+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

Latil was a French automaker specializing in heavy duty vehicles, such as trucks, tractors and buses. Beyond the design and production of vehicles for civil use, Latil also built after World War I a number of military vehicles. For instance, in 1911, Latil designed and built its first four-wheel drive vehicle. This type of vehicle interested the French Army in 1913 for its ability to tow heavy artillery on every field and the TAR (Tracteur d'Artillerie Roulante) was built.

 

Beyond a number of field tractors, Latil also designed and built an armed combat vehicle for the French Army, the armored AMD-37 scout car. The origins of this design can be traced back until December 1931, when the French Cavalry conceived a plan for the future production of armored fighting vehicles. One of the classes foreseen was that of an Automitrailleuse de Découverte (AMD), a specialized long range reconnaissance vehicle. The specifications were formulated on 22 December 1931, changed again on 18 November 1932 and finally approved on 9 December 1932. They called for a weight of 4 metric tons (4.0 t), a range of 400 kilometers (250 mi), a road speed of 70 km/h, a cruising speed of 40 km/h, a turning circle of 12 meters (39 ft), 5–8 mm armor, a 20 mm gun and a 7.5 mm machine gun.

 

In 1933, several competing companies responded (including Latil, Renault, Panhard and Berliet) with their proposals. Being rooted in rather heavy machinery, Latil proposed two designs: one was a 4x4 vehicle which would meet the required specification profile, but it was eventually rejected due to poor off-road performance in favor of the Panhard design, which would become the highly successful Panhard 178.

The other proposal fell outside of the specification limits. It was a bigger and much heavier 8x8 design, certainly influenced by the German SdKfz. 232 heavy scout car family. However, despite falling outside of the requirements, the Commission de Vincennes was impressed enough to order a prototype of this vehicle.

 

The Latil prototype had basically a conservative layout and was ready in October 1933. It was presented to the Commission de Vincennes in January 1934 under the name Latil Automitrailleuse de Découverte, Modèle 1934 (AMD-34). The AMD-34 was, despite its 8x8 chassis and tank-like silhouette, based on modified Latil truck elements. Onto the ladder frame chassis, a hull made of screwed cast armor elements with a maximum thickness of 25 mm was mounted. The leaf spring suspension as well as the all-wheel drive were based on components of Latil’s heavy duty trucks. The eight large and steerable wheels were spaced apart as far as possible, with almost no overhang at the front and at the rear for a very good off-road performance and climbing capability. The crew consisted of three men: a driver and a radio operator, who both sat in the front of the hull, plus the commander, who, beyond directing the vehicle, also had to operate the weapons. The radio operator also had to support the commander as loader in the event of combat.

 

Power came from a water-cooled V8 petrol engine, an uprated version of Latil’s own V3 truck engine from 1933, with an output of 180 hp (132 kW). The engine was in the rear of the hull, separated from the fighting compartment at the front by a firewall bulkhead, and flanked side-by-side with two self-sealing fuel tanks with the large capacity of 80 and 320 liters capacity (the smaller tank fueled the engine and was constantly replenished from the bigger tank). A novel feature was an automatic fire extinguishing system, which used several tanks placed at critical spots of the vehicle, containing methyl bromide. The vehicle’s armament was mounted in a standardized, cast APX-R turret (which was also used on several light tanks like the Renault R-35) and consisted of a short-barreled Puteaux 37mm/L21 SA 18 gun as well as a coaxial 7.5 mm MAC31 Reibel machine gun. 42 armor-piercing and 58 high explosive rounds were typically carried, plus 2.500 rounds for the machine gun.

 

The hexagonal turret had a 30 mm thick, domed rotatable cupola with vertical vision slits. It had to be either hand cranked or moved about by the weight of the commander. The rear of the turret had a hatch that hinged down which could be used as a seat to improve observation. Driver and radio operator (who had an ER 54 radio set available) had no hatches on their own. They entered the vehicle through a relatively large door on the vehicle’s left side.

 

After testing between 9 January and 2 February 1934 and comparison with the lighter 4 ton types, the AMR-34 was, despite its weight of almost 10 tons, accepted by the commission on 15 February under the condition some small modifications were carried out. In the autumn, the improved prototype was tested by the Cavalry and in late 1934 the type was accepted under the name Latil Automitrailleuse de Découverte, Modèle 1935, better known under its handle “AMD-35”. Production started on a small scale in 1935 and by the end of the year the first AMD-35’s reached the Cavalry units. After complaints about reliability, such as cracking gun sights, and overheating, between 29 June and 2 December 1936 a new test program took place, resulting in many more detail modifications, including the fitting of a silencer, a ventilator on the turret and in the main cabin and a small, round hatch for the driver which allowed a better field of view when the crew did not have to work under armor cover.

The main weapon was also changed into a SA 38 37mm cannon with a longer (L33) barrel, since the original Puteaux cannon had only a very poor armor penetration of 12 mm at 500 meters. In this form, the vehicle was re-designated AMD-37. Several older vehicles were updated with this weapon, too, or they received a 25mm (0.98 in) SA35 L47.2 or L52 autocannon.

 

Overall, the AMD-37 proved to be an effective design. The eight-wheel armored car with all-wheel-drive and all-wheel-steering had a very good performance on- and off-road, even though with certain limits due to the vehicle’s weight and resulting ground pressure. The cabin was relatively spacious and comfortable, so that long range missions of 500 km (319 ml) and more could be endured well by the crews.

 

However, several inherent flaws persisted. One problem (which the AMD-37 shared with almost every French combat vehicle from the pre-WWII era) was that the commander was overburdened with tasks, especially under stressful combat conditions. The French Cavalry did not see this as a major flaw: A commander was supposed to acquire such a degree of dexterity that his workload did not negate the lack of need to coordinate the actions of two or even three men in a larger turret crew or the advantage of a quicker reaction because of a superior rotation speed. At first, a two-man-turret was required, but when it transpired that this would reduce the armor protection, it was abandoned in favor of thicker steel casts. However, the AMD-37’s armor level was generally relatively low, and hull’s seams offered attackers who knew where to aim several weak points that allowed even light hand weapons to penetrate the armor. Another tactical flaw associated with the turret was the hatchless cupola, forcing the commander to fight buttoned-up or leave the vehicle’s armor protection for a better field of view.

 

Operationally, though, the AMD-37 suffered from poor mechanical reliability: the suspension units were complicated and, since they were based on existing civil truck elements, too weak for heavy off-road operations under military conditions. The AMD-37’s weight of almost 10 tons (the comparable German SdKfz 231 was bigger but weighed only 8.3 tons) did not help, either. In consequence, the AMD-37 demanded enormous maintenance efforts, especially since the cast armor modules did not allow an easy access to the suspension and engine.

 

On 10 May 1940, on the eve of the German invasion in mainland France, the AMD-37 was part of 14 Divisions Légères Mécaniques (Mechanized Light Divisions; "light" meaning here "mobile", they were not light in the sense of being lightly equipped) battalions, each fielding dedicated reconnaissance groups with four to ten vehicles, which also comprised light Panhard 178 scout cars.

45 French AMD-37s were in Syria, a mandate territory, and 30 more were based in Morocco. The tanks in Syria would fight during the allied invasion of that mandate territory in 1941 and then partly be taken over by the Free French 1e CCC, those in North Africa during Operation Torch in November 1942.

The majority of AMD-37s in Western Europe fell into German hands, though: 78 were used as “Panzerkampfwagen 37R(f)” and mainly used in second line units for policy and security duties or for driver training. A small number of these German vehicles were sent to Finland, fighting on the Eastern Front, where they were outclassed by Soviet KV-1s and T-34s and quickly destroyed or abandoned.

 

Plans to augment the AMD-35’s armament with a bigger turret and a more powerful 47mm SA 35 gun (basically the same turret fitted to the SOMUA S-35 medium tank and the heavy Char B1bis) or an additional machine in the front bow for the radio operator were, due to the German invasion, never carried out.

  

Specifications:

Crew: Three (commander, radio operator/loader, driver)

Weight: 9,600 kg (21,145 lb)

Length: 5.29 m (17 ft 4 in)

Width: 2.52 m (8 ft 3 in)

Height: 2.44 metres (8 ft ½ in)

Suspension: Wheeled (Tires: 270–20, bulletproof), with leaf springs

Wading depth: 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)

Trench crossing capability: 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)

Ground clearance: 350 mm (13 3/4 in)

Climbing capability: 30°

Fuel capacity: 400 l

 

Armor:

9-30 mm (.35-1.18 in) cast steel

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 75 km/h (47 mph) on road, 55 km/h (34 mph) off-road

Operational range: 600 km (375 mi) on road

Power/weight: 18,7 PS/t

 

Engine:

Water-cooled Latil V8 gasoline engine with 7.336 cm³ displacement and 180 hp (132 kW) output

Transmission:

Latil gearbox with 4 forward and 1 reverse gears, eight-wheel drive and steering

 

Armament:

1× Puteaux 37mm/L33 SA 18 gun with 100 rounds

1× coaxial 7.5 mm MAC31 Reibel machine gun with 2.500 rounds

  

The kit and its assembly:

This build was inspired by a drawing that I came across at DeviantArt a while ago, created by someone called MedJoe:

www.deviantart.com/medjoe/art/Autoblinde-SOMUA-S35bis-679...

The picture showed a Somua S-35 tank, set on eight wheels that heavily resembled those of the SdKfz. 234/2 “Puma”, in French colors and markings and designated S-35bis. I found the idea weird (since a full-fledged S-35 would certainly have at 20 tons been too heavy for a wheeled chassis), but the overall look of this combo was very convincing to me. I kept the idea in the back of my mind, until I came across a cheap Heller Somua S-35 in 1:72 scale and decided to take the concept to the (model) hardware stage and offer a personal interpretation.

 

Work started when I was able to acquire a sprue from a Plastic Soldier SdKfz. 231 kit, which provided a total of nine wheels in a suitable size and style, as well as suspension elements.

 

Building the hull was a straightforward affair: The Heller S-35 was built OOB, just the parts for the tracked suspension were left away. Some details and attachment points in the lower hull sections had to be removed, too. From the SdKfz. 232 I took the leaf spring suspension parts (these came as two frames for four wheels each, rather crude and solid parts) and cut the outer leaf spring packs off, so that their depth was reduced but the attachment points for the wheels were still there. These were simply glued into the space for the former tracks, similar to the drawing. This resulted in a slightly wide track, but narrowing the lower hull for a better look would have been a complicated affair, so I stuck with the simple solution. It does not look bad, though.

 

In order to make the vehicle’s role as a scout car more plausible and to avoid a head-heavy look, I decided to replace the original S-35 turret with a smaller APX turret from a Renault R-35. I found a suitable resin donor at ModelTrans, which was easily integrated to the S-35 hull. I perfectly fits into the S-35’s rounded cast armor style, which is so typical for many early French WWII tanks. Unfortunately, the resin R-35 turret had an air bubble at the rear, which had to be filled with putty. In order to differentiate the turret a little and modernize it, I added a longer gun barrel – in this case a piece from a hollow steel needle.

 

Other small mods include a pair of scratched rear-view mirrors for the driver, the spare wheel at the front (certainly not the best position, but the only place that was available and practical, and other armored vehicles of the time like the British Humber scout car also carried a spare wheel at the front) and an antenna at the rear, made from heated black sprue material.

  

Painting and markings:

This was not easy and it took a while to settle on a design. There were rather gaudy camouflage designs in the French army, but due to the model’s small scale I did not want a too complex design. I eventually decided to apply a rather simple scheme, inspired by the painting suggestions from the Heller kit: a disruptive two-tone scheme in a pale beige tone and a rather bluish dark green, which was confirmed through museum tanks. An odd quirk of the Heller kit is that the instructions and the box art show the same camouflage, but in inverted colors!?

 

I stuck to Heller’s suggestions and decided to follow the box art camouflage, which uses dark green (Humbrol 30) as basic color with light sand blotches (Humbrol 103) on top, which I found more appropriate for the middle European theatre of operations. I assume that these two tones were in real life separated by very narrow black or dark brown lines for more contrast – but I did not try this stunt on the small 1:72 scale model, it would IMHO have looked rather awkward. And there are French vehicles of the era that show these colors without any additional lines, too.

 

Markings/decals were mostly puzzled together from the scrap box, since the Heller decals turned out to be rather stiff and lack any adhesion to the model. I only used the “license plates”, which were fixed to the model with acrylic varnish, the rest are spares.

 

The kit received an overall washing with dark brown and a careful dry-brushing treatment with light grey.

After the final coat of matt varnish had been applied and all parts assembled, I dusted the lower areas with a dull grey-brown mix of artist pigments, simulating dust.

  

An experimental build, since drawing a whif is easier than actually building it, where parts have to fit somehow and you cannot change the size of them. Even though the resulting 8x8 scout car looks a little weird with its minimal overhang at the front and the rear, I like the result a lot – it looks very plausible to me. I also think that the smaller turret underlines the vehicle’s role as a rather lightly armed reconnaissance vehicle. It lowers the size and the silhouette, and subdues the S-35 origin – but without neglecting the typical French cast armor look. Certainly not a 1:1 copy of the inspiring drawing, but true to the original idea.

 

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

Latil was a French automaker specializing in heavy duty vehicles, such as trucks, tractors and buses. Beyond the design and production of vehicles for civil use, Latil also built after World War I a number of military vehicles. For instance, in 1911, Latil designed and built its first four-wheel drive vehicle. This type of vehicle interested the French Army in 1913 for its ability to tow heavy artillery on every field and the TAR (Tracteur d'Artillerie Roulante) was built.

 

Beyond a number of field tractors, Latil also designed and built an armed combat vehicle for the French Army, the armored AMD-37 scout car. The origins of this design can be traced back until December 1931, when the French Cavalry conceived a plan for the future production of armored fighting vehicles. One of the classes foreseen was that of an Automitrailleuse de Découverte (AMD), a specialized long range reconnaissance vehicle. The specifications were formulated on 22 December 1931, changed again on 18 November 1932 and finally approved on 9 December 1932. They called for a weight of 4 metric tons (4.0 t), a range of 400 kilometers (250 mi), a road speed of 70 km/h, a cruising speed of 40 km/h, a turning circle of 12 meters (39 ft), 5–8 mm armor, a 20 mm gun and a 7.5 mm machine gun.

 

In 1933, several competing companies responded (including Latil, Renault, Panhard and Berliet) with their proposals. Being rooted in rather heavy machinery, Latil proposed two designs: one was a 4x4 vehicle which would meet the required specification profile, but it was eventually rejected due to poor off-road performance in favor of the Panhard design, which would become the highly successful Panhard 178.

The other proposal fell outside of the specification limits. It was a bigger and much heavier 8x8 design, certainly influenced by the German SdKfz. 232 heavy scout car family. However, despite falling outside of the requirements, the Commission de Vincennes was impressed enough to order a prototype of this vehicle.

 

The Latil prototype had basically a conservative layout and was ready in October 1933. It was presented to the Commission de Vincennes in January 1934 under the name Latil Automitrailleuse de Découverte, Modèle 1934 (AMD-34). The AMD-34 was, despite its 8x8 chassis and tank-like silhouette, based on modified Latil truck elements. Onto the ladder frame chassis, a hull made of screwed cast armor elements with a maximum thickness of 25 mm was mounted. The leaf spring suspension as well as the all-wheel drive were based on components of Latil’s heavy duty trucks. The eight large and steerable wheels were spaced apart as far as possible, with almost no overhang at the front and at the rear for a very good off-road performance and climbing capability. The crew consisted of three men: a driver and a radio operator, who both sat in the front of the hull, plus the commander, who, beyond directing the vehicle, also had to operate the weapons. The radio operator also had to support the commander as loader in the event of combat.

 

Power came from a water-cooled V8 petrol engine, an uprated version of Latil’s own V3 truck engine from 1933, with an output of 180 hp (132 kW). The engine was in the rear of the hull, separated from the fighting compartment at the front by a firewall bulkhead, and flanked side-by-side with two self-sealing fuel tanks with the large capacity of 80 and 320 liters capacity (the smaller tank fueled the engine and was constantly replenished from the bigger tank). A novel feature was an automatic fire extinguishing system, which used several tanks placed at critical spots of the vehicle, containing methyl bromide. The vehicle’s armament was mounted in a standardized, cast APX-R turret (which was also used on several light tanks like the Renault R-35) and consisted of a short-barreled Puteaux 37mm/L21 SA 18 gun as well as a coaxial 7.5 mm MAC31 Reibel machine gun. 42 armor-piercing and 58 high explosive rounds were typically carried, plus 2.500 rounds for the machine gun.

 

The hexagonal turret had a 30 mm thick, domed rotatable cupola with vertical vision slits. It had to be either hand cranked or moved about by the weight of the commander. The rear of the turret had a hatch that hinged down which could be used as a seat to improve observation. Driver and radio operator (who had an ER 54 radio set available) had no hatches on their own. They entered the vehicle through a relatively large door on the vehicle’s left side.

 

After testing between 9 January and 2 February 1934 and comparison with the lighter 4 ton types, the AMR-34 was, despite its weight of almost 10 tons, accepted by the commission on 15 February under the condition some small modifications were carried out. In the autumn, the improved prototype was tested by the Cavalry and in late 1934 the type was accepted under the name Latil Automitrailleuse de Découverte, Modèle 1935, better known under its handle “AMD-35”. Production started on a small scale in 1935 and by the end of the year the first AMD-35’s reached the Cavalry units. After complaints about reliability, such as cracking gun sights, and overheating, between 29 June and 2 December 1936 a new test program took place, resulting in many more detail modifications, including the fitting of a silencer, a ventilator on the turret and in the main cabin and a small, round hatch for the driver which allowed a better field of view when the crew did not have to work under armor cover.

The main weapon was also changed into a SA 38 37mm cannon with a longer (L33) barrel, since the original Puteaux cannon had only a very poor armor penetration of 12 mm at 500 meters. In this form, the vehicle was re-designated AMD-37. Several older vehicles were updated with this weapon, too, or they received a 25mm (0.98 in) SA35 L47.2 or L52 autocannon.

 

Overall, the AMD-37 proved to be an effective design. The eight-wheel armored car with all-wheel-drive and all-wheel-steering had a very good performance on- and off-road, even though with certain limits due to the vehicle’s weight and resulting ground pressure. The cabin was relatively spacious and comfortable, so that long range missions of 500 km (319 ml) and more could be endured well by the crews.

 

However, several inherent flaws persisted. One problem (which the AMD-37 shared with almost every French combat vehicle from the pre-WWII era) was that the commander was overburdened with tasks, especially under stressful combat conditions. The French Cavalry did not see this as a major flaw: A commander was supposed to acquire such a degree of dexterity that his workload did not negate the lack of need to coordinate the actions of two or even three men in a larger turret crew or the advantage of a quicker reaction because of a superior rotation speed. At first, a two-man-turret was required, but when it transpired that this would reduce the armor protection, it was abandoned in favor of thicker steel casts. However, the AMD-37’s armor level was generally relatively low, and hull’s seams offered attackers who knew where to aim several weak points that allowed even light hand weapons to penetrate the armor. Another tactical flaw associated with the turret was the hatchless cupola, forcing the commander to fight buttoned-up or leave the vehicle’s armor protection for a better field of view.

 

Operationally, though, the AMD-37 suffered from poor mechanical reliability: the suspension units were complicated and, since they were based on existing civil truck elements, too weak for heavy off-road operations under military conditions. The AMD-37’s weight of almost 10 tons (the comparable German SdKfz 231 was bigger but weighed only 8.3 tons) did not help, either. In consequence, the AMD-37 demanded enormous maintenance efforts, especially since the cast armor modules did not allow an easy access to the suspension and engine.

 

On 10 May 1940, on the eve of the German invasion in mainland France, the AMD-37 was part of 14 Divisions Légères Mécaniques (Mechanized Light Divisions; "light" meaning here "mobile", they were not light in the sense of being lightly equipped) battalions, each fielding dedicated reconnaissance groups with four to ten vehicles, which also comprised light Panhard 178 scout cars.

45 French AMD-37s were in Syria, a mandate territory, and 30 more were based in Morocco. The tanks in Syria would fight during the allied invasion of that mandate territory in 1941 and then partly be taken over by the Free French 1e CCC, those in North Africa during Operation Torch in November 1942.

The majority of AMD-37s in Western Europe fell into German hands, though: 78 were used as “Panzerkampfwagen 37R(f)” and mainly used in second line units for policy and security duties or for driver training. A small number of these German vehicles were sent to Finland, fighting on the Eastern Front, where they were outclassed by Soviet KV-1s and T-34s and quickly destroyed or abandoned.

 

Plans to augment the AMD-35’s armament with a bigger turret and a more powerful 47mm SA 35 gun (basically the same turret fitted to the SOMUA S-35 medium tank and the heavy Char B1bis) or an additional machine in the front bow for the radio operator were, due to the German invasion, never carried out.

  

Specifications:

Crew: Three (commander, radio operator/loader, driver)

Weight: 9,600 kg (21,145 lb)

Length: 5.29 m (17 ft 4 in)

Width: 2.52 m (8 ft 3 in)

Height: 2.44 metres (8 ft ½ in)

Suspension: Wheeled (Tires: 270–20, bulletproof), with leaf springs

Wading depth: 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)

Trench crossing capability: 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)

Ground clearance: 350 mm (13 3/4 in)

Climbing capability: 30°

Fuel capacity: 400 l

 

Armor:

9-30 mm (.35-1.18 in) cast steel

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 75 km/h (47 mph) on road, 55 km/h (34 mph) off-road

Operational range: 600 km (375 mi) on road

Power/weight: 18,7 PS/t

 

Engine:

Water-cooled Latil V8 gasoline engine with 7.336 cm³ displacement and 180 hp (132 kW) output

Transmission:

Latil gearbox with 4 forward and 1 reverse gears, eight-wheel drive and steering

 

Armament:

1× Puteaux 37mm/L33 SA 18 gun with 100 rounds

1× coaxial 7.5 mm MAC31 Reibel machine gun with 2.500 rounds

  

The kit and its assembly:

This build was inspired by a drawing that I came across at DeviantArt a while ago, created by someone called MedJoe:

www.deviantart.com/medjoe/art/Autoblinde-SOMUA-S35bis-679...

The picture showed a Somua S-35 tank, set on eight wheels that heavily resembled those of the SdKfz. 234/2 “Puma”, in French colors and markings and designated S-35bis. I found the idea weird (since a full-fledged S-35 would certainly have at 20 tons been too heavy for a wheeled chassis), but the overall look of this combo was very convincing to me. I kept the idea in the back of my mind, until I came across a cheap Heller Somua S-35 in 1:72 scale and decided to take the concept to the (model) hardware stage and offer a personal interpretation.

 

Work started when I was able to acquire a sprue from a Plastic Soldier SdKfz. 231 kit, which provided a total of nine wheels in a suitable size and style, as well as suspension elements.

 

Building the hull was a straightforward affair: The Heller S-35 was built OOB, just the parts for the tracked suspension were left away. Some details and attachment points in the lower hull sections had to be removed, too. From the SdKfz. 232 I took the leaf spring suspension parts (these came as two frames for four wheels each, rather crude and solid parts) and cut the outer leaf spring packs off, so that their depth was reduced but the attachment points for the wheels were still there. These were simply glued into the space for the former tracks, similar to the drawing. This resulted in a slightly wide track, but narrowing the lower hull for a better look would have been a complicated affair, so I stuck with the simple solution. It does not look bad, though.

 

In order to make the vehicle’s role as a scout car more plausible and to avoid a head-heavy look, I decided to replace the original S-35 turret with a smaller APX turret from a Renault R-35. I found a suitable resin donor at ModelTrans, which was easily integrated to the S-35 hull. I perfectly fits into the S-35’s rounded cast armor style, which is so typical for many early French WWII tanks. Unfortunately, the resin R-35 turret had an air bubble at the rear, which had to be filled with putty. In order to differentiate the turret a little and modernize it, I added a longer gun barrel – in this case a piece from a hollow steel needle.

 

Other small mods include a pair of scratched rear-view mirrors for the driver, the spare wheel at the front (certainly not the best position, but the only place that was available and practical, and other armored vehicles of the time like the British Humber scout car also carried a spare wheel at the front) and an antenna at the rear, made from heated black sprue material.

  

Painting and markings:

This was not easy and it took a while to settle on a design. There were rather gaudy camouflage designs in the French army, but due to the model’s small scale I did not want a too complex design. I eventually decided to apply a rather simple scheme, inspired by the painting suggestions from the Heller kit: a disruptive two-tone scheme in a pale beige tone and a rather bluish dark green, which was confirmed through museum tanks. An odd quirk of the Heller kit is that the instructions and the box art show the same camouflage, but in inverted colors!?

 

I stuck to Heller’s suggestions and decided to follow the box art camouflage, which uses dark green (Humbrol 30) as basic color with light sand blotches (Humbrol 103) on top, which I found more appropriate for the middle European theatre of operations. I assume that these two tones were in real life separated by very narrow black or dark brown lines for more contrast – but I did not try this stunt on the small 1:72 scale model, it would IMHO have looked rather awkward. And there are French vehicles of the era that show these colors without any additional lines, too.

 

Markings/decals were mostly puzzled together from the scrap box, since the Heller decals turned out to be rather stiff and lack any adhesion to the model. I only used the “license plates”, which were fixed to the model with acrylic varnish, the rest are spares.

 

The kit received an overall washing with dark brown and a careful dry-brushing treatment with light grey.

After the final coat of matt varnish had been applied and all parts assembled, I dusted the lower areas with a dull grey-brown mix of artist pigments, simulating dust.

  

An experimental build, since drawing a whif is easier than actually building it, where parts have to fit somehow and you cannot change the size of them. Even though the resulting 8x8 scout car looks a little weird with its minimal overhang at the front and the rear, I like the result a lot – it looks very plausible to me. I also think that the smaller turret underlines the vehicle’s role as a rather lightly armed reconnaissance vehicle. It lowers the size and the silhouette, and subdues the S-35 origin – but without neglecting the typical French cast armor look. Certainly not a 1:1 copy of the inspiring drawing, but true to the original idea.

 

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

Latil was a French automaker specializing in heavy duty vehicles, such as trucks, tractors and buses. Beyond the design and production of vehicles for civil use, Latil also built after World War I a number of military vehicles. For instance, in 1911, Latil designed and built its first four-wheel drive vehicle. This type of vehicle interested the French Army in 1913 for its ability to tow heavy artillery on every field and the TAR (Tracteur d'Artillerie Roulante) was built.

 

Beyond a number of field tractors, Latil also designed and built an armed combat vehicle for the French Army, the armored AMD-37 scout car. The origins of this design can be traced back until December 1931, when the French Cavalry conceived a plan for the future production of armored fighting vehicles. One of the classes foreseen was that of an Automitrailleuse de Découverte (AMD), a specialized long range reconnaissance vehicle. The specifications were formulated on 22 December 1931, changed again on 18 November 1932 and finally approved on 9 December 1932. They called for a weight of 4 metric tons (4.0 t), a range of 400 kilometers (250 mi), a road speed of 70 km/h, a cruising speed of 40 km/h, a turning circle of 12 meters (39 ft), 5–8 mm armor, a 20 mm gun and a 7.5 mm machine gun.

 

In 1933, several competing companies responded (including Latil, Renault, Panhard and Berliet) with their proposals. Being rooted in rather heavy machinery, Latil proposed two designs: one was a 4x4 vehicle which would meet the required specification profile, but it was eventually rejected due to poor off-road performance in favor of the Panhard design, which would become the highly successful Panhard 178.

The other proposal fell outside of the specification limits. It was a bigger and much heavier 8x8 design, certainly influenced by the German SdKfz. 232 heavy scout car family. However, despite falling outside of the requirements, the Commission de Vincennes was impressed enough to order a prototype of this vehicle.

 

The Latil prototype had basically a conservative layout and was ready in October 1933. It was presented to the Commission de Vincennes in January 1934 under the name Latil Automitrailleuse de Découverte, Modèle 1934 (AMD-34). The AMD-34 was, despite its 8x8 chassis and tank-like silhouette, based on modified Latil truck elements. Onto the ladder frame chassis, a hull made of screwed cast armor elements with a maximum thickness of 25 mm was mounted. The leaf spring suspension as well as the all-wheel drive were based on components of Latil’s heavy duty trucks. The eight large and steerable wheels were spaced apart as far as possible, with almost no overhang at the front and at the rear for a very good off-road performance and climbing capability. The crew consisted of three men: a driver and a radio operator, who both sat in the front of the hull, plus the commander, who, beyond directing the vehicle, also had to operate the weapons. The radio operator also had to support the commander as loader in the event of combat.

 

Power came from a water-cooled V8 petrol engine, an uprated version of Latil’s own V3 truck engine from 1933, with an output of 180 hp (132 kW). The engine was in the rear of the hull, separated from the fighting compartment at the front by a firewall bulkhead, and flanked side-by-side with two self-sealing fuel tanks with the large capacity of 80 and 320 liters capacity (the smaller tank fueled the engine and was constantly replenished from the bigger tank). A novel feature was an automatic fire extinguishing system, which used several tanks placed at critical spots of the vehicle, containing methyl bromide. The vehicle’s armament was mounted in a standardized, cast APX-R turret (which was also used on several light tanks like the Renault R-35) and consisted of a short-barreled Puteaux 37mm/L21 SA 18 gun as well as a coaxial 7.5 mm MAC31 Reibel machine gun. 42 armor-piercing and 58 high explosive rounds were typically carried, plus 2.500 rounds for the machine gun.

 

The hexagonal turret had a 30 mm thick, domed rotatable cupola with vertical vision slits. It had to be either hand cranked or moved about by the weight of the commander. The rear of the turret had a hatch that hinged down which could be used as a seat to improve observation. Driver and radio operator (who had an ER 54 radio set available) had no hatches on their own. They entered the vehicle through a relatively large door on the vehicle’s left side.

 

After testing between 9 January and 2 February 1934 and comparison with the lighter 4 ton types, the AMR-34 was, despite its weight of almost 10 tons, accepted by the commission on 15 February under the condition some small modifications were carried out. In the autumn, the improved prototype was tested by the Cavalry and in late 1934 the type was accepted under the name Latil Automitrailleuse de Découverte, Modèle 1935, better known under its handle “AMD-35”. Production started on a small scale in 1935 and by the end of the year the first AMD-35’s reached the Cavalry units. After complaints about reliability, such as cracking gun sights, and overheating, between 29 June and 2 December 1936 a new test program took place, resulting in many more detail modifications, including the fitting of a silencer, a ventilator on the turret and in the main cabin and a small, round hatch for the driver which allowed a better field of view when the crew did not have to work under armor cover.

The main weapon was also changed into a SA 38 37mm cannon with a longer (L33) barrel, since the original Puteaux cannon had only a very poor armor penetration of 12 mm at 500 meters. In this form, the vehicle was re-designated AMD-37. Several older vehicles were updated with this weapon, too, or they received a 25mm (0.98 in) SA35 L47.2 or L52 autocannon.

 

Overall, the AMD-37 proved to be an effective design. The eight-wheel armored car with all-wheel-drive and all-wheel-steering had a very good performance on- and off-road, even though with certain limits due to the vehicle’s weight and resulting ground pressure. The cabin was relatively spacious and comfortable, so that long range missions of 500 km (319 ml) and more could be endured well by the crews.

 

However, several inherent flaws persisted. One problem (which the AMD-37 shared with almost every French combat vehicle from the pre-WWII era) was that the commander was overburdened with tasks, especially under stressful combat conditions. The French Cavalry did not see this as a major flaw: A commander was supposed to acquire such a degree of dexterity that his workload did not negate the lack of need to coordinate the actions of two or even three men in a larger turret crew or the advantage of a quicker reaction because of a superior rotation speed. At first, a two-man-turret was required, but when it transpired that this would reduce the armor protection, it was abandoned in favor of thicker steel casts. However, the AMD-37’s armor level was generally relatively low, and hull’s seams offered attackers who knew where to aim several weak points that allowed even light hand weapons to penetrate the armor. Another tactical flaw associated with the turret was the hatchless cupola, forcing the commander to fight buttoned-up or leave the vehicle’s armor protection for a better field of view.

 

Operationally, though, the AMD-37 suffered from poor mechanical reliability: the suspension units were complicated and, since they were based on existing civil truck elements, too weak for heavy off-road operations under military conditions. The AMD-37’s weight of almost 10 tons (the comparable German SdKfz 231 was bigger but weighed only 8.3 tons) did not help, either. In consequence, the AMD-37 demanded enormous maintenance efforts, especially since the cast armor modules did not allow an easy access to the suspension and engine.

 

On 10 May 1940, on the eve of the German invasion in mainland France, the AMD-37 was part of 14 Divisions Légères Mécaniques (Mechanized Light Divisions; "light" meaning here "mobile", they were not light in the sense of being lightly equipped) battalions, each fielding dedicated reconnaissance groups with four to ten vehicles, which also comprised light Panhard 178 scout cars.

45 French AMD-37s were in Syria, a mandate territory, and 30 more were based in Morocco. The tanks in Syria would fight during the allied invasion of that mandate territory in 1941 and then partly be taken over by the Free French 1e CCC, those in North Africa during Operation Torch in November 1942.

The majority of AMD-37s in Western Europe fell into German hands, though: 78 were used as “Panzerkampfwagen 37R(f)” and mainly used in second line units for policy and security duties or for driver training. A small number of these German vehicles were sent to Finland, fighting on the Eastern Front, where they were outclassed by Soviet KV-1s and T-34s and quickly destroyed or abandoned.

 

Plans to augment the AMD-35’s armament with a bigger turret and a more powerful 47mm SA 35 gun (basically the same turret fitted to the SOMUA S-35 medium tank and the heavy Char B1bis) or an additional machine in the front bow for the radio operator were, due to the German invasion, never carried out.

  

Specifications:

Crew: Three (commander, radio operator/loader, driver)

Weight: 9,600 kg (21,145 lb)

Length: 5.29 m (17 ft 4 in)

Width: 2.52 m (8 ft 3 in)

Height: 2.44 metres (8 ft ½ in)

Suspension: Wheeled (Tires: 270–20, bulletproof), with leaf springs

Wading depth: 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)

Trench crossing capability: 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)

Ground clearance: 350 mm (13 3/4 in)

Climbing capability: 30°

Fuel capacity: 400 l

 

Armor:

9-30 mm (.35-1.18 in) cast steel

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 75 km/h (47 mph) on road, 55 km/h (34 mph) off-road

Operational range: 600 km (375 mi) on road

Power/weight: 18,7 PS/t

 

Engine:

Water-cooled Latil V8 gasoline engine with 7.336 cm³ displacement and 180 hp (132 kW) output

Transmission:

Latil gearbox with 4 forward and 1 reverse gears, eight-wheel drive and steering

 

Armament:

1× Puteaux 37mm/L33 SA 18 gun with 100 rounds

1× coaxial 7.5 mm MAC31 Reibel machine gun with 2.500 rounds

  

The kit and its assembly:

This build was inspired by a drawing that I came across at DeviantArt a while ago, created by someone called MedJoe:

www.deviantart.com/medjoe/art/Autoblinde-SOMUA-S35bis-679...

The picture showed a Somua S-35 tank, set on eight wheels that heavily resembled those of the SdKfz. 234/2 “Puma”, in French colors and markings and designated S-35bis. I found the idea weird (since a full-fledged S-35 would certainly have at 20 tons been too heavy for a wheeled chassis), but the overall look of this combo was very convincing to me. I kept the idea in the back of my mind, until I came across a cheap Heller Somua S-35 in 1:72 scale and decided to take the concept to the (model) hardware stage and offer a personal interpretation.

 

Work started when I was able to acquire a sprue from a Plastic Soldier SdKfz. 231 kit, which provided a total of nine wheels in a suitable size and style, as well as suspension elements.

 

Building the hull was a straightforward affair: The Heller S-35 was built OOB, just the parts for the tracked suspension were left away. Some details and attachment points in the lower hull sections had to be removed, too. From the SdKfz. 232 I took the leaf spring suspension parts (these came as two frames for four wheels each, rather crude and solid parts) and cut the outer leaf spring packs off, so that their depth was reduced but the attachment points for the wheels were still there. These were simply glued into the space for the former tracks, similar to the drawing. This resulted in a slightly wide track, but narrowing the lower hull for a better look would have been a complicated affair, so I stuck with the simple solution. It does not look bad, though.

 

In order to make the vehicle’s role as a scout car more plausible and to avoid a head-heavy look, I decided to replace the original S-35 turret with a smaller APX turret from a Renault R-35. I found a suitable resin donor at ModelTrans, which was easily integrated to the S-35 hull. I perfectly fits into the S-35’s rounded cast armor style, which is so typical for many early French WWII tanks. Unfortunately, the resin R-35 turret had an air bubble at the rear, which had to be filled with putty. In order to differentiate the turret a little and modernize it, I added a longer gun barrel – in this case a piece from a hollow steel needle.

 

Other small mods include a pair of scratched rear-view mirrors for the driver, the spare wheel at the front (certainly not the best position, but the only place that was available and practical, and other armored vehicles of the time like the British Humber scout car also carried a spare wheel at the front) and an antenna at the rear, made from heated black sprue material.

  

Painting and markings:

This was not easy and it took a while to settle on a design. There were rather gaudy camouflage designs in the French army, but due to the model’s small scale I did not want a too complex design. I eventually decided to apply a rather simple scheme, inspired by the painting suggestions from the Heller kit: a disruptive two-tone scheme in a pale beige tone and a rather bluish dark green, which was confirmed through museum tanks. An odd quirk of the Heller kit is that the instructions and the box art show the same camouflage, but in inverted colors!?

 

I stuck to Heller’s suggestions and decided to follow the box art camouflage, which uses dark green (Humbrol 30) as basic color with light sand blotches (Humbrol 103) on top, which I found more appropriate for the middle European theatre of operations. I assume that these two tones were in real life separated by very narrow black or dark brown lines for more contrast – but I did not try this stunt on the small 1:72 scale model, it would IMHO have looked rather awkward. And there are French vehicles of the era that show these colors without any additional lines, too.

 

Markings/decals were mostly puzzled together from the scrap box, since the Heller decals turned out to be rather stiff and lack any adhesion to the model. I only used the “license plates”, which were fixed to the model with acrylic varnish, the rest are spares.

 

The kit received an overall washing with dark brown and a careful dry-brushing treatment with light grey.

After the final coat of matt varnish had been applied and all parts assembled, I dusted the lower areas with a dull grey-brown mix of artist pigments, simulating dust.

  

An experimental build, since drawing a whif is easier than actually building it, where parts have to fit somehow and you cannot change the size of them. Even though the resulting 8x8 scout car looks a little weird with its minimal overhang at the front and the rear, I like the result a lot – it looks very plausible to me. I also think that the smaller turret underlines the vehicle’s role as a rather lightly armed reconnaissance vehicle. It lowers the size and the silhouette, and subdues the S-35 origin – but without neglecting the typical French cast armor look. Certainly not a 1:1 copy of the inspiring drawing, but true to the original idea.

 

St Ethelbert, Hessett, Suffolk

 

Hessett is a fairly ordinary kind of village to the east of Bury St Edmunds, but its church is one of the most important in East Anglia for a number of reasons, which will become obvious. Consider for one moment, if you will, the extent to which the beliefs and practices of a religious community affect the architecture of its buildings. Think of a mosque, for instance. Often square, expressing the democracy of Islam, but without any imagery of the human figure, for such things are proscribed. Think of a synagogue, focused towards the Holy Scriptures in the Ark, but designed to enable the proclaiming of the Word, and the way that early non-conformist chapels echo this architecture of Judaism - indeed, those who built the first free churches, like Ipswich's Unitarian Chapel, actually called them synagogues.

 

The shape of a church, then, is no accident. A typical Suffolk perpendicular church of the 15th century has wide aisles, to enable liturgical processions, a chancel for the celebration of Mass, places for other altars, niches for devotional statues, a focus towards the Blessed Sacrament in the east, a roof of angels to proclaim a hymn of praise, a large nave for devotional and social activities, and wall paintings of the Gospels and hagiographies of Saints, of the catechism and teachings of the Catholic Church. As Le Corbusier might have said if he'd been around at the time, a medieval church is a machine for making Catholicism happen.

 

No longer, of course. The radical and violent fracture in popular religion in the middle years of the 16th century gave birth to the Church of England, and the new church inherited buildings that were quite unsuitable for the new congregational protestant theology, a problem that the Church of England has never entirely solved.

 

Over the centuries, the problem has been addressed in different ways. The early reformers celebrated communion at a table in the nave, for example, and blocked off the chancel for other uses. Although this was challenged by the Laudian party in the early part of the 17th century, it was the way that many parishes reinvented their buildings, and most were to stay like that until the middle years of the 19th century. Some went further. A pulpit placed halfway down the nave, or even at the back of the church, meant that the seating could be arranged so that it no longer focused towards the east, thus breaking the link with Catholic (and Laudian) sacramentalism. For several centuries, Anglican churches focused on the pulpit rather than the altar.

 

With the coming to influence of the 19th century Oxford Movement, all this underwent another dramatic change, with the great majority of our medieval parish churches having their interiors restored to their medieval integrity, reinventing themselves as sacramental spaces. This is the condition in which we find most of them today, and some Anglican theologians are asking the question that the Catholic Church asked itself at Vatican II in the 1960s - is a 19th century liturgical space really appropriate for the Church of the 21st century?

 

So, let us hasten at once to Hessett. The church sits like a glowing jewel in its wide churchyard, right on the main road through the village. It is pretty well perfect if you are looking for a fine Suffolk exterior. An extensive 15th century rebuilding enwraps the earlier tower, which was crowned by the donor of the rebuilding, John Bacon.The nave and aisles are deliciously decorated, reminding one rather of the church at neighbouring Rougham, although this is a smaller church, and the aisles make it almost square. A dedicatory inscription on the two storey vestry in the north east corner bids us pray for the souls of John and Katherine Hoo, who donated the chancel and paid for the trimmings to the aisles. Their inscription has been damaged by protestant reformers, who obviously did not believe in the efficacy of prayers for the dead.

 

Although not comparable with that at Woolpit, the dressed stone porch is a grand affair, and a bold statement. You may find the south door locked, but if this is the case then the priest's door into the chancel is usually open. And in a way it is a good church to enter via the chancel, because in this way St Ethelbert unfolds its treasures slowly.You step into relative darkness - or, at least, it seems so in comparison with the nave beyond the rood screen. This is partly a result of the abundance of dark wood, and in truth the chancel seems rather overcrowded. The most striking objects in view are the return stalls, which fill the two westerly corners of the chancel. These are in the style of a college or school of priests, with their backs to the rood screen, but then 'returning' around the walls to the east. They are fine, and are certainly 15th or 16th century. But one of the stalls, that to the north, is different to the others, and seems slightly out of place. It is elaborately carved with faces, birds and foliage.

 

Mortlock thought that it might have been intended for a private house. The stall in front of it has heads on it that appear to be wearing 18th century wigs. The sanctuary is largely Victorianised, with a great east window depicting Saints. The south windows of the chancel depict a lovely Adoration scene by the O'Connors. The chancel is separated from the nave by the 15th century rood screen, which is elegantly painted and gilt on the west side, the beautifully tracery intricately carved above. The rood screen has been fitted with attractive iron gates, presumably evidence of Anglo-catholic enthusiasm here in the early 20th century, and you step down through them into the light. A first impression is that you are entering a much older space than the one you have left. There is an 18th century mustiness, enhanced by the box pews that line the aisles. And, beyond, on walls and in windows, are wonderful things.

 

The number of surviving wall paintings in England is a tiny fraction of those which existed before the 15th and 16th centuries. All churches had them, and in profusion. It isn't enough to say that they were a 'teaching aid' of a church of illiterate peasants. In the main, they were devotional, and that is why they were destroyed. However, it is more complicated than that. Research in recent years has indicated that many wall paintings were destroyed before the Reformation, perhaps a century before. In some churches, they have been punched through with Perpendicular windows, which are clearly pre-Reformation. In the decades after the Black Death, there seems to have been a sea change in the liturgical use of these buildings, a move away from an individualistic, devotional usage to a corporate liturgical one. There is a change of emphasis towards more education and exegesis. This is the time that pulpits and benches appear, long before protestantism was on the agenda. What seems to happen is that many buildings were intended now to be full of light, and devotional wall paintings were either whitewashed, or replaced with catechetical ones.

 

The decoration of the nave was the responsibility of the people of the parish, not of the Priest. The wall paintings of England can be divided into roughly three groups. Roughly speaking, the development of wall paintings over the later medieval period is in terms of these three overlapping emphases.

 

Firstly, the hagiographies - stories of the Saints. These might have had a local devotion, although some saints were popular over a wide area, and most churches seem to have supported a devotion to St Christopher right up until the Reformation.

 

Secondly came those which illustrate incidents in the life of Christ and his mother, the Blessed Virgin. Although partly pedagogical, they were also enabling tools, since private devotions often involved a contemplation upon them, and at Mass the larger part of those present would have been involved in private devotions. These scriptural stories were as likely to have been derived from apocryphal texts like the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew as from the actual Gospels themselves.

 

Lastly, there are catechetical wall paintings, illustrating the teachings of the Catholic church. It should not be assumed that these are dogmatic. Many are simply artistic representations of stories, and others are simplifications of theological ideas, as with the seven deadly sins and the seven cardinal virtues. Some warn against occasions of sin (gossiping, for example) and generally wall paintings provided a local site for discussion and exemplification.

 

To an extent, all the above is largely true of stained glass, as well, with the caveat that stained glass was more expensive, relied on local patronage, and often has this patronage as a subtext, hence the large number of heraldic devices and images of local worthies. But it was also devotional, and so it was also destroyed.

 

So - what survives at Hessett? The wall paintings first.

 

Starting in the south east corner of the nave, we have Suffolk's finest representation of St Barbara, presenting a tower. St Barbara was very popular in medieval times, because she was invoked against strikes by lightning and sudden fires. This resulted from her legend, for her father, on finding her to be a Christian, walled her up in a tower until she repented. As a result, he was struck by lightning, and reduced to ashes. She was also the patron saint of the powerful building trade, and as such her image graced their guild altars - perhaps that was the case here.

 

Above the south door is another figure, often identified as St Christopher, but I do not think that this can be the case. St Christopher is found nowhere else in Suffolk above a south door. The traditional iconography of this mythical saint is not in place here, and it is hard to see how this figure could ever have been interpreted as such. I suspect it is a result of an early account confusing the two images over the north and south doors, and the mistake being repeated in later accounts.

 

In fact, digital enhancement seems to suggest that there are two figures above the south door, overlapping each other slightly. The figure on the right is barefoot, that on the left is wearing a white gown. There appears to be water under their feet, and so I think this is an image of the Baptism of Christ. Perhaps it was once part of a sequence.

 

The wall painting opposite, above the north door, is St Christopher. Although it isn't as clear as himself at, say, nearby Bradfield Combust, he bestrides the river in the customary manner, staff in hand. The Christ child is difficult to discern, but you can see the fish in the water. Also in the water, and rather unusual, are two figures. They are rendered rather crudely, almost like gingerbread men. Could they be the donors of the north aisle, John and Katherine Hoo in person?

 

Moving along the north aisle, we come to the set of paintings for which Hessett is justifiably famous. They are set one above the other between two windows, at the point where might expect the now-vanished screen to a chapel to have been. The upper section was here first. It shows the seven deadly sins (described wrongly in some text books as a tree of Jesse, or ancestry of Christ). Two devils look on as, from the mouth of hell, a great tree sprouts, ending in seven images. Pride is at the top, and in pairs beneath are Gluttony and Anger, Vanity and Envy, Avarice and Lust. Mortlock suggests that some attempt has been made to erase the image for Lust, which may simply be mid-16th century puritan prurience on the part of some reformer here. This would suggest that this catechetical tool was here right up until the Reformation.

 

The idea of 'Seven Deadly Sins' was anathema to the reformers, because it is entirely unscriptural. Rather, as a catechetical tool, it is a way of drawing together a multitude of sins into a simplistic aide memoire. This could then be used in confession, taking each of them one at a time and examining ones conscience accordingly. It should not be seen simply as a 'warning' to ignorant peasants, for the evidence is that the ordinary rural people of late medieval England were theologically very articulate. Rather, it was a tool for use, in contemplation and preparation for the sacrament of reconciliation, which may well have ordinarily taken place in the chapel here.

 

The wall painting beneath the Sins is even more interesting. This is a very rare 'Christ of the Trades', and dates from the early 15th century, about a hundred years after the painting above. It is rather faded, and takes a while to discern, and not all of it is decodable. However, enough is there to be fascinating. The image of the 'Christ of the Trades' is known throughout Christendom, and contemporary versions with this can be found in other parts of Europe. It shows the risen Christ in the centre, and around him a vast array of the tools and symbols of various trades. One theory is that it depicts activities that should not take place on a Sunday, a holy day of obligation to refrain from work, and that these activities are wounding Christ anew.

 

Perhaps the most fascinating symbol, and the one that everyone notices, is the playing card. It shows the six of diamonds. Does it represent the makers of playing cards? If so, it might suggest a Flemish influence. Or could it be intended to represent something else? Whatever, it is one of the earliest representations of a playing card in England. Why is this here? It may very well be that there was a trades gild chantry chapel at the east end of the north aisle, and this painting was at its entrance.

 

At the east end of the north aisle now is the church's set of royal arms. Cautley saw it in the vestry in the 1930s, and identified it as a Queen Anne set. Now, with additions stripped away, it is revealed as a Charles II set from the 1660s, and a very fine one. It is fascinating to see it at such close range. Usually, they are set above the south door now, although they would originally have been placed above the chancel arch, in full view of the congregation, a gentle reminder of who was in charge.

 

And so to the glass, which on its own would be worth coming to Hessett to see. Few Suffolk churches have such an expanse, none have such a variety, or glass of such quality and interest. It consists essentially of two ranges, the life and Passion of Christ in the north aisle (although some glass has been reset across the church), and images and hagiographies of Saints in the south aisle.

 

In the north aisle, the scourging of Christ stands out, the wicked grins of the persecutors contrasting with the pained nobility of the Christ figure. In the next window, Christ rises from the dead, coming out of his tomb like the corpses in the doom paintings at Stanningfield, North Cove and Wenhaston. The Roman centurion sleeps soundly in the foreground.

 

The most famous image is in the east window of the south aisle. Apparently, it shows a bishop holding the chain to a bag, with four children playing at his feet. I say apparently, because there is rather more going on here than meets the eye. The reason that this image is so famous is that the small child in the foreground is holding what appears to be a golf club or hockey stick, and this would be the earliest representation of such an object in all Europe. The whole image has been said to represent St Nicholas, who was a Bishop, and whose legends include a bag of gold and a group of children.

 

Unfortunately, this is not the case. St Nicholas is never symbolised by a bag of gold, and there are three children in the St Nicholas legend, not four. In any case, the hand in the picture is not holding the chain to a bag at all, but a rosary, and the hockey stick is actually a fuller's club, used for dyeing clothes, and the symbol of St James the Less.

 

What has happened here is that the head of a Bishop has been grafted on to the body of a figure which is probably still in its original location. The three lights of this window contained a set of the Holy Kinship. The light to the north of the 'Bishop' contains two children playing with what ae apparently toys, but when you look closely you can see that one is holding a golden shell, and the other a poisoned chalice. They are the infant St James and St John, and the lost figure above them was their mother, Mary Salome.

 

This means that the figure with the Bishop's head is actually Mary Cleophas, mother of four children including St James the Less. The third light to the south, of course, would have depicted the Blessed Virgin and child, but she is lost to us.

 

Not only this, but Hessett has some very good 19th Century glass which complements and does not overly intrude. The best is beneath the tower, the west window in a fully 15th Century style of scenes by Clayton & Bell. The east window, depicting saints, is by William Warrington, and the chancel also has the O'Connor glass already mentioned.

 

If the windows and wall paintings were all there was, then Hessett would be remarkable enough. But there is something else, two things, actually, that elevate it above all other Suffolk churches, and all the churches of England. For St Ethelbert is the proud owner of two unique survivals. At the back of the church is a chest, no different from those you'll find in many a parish church. In common with those, it has three separate locks, the idea being that the Rector and two Churchwardens would have a key each, and it would be necessary for all three of them to be present for the chest to be opened. It was used for storing parish records and valuables.

 

At some point, one of the keys was lost. There is an old story about the iconoclast William Dowsing turning up here and demanding the chest be opened, but on account of the missing key it couldn't be. Unfortunately, this story isn't true, for Dowsing never recorded a visit Hessett. The chest was eventually opened in the 19th century. Inside were found two extraordinary pre-Reformation survivals. These are a pyx cloth and a burse. The pyx cloth was draped over the wooden canopy that enclosed the blessed sacrament (one of England's four surviving medieval pyxes is also in Suffolk, at Dennington) before it was raised above the high altar. The burse was used to contain the host before consecration at the Mass. They are England's only surviving examples, and they're both here. Or, more precisely they aren't, for both have been purloined by the British Museum, the kind of theft that no locked church can prevent.

 

But there are life-size photos of both either side of the tower arch. The burse is basically an envelope, and features the Veronica face of Christ on one side with the four evangelistic symbols in each corner. On the other is an Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God. The survival of both is extraordinary. It is one thing to explore the furnishings of lost Catholic England, quite another to come face to face with articles that were actually used in the liturgy.

 

In front of the pictures stands the font, a relatively good one of the early 15th century, though rather less exciting than everything going on around it. The dedicatory inscription survives, to a pair of Hoos of an earlier generation than the ones on the vestry.Turning east again, the ranks of simple 15th century benches are all of a piece with their church. They have survived the violent transitions of the centuries, and have seated generation after generation of Hessett people. They were new here when this church was alive with coloured light, with the hundreds of candles flickering on the rood beam, the processions, the festivals, and the people's lives totally integrated with the liturgy of the seasons. For the people of Catholic England, their religion was as much a part of them as the air they breathed. They little knew how soon it would all come to an end.

 

And so, there it is - one of the most fascinating and satisfactory of all East Anglia's churches. And yet, not many people know about it. We are only three miles from the brown-signed honeypot of Woolpit, where a constant stream of visitors come and go. I've visited Hessett many times, and never once encountered another visitor. Still, there you are, I suppose. Perhaps some places are better kept secret. But come here if you can, for here is a medieval worship space with much surviving evidence of what it was actually meant to be, and meant to do.

 

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Ralph Rugoff has declared: «May You Live in Interesting Times will no doubt include artworks that reflect upon precarious aspects of existence today, including different threats to key traditions, institutions and relationships of the “post-war order.” But let us acknowledge at the outset that art does not exercise its forces in the domain of politics. Art cannot stem the rise of nationalist movements and authoritarian governments in different parts of the world, for instance, nor can it alleviate the tragic fate of displaced peoples across the globe (whose numbers now represent almost one percent of the world’s entire population).»

 

ALBANIA

Maybe the cosmos is not so extraordinary

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture Republic of Albania. Curator: Alicia Knock.

Exhibitor: Driant Zeneli.

 

ALGERIA***

Time to shine bright

Commissioner/Curator: Hellal Mahmoud Zoubir, National Council of Arts and Letters Ministry of Culture. Exhibitors: Rachida Azdaou, Hamza Bounoua, Amina Zoubir, Mourad Krinah, Oussama Tabti.

Venue: Fondamenta S. Giuseppe, 925

 

ANDORRA

The Future is Now / El futur és ara

Commissioner: Eva Martínez, “Zoe”. Curators: Ivan Sansa, Paolo De Grandis.

Exhibitor: Philippe Shangti.

Venue: Istituto Santa Maria della Pietà, Castello 3701

 

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA

Find Yourself: Carnival and Resistance

Commissioner: Daryll Matthew, Minister of Sports, Culture, National Festivals and the Arts. Curator: Barbara Paca with Nina Khrushcheva. Exhibitors: Timothy Payne, Sir Gerald Price, Joseph Seton, and Frank Walter; Intangible Cultural, Heritage Artisans and Mas Troup.

Venue: Centro Culturale Don Orione Artigianelli, Dorsoduro 919

 

ARGENTINA

El nombre de un país / The name of a country

Commissioner: Sergio Alberto Baur Ambasciatore. Curator: Florencia Battiti. Exhibitor: Mariana Telleria.

Venue: Arsenale

 

ARMENIA (Republic of)

Revolutionary Sensorium

Commissioner: Nazenie Garibian, Deputy Minister. Curator: Susanna Gyulamiryan.

Exhibitors: "ArtlabYerevan" Artistic Group (Gagik Charchyan, Hovhannes Margaryan, Arthur Petrosyan, Vardan Jaloyan) and Narine Arakelian.

Venue: Palazzo Zenobio – Collegio Armeno Moorat-Raphael, Dorsoduro 2596

 

AUSTRALIA

ASSEMBLY

Commissioner: Australia Council for the Arts. Curator: Juliana Engberg. Exhibitor: Angelica Mesiti.

Venue: Giardini

 

AUSTRIA

Discordo Ergo Sum

Commissioner: Arts and Culture Division of the Federal Chancellery of Austria.

Curator: Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein. Exhibitor: Renate Bertlmann.

Venue: Giardini

 

AZERBAIJAN (Republic of )

Virtual Reality

Commissioner: Mammad Ahmadzada, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Curators: Gianni Mercurio, Emin Mammadov. Exhibitors: Zeigam Azizov, Orkhan Mammadov, Zarnishan Yusifova, Kanan Aliyev, Ulviyya Aliyeva.

Venue: Palazzo Lezze, Campo S. Stefano, San Marco 2949

 

BANGLADESH (People’s Republic of)

Thirst

Commissioner: Liaquat Ali Lucky. Curators: Mokhlesur Rahman, Viviana Vannucci.

Exhibitors: Bishwajit Goswami, Dilara Begum Jolly, Heidi Fosli, Nafis Ahmed Gazi, Franco Marrocco, Domenico Pellegrino, Preema Nazia Andaleeb, Ra Kajol, Uttam Kumar karmaker.

Venue: Palazzo Zenobio – Collegio Armeno Moorat-Raphael, Dorsoduro 2596

 

BELARUS (Republic of)

Exit / Uscita

Commissioner: Siarhey Kryshtapovich. Curator: Olga Rybchinskaya. Exhibitor: Konstantin Selikhanov.

Venue: Spazio Liquido, Sestiere Castello 103, Salizada Streta

 

BELGIUM

Mondo Cane

Commissioner: Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. Curator: Anne-Claire Schmitz.

Exhibitor: Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys.

Venue: Giardini

 

BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA

ZENICA-TRILOGY

Commissioner: Senka Ibrišimbegović, Ars Aevi Museum for Contemporary Art Sarajevo.

Curators: Anja Bogojević, Amila Puzić, Claudia Zini. Exhibitor: Danica Dakić.

Venue: Palazzo Francesco Molon Ca’ Bernardo, San Polo 2184/A

 

BRAZIL

Swinguerra

Commissioner: José Olympio da Veiga Pereira, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo.

Curator: Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro. Exhibitor: Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca.

Venue: Giardini

 

BULGARIA

How We Live

Commissioner: Iaroslava Boubnova, National Gallery in Sofia. Curator: Vera Mlechevska.

Exhibitors: Rada Boukova , Lazar Lyutakov.

Venue: Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, San Marco 2893

 

CANADA

ISUMA

Commissioner: National Gallery of Canada. Curators: Asinnajaq, Catherine Crowston, Josée Drouin-Brisebois, Barbara Fischer, Candice Hopkins. Exhibitors: Isuma (Zacharias Kunuk, Norman Cohn, Paul Apak, Pauloosie Qulitalik).

Venue: Giardini

 

CHILE

Altered Views

Commissioner: Varinia Brodsky, Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage.

Curator: Agustín Pérez. Rubio. Exhibitor: Voluspa Jarpa.

Venue: Arsenale

 

CHINA (People’s Republic of)

Re-睿

Commissioner: China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd. (CAEG).

Curator: Wu Hongliang. Exhibitors: Chen Qi, Fei Jun, He Xiangyu, Geng Xue.

Venue: Arsenale

 

CROATIA

Traces of Disappearing (In Three Acts)

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia. Curator: Katerina Gregos.

Exhibitor: Igor Grubić.

Venue: Calle Corner, Santa Croce 2258

 

CUBA

Entorno aleccionador (A Cautionary Environment)

Commissioner: Norma Rodríguez Derivet, Consejo Nacional de Artes Plásticas.

Curator: Margarita Sanchez Prieto. Exhibitors: Alejandro Campins, Alex Hérnandez, Ariamna Contino and Eugenio Tibaldi. Venue: Isola di San Servolo

 

CYPRUS (Republic of)

Christoforos Savva: Untimely, Again

Commissioner: Louli Michaelidou. Curator: Jacopo Crivelli Visconti. Exhibitor: Christoforos Savva.

Venue: Associazione Culturale Spiazzi, Castello 3865

 

CZECH (Republic) and SLOVAK (Republic)

Stanislav Kolíbal. Former Uncertain Indicated

Commissioner: Adam Budak, National Gallery Prague. Curator: Dieter Bogner.

Exhibitor: Stanislav Kolibal.

Venue: Giardini

 

DOMINICAN (Republic) *

Naturaleza y biodiversidad en la República Dominicana

Commissioner: Eduardo Selman, Minister of Culture. Curators: Marianne de Tolentino, Simone Pieralice, Giovanni Verza. Exhibitors: Dario Oleaga, Ezequiel Taveras, Hulda Guzmán, Julio Valdez, Miguel Ramirez, Rita Bertrecchi, Nicola Pica, Marraffa & Casciotti.

Venue: Palazzo Albrizzi Capello, Cannaregio 4118 – Sala della Pace

 

EGYPT

khnum across times witness

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture. Curator: Ahmed Chiha.

Exhibitors: Islam Abdullah, Ahmed Chiha, Ahmed Abdel Karim.

Venue: Giardini

 

ESTONIA

Birth V

Commissioner: Maria Arusoo, Centre of Contemporary Arts of Estonia. Curators: Andrew Berardini, Irene Campolmi, Sarah Lucas, Tamara Luuk. Exhibitor: Kris Lemsalu.

Venue: c/o Legno & Legno, Giudecca 211

 

FINLAND (Alvar Aalto Pavilion)

A Greater Miracle of Perception

Commissioner: Raija Koli, Director Frame Contemporary Art Finland.

Curators: Giovanna Esposito Yussif, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Christopher Wessels. Exhibitors: Miracle Workers Collective (Maryan Abdulkarim, Khadar Ahmed, Hassan Blasim, Giovanna Esposito Yussif, Sonya Lindfors, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Outi Pieski, Leena Pukki, Lorenzo Sandoval, Martta Tuomaala, Christopher L. Thomas, Christopher Wessels, Suvi West).

Venue: Giardini

 

FRANCE

Deep see blue surrounding you / Vois ce bleu profond te fondre

Commissioner: Institut français with the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture. Curator: Martha Kirszenbaum. Exhibitor: Laure Prouvost.

Venue: Giardini

 

GEORGIA

REARMIRRORVIEW, Simulation is Simulation, is Simulation, is Simulation

Commissioner: Ana Riaboshenko. Curator: Margot Norton. Exhibitor: Anna K.E.

Venue: Arsenale

 

GERMANY

Commissioner: ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office, Germany. Curator: Franciska Zólyom. Exhibitor: Natascha Süder Happelmann.

Venue: Giardini

 

GHANA ***

Ghana Freedom

Commissioner: Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Curator: Nana Oforiatta Ayim.

Exhibitors: Felicia Abban, John Akomfrah, El Anatsui, Lynette Yiadom Boakye, Ibrahim Mahama, Selasi Awusi Sosu.

Venue: Arsenale

 

GREAT BRITAIN

Cathy Wilkes

Commissioner: Emma Dexter. Curator: Zoe Whitley. Exhibitor: Cathy Wilkes.

Venue: Giardini

 

GREECE

Mr Stigl

Commissioner: Syrago Tsiara (Deputy Director of the Contemporary Art Museum - Metropolitan Organization of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki - MOMus).

Curator: Katerina Tselou. Exhibitors: Panos Charalambous, Eva Stefani, Zafos Xagoraris.

Venue: Giardini

 

GRENADA

Epic Memory

Commissioner: Susan Mains. Curator: Daniele Radini Tedeschi.

Exhibitors: Amy Cannestra, Billy Gerard Frank, Dave Lewis, Shervone Neckles, Franco Rota Candiani, Roberto Miniati, CRS avant-garde.

Venue: Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello (first floor), Cannaregio 4118

 

GUATEMALA

Interesting State

Commissioner: Elder de Jesús Súchite Vargas, Minister of Culture and Sports of Guatemala. Curator: Stefania Pieralice. Exhibitors: Elsie Wunderlich, Marco Manzo.

Venue: Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello (first floor), Cannaregio 4118

 

HAITI

THE SPECTACLE OF TRAGEDY

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture and Communication.

Curator: Giscard Bouchotte. Exhibitor: Jean Ulrick Désert.

Venue: Circolo Ufficiali Marina, Calle Seconda de la Fava, Castello 2168

 

HUNGARY

Imaginary Cameras

Commissioner: Julia Fabényi, Museo Ludwig – Museo d’arte contemporanea, Budapest.

Curator: Zsuzsanna Szegedy-Maszák. Exhibitor: Tamás Waliczky.

Venue: Giardini

 

ICELAND

Chromo Sapiens – Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir / Shoplifter

Commissioner: Eiríkur Þorláksson, Icelandic Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.

Curator: Birta Gudjónsdóttir. Exhibitor: Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir / Shoplifter.

Venue: Spazio Punch, Giudecca 800

 

INDIA

Our time for a future caring

Commissioner: Adwaita Gadanayak National Gallery of Modern Art.

Curator: Roobina Karode, Director & Chief Curator, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. Exhibitors: Atul Dodiya, Ashim Purkayastha, GR Iranna, Jitish Kallat, Nandalal Bose, Rummana Hussain, Shakuntala Kulkarni.

Venue: Arsenale

 

INDONESIA

Lost Verses

Commissioner: Ricky Pesik & Diana Nazir, Indonesian Agency for Creative Economy.

Curator: Asmudjo Jono Irianto. Exhibitors: Handiwirman Saputra and Syagini Ratna Wulan.

Venue: Arsenale

 

IRAN (Islamic Republic of)

of being and singing

Commissioner: Hadi Mozafari, General Manager of Visual Arts Administration of Islamic Republic of Iran. Curator: Ali Bakhtiari.

Exhibitors: Reza Lavassani, Samira Alikhanzadeh, Ali Meer Azimi.

Venue: Fondaco Marcello, San Marco 3415

 

IRAQ

Fatherland

Commissioner: Fondazione Ruya. Curators: Tamara Chalabi, Paolo Colombo.

Exhibitor: Serwan Baran.

Venue: Ca’ del Duca, Corte del Duca Sforza, San Marco 3052

 

IRELAND

The Shrinking Universe

Commissioner: Culture Ireland. Curator: Mary Cremin. Exhibitor: Eva Rothschild.

Venue: Arsenale

 

ISRAEL

Field Hospital X

Commissioner: Michael Gov, Arad Turgeman. Curator: Avi Lubin. Exhibitor: Aya Ben Ron.

Venue: Giardini

 

ITALY

Commissioner: Federica Galloni, Direttore Generale Arte e Architettura Contemporanee e Periferie Urbane, Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali. Curator: Milovan Farronato.

Exhibitors: Enrico David, Liliana Moro, Chiara Fumai.

Venue: Padiglione Italia, Tese delle Vergini, Arsenale

 

IVORY COAST

The Open Shadows of Memory

Commissioner: Henri Nkoumo. Curator: Massimo Scaringella. Exhibitors: Ernest Dükü, Ananias Leki Dago, Valérie Oka, Tong Yanrunan.

Venue: Castello Gallery, Castello 1636/A

 

JAPAN

Cosmo-Eggs

Commissioner: The Japan Foundation. Curator: Hiroyuki Hattori. Exhibitors: Motoyuki Shitamichi, Taro Yasuno, Toshiaki Ishikura, Fuminori Nousaku.

Venue: Giardini

 

KIRIBATI

Pacific Time - Time Flies

Commissioner: Pelea Tehumu, Ministry of Internal Affairs. Curators: Kautu Tabaka, Nina Tepes. Exhibitors: Kaeka Michael Betero, Daniela Danica Tepes, Kairaken Betio Group; Teroloang Borouea, Neneia Takoikoi, Tineta Timirau, Teeti Aaloa, Kenneth Ioane, Kaumai Kaoma, Runita Rabwaa, Obeta Taia, Tiribo Kobaua, Tamuera Tebebe, Rairauea Rue, Teuea Kabunare, Tokintekai Ekentetake, Katanuti Francis, Mikaere Tebwebwe, Terita Itinikarawa, Kaeua Kobaua, Raatu Tiuteke, Kaeriti Baanga, Ioanna Francis, Temarewe Banaan, Aanamaria Toom, Einako Temewi, Nimei Itinikarawa, Teniteiti Mikaere, Aanibo Bwatanita, Arin Tikiraua.

Venue: European Cultural Centre, Palazzo Mora, Strada Nuova 3659

 

KOREA (Republic of)

History Has Failed Us, but No Matter

Commissioner: Arts Council Korea. Curator: Hyunjin Kim. Exhibitors: Hwayeon Nam, siren eun young jung, Jane Jin Kaisen.

Venue: Giardini

 

KOSOVO (Republic of)

Family Album

Commissioner: Arta Agani. Curator: Vincent Honore. Exhibitor: Alban Muja.

Venue: Arsenale

 

LATVIA

Saules Suns

Commissioner: Dace Vilsone. Curators: Valentinas Klimašauskas, Inga Lāce.

Exhibitor: Daiga Grantiņa.

Venue: Arsenale

 

LITHUANIA

Sun & Sea (Marina)

Commissioner: Rasa Antanavičıūte. Curator: Lucia Pietroiusti.

Exhibitors: Lina Lapelyte, Vaiva Grainyte and Rugile Barzdziukaite.

Venue: Magazzino No. 42, Marina Militare, Arsenale di Venezia, Fondamenta Case Nuove 2738c

 

LUXEMBOURG (Grand Duchy of)

Written by Water

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture of Luxembourg.

Curator: Kevin Muhlen. Exhibitor: Marco Godinho.

Venue: Arsenale

 

NORTH MACEDONIA (Republic of )

Subversion to Red

Commissioner: Mira Gakina. Curator: Jovanka Popova. Exhibitor: Nada Prlja.

Venue: Palazzo Rota Ivancich, Castello 4421

 

MADAGASCAR ***

I have forgotten the night

Commissioner: Ministry of Communication and Culture of the Republic of Madagascar. Curators: Rina Ralay Ranaivo, Emmanuel Daydé.

Exhibitor: Joël Andrianomearisoa.

Venue: Arsenale

 

MALAYSIA ***

Holding Up a Mirror

Commissioner: Professor Dato’ Dr. Mohamed Najib Dawa, Director General of Balai Seni Negara (National Art Gallery of Malaysia), Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia. Curator: Lim Wei-Ling. Exhibitors: Anurendra Jegadeva, H.H.Lim, Ivan Lam, Zulkifli Yusoff.

Venue: Palazzo Malipiero, San Marco 3198

 

MALTA

Maleth / Haven / Port - Heterotopias of Evocation

Commissioner: Arts Council Malta. Curator: Hesperia Iliadou Suppiej. Exhibitors: Vince Briffa, Klitsa Antoniou, Trevor Borg.

Venue: Arsenale

 

MEXICO

Actos de Dios / Acts of God

Commissioner: Gabriela Gil Verenzuela. Curator: Magalí Arriola. Exhibitor: Pablo Vargas Lugo.

Venue: Arsenale

 

MONGOLIA

A Temporality

Commissioner: The Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports of Mongolia.

Curator: Gantuya Badamgarav. Exhibitor: Jantsankhorol Erdenebayar with the participation of traditional Mongolian throat singers and Carsten Nicolai (Alva Noto).

Venue: Bruchium Fermentum, Calle del Forno, Castello 2093-2090

 

MONTENEGRO

Odiseja / An Odyssey

Commissioner: Nenad Šoškić. Curator: Petrica Duletić. Exhibitor: Vesko Gagović.

Venue: Palazzo Malipiero (piano terra), San Marco 3078-3079/A, Ramo Malipiero

 

MOZAMBIQUE (Republic of)

The Past, the Present and The in Between

Commissioner: Domingos do Rosário Artur. Curator: Lidija K. Khachatourian.

Exhibitors: Gonçalo Mabunda, Mauro Pinto, Filipe Branquinho.

Venue: Palazzo Mora, Strada Nova, 3659

 

NETHERLANDS (The)

The Measurement of Presence

Commissioner: Mondriaan Fund. Curator: Benno Tempel. Exhibitors: Iris Kensmil, Remy Jungerman. Venue: Giardini

 

NEW ZEALAND

Post hoc

Commissioner: Dame Jenny Gibbs. Curators: Zara Stanhope and Chris Sharp.

Exhibitor: Dane Mitchell.

Venue: Palazzina Canonica, Riva Sette Martiri

 

NORDIC COUNTRIES (FINLAND - NORWAY - SWEDEN)

Weather Report: Forecasting Future

Commissioner: Leevi Haapala / Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma / Finnish National Gallery, Katya García-Antón / Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA), Ann-Sofi Noring / Moderna Museet. Curators: Leevi Haapala, Piia Oksanen. Exhibitors: Ane Graff, Ingela Ihrman, nabbteeri.

Venue: Giardini

 

PAKISTAN ***

Manora Field Notes

Commissioner: Syed Jamal Shah, Pakistan National Council of the Arts, PNCA.

Curator: Zahra Khan. Exhibitor: Naiza Khan.

Venue: Tanarte, Castello 2109/A and Spazio Tana, Castello 2110-2111

 

PERU

“Indios Antropófagos”. A butterfly Garden in the (Urban) Jungle

Commissioner: Armando Andrade de Lucio. Curator: Gustavo Buntinx. Exhibitors: Christian Bendayán, Otto Michael (1859-1934), Manuel Rodríguez Lira (1874-1933), Segundo Candiño Rodríguez, Anonymous popular artificer.

Venue: Arsenale

 

PHILIPPINES

Island Weather

Commissioner: National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) / Virgilio S. Almario.

Curator: Tessa Maria T. Guazon. Exhibitor: Mark O. Justiniani.

Venue: Arsenale

 

POLAND

Flight

Commissioner: Hanna Wroblewska. Curators: Łukasz Mojsak, Łukasz Ronduda.

Exhibitor: Roman Stańczak.

Venue: Giardini

 

PORTUGAL

a seam, a surface, a hinge or a knot

Commissioner: Directorate-General for the Arts. Curator: João Ribas. Exhibitor: Leonor Antunes.

Venue: Fondazione Ugo e Olga Levi Onlus, Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, San Marco 2893

 

ROMANIA

Unfinished Conversations on the Weight of Absence

Commissioner: Attila Kim. Curator: Cristian Nae. Exhibitor: Belu-Simion Făinaru, Dan Mihălțianu, Miklós Onucsán.

Venues: Giardini and New Gallery of the Romanian Institute for Culture and Humanistic Research (Campo Santa Fosca, Palazzo Correr, Cannaregio 2214)

 

RUSSIA

Lc 15:11-32

Commissioner: Semyon Mikhailovsky. Curator: Mikhail Piotrovsky. Exhibitors: Alexander Sokurov, Alexander Shishkin-Hokusai.

Venue: Giardini

 

SAN MARINO (Republic of)

Friendship Project International

Commissioner: Vito Giuseppe Testaj. Curator: Vincenzo Sanfo. Exhibitors: Gisella Battistini, Martina Conti, Gabriele Gambuti, Giovanna Fra, Thea Tini, Chen Chengwei, Li Geng, Dario Ortiz, Tang Shuangning, Jens W. Beyrich, Xing Junqin, Xu de Qi, Sebastián.

Venue: Palazzo Bollani, Castello 3647; Complesso dell’Ospedaletto, Castello 6691

 

SAUDI ARABIA

After Illusion بعد توهم

Commissioner: Misk Art Insitute. Curator: Eiman Elgibreen. Exhibitor: Zahrah Al Ghamdi.

Venue: Arsenale

 

SERBIA

Regaining Memory Loss

Commissioner: Vladislav Scepanovic. Curator: Nicoletta Lambertucci. Exhibitor: Djordje Ozbolt.

Venue: Giardini

 

SEYCHELLES (Republic of)

Drift

Commissioner: Galen Bresson. Curator: Martin Kennedy.

Exhibitors: George Camille and Daniel Dodin.

Venue: Palazzo Mora, Strada Nova, 3659

 

SINGAPORE

Music For Everyone: Variations on a Theme

Commissioner: Rosa Daniel, Chief Executive Officer, National Arts Council (NAC).

Curator: Michelle Ho. Exhibitor: Song-Ming Ang.

Venue: Arsenale

 

SLOVENIA (Republic of)

Here we go again... SYSTEM 317

A situation of the resolution series

Commissioner: Zdenka Badovinac, Director Moderna galerija / Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana. Curator: Igor Španjol. Exhibitor: Marko Peljhan.

Venue: Arsenale

 

SOUTH AFRICA (Republic of)

The stronger we become

Commissioner: Titi Nxumalo, Console Generale. Curators: Nkule Mabaso, Nomusa Makhubu. Exhibitors: Dineo Seshee Bopape, Tracey Rose, Mawande Ka Zenzile.

Venue: Arsenale

 

SPAIN

Perforated by Itziar Okariz and Sergio Prego

Commissioner: AECID Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion Internacional Para El Desarrollo. Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Union Europea y Cooperacion. Curator: Peio Aguirre.

Exhibitors: Itziar Okariz, Sergio Prego.

Venue: Giardini

 

SWITZERLAND

Moving Backwards

Commissioner: Swiss Arts Council Pro-Helvetia: Marianne Burki, Sandi Paucic, Rachele Giudici Legittimo. Curator: Charlotte Laubard. Exhibitors: Pauline Boudry/Renate Lorenz.

Venue: Giardini

 

SYRIAN ARAB (Republic)

Syrian Civilization is still alive

Commissioner/Curator: Emad Kashout. Exhibitors: Abdalah Abouassali, Giacomo Braglia, Ibrahim Al Hamid, Chen Huasha, Saed Salloum, Xie Tian, Saad Yagan, Primo Vanadia, Giuseppe Biasio.

Venue: Isola di San Servolo; Chiesetta della Misericordia, Campo dell'Abbazia, Cannaregio

 

THAILAND

The Revolving World

Commissioner: Vimolluck Chuchat, Office of Contemporary Art and Culture, Ministry of Culture, Thailand. Curator: Tawatchai Somkong. Exhibitors: Somsak Chowtadapong, Panya Vijinthanasarn, Krit Ngamsom.

Venue: In Paradiso 1260, Castello

 

TURKEY

We, Elsewhere

Commissioner: IKSV. Curator: Zeynep Öz. Exhibitor: İnci Eviner.

Venue: Arsenale

 

UKRAINE

The Shadow of Dream cast upon Giardini della Biennale

Commissioner: Svitlana Fomenko, First Deputy Minister of Culture. Curators: Open group (Yurii Biley, Pavlo Kovach, Stanislav Turina, Anton Varga). Exhibitors: all artists of Ukraine.

Venue: Arsenale

 

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Nujoom Alghanem: Passage

Commissioner: Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation.

Curators: Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath. Exhibitor: Nujoom Alghanem.

Venue: Arsenale

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Martin Puryear: Liberty

Commissioner/Curator: Brooke Kamin Rapaport. Exhibitor: Martin Puryear.

Venue: Giardini

 

URUGUAY

“La casa empática”

Commissioner: Alejandro Denes. Curators: David Armengol, Patricia Bentancur.

Exhibitor: Yamandú Canosa.

Venue: Giardini

 

VENEZUELA (Bolivarian Republic of)

Metaphore of three windows

Venezuela: identity in time and space

Commissioner/Curator: Oscar Sottillo Meneses. Exhibitors: Natalie Rocha Capiello, Ricardo García, Gabriel López, Nelson Rangelosky.

Venue: Giardini

 

ZIMBABWE (Republic of)

Soko Risina Musoro (The Tale without a Head)

Commissioner: Doreen Sibanda, National Gallery of Zimbabwe. Curator: Raphael Chikukwa. Exhibitors: Georgina Maxim, Neville Starling , Cosmas Shiridzinomwa, Kudzanai Violet Hwami.

Venue: Istituto Provinciale per L’infanzia “Santa Maria Della Pietà”. Calle della Pietà Castello n. 3701 (ground floor)

 

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invited artist :

Lawrence Abu Hamdan (Jordan / Beirut)

Njideka Akunyili Crosby (Nigeria / USA),Halil Altındere (Turkey),Michael Armitage (Kenya / UK),Korakrit Arunanondchai (Thailand / USA),Alex Gvojic (USA),Ed Atkins (UK / Germany / Denmark),Tarek Atoui (Lebanon / France),

Darren Bader (USA),Nairy Baghramian (Iran / Germany,

Neïl Beloufa (France),Alexandra Bircken (Germany),Carol Bove (Switzerland / USA,

Christoph Büchel (Switzerland / Iceland,

Ludovica Carbotta (Italy / Barcelona),Antoine Catala (France / USA),Ian Cheng (USA),George Condo (USA

Alex Da Corte (USA),Jesse Darling (UK / Germany),Stan Douglas (Canada),Jimmie Durham (USA / Germany),Nicole Eisenman (France / USA,

Haris Epaminonda (Cyprus / Germany),Lara Favaretto (Italy),Cyprien Gaillard (France / Germany), Gill (India),Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster (France),Shilpa Gupta (India),Soham Gupta (India),Martine Gutierrez (USA),Rula Halawani (Palestine),Anthea Hamilton (UK),Jeppe Hein (Denmark / Germany),Anthony Hernandez (USA),Ryoji Ikeda (Japan / France),Arthur Jafa (USA),Cameron Jamie (USA / France / Germany),Kahlil Joseph (USA),Zhanna Kadyrova (Ukraine),Suki Seokyeong Kang (South Korea),Mari Katayama (Japan),Lee Bul (South Korea),Liu Wei (China),Maria Loboda (Poland / Germany),Andreas Lolis (Albania / Greece),Christian Marclay (USA / London),Teresa Margolles (Mexico / Spain),Julie Mehretu (Ethiopia / USA),Ad Minoliti (Argentina),Jean-Luc Moulène (France),Zanele Muholi (South Africa),Jill Mulleady (Uruguay / USA),Ulrike Müller (Austria / USA),Nabuqi (China),Otobong Nkanga (Nigeria / Belgium),Khyentse Norbu (Bhutan / India),Frida Orupabo (Norway),Jon Rafman (Canada).Gabriel Rico (Mexico),Handiwirman Saputra (Indonesia),Tomás Saraceno (Argentina / Germany),Augustas Serapinas (Lithuania),Avery Singer (USA),Slavs and Tatars (Germany),Michael E. Smith (USA),Hito Steyerl (Germany),Tavares Strachan (Bahamas / USA),Sun Yuan and Peng Yu (China),Henry Taylor (USA),Rosemarie Trockel (Germany),Kaari Upson (USA),Andra Ursuţa (Romania),Danh Vō (Vietnam / Mexico),Kemang Wa Lehulere (South Africa),Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand) and Tsuyoshi Hisakado (Japan),Margaret Wertheim and Christine Wertheim (Australia / USA) ,Anicka Yi (South Korea/ USA),Yin Xiuzhen (China),Yu Ji (China / Austria)

  

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other Biennale :(Biennials ) :Venice Biennial , Documenta Havana Biennial,Istanbul Biennial ( Istanbuli),Biennale de Lyon ,Dak'Art Berlin Biennial,Mercosul Visual Arts Biennial ,Bienal do Mercosul Porto Alegre.,Berlin Biennial ,Echigo-Tsumari Triennial .Yokohama Triennial Aichi Triennale,manifesta ,Copenhagen Biennale,Aichi Triennale

Yokohama Triennial,Echigo-Tsumari Triennial.Sharjah Biennial ,Biennale of Sydney, Liverpool , São Paulo Biennial ; Athens Biennale , Bienal do Mercosul ,Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art

  

وینس Venetsiya

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Thierry Geoffroy / Colonel

• Tillasurp: One of the larger free-swimming marine predators out there, this particular beast reigns supreme among all other fish and assorted sea-dwellers within the waters of planet Dexwhupra, of which the Tillasurp is also the most massive native creature overall, as well as the most physically adept. Leaner and less bulbous in shape, and thus far more agile, compared to other aquatic animals of similar and/or greater caliber, such as the Wresher, Tillasurps propel themselves through water primarily through high-energy stroking of their powerful fins, whose front and hind pairs are curiously rather analogous in their proportional respective lengths to the arms and legs of many a typical humanoid race. This resemblance is further reinforced by the uniquely upright posture in which they do most of their long-distance swimming. Locomotion-wise, Tillasurps are renowned for both their raw speed capacity and their immense stamina, being able to maintain the former across miles and miles of ocean by virtue of the latter, and with them being simple-mindedly ravenous beings that spend nearly their entire lives pursuing food, this high aptitude for mobility makes most of their existences very undemanding, at the expense of the assorted smaller marine critters that compose their predominantly carnivorous diet. The Tillasurp's highly-complex and equally-efficient system of oral structures, including a wide and tall-opening jaw, an intensely powerful bite, externally-embedded extra teeth for drawing in matter that might otherwise escape its chomping maw and a long, adhesively-gripping tongue, additionally make things even easier for itself, and likewise harder for its prey. Furthermore, the thorny protrusions at the bottoms of a Tillasurp's rear/lower fin-limbs bear a form of venom that can be delivered into enemies via a lashing, stabbing-esque attack. Instances of this specialized attack's necessity are seldom, however, and the venom it administers, while lethal to most other forms of aquatic life present on Dexwhupra, is generally non-deadly to any humanoid explorer who might come into hostile contact with a Tillasurp, in which event said explorer should be far more concerned about being bitten in half or even swallowed whole by its previously-described jaws. Tillasurps, though, are usually unaggressive towards any non-provoking humanoids they come across, and face-to-face encounters with them by Rekadolays are uncommon, the latter Dexwhupran natives rarely venturing into their homeworld's major water-bodies. Strangely, it has nevertheless been verifiably noted that the vast majority of violent altercations between Tillasurps and Rekadolays, ostensibly explainable on their own as freak accidents, have historically involved the young, ethically-impartial forms of the humanoids, as opposed to either of their race's transformed states, as the victims.

 

The raw flesh of the Tillasurp is not particularly resilient against piercing and other forms of physical trauma, but any and all such shortcomings that the animal might suffer from in terms of sturdiness are more-than-compensated for by its possession of blood that coagulates very quickly, even in water, plus a selective handful of redundant "backup" organs, ensuring that the creature's effective toughness is up-to-par with that of other comparably-sized organisms; its average durability value range is calculated at 2,200-2,800. Ultimately, the only real inherent weakness of the Tillasurp species is one that affects not the individual specimen, but rather the reproductive sustainability of its race: the majority of matings do not yield viable offspring, multiple births from a single coupling are nigh-unheard of, and freshly-born Tillasurps take several cycles' worth to properly develop in size and physical aptitude, during which time they must fend for themselves, and frequently end up failing to do so. These procreative limitations are largely necessary to keep the otherwise-overly-fit beasts from becoming too numerous for the good of the natural ecosystem.

  

• Abinocker: Being a machine-esque angelic entity composed of extra-corporeal material (and one of many varieties that can be accurately described as such), the Abinocker is a fairly rare angel, fewer in number than most other Heavenly creatures of comparable complexity and caliber, whose population originates and mainly dwells inside and around the Super-Supernal Spire, the many-tiered structure acting as a bridge between the central peak of Paradise, where Bestamiak resides and presides, and the Temple of Infinity. Primarily acting as guardians and stewards of this location, Abinockers are also occasionally deployed to other sites throughout the Heavenly Realms and, more rarely, in the mortal realm, per the volition of Bestamiak and/or Vaynmizs, both of whom jointly hold command over them as their breed's patron Heavenly Lord(s) and share this role without any discernible conflict or disagreements between them, surely by virtue of their high-order divine nature.

 

Standing roughly four feet in height while weighing several times as much as any likewise-sized mortal being, the Abinocker's most defining features are the extremities of its two arms, only one of which can even loosely be called a "hand", as well as its primary means of locomotion. The aforementioned extremity of the angel that one could reasonably argue qualifies as a hand, and which may interchangeably reside upon either of its arms, right or left, from specimen to specimen, consists of multiple sets of specialized digits with which the Abinocker comes equipped for the purpose of being able to perform a wide variety of manual tasks, ranging from both simple and complex gripping to such functions as twisting screws in (or out), manually picking locks and even precision welding with a miniature heat-ray. The decided non-hand opposite, meanwhile, consists in its entirety of a large mounted cannon that, despite possessing only a single barrel and lacking any perceivable indicators of function-shifting capabilities, can indeed discharge a great number of different plasma-like materials and energies whose application the Abinocker is able to switch between so seamlessly that doing so while firing continuously will produce no visible disruption in the stream being emitted beyond a smooth shift in color hue. The Abinocker's all-in-one arsenal includes, but is not limited to, volatile Rainbow Energy blasts, standard ballistic fire, lava-like molten energy, controlled application of heat-force for welding on large structures, a freezing beam of ice, a nonlethal "sleep-ray", and even beams that benefit their targets through healing or generating shields of kinetic energy.

 

Although possessing basic legs, Abinockers, while on the move, rely much more heavily on their singular, large treaded wheels whose traction not only allows for movement across all solid surfaces but additionally defies gravity for all intents and purposes, enabling the angels to move up walls at ninety-degree angles (and all other angles, for that matter) and even upside-down across ceilings. In the exceedingly unlikely event that an Abinocker does end up falling from any considerable height, it will automatically land right-side up, wheel-first, sustaining no damage whatsoever regardless of the distance fallen; this has been best-demonstrated through assorted incidents wherein Abinockers have literally fallen from Paradise (or higher) down to the lowermost planes of Neo-Skyhold and immediately resumed unfazed movement back towards their stations without delay thereafter.

 

The headpiece of an Abinocker resembles a triangular prism and features a single eyeball with multiple, clustered pupils in addition to a small mouth that exists strictly for speech purposes but rarely vocalizes much of interest. Encircling this head is a physically-attached ringlike structure, which is counted as a halo by some. Abinockers are very sturdy beings for their size even by the standards of other angels, with an almost exact durability value of 3,000 for nearly all individuals.

  

• Sumnewto: Reputed as a fiend of particularly nightmarish repugnance even by the standards of most other Underworld-spawned beings, this animalistic and masterless demon is best-known for its habitual inclination to appear and proceed to make itself at home within elaborate tombs, temples and other sites of veneration vainly dedicated to famous mortals by their peers, a pattern of behavior that has earned it the popular nickname of the "Defiler". Liable to spontaneous formation from coagulations of dark energies that sporadically occur throughout the Gomorran Desert Plane, the Cycian Deadlands and the Sea of Sludge, Sumnewtos instinctively drift upward towards and into the mortal realm in sub-corporeal energy form subsequent to their "birth", and as such are encountered almost exclusively across various worlds of the Prime Galaxy as opposed to within the Underworld. They are considered among the rarer, scarcer-in-number demonic varieties altogether, with the race's total current population estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000, although this number is believed to be slowly increasing as more new specimens come into being than those that are killed over time.

 

The form in which the Sumnewto is most commonly seen and consequently envisioned in popular consciousness amounts to a towering, brutishly bulky, stout and large-fisted humanoid figure externally composed of largely metallic and stone-like textures and bearing an upwards-protruding, long-necked and tiny-skulled head structure of squishier composition than any other readily visible part of the monster's body and generally resembling a worm and/or maggot. This lumpen core, which extends considerably further downward into its shell past the "neck-hole", is in actuality representative of the Sumnewto's entire fundamental being in the sense that the rest of the demon's active physical form is made to take shape around it through a channeling of Dark Magic energy, and in the event of its destruction, the central entity, provided it remains intact, survives and maintains the ability to form a new body for itself. This rarely matters in practice, though, since almost every instance of a Sumnewto's bodily destruction is due to someone or something else actively setting out to kill it, and once exposed, the wormlike core by itself is nigh-defenseless. The official, rounded durability value calculation for a standard fully-formed Sumnewto is 2,500, while the durability of the demon's "true" body by itself is less than one fifth of said value.

 

Once having situated itself into a mortal-made site of dedication to one or more deceased figures of perceived special importance, a Sumnewto will wordlessly decree the location in question to now be its personal abode and its abode alone, aggressively attacking any and all others who come inside or, in some cases, even near its claimed home. It will never leave until/unless killed or otherwise removed through force, and in the meantime will almost invariably make an utter mess of the place and those contents of it which are held as sacred, subjecting important objects, including the bodies of the site's venerated themselves, to mutilation, consumption, soiling and worse. Some sects of divine worship have suggested Sumnewtos to be intended as part of a natural order rather than being strictly aberrant monsters, believing the demons to serve as a means of deterring and punishing vain worship and idolatry of mortal men and women that is perceived to interfere with the true way of God. It should be noted, however, that no Sumnewto has ever been known to associate itself with sites related to the much more obvious form of such "interference" that is Primal worship.

  

• Umptydon: An omnivorous six-limbed animal of contested classification regarding the basic zoological categories, the Umptydon is an indigenous yet somewhat uncommon denizen of Namyufefe, where its presence can be felt most strongly in and around the world's less-developed territories inhabited by the Hernolalls as opposed to near large Yunstoxan cities and other settlements, towards which it seldom ventures. Generally viewed as a pest - mostly incapable of causing serious harm yet still distinctly troublesome and with its existence in the local ecosystem lacking in beneficial effects to other beings - the Umptydon can be characterized as, above all else, an exceptionally avaricious creature. This holds not only in terms of gluttony but also, and indeed more-so, in its habitual and seemingly pointless collection and hoarding of anything and everything it comes across that it sees value, warranted or otherwise (usually the latter), in. This typically includes, but is far from limited to, mortal-made tools and crafts, rare mineral ores and gems identifiable to an Umptydon for their "sparkly" quality, random (as far as anyone else can tell or is concerned) rocks, leaves and twigs, and even such filth as other animals' waste matter and small critters' carcasses. All these objects in addition to whatever others the Umptydon finds, picks up and decides to keep are then stored inside an organic pouch that is mounted upon the beast's back and is roughly as deep as its torso (which includes its face, the organism lacking a distinct and separate cranium) is tall, and stay there indefinitely until their new owner either is felled or reaches the point where its pouch is filled to capacity. In the event of the latter occurrence, the overburdened Umptydon will deposit the contents of its collected load at a remote personal caching site, usually never to revisit any of it again except to dump even more clutter onto the pile after filling its bag to the brim once more. Curiously and in spite of the Umptydon's elsewhere-evident irrationality and low intelligence, these sites tend to be very well-hidden, to the point that their stumbling-upon by other beings, accidental or otherwise, is quite rare.

 

Umptydons are notorious among Hernolalls for their thieving tendencies, with the creatures commonly wandering into the primitive humanoids' villages and stealing random items, potentially (and, given the tendency of the objects in question to be visibly striking by design, frequently) including crafted idols and other relics of designated importance. Though they are lacking in stealth as well as in basic discretion over when it is ideal to strike, often doing so in broad daylight when dozens of Hernolalls are around to hinder them, Umptydon thieves remain tricky intruders to stop from making off with things of value thanks primarily to their strongly-built legs and consequent natural fleet-footedness. This includes the ability, eerily similar to - and surpassing, speed-wise - a Hernolall's capacity to sprint on all-fours, to fall down forward onto all-sixes for even faster movement carried by every one of its limbs, all while keeping the main body arched upward at such an angle that little-to-nothing is spilled from its mounted pouch as it scurries in this position. Vision, however, is severely impaired while doing this, and large tree trunks and the like have time-and-time-again foiled various unlucky Umptydons' attempts to escape in this fashion from hostile situations of their own provocation. The active hunting of Umptydons, meanwhile, is widely considered to represent more trouble than it's worth, due to both the beast's aforementioned swiftness which is generally unaffected by the load it carries as well as

 

the infrequency of anything significantly valuable being salvageable from their back-bags compared to how much debris, junk, garbage and worse must invariably be searched through in search of any such treasure. Furthermore, no natural part of the Umptydon's body is of any worthwhile use to Hernolalls or anyone else, which is also why the strange pests have no natural predators on Namyufefe. Considering this, it thusly stands as fortunate that these animals have little instinctive drive to mate, whether for reproductive purposes or otherwise, and as a result are far less numerous than they would be were they more sexually active.

 

An Umptydon's only real method of attack consists of jabbing with its upper pair of arms which each bear a single spiked talon, and when threatened, it is much more liable to run away than to stand and fight in this manner. Umptydon durability values range from just above 600 to just below 900.

  

• Fangazzik: The largest and strongest naturally-occurring avian being in the whole of the Prime Galaxy, the Fangazzik boasts a legendary reputation with historians and animal enthusiasts for being the only creature among Ultavnah's native array of naturally-oversized inhabitants that still freely exists elsewhere in the galaxy following its home planet's forcibly-induced isolation and can be met and interacted with to this day.

 

Standing between twenty-five feet and ten meters tall in default, upright standing position, Fangazziks possess very broad and heavy-built central torsos that connect and support limbs and craniums of only marginally lesser proportional mass. Many of their prominent features can be described as considerably upscale versions of ones characteristic of more common birds, including sharp and strong-gripping talons, ruffly masses of variously-colored feathers and, perhaps most pronouncedly of all in the Fangazziks' specific case, large, beaked mouths which here not only are particularly tremendous even relative to the rest of their bodies, but are more often than not held open, revealing the beasts' gaping, toothy maws to palpably intimidating effect. Most notable among of all the Fangazzik's physical attributes, however, are its immense and majestic wings, which represent one of nature's prime candidates for the largest such structures to be found on any mortal animal, with the strength to match. This brings us back to the above-mentioned matter of the Fangazzik species' ultimate escape from the curse that has effectively rendered all other forms of life unique to Ultavnah as lost to the rest of the rest of the universe, which was indeed made possible by the great avians' mighty wings and consequent capacity for free-flight on top of their related ability to store excess oxygen inside a special "third lung"-resembling sack within their bodies and subsequently release it into their respiratory systems at will, effectively allowing them to breathe in zero-atmosphere space for limited periods of time. This combination of abilities, found in nary any other mortal animal, amounts to the Fangazzik being capable of interplanetary travel without the aid of any sort of vehicular apparatus, an endeavor in which the colossal birds have engaged freely and regularly ever since first coming into being, with some individuals even managing within their lifetimes (approximately sixty years, which is actually known to be the shortest natural lifespan of any Ultavnahn creature) to visit all eight octants of the Prime Galaxy; such a feat is otherwise unheard of for non-humanoids. When Ultavnah was sealed off by Lord Reson's magic, thousands of Fangazziks were out and about on, or traveling between, other worlds, and in the present day, a similar number remain active throughout the Prime Galaxy; most live alone, roosting up in remote and secluded locations, but several small, settled herds of Fangazziks, evidently formed for the purpose of maintaining steady reproduction in light of the species population's otherwise scattered and sparse state, are also known to exist.

 

Virtually all known Ultavnahn organisms have been noted to be very physically and environmentally resilient even relative to their great size, and the Fangazzik is no exception; in fact, it could even be argued as a particular standout among the others (based on what remains known about them) in this regard, with most specimens having durability values of well over 4,000, and the strongest individuals frequently surpassing 5,000 or even approaching (though never outright reaching) 6,000. One visible factor that contributes to this toughness is the presence of armored scales on select parts of the Fangazzik's body, which also serves to give the beast somewhat of a "reptilian" vibe to its overall appearance.

 

• Malroquo: Amphibious arthropods found plentifully throughout most regions of Nonfialy's map, Malroquo are widely acknowledged as said planet's apex predatory animals not by the virtues of individual brute force and toughness, in which respects they are hardly special, but rather by those of terrain-versatility and strength in numbers, including group-coordination thereof. A quadrupedal beast standing just-about-evenly with the average Ojohkey height-wise but being considerably more massive than its humanoid peers with girth and density accounted, much of the Malroquo's external body is prominently lined with visibly-striated muscle tissue that is tempered from its typical form to effectively serve as a moderately-durable, leathery natural hide. The Malroquo additionally possesses a jagged, bluish crystal-like shell upon its upper-posterior, covering from its waistline to its shoulders (or the equivalents thereof, in any case) and representing, as one might easily deduce from appearances, another form of built-in protection for the animal: the crystalline structure is on par with many forms of bone damage-absorption-wise, but its usefulness is limited by how little of the overall body it covers. Rather peculiarly, though, the creature's tenderly fleshy head is among its only parts to bear no protective features of note whatsoever, a weakness for which the Malroquo's toughness elsewhere may very well have been developed to compensate… or vice versa. All in all as trauma-resistance goes, the durability values of varying Malroquo specimens start around 800 and peak near 1,200.

 

As for means of attacking prey and/or actively defending itself, a Malroquo generally has two forms of physical aggression at its disposal, the first and arguably primary of these being its large and powerful hands which boast both surprisingly well-formed and articulate sets of fingers and jagged, spiny formations upon their knuckles and wrists, which effectively enhance punching ability while also aiding in the breaking-through of miscellaneous surfaces for other purposes outside of hostile engagement. The beast's other, less-frequently-practical method of attack lies in its feet and the functional, reflex-activated pincers mounted in the fronts of their bases, which are often made use of in conjunction with the simultaneous kicking of two of the Malroquo's legs; the intended result of this maneuver is akin to a pinning tackle, although it has been demonstrated in numerous cases to be a less-than-reliable attack, particularly against sufficiently fast-reflexed humanoids including Ojohkeys.

 

The greatest assets of the Malroquo species, however, lie not in their physical statistics as combatants but in the less-obviously-visible fields of adaptability, with the creatures being more-than-reasonably able to survive and thrive in a very wide range of environment types, including just about all of planet Nonfialy's naturally-occurring biome variations, and communication among others of their own kind to cooperative ends, which is especially impressive considering that Malroquo do not operate in packs by default. Rather, they simply possess the situational discretion and cooperativeness among each other to converge into groups whenever a task is perceived to be worth undertaking yet too monumental for any one of them to individually accomplish. The most recurrent of Malroquo group undertakings has been observed to be the construction of communal nesting grounds, which is often preceded by the mass-clearing-out of debris and/or rival creatures from the sites chosen to serve as such. Also common is the raiding of food stocks from supply-bases belonging to local Ojohkeys, who usually respond to incidents of this nature by going out in armed groups and slaughtering Malroquo on an almost military scale before quickly and inevitably growing bored of this, declaring their vengeance to be exacted and returning home.

13 janvier 2016 : proces VINCI contre NDDL au Tribunal de Grande Instance de Nantes

Another instance of medieval technology,...

 

Olympus XA, Zuiko 35mm, f2,8, Kodak Tti-x 400, (200) Spur Acurol N, 20 Celsius degrees, 14 min.

St Ethelbert, Hessett, Suffolk

 

Hessett is a fairly ordinary kind of village to the east of Bury St Edmunds, but its church is one of the most important in East Anglia for a number of reasons, which will become obvious. Consider for one moment, if you will, the extent to which the beliefs and practices of a religious community affect the architecture of its buildings. Think of a mosque, for instance. Often square, expressing the democracy of Islam, but without any imagery of the human figure, for such things are proscribed. Think of a synagogue, focused towards the Holy Scriptures in the Ark, but designed to enable the proclaiming of the Word, and the way that early non-conformist chapels echo this architecture of Judaism - indeed, those who built the first free churches, like Ipswich's Unitarian Chapel, actually called them synagogues.

 

The shape of a church, then, is no accident. A typical Suffolk perpendicular church of the 15th century has wide aisles, to enable liturgical processions, a chancel for the celebration of Mass, places for other altars, niches for devotional statues, a focus towards the Blessed Sacrament in the east, a roof of angels to proclaim a hymn of praise, a large nave for devotional and social activities, and wall paintings of the Gospels and hagiographies of Saints, of the catechism and teachings of the Catholic Church. As Le Corbusier might have said if he'd been around at the time, a medieval church is a machine for making Catholicism happen.

 

No longer, of course. The radical and violent fracture in popular religion in the middle years of the 16th century gave birth to the Church of England, and the new church inherited buildings that were quite unsuitable for the new congregational protestant theology, a problem that the Church of England has never entirely solved.

 

Over the centuries, the problem has been addressed in different ways. The early reformers celebrated communion at a table in the nave, for example, and blocked off the chancel for other uses. Although this was challenged by the Laudian party in the early part of the 17th century, it was the way that many parishes reinvented their buildings, and most were to stay like that until the middle years of the 19th century. Some went further. A pulpit placed halfway down the nave, or even at the back of the church, meant that the seating could be arranged so that it no longer focused towards the east, thus breaking the link with Catholic (and Laudian) sacramentalism. For several centuries, Anglican churches focused on the pulpit rather than the altar.

 

With the coming to influence of the 19th century Oxford Movement, all this underwent another dramatic change, with the great majority of our medieval parish churches having their interiors restored to their medieval integrity, reinventing themselves as sacramental spaces. This is the condition in which we find most of them today, and some Anglican theologians are asking the question that the Catholic Church asked itself at Vatican II in the 1960s - is a 19th century liturgical space really appropriate for the Church of the 21st century?

 

So, let us hasten at once to Hessett. The church sits like a glowing jewel in its wide churchyard, right on the main road through the village. It is pretty well perfect if you are looking for a fine Suffolk exterior. An extensive 15th century rebuilding enwraps the earlier tower, which was crowned by the donor of the rebuilding, John Bacon.The nave and aisles are deliciously decorated, reminding one rather of the church at neighbouring Rougham, although this is a smaller church, and the aisles make it almost square. A dedicatory inscription on the two storey vestry in the north east corner bids us pray for the souls of John and Katherine Hoo, who donated the chancel and paid for the trimmings to the aisles. Their inscription has been damaged by protestant reformers, who obviously did not believe in the efficacy of prayers for the dead.

 

Although not comparable with that at Woolpit, the dressed stone porch is a grand affair, and a bold statement. You may find the south door locked, but if this is the case then the priest's door into the chancel is usually open. And in a way it is a good church to enter via the chancel, because in this way St Ethelbert unfolds its treasures slowly.You step into relative darkness - or, at least, it seems so in comparison with the nave beyond the rood screen. This is partly a result of the abundance of dark wood, and in truth the chancel seems rather overcrowded. The most striking objects in view are the return stalls, which fill the two westerly corners of the chancel. These are in the style of a college or school of priests, with their backs to the rood screen, but then 'returning' around the walls to the east. They are fine, and are certainly 15th or 16th century. But one of the stalls, that to the north, is different to the others, and seems slightly out of place. It is elaborately carved with faces, birds and foliage.

 

Mortlock thought that it might have been intended for a private house. The stall in front of it has heads on it that appear to be wearing 18th century wigs. The sanctuary is largely Victorianised, with a great east window depicting Saints. The south windows of the chancel depict a lovely Adoration scene by the O'Connors. The chancel is separated from the nave by the 15th century rood screen, which is elegantly painted and gilt on the west side, the beautifully tracery intricately carved above. The rood screen has been fitted with attractive iron gates, presumably evidence of Anglo-catholic enthusiasm here in the early 20th century, and you step down through them into the light. A first impression is that you are entering a much older space than the one you have left. There is an 18th century mustiness, enhanced by the box pews that line the aisles. And, beyond, on walls and in windows, are wonderful things.

 

The number of surviving wall paintings in England is a tiny fraction of those which existed before the 15th and 16th centuries. All churches had them, and in profusion. It isn't enough to say that they were a 'teaching aid' of a church of illiterate peasants. In the main, they were devotional, and that is why they were destroyed. However, it is more complicated than that. Research in recent years has indicated that many wall paintings were destroyed before the Reformation, perhaps a century before. In some churches, they have been punched through with Perpendicular windows, which are clearly pre-Reformation. In the decades after the Black Death, there seems to have been a sea change in the liturgical use of these buildings, a move away from an individualistic, devotional usage to a corporate liturgical one. There is a change of emphasis towards more education and exegesis. This is the time that pulpits and benches appear, long before protestantism was on the agenda. What seems to happen is that many buildings were intended now to be full of light, and devotional wall paintings were either whitewashed, or replaced with catechetical ones.

 

The decoration of the nave was the responsibility of the people of the parish, not of the Priest. The wall paintings of England can be divided into roughly three groups. Roughly speaking, the development of wall paintings over the later medieval period is in terms of these three overlapping emphases.

 

Firstly, the hagiographies - stories of the Saints. These might have had a local devotion, although some saints were popular over a wide area, and most churches seem to have supported a devotion to St Christopher right up until the Reformation.

 

Secondly came those which illustrate incidents in the life of Christ and his mother, the Blessed Virgin. Although partly pedagogical, they were also enabling tools, since private devotions often involved a contemplation upon them, and at Mass the larger part of those present would have been involved in private devotions. These scriptural stories were as likely to have been derived from apocryphal texts like the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew as from the actual Gospels themselves.

 

Lastly, there are catechetical wall paintings, illustrating the teachings of the Catholic church. It should not be assumed that these are dogmatic. Many are simply artistic representations of stories, and others are simplifications of theological ideas, as with the seven deadly sins and the seven cardinal virtues. Some warn against occasions of sin (gossiping, for example) and generally wall paintings provided a local site for discussion and exemplification.

 

To an extent, all the above is largely true of stained glass, as well, with the caveat that stained glass was more expensive, relied on local patronage, and often has this patronage as a subtext, hence the large number of heraldic devices and images of local worthies. But it was also devotional, and so it was also destroyed.

 

So - what survives at Hessett? The wall paintings first.

 

Starting in the south east corner of the nave, we have Suffolk's finest representation of St Barbara, presenting a tower. St Barbara was very popular in medieval times, because she was invoked against strikes by lightning and sudden fires. This resulted from her legend, for her father, on finding her to be a Christian, walled her up in a tower until she repented. As a result, he was struck by lightning, and reduced to ashes. She was also the patron saint of the powerful building trade, and as such her image graced their guild altars - perhaps that was the case here.

 

Above the south door is another figure, often identified as St Christopher, but I do not think that this can be the case. St Christopher is found nowhere else in Suffolk above a south door. The traditional iconography of this mythical saint is not in place here, and it is hard to see how this figure could ever have been interpreted as such. I suspect it is a result of an early account confusing the two images over the north and south doors, and the mistake being repeated in later accounts.

 

In fact, digital enhancement seems to suggest that there are two figures above the south door, overlapping each other slightly. The figure on the right is barefoot, that on the left is wearing a white gown. There appears to be water under their feet, and so I think this is an image of the Baptism of Christ. Perhaps it was once part of a sequence.

 

The wall painting opposite, above the north door, is St Christopher. Although it isn't as clear as himself at, say, nearby Bradfield Combust, he bestrides the river in the customary manner, staff in hand. The Christ child is difficult to discern, but you can see the fish in the water. Also in the water, and rather unusual, are two figures. They are rendered rather crudely, almost like gingerbread men. Could they be the donors of the north aisle, John and Katherine Hoo in person?

 

Moving along the north aisle, we come to the set of paintings for which Hessett is justifiably famous. They are set one above the other between two windows, at the point where might expect the now-vanished screen to a chapel to have been. The upper section was here first. It shows the seven deadly sins (described wrongly in some text books as a tree of Jesse, or ancestry of Christ). Two devils look on as, from the mouth of hell, a great tree sprouts, ending in seven images. Pride is at the top, and in pairs beneath are Gluttony and Anger, Vanity and Envy, Avarice and Lust. Mortlock suggests that some attempt has been made to erase the image for Lust, which may simply be mid-16th century puritan prurience on the part of some reformer here. This would suggest that this catechetical tool was here right up until the Reformation.

 

The idea of 'Seven Deadly Sins' was anathema to the reformers, because it is entirely unscriptural. Rather, as a catechetical tool, it is a way of drawing together a multitude of sins into a simplistic aide memoire. This could then be used in confession, taking each of them one at a time and examining ones conscience accordingly. It should not be seen simply as a 'warning' to ignorant peasants, for the evidence is that the ordinary rural people of late medieval England were theologically very articulate. Rather, it was a tool for use, in contemplation and preparation for the sacrament of reconciliation, which may well have ordinarily taken place in the chapel here.

 

The wall painting beneath the Sins is even more interesting. This is a very rare 'Christ of the Trades', and dates from the early 15th century, about a hundred years after the painting above. It is rather faded, and takes a while to discern, and not all of it is decodable. However, enough is there to be fascinating. The image of the 'Christ of the Trades' is known throughout Christendom, and contemporary versions with this can be found in other parts of Europe. It shows the risen Christ in the centre, and around him a vast array of the tools and symbols of various trades. One theory is that it depicts activities that should not take place on a Sunday, a holy day of obligation to refrain from work, and that these activities are wounding Christ anew.

 

Perhaps the most fascinating symbol, and the one that everyone notices, is the playing card. It shows the six of diamonds. Does it represent the makers of playing cards? If so, it might suggest a Flemish influence. Or could it be intended to represent something else? Whatever, it is one of the earliest representations of a playing card in England. Why is this here? It may very well be that there was a trades gild chantry chapel at the east end of the north aisle, and this painting was at its entrance.

 

At the east end of the north aisle now is the church's set of royal arms. Cautley saw it in the vestry in the 1930s, and identified it as a Queen Anne set. Now, with additions stripped away, it is revealed as a Charles II set from the 1660s, and a very fine one. It is fascinating to see it at such close range. Usually, they are set above the south door now, although they would originally have been placed above the chancel arch, in full view of the congregation, a gentle reminder of who was in charge.

 

And so to the glass, which on its own would be worth coming to Hessett to see. Few Suffolk churches have such an expanse, none have such a variety, or glass of such quality and interest. It consists essentially of two ranges, the life and Passion of Christ in the north aisle (although some glass has been reset across the church), and images and hagiographies of Saints in the south aisle.

 

In the north aisle, the scourging of Christ stands out, the wicked grins of the persecutors contrasting with the pained nobility of the Christ figure. In the next window, Christ rises from the dead, coming out of his tomb like the corpses in the doom paintings at Stanningfield, North Cove and Wenhaston. The Roman centurion sleeps soundly in the foreground.

 

The most famous image is in the east window of the south aisle. Apparently, it shows a bishop holding the chain to a bag, with four children playing at his feet. I say apparently, because there is rather more going on here than meets the eye. The reason that this image is so famous is that the small child in the foreground is holding what appears to be a golf club or hockey stick, and this would be the earliest representation of such an object in all Europe. The whole image has been said to represent St Nicholas, who was a Bishop, and whose legends include a bag of gold and a group of children.

 

Unfortunately, this is not the case. St Nicholas is never symbolised by a bag of gold, and there are three children in the St Nicholas legend, not four. In any case, the hand in the picture is not holding the chain to a bag at all, but a rosary, and the hockey stick is actually a fuller's club, used for dyeing clothes, and the symbol of St James the Less.

 

What has happened here is that the head of a Bishop has been grafted on to the body of a figure which is probably still in its original location. The three lights of this window contained a set of the Holy Kinship. The light to the north of the 'Bishop' contains two children playing with what ae apparently toys, but when you look closely you can see that one is holding a golden shell, and the other a poisoned chalice. They are the infant St James and St John, and the lost figure above them was their mother, Mary Salome.

 

This means that the figure with the Bishop's head is actually Mary Cleophas, mother of four children including St James the Less. The third light to the south, of course, would have depicted the Blessed Virgin and child, but she is lost to us.

 

Not only this, but Hessett has some very good 19th Century glass which complements and does not overly intrude. The best is beneath the tower, the west window in a fully 15th Century style of scenes by Clayton & Bell. The east window, depicting saints, is by William Warrington, and the chancel also has the O'Connor glass already mentioned.

 

If the windows and wall paintings were all there was, then Hessett would be remarkable enough. But there is something else, two things, actually, that elevate it above all other Suffolk churches, and all the churches of England. For St Ethelbert is the proud owner of two unique survivals. At the back of the church is a chest, no different from those you'll find in many a parish church. In common with those, it has three separate locks, the idea being that the Rector and two Churchwardens would have a key each, and it would be necessary for all three of them to be present for the chest to be opened. It was used for storing parish records and valuables.

 

At some point, one of the keys was lost. There is an old story about the iconoclast William Dowsing turning up here and demanding the chest be opened, but on account of the missing key it couldn't be. Unfortunately, this story isn't true, for Dowsing never recorded a visit Hessett. The chest was eventually opened in the 19th century. Inside were found two extraordinary pre-Reformation survivals. These are a pyx cloth and a burse. The pyx cloth was draped over the wooden canopy that enclosed the blessed sacrament (one of England's four surviving medieval pyxes is also in Suffolk, at Dennington) before it was raised above the high altar. The burse was used to contain the host before consecration at the Mass. They are England's only surviving examples, and they're both here. Or, more precisely they aren't, for both have been purloined by the British Museum, the kind of theft that no locked church can prevent.

 

But there are life-size photos of both either side of the tower arch. The burse is basically an envelope, and features the Veronica face of Christ on one side with the four evangelistic symbols in each corner. On the other is an Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God. The survival of both is extraordinary. It is one thing to explore the furnishings of lost Catholic England, quite another to come face to face with articles that were actually used in the liturgy.

 

In front of the pictures stands the font, a relatively good one of the early 15th century, though rather less exciting than everything going on around it. The dedicatory inscription survives, to a pair of Hoos of an earlier generation than the ones on the vestry.Turning east again, the ranks of simple 15th century benches are all of a piece with their church. They have survived the violent transitions of the centuries, and have seated generation after generation of Hessett people. They were new here when this church was alive with coloured light, with the hundreds of candles flickering on the rood beam, the processions, the festivals, and the people's lives totally integrated with the liturgy of the seasons. For the people of Catholic England, their religion was as much a part of them as the air they breathed. They little knew how soon it would all come to an end.

 

And so, there it is - one of the most fascinating and satisfactory of all East Anglia's churches. And yet, not many people know about it. We are only three miles from the brown-signed honeypot of Woolpit, where a constant stream of visitors come and go. I've visited Hessett many times, and never once encountered another visitor. Still, there you are, I suppose. Perhaps some places are better kept secret. But come here if you can, for here is a medieval worship space with much surviving evidence of what it was actually meant to be, and meant to do.

Four lion cubs of Oshana and Izu, born on June 22,,2014 at Lion Camp.There is one male and three females named: Ernest, Evelyn, Marion and Miss Ellen.

 

An African lion’s life is all about napping, and resting with short bursts of intense activity, play, clawing at trees, followed by more sleeping that can total up to 21 hours a day! Lions are primarily nocturnal, although seem to be most active at twilight.

 

The African lion is the only large cat that is social. Lions live in groups which are called prides. All of a pride’s lionesses are related. At Lion camp, the Male is Izu. the two females are Oshana and Mina, and they are sisters.

 

Lions are the only members of the cat family to display obvious sexual dimorphism – that is, males and females look distinctly different. They also have specialized roles that each gender plays in the pride. For instance, the lioness, is the hunter, while the male Lion stands guard patrolling their territory to defend it from intruders.

 

Africa's lions are considered to be threatened by their environment because of habitat loss, loss of prey and increased human-lion conflicts, according to The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 

Hope you enjoyed my pics!

 

All rights reserved ©Pix.by.PegiSue

www.flickr.com/photos/pix-by-pegisue/

~Protect animals and wild life habitat around the World‎! ~

 

Taken @ San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Escondido, CA

www.EndExtinction.org

 

Geeks on the web tend to gravitate to elaborate lists to break down competing gadgets. In the case of Apple, they usually break out a list that features a lot of what's missing from a Apple product, without mentioning what's missing from a competing product.

 

For instance, I've seen many lists that compare the Nexus One to the iPhone. While the lists always seem to mention the fact that the iPhone doesn't have multi-tasking (for third party apps) they seem to omit the fact that the Nexus One doesn't have a good native music app or support Multi-touch for native apps. And if you bring up the Multi-touch flaw, the Android Fanboys will argue that you can get Multi-touch for third party apps, which to them, makes the point irrelevant. Of course, I invariably counter with the fact that the iPhone does have multi-tasking for NATIVE APPS, the logic being that if you're going to omit one flaw for the Nexus One based on a technicality, then you got to do the same for multi-tasking on the iPhone. Fair is fair.

 

But I digress. I present the 10 Reasons to buy an iPad. To prove that I'm not a total Fanboy (even though I am), I've included 5 things missing from the current iPad.

  

10 Reasons to buy the iPad.

 

1) 3G. The 3G plan is great. $15 for a plan with a 250 MB cap or $30 for unlimited. The iPad comes with a built-in mic and headphone jack, which means you can connect the default headphones that feature the mic that people use to make Skype calls on the iPod Touch. That means the iPad can replace my cell phone and unlike the iPod Touch, I can use it anywhere, not just in places that have Wi-Fi.

 

2) The Mac-Like Apps. The default apps on the iPad are actually more like Mac apps, but optimized for Multi-touch. I've watched several videos of people using the iPad and the apps are more fully featured than the ones on the iPhone or iPod Touch. The apps in iWork would have never worked on an iPhone for instance. The iPad apps have new features like Popovers and Split Views, which again, take advantage of the larger screen real estate. The faster processor speed means more robust apps. Maybe the iPad won't be able to run the 2009 version of Photoshop, but it definitely will be able to run something equivalent to the 2001 version of Photoshop. This is huge and will create a variety of apps that are a vast improvement over the current apps available in the App Store, to say nothing of the fully featured games that will now come out for the iPad.

 

3) The App Store. There are 140,000 apps available from the start. You don't have to wait for apps, like say, the people who are waiting for stuff to come out on Android. And the SDK has already been released, which means many developers will have enhanced their apps specifically for the iPad before it even launches.

 

4) The Bigger Screen. Multi-touch is going to be much easier to manage on the iPad than on a little screen. The reading is going to be much easier than an iPhone screen. You don't have to pinch to enlarge as often on the iPad screen.

 

5) Video. Because of the bigger screen, the movies and video will be desktop resolution. Also, one of the less talked about features are the external speakers. Assuming you use the dock or a third party stand, the external speakers will allow you to watch video or movies like you would a regular TV.

 

6) The Battery Life. The battery is 10 hours for constant use, with 30 DAYS of standby time. That's good enough for me. I don't plan on reading e-books more than 10 hours. Maybe 5, tops. Steve Jobs made a similar comment the day of the iPad Keynote to Walt Mossberg, saying in effect that no one would be reading for more than 10 hours, which for some reason enraged a lot of people. My question, who are these people who have more than 10 hours of time to read? What kind of jobs do you people have? Please send me an e-mail and let me know where to sign up.

 

7) The Weight. The iPad's weight is much better than a Laptop. If I got to bolt from the house for a few minutes, maybe wait in line at the post office, I would much rather have an iPad with me. A laptop is just not feasible in situations where you're waiting in line somewhere with nothing to rest the laptop on and the availability of iWork on the iPad means that I'll actually be able to do some real work.

 

8) The iPhone OS. Because Apple decided to use the iPhone OS instead of the Mac OS, we actually have a large selection of games, which means the iPad is the largest portable gaming device on the market. The iPhone OS also happens to be so simple to use that babies have been given the device and were able to figure it out, but now we have that same easy to use OS on an oversized device. This will be huge for people who are scared of computers. Apple is ushering in a new era of computer as appliance. It doesn't surprise me in the least that geeks don't quite get it yet (or maybe they DO get it and are angry that their technical support won't be needed any longer).

 

9) The Price. The price is essentially the same as the iPhone three years ago, but the features are bigger and more robust than the iPhone.

 

10) No Flash. Unlike many geeks, the option for no flash is actually a selling point for me. If the iPad were to become an unqualified hit, it would signal the death knell for Flash, especially if the iPad became THE default device for the mobile web, much like the iPhone and iPod touch are becoming that now. It only takes a couple of major companies saying no to a standard to kill it in its tracks. This is a major reason why Microsoft never got a major foothold on standards governing the internet. Apple's banning of WMA and WMV file formats from iTunes caused their marginalization in the market. Sure, those formats are still around, but they don't dominate like MP3 and AAC.

 

twitpic.com/10fjic

  

5 Things I would like to see in future iPads.

 

1) A TV Tuner. For the life of me, I can't understand why Apple doesn't have TV Tuners in all their Macs. I've managed to solve this omission on my iMac by buying a TV Tuner from Elgato, the makers of the popular EyeTV software, but come on Apple, this would make the iPad an alternative TV! This would be the start of something very huge. I'm not advocating that the TV Tuner be integrated into the iPad itself, because TV Tuners need either bulky digital antennas or to be connected to coax cable to work properly and that obviously won't work for a mobile device, but if the tuner could be integrated into that dock that allows the iPad to be free standing, I could set this iPad on my entertainment center and stream TV signals. The iPad is just screaming for this!

 

2) A Camera. Although I consider myself a geek by a wide margin, I am fairly enlightened when it comes to the desires of the ordinary consumer (which is why I want a TV Tuner for this thing), but you just can't have modern gadgets without slapping on a camera somewhere. It's just not permitted. Of course, I would be remiss to forget all the tech analysts who said that the original iPhone wouldn't be good for Enterprise because it featured a camera, which are banned by plenty of corporations. I'm quite sure a lot of those same dicks are currently bashing the iPad for not having a camera. Of course, the iPad is being marketed as a consumer level device, so I might have to agree with them here. The iPad should have a camera, just to shut the dirty masses up.

 

3) Multi-tasking. Even though I don't think most regular consumers are even aware that the current iPhone and iPod Touches don't feature multi-tasking, except for native apps, I still think it would be nice if we just had the OPTION for multi-tasking for third party apps. Heck, Apple, turn off multi-tasking by default, code in a pop-up that warns me of the decreased battery life and the consequences for performance for enabling multi-tasking, but for the love of God, GIVE ME A CHOICE. I would be satisfied with the ability to run only three apps at a time. I'm not asking for much.

 

4) A full iTunes client. Apple provided a blazing fast processor for the iPad and ported versions of desktop apps like Pages, Keynote and Numbers to the iPad, but they can't port the desktop version of iTunes? What gives! With the iPad's big screen, I should be able to manage my music, I shouldn't have to tether it to a desktop. If Steve Jobs truly wants the iPad to kill netbooks, it's going to have to be in some ways as robust as a netbook. The upgrades of the native iPhone apps and the addition of iWork are steps in the right direction, but I believe iTunes is even more important.

 

5) One USB slot. I've got my geek hat on now, and the geek inside tells me that a USB slot would be good for stuff like file transfer, you know, adding a little external flash drive and moving stuff like pictures from digital cameras. Theoretically, Bluetooth will suffice for printing and other functions, but USB comes with the added bonus of shutting up all the other annoying geeks who HAVE to have a USB connector for some reason (If you think I'm just adding a USB slot to fill out my list with five items, because four would be awkward, you're probably right).

 

For those of you shaking with anger that your unicorn wishes for the iPad didn't pan out, maybe you need to relax and watch the wisdom of Louis C.K., you spoiled brats.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN0MpBQG3-E

 

St Ethelbert, Hessett, Suffolk

 

Consider for one moment, if you will, the extent to which the beliefs and practices of a religious community affect the architecture of its buildings. Think of a Mosque, for instance. Often square, expressing the democracy of Islam, but without any imagery of the human figure, for such things are proscribed. Think of a Synagogue, focused towards the Holy Scriptures in the Ark, but designed to enable the proclaiming of the Word, and the way that early non-conformist chapels echo this architecture of Judaism - indeed, those who built the first free churches, like Ipswich's Unitarian Chapel, actually called them synagogues.

 

The shape of a church, then, is no accident. A typical Suffolk perpendicular church of the 15th century has wide aisles, to enable liturgical processions, a chancel for the celebration of Mass, places for other altars, niches for devotional statues, a focus towards the Blessed Sacrament in the east, a roof of angels to proclaim a hymn of praise, a large nave for devotional and social activities, and wall paintings of the Gospels and hagiographies of Saints, of the catechism and teachings of the Catholic Church.

 

As Le Corbusier might have said if he'd been around at the time, a medieval church is a machine for making Catholicism happen.

 

No longer, of course. The radical and violent fracture in popular religion in the middle years of the 16th century gave birth to the Church of England, and the new church inherited buildings that were quite unsuitable for the new congregational protestant theology - a problem that, to some extent, the Church of England has never entirely solved.

 

Over the centuries, the problem has been addressed in different ways; celebrating Communion at a table in the nave, for example, and blocking off the chancel for other uses. Although this was challenged by the Laudian party in the early part of the 17th century, it was the way that many parishes reinvented their buildings, and most were to stay like that until the middle years of the 19th century. Some went further: a pulpit placed halfway down the nave, or even at the back of the church, meant that the seating could be arranged so that it no longer focused towards the east, thus breaking the link with Catholic (and Laudian) sacramentalism. For several centuries, Anglican churches focused on the pulpit rather than the altar.

 

With the coming to influence of the 19th century Oxford Movement, all this underwent another dramatic change, with the great majority of our medieval parish churches having their interiors restored to their medieval integrity, reinventing themselves as sacramental spaces. This is the condition in which we find most of them today, and some Anglican theologians are asking the question that the Catholic Church asked itself at Vatican II in the 1960s - is a 19th century liturgical space really appropriate for the Church of the 21st century?

 

This may seem like a digression, but I hope it will become apparent why I've raised it. For similar questions have been asked throughout the history of Christianity.

 

So, let us hasten at once to Hessett. Here we are, roughly halfway between Bury and Stowmarket - like nearby Woolpit, this must once have been a more important place than it is today, and perhaps St Ethelbert gives us evidence of that.

 

The church sits like a glowing jewel in its wide churchyard, right on the main road through the village. It is pretty well perfect if you are looking for a fine Suffolk exterior. An extensive 15th century rebuilding enwraps the earlier tower, which was crowned by the donor of the rebuilding, John Bacon.The nave and aisles are deliciously decorated, reminding me rather of neighbouring Rougham, although this is a small church, and the aisles make it almost square. A dedicatory inscription on the two storey vestry in the north east corner bids us pray for the souls of John and Katherine Hoo, who donated the chancel and paid for the trimmings to the aisles. Their inscription has been damaged by protestant reformers, who obviously did not believe in the efficacy of prayers for the dead.

 

Although not comparable with Woolpit, the porch is a grand affair, and a bold statement. You may find the south door locked, but if this is the case then the priest's door into the chancel is usually open. If both are locked, then there is a keyholder, because the people of this parish really want you to see inside this church. And it is as well that they do, for, if you didn't know already, this is one of the most fascinating interiors in the county.

 

In a way, it is rather good to enter it from the chancel, because in this way St Ethelbert unfolds its treasures slowly.You step into relative darkness - or, at least, it seems so in comparison with the nave beyond the rood screen. This is partly a result of the abundance of dark wood, and in truth the chancel appears rather overcrowded. The most striking objects in view are the return stalls, which fill the two westerly corners of the chancel. These are in the style of a college or school of priests, with their backs to the rood screen, but then 'returning' around the walls to the east. They are fine, and are certainly 15th or 16th century. But one of the stalls, that to the north, is different to the others, and seems slightly out of place. It is elaborately carved with faces, birds and foliage.

 

Mortlock thought that it might have been intended for a private house. The stall in front of it has heads on it that appear to be wearing 18th century wigs, although I don't know enough about furniture to be sure if this is the case (or about wigs, for that matter). The sanctuary is largely Victorianised, with a great east window depicting Saints. The south windows of the chancel depict a lovely Adoration scene by the O'Connors.

 

The chancel is separated from the nave by the 15th century rood screen, which is elegantly painted and gilt on the west side, the beautifully tracery intricately carved above. The rood screen has been fitted with attractive iron gates, presumably evidence of Anglo-catholic enthusiasm here in the early 20th century, and you step down through them into the light. A first impression is that you are entering a much older space than the one you have left. There is an 18th century mustiness, enhanced by the box pews that line the aisles. And, beyond, on walls and in windows, are wonderful things.

 

The number of surviving wall paintings in England is a tiny fraction of what existed before the 15th and 16th centuries. All churches had them, and in profusion. It isn't enough to say that they were a 'teaching aid' of a church of illiterate peasants. In the main, they were devotional, and that is why they were destroyed. However, it is more complicated than that. Reseach in recent years has indicated that many wall paintings were destroyed before the Reformation, perhaps a century before. In some churches, they have been punched through with Perpendicular windows, which are clearly pre-Reformation. In the decades after the Black Death, there seems to have been a sea change in the liturgical use of these buildings, a move away from an individualistic, devotional usage to a corporate liturgical one. THere is a change of emphasis towards more education and exegesis. This is the time that pulpits and benches appear, long before protestantism was on the agenda. What seems to happen is that many buildings were intended now to be full of light, and devotional wall paintings were either whitewashed, or replaced with catechetical ones.

 

The decoration of the nave was the responsibility of the people of the parish, not of the Priest. The wall paintings of England can be divided into roughly three groups. Roughly speaking, the development of wall paintings over the later medieval period is in terms of these three overlapping emphases.

 

Firstly, the hagiographies - stories of the Saints. These might have had a local devotion, although some saints were popular over a wide area, and most churches seem to have included a devotion to St Christopher right up until the Reformation.

 

Secondy came those which illustrate incidents in the life of Christ and his mother, the Blessed Virgin. Although partly pedagogical, they were also enabling tools, since private devotions often involved a contemplation upon them, and at Mass the larger part of those present would have been involved in private devotions.

 

Lastly, there are catechetical wall paintings, illustrating the teachings of the Catholic church. It should not be assumed that these are dogmatic - many are simply artistic representations of stories, and others are simplifications of theological ideas - the seven deadly sins and the seven cardinal virtues, for example. Some warn against occasions of sin (gossiping, for example) and generally wall paintings provide a local site for discussion and exemplification.

 

To an extent, all the above is largely true of stained glass, as well, with the caveat that stained glass was more expensive, relied on local patronage, and often has this patronage as a subtext, hence the large number of heraldic devices and images of local worthies. But it was also devotional, and so it was also destroyed.

So - what survives at Hessett? The wall paintings first.

 

Starting in the south east corner of the nave, we have Suffolk's finest representation of St Barbara, presenting a tower. St Barbara is a mythical saint, relegated to non-league status in recent years by the Catholic Church, who nevertheless was very popular in early medieval times, because she was invoked against strikes by lightning and sudden fires. This resulted from her legend; her father, on finding her to be a Christian, walled her up in a tower until she repented. As a result, he was struck by lightning, and reduced to ashes. She was also the patron saint of the powerful building trade, and as such her image graced their guild altars - perhaps that was the case here.

 

Above the south door is another figure, often identified as St Christopher, but I do not think that this can be the case. St Christopher is found nowhere else in Suffolk above a south door. The traditional iconography of this mythical saint is not in place here, and it is hard to see how this figure could ever have been interpreted as such. I suspect it is a result of an early account confusing the two images over the north and south doors, and the mistake being repeated in later accounts.

 

In fact, digital enhancement seems to suggest that there are two figures above the south door, overlapping each other slightly. The figure on the left appears to be winged, while the figure on the right is barefoot, and may be carrying a beam or scales. The Archangel St Michael is often shown weighing souls in doom paintings, but I do not think this is part of a doom (again, it would be exceptional for this to appear over a south door) and I do not think it is St Michael.

 

I think that the figure on the left is probably Gabriel, and this is part of a later Annunciation painting overlapping an earlier image, the barefoot man. So who is he? Another suggestion is that it is St John the Baptist, as he is often shown barefoot. But what if the beam of the 'weighing scales' is actually part of a yoke? The supporting beam appears to continue over the figure's right shoulder, but the left side of his body is lost to us.

 

Could it be that it is not a Saint at all, but some representation of an agricultural worker? Perhaps it is part of a larger image (and we should not forget that the surviving paintings are a small part of what must have been there before). Perhaps it is even part of a hagiography - think of the wheel of the bullock cart in the St Edmund sequence at Thornham Parva, interpreted for many years as St Catherine's wheel. However, I wonder if it might even be a lost image of that most circumscribed of East Anglian saints, Walstan. He is carrying a scythe on the wall a few miles off at Cavenham - could this be him here? Whatever, it is likely to be part of a hagiographical sequence which was later replaced by a Life of Christ sequence, which usually ran from west to east along the south wall. This would also explain the location of what might be part of an Annunciation scene.

 

The wall painting opposite, above the north door, is St Christopher. Although it isn't as clear as himself at, say, nearby Bradfield Combust, he bestrides the river in the customary manner, staff in hand. The Christ child is difficult to discern, but you can see the fish in the water. Also in the water, and rather unusual, are two figures. They are rendered rather crudely, almost like gingerbread men. Could they be the donors of the north aisle, John and Katherine Hoo in person?

 

Moving along the north aisle, we come to the set of paintings for which Hessett is justifiably famous. They are set one above the other between two windows, at the point where might expect the now-vanished screen to a chapel to have been. The upper section was here first. It shows the seven deadly sins (described wrongly in some text books as a tree of Jesse, or ancestory of Christ). Two devils look on as, from the mouth of hell, a great tree sprouts, ending in seven images. Pride is at the top, and in pairs beneath are Gluttony and Anger, Vanity and Envy, Avarice and Lust.

 

Mortlock suggests that some attempt has been made to erase the image for Lust, which may simply be mid-16th century Calvinistic prurience on the part of some reformer here. This would suggest that this cathecetical tool was here right up until the Reformation.

 

The idea of 'Seven Deadly Sins' was anathema to the reformers, because it is entirely unscriptural. Rather, as a catechetic tool, it is a way of drawing together a multitude of sins into a simplistic aide memoire. This could then be used in confession, taking each of them one at a time and examining ones conscience accordingly. It should not be seen simply as a 'warning' to ignorant peasants; the evidence is that the ordinary rural people of late medieval England were theologically very articulate. Rather, it was a tool for use, in contemplation and preparation for the sacrament of reconciliation, which may well have ordinarily taken place in the chapel here.

 

The wall painting beneath the Sins is even more interesting. This is a very rare 'Christ of the Trades', and dates from the early 15th century, about a hundred years after the painting above. It is rather faded, and takes a while to discern, and not all of it is decodable. However, enough is there to be fascinating. The image of the 'Christ of the Trades' is known throughout Christendom, and contemporary versions with this can be found in other parts of Europe. It shows the risen Christ in the centre, and around him a vast array of the tools and symbols of various trades. It rises from the medieval perception that Christ was a working man, a carpenter, and it symbolises the dignity of labour and of craftsmanship.

 

I think it is extremely unlikely that it shows symbols of things which shouldn't be done on a Sunday, although Anne Marshall's Painted Churches site contains an interesting argument to the contrary.

 

Perhaps the most fascinating symbol, and the one that everyone notices, is the playing card. It shows the six of diamonds. Does it represent the makers of playing cards? If so, it might suggest a Flemish influence. Or could it be intended to represent something else? Whatever, it is one of the earliest representations of a playing card in England. Why is this here? It may very well be that there was a trades gild chantry chapel at the east end of the north aisle, and this painting was at its entrance.

 

At the east end of the north aisle now is the church's set of royal arms. Cautley saw it in the vestry in the 1930s, and identified it as a Queen Anne set. Now, with additions stripped away, it is revealed as a Charles II set from the 1660s, and a very fine one. It is fascinating to see it at such close range. Usually, they are set above the south door now, although they would originally have been placed above the chancel arch, in full view of the congregation, a gentle reminder of who was in charge.

 

The glass alone is worth coming to Hessett to see. Few Suffolk churches have such an expanse, none have such a variety, or glass of such quality and interest. It consists essentially of three ranges: the life and Passion of Christ in the north aisle (although some glass has been reset across the church), images and hagiographies of Saints in the south aisle, and a heavily restored but nonetheless fascinating sequence of the life of Christ in the west window. This bears close attention, for the fragments set into the restored work include several fascinating details, including the punctured feet of Christ ascending to heaven in a cloud of glory, and a Harrowing of Hell including the crushing of a fallen angel.

 

In the north aisle, the scourging of Christ stands out, the wicked grins of the persecutors contrasting with the pained nobility of the Christ figure. In the next window, Christ rises from the dead, coming out of his tomb like the corpses in the doom paintings at Stanningfield, North Cove and Wenhaston. The Roman centurion sleeps soundly in the foreground.

 

The most famous image is in the east window of the south aisle. Apparently, it shows a bishop holding the chain to a bag, with four children playing at his feet. I say apparently, because there is rather more going on here than meets the eye. The reason that this image is so famous is that the small child in the foreground is holding what appears to be a golf club or hockey stick, and this would be the earliest representation of such an object in all Europe. A rather more sober school of thought argues that it is a fuller's club, used for dying clothes, and the symbol of St James the Less. The whole image has been said to represent St Nicholas, who was a Bishop, and whose legends include a bag of gold and a group of children.

 

Unfortunately, this is not convincing. St Nicholas is never symbolised by a bag of gold, and there are three children in the St Nicholas legend, not four. In any case, the hand in the picture is not holding the chain to a bag at all, but a rosary.

 

What has happened here is that the head of a Bishop has been grafted on to the body of a figure which is probably still in its original location. The three lights of this window contained a set of the Holy Kinship. The light to the north of the 'Bishop' contains two children playing with what ae apparently toys, but when you look closely you can see that one is holding a golden shell, and the other a poisoned chalice. They are the infant St James and St John, and the lost figure above them was their mother, Mary Salome.

 

This means that the figure with the Bishop's head is actually Mary Cleophas, mother of four children including St James the Less, and it really is a fuller's club. The third light to the south, of course, would have depicted the Blessed Virgin and child, but she is lost to us.

 

If the windows and wallpaintings were all there was, then Hessett would be remarkable enough. But there is something else, two things, actually, that elevate it above all other Suffolk churches, and all the churches of England. For St Ethelbert is the proud owner of two unique survivals. At the back of the church is a chest, no different from those you'll find in many a parish church. In common with those, it has three separate locks, the idea being that the Rector and two Churchwardens would have a key each, and it would be necessary for all three of them to be present for the chest to be opened. It was used for storing parish records and valuables.

 

At some point, one of the keys was lost. There is a great story about the iconoclast William Dowsing turning up here and demanding the chest be opened; on account of the missing key, it couldn't be. Unfortunately, this story isn't true: Dowsing never visited Hessett. The chest was eventually opened in the 19th century. Inside were found two extraordinary pre-Reformation survivals. These are a pyx cloth and a burse. The pyx cloth was draped over the wooden canopy that enclosed the blessed sacrament (one of England's four surviving medieval pyxes is also in Suffolk, at Dennington) before it was raised above the high altar. The burse was used to contain the host before consecration at the Mass. They are England's only surviving examples, and they're both here.

 

Or, more precisely they aren't - both have been purloined by the British Museum, the kind of theft that no locked church can prevent.

 

But there are lifesize photos of both either side of the tower arch. The burse is basically an envelope, and features the Veronica face of Christ on one side with the four evangelistic symbols in each corner. On the other is an Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God. The survival of both is extraordinary. It is one thing to explore the furnishings of lost Catholic England, quite another to come face to face with articles that were actually used in the liturgy.

 

In front of the pictures stands the font, a relatively good one of the early 15th century, though rather less exciting than everything going on around it. The dedicatory inscription survives, to a pair of Hoos of an earlier generation than the ones on the vestry.Turning east again, the ranks of simple 15th century benches are all of a piece with their church. They have survived the violent transitions of the centuries, and have seated generation after generation of Hessett people. They were new here when this church was alive with coloured light, with the hundreds of candles flickering on the rood beam, the processions, the festivals, and the people's lives totally integrated with the liturgy of the seasons. For the people of Catholic England, their religion was as much a part of them as the air they breathed. They little knew how soon it would all come to an end.

 

And so, there it is - one of the most fascinating and satisfactory of all East Anglia's churches. And yet, not many people know about it; we are only three miles from the brown-signed honeypot of Woolpit, where a constant stream of visitors come and go. I've visited Hessett many times, and never once encountered another visitor. Still, there you are, I suppose. Perhaps some places are better kept secret. But come here if you can, for here is a medieval worship space with much surviving evidence of what it was actually meant to be, and meant to do.

 

Postscript: I wrote the above in 2000, adapting it in 2003 and 2006. I have left the structure of the narrative as it was when I made those early visits. I have corrected some confusion in the description of the glass, a consequence of my general inability to tell my left from my right. I have also taken the opportunity to go through the text and make myself sound slightly less pompous.

 

One of the delights of Hessett is that there really are genuine mysteries about some of the wall paintings and glass. Digital enhancement has added to these mysteries rather than solving them. In addition, one thing I have learned as I get older, and perhaps a little bit wiser, is that there really are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our early 21st century philosophy. If this has led to an unravelling of the certainties previously offered, then I can only plead that this is another excuse to go back soon.

After two instances of luck with required (for graphics) brown and then purple E400 Cities, plus a random NIS yellow, the one lime line sent along for me to phot was underwhelming by comparison. 498 brings a 58 into Nottingham city centre, down Mansfield Road on 27.7.22

Eclipse time again, and in this instance I actually managed to get one of the 'new' InterConnect quartet in proper sunlight. Almost all the twos, 21222, is on Norman Street making the turn into Lincoln bus station on 15.10.23, having just got back after doing the Sunday 18 which runs with a Skegness vehicle. The Eclipse 2s were extremely common performers on that specific working throughout the autumn.

 

Since the bus is making a hard right turn into the bus station, you can clearly see the guide arm left over from when it worked the Cambridge busway, sticking out in front of the wheel. This is the only one of the four I've noticed the guide arms on, but then again they aren't that easy to spot without a fair amount of steering lock applied. 21221 is also unique in that it has had a couple of opening hopper windows retrofitted in.

 

I was left scratching my head for a while after I took this photo, because even though it was a good, sunny photo, the colour looked duller than when I'd seen 21221/4 on cloudy days. I began to wonder if they were actually painted in slightly different colours... and then Lincolnshire Bus Stop straight up confirmed it. What really doesn't help is the colours of the livery also look VASTLY different depending on the daylight conditions!

 

AE09 GYS

  

...in this instance, it's my favorite home-made soup: Lima Been. I make a ton of it and by the time I've finished it all a week or so later, I swear to myself, I'll never make that damn soup again!

 

Of course I always do.

 

IMG_3623

From the Roll of Honour site (RoH)

www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Acle.html

 

Just like so many parishes during World War 1 the Rector of Acle collected photographs of all the men who were serving in the armed forces. Most of the collections have disappeared but at the back of St Edmund’s Church is the original photograph frame containing pictures of all twenty-eight Acle men who died during the First World War. Due to the diligence of a Church Warden during the 1980’s a second frame contains photographs of the five local men who died in the Second World War.

 

Eastern Daily Press, Monday 19th December 1921: “At Acle yesterday afternoon there was an unusual, and yet most appealing, variation upon the customary method of unveiling war memorials. The Union Jack was drawn away from a granite cross by two orphaned boys, each four or five years old, and each the son of a father who had yielded his life in France. Edward Cushion and Owen Waters were their names.

Twenty-eight men of Acle have fallen in the war; and they have been commemorated in a way that not only honours the dead, but speaks well for the practical good sense of the parishioners. The cross stands ten and a half feet high, the shaft resting on an octagonal base. It occupies a well elevated part of the church yard overlooking the Norwich and Yarmouth main road, at a point which hitherto has been rather dangerous; but now, at the instance of the Churchyard Improvement Committee, has been made much less so.

The cross boldly marks the rounding of the cut-off corner, and a light wooden paling greatly relieves the anxieties of motorists. A kissing gate and a footpath immediately connect the roadway with the memorial.”

For more detail about Acle and the church see the Acle Village web site.

 

1914-1918

 

Alan Cecil Aldis………………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

G/87390 Lance Corporal Aldis, 13th Battalion Middlesex Regiment who died on Sunday 13th October 1918, aged 20 years. When he enlisted at Norwich he is recorded as residing at Thorpe St Andrew. His father was the Station Master at Acle. He is buried at the Delsaux Farm Cemetery, Beugny, Pas de Calais and is also commemorated on the gravestone of his 5 year-old brother in the Churchyard at Acle.

 

His CWGC entry also records that he was born at Holme Hale and that he was the son of Mr & Mrs A Aldis.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=240001

 

Lance Corporal Aldis can be seen here.

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

The accompanying notes are Born 18 August 1898 at Holme Hale, Norfolk; son of Arthur and Hannah Aldis, Station House, Acle; enlisted June 1917; died of wounds at 46 Casualty Clearing Station, France, 13 October 1918.

 

At the time of the 1901 Census, the 2 year old Alan C was living at the Station House, Ditchingham, where his 38 year old father, Arthur, (born Framingham Pigot), was Station Master. Also resident are his 40 year old mother Hannah, (born Marham), and his siblings,

Reginald U…………….aged 9.………….born Fakenham

Hubert H……………….aged 7.…………born Swaffham

Percy G………………..aged 5.………….born Swaffham

Audrey E………………aged 1.…………born Holme Hale

 

Cambrai, 1918: and the Pursuit to the Selle River. 9th - 12th October 1918

In this Battle no less than six battalions of the Regiment took part, or are entitled to the Battle Honour as being in the immediate area of the operations. They are the 1st and 18th Battalions (33rd Division), 4th (37th Division), 1/7th and 1/8th (56th Division) and 13th (24th Division).

freespace.virgin.net/howard.anderson/thebattleofcambrai.htm

Historical Information: The village of St. Aubert was captured in the Pursuit to the Selle (9th-12th October, 1918); and the cemetery was begun by the 24th Division on the 12th.

www.geocities.com/ptrue84020/aubert.html

************************************************************************

Elvin Spencer Bulley………………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

18164 Lance Corporal Bulley, 9th (Service) Battalion Norfolk Regiment who died on Sunday 17th September 1916, aged 32 years. He had lived in Acle for nine or ten years before enlisting and worked as a moulder at Smithdale’s foundry. He was captain of Acle Football Club and a member of the Bowling Club. At the time of his death his brother was fighting beside him in the same trench and was wounded a few hours earlier. He is buried in the Guillemont Road Cemetery on The Somme.

 

His CWGC entry lists him as the son of William and Rosanna Bulley, of Swafield, North Walsham.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=534194

 

No match on Norlink

 

No obvious match on the 1901 Census for England & Wales for either an Elvin, William or Rosanna Bulley\Bully

15th September 1916 Battle of the Somme

The last great Allied effort to achieve a breakthrough came on 15 September in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette with the initial advance made by 11 British divisions (nine from Fourth Army, two Canadian divisions on the Reserve Army sector) and a later attack by four French corps.

The battle is chiefly remembered today as the debut of the tank. The British had high hopes that this secret weapon would break the deadlock of the trenches. Early tanks were not weapons of mobile warfare—with a top speed of 2 mph (3.2 km/h), they were easily outpaced by the infantry—but were designed for trench warfare. They were untroubled by barbed wire obstacles and impervious to rifle and machine gun fire, though highly vulnerable to artillery. Additionally, the tanks were notoriously unreliable; of the 49 tanks available on 15 September, only 32 made it to the start line, and of these, only 21 made it into action

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flers-Courcelette

 

An intense preliminary bombardment began on 12 September and at 6.20am on Friday 15 September the advance began in mist and smoke. XIV Corps attack, on the extreme right, where hopes of breakthrough were pinned, fared badly; 56th Division and 6th Division lost heavily as tanks and artillery support failed to neutralise vital defensive positions

www.cwgc.org/somme/content.asp?menuid=27&id=27&me...

 

151 Soldiers of the 9th Battalion appear to have died on this day, with 6 more the following day. I assume Private Bulley also died from wounds received on the 15th, as it seems unlikely the Norfolks were back in the front line 2 days after such a mauling.

*********************************************************************

Percy Chilvers………………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

It is thought that Percy Chilvers served with the Norfolk Regiment but none of the records of men with that name contain any evidence to associate them with Acle. The most probable entry is:

Percy CHILVERS, Sergeant 200284, 1st/4th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment. Killed in action in Palestine 19th April 1917. Aged 26. Born Tottington, enlisted Norwich. Son of Mrs. Alice Chilvers, of "Shrublands," Brandon Rd., Watton, Thetford, Norfolk. No known grave. Commemorated on Jerusalem Memorial, Israel. Panels 12 to 15.

 

The other two lisyed on CWGC are a Percy aged 32 when he died on the 23/09/1918 serving in France in the 4th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, and Percy Ernest, aged 19 when he died 22/10/1914, serving with the Royal Marines aboard HMS Aboukir.

 

The Percy referred to above is a Percy Read Chilvers.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1644687

He also appears on the Watton War Memorial

 

No match on Norlink

 

The Genes re-united transcription of the 1901 Census has no obvious match for the Percy Read Chilvers who was 26 by April 1917.

 

The most likely match for the 32 year old is more interesting. He would appear to be a 15 years Plumbers Apprentice living at 20 Cambridge Road, Chiswick, having been born at Shepherds Bush, London. This was the home of his parents, George William, aged 41 and a Builders Managers from Docking in Norfolk, and Louisa, aged 41 and also from Norfolk, although the village is indecipherable on the 1901 Census. (The 1891 makes it clear that its Snettisham, although they also have an older child living with them that was born at Snettisham, and who is not present on the 1901 Census). While all their other children were born in London, it could be that the family returned to the county of their parents birth. A high level search of the 1911 Census shows the same individual in the district of Brentford, Middlesex.

 

The most likely match for the 19 year old is a 6 year old born Raveningham, and now living at Brundish Cottage, Raveningham.

 

The 26 year old serving with the 1st/4th Norfolks would have been involved in the disastrous 2nd Battle of Gaza on the 19th April 1917.

 

More than a thousand one hundred of the men of the 54th posted killed wounded or missing were from the two Norfolk regiment battalions, equating to 75% of their strength. Eastern Daily Press "Sunday" section May 5, 2007

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Gaza

 

The 32 year old is listed as serving with the 4th Yorks but that unit had been reduced to a cadre following the German Spring offensives of 1918, and many of the surviving 4th Yorks were now serving in composite Battalions made up of platoons and companys drawn up from similarly depleted units. However, this site states he died a Prisoner of War.

homepage.ntlworld.com/bandl.danby/065Bn1918.html

 

The 19 year was a casualty of the early success that German U-Boats enjoyed against dated British warships in the North Sea.

 

“U9 sinks HMS Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy. The patrol by these elderly ships was much criticised, they were too old and slow with inexperienced crews to put up a decent fight against modern German surface ships. Although the submarine threat at the time was not considered, even by critics of the patrol, the fact that the three ships didn't zigzag was criticised by the board of inquiry, a practice that was widely ignored at the time and even by some ships after the loss of the three cruisers.”

www.worldwar1.co.uk/cressy.htm

**********************************************************************

Sydney George Church………………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

81839 Private Church, 29th Battalion Middlesex Regiment who died on Friday 5th April 1918 aged 37 years. He enlisted in 1915 when he had been married to Kate for three years. He was employed as a miller’s carter. He was admitted to Crowborough hospital in September 1917 suffering from rheumatism caused by exposure to wet and cold. After a further period in hospital at Brighton he died from a tubercular infection. He is buried at Hove Old Cemetery.

 

The CWGC entry also tells us that he was the Son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Daniel Church and had been transferred to the Labour Corps.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=659960

 

No match on Norlink

 

No obvious match on the 1901 Census.

***********************************************************************

Ambrose William Church………………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

41039 Private Church, 8th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers who died on Thursday 16th August 1917. He is shown on the War Memorial as ‘W’ Church and the available records give his first name as Ambrose. He is believed to have been killed at Borry Farm with comrades who also have no known grave but are commemorated on panels 70/72 of the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1628737

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has the 3 year old Acle born Ambrose W. living at Damgate, Acle. This is the household of his parents, Joseph D. ,a 48 year old Corn and Flour Dealer from Acle, and and Martha J. aged 42 and from Somerleyton, Suffolk. Their other children are:-

Percy F……………….aged 17.…………born Acle…..Corn and Flour Dealer

Harry J……………….aged 18.………….born Acle………Corn and Flour Dealer

Elsie J………………..aged 1.…………..born Acle

Daisy B………………aged 13.………….born Acle

Cecil R………………aged 7.…………..born Acle

Walter C……………..aged 11.…………born Acle

 

August 16th 1917

 

The 16th August 1917 was the opening day of the Battle of Langermarck, with the 7th & 8th battalions of the Inniskillings in the first wave.

The fortification in front of 8th battalion was Borry Farm . This was a strongpoint consisting of three concrete dugouts linked by a breastwork. It was garrisoned by at least 100 men and five machine-guns. Both Beck House and Borry Farm were covered from Hills 35 and 37, and from the Potsdam and Bremen redoubts near Zonnebeke.

A and B companies of the 8th Battalion outflanked Borry Farm and managed to advance about 800 yards, keeping in contact with the 7th Inniskillings on their left. A German counter-attack inflicted heavy casualties on these companies, killing, wounding, or capturing all but 30 men.

C company launched frontal and flank attacks on Borry Farm and were reduced to a remnant that took cover in shell holes 50 yards to the west. Increasing German pressure led to the withdrawal of all survivors of the Battalion to their original positions. The battalion had suffered over 60% casualties. At the end of the day, the 16th Division was back where it had started.

freespace.virgin.net/sh.k/3rdypres.html

 

Operation order

 

freespace.virgin.net/sh.k/ordlang.html

***********************************************************************

Ernest Samuel Clarke………………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

17767 Lance Corporal Clarke, 7th (Service) Battalion Norfolk Regiment who died on Thursday 31st August 1916 aged 21 years. He was one of six Acle brothers on active service during the war. Following action on the Somme of 1st July 1916 he suffered gunshot wounds to his head and side at Bouzincourt on 21st August. He died of his wounds in the 1st Canadian General Hospital at Etaples and is buried at the Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais.

 

CWGC entry shows son of Robert and Eliza Clarke, of Acle, Norwich.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=499931

 

No match on Norlink

 

On the 1901 Census, the 5 year old Ernest S, born Acle, is recorded at The Hill, Acle. This is the household of his parents, Robert, a 49 year old Labourer from Acle, and Eliza, aged 42 and also from Acle. Their other children are:-

Edgar………….aged 3.……born Acle

Edward………..aged 8.……born Acle

John A…………aged 12.….born Acle

Louisa M …….. aged 11.…born Acle

Noah………….aged 14.…..born Acle….General servant in sausage factory

Robert J……….aged 21.…born Acle

 

I’m slightly mystified by the reference to Bouzincourt as this was behind the Allied lines at this time from what I can discover, and was the location of a field ambulance station, the next step on the ladder from the front line medical posts. The village received regular artillery bombardments. I can’t find any reference to the 7th Norfolks being in action on either date, (21st or 31st), although they had taken casualties on the 12th during the capture of Skyline Trench.

***********************************************************************

Walter John Cole………………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

18166 Private Cole, 9th (Service) Battalion Norfolk Regiment who died on Friday 31st December 1915 aged 21 years. He was one of a family of seven children born in Acle; his father was a railway platelayer. His Battalion came under heavy German shelling at St Jean in the Ypres Salient on 17th December and it is probable that it was as a result of that action that Walter Cole died. He is buried at the New irish Farm Cemetery north east of Ypres.

 

CWGC entry shows Son of William and Anna M. Cole, of Damgate, Acle, Norfolk.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=452139

 

No match on Norlink

 

On the 1901 Census, the 7 year old Acle born Walter is living at Damgate, Acle. This is the household of his parents, William, a 46 year old Railway Plate Layer from Cambridge, and Anna, aged 39 and from Acle. Their other children, all born Acle, are Annie, (aged 2), Emma, (aged 9) and Louisa, (aged 12).

 

For the rest of 1915 there is little to be told. During November the battalion was in and out of the trenches in the neighbourhood of Ypres, going through the usual monotonous routine of such service in the winter. On November 11 2/Lt G. Glanfield was killed by a shell. December passed in the same way. An extra heavy bombardment on the 19th led to the expectation of a German attack which did not materialise. At this time the Norfolk Battalion was in the trenches near St Jean.

 

1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t...

 

(Slight discrepancy in the dates of the barrage, between the Roll of Honour contributor and the Great War Forum thread author).

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Eric A F Coleman………………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

Second Lieutenant Coleman, Machine Gun Corps who died on Tuesday 31st July 1917. The son of Captain and Mrs George Drury Coleman of Acle he was commissioned in April 1915. It is thought that he originally served in the Norfolk Regiment but by July 1917 he was a member of the Heavy Section of the Machine Gun Corps – later to be known as the Tank Corps. He was in command of a tank at Wieltje on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele when he was killed. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate memorial.

 

CWGC additional information reads Son of the late Capt. Coleman and Mrs. George Drury Coleman; husband of Lilian Coleman, of 5, St. John's Terrace, Wakefield. Native of Acle, Norfolk. His main unit is listed as the Norfolk Regiment but he is attached to the 3rd Battalion Machine Gun Corps. He is only listed as Eric Coleman.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1607255

 

No match on Norlink

 

The most likely match on the 1901 Census is a 12 year old Eric A F, who is a resident pupil at Charles Towers School, Lingfield, (near Reigate). Eric had been born at Coles Hill, Middlesex. Unfortunately there is no obvious match on the 1891 census.

 

Wieltje

 

55 Div

 

165 Bde

 

The division advanced at Zero Hour with 165 Bde front right, 166 Bde front left and 164 Bde in support.

 

Attacking troops in 165 Bde were 1/5th and 1/6th King’s Liverpool Regt. The two battalions reached the Blue Line with little trouble and then attacked Plum Farm from which heavy MG fire was coming. The Farm was captured whilst still under bombardment.

 

1/7th and 1/9th King’s Liverpool Regt then passed through, 1/7 th being held up by fire from Square Farm, the same position that was holding up the HLI of 15th Div at the same time. The Farm fell to the Liverpudlians after several attacks allowing the advance continue to the Black Line. Pommern Redoubt was captured at 9am and a tank captured Bank Farm.

 

166 Bde

 

Despite running into many MG positions, 1/5th King’s Own Regt and 1/5th North Lancashire Regt kept up with the barrage and reached the first objective. 1/10th Liverpool Scottish and 1/5th South Lancashire Regt then passed through, encountering strong opposition from Spree Farm, Capricorn Trench and Pond Farm. 1/5th North Lancs was sent forward to support them. Capricorn Trench fell to the Liverpool Scottish at 9am. Spree Farm and Pond Farm remained in German hands and caused many casualties.

 

164 Bde

 

The brigade joined the battle at 10am. 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers captured Spree Farm supported by the 1/8th Bn (Liverpool Irish). 1/4th Bn, North Lancs supported by 1/4th Bn, King’s Own advanced to the Green Line, capturing five batteries of 77mm guns on the way. The brigade consolidated in touch with 15th Div. Later on the left flank had to withdraw to get in touch with 39th Division troops.

forum.irishmilitaryonline.com/showthread.php?t=11535

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Harry Alfred Richard Crickmore…………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

228816 Private Crickmore, 1/2nd Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment who died on Friday 26th April 1918, aged 19 years. Known to his family as ‘Richard’, he worked as a gardener/handyman when, at the age of seventeen he volunteered for a four-year engagement on 24th August 1914. He served with the 10th and the 3rd Battalion Norfolk Regiment and went to France in December 1915. He suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was returned to hospital in England in September 1916. During his home service he was transferred to the Monmouthshire Regiment with whom he returned to France in December 1917. He suffered further serious head injuries and died at the 3rd Northern General Hospital in Sheffield. He is buried in St Edmunds churchyard at Acle.

 

CWGC notes that he was the Son of Mrs. Lily Elizabeth Crickmore, of The Hill. Acle.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2802329

 

No match on Norlink

 

The most likely match on the 1901 Census is a 2 year old Harry who is living at The Cottage, Great Fransham, the village of his birth. This is the household of his parents, Richard, a 35 year old Woodman\Timber Feller(? - could possibly be Seller) from Bungay, and Lily, aged 26 and from Upton. Their other child is Arthur, (aged 6), while a 15 year old lodger, Sydney Pearce, makes up the rest of the household

 

The 1st/2nd Monmouthshires was the Pioneer Battalion of the 29th Division

www.1914-1918.net/monmouth.htm

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Basil Philip Cushion…………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

235627 Private Cushion, 7th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment who died on Saturday 20th April 1918 aged 35 years. He was married with one son who was one of the boys who unveiled the village War Memorial. He is buried at The Huts Cemetery south of Ypres.

 

CWGC notes that he was the son of John and Clara Cushion, of Reedham, Norfolk; husband of Annie Cushion, of Bridewell Lane, Acle, Norwich.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=156124

 

No match on Norlink

 

At the time of the 1901 Census, the 17 year old Basil P. ,born Reepham, was living at The High Street, Marsham and employed as a Iron Moulder. This is the household of his uncle and aunt, John W Slapp, a 47 year old builder from North Walsham, and Mary M Slapp, aged 29 and from Lowestoft.

 

The 7th Leicesters were in the 21st Division, which lists amongst its battle honours, First Battle of Kemmel. 17-19 Apr 1918.

warpath.orbat.com/divs/21_div.htm

 

This was part of the bigger battle of Lys, which in turn was prompted by the second part of the German Spring Offensive known as Operation Georgette.

www.webmatters.net/belgium/ww1_lys_4.htm

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John Henry Lewis Fayers…………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

MS/2267 Sergeant Fayers 604th M.T. Company attached XV Corps Army Service Corps who died on Thursday 13th September 1917 aged 23 years. John Fayers went to France on 13th August 1914 and posted to 604 Coy when it was formed in November 1915. It was attached to XV Corps Heavy Artillery as Corps Siege Park. Their duties involved the haulage of guns and the supply of ammunition. He is buried at the Zuydcoote Military Cemetery, Nord in France.

 

CWGC notes that he was the son of John and Charlotte Fayers, of 8, Sefton Lane, Southtown, Great Yarmouth.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=617607

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has a 6 year old John Fayers living at 1 Mayhouse Cottages, Great Yarmouth. This was the household of his parents, John, a 43 year old General Labourer from Notting Hill, London and Charlotte, aged 32 and from Besthorpe. Also living with them are their daughter Winifred, aged 2 and born Yarmouth, and their nephew, Ernest Perfecy, (aged under 1 and born Lingwood)

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Harry Larkins Ford…………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

T/345558 Lance Corporal Ford, 108th Company Army Service Corps, who died 5th October 1916, aged 19 years. With his brother Walter he was born and brought up in Acle. He enlisted in the Army and became a driver in the A.S.C. In October 1915 the British Salonika Force and the French arrived in Greece at the request of the Greek Prime Minister to help the Serbs in their fight against Bulgarian oppression. By that time the international force had been reinforced by Serbian and Italians units. The Bulgarian attempted invasion was repulsed near Lake Dorian and at the beginning of October the British began successful operations to capture the Rupell Pass and to advance almost to Serres. It was in this operation that Harry Ford died and is buried at the Karasouli Military Cemetery

 

CWGC notes that he is the son of Donald and Anna M. Ford, of Bridewell Cottage, The Street, Acle, Norwich

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=623203

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has a 3 year old Harry Ford living at Rotten Marsh Road, Acle. This is the household of his parents, Donald, a 39 year old General Labourer from Wymondham, and Anna, aged 40 and from Acle. Also living with them are their other children,

Charles………….aged 1.…….born Acle

Donald………….aged 10.……born Sparham

Ernest…………..aged 16.…….born Acle…………Grocers Apprentice

Walter………….aged 13.……born Acle (see below)

 

A taste of the campaign at this time can be glimpsed here

www.harrys-ww1.co.uk/chapter6a.html

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Walter Charles Ford…………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

9913 Private Ford, 2nd Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment who died on Wednesday 24th March 1915 aged 29 years. Brother to Harry Ford (above). No further information is available about his Army service. He is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial, Pas de Calais, France.

 

CWGC has no additional details.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=859497

No match on Norlink

 

For family details, see Harry above

 

Following the Battle at Neuve Chappelle, (March 10th to 12th 1915), when the 2nd Lincolns suffered 15 Officers and 288 men killed, wounded or missing, like other units in the Brigade the 2nd Lincolns probably received reinforcing drafts from the regiments home battalions, and were then back in the trenches near the village at the time of Private Ford’s death .

 

www.purley.eu/H142P/P192-CATT.pdf

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Charles Fox…………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

The cap badge in his photograph shows that he served in the Suffolk Regiment but no further information is available from the usual sources

 

Norlink has a picture of a Charles Edward Fox. His cap badge appears to be that of the Coldstream Guards, and indeed CWGC has a Company Sergeant Major from the 3rd Battalion of that regiment, who received the MM, and who died on the 12/03/1918. However, the additional information reads Husband of Maud Rose Fox, of 40, Devereux Rd., Windsor.

 

As he is aged 38, he was possibly a career soldier.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=648860

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

 

The most likely match for the Norlink individual on the 1901 Census is a 21 year old single soldier who had been born at Burston, Norfolk, and who was now resident at Chelsea Barracks, Bridge Road, Chelsea. The census shows him as Charles E. There is no obvious match for this individual on the 1891 Census.

 

I could find no London Gazette entry covering the award of the MM.

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William Garred…………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

The cap badge in his photograph shows that he served in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps but no further information is available from the usual sources.

 

No match on Norlink

 

No obvious match on the 1901 Census.

 

No match on CWGC

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Robert William Goodrum…………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

31137 Driver Goodrum, 63rd Battery Royal Field Artillery who died on Wednesday 16th August 1916 aged 25 years. Probably killed in the action at Kut, he is buried at the Bagdad (North Gate) Cemetery.

 

(More likely died a PoW on the march after the fall of Kut - no additional info on CWGC.)

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=633576

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has the 10 year old Robert, who had been born in Acle, living at Walsham Road, Acle. This was the household of his parents, Robert, (aged 44 and a Farm Teamster from Acle), and Louisa, (aged 43 and from Upton) as well as their other son, Herbert, (aged 12)

 

Following the defeat of the Turkish forces at the Battle of Ctesiphon, 22/11/1915, the allies were left too weak to continue their advannce and so fell back to the City of Kut. This proved to be a tactical mistake, as the Turks, under German military advisers, were able to isolate the city and then hold off relief attempts. Amonst the units trapped were the 63rd Battery RFA under the leadership of Major H Broke Smith. Eventually, at casuallies rose, with supplies exhausted and epidemics breaking out, the city surrendered to the Turks on April 29th 1916. A significant portion of the troops who fell into Turkish hands were units with Norfolk associations, including the 2nd Norfolks, In an eerie forerunner of the treament of the captured Norfolks following the fall of Singapore in 1941, the prisoners were very poorly treated.Most of the Arabs left in Kut were hanged by the Turks for helping the British.

 

During May 1916, 2000 British Troops, including the Norfolks, started the march some were still in Khaki some were almost naked. The first day they walked 15 miles without food or water. Behind the column were many dead or dying, those who dropped out were killed by the Arab guards. They were first taken to a temporary camp at Shumran about 80 miles from Kut.

The Kurdish guards had stolen the troops food rations and even their water bottles and boots. The British officers were separated at Shumran and were taken up river by steamer leaving their men to walk and die. Wounded officers were then repatriated to India. From Kut to Baghdad is 100 miles, marching 12-15 miles a day lying at night on the open ground. They were herded like sheep by mounted guards with sticks and whips.

The route of the death march was through what is now Iraq into Turkey, a distance of over 400 miles: Aziziya, Baghdad, Tikrit, Mosul, Nisibin, Ras alAin, Mamourra and Aran

The American Ambassadors at Constantinople (Messrs. Morgenthau and Elkus) saw the results of the march and protested, but to no avail. Other diplomatic efforts during the siege, such as the payment of ransom to the Turkish Government, failed. It seems that the Turkish Government wished to impress its Central Power partners.

 

It has been estimated that 70% died, either on the march or on arrival at the prison camps.

www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/pte_wilby.htm

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Stanley Goodrum…………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

33126 Private Goodrum, 36th Labour Battalion who died on Sunday 14th October 1917 aged 28 years. After enlisting in Norwich he served in the Royal Fusiliers before transfer to the Labour Corps and his unit served throughout Belgium. At the time of his death five other men died in the same incident and sixteen others died from wounds the following day. He is buried at the Dunhallow Advanced Dressing Station Cemetery at Ypres

 

36th Battalion were the Regiment Pioneers. CWGC notes he had transferred to 106th Company, Labour Corps.

 

Additional info lists that he was the brother of Miss E. E. Goodrum, The New Rd., Acle, Norwich.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2936067

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has the 11 year old Stanley living at New Road, Acle, having been born in the village. This was the household of his parents, John, (aged 40 and a Farm Teamster from Acle), and Ann M, (aged 34 and from Acle). Living with them are John’s brother Frederick, (single, aged 38 and a Farm labourer from Acle), and their children,

George R……………aged 16.……..born Acle…………..Bakers Assistant

Herbert……………aged 14.……….born Acle

Florence R Rumbold (Step daughter)….aged 13.……..born Acle

George Rumbold (Father in Law)……aged 64.…..born Acle……..Farm Labourer

 

33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th and 37th (Labour) Battalions

Formed at Seaford (33rd) and Falmer (34th to 37th) in May and June 1916. April 1917 became the 99th to 108th Labour Companies, Labour Corps.

www.1914-1918.net/royalfus.htm

 

A quick search of the burials in the cemetery attached to All Hallows ADS shows that the unit mix in October 1917 is almost entirely Artillery men. There was no obvious front-line action at this time.

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William James Green…………………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

203979 Private Green, 1st Hertfordshire Regiment who died on Friday 23rd August 1918 aged 20 years. Son of George and Martha Green of Acle he was awarded the Military Medal. He is buried at Bucquoy Communal Cemetery Extension near Arras.

 

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=305721

 

Private Green can be seen here

norlink.norfolk.gov.uk/02_Catalogue/02_013_PictureTitleIn...

 

The 1901 Census has a William J Green living at Bridge Road, Acle. This is the household of his parents, George , (aged 32 and a Labourer\Stockman from Fleggburgh), and Martha E, (aged 30 and from Stokesby). Also living with them is another sin, George T, (aged 8 and born Fleggburgh), and a daughter Clara L. (aged 6 and born Acle).

 

From the battalion War Diary

 

22-8-18. Battn resting in BRADFORD-LEEDS-HALIFAX trenches. Moved up to assembly positions S. of LOGEAST WOOD at 11pm.

23-8-18. Battn attacked at 11am. Attack successful. Railway cutting in front of ACHIET-LE-GRAND taken. Casualties – Captain S.W. [Saxon Weston] MOORE & 2/Lt F. SMITH [Frederick John SMITH, 5th Bedfordshire regiment attached to the 1st Hertfordshire] killed 7 Officers wounded. O. Ranks 26 killed 140 wounded.

24-8-18. Battn moved to position SE of BIHUCOURT.

25-8-18 to 31-8-18. Battn in Divisional Reserve in shelters SE of BIHUCOURT.

[Comment; Officers also killed – Lt George ABBOTT and Ronald Henry Pruess ARNHOLTZ on the 23rd August and 2/Lt Laurence REEVES died from his wounds on the 25th]

www.bedfordregiment.org.uk/hertsrgt/1stherts1918diary.html

 

The 1st Herts were part of a bigger action involving 3 divisions and tanks tasked with recapturing the village.

www.achiet-le-grand.org/august_1918.htm

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Only Jones………………….…………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

2496 Private Jones ‘C’ Company 1/4th Territorial Battalion Norfolk Regiment who died on 7th October 1915 aged 28 years. The 1/4th Bn Norfolk Regiment was mobilized at the outbreak of war and after extensive training they embarked on the SS Aquitania at Liverpool to arrive at Suvla Bay (Gallipoli) on 10th August 1915. He was wounded and taken on board a hospital ship where he died the same day. He was buried at sea and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial.

 

CWGC tells us he was the son of Daniel and Eliza Jones, of Fleggburgh, Great Yarmouth.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=681408

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has what looks like an Onley Jones, aged 14 and resident as a boarder at The Street, Acle. He was born in Acle and now works as a Cow Boy on farm. He lives in the household of the Clements family, which is headed by the widowed 51 year old Robert, who works as a Milkman on farm. On the 1891 Census “Only” Jones, aged 4, was living at Damgate, Acle. This was the household of his parents, Daniel Jones, (aged 34 and a Railway Labourer from Halvergate), and Eliza, (aged 35 and from Thurne). Their other children are:

Leah…………….age 13.…….born Stokesby……….Domestic Servant

Rachel…………..age 11.…….born Stokesby

Ruth…………….age 10.…….born Stokesby

Charles………….age 7.……..born Stokesby

Lynca(sp.??? male)…(age 5)……….born Acle

 

I then rechecked the 1901 Census - the 46 year old Eliza was by then a widow, working as a Housekeeper. She was visiting friends on the night of the Census at a household in Green Lane, Potter Heigham that included as boarders a 17 year old Charles Jones, who was employed as a cattleman on Farm, a 14 year old Lyna Jones, (male), and a 7 year old John who had been born Acle.

 

After the fighting in the middle of August, the struggle was more against disease and hardship than against Turkish guns and rifles. Dysentery caused havoc in all ranks, and in the middle of October there remained of the 1/4th Battalion only sixteen officers and 242 men fit for duty.

user.online.be/~snelders/sand.htm

***********************************************************************

Herbert Laight………………….…………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

151 Private Laight, 1st Eastern Company Non-Combatant Corps who died on Wednesday 27th November 1918 aged 33 years. He and three other members of the large Acle family served during the war. Nothing is known of the circumstances of his death and he is buried at the Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France.

 

CWGC notes that he was the son of William and Ellen Laight, of Acle, Norfolk.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=503059

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has the 15 year old Herbert living at The Post office, The Street, Acle, the village of his birth. This is the household of his parents, William, (age 55 and a Sub-Postmaster and Shopkeeper from Lincoln), and Ellen, (aged 54, a shopkeeper and from Acle). Also with them are:

Edward……………..age 13.…………..born Acle

Ella…………………age 17.…………..born Acle……….Post Office assistant

Emma………………age 20.………….born Acle……….Post Office assistant

Ethel………………..age 21.………….born Acle……….Post Office clerk

Florence……………age 27.………….born Acle……….Shop assistant

Ralph………………age 9.……………born Acle

Ruth……………….age 24.…………..born Acle……….Post office Clerk

 

Unwilling soldiers

 

3,400 COs (Consciencious Objectors) accepted call-up into the Non-Combatant Corps (NCC) or the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) as non-combatants. The NCC (the 'No-Courage Corps' as the press rudely called it) was set up in March 1916, part of the army and run by its regular officers. The COs assigned to it were army privates, wore army uniforms and were subject to army discipline, but didn't carry weapons or take part in battle. Their duties were mainly to provide physical labour (building, cleaning, loading and unloading anything except munitions) in support of the military.

 

The NCC may have been a shock to the COs who agreed to join it. But for the absolutists and alternativists who were forcibly enlisted into the NCC it was much worse. They immediately faced the question of whether to agree to wearing uniform. The men who decided to refuse were formally charged and court-martialled. Often they were treated harshly, bullied, deprived of basic needs and rights, and imprisoned in inhumane conditions. So were the men who refused to perform duties like handling munitions or building rifle ranges. Some broke down, physically or mentally, as a result of their ill-treatment.

www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/cos/st_co_wwone1.html

 

This report in the Hansard shows some of the dilemmas faced by individual conscientious objectors serving in the Corps.

hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1918/mar/06/non-comba...

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William Leeder Laight………………….…………………........(Roll of Honour)

 

152439 Petty Officer Stoker Laight, H.M.S. Spey who died on Wednesday 7th March 1917 aged 47 years. Having served as a regular sailor he was recalled for war service at the age of 45 years. H.M.S. Spey formed part of the Home Defence and operated in the Thames Estuary. In high winds the Spey lost an anchor and was involved in a collision with SS Belvedere – a mud-hopper carrying sludge from London. As a result of the accident nineteen of the crew of thirty-seven from H.M.S. Spey were lost. He is buried in the churchyard of St Peter’s church at Boughton Monchelsea, Kent.

 

I assume this has been confimed, as there are no additional details on the CWGC entry for this individual.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=369523

 

This William is commemorated in the Churchyard of St Peter, Broughton Monchelsea

www.stpeters-church.org.uk/church.html

 

However, there is also this individual:-

Name: LAIGHT, WILLIAM

Rank: Private

Service: Royal Army Medical Corps Unit Text: 2nd/1st (Home Counties) Field Amb Age: 19 Date of Death: 12/09/1917 Service No: 493352

Additional information: Son of William Leader Laight and Mary Jane Laight.

Grave/Memorial Reference: IV. D. 20. Cemetery: MENDINGHEM MILITARY CEMETERY

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=437980

 

(Of course Leeder\Leader may be a family name, and so the two individuals may be related or even father and son)

 

The younger William Laight was born at Broughton Monchelsea, Kent, and at the time of the 1901 Census, aged 3, he was living at Church Road, Broughton Monchelsea. His mother Jane, although married, is given as the head of the household. Reading the details of William Leeder Laight, I would hazard a guess that he was in the Royal Navy at the time and away on service and so does not appear on the Census.,

 

You have to go back to the 1871 Census to find a William Laight of the right age living in Acle, although the actual address isn’t shown on the scanned sheet available on the Genes Re-united site. However his 25 year old father is another William, and is a Coachman from Lincoln, so likely to be related to the Postmasters family listed for Herbert Laight.

 

The situation is made clear here

www.warcemetery.nl/kentfallen doc.pdf

The old William was the father, the younger William the son. Father William was born 21st October 1869

at Acle, and was the son of William and Ellen Laight, (nee Leeder).

 

No match on Norlink

 

Spey, collision

BOORMAN, Albert E, Chief Petty Officer (RFR A 2025), 147658 (Ch)

BULL, Joseph A, Able Seaman (RFR B 4816), 179032 (Ch)

HANCOX, George W, Able Seaman (RFR B 6033), 183687 (Ch)

HARRIS, Alfred, Armourer's Crew, 206312 (Ch)

HODDER, John F, Stoker 1c (RFR B 5867), SS 100896 (Ch)

HUMPHREY, Ernest F, Act/Lieutenant, RNR

ILSTON, John, Petty Officer, 147886 (Ch)

KEATLEY, John, Stoker 1c (RFR B 7525), 291835 (Ch)

LAIGHT, William L, Stoker Petty Officer (Pens), 152439 (Ch)

MERRITT, John, Private, RMLI (RFR B 1659), 10581 (Ch)

MORGAN, Charles C, Corporal, RMLI (RFR B 362), 5097 (Ch)

REED, Alfred J, Private, RMLI (Pens), 2222 (Ch)

REYNOLDS, William, Act/Warrant Officer

RUNACLES, Arthur W, Ordinary Seaman, J 28414 (Ch)

SEARLE, Frederick, Stoker 1c (RFR B 7769), SS 103252 (Ch)

SHIPLEE, Frederick J, Officer's Steward 2c, L 4954 (Ch)

SMITH, Arthur J, Chief Stoker, 154073 (Ch)

SOULSBY, George, Engine Room Artificer 1c, RNR, EB 426

WOODWARD, William T, Leading Stoker (RFR B 8722), 289658 (Ch)

WORNAST, Charles J, Able Seaman (RFR B 4784), 184111 (Ch)

www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1917-03Mar.htm

 

There’s a picture here of the Spey and confirmation that she was sold off until 1923, so she wasn’t scrapped straight away

www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/r_n_gunboats.htm

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George Alfred Lake……………………………….................................................(RoH)

 

6561DA Deckhand Lake, H.M. Trawler ‘New Comet’, Royal Navy Reserve who died on Saturday 20th January 1917 aged 33 years. The trawler was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1915 but it is not known if he was already a member of its crew. Records show that it was sunk by a mine off Orford Ness. He is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial in Kent.

 

CWGC notes that he was the son of George Lake, of The Hill, Acle, Norfolk, and the late Elizabeth Lake.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3053053

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has a 17 year old George A Lake living at Rotten Marsh Road, Acle, born Halvergate and employed as a General Carter and Petroleum Hawker. This was the household of his parents George, (aged 53 and a Railway Platelayer from Freethorpe), and Elizabeth, (aged 56 and from Mautby).

 

New Comet, ship lost

BLYTH, Clifford, Deck Hand, RNR, DA 6847

BURCH, Robert N, Deck Hand, RNR, DA 11528

CLARKE, Arthur F, 2nd Hand, RNR, SA 215

CROSBY, James, Engineman, RNR, ES 4528

CUMBERLAND, Henry, Trimmer, RNR, TS 2176

GIBBONS, Martin, Trimmer, RNR, TS 2519

LAKE, George A, Deck Hand, RNR, DA 6561

MANZIE, Thomas, Engineman, RNR, ES 2919

MARTIN, Joseph H, Deck Hand, RNR, DA 7534, DOW

www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1917-01Jan.htm

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George Hungerford Morgan………………………………...........(RoH)

 

430346 Lance Corporal Morgan, 7th Battalion Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regiment) who died on Tuesday 15th August 1917 aged 37 years. As a 35 year old farming in Canada he enlisted in the Canadian Army served with the C.E.F. in Europe in March 1916. He recovered and died in the famous attack on Hill 70. Although not a native of Acle he is commemorated on a prayer desk in the parish church with his cousin – Lt E.Coleman. He is also commemorated on the Vymy Memorial.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1572088

 

No match on Norlink

 

George was born on the 8/12/1890 in Madras, India. On his enlistment papers he gives his next of kin as a H R Morgan, living at what looks like Mangalore, Madras coast, India.

Although he gives his profession as farmer, he also states he did three years service in the Mysore Rifles. George Attested on the 4th March 1915.

 

His attestation papers can be seen here

collectionscanada.ca/databases/cef/001042-119.02-e.php?im...

collectionscanada.ca/databases/cef/001042-119.02-e.php?im...

 

The 7th Battalion were in the second wave of the attack on Hill 70. By about 7.00 am the Battalion was reduced to about 120 men and three officers, and were pinned down by heavy machine gun fire. Even so they were among the most advanced of the Canadian Battalion, and had to pull back slightly to prevent themselves from being outflanked by German Counterattacks.

 

The battalions War Diaries for the period can be seen here,

 

data4.collectionscanada.gc.ca/netacgi/nph-brs?s1=7th+Batt...

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George Rowe………………………………...............................(RoH)

 

20701 Private Rowe 1st Battalion Essex Regiment who died on Friday 13th August 1915 aged 20 years. One of two sons of Thomas and Miriam Rowe of Acle who were killed in WW1. George Rowe enlisted in Norwich to the Norfolk Regiment and volunteered to reinforce the Essex Regiment. He was one of those 300, or so, reinforcements carried by the transport “Royal Edward” which was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea. He is commemorated on the Helles Memorial.

 

CWGC notes add that he was the son of Thomas William and Miriam Rowe, of 12, New Terrace, The Hill, Acle, Norwich.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=683223

 

No match on Norlink

 

The 1901 Census has a 6 year old George and a 4 year old William, (both born Darnall, Yorkshire), living at 55 Catcliffe Road, Attercliffe cum Darnall, Sheffield. This was the household of his parents, Thomas W, (a 37 year old Bricklayer from Tickhill, Yorkshire), and Miriam, (aged 33 and from “Norfolk Narbro” - presumably Narborough). Their other children are Lucy M, (aged 8), and Robert, (aged 2). By the 1911 census, the 43 year Miriam is recorded in the District of Blofield, Norfolk.

 

HMT Royal Edward, 11,117 grt, sunk 13th August 1915 by German submarine SMU UB14, 6 miles W from Kandeliusa, Aegean Sea, carrying goverment stores from Avonmouth & Alexandria to Mudros. Owned by Canadian Northern Steamships Ltd-Toronto. 132 crew died. Out of a total compliment of 1586 (crew and troops) less than 500 were saved.

 

1/Essex lost 174 O.R's, but 172 of them were volunteers who'd transfer from the Norfolk's (3rd Special Reserve) based at Felixstowe, 100 on 23 June and 200 on 24 July.

A passage from the History of Norfolk Regiment tells the rest of Teddie's story: Colonel Tonge refers to the loss of 300 men, the best draft that ever left Felixstowe. These men volunteered to join the Essex Regiment and appear to have constituted the drafts of June 23 and July 24 1915. They were part of the reinforcements carried by the transport "Royal Edward" which was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea on August 14th 1915. She sank two and a half minutes after the torpedo struck her.Of the 1,400 men she carried only 600 were saved,and the drowned included all but 18 of the 300 Norfolk men. The men who had had a route march just before leaving Alexandria, were waiting on deck for foot inspection at about 9.20 am. Their lifebelts were down below, and when the ship was unexpectedly struck most of them ran below to fetch the belts. Owing to the ship's sudden heeling over and sinking, these never got up again. Those who escaped were picked up by a hospital ship which responded to the s.o.s. signal. To partly replace this sad loss, another draft of 150 men to the Essex Regiment was dispatched on September 29, 1915. Addenda 1994 From: "Men of Gallipoli"(David & Charles,1988) by kind permission of the publishers. One of the features of the Cape Helles monument is the rows of names of men drowned in the torpedoing of the Royal Edward,which sank in the Eastern Mediterranean on 13th August with a loss of over 850 lives. .A.T.Fraser in the Border Regiment, was in a deckchair on the afterdeck starboard side when suddenly dozens of men ran past him from port to starboard. The explosion came before he had time to ask what was the matter.

 

"The ship had no escort and we had not been ordered to have our life-belts with us.

The hundreds on deck ran below to get their life-belts and hundreds below would have met them on their way up.I shared a cabin accessible from the deck I was on and I raced there to get my life-belt and ran to my life-boat station which was on the star- board side.As the men arrived they fell in two ranks. Already the ship was listing and this prevented our boats from being lowered,so we were ordered to jump for it.I saw no panic,but of course one could imagine what was happening on the inside stairs. I swam away from the ship and turned to see the funnels leaning towards me.When they reached the sea,all the soot was belched out,there was a loud whoosh and the ship sank. No explosion,no surge.So I was alone.The little waves were such that in the trough you saw nothing,on the crest you saw a few yards.The water was warm.I wondered if there were sharks". Fraser found some wood to rest on and he was joined by a seaman,an older man who had twice previously been torpedoed.This brought the young Scot confidence.An up turned Royal Edward lifeboat was to provide 17 of the survivors with a little more security though in what Fraser calls half-hourly recurring turbulence,the boat turned over,offering them conventional but completely waterlogged accommodation every alternate half hour but at least providing them with something to do.There was no singing and little conversation. The first ship that passed hailed the scattered men and promised to signal for help.It could not stop as it had high explosives for Lemnos.Some of the men became depressed and showed unwillingness to clamber back in the life boat when it overturned,but on each occasion all were persuaded.Finally the hospital ship SOUDAIN arrived to pick them up in her life-boats,and at 2 o'clock Fraser was safely aboard her after just under five hours in the sea. He remembers that"a large number of men lost their false teeth as we were constantly sick in the sea- and these men were sent back to England

www.geocities.com/heartland/acres/5564/royaledward.html

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William Rowe………………………………....................................(RoH)

 

15678 Private Rowe 7th (Service) Battalion Norfolk Regiment who died on Monday 26th August 1918 aged 22 years. One year younger than his brother George he arrived in France on 30th May 1915. He suffered wounds to his face and right leg and was admitted to No 2 General Hospital at Le Havre in November. Returned to duty he was again wounded in the lower back, paralysed and severely ill. He was transferred to the Fulham Military Hospital where he died. He is buried in St Edmund’s churchyard at Acle beneath a stone bearing the inscription, “Erected to the honoured memory of William Rowe by the Officers, soldiers and parishioners of Acle, who died for King and Country.”

 

CWGC adds that he was the son of William and Miriam Rowe, of 12, New Terrace, The Hill. Acle.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2802330

 

No match on Norlink

 

See George above for Census details

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Harry William Self………………………………..........................(RoH)

 

20943 Private Self, 9th Battalion Essex Regiment, who died on Monday 3rd July 1916. He died on the third day of the Battle of the Somme when his battalion was in action in the area of Ovillers la Boiselle. He has no known grave but is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=811978

 

No match on Norlink

 

There is no obvious match for Harry on the 1901 Cenus.

 

The following account is adapted from part 14 of The Hospital Way:

The 9th Essex formed part of the 35th Brigade, 12th Division, its objective the capture of Ovillers. The Division would attack on a two brigade front with the 35th Brigade on the right and the 37th on the left. The 9th Essex would be in support of the attacking battalions of the 5th Royal Berkshire and 7th Suffolk Regiments and all men would take up positions by the 2nd July in readiness for an attack the following day.

At around 3:00 am on Monday July 3rd, the attacking troops of the 12th Division left their trenches and moved under cover of artillery fire to assembly trenches dug in no man’s land. Fifteen minutes later, the barrage ceased and the men rushed the German trenches under cover of a smoke screen to their left. At first, all went well. The 5th Royal Berkshires suffered few casualties whilst crossing and used the cover of a sunken road to lead them straight into Ovillers. The German wire had been virtually obliterated by artillery fire and the men passed with relative ease through the first and second lines until they reached the ruins of houses on the Western edge of Ovillers. Here though, they were engaged in heavy bombing attacks and due to a lack of further supplies of bombs, the leading companies suffered heavy casualties. The 7th Suffolk Regiment’s advance followed a similar pattern. They too passed through the German first line, encountered strong opposition in the second line but pushed forward to the third. This position was strongly held and made even more uncomfortable for the attacking troops by German fire coming in from the left flank.

Fred and Victor Denton and their comrades in the 9th Essex fared even worse. “The march of the Battalion,” wrote one of its soldiers later, “… will forever be remembered by those engaged. Innumerable gun flashes lit the darkness of the night; they seemed endless and as one approached the line, the noise was deafening. After what appeared to be endless marching we reached the trenches in front of Ovillers. They were of hard chalk and with the bad weather not at all easy to negotiate without trench boards. In moving to positions for attack the congestion in the trenches was awful and mortally wounded men could not be moved.” To make matters worse, the German defenders, by now fully awake and repelling the attacking battalions in front of them, were sweeping no man’s land with machine gun fire. Here, states the Divisional History, “considerable casualties were sustained, and the waves of the attack becoming a series of small parties not strong enough to give any material assistance to the forward formations, the 35th Brigade attack broke down and the remnants of the battalions were driven out of the German lines.” C Company, supported by a platoon from B Company managed to reach La Boiselle and capture 200 Germans but it was an isolated success on a morning of strong initial advances, punished by vigorous counter attacks and German machine guns brought up from deep dug-outs which had been unaffected by the intense one hour bombardment which preceded the assault.

By nine o’clock, the Division was reporting that the attack had failed. A combination of flanking machine gun fire, lack of cohesion by troops advancing in the dark and the pock-marked terrain, made impassable in places due to the recent heavy rains, had put paid to the Division’s efforts.

The 6th Royal West Kent Regiment, lost 19 officers and 375 other ranks out of an attacking force of 617. Other battalions suffered similarly. The casualties for the 12th Division’s two attacking brigades amounted to 97 officers and 2277 other ranks. At around 4am, the 9th Essex attack had come to a standstill and the survivors withdrew to the front line to be relieved by the 7th Norfolks. In little under one hour the battalion had suffered 12 officer and 386 other rank casualties.

www.chailey1914-1918.net/frederick_denton.html

 

Ieper

 

The Ypres Courthouse is a building in the Belgian city of Ypres. From 1841 until the First World War, the Court of First Instance in Ypres was located in the former Bishop's Palace near what is now Queen Astrid Park on Janseniusstraat. After the First World War, a dedicated courthouse was built on the site of the pre-war Onze-Lieve-Vrouwgasthuis (Hospital of Our Lady) on the eastern side of the Grote Markt. The eclectic courthouse was inspired by the Gothic and local Renaissance styles, built to a design by Jules Coomans in 1924 and completed around 1929.

________________________________________________

 

Ieper (Ypres) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. The municipality is home to about 34,900 inhabitants. During the First World War, Ypres (or "Wipers" as it was commonly known by the British troops) was the centre of the Battles of Ypres between German and Allied forces.

 

Ypres is an ancient town, known to have been raided by the Romans in the first century BC. It is first mentioned by name in 1066 and is probably named after the river Ieperlee on the banks of which it was founded. During the Middle Ages, Ypres was a prosperous Flemish city with a population of 40,000 in 1200 AD, renowned for its linen trade with England. As the third largest city in the County of Flanders, Ypres played an important role in the history of the textile industry. In 1241, a major fire ruined much of the old city.

 

Ypres occupied a strategic position during the First World War because it stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France from the north (the Schlieffen Plan). The neutrality of Belgium, established by the First Treaty of London, was guaranteed by Britain; Germany's invasion of Belgium brought the British Empire into the war. The German army surrounded the city on three sides, bombarding it throughout much of the war. To counterattack, British, French, and allied forces made costly advances from the Ypres Salient into the German lines on the surrounding hills.

 

In the First Battle of Ypres (19 October to 22 November 1914), the Allies captured the town from the Germans. The Germans had used tear gas at the Battle of Bolimov on 3 January 1915. Their use of poison gas for the first time on 22 April 1915 marked the beginning of the Second Battle of Ypres, which continued until 25 May 1915. They captured high ground east of the town. The first gas attack occurred against Canadian, British, and French soldiers, including both metropolitan French soldiers as well as Senegalese and Algerian tirailleurs (light infantry) from French Africa. The gas used was chlorine. Mustard gas, also called Yperite from the name of this town, was also used for the first time near Ypres, in the autumn of 1917.

 

Of the battles, the largest, best-known, and most costly in human suffering was the Third Battle of Ypres (31 July to 10 November 1917, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele), in which the British, Canadian, ANZAC, and French forces recaptured the Passchendaele Ridge east of the city at a terrible cost of lives. After months of fighting, this battle resulted in nearly half a million casualties to all sides, and only a few miles of ground won by Allied forces. During the course of the war the town was all but obliterated by the artillery fire.

 

After the war the town was extensively rebuilt using money paid by Germany in reparations, with the main square, including the Cloth Hall and town hall, being rebuilt as close to the original designs as possible (the rest of the rebuilt town is more modern in appearance).

Yosemite National Park is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an area of 759,620 acres (1,187 sq mi; 3,074 km2) and sits in four counties – centered in Tuolumne and Mariposa, extending north and east to Mono and south to Madera County. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, lakes, mountains, meadows, glaciers, and biological diversity. Almost 95 percent of the park is designated wilderness. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals.

 

The geology of the Yosemite area is characterized by granite rocks and remnants of older rock. About 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and tilted to form its unique slopes, which increased the steepness of stream and river beds, resulting in the formation of deep, narrow canyons. About one million years ago glaciers formed at higher elevations which eventually melted and moved downslope, cutting and sculpting the U-shaped valley that attracts so many visitors to its scenic vistas today

 

European American settlers first entered Yosemite Valley itself in 1851. There are earlier instances of other travelers entering the Valley but James D. Savage is credited with discovering the area that became Yosemite National Park. Despite Savage and others claiming their discovery of Yosemite, the region and Valley itself have been inhabited for nearly 4,000 years, although humans may have visited the area as long as 8,000 to 10,000 years ago.

 

Yosemite was critical to the development of the national park idea. Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development, ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Yosemite Grant of 1864 which declared Yosemite as federally preserved land. It was not until 1890 that John Muir led a successful movement which had Congress establish Yosemite Valley and its surrounding areas as a National Park. This helped pave the way for the National Park System. Yosemite draws about four million visitors each year, and most visitors spend the majority of their time in the seven square miles (18 km2) of Yosemite Valley. The park set a visitation record in 2016, surpassing five million visitors for the first time in its history. The park began requiring reservations to access the park during peak periods starting in 2020 as a response to the rise in visitors.

 

The indigenous natives of Yosemite called themselves the Ahwahneechee, meaning "dwellers" in Ahwahnee. The Ahwahneechee People was the only tribe that lived in the boundaries of Yosemite National Park but other tribes lived in its surrounding areas, together they formed a larger Indigenous population in California, called the Southern Sierra Miwok. They are related to the Northern Paiute and Mono tribes. Other tribes like the Central Sierra Miwoks and the Yokuts, who both lived in the San Joaquin Valley and central California, visited Yosemite to trade and intermarry with the Ahwahneechee. This resulted in a blending of culture which helped preserve Indigenous people's presence in Yosemite after early American settlements and urban development threatened their survival.[20] Vegetation and game in the region were similar to modern times; acorns were a staple to their diet, as well as other seeds and plants, salmon and deer.

 

A major event impacting the native population of Yosemite and all of California in the mid-19th century was the California Gold Rush, which drew more than 90,000 European Americans to the area in less than two years, causing competition for resources between gold miners and the local Natives. Before large amounts of European settlers arrived in California, about 70 years before the Gold Rush, the Indigenous population was estimated to be 300,000, once the Gold Rush started it dropped down to 150,000, and just ten years later, only about 50,000 remained. The reason for such a decline in the Native American population results from numerous reasons including disease, birth rate decreases, starvation, and the conflicts from the American Indian Wars. The conflict in Yosemite is known as the Mariposa War, it started in December 1850 when California funded a state militia to drive Native people from contested territory, also known as Indigenous traditional and sacred homelands; the goal was to suppress Native American resistance to American expansion.

 

In retaliation to the extermination and domestication of their people, and loss of their lands and resources, Yosemite Indian tribes often stole from settlers and miners, sometimes killing them, both actions seen as tribute for the great losses they experienced. The War and formation of the Mariposa Battalion was partially the result of a single incident involving James Savage, a trader in Fresno, California whose trading post was attacked in December, 1850. After the incident, Savage rallied other miners and gained the support of local officials to pursue revenge and a full out war against the Natives, that is how he was appointed United States Army Major and leader the Mariposa Battalion in the beginning of 1851. He and Captain John Boling were responsible for pursuing the Ahwahneechee people that were being led by Chief Tenaya and driving them as far west as possible, out of Yosemite. In March 1851 under the command of Savage, the Mariposa Battalion captured about 70 Ahwahneechee and planned to take them to a reservation in Fresno, but they all managed to escape. Later in May, under the command of Boling, the battalion captured 35 Ahwahneechee including Chief Tenaya and marched them to the reservation but most were allowed to eventually leave and the rest escaped. Tenaya and others fled across the Sierra Nevada and settled with the Mono Lake Paiutes. Tenaya and some of his companions were ultimately killed in 1853 either over stealing horses or a gambling conflict and the survivors of Tenaya's group and other Ahwahneechee were absorbed into the Mono Lake Paiute tribe.

 

Accounts from this battalion were the first well-documented reports of ethnic Europeans entering Yosemite Valley. Attached to Savage's unit was Doctor Lafayette Bunnell, who later wrote about his awestruck impressions of the valley in The Discovery of the Yosemite. Bunnell is credited with naming Yosemite Valley, based on his interviews with Chief Tenaya. Bunnell wrote that Chief Tenaya was the founder of the Ahwahnee colony. Bunnell falsely believed that the word "Yosemite" meant "full-grown grizzly bear." In fact, "Yosemite" was derived from the Miwok term for the Ahwaneechee people: yohhe'meti, meaning "they are killers".

 

California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2 million residents across a total area of approximately 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the most populated subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7 million residents and the latter having over 9.6 million. Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the most populous city in the state and the second most populous city in the country. San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the country. Los Angeles County is the country's most populous, while San Bernardino County is the largest county by area in the country. California borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, the Mexican state of Baja California to the south; and has a coastline along the Pacific Ocean to the west.

 

The economy of the state of California is the largest in the United States, with a $3.4 trillion gross state product (GSP) as of 2022. It is the largest sub-national economy in the world. If California were a sovereign nation, it would rank as the world's fifth-largest economy as of 2022, behind Germany and ahead of India, as well as the 37th most populous. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and third-largest urban economies ($1.0 trillion and $0.5 trillion respectively as of 2020). The San Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area had the nation's highest gross domestic product per capita ($106,757) among large primary statistical areas in 2018, and is home to five of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization and four of the world's ten richest people.

 

Prior to European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America and contained the highest Native American population density north of what is now Mexico. European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization of California by the Spanish Empire. In 1804, it was included in Alta California province within the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its successful war for independence, but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. The California Gold Rush started in 1848 and led to dramatic social and demographic changes, including large-scale immigration into California, a worldwide economic boom, and the California genocide of indigenous people. The western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850, following the Compromise of 1850.

 

Notable contributions to popular culture, for example in entertainment and sports, have their origins in California. The state also has made noteworthy contributions in the fields of communication, information, innovation, environmentalism, economics, and politics. It is the home of Hollywood, the oldest and one of the largest film industries in the world, which has had a profound influence upon global entertainment. It is considered the origin of the hippie counterculture, beach and car culture, and the personal computer, among other innovations. The San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles Area are widely seen as the centers of the global technology and film industries, respectively. California's economy is very diverse: 58% of it is based on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific, and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5% of the state's economy, California's agriculture industry has the highest output of any U.S. state. California's ports and harbors handle about a third of all U.S. imports, most originating in Pacific Rim international trade.

 

The state's extremely diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast and metropolitan areas in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east, and from the redwood and Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast. The Central Valley, a major agricultural area, dominates the state's center. California is well known for its warm Mediterranean climate and monsoon seasonal weather. The large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior, as well as snowy alpine in the mountains.

 

Settled by successive waves of arrivals during at least the last 13,000 years, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America. Various estimates of the native population have ranged from 100,000 to 300,000. The indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct ethnic groups, inhabiting environments from mountains and deserts to islands and redwood forests. These groups were also diverse in their political organization, with bands, tribes, villages, and on the resource-rich coasts, large chiefdoms, such as the Chumash, Pomo and Salinan. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered social and economic relationships between many groups.

 

The first Europeans to explore the coast of California were the members of a Spanish maritime expedition led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542. Cabrillo was commissioned by Antonio de Mendoza, the Viceroy of New Spain, to lead an expedition up the Pacific coast in search of trade opportunities; they entered San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542, and reached at least as far north as San Miguel Island. Privateer and explorer Francis Drake explored and claimed an undefined portion of the California coast in 1579, landing north of the future city of San Francisco. Sebastián Vizcaíno explored and mapped the coast of California in 1602 for New Spain, putting ashore in Monterey. Despite the on-the-ground explorations of California in the 16th century, Rodríguez's idea of California as an island persisted. Such depictions appeared on many European maps well into the 18th century.

 

The Portolá expedition of 1769-70 was a pivotal event in the Spanish colonization of California, resulting in the establishment of numerous missions, presidios, and pueblos. The military and civil contingent of the expedition was led by Gaspar de Portolá, who traveled over land from Sonora into California, while the religious component was headed by Junípero Serra, who came by sea from Baja California. In 1769, Portolá and Serra established Mission San Diego de Alcalá and the Presidio of San Diego, the first religious and military settlements founded by the Spanish in California. By the end of the expedition in 1770, they would establish the Presidio of Monterey and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on Monterey Bay.

 

After the Portolà expedition, Spanish missionaries led by Father-President Serra set out to establish 21 Spanish missions of California along El Camino Real ("The Royal Road") and along the Californian coast, 16 sites of which having been chosen during the Portolá expedition. Numerous major cities in California grew out of missions, including San Francisco (Mission San Francisco de Asís), San Diego (Mission San Diego de Alcalá), Ventura (Mission San Buenaventura), or Santa Barbara (Mission Santa Barbara), among others.

 

Juan Bautista de Anza led a similarly important expedition throughout California in 1775–76, which would extend deeper into the interior and north of California. The Anza expedition selected numerous sites for missions, presidios, and pueblos, which subsequently would be established by settlers. Gabriel Moraga, a member of the expedition, would also christen many of California's prominent rivers with their names in 1775–1776, such as the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River. After the expedition, Gabriel's son, José Joaquín Moraga, would found the pueblo of San Jose in 1777, making it the first civilian-established city in California.

  

The Spanish founded Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776, the third to be established of the Californian missions.

During this same period, sailors from the Russian Empire explored along the northern coast of California. In 1812, the Russian-American Company established a trading post and small fortification at Fort Ross on the North Coast. Fort Ross was primarily used to supply Russia's Alaskan colonies with food supplies. The settlement did not meet much success, failing to attract settlers or establish long term trade viability, and was abandoned by 1841.

 

During the War of Mexican Independence, Alta California was largely unaffected and uninvolved in the revolution, though many Californios supported independence from Spain, which many believed had neglected California and limited its development. Spain's trade monopoly on California had limited the trade prospects of Californians. Following Mexican independence, Californian ports were freely able to trade with foreign merchants. Governor Pablo Vicente de Solá presided over the transition from Spanish colonial rule to independent.

 

In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence gave the Mexican Empire (which included California) independence from Spain. For the next 25 years, Alta California remained a remote, sparsely populated, northwestern administrative district of the newly independent country of Mexico, which shortly after independence became a republic. The missions, which controlled most of the best land in the state, were secularized by 1834 and became the property of the Mexican government. The governor granted many square leagues of land to others with political influence. These huge ranchos or cattle ranches emerged as the dominant institutions of Mexican California. The ranchos developed under ownership by Californios (Hispanics native of California) who traded cowhides and tallow with Boston merchants. Beef did not become a commodity until the 1849 California Gold Rush.

 

From the 1820s, trappers and settlers from the United States and Canada began to arrive in Northern California. These new arrivals used the Siskiyou Trail, California Trail, Oregon Trail and Old Spanish Trail to cross the rugged mountains and harsh deserts in and surrounding California. The early government of the newly independent Mexico was highly unstable, and in a reflection of this, from 1831 onwards, California also experienced a series of armed disputes, both internal and with the central Mexican government. During this tumultuous political period Juan Bautista Alvarado was able to secure the governorship during 1836–1842. The military action which first brought Alvarado to power had momentarily declared California to be an independent state, and had been aided by Anglo-American residents of California, including Isaac Graham. In 1840, one hundred of those residents who did not have passports were arrested, leading to the Graham Affair, which was resolved in part with the intercession of Royal Navy officials.

 

One of the largest ranchers in California was John Marsh. After failing to obtain justice against squatters on his land from the Mexican courts, he determined that California should become part of the United States. Marsh conducted a letter-writing campaign espousing the California climate, the soil, and other reasons to settle there, as well as the best route to follow, which became known as "Marsh's route". His letters were read, reread, passed around, and printed in newspapers throughout the country, and started the first wagon trains rolling to California. He invited immigrants to stay on his ranch until they could get settled, and assisted in their obtaining passports.

 

After ushering in the period of organized emigration to California, Marsh became involved in a military battle between the much-hated Mexican general, Manuel Micheltorena and the California governor he had replaced, Juan Bautista Alvarado. The armies of each met at the Battle of Providencia near Los Angeles. Marsh had been forced against his will to join Micheltorena's army. Ignoring his superiors, during the battle, he signaled the other side for a parley. There were many settlers from the United States fighting on both sides. He convinced these men that they had no reason to be fighting each other. As a result of Marsh's actions, they abandoned the fight, Micheltorena was defeated, and California-born Pio Pico was returned to the governorship. This paved the way to California's ultimate acquisition by the United States.

 

In 1846, a group of American settlers in and around Sonoma rebelled against Mexican rule during the Bear Flag Revolt. Afterward, rebels raised the Bear Flag (featuring a bear, a star, a red stripe and the words "California Republic") at Sonoma. The Republic's only president was William B. Ide,[65] who played a pivotal role during the Bear Flag Revolt. This revolt by American settlers served as a prelude to the later American military invasion of California and was closely coordinated with nearby American military commanders.

 

The California Republic was short-lived; the same year marked the outbreak of the Mexican–American War (1846–48).

 

Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay in 1846 and began the U.S. military invasion of California, with Northern California capitulating in less than a month to the United States forces. In Southern California, Californios continued to resist American forces. Notable military engagements of the conquest include the Battle of San Pasqual and the Battle of Dominguez Rancho in Southern California, as well as the Battle of Olómpali and the Battle of Santa Clara in Northern California. After a series of defensive battles in the south, the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the Californios on January 13, 1847, securing a censure and establishing de facto American control in California.

 

Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (February 2, 1848) that ended the war, the westernmost portion of the annexed Mexican territory of Alta California soon became the American state of California, and the remainder of the old territory was then subdivided into the new American Territories of Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Utah. The even more lightly populated and arid lower region of old Baja California remained as a part of Mexico. In 1846, the total settler population of the western part of the old Alta California had been estimated to be no more than 8,000, plus about 100,000 Native Americans, down from about 300,000 before Hispanic settlement in 1769.

 

In 1848, only one week before the official American annexation of the area, gold was discovered in California, this being an event which was to forever alter both the state's demographics and its finances. Soon afterward, a massive influx of immigration into the area resulted, as prospectors and miners arrived by the thousands. The population burgeoned with United States citizens, Europeans, Chinese and other immigrants during the great California Gold Rush. By the time of California's application for statehood in 1850, the settler population of California had multiplied to 100,000. By 1854, more than 300,000 settlers had come. Between 1847 and 1870, the population of San Francisco increased from 500 to 150,000.

 

The seat of government for California under Spanish and later Mexican rule had been located in Monterey from 1777 until 1845. Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta California, had briefly moved the capital to Los Angeles in 1845. The United States consulate had also been located in Monterey, under consul Thomas O. Larkin.

 

In 1849, a state Constitutional Convention was first held in Monterey. Among the first tasks of the convention was a decision on a location for the new state capital. The first full legislative sessions were held in San Jose (1850–1851). Subsequent locations included Vallejo (1852–1853), and nearby Benicia (1853–1854); these locations eventually proved to be inadequate as well. The capital has been located in Sacramento since 1854 with only a short break in 1862 when legislative sessions were held in San Francisco due to flooding in Sacramento. Once the state's Constitutional Convention had finalized its state constitution, it applied to the U.S. Congress for admission to statehood. On September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850, California became a free state and September 9 a state holiday.

 

During the American Civil War (1861–1865), California sent gold shipments eastward to Washington in support of the Union. However, due to the existence of a large contingent of pro-South sympathizers within the state, the state was not able to muster any full military regiments to send eastwards to officially serve in the Union war effort. Still, several smaller military units within the Union army were unofficially associated with the state of California, such as the "California 100 Company", due to a majority of their members being from California.

 

At the time of California's admission into the Union, travel between California and the rest of the continental United States had been a time-consuming and dangerous feat. Nineteen years later, and seven years after it was greenlighted by President Lincoln, the First transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. California was then reachable from the eastern States in a week's time.

 

Much of the state was extremely well suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Vast expanses of wheat, other cereal crops, vegetable crops, cotton, and nut and fruit trees were grown (including oranges in Southern California), and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production in the Central Valley and elsewhere.

 

In the nineteenth century, a large number of migrants from China traveled to the state as part of the Gold Rush or to seek work. Even though the Chinese proved indispensable in building the transcontinental railroad from California to Utah, perceived job competition with the Chinese led to anti-Chinese riots in the state, and eventually the US ended migration from China partially as a response to pressure from California with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

 

Under earlier Spanish and Mexican rule, California's original native population had precipitously declined, above all, from Eurasian diseases to which the indigenous people of California had not yet developed a natural immunity. Under its new American administration, California's harsh governmental policies towards its own indigenous people did not improve. As in other American states, many of the native inhabitants were soon forcibly removed from their lands by incoming American settlers such as miners, ranchers, and farmers. Although California had entered the American union as a free state, the "loitering or orphaned Indians" were de facto enslaved by their new Anglo-American masters under the 1853 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians. There were also massacres in which hundreds of indigenous people were killed.

 

Between 1850 and 1860, the California state government paid around 1.5 million dollars (some 250,000 of which was reimbursed by the federal government) to hire militias whose purpose was to protect settlers from the indigenous populations. In later decades, the native population was placed in reservations and rancherias, which were often small and isolated and without enough natural resources or funding from the government to sustain the populations living on them. As a result, the rise of California was a calamity for the native inhabitants. Several scholars and Native American activists, including Benjamin Madley and Ed Castillo, have described the actions of the California government as a genocide.

 

In the twentieth century, thousands of Japanese people migrated to the US and California specifically to attempt to purchase and own land in the state. However, the state in 1913 passed the Alien Land Act, excluding Asian immigrants from owning land. During World War II, Japanese Americans in California were interned in concentration camps such as at Tule Lake and Manzanar. In 2020, California officially apologized for this internment.

 

Migration to California accelerated during the early 20th century with the completion of major transcontinental highways like the Lincoln Highway and Route 66. In the period from 1900 to 1965, the population grew from fewer than one million to the greatest in the Union. In 1940, the Census Bureau reported California's population as 6.0% Hispanic, 2.4% Asian, and 89.5% non-Hispanic white.

 

To meet the population's needs, major engineering feats like the California and Los Angeles Aqueducts; the Oroville and Shasta Dams; and the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges were built across the state. The state government also adopted the California Master Plan for Higher Education in 1960 to develop a highly efficient system of public education.

 

Meanwhile, attracted to the mild Mediterranean climate, cheap land, and the state's wide variety of geography, filmmakers established the studio system in Hollywood in the 1920s. California manufactured 8.7 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II, ranking third (behind New York and Michigan) among the 48 states. California however easily ranked first in production of military ships during the war (transport, cargo, [merchant ships] such as Liberty ships, Victory ships, and warships) at drydock facilities in San Diego, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. After World War II, California's economy greatly expanded due to strong aerospace and defense industries, whose size decreased following the end of the Cold War. Stanford University and its Dean of Engineering Frederick Terman began encouraging faculty and graduates to stay in California instead of leaving the state, and develop a high-tech region in the area now known as Silicon Valley. As a result of these efforts, California is regarded as a world center of the entertainment and music industries, of technology, engineering, and the aerospace industry, and as the United States center of agricultural production. Just before the Dot Com Bust, California had the fifth-largest economy in the world among nations.

 

In the mid and late twentieth century, a number of race-related incidents occurred in the state. Tensions between police and African Americans, combined with unemployment and poverty in inner cities, led to violent riots, such as the 1965 Watts riots and 1992 Rodney King riots. California was also the hub of the Black Panther Party, a group known for arming African Americans to defend against racial injustice and for organizing free breakfast programs for schoolchildren. Additionally, Mexican, Filipino, and other migrant farm workers rallied in the state around Cesar Chavez for better pay in the 1960s and 1970s.

 

During the 20th century, two great disasters happened in California. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and 1928 St. Francis Dam flood remain the deadliest in U.S. history.

 

Although air pollution problems have been reduced, health problems associated with pollution have continued. The brown haze known as "smog" has been substantially abated after the passage of federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust.

 

An energy crisis in 2001 led to rolling blackouts, soaring power rates, and the importation of electricity from neighboring states. Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Company came under heavy criticism.

 

Housing prices in urban areas continued to increase; a modest home which in the 1960s cost $25,000 would cost half a million dollars or more in urban areas by 2005. More people commuted longer hours to afford a home in more rural areas while earning larger salaries in the urban areas. Speculators bought houses they never intended to live in, expecting to make a huge profit in a matter of months, then rolling it over by buying more properties. Mortgage companies were compliant, as everyone assumed the prices would keep rising. The bubble burst in 2007–8 as housing prices began to crash and the boom years ended. Hundreds of billions in property values vanished and foreclosures soared as many financial institutions and investors were badly hurt.

 

In the twenty-first century, droughts and frequent wildfires attributed to climate change have occurred in the state. From 2011 to 2017, a persistent drought was the worst in its recorded history. The 2018 wildfire season was the state's deadliest and most destructive, most notably Camp Fire.

 

Although air pollution problems have been reduced, health problems associated with pollution have continued. The brown haze that is known as "smog" has been substantially abated thanks to federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust.

St Ethelbert, Hessett, Suffolk

 

Hessett is a fairly ordinary kind of village to the east of Bury St Edmunds, but its church is one of the most important in East Anglia for a number of reasons, which will become obvious. Consider for one moment, if you will, the extent to which the beliefs and practices of a religious community affect the architecture of its buildings. Think of a mosque, for instance. Often square, expressing the democracy of Islam, but without any imagery of the human figure, for such things are proscribed. Think of a synagogue, focused towards the Holy Scriptures in the Ark, but designed to enable the proclaiming of the Word, and the way that early non-conformist chapels echo this architecture of Judaism - indeed, those who built the first free churches, like Ipswich's Unitarian Chapel, actually called them synagogues.

 

The shape of a church, then, is no accident. A typical Suffolk perpendicular church of the 15th century has wide aisles, to enable liturgical processions, a chancel for the celebration of Mass, places for other altars, niches for devotional statues, a focus towards the Blessed Sacrament in the east, a roof of angels to proclaim a hymn of praise, a large nave for devotional and social activities, and wall paintings of the Gospels and hagiographies of Saints, of the catechism and teachings of the Catholic Church. As Le Corbusier might have said if he'd been around at the time, a medieval church is a machine for making Catholicism happen.

 

No longer, of course. The radical and violent fracture in popular religion in the middle years of the 16th century gave birth to the Church of England, and the new church inherited buildings that were quite unsuitable for the new congregational protestant theology, a problem that the Church of England has never entirely solved.

 

Over the centuries, the problem has been addressed in different ways. The early reformers celebrated communion at a table in the nave, for example, and blocked off the chancel for other uses. Although this was challenged by the Laudian party in the early part of the 17th century, it was the way that many parishes reinvented their buildings, and most were to stay like that until the middle years of the 19th century. Some went further. A pulpit placed halfway down the nave, or even at the back of the church, meant that the seating could be arranged so that it no longer focused towards the east, thus breaking the link with Catholic (and Laudian) sacramentalism. For several centuries, Anglican churches focused on the pulpit rather than the altar.

 

With the coming to influence of the 19th century Oxford Movement, all this underwent another dramatic change, with the great majority of our medieval parish churches having their interiors restored to their medieval integrity, reinventing themselves as sacramental spaces. This is the condition in which we find most of them today, and some Anglican theologians are asking the question that the Catholic Church asked itself at Vatican II in the 1960s - is a 19th century liturgical space really appropriate for the Church of the 21st century?

 

So, let us hasten at once to Hessett. The church sits like a glowing jewel in its wide churchyard, right on the main road through the village. It is pretty well perfect if you are looking for a fine Suffolk exterior. An extensive 15th century rebuilding enwraps the earlier tower, which was crowned by the donor of the rebuilding, John Bacon.The nave and aisles are deliciously decorated, reminding one rather of the church at neighbouring Rougham, although this is a smaller church, and the aisles make it almost square. A dedicatory inscription on the two storey vestry in the north east corner bids us pray for the souls of John and Katherine Hoo, who donated the chancel and paid for the trimmings to the aisles. Their inscription has been damaged by protestant reformers, who obviously did not believe in the efficacy of prayers for the dead.

 

Although not comparable with that at Woolpit, the dressed stone porch is a grand affair, and a bold statement. You may find the south door locked, but if this is the case then the priest's door into the chancel is usually open. And in a way it is a good church to enter via the chancel, because in this way St Ethelbert unfolds its treasures slowly.You step into relative darkness - or, at least, it seems so in comparison with the nave beyond the rood screen. This is partly a result of the abundance of dark wood, and in truth the chancel seems rather overcrowded. The most striking objects in view are the return stalls, which fill the two westerly corners of the chancel. These are in the style of a college or school of priests, with their backs to the rood screen, but then 'returning' around the walls to the east. They are fine, and are certainly 15th or 16th century. But one of the stalls, that to the north, is different to the others, and seems slightly out of place. It is elaborately carved with faces, birds and foliage.

 

Mortlock thought that it might have been intended for a private house. The stall in front of it has heads on it that appear to be wearing 18th century wigs. The sanctuary is largely Victorianised, with a great east window depicting Saints. The south windows of the chancel depict a lovely Adoration scene by the O'Connors. The chancel is separated from the nave by the 15th century rood screen, which is elegantly painted and gilt on the west side, the beautifully tracery intricately carved above. The rood screen has been fitted with attractive iron gates, presumably evidence of Anglo-catholic enthusiasm here in the early 20th century, and you step down through them into the light. A first impression is that you are entering a much older space than the one you have left. There is an 18th century mustiness, enhanced by the box pews that line the aisles. And, beyond, on walls and in windows, are wonderful things.

 

The number of surviving wall paintings in England is a tiny fraction of those which existed before the 15th and 16th centuries. All churches had them, and in profusion. It isn't enough to say that they were a 'teaching aid' of a church of illiterate peasants. In the main, they were devotional, and that is why they were destroyed. However, it is more complicated than that. Research in recent years has indicated that many wall paintings were destroyed before the Reformation, perhaps a century before. In some churches, they have been punched through with Perpendicular windows, which are clearly pre-Reformation. In the decades after the Black Death, there seems to have been a sea change in the liturgical use of these buildings, a move away from an individualistic, devotional usage to a corporate liturgical one. There is a change of emphasis towards more education and exegesis. This is the time that pulpits and benches appear, long before protestantism was on the agenda. What seems to happen is that many buildings were intended now to be full of light, and devotional wall paintings were either whitewashed, or replaced with catechetical ones.

 

The decoration of the nave was the responsibility of the people of the parish, not of the Priest. The wall paintings of England can be divided into roughly three groups. Roughly speaking, the development of wall paintings over the later medieval period is in terms of these three overlapping emphases.

 

Firstly, the hagiographies - stories of the Saints. These might have had a local devotion, although some saints were popular over a wide area, and most churches seem to have supported a devotion to St Christopher right up until the Reformation.

 

Secondly came those which illustrate incidents in the life of Christ and his mother, the Blessed Virgin. Although partly pedagogical, they were also enabling tools, since private devotions often involved a contemplation upon them, and at Mass the larger part of those present would have been involved in private devotions. These scriptural stories were as likely to have been derived from apocryphal texts like the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew as from the actual Gospels themselves.

 

Lastly, there are catechetical wall paintings, illustrating the teachings of the Catholic church. It should not be assumed that these are dogmatic. Many are simply artistic representations of stories, and others are simplifications of theological ideas, as with the seven deadly sins and the seven cardinal virtues. Some warn against occasions of sin (gossiping, for example) and generally wall paintings provided a local site for discussion and exemplification.

 

To an extent, all the above is largely true of stained glass, as well, with the caveat that stained glass was more expensive, relied on local patronage, and often has this patronage as a subtext, hence the large number of heraldic devices and images of local worthies. But it was also devotional, and so it was also destroyed.

 

So - what survives at Hessett? The wall paintings first.

 

Starting in the south east corner of the nave, we have Suffolk's finest representation of St Barbara, presenting a tower. St Barbara was very popular in medieval times, because she was invoked against strikes by lightning and sudden fires. This resulted from her legend, for her father, on finding her to be a Christian, walled her up in a tower until she repented. As a result, he was struck by lightning, and reduced to ashes. She was also the patron saint of the powerful building trade, and as such her image graced their guild altars - perhaps that was the case here.

 

Above the south door is another figure, often identified as St Christopher, but I do not think that this can be the case. St Christopher is found nowhere else in Suffolk above a south door. The traditional iconography of this mythical saint is not in place here, and it is hard to see how this figure could ever have been interpreted as such. I suspect it is a result of an early account confusing the two images over the north and south doors, and the mistake being repeated in later accounts.

 

In fact, digital enhancement seems to suggest that there are two figures above the south door, overlapping each other slightly. The figure on the right is barefoot, that on the left is wearing a white gown. There appears to be water under their feet, and so I think this is an image of the Baptism of Christ. Perhaps it was once part of a sequence.

 

The wall painting opposite, above the north door, is St Christopher. Although it isn't as clear as himself at, say, nearby Bradfield Combust, he bestrides the river in the customary manner, staff in hand. The Christ child is difficult to discern, but you can see the fish in the water. Also in the water, and rather unusual, are two figures. They are rendered rather crudely, almost like gingerbread men. Could they be the donors of the north aisle, John and Katherine Hoo in person?

 

Moving along the north aisle, we come to the set of paintings for which Hessett is justifiably famous. They are set one above the other between two windows, at the point where might expect the now-vanished screen to a chapel to have been. The upper section was here first. It shows the seven deadly sins (described wrongly in some text books as a tree of Jesse, or ancestry of Christ). Two devils look on as, from the mouth of hell, a great tree sprouts, ending in seven images. Pride is at the top, and in pairs beneath are Gluttony and Anger, Vanity and Envy, Avarice and Lust. Mortlock suggests that some attempt has been made to erase the image for Lust, which may simply be mid-16th century puritan prurience on the part of some reformer here. This would suggest that this catechetical tool was here right up until the Reformation.

 

The idea of 'Seven Deadly Sins' was anathema to the reformers, because it is entirely unscriptural. Rather, as a catechetical tool, it is a way of drawing together a multitude of sins into a simplistic aide memoire. This could then be used in confession, taking each of them one at a time and examining ones conscience accordingly. It should not be seen simply as a 'warning' to ignorant peasants, for the evidence is that the ordinary rural people of late medieval England were theologically very articulate. Rather, it was a tool for use, in contemplation and preparation for the sacrament of reconciliation, which may well have ordinarily taken place in the chapel here.

 

The wall painting beneath the Sins is even more interesting. This is a very rare 'Christ of the Trades', and dates from the early 15th century, about a hundred years after the painting above. It is rather faded, and takes a while to discern, and not all of it is decodable. However, enough is there to be fascinating. The image of the 'Christ of the Trades' is known throughout Christendom, and contemporary versions with this can be found in other parts of Europe. It shows the risen Christ in the centre, and around him a vast array of the tools and symbols of various trades. One theory is that it depicts activities that should not take place on a Sunday, a holy day of obligation to refrain from work, and that these activities are wounding Christ anew.

 

Perhaps the most fascinating symbol, and the one that everyone notices, is the playing card. It shows the six of diamonds. Does it represent the makers of playing cards? If so, it might suggest a Flemish influence. Or could it be intended to represent something else? Whatever, it is one of the earliest representations of a playing card in England. Why is this here? It may very well be that there was a trades gild chantry chapel at the east end of the north aisle, and this painting was at its entrance.

 

At the east end of the north aisle now is the church's set of royal arms. Cautley saw it in the vestry in the 1930s, and identified it as a Queen Anne set. Now, with additions stripped away, it is revealed as a Charles II set from the 1660s, and a very fine one. It is fascinating to see it at such close range. Usually, they are set above the south door now, although they would originally have been placed above the chancel arch, in full view of the congregation, a gentle reminder of who was in charge.

 

And so to the glass, which on its own would be worth coming to Hessett to see. Few Suffolk churches have such an expanse, none have such a variety, or glass of such quality and interest. It consists essentially of two ranges, the life and Passion of Christ in the north aisle (although some glass has been reset across the church), and images and hagiographies of Saints in the south aisle.

 

In the north aisle, the scourging of Christ stands out, the wicked grins of the persecutors contrasting with the pained nobility of the Christ figure. In the next window, Christ rises from the dead, coming out of his tomb like the corpses in the doom paintings at Stanningfield, North Cove and Wenhaston. The Roman centurion sleeps soundly in the foreground.

 

The most famous image is in the east window of the south aisle. Apparently, it shows a bishop holding the chain to a bag, with four children playing at his feet. I say apparently, because there is rather more going on here than meets the eye. The reason that this image is so famous is that the small child in the foreground is holding what appears to be a golf club or hockey stick, and this would be the earliest representation of such an object in all Europe. The whole image has been said to represent St Nicholas, who was a Bishop, and whose legends include a bag of gold and a group of children.

 

Unfortunately, this is not the case. St Nicholas is never symbolised by a bag of gold, and there are three children in the St Nicholas legend, not four. In any case, the hand in the picture is not holding the chain to a bag at all, but a rosary, and the hockey stick is actually a fuller's club, used for dyeing clothes, and the symbol of St James the Less.

 

What has happened here is that the head of a Bishop has been grafted on to the body of a figure which is probably still in its original location. The three lights of this window contained a set of the Holy Kinship. The light to the north of the 'Bishop' contains two children playing with what ae apparently toys, but when you look closely you can see that one is holding a golden shell, and the other a poisoned chalice. They are the infant St James and St John, and the lost figure above them was their mother, Mary Salome.

 

This means that the figure with the Bishop's head is actually Mary Cleophas, mother of four children including St James the Less. The third light to the south, of course, would have depicted the Blessed Virgin and child, but she is lost to us.

 

Not only this, but Hessett has some very good 19th Century glass which complements and does not overly intrude. The best is beneath the tower, the west window in a fully 15th Century style of scenes by Clayton & Bell. The east window, depicting saints, is by William Warrington, and the chancel also has the O'Connor glass already mentioned.

 

If the windows and wall paintings were all there was, then Hessett would be remarkable enough. But there is something else, two things, actually, that elevate it above all other Suffolk churches, and all the churches of England. For St Ethelbert is the proud owner of two unique survivals. At the back of the church is a chest, no different from those you'll find in many a parish church. In common with those, it has three separate locks, the idea being that the Rector and two Churchwardens would have a key each, and it would be necessary for all three of them to be present for the chest to be opened. It was used for storing parish records and valuables.

 

At some point, one of the keys was lost. There is an old story about the iconoclast William Dowsing turning up here and demanding the chest be opened, but on account of the missing key it couldn't be. Unfortunately, this story isn't true, for Dowsing never recorded a visit Hessett. The chest was eventually opened in the 19th century. Inside were found two extraordinary pre-Reformation survivals. These are a pyx cloth and a burse. The pyx cloth was draped over the wooden canopy that enclosed the blessed sacrament (one of England's four surviving medieval pyxes is also in Suffolk, at Dennington) before it was raised above the high altar. The burse was used to contain the host before consecration at the Mass. They are England's only surviving examples, and they're both here. Or, more precisely they aren't, for both have been purloined by the British Museum, the kind of theft that no locked church can prevent.

 

But there are life-size photos of both either side of the tower arch. The burse is basically an envelope, and features the Veronica face of Christ on one side with the four evangelistic symbols in each corner. On the other is an Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God. The survival of both is extraordinary. It is one thing to explore the furnishings of lost Catholic England, quite another to come face to face with articles that were actually used in the liturgy.

 

In front of the pictures stands the font, a relatively good one of the early 15th century, though rather less exciting than everything going on around it. The dedicatory inscription survives, to a pair of Hoos of an earlier generation than the ones on the vestry.Turning east again, the ranks of simple 15th century benches are all of a piece with their church. They have survived the violent transitions of the centuries, and have seated generation after generation of Hessett people. They were new here when this church was alive with coloured light, with the hundreds of candles flickering on the rood beam, the processions, the festivals, and the people's lives totally integrated with the liturgy of the seasons. For the people of Catholic England, their religion was as much a part of them as the air they breathed. They little knew how soon it would all come to an end.

 

And so, there it is - one of the most fascinating and satisfactory of all East Anglia's churches. And yet, not many people know about it. We are only three miles from the brown-signed honeypot of Woolpit, where a constant stream of visitors come and go. I've visited Hessett many times, and never once encountered another visitor. Still, there you are, I suppose. Perhaps some places are better kept secret. But come here if you can, for here is a medieval worship space with much surviving evidence of what it was actually meant to be, and meant to do.

Photo captured via Minolta MD Rokkor-X 85mm F/1.7 lens. Spokane Indian Reservation. Selkirk Mountains Range. Okanogan-Colville Xeric Valleys and Foothills section within the Northern Rockies Region. Inland Northwest. Stevens County, Washington. Early October 2020.

 

Exposure Time: 0.6 sec. * ISO Speed: ISO-100 * Aperture: F/11 * Bracketing: None * Color Temperature: 6700 K * Film Plug-In: Fuji Provia 100F * Filter: Hoya HMC CIR-PL (⌀55mm) * Elevation: 2,402 feet above sea-level

for instance, you can't tell how messy my dresser actually is.

 

also...i'm starting to fall into pretty deep love with my minolta, now that i'm figuring out some of her kinks. i'm trying to experiment with other types of pictures, since i mostly focus on nature. although nature will always be my favorite subject. :)

 

kodak ektar 100, sooc. wide open, 1/30.

The bus ride from Shenzhen to Enping was long, like watching a freight train chug by, except it doesn't. We had to have been on that bus for seven hours, sometimes napping, and at times, staring out our windows, looking at a world standing still. Traffic was not only a nightmare, but also a mystery, for as many instances in which we could plainly see another egregiously bad vehicular accident, that which has become commonplace, ubiquitous in Chinese travel culture, there were other inexplicable stops in movement, when all of a sudden, as though finishing a swift countdown, our speed dropped so precipitously as to let out a collective lurch, if not in body, then definitely in mind. Calvin, thankfully, in his perspicacity, in his wide-angled, unique view of things, saw beyond the myriad vehicles which lay unmoving as if rocks on a dry riverbed; view the periphery, he bade us, and when we looked to the edges of the road, indeed we witnessed the most peculiar instigator of traffic congestion in the world - men en masse pissing on the side of the road! Men taking leaks creates a domino effect; that one sees another enjoying the relief of an unburdened, easy bladder, so seductive a yoke, that the only retort to the entreaty of this blissful state is to join in with abandon, and impunity. And so soon as the last few shakes are made, back into the cars do these men go, and a few hasty minutes later, traffic flows again!

 

Mike wanted to stop at a village, so we exchanged an increasingly crowded highway for a narrow, cement road, on which we ventured into the dense verdure. Having reached an impasse in the road soon thereafter, and not knowing how to advance further, to actually enter the village proper, we saw two lovely young ladies saddling a moped, motoring towards us. They then suddenly broke, and turned off our path and onto a dirt one which squeezed through two homes as though a mouse through its diminutive hole - that was our key. We greeted them as the girls turned their heads, offering us inquisitive, yet gentle looks. They would be our guides into town.

 

Blue showed me around her neighborhood. Together we walked along bumpy corridors and peered through open windows, beyond flitting cobwebs, to lay eyes on rooms where nowadays only impenetrable shadows repose. She and I examined the perfunctory red banners which framed each door in the village, and subsequently hit it off when I began inquiring into the nature of those two swarthy demons who hung menacingly before the closed doors, their gazes insidiously wild, drunk with rage, perhaps. Indeed later, in the quietude of a sunset raining down on us, while standing by ourselves in front of the village hall, I finally shared my faith with her, and in return she declared the lack of her own - her cousin and older sister, however, do know Jesus, she said, which verily warmed my heart, if not hers.

 

We left the village with much rapidity, but not before I blessed and encouraged Blue's cousin, in whose arms a smiling babe lay, and received joyfully a delectable departing gift: mysterious, "Blue Cookies" (the official Chinese name is 艾糍), whose mottled, homely complexion would disgust if not for the sweetness (an amalgam of sugar, peanuts and herbs) buried inside, a treasure which would be discovered again and again on our tour.

 

The food around Enping epitomizes, I believe, Guangdong cuisine: inexpensive and egregiously non-spicy. For what they lack in price and incendiary acidity, however, these dishes more than compensate with copious amounts of oil, salt and sugar, mixed together for a tantalizing effect on the taste buds. Our group was fortunate enough to have frequented several Guangdong-style dai pai dongs whose victuals both nourished our bodies and replenished our wallets - it's amazing to consider how $250RMB can feed 15 ravenous, cantankerous-when-hungry Christian bikers. In fact, the feasting grew exponentially more enjoyable as journey progressed, as our two primary orderers began to refine their culinary acuity, accurately predicting what would invigorate and excite our collective palate; it helped, too, that our utensils were pretty clean for Chinese standards!

 

Our first evening, we secured accommodations in a building that was not so much a hotel, or even a motel, as a grey, dry concrete edifice in which hardwood beds were arrayed neatly in each room; the spartan conditions dismayed some, including myself, at first. However, thankfulness trumped peevishness, and the realization that, in the middle of nowhere, we had mosquito nets to ward off the inexorable squad of mozzies, and one bathroom with boiling water for a very, very scalding shower was more than enough to placate everyone, especially after a hard day of riding. Besides, austerity succors the soul. We even managed to sleep pretty soundly without mattresses. In my somnolent state, I only remember shifting desperately maybe six, or seven times. It was a good night, and a bargain at only 15RMB per person!

 

On the second day our group dared to test itself on an unknown avenue. Consequently, we were spared the sonorous alarms of gigantic, indomitable trucks and instead subjected ourselves to the vicissitudes of off-road biking, whose soundtrack, undoubtedly for the day, was provided by an orchestra of buzzing cicadas, accompanied, at times, by the rumbling tympani of motorbikes. Oh, the countryside was lush, beautiful verdure all around - a feast for the romantic soul. Yet, for one of my companions, the environment was anything but endearing, for her adeptness at handling the desultory trail, she surely felt, was more chaotic than controlled. She persevered, nonetheless, pushing through her disconsolation to conquer the race marked out for her; such tenacity that only the Father could supply; and that left me thoroughly impressed.

 

At lunchtime, the evangelization effort began in earnest. It started innocently enough, as I asked a group of girls about the secondary school down the dusty road from our restaurant. Then, on cue, the Spirit, whose pacing can only be described as frenetic, whose rhythm is beyond my comprehension, overwhelmed and took over. Leanne and I brought those three girls to Christ; while Tim was assiduously preaching by our side to a band of boys who had gathered to look on; and behind us, ah Cheung had cajoled five boys to form a circle, hand in hand, for prayer. Many people came to know Jesus that hour. There was undoubtedly some serious fire falling down on us!

 

We made a pit stop at the Tam clan village. It was another bucolic community, replete with idling boys, young and old, and those two duplicitous demons standing watch from steady doors, which, it appeared, held together together the ramshackle walls beside them. An electricity meter evinced the reality of life in the village, of a living community that flows flittingly in and out of the houses as though cats leaping over canals; because I for one couldn't see how hundreds of people somehow resided inside those homes when I couldn't spot a single one during my brief tour of the grounds. In the open, by our bikes, there were conspicuous signs of life, however. I was standing in the sun, letting its warm rays melt on my skin, when a young man, not even twenty, approached and asked me about our intents and purposes on what was once such a dull afternoon. His curiosity got the better of me, and together we broached a conversation in faith. Simon joined us, and although he whom I named Henry, told us in his obstinacy that he depends on himself alone, I feel as though a small seed of faith was still planted within him. May it bloom at the appointed time when he most needs it.

 

At last, inside the unlit store where we shared our gleaming hopes and fantastic dreams, Simon and I noticed, to our surprise and delight, two blackboards on which the shopkeeper had written the alphabet, for English as well as for Putonghua (Pinyin). Besides the letters, numbers too had been painstakingly etched into the board, each meticulous stroke perfectly formed. So they ironically were learning that which continues to elude their more economically mobile brethren in Hong Kong, despite their most humble upbringing. I encouraged Henry to pursue this knowledge, since, as the cliche most rightly states, English - and Putonghua, these days - opens up a world of opportunity.

 

China, it seems to me, is one interminable housing start being carried on the shoulders of giants. Behemoths, really, an armada of green and blue dump trucks, on whose backs are the physical manifestation of the hopes and dreams of billions - timber; stone; and coal - were an inescapable part of our three-day trek. They blew passed us, literally, horns afire; and if you stared into the eyes of the drivers high above on those mechanized elephants, you would see the glee with which they pounded both the road and the eardrums of those unwitting peons foolish enough to be nearby. China - and China Mobile, whose stores we uncovered even in the most remote suburb, might I add! - still has much growth left, and the transportation and infrastructure industries, I'm sure, shall assiduously work to keep it that way. My recommendation: keep investing in China.

 

Visiting the hot springs had been on our agenda since the inception of the trip. We eventually had our chance the second evening, when we raced down a wending hill to our hotel - a real hotel. Our excitement reverberated in the air, crackling with laughter and shouting. Choosing to swim first and foremost, we left dinner to wait and hurried across the street. The resort was packed with other like-minded people, dressed in swimming costumes that should have left more to the imagination; the temperature of the pool water varied, from tepid in one enclosure to skin-searing in another; and for one marvelous hour, we swam and frolicked like little children again, delighting in some wet fun, a suitable reward for one more arduous day spent on the dusty, dry land.

 

We capped the end of a successful day with a bang. The girls, oddly enough, were furtive pyromaniacs in our midst, longing in secret to raid the fireworks shop at the base of the hotel. So after our meal, they raced into the cool evening air and we could only endeavor to follow them in their explosive folly. Inside the store, all sorts of bombastic devices were on display, from the unwieldy, block of (Chicago) bull to the sleek spears adorning the wall whose warheads, no doubt, could just so easily take out a few eyes as mercilessly rip the pitch black from the wall of night sky. The ladies suffered to leave no type of firework untouched by the flame, quickly purchasing an arsenal of rainbow-inducing rockets and slim sparklers to make any pyrotechnic maven proud. Outside we went. At length, the bombs burst in the air, and laughter abound so much as we watched the brilliance of Chinese engineering on display. With the girls' scintillating stock depleted, we finally collected ourselves, and headed upstairs for one more day of wonderment.

 

There was one last village to visit before we reached our final destination of Enping city. As we sped into the shanty community, we knew something was amiss because unlike our other entrances into villages, during which residents would emerge in droves to glimpse us, it seemed as though these villagers preferred the comfort of their own veiled homes to the company of a few, ebullient strangers. It was an ominous setting in which we found ourselves, one characterized by inhabitants rather mistrustful than gregarious, and affable. Nonetheless, we dispersed to share kindness and mercy. To that end, I approached a young lady, a mere 25-years old, who had her three-month old boy on her shoulder and her three-year old son - who was without pants, might I add, preferring to wave them in the air like a terrible towel - by her side. We spoke briefly about her hopes and dreams, which, she says, rest in the well-being of her sons; and then Leanne and I blessed her. That was the end of our village experience in China.

 

To be around people who sharpen you as iron sharpens iron, that verily is a joy. The villagers were simple, warm and welcoming; my teammates were jocular, presumptuous and faithful; and I, in the midst of this confluence, this mosaic of personalities, philosophies, hopes and dreams, could only seek to love, especially in one of my more pensive moments. The trip tested my patience and tolerance, my ability to accept others for who they are - each a flawed creature like myself. Ultimately, so much as we seek the men of peace everywhere we go, we individually must become men of peace too. A true disciple of Jesus runs that race, and appreciates His grace, which shall always be enough in this life.

Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters

The Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters (colloquially referred to as "landl" (Landesgericht)) is one of 20 regional courts in Austria and the largest court in Austria. It is located in the 8th District of Vienna, Josefstadt, at the Landesgerichtsstraße 11. It is a court of first respectively second instance. A prisoners house, the prison Josefstadt, popularly often known as the "Grey House" is connected.

Court Organization

In this complex there are:

the Regional Court for Criminal Matters Vienna,

the Vienna District Attorney (current senior prosecutor Maria-Luise Nittel)

the Jurists association-trainee lawer union (Konzipientenverband) and

the largest in Austria existing court house jail, the Vienna Josefstadt prison.

The Regional Criminal Court has jurisdiction in the first instance for crimes and offenses that are not pertain before the district court. Depending on the severity of the crime, there is a different procedure. Either decides

a single judge,

a senate of lay assessors

or the jury court.

In the second instance, the District Court proceeds appeals and complaints against judgments of district courts. A three-judge Court decides here whether the judgment is canceled or not and, if necessary, it establishes a new sentence.

The current President Friedrich Forsthuber is supported by two Vice Presidents - Henriette Braitenberg-Zennenberg and Eve Brachtel.

In September 2012, the following data have been published

Austria's largest court

270 office days per year

daily 1500 people

70 judges, 130 employees in the offices

5300 proceedings (2011) for the custodial judges and legal protection magistrates, representing about 40 % of the total Austrian juridical load of work

over 7400 procedures at the trial judges (30 % of the total Austrian juridical load of work)

Prosecution with 93 prosecutors and 250 employees

19,000 cases against 37,000 offenders (2011 )

Josefstadt prison with 1,200 inmates (overcrowded)

History

1839-1918

The original building of the Vienna Court House, the so-called civil Schranne (corn market), was from 1440 to 1839 located at the Hoher Markt 5. In 1773 the Schrannenplatz was enlarged under Emperor Joseph II and the City Court and the Regional Court of the Viennese Magistrate in this house united. From this time it bore the designation "criminal court".

Due to shortcomings of the prison rooms in the Old Court on Hoher Markt was already at the beginning of the 19th Century talk of building a new crime courthouse, but this had to be postponed because of bankruptcy in 1811.

In 1816 the construction of the criminal court building was approved. Although in the first place there were voices against a construction outside the city, as building ground was chosen the area of the civil Schießstätte (shooting place) and the former St. Stephanus-Freithofes in then Alservorstadt (suburb); today, in this part Josefstadt. The plans of architect Johann Fischer were approved in 1831, and in 1832 was began with the construction, which was completed in 1839. On 14 May 1839 was held the first meeting of the Council.

Provincial Court at the Landesgerichtsstraße between November 1901 and 1906

Johann Fischer fell back in his plans to Tuscan early Renaissance palaces as the Pitti Palace or Palazzo Pandolfini in Florence. The building was erected on a 21,872 m² plot with a length of 223 meters. It had two respectively three floors (upper floors), the courtyard was divided into three wings, in which the prisoner's house stood. In addition, a special department for the prison hospital (Inquisitenspital ) and a chapel were built.

The Criminal Court of Vienna was from 1839 to 1850 a city court which is why the Vice Mayor of Vienna was president of the criminal courts in civil and criminal matters at the same time. In 1850 followed the abolition of municipal courts. The state administration took over the Criminal Court on 1 Juli 1850. From now on, it had the title "K.K. Country's criminal court in Vienna".

1851, juries were introduced. Those met in the large meeting hall, then as now, was on the second floor of the office wing. The room presented a double height space (two floors). 1890/1891 followed a horizontal subdivision. Initially, the building stood all alone there. Only with the 1858 in the wake of the demolition of the city walls started urban expansion it was surrounded by other buildings.

From 1870 to 1878, the Court experienced numerous conversions. Particular attention was paid to the tract that connects directly to the Alserstraße. On previously building ground a three-storey arrest tract and the Jury Court tract were built. New supervened the "Neutrakt", which presented a real extension and was built three respectively four storied. From 1873 on, executions were not executed publicly anymore but only in the prison house. The first execution took place on 16 December 1876 in the "Galgenhof" (gallow courtyard), the accused were hanged there on the Würgegalgen (choke gallow).

By 1900 the prisoners house was extended. In courtyard II of the prison house kitchen, laundry and workshop buildings and a bathing facility for the prisoners were created. 1906/1907 the office building was enlarged. The two-storied wing tract got a third and three-storied central section a fourth floor fitted.

1918-1938

In the early years of the First Republic took place changes of the court organization. Due to the poor economy and the rapid inflation, the number of cases and the number of inmates rose sharply. Therefore, it was in Vienna on 1 October 1920 established a second Provincial Court, the Regional Court of Criminal Matters II Vienna, as well as an Expositur of the prisoner house at Garnisongasse.

One of the most important trials of the interwar period was the shadow village-process (Schattendorfprozess - nomen est omen!), in which on 14th July 1927, the three defendants were acquitted. In January 1927 front fighters had shot into a meeting of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, killing two people. The outrage over the acquittal was great. At a mass demonstration in front of the Palace of Justice on 15th July 1927, which mainly took place in peaceful manner, invaded radical elements in the Palace of Justice and set fire ( Fire of the Palace Justice), after which the overstrained police preyed upon peaceful protesters fleeing from the scene and caused many deaths.

The 1933/1934 started corporate state dictatorship had led sensational processes against their opponents: examples are the National Socialists processes 1934 and the Socialists process in 1936 against 28 "illegal" socialists and two Communists, in which among others the later leaders Bruno Kreisky and Franz Jonas sat on the dock.

Also in 1934 in the wake of the February Fights and the July Coup a series of processes were carried out by summary courts and military courts. Several ended with death sentences that were carried out by hanging in "Galgenhof" of the district court .

1938-1945

The first measures the Nazis at the Regional Criminal Court after the "Anschluss" of Austria to the German Reich in 1938 had carried out, consisted of the erection of a monument to ten Nazis, during the processes of the events in July 1934 executed, and of the creation of an execution space (then space 47 C, today consecration space where 650 names of resistance fighters are shown) with a guillotine supplied from Berlin (then called device F, F (stands for Fallbeil) like guillotine).

During the period of National Socialism were in Vienna Regional Court of 6 December 1938 to 4th April 1945 1.184 persons executed. Of those, 537 were political death sentences against civilians, 67 beheadings of soldiers, 49 war-related offenses, 31 criminal cases. Among those executed were 93 women in all age groups, including a 16-year-old girl and a 72-year-old woman who had both been executed for political reasons.

On 30 June 1942 were beheaded ten railwaymen from Styria and Carinthia, who were active in the resistance. On 31 July 1943, 31 people were beheaded in an hour, a day later, 30. The bodies were later handed over to the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Vienna and remaining body parts buried later without a stir at Vienna's Central Cemetery in shaft graves. To thein the Nazi era executed, which were called "Justifizierte" , belonged the nun Maria Restituta Kafka and the theology student Hannsgeorg Heintschel-Heinegg.

The court at that time was directly subordinated to the Ministry of Justice in Berlin.

1945-present

The A-tract (Inquisitentrakt), which was destroyed during a bombing raid in 1944 was built in the Second Republic again. This was also necessary because of the prohibition law of 8 May 1945 and the Criminal Law of 26 June 1945 courts and prisons had to fight with an overcrowding of unprecedented proportions.

On 24 March 1950, the last execution took place in the Grey House. Women murderer Johann Trnka had two women attacked in his home and brutally murdered, he had to bow before this punishment. On 1 July 1950 the death penalty was abolished in the ordinary procedure by Parliament. Overall, occured in the Regionl Court of Criminal Matters 1248 executions. In 1967, the execution site was converted into a memorial.

In the early 1980s, the building complex was revitalized and expanded. The building in the Florianigasse 8, which previously had been renovated, served during this time as an emergency shelter for some of the departments. In 1994, the last reconstruction, actually the annex of the courtroom tract, was completed. In 2003, the Vienna Juvenile Court was dissolved as an independent court, iIts agendas were integrated in the country's criminal court.

Prominent processes since 1945, for example, the Krauland process in which a ÖVP (Österreichische Volkspartei - Austrian People's Party) minister was accused of offenses against properties, the affair of the former SPÖ (Sozialistische Partei Österreichs - Austrian Socialist Party) Minister and Trade Unions president Franz Olah, whose unauthorized financial assistance resulted in a newspaper establishment led to conviction, the murder affairs Sassak and the of the Lainzer nurses (as a matter of fact, auxiliary nurses), the consumption (Konsum - consumer cooporatives) process, concerning the responsibility of the consumer Manager for the bankruptcy of the company, the Lucona proceedings against Udo Proksch, a politically and socially very well- networked man, who was involved in an attempted insurance fraud, several people losing their lives, the trial of the Nazi Holocaust denier David Irving for Wiederbetätigung (re-engagement in National Socialist activities) and the BAWAG affair in which it comes to breaches of duty by bank managers and vanished money.

Presidents of the Regional Court for Criminal Matters in Vienna since 1839 [edit ]

 

Josef Hollan (1839-1844)

Florian Philipp (1844-1849)

Eduard Ritter von Wittek (1850-1859)

Franz Ritter von Scharschmied (1859-1864)

Franz Ritter von Boschan (1864-1872)

Franz Josef Babitsch (1873-1874)

Joseph Ritter von Weitenhiller (1874-1881)

Franz Schwaiger (1881-1889)

Eduard Graf Lamezan -Salins (1889-1895)

Julius von Soos (1895-1903)

Paul von Vittorelli (1903-1909)

Johann Feigl (1909-1918)

Karl Heidt (1918-1919)

Ludwig Altmann (1920-1929)

Emil Tursky (1929-1936)

Philipp Charwath (1936-1938)

Otto Nahrhaft (1945-1950)

Rudolf Naumann (1951-1954)

Wilhelm Malaniu (1955-1963)

Johann Schuster (1963-1971)

Konrad Wymetal (1972-1976)

August Matouschek (1977-1989)

Günter Woratsch (1990-2004)

Ulrike Psenner (2004-2009)

Friedrich Forsthuber (since 2010)

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landesgericht_f%C3%BCr_Strafsachen_...

15c Tower and south porch flint with brick dressings has an 18c inscription above "Let these Instances of Mortalitie remind thee of thy own";

St Ethelbert, Hessett, Suffolk

 

Hessett is a fairly ordinary kind of village to the east of Bury St Edmunds, but its church is one of the most important in East Anglia for a number of reasons, which will become obvious. Consider for one moment, if you will, the extent to which the beliefs and practices of a religious community affect the architecture of its buildings. Think of a mosque, for instance. Often square, expressing the democracy of Islam, but without any imagery of the human figure, for such things are proscribed. Think of a synagogue, focused towards the Holy Scriptures in the Ark, but designed to enable the proclaiming of the Word, and the way that early non-conformist chapels echo this architecture of Judaism - indeed, those who built the first free churches, like Ipswich's Unitarian Chapel, actually called them synagogues.

 

The shape of a church, then, is no accident. A typical Suffolk perpendicular church of the 15th century has wide aisles, to enable liturgical processions, a chancel for the celebration of Mass, places for other altars, niches for devotional statues, a focus towards the Blessed Sacrament in the east, a roof of angels to proclaim a hymn of praise, a large nave for devotional and social activities, and wall paintings of the Gospels and hagiographies of Saints, of the catechism and teachings of the Catholic Church. As Le Corbusier might have said if he'd been around at the time, a medieval church is a machine for making Catholicism happen.

 

No longer, of course. The radical and violent fracture in popular religion in the middle years of the 16th century gave birth to the Church of England, and the new church inherited buildings that were quite unsuitable for the new congregational protestant theology, a problem that the Church of England has never entirely solved.

 

Over the centuries, the problem has been addressed in different ways. The early reformers celebrated communion at a table in the nave, for example, and blocked off the chancel for other uses. Although this was challenged by the Laudian party in the early part of the 17th century, it was the way that many parishes reinvented their buildings, and most were to stay like that until the middle years of the 19th century. Some went further. A pulpit placed halfway down the nave, or even at the back of the church, meant that the seating could be arranged so that it no longer focused towards the east, thus breaking the link with Catholic (and Laudian) sacramentalism. For several centuries, Anglican churches focused on the pulpit rather than the altar.

 

With the coming to influence of the 19th century Oxford Movement, all this underwent another dramatic change, with the great majority of our medieval parish churches having their interiors restored to their medieval integrity, reinventing themselves as sacramental spaces. This is the condition in which we find most of them today, and some Anglican theologians are asking the question that the Catholic Church asked itself at Vatican II in the 1960s - is a 19th century liturgical space really appropriate for the Church of the 21st century?

 

So, let us hasten at once to Hessett. The church sits like a glowing jewel in its wide churchyard, right on the main road through the village. It is pretty well perfect if you are looking for a fine Suffolk exterior. An extensive 15th century rebuilding enwraps the earlier tower, which was crowned by the donor of the rebuilding, John Bacon.The nave and aisles are deliciously decorated, reminding one rather of the church at neighbouring Rougham, although this is a smaller church, and the aisles make it almost square. A dedicatory inscription on the two storey vestry in the north east corner bids us pray for the souls of John and Katherine Hoo, who donated the chancel and paid for the trimmings to the aisles. Their inscription has been damaged by protestant reformers, who obviously did not believe in the efficacy of prayers for the dead.

 

Although not comparable with that at Woolpit, the dressed stone porch is a grand affair, and a bold statement. You may find the south door locked, but if this is the case then the priest's door into the chancel is usually open. And in a way it is a good church to enter via the chancel, because in this way St Ethelbert unfolds its treasures slowly.You step into relative darkness - or, at least, it seems so in comparison with the nave beyond the rood screen. This is partly a result of the abundance of dark wood, and in truth the chancel seems rather overcrowded. The most striking objects in view are the return stalls, which fill the two westerly corners of the chancel. These are in the style of a college or school of priests, with their backs to the rood screen, but then 'returning' around the walls to the east. They are fine, and are certainly 15th or 16th century. But one of the stalls, that to the north, is different to the others, and seems slightly out of place. It is elaborately carved with faces, birds and foliage.

 

Mortlock thought that it might have been intended for a private house. The stall in front of it has heads on it that appear to be wearing 18th century wigs. The sanctuary is largely Victorianised, with a great east window depicting Saints. The south windows of the chancel depict a lovely Adoration scene by the O'Connors. The chancel is separated from the nave by the 15th century rood screen, which is elegantly painted and gilt on the west side, the beautifully tracery intricately carved above. The rood screen has been fitted with attractive iron gates, presumably evidence of Anglo-catholic enthusiasm here in the early 20th century, and you step down through them into the light. A first impression is that you are entering a much older space than the one you have left. There is an 18th century mustiness, enhanced by the box pews that line the aisles. And, beyond, on walls and in windows, are wonderful things.

 

The number of surviving wall paintings in England is a tiny fraction of those which existed before the 15th and 16th centuries. All churches had them, and in profusion. It isn't enough to say that they were a 'teaching aid' of a church of illiterate peasants. In the main, they were devotional, and that is why they were destroyed. However, it is more complicated than that. Research in recent years has indicated that many wall paintings were destroyed before the Reformation, perhaps a century before. In some churches, they have been punched through with Perpendicular windows, which are clearly pre-Reformation. In the decades after the Black Death, there seems to have been a sea change in the liturgical use of these buildings, a move away from an individualistic, devotional usage to a corporate liturgical one. There is a change of emphasis towards more education and exegesis. This is the time that pulpits and benches appear, long before protestantism was on the agenda. What seems to happen is that many buildings were intended now to be full of light, and devotional wall paintings were either whitewashed, or replaced with catechetical ones.

 

The decoration of the nave was the responsibility of the people of the parish, not of the Priest. The wall paintings of England can be divided into roughly three groups. Roughly speaking, the development of wall paintings over the later medieval period is in terms of these three overlapping emphases.

 

Firstly, the hagiographies - stories of the Saints. These might have had a local devotion, although some saints were popular over a wide area, and most churches seem to have supported a devotion to St Christopher right up until the Reformation.

 

Secondly came those which illustrate incidents in the life of Christ and his mother, the Blessed Virgin. Although partly pedagogical, they were also enabling tools, since private devotions often involved a contemplation upon them, and at Mass the larger part of those present would have been involved in private devotions. These scriptural stories were as likely to have been derived from apocryphal texts like the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew as from the actual Gospels themselves.

 

Lastly, there are catechetical wall paintings, illustrating the teachings of the Catholic church. It should not be assumed that these are dogmatic. Many are simply artistic representations of stories, and others are simplifications of theological ideas, as with the seven deadly sins and the seven cardinal virtues. Some warn against occasions of sin (gossiping, for example) and generally wall paintings provided a local site for discussion and exemplification.

 

To an extent, all the above is largely true of stained glass, as well, with the caveat that stained glass was more expensive, relied on local patronage, and often has this patronage as a subtext, hence the large number of heraldic devices and images of local worthies. But it was also devotional, and so it was also destroyed.

 

So - what survives at Hessett? The wall paintings first.

 

Starting in the south east corner of the nave, we have Suffolk's finest representation of St Barbara, presenting a tower. St Barbara was very popular in medieval times, because she was invoked against strikes by lightning and sudden fires. This resulted from her legend, for her father, on finding her to be a Christian, walled her up in a tower until she repented. As a result, he was struck by lightning, and reduced to ashes. She was also the patron saint of the powerful building trade, and as such her image graced their guild altars - perhaps that was the case here.

 

Above the south door is another figure, often identified as St Christopher, but I do not think that this can be the case. St Christopher is found nowhere else in Suffolk above a south door. The traditional iconography of this mythical saint is not in place here, and it is hard to see how this figure could ever have been interpreted as such. I suspect it is a result of an early account confusing the two images over the north and south doors, and the mistake being repeated in later accounts.

 

In fact, digital enhancement seems to suggest that there are two figures above the south door, overlapping each other slightly. The figure on the right is barefoot, that on the left is wearing a white gown. There appears to be water under their feet, and so I think this is an image of the Baptism of Christ. Perhaps it was once part of a sequence.

 

The wall painting opposite, above the north door, is St Christopher. Although it isn't as clear as himself at, say, nearby Bradfield Combust, he bestrides the river in the customary manner, staff in hand. The Christ child is difficult to discern, but you can see the fish in the water. Also in the water, and rather unusual, are two figures. They are rendered rather crudely, almost like gingerbread men. Could they be the donors of the north aisle, John and Katherine Hoo in person?

 

Moving along the north aisle, we come to the set of paintings for which Hessett is justifiably famous. They are set one above the other between two windows, at the point where might expect the now-vanished screen to a chapel to have been. The upper section was here first. It shows the seven deadly sins (described wrongly in some text books as a tree of Jesse, or ancestry of Christ). Two devils look on as, from the mouth of hell, a great tree sprouts, ending in seven images. Pride is at the top, and in pairs beneath are Gluttony and Anger, Vanity and Envy, Avarice and Lust. Mortlock suggests that some attempt has been made to erase the image for Lust, which may simply be mid-16th century puritan prurience on the part of some reformer here. This would suggest that this catechetical tool was here right up until the Reformation.

 

The idea of 'Seven Deadly Sins' was anathema to the reformers, because it is entirely unscriptural. Rather, as a catechetical tool, it is a way of drawing together a multitude of sins into a simplistic aide memoire. This could then be used in confession, taking each of them one at a time and examining ones conscience accordingly. It should not be seen simply as a 'warning' to ignorant peasants, for the evidence is that the ordinary rural people of late medieval England were theologically very articulate. Rather, it was a tool for use, in contemplation and preparation for the sacrament of reconciliation, which may well have ordinarily taken place in the chapel here.

 

The wall painting beneath the Sins is even more interesting. This is a very rare 'Christ of the Trades', and dates from the early 15th century, about a hundred years after the painting above. It is rather faded, and takes a while to discern, and not all of it is decodable. However, enough is there to be fascinating. The image of the 'Christ of the Trades' is known throughout Christendom, and contemporary versions with this can be found in other parts of Europe. It shows the risen Christ in the centre, and around him a vast array of the tools and symbols of various trades. One theory is that it depicts activities that should not take place on a Sunday, a holy day of obligation to refrain from work, and that these activities are wounding Christ anew.

 

Perhaps the most fascinating symbol, and the one that everyone notices, is the playing card. It shows the six of diamonds. Does it represent the makers of playing cards? If so, it might suggest a Flemish influence. Or could it be intended to represent something else? Whatever, it is one of the earliest representations of a playing card in England. Why is this here? It may very well be that there was a trades gild chantry chapel at the east end of the north aisle, and this painting was at its entrance.

 

At the east end of the north aisle now is the church's set of royal arms. Cautley saw it in the vestry in the 1930s, and identified it as a Queen Anne set. Now, with additions stripped away, it is revealed as a Charles II set from the 1660s, and a very fine one. It is fascinating to see it at such close range. Usually, they are set above the south door now, although they would originally have been placed above the chancel arch, in full view of the congregation, a gentle reminder of who was in charge.

 

And so to the glass, which on its own would be worth coming to Hessett to see. Few Suffolk churches have such an expanse, none have such a variety, or glass of such quality and interest. It consists essentially of two ranges, the life and Passion of Christ in the north aisle (although some glass has been reset across the church), and images and hagiographies of Saints in the south aisle.

 

In the north aisle, the scourging of Christ stands out, the wicked grins of the persecutors contrasting with the pained nobility of the Christ figure. In the next window, Christ rises from the dead, coming out of his tomb like the corpses in the doom paintings at Stanningfield, North Cove and Wenhaston. The Roman centurion sleeps soundly in the foreground.

 

The most famous image is in the east window of the south aisle. Apparently, it shows a bishop holding the chain to a bag, with four children playing at his feet. I say apparently, because there is rather more going on here than meets the eye. The reason that this image is so famous is that the small child in the foreground is holding what appears to be a golf club or hockey stick, and this would be the earliest representation of such an object in all Europe. The whole image has been said to represent St Nicholas, who was a Bishop, and whose legends include a bag of gold and a group of children.

 

Unfortunately, this is not the case. St Nicholas is never symbolised by a bag of gold, and there are three children in the St Nicholas legend, not four. In any case, the hand in the picture is not holding the chain to a bag at all, but a rosary, and the hockey stick is actually a fuller's club, used for dyeing clothes, and the symbol of St James the Less.

 

What has happened here is that the head of a Bishop has been grafted on to the body of a figure which is probably still in its original location. The three lights of this window contained a set of the Holy Kinship. The light to the north of the 'Bishop' contains two children playing with what ae apparently toys, but when you look closely you can see that one is holding a golden shell, and the other a poisoned chalice. They are the infant St James and St John, and the lost figure above them was their mother, Mary Salome.

 

This means that the figure with the Bishop's head is actually Mary Cleophas, mother of four children including St James the Less. The third light to the south, of course, would have depicted the Blessed Virgin and child, but she is lost to us.

 

Not only this, but Hessett has some very good 19th Century glass which complements and does not overly intrude. The best is beneath the tower, the west window in a fully 15th Century style of scenes by Clayton & Bell. The east window, depicting saints, is by William Warrington, and the chancel also has the O'Connor glass already mentioned.

 

If the windows and wall paintings were all there was, then Hessett would be remarkable enough. But there is something else, two things, actually, that elevate it above all other Suffolk churches, and all the churches of England. For St Ethelbert is the proud owner of two unique survivals. At the back of the church is a chest, no different from those you'll find in many a parish church. In common with those, it has three separate locks, the idea being that the Rector and two Churchwardens would have a key each, and it would be necessary for all three of them to be present for the chest to be opened. It was used for storing parish records and valuables.

 

At some point, one of the keys was lost. There is an old story about the iconoclast William Dowsing turning up here and demanding the chest be opened, but on account of the missing key it couldn't be. Unfortunately, this story isn't true, for Dowsing never recorded a visit Hessett. The chest was eventually opened in the 19th century. Inside were found two extraordinary pre-Reformation survivals. These are a pyx cloth and a burse. The pyx cloth was draped over the wooden canopy that enclosed the blessed sacrament (one of England's four surviving medieval pyxes is also in Suffolk, at Dennington) before it was raised above the high altar. The burse was used to contain the host before consecration at the Mass. They are England's only surviving examples, and they're both here. Or, more precisely they aren't, for both have been purloined by the British Museum, the kind of theft that no locked church can prevent.

 

But there are life-size photos of both either side of the tower arch. The burse is basically an envelope, and features the Veronica face of Christ on one side with the four evangelistic symbols in each corner. On the other is an Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God. The survival of both is extraordinary. It is one thing to explore the furnishings of lost Catholic England, quite another to come face to face with articles that were actually used in the liturgy.

 

In front of the pictures stands the font, a relatively good one of the early 15th century, though rather less exciting than everything going on around it. The dedicatory inscription survives, to a pair of Hoos of an earlier generation than the ones on the vestry.Turning east again, the ranks of simple 15th century benches are all of a piece with their church. They have survived the violent transitions of the centuries, and have seated generation after generation of Hessett people. They were new here when this church was alive with coloured light, with the hundreds of candles flickering on the rood beam, the processions, the festivals, and the people's lives totally integrated with the liturgy of the seasons. For the people of Catholic England, their religion was as much a part of them as the air they breathed. They little knew how soon it would all come to an end.

 

And so, there it is - one of the most fascinating and satisfactory of all East Anglia's churches. And yet, not many people know about it. We are only three miles from the brown-signed honeypot of Woolpit, where a constant stream of visitors come and go. I've visited Hessett many times, and never once encountered another visitor. Still, there you are, I suppose. Perhaps some places are better kept secret. But come here if you can, for here is a medieval worship space with much surviving evidence of what it was actually meant to be, and meant to do.

I am never happy about trees being cut down but in this instance I do not know the full story and may never do so.

 

Having read the news about the petition I decided to visit Fairview to see what the fuss was about and also it was a good excuse to visit the area.

 

According to one local that I spoke to the City Council is planning to remove about fifty trees in order to make way for a new cycle path but a second lady explained that as the trees will be replaced by the Corpo [Dublin City Council] she was not interested in the petition.

 

As the planting began in 1906 some of the trees are over a hundred years old and according to the City Council officials some of the older trees are distressed because of restricted growing space and need to be felled regardless of their plans for a cycleway.

 

On the main Fairview road there is a large number of trees marked with yellow bands and I assume that these are the trees destined for the chop. However, according to some online accounts it is the trees along the park’s main footpath that are under threat. I think that some reports have used stock photographs of random trees in the park.

 

By the way the Irish Times are not in favour of the petition see: www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fairview-trees-row-shows-why-d...

The tower - nicknamed : the peppermill - is taking its time to let the wake turbulence from the previous airplane settle down, because the wings (tips) and engines always create a vortex.

 

Minimum separation time when it's rush hour, is 50/60 secs for departure, and 80/90 secs for arrivals (2020).

When the same runway is used for starts as well as landings, landing planes go first.

 

It is considerably cheaper to have an airplane waiting on the ground with her engines on idle, then having a landing airplane placed in a holding pattern burning up fuel, waiting for another airplane to get airborn.

 

When a commercial airplane starts the climb, is uses in excess of 100x more fuel then a taxiing airplane of the same magnitude on the ground, for incoming traffic that number is 50x.

 

Let alone the environmental burden that's at hand here.

 

That issue goes for the runways as well.

For instance, RWY 18R/36L (polderbaan) is hated by the captains, because of her distance away from the hubs, it gives them 2x 15 mins extra taxi-time + extra fuel consumption.

I think this transformation photo set speaks for itself. I have three Rock Angelz Cloe dolls in my collection currently. None of the trio was in decent shape when I acquired them. But it seems that with each doll I get, their condition continues to decline. For instance, Cloe #1 was a nude flea market rescue. I found her in 2011 for 40 cents, with a few chew marks on her lower leg. She was dirty, her hair was unkempt, and there was no trace of any Bratz item on her. Cloe #2 joined the collection in 2017, in the "Bratz Blitz Lot." She was a royal disaster, with matted hair and a rather grubby appearance. Again, I didn't get much Rock Angelz stuff with this doll either. Ironically, Cloe #3, shown here, came with the most of her original fixings. Her spare outfit, which she wears in this photo, was still sealed in its original bubble pack. There was also all the jewelry and other teeny tiny accessories still wrapped up in the pack. Cloe herself though was a disaster of epic proportions. I rescue squalid dolls all the time. I'm no stranger to weird smells, ratty hair, and discolored looking skin due to pure grime. But this gal ranks as one of the most disgusting ones I've found in several years. What the heck was on her face?!!! Although she looked ghastly, most of this wiped off in the kitchen sink with no effort. I made sure to vigorously scrub her with baking soda several times though, just to ensure all the dirt was gone. Her hair wasn't as bad as my "Bratz Blitz Lot" gal's, which is why I didn't document the back of her tresses. I did boil wash her two times though, since she had quite a few split ends. She's also gotten a pair of handmade earrings since this "after" photo was snapped. The Bratz earrings she was sporting here kept falling out because her ear holes were a bit too small. I personally think the handmade set makes Cloe look all that much more glamorous! I'm really glad to have this "before" photo to look back on--sometimes it's easy to forget what my dolls actually were like when I first brought them home! It's fun to see their transformations, even for myself!

 

Tutorial: How I Clean Dolly Bodies & Faces

www.flickr.com/photos/athousandsplendiddolls/17144774969/...

 

Tutorial: How I Boil Wash Doll Hair

www.flickr.com/photos/athousandsplendiddolls/17310388751/...

* Preview still at Chesterfield & York showing the Charter train preparing for a stop on platform 5. This is a 2mins 17sec, 36Mby video, so can be watched within the Flickr interface, taken from the York ROC RailCam view.. NOTE: The York Station RailCam does not have sound available which, in this instance, would have been a very welcome addition... a soundtrack has been added to this one, Chicane & the haunting, wonderful, 'Saltwater'...

 

As this day turned out to be particularly grotty first thing, it didn't encourage an early morning jaunt out to catch the two smart looking locos on today's seaside jaunt to the north-east coast, 'The Yorkshire Coast Statesman'. This has a pair of class 47s doubling up at the front, 47614, ex-47853, in 'B.R. Blue' style livery followed by 47828, 'Joe Strummer' with "Intercity Livery' including 'Swallow Motif' on the side. So, having grabbed a shot of the pair of them using the Chesterfield RailCam, it was decided to employ the York ROC Camera to produce this video, the Chesterfield clip, taken at 09:32, is at the beginning. Featured are York are a couple of units in the Loco Sidings, in No. 1 is a D.R.S. class 66 and parked next to it, number unreadable on both, in No.2 sidings is a class 37. The video has been edited to cut out some of the dead time but include the traction moves taking place for the 3mins 40secs in which the charter was due.. There were only two and one was stationary in platform 11 next to the parked up locos, this was a T.P.E. class 185 set, 185105, awaiting the 'away' on an 'Empty Coaching Stock' move, 5P26, from here to to Manchester Victoria. The other did pass through the station just prior to the Charter arriving, this was a Northern Rail service, 2R91, with class 158, 158906, heading out of the bay platform 7, also on a trip to the to the east coast, this time Bridlington.

The real star of the show of course was the 'The Yorkshire Coast Statesman' operated by 'Statesman Trips & Tours', for this one, see-

www.statesmanrail.com/journey/yorkshire-coast-statesman-2...

The set today had 11 smartly turned out coaches along with the two smartly turned out class 47s at the front, class 47, 47614, ex-47853, in 'B.R. Blue' livery with 47828, 'Joe Strummer', in 'Intercity Livery' with 'Swallow Motif on the side, working the 1Z45, St. Albans via Bedford, Leicester, Loughborough, Doncaster & York to Scarborough, the later on the east coast just an hour away from York. The time-tabling had the Charter taking the Moorthorpe, Pontefract, Milford Junction route but with engineering trains present in the Milford area, the set was diverted via Doncaster, with no impact on timing.

Arrival at York was on-time at midday and the passengers have around 3hours and 20 mins before the return service 1Z47, leaves at 15:20, in fact it is on its way as I write this, and having passed through this area, is currently about to head through Barrow Hill, en-route for Chesterfield, and set to arrive back in St. Albans City at 20:39...

Some information about the 2 class 47s-

 

Number: 47614(47853)

Built: Brush Falcon Works

Number: D1733

Production Order: September 28th 1962

Works Number: 504 (originally 495)

In Traffic: 12/6/1964

Depot: Kingmoor

Pool: MBDL

Livery: Monastral Blue (Standard)

Numbers: D1733 June 12th 1964, 47141 January 1974, 47614 July 1984, 47853 February 1990

Livery: DZ - Direct Rail Services - Two Tone Compass Blue

Names: 47614 'Tayside Region', Naming planned but never carried out, name later applied to 47713.

Names other: 47614 'University of Stirling' September 1984, naming planned but was cancelled and name was applied to 47617.

Names other: 47853 'Rail Express' at Grosmont(NYMR)

by Murrey Brown and Philip Sutton, Editor and Commercial Director, respectively, of Rail Express. 27/4/2002.

 

Number: 47828

Built: B.R. Crewe

Number: D1966

Production Order: Order Lot 400

In traffic: 2/10/1965

Class: 47/4

Depot: KM - Kingmoor Yard SP (Carlisle)

Livery: B.R. InterCity with 'Swallow Motif'

Numbers: D1966 October 2nd 1965, 47266 February 1974, 47629 October 1985, 47828 June 1989

Names: 47828 'Severn Valley Railway Kidderminster Bewdley Bridgnorth' At Kidderminster by Paul Fathers, Chairman of the SVR. 28/4/2001

Names: 47828 'Joe Strummer' at Bristol Temple Meads by Adrian Parcell, M.D. of Cotswold Rail & Lucinda, widow of Joe Strummer. 2/12/2005

Officially called Rokuon-ji, Kinkaku-ji - the Golden Pavilion is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and stunningly beautiful - both the building and the landscape. Somewhat disappointingly this instance of the building was only built in 1987 after the one before (you guessed it) it burned down in the 1950s.

An instance of invading a region with an armed force...

Lynx Spider attacked Crab Spider or More Eight-legged Info

 

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Post WWII, the USA was looking to return to normality. People going about there day doing normal things.

 

They looked to the traditional 'Truck' to get their goods to market, for instance.

 

The 1946 Chevrolet COE (Cab Over Engine) is a perfect such example, shown here.

 

This particular Lego model is directly designed to reflect a restoration job on an old COE, recounted in the story below:

 

1946 Chevrolet COE

Year/Make 1946 Chevrolet COE

Owner: Billy Marlow

 

1946 Ownerd by Billy Marlow Dayton, MD

By Billy Marlow

Although my family was in the coal business in Washington,D.C. for many years, and for a brief time I drove a tow truck for a living, my truck passion didn't bloom until after I restored my 1946 Chevrolet Cab-Over (COE) and joined ATHS.

Always a bit of a gear-head and into anything with a motor, I saw the 1946 Cab Over in a truck trader publication in September 2000 and fell in love with its Art Deco grill. The truck reportedly spent much of it's life on a farm in Oklahoma, most likely with a grain body on it. I bought the truck sight unseen and had it shipped to Maryland with the intention of fixing it up a little and having fun with it.

As many of these stories go, the next thing you know the truck was in a million pieces and a complete restoration had begun. I felt that it would be kind of nice to see this truck restored to near original condition. In doing so, however, I knew this would limit travel speed and distance. The chevy has the famous 235 inline stove bolt 6 cylinder engine. It is a 2 ton truck with a two speed vacuum rear, with 6.03 and 7.99 ratios, which means it tops out comfortably around 43 miles an hour.

I'm not exactly sure how I came up with the color combination, but I knew that is what it was going to be before I even took delivery of the truck. The paint scheme is definitely not stock, but folks seem to approve of my choice.

I am a building engineer at a country club near my home in Dayton, MD. and have worked there for 28 years. A lot of what I do from day to day helped in my first attempt at truck restoration. I did a lot of restoration myself, but had a hand with the engine, paint and body work. I spent many hours in front of the sand blast cabinet. Some of my best memories of the restoration were the days like the first time we started the engine, the day we set the cab back on the frame and the best of all, the first time I eased the clutch out and drove the truck out of the barn.

 

Right after the truck came home I realized I was going to need every resource I could to learn about my new project and to locate parts. One of my first tools I bought was a computer, and without the internet I don't think I could have finished the truck. There are some great websites out there and folks who are more than willing to help.

I quickly learned that there are many parts on a cab-over that are shared with a conventional truck. After a little time on the keyboard, I was finding parts and pieces all over the country. Finding the grill bars proved a challenge. It took about two years to find enough to make a fairly straight set.

The truck was almost done around the summer of 2003-and six years later it is still "almost done" - when John Milliman twisted my arm to get me to come to an ATHS Baltimore-Washington Chapter truck show in Waldorf, Maryland. It was my very first time out with the truck and I had a great time. I filled out my ATHS membership application that day and also joined the chapter. I felt a little out of place at first among all the bigger trucks, but all that changed after our chapter hosted the ATHS National Convention in Baltimore in 2006. That was the first really big truck show I ever attended and it left a lasting mark on me.

I have had a wonderful time taking my truck to many shows, and have even brought two more trucks that I am working on now: a 1972 GMC 9500 and a 1964 B-61 Mack. My wife, Jennifer, is a huge supporter of my truck hobby, and I couldn't enjoy all these fun events without her.

Jennifer brought her mother to the convention in 2006, and she was overwhelmed by the passion that the truck owners had for their beautiful vehicles. My mother-in-law is also a big supporter of my little hobby, and is responsible for having the beautiful signs made for the truck. The signs were made from the original Marlow Coal Company logo and letterhead, and its history is very dear to my heart.

People always ask me if my truck is for sale. After all the fun I had restoring it, all the fun I have had taking it to different events, and all the great people I have met becuase of it, I don't think I could ever sell it. I guess there are some things you just can't put a price tag on.

 

You can read this story, along with pictures of the original truck at:

 

www.oldchevytrucks.com/Showcase/1946_COE_Marlow.php

 

And, for a wider range of stories of period Chevrolet Trucks:

 

www.oldchevytrucks.com/blog/index.php/category/technical-...

 

This Lego miniland-scale 1946 Chevrolet COE Farm Truck has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 103rd Build Challenge, titled - 'The Fabulous Forties!' - a challenge for any vehicle produced through the decade of the 1940s.

In this particular instance, a wellhead is a stone structure that was once used to supply and provide water to the local residents. This one is located on what is known as the Royal Mile in the city of Edinburgh in Scotland..

Post WWII, the USA was looking to return to normality. People going about there day doing normal things.

 

They looked to the traditional 'Truck' to get their goods to market, for instance.

 

The 1946 Chevrolet COE (Cab Over Engine) is a perfect such example, shown here.

 

This particular Lego model is directly designed to reflect a restoration job on an old COE, recounted in the story below:

 

1946 Chevrolet COE

Year/Make 1946 Chevrolet COE

Owner: Billy Marlow

 

1946 Ownerd by Billy Marlow Dayton, MD

By Billy Marlow

Although my family was in the coal business in Washington,D.C. for many years, and for a brief time I drove a tow truck for a living, my truck passion didn't bloom until after I restored my 1946 Chevrolet Cab-Over (COE) and joined ATHS.

Always a bit of a gear-head and into anything with a motor, I saw the 1946 Cab Over in a truck trader publication in September 2000 and fell in love with its Art Deco grill. The truck reportedly spent much of it's life on a farm in Oklahoma, most likely with a grain body on it. I bought the truck sight unseen and had it shipped to Maryland with the intention of fixing it up a little and having fun with it.

As many of these stories go, the next thing you know the truck was in a million pieces and a complete restoration had begun. I felt that it would be kind of nice to see this truck restored to near original condition. In doing so, however, I knew this would limit travel speed and distance. The chevy has the famous 235 inline stove bolt 6 cylinder engine. It is a 2 ton truck with a two speed vacuum rear, with 6.03 and 7.99 ratios, which means it tops out comfortably around 43 miles an hour.

I'm not exactly sure how I came up with the color combination, but I knew that is what it was going to be before I even took delivery of the truck. The paint scheme is definitely not stock, but folks seem to approve of my choice.

I am a building engineer at a country club near my home in Dayton, MD. and have worked there for 28 years. A lot of what I do from day to day helped in my first attempt at truck restoration. I did a lot of restoration myself, but had a hand with the engine, paint and body work. I spent many hours in front of the sand blast cabinet. Some of my best memories of the restoration were the days like the first time we started the engine, the day we set the cab back on the frame and the best of all, the first time I eased the clutch out and drove the truck out of the barn.

 

Right after the truck came home I realized I was going to need every resource I could to learn about my new project and to locate parts. One of my first tools I bought was a computer, and without the internet I don't think I could have finished the truck. There are some great websites out there and folks who are more than willing to help.

I quickly learned that there are many parts on a cab-over that are shared with a conventional truck. After a little time on the keyboard, I was finding parts and pieces all over the country. Finding the grill bars proved a challenge. It took about two years to find enough to make a fairly straight set.

The truck was almost done around the summer of 2003-and six years later it is still "almost done" - when John Milliman twisted my arm to get me to come to an ATHS Baltimore-Washington Chapter truck show in Waldorf, Maryland. It was my very first time out with the truck and I had a great time. I filled out my ATHS membership application that day and also joined the chapter. I felt a little out of place at first among all the bigger trucks, but all that changed after our chapter hosted the ATHS National Convention in Baltimore in 2006. That was the first really big truck show I ever attended and it left a lasting mark on me.

I have had a wonderful time taking my truck to many shows, and have even brought two more trucks that I am working on now: a 1972 GMC 9500 and a 1964 B-61 Mack. My wife, Jennifer, is a huge supporter of my truck hobby, and I couldn't enjoy all these fun events without her.

Jennifer brought her mother to the convention in 2006, and she was overwhelmed by the passion that the truck owners had for their beautiful vehicles. My mother-in-law is also a big supporter of my little hobby, and is responsible for having the beautiful signs made for the truck. The signs were made from the original Marlow Coal Company logo and letterhead, and its history is very dear to my heart.

People always ask me if my truck is for sale. After all the fun I had restoring it, all the fun I have had taking it to different events, and all the great people I have met becuase of it, I don't think I could ever sell it. I guess there are some things you just can't put a price tag on.

 

You can read this story, along with pictures of the original truck at:

 

www.oldchevytrucks.com/Showcase/1946_COE_Marlow.php

 

And, for a wider range of stories of period Chevrolet Trucks:

 

www.oldchevytrucks.com/blog/index.php/category/technical-...

 

This Lego miniland-scale 1946 Chevrolet COE Farm Truck has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 103rd Build Challenge, titled - 'The Fabulous Forties!' - a challenge for any vehicle produced through the decade of the 1940s.

East window of the south aisle by Sir Ninian Comper, 1920. The composition portrays Christ carrying the cross along the Via Crucis, assisted in this instance by two more contemporary figures of a sailor and soldier.

 

Ufford's church of the Assumption is justly famous and needs little introduction in churchcrawling circles. It is one of those special churches which is not only a most handsome building in its own right but retains more of its medieval features than most, and one extraordinary piece that is of such renown it would be worth coming here to see all on its own; the fact the church is such a gem regardless makes an additional bonus!

 

I first came here decades ago as my interest in churches blossomed in childhood. We knew this one was worth a special trip and I remembered it accordingly (long before I took any half decent photos of course). Being so close I couldn't resist the urge to revisit Ufford, over three decades later.

 

The church appears entirely of 15th century date (though clearly a church has stood on this site for much longer) and the fine west tower announces its presence as one approaches from the street. The churchyard is a green and pleasantly sheltered space (even though the trees make it hard to get an overall view of the building) and the path leads straight to the beautiful south porch, all adorned with playful flint flushwork designs. As pleasant though the exterior is however the lure of this church lies within and and is too inviting to resist.

 

Inside the church it is immediately clear that this light and lovely place has much of interest with medieval pews all around populated by figurative carvings, but moving from the south aisle to the nave one is confronted by what makes Ufford so famous, the font with its towering wooden canopy, reaching as high as the nave roof! The font itself is quite ordinary for Suffolk and not large, but the great wooden spire placed atop it makes it a wonder of medieval England. It is unsurprisingly the tallest in the country and a remarkable survival, it has lost the statuettes that once filled its niches (a few more recent replacements adorn it here and there) but is still crowned by the image of the pelican in piety. One has to contemplate it awhile, it dominates the narrow space of the nave like no other and is a masterpiece of medieval woodwork (to raise the cover the lower section is designed to move separately and 'telescopically' to cover that above, rather than raise the entire spire of wood).

 

There is more to see here beside the font of course, but that is the feature that steals the show here. Above it the medieval roof adorned with angels, sadly not the original figures which were last to Protestant iconoclast, the present pair of angels and winged cherubic heads being early 20th century. The fine woodwork of the nave pews would be worth a visit in their own right anywhere else with a remarkable range of figures adorning them which reward exploration and study. The chancel beyond also has a fine roof, this time adorned with painted shields depicting symbols of the Passion, and the glass in the east window appears old, though be aware that most of this is very clever early 20th century imitation.

 

Ufford church is one of the highlights of this part of Suffolk and shouldn't be missed. It is happily kept open and welcoming on both occasions I visited, and normally should be outside covid-affected times.

 

For more on this gem of a church see its entry on the Suffolk Churches site below:-

www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/Ufford.htm

White Storks have long been symbols of good luck in Europe. They built nests on chimneys, rooftops, and towers, as well as in trees. In this instance, the local utility company has fixed an old cart wheel to the top of the telephone pole.

 

The rooftop nests may have also contributed to the association of storks and fertility but they no longer breed in Denmark. There were 2,000 breeding pairs at the beginning of the 20th century. Finding food is now difficult for this much-loved bird because many of the ponds are gone, and with these the amphibians the stork feeds on. The overall population of White Storks has declined steadily over the last half century since this photograph was taken by me. Pollution, pesticides and wetlands drainage have severely reduced suitable foraging habitat across the breeding range.

 

The legend that the European White Stork brings babies is believed to have originated in northern Germany, perhaps because storks arrive on their breeding grounds nine months after midsummer. Northern Europeans of Teutonic ancestry encouraged storks to nest on their homes hoping they would bring fertility and prosperity.

 

The following passage comes from a 1903 book, Danish Life in Town and Country, by Jessie Bröchner (New York and London, G.P. Putnam’s Sons):

 

"To make a Danish farmstead complete there should be a garden with bee hives and old fashioned flowers in the box edged beds, and, most important of all, a stork’s nest on the housetop. The stork is the sacred bird of Denmark; it may have lost some of its legendary prestige, but it is still welcomed as the bringer of happiness and good luck, and to kill a stork in Denmark is, if possible, an even greater crime than to shoot a fox in England. The storks seem to know that they are treasured guests, and they are in consequence very tame and fearless; often they follow the plough, and when stiltily walking along the road they hardly take the trouble to get out of the way of the carriage. There are, more especially in Jutland, villages boasting two or three hundred storks in the summer, and a stork’s nest is often seen on the top of the square white church tower, which is a peculiar feature of many a Danish landscape."

 

And now they are no more.

 

This is one of those rare instances when you suspect the Photography Gods actually like you. Heather and I attended a vintage sale at the Bishop's House, a classy Victorian house in Boise. The flyer mentioned there were going to be some classic cars and pin-up models so we decided to check it out. Good decision.

 

The weather was blustery - cold, windy, heavy, overcast - it looked like it was going to rain at any time. Only one car showed up. It was owned by a very cool guy named Lloyd; he didn't mind us checking out the car, even encouraging us to sit in it. He also had a 1920's style (air) gun in the front seat. A few minutes later we bumped into a lovely lass with blue hair and a great outfit. We found out she is Eleanor P., a professional pin-up model.

 

We asked Eleanor to shoot with us near the car; she lowered her standards and shot with me, with Heather helping her pose and Lloyd also coming up with ideas. What a great mini-shoot! Totally unplanned and I wouldn't have changed any of it. Well maybe not so cold - Eleanor was turning blue by the end of the shoot.

 

I took these photo in mid-May 2015.

sometime the solution can be right in front of your nose, or, in this instance, on top of one's head :)

This piece is an instance of growth using a model of 3D isotropic dendritic solidification. The form is grown in a simulation based on crystal solidification in a supercooled environment. This piece is part of a series exploring the concept of laplacian growth. Laplacian growth involves a structure which expands at a rate proportional to the gradient of a laplacian field. Under the right circumstances, this leads to instabilities causing intricate, fractal branching structure to emerge. This type of growth can be seen in a myriad of systems, including crystal growth, dielectric breakdown, corals, Hele-Shaw cells, and random matrix theory. This series of works aims to examine the space of structure generated by these systems.

 

MATERIAL

Selectively Laser Sintered Nylon

--

we finally 3d-printed some of the Laplacian growth experiments from earlier this year

An extremely rare instance of a freight spot hire locomotive in use on a timetabled passenger service in Germany.

 

Bahnbau Gruppe 218391-1 is seen here hired in to work Alex (Arriva) services on the Oberstdorf branch. Alex took over services from DB in 2009 on the Munchen - Oberstdorf/Lindau route spelling the end for the use of Class 218's on these services and the introduction of Siemens Eurolight Class 223's. So this is a bit of a hark back to the old days!!

  

Magpies are birds of the family Corvidae. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures and is one of the few nonmammalian species able to recognize itself in a mirror test. They are particularly well known for their songs and were once popular as cagebirds. In addition to other members of the genus Pica, corvids considered as magpies are in the genera Cissa, Urocissa, and Cyanopica.

 

Magpies of the genus Pica are generally found in temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and western North America, with populations also present in Tibet and high-elevation areas of Kashmir. Magpies of the genus Cyanopica are found in East Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. The birds called magpies in Australia are, however, not related to the magpies in the rest of the world.

 

Name

References dating back to Old English call the bird a "pie", derived from the Latin pica and cognate to French pie; this term has fallen out of use. The tendency in previous centuries was to give birds common names, such as robin redbreast (which now is called the robin) and jenny wren. The magpie was originally variously maggie pie and mag pie. The term "pica" for the human disorder involving a compulsive desire to eat items that are not food is borrowed from the Latin name of the magpie (Pica pica), for its reputed tendency to feed on miscellaneous things.

 

Systematics and species

According to some studies, magpies do not form the monophyletic group they are traditionally believed to be; tails have elongated (or shortened) independently in multiple lineages of corvid birds. Among the traditional magpies, two distinct lineages apparently exist. One consists of Holarctic species with black and white colouration, and is probably closely related to crows and Eurasian jays. The other contains several species from South to East Asia with vivid colouration, which is predominantly green or blue. The azure-winged magpie and the Iberian magpie, formerly thought to constitute a single species with a most peculiar distribution, have been shown to be two distinct species, and are classified as the genus Cyanopica.

 

Other research has cast doubt on the taxonomy of the Pica magpies, since P. hudsonia and P. nuttalli may not be different species, whereas the Korean race of P. pica is genetically very distinct from the other Eurasian (as well as the North American) forms. Either the North American, Korean, and remaining Eurasian forms are accepted as three or four separate species, or else only a single species, Pica pica, exists.

 

Holarctic (black-and-white) magpies

 

Genus Pica

Eurasian magpie, Pica pica

Black-billed magpie, Pica hudsonia (may be conspecific with P. pica)

Yellow-billed magpie, Pica nuttalli (may be conspecific with P. (pica) hudsonia)

Asir magpie, Pica asirensis (may be conspecific with P. pica)

Maghreb magpie, Pica mauritanica (may be conspecific with P. pica)

Oriental magpie, Pica serica (may be conspecific with P. pica)

Black-rumped magpie. Pica bottanensis (may be conspecific with P. pica)

Oriental (blue and green) magpies

 

Genus Urocissa

Taiwan blue magpie, Urocissa caerulea

Red-billed blue magpie, Urocissa erythroryncha

Yellow-billed blue magpie, Urocissa flavirostris

White-winged magpie, Urocissa whiteheadi

Sri Lanka blue magpie, Urocissa ornata

Genus Cissa

Common green magpie, Cissa chinensis

Indochinese green magpie, Cissa hypoleuca

Javan green magpie, Cissa thalassina

Bornean green magpie, Cissa jefferyi

Azure-winged magpies

 

Genus Cyanopica

Azure-winged magpie, Cyanopica cyanus

Iberian magpie, Cyanopica cooki

Other "magpies"

The black magpies, Platysmurus, are treepies; they are neither magpies, nor as was long believed, jays. Treepies are a distinct group of corvids externally similar to magpies.

The Australian magpie, Cracticus tibicen, is conspicuously "pied", with black and white plumage reminiscent of a Eurasian magpie. It is a member of the family Artamidae and not a corvid.

The magpie-robins, members of the genus Copsychus, have a similar "pied" appearance, but they are Old World flycatchers, unrelated to the corvids.

Human interactions

Cultural references

See also: Eurasian magpie § Relationship with humans, and Black-billed magpie § Relationship with humans

East Asia

In East Asian cultures, the magpie is a very popular bird and is a symbol of good luck and fortune.

 

The magpie is a common subject in Chinese paintings. It is also often found in traditional Chinese poetry and couplets. In addition, in Chinese folklore, all the magpies of the Qixi Festival every year will fly to the Milky Way and form a bridge, where the separated Cowherd and Weaver Girl will meet. The Milky Way is like a river, and the Cowherd and Weaver Girl refer to the famous α-Aquilae and α-Lyrae of modern Astronomy, respectively. For this reason, the magpie bridge has come to symbolize a relationship between men and women.

 

Magpies have an important place in the birth myth of Ai Xinjue Luo Bukuri Yushun, the ancestor of the Qing dynasty.

 

The magpie is a national bird of Korea and a symbol of its capital Seoul.

 

Europe

In European culture, the magpie is reputed to collect shiny objects such as wedding rings and other valuables, a well known example being Rossini's opera La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie). A recent study conducted by Exeter University found that Eurasian magpies express neophobia when presented with unfamiliar objects, and were less likely to approach or interact with the shiny objects - metal screws, foil rings and aluminium foil - used in the experiments. However, magpies are naturally curious like other members of the corvid family, and may collect shiny objects, but do not favour shiny objects over dull ones.

 

As pests

Magpies are common orchard pests in some regions of the world.

 

In legend

John Brand was an English antiquarian and Church of England clergyman, who was appointed Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, in 1784. His book, Observations of Popular Antiquities, (1780), has the first-known record of counting Magpies to predict good or ill-fortune, in the description, and records only four lines:

 

"One for sorrow, Two for mirth, Three for a funeral, And four for a birth". Popular antiquities later became known as Folklore, (a term coined by William John Thoms in 1846).

 

In that year, the rhyme was added to Proverbs and Popular Sayings of the Seasons, by Michael Aislabie Denham, an English merchant and collector of folklore. The following lines were added:-

 

"Five for heaven, Six for hell, Seven for the devil, his own self". Sir Humphry Davy attributed the connection for the feeling of one, then two magpies to joy and sorrow in his, Salmonia : or Days of Fly Fishing, (1828); he wrote: "For anglers in spring it has always been regarded as unlucky to see single magpies, but two may be always regarded as a favourable omen;...in cold and stormy weather one magpie alone leaves the nest in search of food; the other remaining sitting on the eggs...when two go out...the weather is warm...favourable for fishing". In England, "a magpie’s nest" was a phrase used to describe something untidy and usually of little value. "One for Sorrow", elaborates on the legend.

2023-06-16: Slim Zeghal, Board Member, CEO of Altea Packaging speaks in a panel discussion during PPPs in North Africa, for sustainable and inclusive growth, Tunisia. In frame, Mohamed Salim Telidji, , Director General of the National Development Equipment Fund at the Ministry of Finance, Algeria and Atef Majdoub, President of Instance Générale de Partenariat Public Privé (IGPPP) Tunisia.

. . . this is not just food - it is art

___________________________

 

Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in the Korean peninsula and southern Manchuria, Korean cuisine has evolved through a complex interaction of the natural environment and different cultural trends.

 

Korean cuisine is largely based on rice, vegetables, and meats. Traditional Korean meals are noted for the number of side dishes (반찬; banchan) that accompany steam-cooked short-grain rice. Kimchi is almost always served at every meal. Commonly used ingredients include sesame oil, doenjang (fermented bean paste), soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, gochujang (fermented red chili paste) and cabbage.

 

FOOD

GRAINS

Grains have been one of the most important staples of the Korean diet. Early myths of the foundations of various kingdoms in Korea center on grains. One foundation myth relates to Jumong, who received barley seeds from two doves sent by his mother after establishing the kingdom of Goguryeo. Yet another myth speaks of the three founding deities of Jeju Island, who were to be wed to the three princesses of Tamna; the deities brought seeds of five grains which were the first seeds planted, which in turn became the first instance of farming.

 

During the pre-modern era, grains such as barley and millet were the main staples and were supplemented by wheat, sorghum, and buckwheat. Rice is not an indigenous crop to Korea, and millet was likely the preferred grain before rice was cultivated. Rice became the grain of choice during the Three Kingdoms period, particularly in the Silla and Baekje Kingdoms in the southern regions of the peninsula. Rice was such an important commodity in Silla that it was used to pay taxes. The Sino-Korean word for "tax" is a compound character that uses the character for the rice plant. The preference for rice escalated into the Joseon period, when new methods of cultivation and new varieties emerged that would help increase production.

 

As rice was prohibitively expensive when it first came to Korea, the grain was likely mixed with other grains to "stretch" the rice; this is still done in dishes such as boribap (rice with barley) and kongbap (rice with beans). White rice, which is rice with the bran removed, has been the preferred form of rice since its introduction into the cuisine. The most traditional method of cooking the rice has been to cook it in an iron pot called a sot (솥) or musoe sot (무쇠솥). This method of rice cookery dates back to at least the Goryeo period, and these pots have even been found in tombs from the Silla period. The sot is still used today, much in the same manner as it was in the past centuries.

 

Rice is used to make a number of items, outside of the traditional bowl of plain white rice. It is commonly ground into a flour and used to make rice cakes called tteok in over two hundred varieties. It is also cooked down into a congee (juk), or gruel (mieum) and mixed with other grains, meat, or seafood. Koreans also produce a number of rice wines, both in filtered and unfiltered versions.

 

LEGUMES

Legumes have been significant crops in Korean history and cuisine according to earliest preserved legumes found in archaeological sites in Korea. The excavation at Okbang site, Jinju, South Gyeongsang province indicates soybeans were cultivated as a food crop circa 1000–900 BCE. They are made into tofu (dubu), while soybean sprouts are sauteed as a vegetable (kongnamul) and whole soybeans are seasoned and served as a side dish. They are also made into soy milk, which is used as the base for the noodle dish called kongguksu. A byproduct of soy milk production is okara (kongbiji), which is used to thicken stews and porridges.

 

Mung beans are commonly used in Korean cuisine, where they are called nokdu (녹두, literally "green bean"). Mung bean sprouts, called sukju namul, are often served as a side dish, blanched and sautéed with sesame oil, garlic, and salt. Ground mung beans are used to make a porridge called nokdujuk, which is eaten as a nutritional supplement and digestive aid, especially for ill patients.

 

Cultivation of azuki beans dates back to ancient times according to an excavation from Odong-ri, Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province, which is assumed to be that of Mumun period (approximately 1500-300 BCE).

 

MEAT

In antiquity, most meat in Korea was likely obtained through hunting and fishing. Ancient records indicate rearing of livestock began on a small scale during the Three Kingdoms period. Meat was consumed roasted or in soups or stews during this period. Those who lived closer to the oceans were able to complement their diet with more fish, while those who lived in the interior had a diet containing more meat.

 

BEEF

Beef is the most prized of all, with the cattle holding an important cultural role in the Korean home. Beef is prepared in numerous ways today, including roasting, grilling (gui) or boiling in soups. Beef can also be dried into jerky, as with seafood, called respectively yukpo and eopo.

 

The cattle were valuable draught animals, often seen as equal to human servants, or in some cases, members of the family. Cattle were also given their own holiday during the first 'cow' day of the lunar New Year. The importance of cattle does not suggest Koreans ate an abundance of beef, however, as the cattle were valued as beasts of burden and slaughtering one would create dire issues in farming the land. Pork and seafood were consumed more regularly for this reason. The Buddhist ruling class of the Goryeo period forbade the consumption of beef. The Mongols dispensed with the ban of beef during the 13th century, and they promoted the production of beef cattle. This increased production continued into the Joseon period, when the government encouraged both increased quantities and quality of beef. Only in the latter part of the 20th century has beef become regular table fare.

 

CHICKEN

Chicken has played an important role as a protein in Korean history, evidenced by a number of myths. One myth tells of the birth of Kim Alji, founder of the Kim family of Gyeongju being announced by the cry of a white chicken. As the birth of a clan's founder is always announced by an animal with preternatural qualities, this myth speaks to the importance of chicken in Korean culture. Chicken is often served roasted or braised with vegetables or in soups. All parts of the chicken are used in Korean cuisine, including the gizzard, liver, and feet. Young chickens are braised with ginseng and other ingredients in medicinal soups eaten during the summer months to combat heat called samgyetang.

 

PORK

Pork has also been another important land-based protein for Korea. Records indicate pork has been a part of the Korean diet back to antiquity, similar to beef.

 

A number of foods have been avoided while eating pork, including Chinese bellflower (doraji, 도라지) and lotus root (yeonn ppuri, 연뿌리), as the combinations have been thought to cause diarrhea. All parts of the pig are used in Korean cuisine, including the head, intestines, liver, kidney and other internal organs. Koreans utilize these parts in a variety of cooking methods including steaming, stewing, boiling and smoking. Koreans especially like to eat grilled pork belly, which is called samgyeopsal (삼겹살).

 

FISH AND SEAFOOD

Fish and shellfish have been a major part of Korean cuisine because of the oceans bordering the peninsula. Evidence from the 12th century illustrates commoners consumed a diet mostly of fish and shellfish, such as shrimp, clams, oysters, abalone, and loach, while sheep and hogs were reserved for the upper class.

 

Both fresh and saltwater fish are popular, and are served raw, grilled, broiled, dried or served in soups and stews. Common grilled fish include mackerel, hairtail, croaker and Pacific herring. Smaller fish, shrimp, squid, mollusks and countless other seafood can be salted and fermented as jeotgal. Fish can also be grilled either whole or in fillets as banchan. Fish is often dried naturally to prolong storing periods and enable shipping over long distances. Fish commonly dried include yellow corvina, anchovies (myeolchi) and croaker. Dried anchovies, along with kelp, form the basis of common soup stocks.

 

Shellfish is widely eaten in all different types of preparation. They can be used to prepare broth, eaten raw with chogochujang, which is a mixture of gochujang and vinegar, or used as a popular ingredient in countless dishes. Raw oysters and other seafood can be used in making kimchi to improve and vary the flavor. Salted baby shrimp are used as a seasoning agent, known as saeujeot, for the preparation of some types of kimchi.

 

VEGETABLES

Korean cuisine uses a wide variety of vegetables, which are often served uncooked, either in salads or pickles, as well as cooked in various stews, stir-fried dishes, and other hot dishes. Commonly used vegetables include Korean radish, napa cabbage, cucumber, potato, sweet potato, spinach, bean sprouts, scallions, garlic, chili peppers, seaweed, zucchini, mushrooms and lotus root. Several types of wild greens, known collectively as chwinamul (such as Aster scaber), are a popular dish, and other wild vegetables such as bracken fern shoots (gosari) or Korean bellflower root (doraji) are also harvested and eaten in season. Medicinal herbs, such as ginseng, reishi, wolfberry, Codonopsis pilosula, and Angelica sinensis, are often used as ingredients in cooking, as in samgyetang.

 

MEDICINAL FOODS

Medicinal food (boyangshik) is a wide variety of specialty foods prepared and eaten for medicinal purposes, especially during the hottest 30-day period in the lunar calendar, called sambok. Hot foods consumed are believed to restore ki, as well as sexual and physical stamina lost in the summer heat Commonly eaten boyangshik include: ginseng, chicken, black goat, abalone, eel, carp, beef bone soups, pig kidneys and dog.

 

DOG MEAT

Dog Meat is far less popular today than it used to be in the past, being viewed largely as a kind of health tonic rather than as a diet staple,[citation needed] especially amongst the younger generations who view dogs only as pets and service animals. That said, historically the consumption of dog meat can be traced back to antiquity. Dog bones were excavated in a neolithic settlement in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. A wall painting in the Goguryeo tombs complex in South Hwanghae Province, a UNESCO World Heritage site which dates from 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse (Ahn, 2000). The Balhae people also enjoyed dog meat, and the Koreans' appetite for canine cuisine seems to have come from that era.

 

Koreans have distinguished Chinese terms for dog "견; 犬", which refers to pet dogs, feral dogs, and wolves from the Chinese term "구; 狗," which is used specifically to indicate dog meat. "Hwangu" has been considered better for consumption than "Baekgu" (White dog) and "Heukgu" (Black dog).

 

Around 1816, Jeong Hak-yu, the second son of Jeong Yak-yong, a prominent politician and scholar of the Joseon dynasty at the time, wrote a poem called Nongga Wollyeongga (농가월령가). This poem, which is an important source of Korean folk history, describes what ordinary Korean farming families did in each month of the year. In the description of the month of August the poem tells of a married woman visiting her birth parents with boiled dog meat, rice cake, and rice wine, thus showing the popularity of dog meat at the time (Ahn, 2000; Seo, 2002). Dongguk Sesigi (동국세시기), a book written by Korean scholar Hong Seok-mo in 1849, contains a recipe for Bosintang including a boiled dog, green onion, and red chili pepper powder.

 

According to one survey conducted in 2006, dog meat is the 4th most commonly consumed meat within South Korea.

 

GINSENG CHICKEN SOUP (SAMGYETANG)

Samgyetang is a hot chicken soup to boost your energy in the hot summer season. It is made with a young whole chicken stuffed with ginseng, garlic and sweet rice. Samgyetang is a Koreans' favorite energizing food and it is common to have it on sambok(삼복) days; Chobok(초복), Jungbok(중복) and Malbok(말복) which are believed to be the hottest days in Korea.

 

SOUPS AND STEWS

Soups are a common part of any Korean meal. Unlike other cultures, in Korean culture, soup is served as part of the main course rather than at the beginning or the end of the meal, as an accompaniment to rice along with other banchan. Soups known as guk are often made with meats, shellfish and vegetables. Soups can be made into more formal soups known as tang, often served as the main dish of the meal. Jjigae are a thicker, heavier seasoned soups or stews.

 

SOME POPULAR TYPES OF SOUPS

- Malgeunguk (맑은국), are flavored with ganjang. Small amounts of long boiled meat may be added to the soup, or seafood both fresh and dried may be added, or vegetables may be the main component for the clear soup.

- Tojangguk (토장국) are seasoned with doenjang. Common ingredients for tojang guk include seafood such as clams, dried anchovies, and shrimp. For a spicier soup, gochujang is added.

- Gomguk (곰국) or gomtang (곰탕), and they are made from boiling beef bones or cartilage. Originating as a peasant dish, all parts of beef are used, including tail, leg and rib bones with or without meat attached; these are boiled in water to extract fat, marrow, and gelatin to create a rich soup. Some versions of this soup may also use the beef head and intestines. The only seasoning generally used in the soup is salt.

- Naengguk (냉국), which are cold soups generally eaten during the summer months to cool the diner. A light hand is usually used in the seasoning of these soups usually using ganjang and sesame oil.

 

Stews are referred to as jjigae, and are often a shared side dish. Jjigae is often both cooked and served in the glazed earthenware pot (ttukbaegi) in which it is cooked. The most common version of this stew is doenjang jjigae, which is a stew of soybean paste, with many variations; common ingredients include vegetables, saltwater or freshwater fish, and tofu. The stew often changes with the seasons and which ingredients are available. Other common varieties of jjigae contain kimchi (kimchi jjigae) or tofu (sundubu jjigae).

 

KIMCHI

Kimchi refers to often fermented vegetable dishes usually made with napa cabbage, Korean radish, or sometimes cucumber, commonly fermented in a brine of ginger, garlic, scallions, and chili pepper. There are endless varieties with regional variations, and it is served as a side dish or cooked into soups and rice dishes. Koreans traditionally make enough kimchi to last for the entire winter season, as fermented foods can keep for several years. These were stored in traditional Korean mud pots known as Jangdokdae although with the advent of refrigerators, special Kimchi freezers and commercially produced kimchi, this practice has become less common. Kimchi is packed with vitamin A, thiamine B1, riboflavin B2, calcium, and iron. Its main benefit though is found in the bacteria lactobacilli; this is found in yogurt and fermented foods. This bacteria helps with digestion. South Koreans eat an average of 40 pounds of Kimchi each year.

 

NOODLES

Noodles or noodle dishes in Korean cuisine are collectively referred to as guksu in native Korean or myeon in hanja. While noodles were eaten in Korea from ancient times, productions of wheat was less than other crops, so wheat noodles did not become a daily food until 1945. Wheat noodles (milguksu) were specialty foods for birthdays, weddings or auspicious occasions because the long and continued shape were thought to be associated with the bliss for longevity and long-lasting marriage.

 

In Korean traditional noodle dishes are onmyeon or guksu jangguk (noodles with a hot clear broth), naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles), bibim guksu (cold noodle dish mixed with vegetables), kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), kongguksu (noodles with a cold soybean broth), japchae (cellophane noodles made from sweet potato with various vegetables) and others. In royal court, baekmyeon (literally "white noodles") consisting of buckwheat noodles and pheasant broth, was regarded as the top quality noodle dish. Naengmyeon with a cold soup mixed with dongchimi (watery radish kimchi) and beef brisket broth was eaten in court during summer.

 

- Jajangmyeon, a staple Koreanized Chinese noodle dish, is extremely popular in Korea as fast, take-out food. It is made with a black bean sauce usually fried with diced pork or seafood and a variety of vegetables, including zucchini and potatoes. It is popularly ordered and delivered, like Chinese take-out food in other parts of the world.

- Ramyeon refers to Korean instant noodles similar to ramen.

 

BANCHAN

Banchan is a term referring collectively to side dishes in Korean cuisine. Soups and stews are not considered banchan.

 

Gui are grilled dishes, which most commonly have meat or fish as their primary ingredient, but may in some cases also comprise grilled vegetables or other vegetable ingredients. At traditional restaurants, meats are cooked at the center of the table over a charcoal grill, surrounded by various banchan and individual rice bowls. The cooked meat is then cut into small pieces and wrapped with fresh lettuce leaves, with rice, thinly sliced garlic, ssamjang (a mixture of gochujang and dwenjang), and other seasonings. The suffix gui is often omitted in the names of meat-based gui such as galbi, the name of which was originally galbi gui.

- List of grilled dishes commonly found in Korean cuisine

Jjim and seon (steamed dishes) are generic terms referring to steamed or boiled dishes in Korean cuisine. However, the former is made with meat or seafood-based ingredients marinated in gochujang or ganjang while seon is made with vegetable stuffed with fillings.

- List of steamed dishes commonly found in Korean cuisine

Hoe (raw dishes): although the term originally referred to any kind of raw dish, it is generally used to refer to saengseonhweh (생선회, raw fish dishes). It is dipped in gochujang, or soy sauce with wasabi, and served with lettuce or perilla leaves.

- List of raw dishes commonly found in Korean cuisine

Jeon (or buchimgae) are savory pancakes made from various ingredients. Chopped kimchi or seafood is mixed into a wheat flour-based batter, and then pan fried. This dish tastes best when it is dipped in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, and red pepper powder.

- List of jeon dishes commonly found in Korean cuisine

Namul may be used to refer to either saengchae (생채, literally "fresh vegetables") or sukchae (숙채, literally "heated vegetables"), although the term generally indicates the latter. Saengchae is mostly seasoned with vinegar, chili pepper powder and salt to give a tangy and refreshing taste. On the other hand, sukchae (숙채) is blanched and seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, chopped garlic, or sometimes chili pepper powder.

- List of namul dishes commonly found in Korean cuisine

Anju (side dishes accompanying alcoholic beverages)

Anju is a general term for a Korean side dish consumed with alcohol. Some examples of anju include steamed squid with gochujang, assorted fruit, dubu kimchi (tofu with kimchi), peanuts, odeng/ohmuk, sora (소라) (a kind of shellfish popular in street food tents), and nakji (small octopus). Soondae is also a kind of anju, as is samgyeopsal, or dwejigalbi, or chicken feet. Most Korean foods may be served as anju, depending on availability and the diner's taste. However, anju is considered different from the banchan served with a regular Korean meal. Jokbal is pig's leg served with saeujeot (salted fermented shrimp sauce).

 

BEVERAGES

NONALCOHOLICBEVERAGES

All Korean traditional nonalcoholic beverages are referred to as eumcheong or eumcheongnyu (음청류 飮淸類) which literally means "clear beverages". According to historical documents regarding Korean cuisine, 193 items of eumcheongnyu are recorded. Eumcheongnyu can be divided into the following categories: tea, hwachae (fruit punch), sikhye (sweet rice drink), sujeonggwa (persimmon punch), tang (탕, boiled water), jang (장, fermented grain juice with a sour taste), suksu (숙수, beverage made of herbs), galsu (갈수, drink made of fruit extract, and Oriental medicine), honeyed water, juice and milk by their ingredient materials and preparation methods. Among the varieties, tea, hwachae, sikhye, and sujeonggwa are still widely favored and consumed; however, the others almost disappeared by the end of the 20th century.

 

In Korean cuisine, tea, or cha, refers to various types of herbal tea that can be served hot or cold. Not necessarily related to the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, they are made from diverse substances, including fruits (e.g. yujacha), flowers (e.g. gukhwacha), leaves, roots, and grains (e.g. boricha, hyeonmi cha) or herbs and substances used in traditional Korean medicine, such as ginseng (e.g. Insam cha) and ginger (e.g. saenggang cha).

 

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

While soju is the best known liquor, there are well over 100 different alcoholic beverages, such as beers, rice and fruit wines, and liquors produced in South Korea as well as a sweet rice drink. The top-selling domestic beers (the Korean term for beer being maekju) are lagers, which differ from Western beers in that they are brewed from rice, rather than barley. Consequently, Korean beers are lighter, sweeter and have less head than their Western counterparts. The South Korean beer market is dominated by the two major breweries: Hite and OB. Taedonggang is a North Korean beer produced at a brewery based in Pyongyang since 2002. Microbrewery beers and bars are growing in popularity after 2002.

 

Soju is a clear spirit which was originally made from grain, especially rice, and is now also made from sweet potatoes or barley. Soju made from grain is considered superior (as is also the case with grain vs. potato vodka). Soju is around 22% ABV, and is a favorite beverage of hard-up college students, hard-drinking businessmen, and blue-collar workers.

 

Yakju is a refined pure liquor fermented from rice, with the best known being cheongju. Takju is a thick unrefined liquor made with grains, with the best known being makgeolli, a white, milky rice wine traditionally drunk by farmers.

 

In addition to the rice wine, various fruit wines and herbal wines exist in Korean cuisine. Acacia, maesil plum, Chinese quince, cherry, pine fruits, and pomegranate are most popular. Majuang wine (a blended wine of Korean grapes with French or American wines) and ginseng-based wines are also available

 

SWEETS

Traditional rice cakes, tteok and Korean confectionery hangwa are eaten as treats during holidays and festivals. Tteok refers to all kinds of rice cakes made from either pounded rice (메떡, metteok), pounded glutinous rice (찰떡, chaltteok), or glutinous rice left whole, without pounding. It is served either filled or covered with sweetened mung bean paste, red bean paste, mashed red beans, raisins, a sweetened filling made with sesame seeds, sweet pumpkin, beans, jujubes, pine nuts or honey). Tteok is usually served as dessert or as a snack. Among varieties, songpyeon is a chewy stuffed tteok served at Chuseok. Honey or another soft sweet material such as sweetened sesame or black beans are used as fillings. Pine needles can be used for imparting flavor during the steaming process. Yaksik is a sweet rice cake made with glutinous rice, chestnuts, pine nuts, jujubes, and other ingredients, while chapssaltteok is a tteok filled with sweet bean paste.

 

On the other hand, hangwa is a general term referring to all types of Korean traditional confectionery. The ingredients of hahngwa mainly consist of grain flour, honey, yeot, and sugar, or of fruit and edible roots. Hangwa is largely divided into yumilgwa (fried confectionery), suksilgwa, jeonggwa, gwapyeon, dasik (tea food) and yeot. Yumilgwa is made by stir frying or frying pieces of dough, such as maejakgwa and yakgwa. Maejakgwa is a ring-shaped confection made of wheat flour, vegetable oil, cinnamon, ginger juice, jocheong, and pine nuts, while yakgwa, literally "medicinal confectionery", is a flower-shaped biscuit made of honey, sesame oil and wheat flour.

 

Suksilgwa is made by boiling fruits, ginger, or nuts in water, and then forming the mix into the original fruit's shape, or other shapes. Gwapyeon is a jelly-like confection made by boiling sour fruits, starch, and sugar. Dasik, literally "eatery for tea", is made by kneading rice flour, honey, and various types of flour from nuts, herbs, sesame, or jujubes. Jeonggwa, or jeongwa, is made by boiling fruits, plant roots and seeds in honey, mulyeot (물엿, liquid candy) or sugar. It is similar to marmalade or jam/jelly. Yeot is a Korean traditional candy in liquid or solid form made from steamed rice, glutinous rice, glutinous kaoliang, corn, sweet potatoes or mixed grains. The steamed ingredients are lightly fermented and boiled in a large pot called sot (솥) for a long time.

 

REGIONAL AND VARIANT CUISINES

Korean regional cuisines (Korean: hyangto eumsik, literally "native local foods") are characterized by local specialties and distinctive styles within Korean cuisine. The divisions reflected historical boundaries of the provinces where these food and culinary traditions were preserved until modern times.

 

Although Korea has been divided into two nation-states since 1948 (North Korea and South Korea), it was once divided into eight provinces (paldo) according to the administrative districts of the Joseon Dynasty. The northern region consisted of Hamgyeong Province, Pyeongan Province and Hwanghae Province. The central region comprised Gyeonggi Province, Chungcheong Province, and Gangwon Province. Gyeongsang Province and Jeolla Province made up the southern region.

 

Until the late 19th century, transportation networks were not well developed, and each provincial region preserved its own characteristic tastes and cooking methods. Geographic differences are also reflected by the local specialty foodstuffs depending on the climate and types of agriculture, as well as the natural foods available. With the modern development of transportation and the introduction of foreign foods, Korean regional cuisines have tended to overlap and integrate. However, many unique traditional dishes in Korean regional cuisine have been handed down through the generations.

 

BUDDHIST CUISINE

Korean temple cuisine originated in Buddhist temples of Korea. Since Buddhism was introduced into Korea, Buddhist traditions have strongly influenced Korean cuisine, as well. During the Silla period (57 BCE – 935 CE), chalbap (찰밥, a bowl of cooked glutinous rice) yakgwa (a fried dessert) and yumilgwa (a fried and puffed rice snack) were served for Buddhist altars and have been developed into types of hangwa, Korean traditional confectionery. During the Goryeo Dynasty, sangchu ssam (wraps made with lettuce), yaksik, and yakgwa were developed, and since spread to China and other countries. Since the Joseon Dynasty, Buddhist cuisine has been established in Korea according to regions and temples.

 

On the other hand, royal court cuisine is closely related to Korean temple cuisine. In the past, when the royal court maids, sanggung, who were assigned to Suragan (hangul: 수라간; hanja: 水剌間; the name of the royal kitchen), where they prepared the king's meals, became old, they had to leave the royal palace. Therefore, many of them entered Buddhist temples to become nuns. As a result, culinary techniques and recipes of the royal cuisine were integrated into Buddhist cuisine.

 

VEGETARIAN CUISINE

Vegetarian cookery in Korea may be linked to the Buddhist traditions that influenced Korean culture from the Goryeo dynasty onwards. There are hundreds of vegetarian restaurants in Korea, although historically they have been local restaurants that are unknown to tourists. Most have buffets, with cold food, and vegetarian kimchi and tofu being the main features. Bibimbap is a common vegan dish. Menus change with seasons. Wine with the alcohol removed and fine teas are also served. The Korean tea ceremony is suitable for all vegetarians and vegans, and began with Buddhist influences. All food is eaten with a combination of rather slippery stainless steel oval chopsticks and a long-handled shallow spoon called together sujeo.

 

CEREMONIAL FOOD

Food is an important part of traditions of Korean family ceremonies, which are mainly based on the Confucian culture. Gwan Hon Sang Je (관혼상제; 冠婚喪祭), the four family ceremonies (coming-of-age ceremony, wedding, funeral, and ancestral rite) have been considered especially important and elaborately developed, continuing to influence Korean life to these days. Ceremonial food in Korea has developed with variation across different regions and cultures.

 

For example, rituals are mainly performed on the anniversary of deceased ancestors, called jesa. Ritual food include rice, liquor, soup, vinegar and soy sauce (1st row); noodles, skewered meat, vegetable and fish dishes, and rice cake (2nd row); three types of hot soup, meat and vegetable dishes (3rd row); dried snacks, kimchi, and sweet rice drink (4th row); and variety of fruit (5th row).

 

ETIQUETTE

DINING

Dining etiquette in Korea can be traced back to the Confucian philosophies of the Joseon period. Guidebooks, such as Sasojeol (士小節, Elementary Etiquette for Scholar Families), written in 1775 by Yi Deokmu (이덕무; 李德懋), comment on the dining etiquette for the period. Suggestions include items such as "when you see a fat cow, goat, pig, or chicken, do not immediately speak of slaughtering, cooking or eating it", "when you are having a meal with others, do not speak of smelly or dirty things, such as boils or diarrhea," "when eating a meal, neither eat so slowly as to appear to be eating against your will nor so fast as if to be taking someone else's food. Do not throw chopsticks on the table. Spoons should not touch plates, making a clashing sound", amongst many other recommendations which emphasized proper table etiquette.

 

The eldest male at the table was always served first, commonly served to them in the men's quarters by the women of the house. Women usually dined in a separate portion of the house after the men were served. The eldest men or women always ate before the younger family members. The meal was usually quiet, as conversation was discouraged during meals. In modern times, these rules have become lax, as families usually dine together now and use the time to converse. Of the remaining elements of this decorum, one is that the younger members of the table should not pick up their chopsticks or start eating before the elders of the table or guests and should not finish eating before the elders or guests finish eating.

 

In Korea, unlike in China, Japan and Vietnam, the rice or soup bowl is not lifted from the table when eating from it. This is due to the fact that each diner is given a metal spoon along with the chopsticks known collectively as sujeo. The use of the spoon for eating rice and soups is expected. There are rules which reflect the decorum of sharing communal side dishes; rules include not picking through the dishes for certain items while leaving others, and the spoon used should be clean, because usually diners put their spoons in the same serving bowl on the table. Diners should also cover their mouths when using a toothpick after the meal.

 

The table setup is important as well, and individual place settings, moving from the diner's left should be as follows: rice bowl, spoon, then chopsticks. Hot foods are set to the right side of the table, with the cold foods to the left. Soup must remain on the right side of the diner along with stews. Vegetables remain on the left along with the rice, and kimchi is set to the back while sauces remain in the front.

 

DRINKING

The manner of drinking alcoholic drinks at dining is significant in Korean dining etiquette. Each diner is expected to face away from the eldest male and cover his mouth when drinking alcohol. According to Hyang Eum Ju Rye (향음주례; 鄕飮酒禮), the drinking etiquette established in Choseon Dynasty, it is impolite for a king and his vassal, a father and his son, or a teacher and his student to drink face to face. Also, a guest should not refuse the first drink offered by host, and in the most formal situations, the diner should politely refuse twice a drink offered by the eldest male or a host. When the host offers for the third time, then finally the guest can receive it. If the guest refuses three times, drink is not to be offered any more.

 

HISTORY

PREHISTORIC

In the Jeulmun pottery period (approximately 8000 to 1500 BCE), hunter-gatherer societies engaged in fishing and hunting, and incipient agriculture in the later stages. Since the beginning of the Mumun pottery period (1500 BCE), agricultural traditions began to develop with new migrant groups from the Liao River basin of Manchuria. During the Mumun period, people grew millet, barley, wheat, legumes and rice, and continued to hunt and fish. Archaeological remains point to development of fermented beans during this period, and cultural contact with nomadic cultures to the north facilitated domestication of animals.

 

THREE KINGDOMS PERIOD

The Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE – 668 CE) was one of rapid cultural evolution. The kingdom of Goguryeo (37 BCE – 668 CE) was located in the northern part of the peninsula along much of modern-day Manchuria. The second kingdom, Baekje (18 BCE – 660 CE), was in the southwestern portion of the peninsula, and the third, Silla (57 BCE – 935 CE), was located at the southeastern portion of the peninsula. Each region had its own distinct set of cultural practices and foods. For example, Baekje was known for cold foods and fermented foods like kimchi. The spread of Buddhism and Confucianism through cultural exchanges with China during the fourth century CE began to change the distinct cultures of Korea.

 

GORYEO PERIOD

During the latter Goryeo period, the Mongols invaded Goryeo in the 13th century. Some traditional foods found today in Korea have their origins during this period. The dumpling dish, mandu, grilled meat dishes, noodle dishes, and the use of seasonings such as black pepper, all have their roots in this period.

 

JOSEON PERIOD

Agricultural innovations were significant and widespread during this period, such as the invention of the rain gauge during the 15th century. During 1429, the government began publishing books on agriculture and farming techniques, which included Nongsa jikseol (literally "Straight Talk on Farming"), an agricultural book compiled under King Sejong.

 

A series of invasions in the earlier half of the Joseon caused a dynamic shift in the culture during the second half of the period. Groups of silhak ("practical learning") scholars began to emphasize the importance of looking outside the country for innovation and technology to help improve the agricultural systems. Crops from the New World began to appear, acquired through trade with China, Japan, Europe, and the Philippines; these crops included corn, sweet potatoes, chili peppers, tomatoes, peanuts, and squash. Potatoes and sweet potatoes were particularly favored as they grew in soils and on terrains that were previously unused.

 

Government further developed agriculture through technology and lower taxation. Complex irrigation systems built by government allowed peasant farmers to produce larger crop volumes and produce crops not only for sustenance but also as cash crops. Reduced taxation of the peasantry also furthered the expanded commerce through increasing periodic markets, usually held every five days. One thousand such markets existed in the 19th century, and were communal centers for economic trade and entertainment.

 

ROYAL COURT CUISINE

Collectively known as gungjung eumsik during the pre-modern era, the foods of the royal palace were reflective of the opulent nature of the past rulers of the Korean peninsula. This nature is evidenced in examples as far back as the Silla kingdom, where a man-made lake (Anapji Lake, located in Gyeongju), was created with multiple pavilions and halls for the sole purpose of opulent banquets, and a spring fed channel, Poseokjeong, was created for the singular purpose of setting wine cups afloat while they wrote poems.

 

Reflecting the regionalism of the kingdoms and bordering countries of the peninsula, the cuisine borrowed portions from each of these areas to exist as a showcase. The royalty would have the finest regional specialties and delicacies sent to them at the palace. Although there are records of banquets predating the Joseon period, the majority of these records mostly reflect the vast variety of foods, but do not mention the specific foods presented. The meals cooked for the royal family did not reflect the seasons, as the commoner's meals would have. Instead, their meals varied significantly day-to-day. Each of the eight provinces was represented each month in the royal palace by ingredients presented by their governors, which gave the cooks a wide assortment of ingredients to use for royal meals.

 

Food was considered significant in the Joseon period. Official positions were created within the Six Ministries (Yukjo, 육조) that were charged with all matters related to procurement and consumption of food and drink for the royal court. The Board of Personnel (Ijo, 이조) contained positions specific for attaining rice for the royal family. The Board of Rights (Yejo) were responsible for foods prepared for ancestor rites, attaining wines and other beverages, and medicinal foods. There were also hundreds of slaves and women who worked in the palace that had tasks such as making tofu, liquor, tea, and tteok (rice cakes). The women were the cooks to the royal palace and were of commoner or low-born families. These women would be split into specific skill sets or "bureau" such as the bureau of special foods (Saenggwa-bang, 생과방) or the bureau of cooking foods (Soju-bang, 소주방). These female cooks may have been assisted by male cooks from outside the palace during larger banquets when necessary.

 

Five meals were generally served in the royal palace each day during the Joseon period, and records suggest this pattern had existed from antiquity. Three of these meals would be full meals, while the afternoon and after dinner meals would be lighter. The first meal, mieumsang (미음상), was served at sunrise and was served only on days when the king and queen were not taking herbal medicines. The meal consisted of rice porridge (juk, 죽) made with ingredients such as abalone (jeonbokjuk), white rice (huinjuk), mushrooms (beoseotjuk), pine nuts (jatjuk), and sesame (kkaejuk).

 

The sura (수라) were the main meals of the day. Breakfast was served at ten in the morning, and the evening meals were served between six and seven at night. The set of three tables (surasang, 수라상), were usually set with two types of rice, two types of soup, two types of stew (jjigae), one dish of jjim (meat stew), one dish of jeongol (a casserole of meat and vegetables), three types of kimchi, three types of jang (장) and twelve side dishes, called 12 cheop (12첩). The meals were set in the suragan (수라간), a room specifically used for taking meals, with the king seated to the east and the queen to the west. Each had their own set of tables and were attended by three palace servant women known as sura sanggung (수라상궁). These women would remove bowl covers and offer the foods to the king and queen after ensuring the dishes were not poisoned.

 

Banquets (궁중 연회 음식) were held on special occasions in the Korean Royal Palace. These included birthdays of the royal family members, marriages, and national festivals, including Daeborum, Dano, Chuseok, and Dongji. Banquet food was served on individual tables which varied according to the rank of the person. Usually banquet food consisted of ten different types of dishes. Main dishes were prepared based on the seasonal foods. Main dishes of the banquet included sinseollo, jeon, hwayang jeok, honghapcho, nengmyun and mulgimchi. A typical banquet ingredient was chogyetang (chicken broth with vinegar), which was prepared with five different chickens, five abalones, ten sea cucumbers, twenty eggs, half a bellflower root, mushrooms, two cups of black pepper, two peeled pine nuts, starch, soy sauce and vinegar. Yaksik was a favorite banquet dessert.

 

WIKIPEDIA

I wasn't sure if I was going to upload this photo, because I thought there it had too much noise, but ultimately decided to...I decided it was yet another instance of me being overly critical of myself.

 

Developing a critical eye for art is truly a double-edged sword. It can help improve your work, but it can also hold you back....when I first started taking photos, I didn't have any idea how my camera worked. Eventually I determined a system for creating photos that I liked. But even being entirely self taught, I ended up forming a certain rigidity about what is "good" and what is "bad" in my photos. And I also ended up forming a certain method for doing things that I got fairly locked into.

 

I think it's easy for this to happen -- you might think, even if just subconsciously, "I'm at a point where I'm good at this, I can relax and just work within this framework." And that might work for a while, creating an "era" in your work. Or maybe, if you're really into one specific style, it can work for a long while.

 

But at least in my experience, the pictures I've taken and loved the most almost always occurred when I stepped outside of my established methodologies and just experimented.

 

When I look back at my old work, I can identify where I've improved, but I also see the deep value of not knowing what I was doing -- it imparted a certain fludity to my photography process….I had more happy accidents. I took more daring photos, bizarre photos. Photos that, if I was in closed-off mindset, I just wouldn't have taken. I would have thought taking them was pointless.

 

I feel like I'm now at a point of undoing things I've learned -- quieting my self-criticism and opening myself up to exploration, letting myself make mistakes, and inventing entirely new ways of doing things. The way I see it, unlearning can be just as important as learning, if not more.

 

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In this instance 'GT' stands for Gardner Turbo as the owner, Cedric Abood, had carried out various modifications to both the lorry and its 6LXB engine including fitting a turbocharger from a Mack!

And not forgetting those Atkinson wheel trims Chris! :-)

Skjold Neckelmann Architecte, 1898 puis Garces-Deseta-Bonet Architectes, 2017. shared with pixbuf.com

In this instance not really the Holga's fault but the combination of an extremely out of date Fuji Superia film and the last dregs of the Tetenal C41 solution

 

Camera: Holga 120

Film: Fuji Superia 100 expired

Kitchen Chemistry: Tetenal C41

Digitised: Epson V550 and Lightroom

 

Biennalist @ Venice Biennale

 

during the Venice Biennale 2019 Biennalist format was expressing about the Biennale concept with art work

 

Unfortunatly the Venice Biennale 2021 is post pone to 2022

 

wich change the concept of Biennale

 

Biennalist / Venice Biennale

 

www.emergencyrooms.org/biennalist.html

 

#ThierryGeoffroy

#venicebiennale #biennalist #artformat #biennale #artbiennale #biennial

#BiennaleArte2019

 

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more here about the Biennale :

 

Ralph Rugoff has declared: «May You Live in Interesting Times will no doubt include artworks that reflect upon precarious aspects of existence today, including different threats to key traditions, institutions and relationships of the “post-war order.” But let us acknowledge at the outset that art does not exercise its forces in the domain of politics. Art cannot stem the rise of nationalist movements and authoritarian governments in different parts of the world, for instance, nor can it alleviate the tragic fate of displaced peoples across the globe (whose numbers now represent almost one percent of the world’s entire population).»

 

ALBANIA

Maybe the cosmos is not so extraordinary

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture Republic of Albania. Curator: Alicia Knock.

Exhibitor: Driant Zeneli.

 

ALGERIA***

Time to shine bright

Commissioner/Curator: Hellal Mahmoud Zoubir, National Council of Arts and Letters Ministry of Culture. Exhibitors: Rachida Azdaou, Hamza Bounoua, Amina Zoubir, Mourad Krinah, Oussama Tabti.

Venue: Fondamenta S. Giuseppe, 925

 

ANDORRA

The Future is Now / El futur és ara

Commissioner: Eva Martínez, “Zoe”. Curators: Ivan Sansa, Paolo De Grandis.

Exhibitor: Philippe Shangti.

Venue: Istituto Santa Maria della Pietà, Castello 3701

 

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA

Find Yourself: Carnival and Resistance

Commissioner: Daryll Matthew, Minister of Sports, Culture, National Festivals and the Arts. Curator: Barbara Paca with Nina Khrushcheva. Exhibitors: Timothy Payne, Sir Gerald Price, Joseph Seton, and Frank Walter; Intangible Cultural, Heritage Artisans and Mas Troup.

Venue: Centro Culturale Don Orione Artigianelli, Dorsoduro 919

 

ARGENTINA

El nombre de un país / The name of a country

Commissioner: Sergio Alberto Baur Ambasciatore. Curator: Florencia Battiti. Exhibitor: Mariana Telleria.

Venue: Arsenale

 

ARMENIA (Republic of)

Revolutionary Sensorium

Commissioner: Nazenie Garibian, Deputy Minister. Curator: Susanna Gyulamiryan.

Exhibitors: "ArtlabYerevan" Artistic Group (Gagik Charchyan, Hovhannes Margaryan, Arthur Petrosyan, Vardan Jaloyan) and Narine Arakelian.

Venue: Palazzo Zenobio – Collegio Armeno Moorat-Raphael, Dorsoduro 2596

 

AUSTRALIA

ASSEMBLY

Commissioner: Australia Council for the Arts. Curator: Juliana Engberg. Exhibitor: Angelica Mesiti.

Venue: Giardini

 

AUSTRIA

Discordo Ergo Sum

Commissioner: Arts and Culture Division of the Federal Chancellery of Austria.

Curator: Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein. Exhibitor: Renate Bertlmann.

Venue: Giardini

 

AZERBAIJAN (Republic of )

Virtual Reality

Commissioner: Mammad Ahmadzada, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Curators: Gianni Mercurio, Emin Mammadov. Exhibitors: Zeigam Azizov, Orkhan Mammadov, Zarnishan Yusifova, Kanan Aliyev, Ulviyya Aliyeva.

Venue: Palazzo Lezze, Campo S. Stefano, San Marco 2949

 

BANGLADESH (People’s Republic of)

Thirst

Commissioner: Liaquat Ali Lucky. Curators: Mokhlesur Rahman, Viviana Vannucci.

Exhibitors: Bishwajit Goswami, Dilara Begum Jolly, Heidi Fosli, Nafis Ahmed Gazi, Franco Marrocco, Domenico Pellegrino, Preema Nazia Andaleeb, Ra Kajol, Uttam Kumar karmaker.

Venue: Palazzo Zenobio – Collegio Armeno Moorat-Raphael, Dorsoduro 2596

 

BELARUS (Republic of)

Exit / Uscita

Commissioner: Siarhey Kryshtapovich. Curator: Olga Rybchinskaya. Exhibitor: Konstantin Selikhanov.

Venue: Spazio Liquido, Sestiere Castello 103, Salizada Streta

 

BELGIUM

Mondo Cane

Commissioner: Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. Curator: Anne-Claire Schmitz.

Exhibitor: Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys.

Venue: Giardini

 

BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA

ZENICA-TRILOGY

Commissioner: Senka Ibrišimbegović, Ars Aevi Museum for Contemporary Art Sarajevo.

Curators: Anja Bogojević, Amila Puzić, Claudia Zini. Exhibitor: Danica Dakić.

Venue: Palazzo Francesco Molon Ca’ Bernardo, San Polo 2184/A

 

BRAZIL

Swinguerra

Commissioner: José Olympio da Veiga Pereira, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo.

Curator: Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro. Exhibitor: Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca.

Venue: Giardini

 

BULGARIA

How We Live

Commissioner: Iaroslava Boubnova, National Gallery in Sofia. Curator: Vera Mlechevska.

Exhibitors: Rada Boukova , Lazar Lyutakov.

Venue: Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, San Marco 2893

 

CANADA

ISUMA

Commissioner: National Gallery of Canada. Curators: Asinnajaq, Catherine Crowston, Josée Drouin-Brisebois, Barbara Fischer, Candice Hopkins. Exhibitors: Isuma (Zacharias Kunuk, Norman Cohn, Paul Apak, Pauloosie Qulitalik).

Venue: Giardini

 

CHILE

Altered Views

Commissioner: Varinia Brodsky, Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage.

Curator: Agustín Pérez. Rubio. Exhibitor: Voluspa Jarpa.

Venue: Arsenale

 

CHINA (People’s Republic of)

Re-睿

Commissioner: China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd. (CAEG).

Curator: Wu Hongliang. Exhibitors: Chen Qi, Fei Jun, He Xiangyu, Geng Xue.

Venue: Arsenale

 

CROATIA

Traces of Disappearing (In Three Acts)

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia. Curator: Katerina Gregos.

Exhibitor: Igor Grubić.

Venue: Calle Corner, Santa Croce 2258

 

CUBA

Entorno aleccionador (A Cautionary Environment)

Commissioner: Norma Rodríguez Derivet, Consejo Nacional de Artes Plásticas.

Curator: Margarita Sanchez Prieto. Exhibitors: Alejandro Campins, Alex Hérnandez, Ariamna Contino and Eugenio Tibaldi. Venue: Isola di San Servolo

 

CYPRUS (Republic of)

Christoforos Savva: Untimely, Again

Commissioner: Louli Michaelidou. Curator: Jacopo Crivelli Visconti. Exhibitor: Christoforos Savva.

Venue: Associazione Culturale Spiazzi, Castello 3865

 

CZECH (Republic) and SLOVAK (Republic)

Stanislav Kolíbal. Former Uncertain Indicated

Commissioner: Adam Budak, National Gallery Prague. Curator: Dieter Bogner.

Exhibitor: Stanislav Kolibal.

Venue: Giardini

 

DOMINICAN (Republic) *

Naturaleza y biodiversidad en la República Dominicana

Commissioner: Eduardo Selman, Minister of Culture. Curators: Marianne de Tolentino, Simone Pieralice, Giovanni Verza. Exhibitors: Dario Oleaga, Ezequiel Taveras, Hulda Guzmán, Julio Valdez, Miguel Ramirez, Rita Bertrecchi, Nicola Pica, Marraffa & Casciotti.

Venue: Palazzo Albrizzi Capello, Cannaregio 4118 – Sala della Pace

 

EGYPT

khnum across times witness

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture. Curator: Ahmed Chiha.

Exhibitors: Islam Abdullah, Ahmed Chiha, Ahmed Abdel Karim.

Venue: Giardini

 

ESTONIA

Birth V

Commissioner: Maria Arusoo, Centre of Contemporary Arts of Estonia. Curators: Andrew Berardini, Irene Campolmi, Sarah Lucas, Tamara Luuk. Exhibitor: Kris Lemsalu.

Venue: c/o Legno & Legno, Giudecca 211

 

FINLAND (Alvar Aalto Pavilion)

A Greater Miracle of Perception

Commissioner: Raija Koli, Director Frame Contemporary Art Finland.

Curators: Giovanna Esposito Yussif, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Christopher Wessels. Exhibitors: Miracle Workers Collective (Maryan Abdulkarim, Khadar Ahmed, Hassan Blasim, Giovanna Esposito Yussif, Sonya Lindfors, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Outi Pieski, Leena Pukki, Lorenzo Sandoval, Martta Tuomaala, Christopher L. Thomas, Christopher Wessels, Suvi West).

Venue: Giardini

 

FRANCE

Deep see blue surrounding you / Vois ce bleu profond te fondre

Commissioner: Institut français with the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture. Curator: Martha Kirszenbaum. Exhibitor: Laure Prouvost.

Venue: Giardini

 

GEORGIA

REARMIRRORVIEW, Simulation is Simulation, is Simulation, is Simulation

Commissioner: Ana Riaboshenko. Curator: Margot Norton. Exhibitor: Anna K.E.

Venue: Arsenale

 

GERMANY

Commissioner: ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office, Germany. Curator: Franciska Zólyom. Exhibitor: Natascha Süder Happelmann.

Venue: Giardini

 

GHANA ***

Ghana Freedom

Commissioner: Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Curator: Nana Oforiatta Ayim.

Exhibitors: Felicia Abban, John Akomfrah, El Anatsui, Lynette Yiadom Boakye, Ibrahim Mahama, Selasi Awusi Sosu.

Venue: Arsenale

 

GREAT BRITAIN

Cathy Wilkes

Commissioner: Emma Dexter. Curator: Zoe Whitley. Exhibitor: Cathy Wilkes.

Venue: Giardini

 

GREECE

Mr Stigl

Commissioner: Syrago Tsiara (Deputy Director of the Contemporary Art Museum - Metropolitan Organization of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki - MOMus).

Curator: Katerina Tselou. Exhibitors: Panos Charalambous, Eva Stefani, Zafos Xagoraris.

Venue: Giardini

 

GRENADA

Epic Memory

Commissioner: Susan Mains. Curator: Daniele Radini Tedeschi.

Exhibitors: Amy Cannestra, Billy Gerard Frank, Dave Lewis, Shervone Neckles, Franco Rota Candiani, Roberto Miniati, CRS avant-garde.

Venue: Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello (first floor), Cannaregio 4118

 

GUATEMALA

Interesting State

Commissioner: Elder de Jesús Súchite Vargas, Minister of Culture and Sports of Guatemala. Curator: Stefania Pieralice. Exhibitors: Elsie Wunderlich, Marco Manzo.

Venue: Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello (first floor), Cannaregio 4118

 

HAITI

THE SPECTACLE OF TRAGEDY

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture and Communication.

Curator: Giscard Bouchotte. Exhibitor: Jean Ulrick Désert.

Venue: Circolo Ufficiali Marina, Calle Seconda de la Fava, Castello 2168

 

HUNGARY

Imaginary Cameras

Commissioner: Julia Fabényi, Museo Ludwig – Museo d’arte contemporanea, Budapest.

Curator: Zsuzsanna Szegedy-Maszák. Exhibitor: Tamás Waliczky.

Venue: Giardini

 

ICELAND

Chromo Sapiens – Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir / Shoplifter

Commissioner: Eiríkur Þorláksson, Icelandic Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.

Curator: Birta Gudjónsdóttir. Exhibitor: Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir / Shoplifter.

Venue: Spazio Punch, Giudecca 800

 

INDIA

Our time for a future caring

Commissioner: Adwaita Gadanayak National Gallery of Modern Art.

Curator: Roobina Karode, Director & Chief Curator, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. Exhibitors: Atul Dodiya, Ashim Purkayastha, GR Iranna, Jitish Kallat, Nandalal Bose, Rummana Hussain, Shakuntala Kulkarni.

Venue: Arsenale

 

INDONESIA

Lost Verses

Commissioner: Ricky Pesik & Diana Nazir, Indonesian Agency for Creative Economy.

Curator: Asmudjo Jono Irianto. Exhibitors: Handiwirman Saputra and Syagini Ratna Wulan.

Venue: Arsenale

 

IRAN (Islamic Republic of)

of being and singing

Commissioner: Hadi Mozafari, General Manager of Visual Arts Administration of Islamic Republic of Iran. Curator: Ali Bakhtiari.

Exhibitors: Reza Lavassani, Samira Alikhanzadeh, Ali Meer Azimi.

Venue: Fondaco Marcello, San Marco 3415

 

IRAQ

Fatherland

Commissioner: Fondazione Ruya. Curators: Tamara Chalabi, Paolo Colombo.

Exhibitor: Serwan Baran.

Venue: Ca’ del Duca, Corte del Duca Sforza, San Marco 3052

 

IRELAND

The Shrinking Universe

Commissioner: Culture Ireland. Curator: Mary Cremin. Exhibitor: Eva Rothschild.

Venue: Arsenale

 

ISRAEL

Field Hospital X

Commissioner: Michael Gov, Arad Turgeman. Curator: Avi Lubin. Exhibitor: Aya Ben Ron.

Venue: Giardini

 

ITALY

Commissioner: Federica Galloni, Direttore Generale Arte e Architettura Contemporanee e Periferie Urbane, Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali. Curator: Milovan Farronato.

Exhibitors: Enrico David, Liliana Moro, Chiara Fumai.

Venue: Padiglione Italia, Tese delle Vergini, Arsenale

 

IVORY COAST

The Open Shadows of Memory

Commissioner: Henri Nkoumo. Curator: Massimo Scaringella. Exhibitors: Ernest Dükü, Ananias Leki Dago, Valérie Oka, Tong Yanrunan.

Venue: Castello Gallery, Castello 1636/A

 

JAPAN

Cosmo-Eggs

Commissioner: The Japan Foundation. Curator: Hiroyuki Hattori. Exhibitors: Motoyuki Shitamichi, Taro Yasuno, Toshiaki Ishikura, Fuminori Nousaku.

Venue: Giardini

 

KIRIBATI

Pacific Time - Time Flies

Commissioner: Pelea Tehumu, Ministry of Internal Affairs. Curators: Kautu Tabaka, Nina Tepes. Exhibitors: Kaeka Michael Betero, Daniela Danica Tepes, Kairaken Betio Group; Teroloang Borouea, Neneia Takoikoi, Tineta Timirau, Teeti Aaloa, Kenneth Ioane, Kaumai Kaoma, Runita Rabwaa, Obeta Taia, Tiribo Kobaua, Tamuera Tebebe, Rairauea Rue, Teuea Kabunare, Tokintekai Ekentetake, Katanuti Francis, Mikaere Tebwebwe, Terita Itinikarawa, Kaeua Kobaua, Raatu Tiuteke, Kaeriti Baanga, Ioanna Francis, Temarewe Banaan, Aanamaria Toom, Einako Temewi, Nimei Itinikarawa, Teniteiti Mikaere, Aanibo Bwatanita, Arin Tikiraua.

Venue: European Cultural Centre, Palazzo Mora, Strada Nuova 3659

 

KOREA (Republic of)

History Has Failed Us, but No Matter

Commissioner: Arts Council Korea. Curator: Hyunjin Kim. Exhibitors: Hwayeon Nam, siren eun young jung, Jane Jin Kaisen.

Venue: Giardini

 

KOSOVO (Republic of)

Family Album

Commissioner: Arta Agani. Curator: Vincent Honore. Exhibitor: Alban Muja.

Venue: Arsenale

 

LATVIA

Saules Suns

Commissioner: Dace Vilsone. Curators: Valentinas Klimašauskas, Inga Lāce.

Exhibitor: Daiga Grantiņa.

Venue: Arsenale

 

LITHUANIA

Sun & Sea (Marina)

Commissioner: Rasa Antanavičıūte. Curator: Lucia Pietroiusti.

Exhibitors: Lina Lapelyte, Vaiva Grainyte and Rugile Barzdziukaite.

Venue: Magazzino No. 42, Marina Militare, Arsenale di Venezia, Fondamenta Case Nuove 2738c

 

LUXEMBOURG (Grand Duchy of)

Written by Water

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture of Luxembourg.

Curator: Kevin Muhlen. Exhibitor: Marco Godinho.

Venue: Arsenale

 

NORTH MACEDONIA (Republic of )

Subversion to Red

Commissioner: Mira Gakina. Curator: Jovanka Popova. Exhibitor: Nada Prlja.

Venue: Palazzo Rota Ivancich, Castello 4421

 

MADAGASCAR ***

I have forgotten the night

Commissioner: Ministry of Communication and Culture of the Republic of Madagascar. Curators: Rina Ralay Ranaivo, Emmanuel Daydé.

Exhibitor: Joël Andrianomearisoa.

Venue: Arsenale

 

MALAYSIA ***

Holding Up a Mirror

Commissioner: Professor Dato’ Dr. Mohamed Najib Dawa, Director General of Balai Seni Negara (National Art Gallery of Malaysia), Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia. Curator: Lim Wei-Ling. Exhibitors: Anurendra Jegadeva, H.H.Lim, Ivan Lam, Zulkifli Yusoff.

Venue: Palazzo Malipiero, San Marco 3198

 

MALTA

Maleth / Haven / Port - Heterotopias of Evocation

Commissioner: Arts Council Malta. Curator: Hesperia Iliadou Suppiej. Exhibitors: Vince Briffa, Klitsa Antoniou, Trevor Borg.

Venue: Arsenale

 

MEXICO

Actos de Dios / Acts of God

Commissioner: Gabriela Gil Verenzuela. Curator: Magalí Arriola. Exhibitor: Pablo Vargas Lugo.

Venue: Arsenale

 

MONGOLIA

A Temporality

Commissioner: The Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports of Mongolia.

Curator: Gantuya Badamgarav. Exhibitor: Jantsankhorol Erdenebayar with the participation of traditional Mongolian throat singers and Carsten Nicolai (Alva Noto).

Venue: Bruchium Fermentum, Calle del Forno, Castello 2093-2090

 

MONTENEGRO

Odiseja / An Odyssey

Commissioner: Nenad Šoškić. Curator: Petrica Duletić. Exhibitor: Vesko Gagović.

Venue: Palazzo Malipiero (piano terra), San Marco 3078-3079/A, Ramo Malipiero

 

MOZAMBIQUE (Republic of)

The Past, the Present and The in Between

Commissioner: Domingos do Rosário Artur. Curator: Lidija K. Khachatourian.

Exhibitors: Gonçalo Mabunda, Mauro Pinto, Filipe Branquinho.

Venue: Palazzo Mora, Strada Nova, 3659

 

NETHERLANDS (The)

The Measurement of Presence

Commissioner: Mondriaan Fund. Curator: Benno Tempel. Exhibitors: Iris Kensmil, Remy Jungerman. Venue: Giardini

 

NEW ZEALAND

Post hoc

Commissioner: Dame Jenny Gibbs. Curators: Zara Stanhope and Chris Sharp.

Exhibitor: Dane Mitchell.

Venue: Palazzina Canonica, Riva Sette Martiri

 

NORDIC COUNTRIES (FINLAND - NORWAY - SWEDEN)

Weather Report: Forecasting Future

Commissioner: Leevi Haapala / Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma / Finnish National Gallery, Katya García-Antón / Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA), Ann-Sofi Noring / Moderna Museet. Curators: Leevi Haapala, Piia Oksanen. Exhibitors: Ane Graff, Ingela Ihrman, nabbteeri.

Venue: Giardini

 

PAKISTAN ***

Manora Field Notes

Commissioner: Syed Jamal Shah, Pakistan National Council of the Arts, PNCA.

Curator: Zahra Khan. Exhibitor: Naiza Khan.

Venue: Tanarte, Castello 2109/A and Spazio Tana, Castello 2110-2111

 

PERU

“Indios Antropófagos”. A butterfly Garden in the (Urban) Jungle

Commissioner: Armando Andrade de Lucio. Curator: Gustavo Buntinx. Exhibitors: Christian Bendayán, Otto Michael (1859-1934), Manuel Rodríguez Lira (1874-1933), Segundo Candiño Rodríguez, Anonymous popular artificer.

Venue: Arsenale

 

PHILIPPINES

Island Weather

Commissioner: National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) / Virgilio S. Almario.

Curator: Tessa Maria T. Guazon. Exhibitor: Mark O. Justiniani.

Venue: Arsenale

 

POLAND

Flight

Commissioner: Hanna Wroblewska. Curators: Łukasz Mojsak, Łukasz Ronduda.

Exhibitor: Roman Stańczak.

Venue: Giardini

 

PORTUGAL

a seam, a surface, a hinge or a knot

Commissioner: Directorate-General for the Arts. Curator: João Ribas. Exhibitor: Leonor Antunes.

Venue: Fondazione Ugo e Olga Levi Onlus, Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, San Marco 2893

 

ROMANIA

Unfinished Conversations on the Weight of Absence

Commissioner: Attila Kim. Curator: Cristian Nae. Exhibitor: Belu-Simion Făinaru, Dan Mihălțianu, Miklós Onucsán.

Venues: Giardini and New Gallery of the Romanian Institute for Culture and Humanistic Research (Campo Santa Fosca, Palazzo Correr, Cannaregio 2214)

 

RUSSIA

Lc 15:11-32

Commissioner: Semyon Mikhailovsky. Curator: Mikhail Piotrovsky. Exhibitors: Alexander Sokurov, Alexander Shishkin-Hokusai.

Venue: Giardini

 

SAN MARINO (Republic of)

Friendship Project International

Commissioner: Vito Giuseppe Testaj. Curator: Vincenzo Sanfo. Exhibitors: Gisella Battistini, Martina Conti, Gabriele Gambuti, Giovanna Fra, Thea Tini, Chen Chengwei, Li Geng, Dario Ortiz, Tang Shuangning, Jens W. Beyrich, Xing Junqin, Xu de Qi, Sebastián.

Venue: Palazzo Bollani, Castello 3647; Complesso dell’Ospedaletto, Castello 6691

 

SAUDI ARABIA

After Illusion بعد توهم

Commissioner: Misk Art Insitute. Curator: Eiman Elgibreen. Exhibitor: Zahrah Al Ghamdi.

Venue: Arsenale

 

SERBIA

Regaining Memory Loss

Commissioner: Vladislav Scepanovic. Curator: Nicoletta Lambertucci. Exhibitor: Djordje Ozbolt.

Venue: Giardini

 

SEYCHELLES (Republic of)

Drift

Commissioner: Galen Bresson. Curator: Martin Kennedy.

Exhibitors: George Camille and Daniel Dodin.

Venue: Palazzo Mora, Strada Nova, 3659

 

SINGAPORE

Music For Everyone: Variations on a Theme

Commissioner: Rosa Daniel, Chief Executive Officer, National Arts Council (NAC).

Curator: Michelle Ho. Exhibitor: Song-Ming Ang.

Venue: Arsenale

 

SLOVENIA (Republic of)

Here we go again... SYSTEM 317

A situation of the resolution series

Commissioner: Zdenka Badovinac, Director Moderna galerija / Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana. Curator: Igor Španjol. Exhibitor: Marko Peljhan.

Venue: Arsenale

 

SOUTH AFRICA (Republic of)

The stronger we become

Commissioner: Titi Nxumalo, Console Generale. Curators: Nkule Mabaso, Nomusa Makhubu. Exhibitors: Dineo Seshee Bopape, Tracey Rose, Mawande Ka Zenzile.

Venue: Arsenale

 

SPAIN

Perforated by Itziar Okariz and Sergio Prego

Commissioner: AECID Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion Internacional Para El Desarrollo. Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Union Europea y Cooperacion. Curator: Peio Aguirre.

Exhibitors: Itziar Okariz, Sergio Prego.

Venue: Giardini

 

SWITZERLAND

Moving Backwards

Commissioner: Swiss Arts Council Pro-Helvetia: Marianne Burki, Sandi Paucic, Rachele Giudici Legittimo. Curator: Charlotte Laubard. Exhibitors: Pauline Boudry/Renate Lorenz.

Venue: Giardini

 

SYRIAN ARAB (Republic)

Syrian Civilization is still alive

Commissioner/Curator: Emad Kashout. Exhibitors: Abdalah Abouassali, Giacomo Braglia, Ibrahim Al Hamid, Chen Huasha, Saed Salloum, Xie Tian, Saad Yagan, Primo Vanadia, Giuseppe Biasio.

Venue: Isola di San Servolo; Chiesetta della Misericordia, Campo dell'Abbazia, Cannaregio

 

THAILAND

The Revolving World

Commissioner: Vimolluck Chuchat, Office of Contemporary Art and Culture, Ministry of Culture, Thailand. Curator: Tawatchai Somkong. Exhibitors: Somsak Chowtadapong, Panya Vijinthanasarn, Krit Ngamsom.

Venue: In Paradiso 1260, Castello

 

TURKEY

We, Elsewhere

Commissioner: IKSV. Curator: Zeynep Öz. Exhibitor: İnci Eviner.

Venue: Arsenale

 

UKRAINE

The Shadow of Dream cast upon Giardini della Biennale

Commissioner: Svitlana Fomenko, First Deputy Minister of Culture. Curators: Open group (Yurii Biley, Pavlo Kovach, Stanislav Turina, Anton Varga). Exhibitors: all artists of Ukraine.

Venue: Arsenale

 

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Nujoom Alghanem: Passage

Commissioner: Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation.

Curators: Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath. Exhibitor: Nujoom Alghanem.

Venue: Arsenale

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Martin Puryear: Liberty

Commissioner/Curator: Brooke Kamin Rapaport. Exhibitor: Martin Puryear.

Venue: Giardini

 

URUGUAY

“La casa empática”

Commissioner: Alejandro Denes. Curators: David Armengol, Patricia Bentancur.

Exhibitor: Yamandú Canosa.

Venue: Giardini

 

VENEZUELA (Bolivarian Republic of)

Metaphore of three windows

Venezuela: identity in time and space

Commissioner/Curator: Oscar Sottillo Meneses. Exhibitors: Natalie Rocha Capiello, Ricardo García, Gabriel López, Nelson Rangelosky.

Venue: Giardini

 

ZIMBABWE (Republic of)

Soko Risina Musoro (The Tale without a Head)

Commissioner: Doreen Sibanda, National Gallery of Zimbabwe. Curator: Raphael Chikukwa. Exhibitors: Georgina Maxim, Neville Starling , Cosmas Shiridzinomwa, Kudzanai Violet Hwami.

Venue: Istituto Provinciale per L’infanzia “Santa Maria Della Pietà”. Calle della Pietà Castello n. 3701 (ground floor)

 

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invited artist :

Lawrence Abu Hamdan (Jordan / Beirut)

Njideka Akunyili Crosby (Nigeria / USA),Halil Altındere (Turkey),Michael Armitage (Kenya / UK),Korakrit Arunanondchai (Thailand / USA),Alex Gvojic (USA),Ed Atkins (UK / Germany / Denmark),Tarek Atoui (Lebanon / France),

Darren Bader (USA),Nairy Baghramian (Iran / Germany,

Neïl Beloufa (France),Alexandra Bircken (Germany),Carol Bove (Switzerland / USA,

Christoph Büchel (Switzerland / Iceland,

Ludovica Carbotta (Italy / Barcelona),Antoine Catala (France / USA),Ian Cheng (USA),George Condo (USA

Alex Da Corte (USA),Jesse Darling (UK / Germany),Stan Douglas (Canada),Jimmie Durham (USA / Germany),Nicole Eisenman (France / USA,

Haris Epaminonda (Cyprus / Germany),Lara Favaretto (Italy),Cyprien Gaillard (France / Germany), Gill (India),Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster (France),Shilpa Gupta (India),Soham Gupta (India),Martine Gutierrez (USA),Rula Halawani (Palestine),Anthea Hamilton (UK),Jeppe Hein (Denmark / Germany),Anthony Hernandez (USA),Ryoji Ikeda (Japan / France),Arthur Jafa (USA),Cameron Jamie (USA / France / Germany),Kahlil Joseph (USA),Zhanna Kadyrova (Ukraine),Suki Seokyeong Kang (South Korea),Mari Katayama (Japan),Lee Bul (South Korea),Liu Wei (China),Maria Loboda (Poland / Germany),Andreas Lolis (Albania / Greece),Christian Marclay (USA / London),Teresa Margolles (Mexico / Spain),Julie Mehretu (Ethiopia / USA),Ad Minoliti (Argentina),Jean-Luc Moulène (France),Zanele Muholi (South Africa),Jill Mulleady (Uruguay / USA),Ulrike Müller (Austria / USA),Nabuqi (China),Otobong Nkanga (Nigeria / Belgium),Khyentse Norbu (Bhutan / India),Frida Orupabo (Norway),Jon Rafman (Canada).Gabriel Rico (Mexico),Handiwirman Saputra (Indonesia),Tomás Saraceno (Argentina / Germany),Augustas Serapinas (Lithuania),Avery Singer (USA),Slavs and Tatars (Germany),Michael E. Smith (USA),Hito Steyerl (Germany),Tavares Strachan (Bahamas / USA),Sun Yuan and Peng Yu (China),Henry Taylor (USA),Rosemarie Trockel (Germany),Kaari Upson (USA),Andra Ursuţa (Romania),Danh Vō (Vietnam / Mexico),Kemang Wa Lehulere (South Africa),Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand) and Tsuyoshi Hisakado (Japan),Margaret Wertheim and Christine Wertheim (Australia / USA) ,Anicka Yi (South Korea/ USA),Yin Xiuzhen (China),Yu Ji (China / Austria)

  

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other Biennale :(Biennials ) :Venice Biennial , Documenta Havana Biennial,Istanbul Biennial ( Istanbuli),Biennale de Lyon ,Dak'Art Berlin Biennial,Mercosul Visual Arts Biennial ,Bienal do Mercosul Porto Alegre.,Berlin Biennial ,Echigo-Tsumari Triennial .Yokohama Triennial Aichi Triennale,manifesta ,Copenhagen Biennale,Aichi Triennale

Yokohama Triennial,Echigo-Tsumari Triennial.Sharjah Biennial ,Biennale of Sydney, Liverpool , São Paulo Biennial ; Athens Biennale , Bienal do Mercosul ,Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art

  

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