste, I'll fill the Mason Jar and sit it on a shelf to admire.

The XR4Ti was the trim level given to the sportiest of the original release Ford Sierras. The XR4Ti differed from the other Sierra models principally in the adoption of the small side rear window of the 5-door liftback, in the 3-door bodyshell.

 

Apart from this excentricity, the XR4Ti displayed the usual go-faster styling of the period - big wheels, deep bumpers, red stripes and spoilers. One feature taken from the 'Probe' series of Ford concept cars was the use of a 'bi-plane' rear wing, the top section which biseced the rear window.

 

If all these styling diversions were not enough of a shock, the 1982 Ford Sierra range replaced the conservative, three-box, square-cut styling of the best selling Ford Cortina Mk V, with the new aerodynamic, slippery form, as pioneered by the Audi 100 of the same year. The media dubbed the styling 'jellymold' and were critical of the grille-less nose. This bold gamble would stand the Sierra on good stead toward the end of its product cycle, when it still looked modern, whilst many of its principle competitors were starting to look dated. At the time, however, it was widely reported (falsely) that Frd was readying to put the conservative Cortina back into production. The Sierra lost the Cortina's position as the top selling car in the UK to the Escort, but enabled Ford to be perceived as an innovative and contemporary company. The Sierra was replaced in 1993 by the dynamic handling Ford Mondeo, which returned Ford to a more conservative styling template for family cars in Europe.

 

This Lego Ford Sierra model has been created in Lego Difital Designer for Flickr LUGNuts 43rd Build Challenge - 'Plus or Minus Ten' - celebrating vehicles built ten years before or after the birth year of the modeller - in this case the 1982 Ford Sierra.

Big Boy was the name given to the Union Pacific Railroad's twenty-five 4000 class 4-8-8-4 articulated steam locomotives built between 1941 and 1944 by Alco. No. 4012 is on display at the Steamtown National Historic Site at Scranton, PA.

 

A világ legnagyobb gőzmozdonya a Union Pacific vasúttársaság Big Boy artikulált (csuklós) 4-8-8-4 tengelyelrendezésű mozdonya. A 4012-es sorozatszámú egyik túlélő mozdony a pennsylvaniai Scranton vasúttörténeti emlékhelyén van kiállítva, távolról sem tökéletes állapotban - nekem viszont óriási élmény volt a monstrum megérintése, alapos megszemlélése, miután annyi mindent olvastam róla különböző könyvekben.

 

The Big Boys were the only locomotives to have the 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, combining two sets of eight driving wheels with both a four-wheel leading truck for stability entering curves and a four-wheel trailing truck to support the large firebox.

 

The Big Boys were specifically designed to pull a 3,600 short ton (3,300 t) freight train over the long 1.14% grade of the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. Before their arrival, helpers were needed. Adding and removing helpers from a train slowed them down. For such locomotives to be worthwhile, they had to be faster and more powerful than slow mountain luggers tried after World War I. To avoid locomotive changes, the new class would need to pull long trains at sustained speed—60 miles per hour (100 km/h)—once past the mountain grades. Towards the end of the 4000's career (in the late 1950s) it was found that they could still pull more than their rated tonnage - they regularly pulled 4,450 short tons (4,040 t) up the Wasatch grade, unassisted.

 

They were designed for stability at 60 miles per hour (100 km/h). They were built with a heavy margin of reliability and safety, as they normally operated well below that speed in freight service. Optimal horsepower was achieved at about 35 mph (56 km/h); optimal tractive effort, at about 10 mph (16 km/h).

 

25 Big Boys were built, all were coal burning, with large grates to burn low quality Wyoming coal from mines owned by the railroad. Postwar increases in the price of both coal and labor and the efficiency of diesel-electric motive power foretold a limited life for the Big Boys, but they were among the last steam locomotives taken out of service. The last revenue train hauled by a Big Boy ended its run early in the morning on July 21, 1959. Four of them remained in operational condition at Green River, Wyoming until 1962. Their duties were assumed by diesels and turbines.

Bob Given Photography

Capitola, California

Given that two years ago we underwent a major revamp of our living quarters and did a massive declutter, it may seem odd that I've filled up a tiny space of our tiny home with a canvas. The reason for this is that when I was given a voucher for a canvas of Rhossili for our Charity Dinner Auction earlier in the month, I was also given an extra voucher to use at the same place. It also feels very self indulgent to put a photo I took myself onto the wall, but my OH insisted although I got to choose which one. I rarely if ever put full photos of our home on Flickr either unlike many but I've made an exception because it puts it into context.

Original pic in comments.

Bob Given Photography

Given a few hours and the sky has cleared and the sun come out, though evidence of the seasonal weather if right there. Trafnidiaeth Cymru / Transport for Wales’s 197121 hustle’s along the Crewe – Manchester leg of the West Coast Main Line with 1V44 1330 Manchester Piccadilly to Pembroke Dock – a long trip on a three car DMU! Friday 12th December 2025.

Given this is not a recent photo I have taken. But seeing that I have not uploaded in a good bit of time. Due to some school problems and the struggle of getting a new job, I have not had a lot of time to do much photography. Just letting you all know that I'm not gone and I look forward to posting more in the future. At any rate. I took this photo back a few months ago at a state park somewhere in Tennessee. I don't have a lot of practice shooting in overcast situations, but I thought I would try for a haunted and more creepy look. Let me know how you think it came out please, and whether or not you would want to see more pictures of scarier creepier things. Until next time my friends. :) (Also I will be headed to LA / Hollywood really soon so maybe I'll get some pictures out there I can share with you guys.)

SmartEdu Computer Education - First Year Anniversary - Best Performance Award to Ms.Kavitha (Senior Faculty), Given by Mr.Jai Shankar

Bob Given Photography

YORK, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 06: during an i2i Soccer Academy Training Session at Haxby Road on October 6th 2022 in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Appleby)

Given the near hit Puerto Vallarta took yesterday from Hurricane Patricia, I thought I'd post an image I captured there back in 2013.

To vote for this in @ your library's Design a Tote Bag Contest, click ADD AS FAVORITE above the image. For more information about the contest or to apply, please go to www.atyourlibrary.org/design-contest

 

Bob Given Photography

Given that walls down at Leake Street last for just about long enough to grab a photo before someone throws up another piece or they're relentlessly tagged we thought we'd make the most of the ceiling space we had to do a little tagger baiting. If you're good enough and can get up to the ceiling to throw your tag up then you’re in, it’s as simple as that! We don’t mess about. This is ironclad!

 

As a side note I'm not entirely sure why we thought it would be at all easy to put lettering on a curved ceiling. But at least we managed to get there in the end. It's pretty tricky to get a decent photo though...

 

Cheers

 

id-iom

Photo given to me by bride. She made me do a profile of a dulha (groom) and dulhan (bride) in the middle of each hand. In retrospect, I shouldn't have drawn the faces...

A combination of sunshine emerging through a light misty rain has given this kereru's feathers a special sparkling quality.

Picyured feeding on tree lucern, mid winter, Zealandia wildlife sanctuary.

 

Kereru, the New Zealand Pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) is a bird endemic to New Zealand. Māori call it Kererū in most of the country but kūkupa and kūkū in some parts of the North Island, particularly in Northland. New Zealand pigeons are commonly called wood pigeons but are not the same as the Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) which is a member of a different genus.

The kererū belongs to the family Columbidae, and the subfamily Treroninae, which is found throughout Southeast Asia, Malaya, Africa and New Zealand. The members of this subfamily feed largely on fruits, mainly drupes. New Zealand Pigeons are members of the pigeon genus Hemiphaga (Bonaparte, 1854), which is endemic to the New Zealand archipelago and Norfolk Island. However recently a Hemiphaga bone was found on Raoul Island. The Parea or Chatham Island Pigeon (Hemiphaga chathamensis) is traditionally considered a subspecies of the Kererū, but is here treated as a separate species.

The New Zealand Pigeon is a large (550 to 850 g) arboreal fruit-pigeon found in forests from Northland to Stewart Island/Rakiura, ranging in habitats from coastal to montane. The general morphology is that of a typical pigeon, in that it has a relatively small head, a straight soft-based bill and loosely attached feathers. It also displays typical pigeon behaviour, which includes drinking by suction, a wing-threat display, hitting with the wing when threatened, a diving display flight, a ‘bowing’ display, ritualised preening and ‘billing’ during courtship. New Zealand Pigeons build flimsy, shallow, twiggy nests and feed crop milk to hatchlings.

The New Zealand Pigeon grows to some 51 cm (20 inches) in length and 650 g in weight. The head, throat and wings are generally a shiny green-purple colour, but with a bronze tinge to the feathers. The breast is typically white and the bill red with an orange-ish tip. The feet and eyes are red. Juveniles have a similar colouration but are generally paler with dull colours for the beak, eyes and feet and a shorter tail.

The New Zealand Pigeons make occasional soft coo sounds (hence the onomatopoeic names), and their wings make a very distinctive "whooshing" sound as they fly. The bird's flight is also very distinctive. Birds will often ascend slowly before making impressively steep parabolic dives; it is thought that this behaviour is often associated with nesting, or nest failure

The New Zealand Pigeons are commonly regarded as frugivorous, primarily eating fruits from native trees. They play an important ecological role, as they are the only birds capable of eating the largest native fruits and drupes (those with smallest diameter greater than 1 cm), such as those of the taraire, and thus spreading the seeds intact. While fruit comprises the major part of their diets, the New Zealand Pigeon also browses on leaves and buds, especially nitrogen rich foliage during breeding. One of their favorite leaves to eat is from an introduced plant, the common plum tree. The diet changes seasonally as the availability of fruit changes, and leaves can comprise the major part of the diet at certain times of the year, such as when there is little fruit around.

Breeding generally depends on the occurrence of ripe fruit, which varies seasonally, annually (good years and bad years), and by location. New Zealand Pigeons, like other frugivorous pigeons, feed on many species with tropical affinities, including the Lauraceae and Arecaceae but live in the temperate forest of New Zealand and also feed on podocarp species, thought to be elements of Gondwana, such as miro (Prumnopitys ferruginea) and Kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides).[10][11][13][12] The more tropical tree species are restricted to the warmer northern half of the North Island, and in these regions pigeons can nest all year round, except when moulting between March and May, provided enough fruit is available. Further south many tropical tree species are missing and in these areas breeding usually occurs between October (early spring) and April (late summer/early autumn), again depending on fruit availability.

New Zealand Pigeons nest in trees, laying a single egg, in a flimsy nest constructed of a few twigs thrown together. The egg is incubated for 28 days. The young bird then takes another 36 days to fledge. In seasons of plentiful fruit the pigeons can successfully nest up to four times.

The population of the New Zealand Pigeon declined considerably after the arrival of humans in New Zealand, and this trend continues, especially in the North Island, but is still relatively common in the west of the South Island and in coastal Otago. They are commonly found in native forests (lowlands in particular), scrub, rural and city gardens and parks.

The introduced Australian common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and introduced species of rats — mainly the ship or black rat (Rattus rattus) but also the kiore or Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) and brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) — have significantly reduced the amount of fruit available for pigeons and other native birds and also prey on eggs and nestlings.

Pigeon populations are under also threat from hunting, habitat degradation and poor reproductive success. Pigeons were very numerous until about the 1860s and large flocks used to congregate in fruiting trees to feed. Restrictions on the shooting of pigeons were enacted as early as 1864, with total protection since 1921, although the enforcement against hunting was not consistent. Some Māori protested, claiming a traditional right to hunt the pigeon.