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Highlight: The area immediately northeast of Halong Bay is known as Bai Tu
Long Bay and is the focus of our special itinerary. Hundreds of islets
rising from the clear waters, long sandy beaches beckon, grottoes and
lagoons entice the visitor an area relatively underdeveloped and
unpolluted by
the tourist trade.
Halong Bay (2 days 1 night) 120USD/PP
Bai Tu Long bay Vong Vieng floating village Trong cave Ha Long bay
Sung Sot cave
DAY ONE (lunch, dinner )
08.30 approx
Our guide will meet you at your hotel. Mini bus or private car pick up.
Enjoy the peaceful scenery as we travel through the countryside, farmlands
and Red River delta. You will have a chance to take photos and short break.
The
time from Hanoi to Halong bay is approximately 3 ½ hours.
12 noon approx
Arriving Halong Bay. Welcome aboard The Paloma. Meet the captain, crew and
join us for a welcome cocktail as we tell you about life onboard.
Check into your cabin. Time to refresh and unwind.
Set sail as lunch is prepared by our chef.
Join us for a relaxing lunch in the restaurant or on the outdoor dining
area. Enjoy the stunning views of the Bay, its dramatic limestone islands as
we sail
through the calm waters.
Afternoon
While we make our way to Bai Tu Long Bay, relax on the sundeck and watch the
world go by or take an afternoon nap in your cabin. Early afternoon arrive
at Vong Vieng floating fishing village. Drop anchor.
Our guide will give you some information and interesting facts about this
fascinating village and its local community.
Disembark and travel on the sampans rowed by the local people. They will be
your guides through their fishing village where you can meet the locals,
visit
the school and pearl farms. See at first-hand what life is like living on
the water. We are proud of our working partnership with, and support of this
community. Back on board The Paloma we head towards Halong Bay. We drop
anchor in the calm waters surrounded by islets
Opportunity to go swimming in the clear warm waters or go kayaking. Kayaking
is suitable for all levels and ages. Our expert will run through the safety
procedures and after a basic paddling lesson our experienced guide will lead
you to explore the Bay, its lagoons and beaches.
For those who prefer a relaxing afternoon, make the most of sunbathing on
deck or pamper yourself with a massage and sauna in our luxurious spa.
Early evening
Back on board, enjoy the sunset with evening cocktails and fresh fruit.
Take an opportunity to refresh and then join friends for a pre-dinner drink
in the bar.
Dinner is served in the restaurant or outdoor dining area, which is a
gastronomic delight.After dinner, unwind in the bar where there is a
selection of books,
magazines and board games or relax in the spa; watch a movie on our plasma
TV; join some of our team to go cuttle fishing at night or take a late night
swim
under the stars. Accommodation and overnight on junk.
Thunder Bay ....the Name being affirmed.
The Sleeping Giant is a formation of mesas and sills on Sibley Peninsula which resembles a giant lying on its back when viewed from the west to north-northwest section of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. As one moves southward along the shoreline toward Squaw Bay the Sleeping Giant starts to separate into its various sections. Most distinctly in the view from the cliffs at Squaw Bay the Giant appears to have an Adam's Apple. The formation is part of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. Its dramatic steep cliffs are among the highest in Ontario (250 m). The southernmost point is known as Thunder Cape, depicted by many early Canadian artists such as William Armstrong.
One Ojibway legend identifies the giant as Nanabijou, who was turned to stone when the secret location of a rich silver mine now known as Silver Islet was disclosed to white men.
"Walter J. McCarthy Jr. "
Another Footer (1000 ft) Seeking Safe Harbour this Weekend . The Walter J. McCarthy Jr. Lake Superior in her November Mode Blowing Stink (50 kn + ) and creating 20 Ft Waves. She was waiting this morning for Superior to Flatten out a bit more I'm guessing. She's under the Watchful Eye of the Sleeping Giant .
The Sleeping Giant is a formation of mesas and sills on Sibley Peninsula which resembles a giant lying on its back when viewed from the west to north-northwest section of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. As one moves southward along the shoreline toward Squaw Bay the Sleeping Giant starts to separate into its various sections. Most distinctly in the view from the cliffs at Squaw Bay the Giant appears to have an Adam's Apple. The formation is part of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. Its dramatic steep cliffs are among the highest in Ontario (250 m). The southernmost point is known as Thunder Cape, depicted by many early Canadian artists such as William Armstrong.
One Ojibway legend identifies the giant as Nanabijou, who was turned to stone when the secret location of a rich silver mine now known as Silver Islet was disclosed to white men.[3]
Llyn Llech Owain Country Park is is a stunning 158-acre expanse of woods and lakeland near Cross Hands with nature trails, an adventure area and visitor centre. At the heart of this spectacular park is its dramatic lake which is surrounded by peat bog and there’s a lovely myth associated with Llyn Lech Owain. Legend has it that Owain Lawgoch ("Owain of the Red Hand" - who led an army of French mercenaries against the English in the Hundred Years' War), was entrusted to look after a well on the mountain named Mynydd Mawr. Each day, after extracting enough water for himself and his horse, Owain was always careful to replace the stone but on one occasion he forgot and a torrent of water poured down the side of the mountain. The resultant lake was hence named Llyn Lech Owain - the lake of Owain’s slab. Today, specially constructed paths allow for safe access over the bog and around the lake. The paths are well-surfaced and accessible to wheelchair-users. A forest track provides a longer walk or cycle ride around the country park and there’s a rough mountain bike trail for the more adventurous cyclist. Much of the park consists of coniferous woodland, planted by the Forestry Commission during the 1960s and there are also areas of dry heath and broad-leaved woodland.
This slab of concrete is a memorial to the destruction of Twyford Down by the construction of the M3 motorway and an indictment of those responsible.
Twyford Down is a small area of ancient chalk downland lying directly to the southeast of Winchester, Hampshire. The down's 144-metre (472 ft) summit, known as Deacon Hill, is towards the north-eastern edge of the area which is renowned for its dramatic rolling scenery, ecologically rich grassland and as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is situated at the western extremity of the South Downs National Park, having previously been designated as part of the East Hampshire AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).
In 1994 a highly controversial road building project was—despite vigorous objection from many quarters—completed and a new 2-mile (3.2 km) stretch of the M3 motorway was created, running through a significant section of the down, which was excavated and removed to create a deep cutting.
In December 1991, Twyford Down became the site of the UK's first road protest camp when environmentalists, including members of Dongas and Earth First!, gathered to hinder work. After a year this first camp was evicted on Yellow Wednesday, named after the uniforms of the security guards who performed the eviction in December 1992.
Resistance to the road intensified and Earth First! set up a new protest camp nearby in Plague Pits Valley and continued to obstruct the work both on the water meadows and up on the Down itself. In addition to many direct actions, there was a mass trespass in which over 5000 people attended the protests and occupations, and six people were sent to prison for some weeks for defying an earlier injunction not to enter the site.
The motorway section that was eventually constructed through Twyford Down completed the route of the M3 motorway. Prior to its completion, traffic travelling from nearby Southampton and Portsmouth (major ferry ports) and from farther west to London and the north had to exit the truncated M3 and travel on the heavily congested 1930s Winchester Bypass. Once round this bypass, traffic could either rejoin the M3 in order to proceed toward London or join the A34 road. Completion of the link in 1994 removed the traffic from the existing Winchester Bypass, allowing its closure and significantly reduced heavy traffic volumes from the village of Twyford. To redress the loss of 1.91 hectares (4.7 acres) of SSSI land, the old route of the A33 road was planted with 7.2 hectares (18 acres) of species-rich grassland under the supervision and monitoring of The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology.
In 1994, a government committee concluded that building more roads encourages more traffic and that the way to ease congestion and pollution was to take measures to control car use rather than accommodate more. When Labour came to power in 1997, most of the road schemes were suspended.
The South Downs National Park is England's newest National Park, having become fully operational on 1 April 2011. The park, covering an area of 1,627 square kilometres (628 sq mi) in southern England, stretches for 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. The national park covers not only the chalk ridge of the South Downs, with its celebrated chalk downland landscape that culminates in the iconic chalky white cliffs of Beachy Head, but also a substantial part of a separate physiographic region, the western Weald, with its heavily wooded sandstone and clay hills and vales. The South Downs Way spans the entire length of the park and is the only National Trail that lies wholly within a national park.
Photoshop Elements was used here to alter the colour of the grass to make it look dead.
Smailholm Tower is located at Smailholm, around five miles (8 km) west of Kelso in the Scottish Borders. Its dramatic situation, atop a crag of Lady Hill, commands wide views over the surrounding countryside. The tower is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument in the care of Historic Scotland. In June 2007 it was awarded the maximum "five-star" status as a tourist attraction from VisitScotland, a rating bestowed on only eight other sites in Scotland.
Vault of the eastern crossing at Beverley Minster, showing Victorian painted decoration by Clayton & Bell.
There is a danger of running out of superlatives when trying to describe Beverley Minster. It is not only the second finest non-cathedral church in the country but is architecturally a far finer building than most of our cathedrals themselves! It will come as a surprise to many visitors to find this grand edifice simply functions today as a parish church and has never been more than collegiate, a status it lost at the Reformaton. What had added to its mystique and wealth was its status as a place of pilgrimage housing the tomb of St John of Beverley, which drew visitors and revenue until the Reformation brought an end to such fortunes and the shrine was destroyed (though the saint's bones were later rediscovered and reinterred in the nave). That this great church itself survived this period almost intact is little short of a miracle in itself.
There has been a church here since the 8th century but little remains of the earlier buildings aside from the Saxon chair near the altar and the Norman font in the nave. The present Minster's construction spans the entirety of the development of the Gothic architecture but forms a surprisingly harmonious whole nevertheless, starting with Early English in the 13h century choir and transepts (both pairs) with their lancet windows in a building phase that stopped at the first bays of the nave. Construction was then continued with the nave in the 14th century but only the traceried windows betray the emergent Decorated style, the design otherwise closely followed the work of the previous century which gives the Minster's interior such a pleasingly unified appearance (the only discernable break in construction within can be seen where the black purbeck-marble ceased to be used for certain elements beyond the eastern bay of the nave). Finally the building was completed more or less by 1420 with the soaring west front with its dramatic twin-towers in Perpendicular style (the east window must have been enlarged at this point too to match the new work at the west end).
The fabric happily survived the Reformation intact aside from the octagonal chapter-house formerly adjoining the north choir aisle which was dismantled to raise money by the sale of its materials while the church's fate was in the balance (a similar fate was contemplated for the rest of the church by its new owners until the town bought it for retention as a parish church for £100). The great swathes of medieval glass alas were mostly lost, though seemingly as much to neglect and storm-damage in the following century than the usual iconoclasm. All that survived of the Minster's original glazing was collected to form the patchwork display now filling the great east window, a colourful kaleidoscope of fragments of figures and scenes. Of the other furnishings the choir stalls are the major ensemble and some of the finest medieval canopied stalls extant with a full set of charming misericords (though most of these alas are not normally on show).
There are suprisingly few monuments of note for such an enormous cathedral-like church, but the one major exception makes up for this, the delightful canopied Percy tomb erected in 1340 to the north of the high altar. The tomb itself is surprisingly plain without any likeness remaining of the deceased, but the richly carved Decorated canopy above is alive with gorgeous detail and figurative embellishments. There are further carvings to enjoy adorning the arcading that runs around the outer perimeter of the interior, especially the north nave aisle which has the most rewarding carved figures of musicians, monsters and people suffering various ailments, many were largely restored in the 19th century but still preserve the medieval spirit of irreverent fun.
To summarise Beverley Minster would be difficult other than simply adding that if one enjoys marvelling at Gothic architecture at its best then it really shouldn't be missed and one should prioritise it over the majority of our cathedrals. It is a real gem and a delight to behold, and is happily normally open and welcoming to visitors (who must all be astonished to find this magnificent edifice is no more than a simple parish church in status!). I thoroughly enjoyed this, my second visit here (despite the best efforts of the poor weather!).
beverleyminster.org.uk/visit-us-2/a-brief-history/
Uploaded originally for the 'Guess Where UK?' Group.
Yeah, I know, Rhodes was a dick, but I'd read that he was buried at a place he called "View of the World", and so I thought this could be a scenic spot worth taking in en route SE. It's a granite hill with a good view with huge round boulders at the top surrounding his grave www.flickr.com/photos/luisferreira/1473265014/ www.flickr.com/photos/krisgriffiths/41341262261/ (although I'd pictured the cliff that the Bushman threw the coke bottle from at the end of 'The Gods must be crazy').
- This is a controversial location for the grave as the hills are sacred to the Shona and other native locals. This particular hill is "Malindidzimu, the legendary place of benevolent spirits..." At Rhodes' internment, Matabele chiefs asked that the firing party not discharge their rifles as that would disturb the spirits.
- "The oracle Mlimo was assassinated in one of the caves [near here] by a mercenary from the invading colonial party. The colonizers chose to bury their leaders and fighters at the summit of Malindidzimu - a parting and lasting affront." thisisafrica.me/lifestyle/fate-zimbabwes-colonial-monuments/
- Mark Twain once said "I admire [Rhodes], I frankly confess it; and when his time comes I shall buy a piece of the rope for a keepsake."
- The most remarkable thing to see here is an assortment of very large (3-5 m. high) supernaturally round, granite boulders atop this hill. (I'll scan a photo. You can see some here at the top left.)
- And I saw at least one very colourful 'Flat lizard' (the subspecies Platysaurus intermedius rhodesianus). They're so colourful they look like they should be rare, but according to David Attenborough the flat lizard is the most common on earth. www.flickr.com/photos/151498572@N04/41109586552/ www.davidwallphoto.com/detail/49508-Common-flat-lizard-Pl...
- I saw a large monument below or on the slopes of Malindidzimu, "an oblong, flat-topped granite structure [erected in 1904], @ 10 m.s tall, designed by Herbert Baker and based on the Pedestal of Agrippa at the Acropolis in Athems. Each of the memorial's 4 sides bears a bronze panel created by John Tweed depicting members of the 'Shangani Patrol', aka Wilson's Patrol, in relief, a 34-soldier unit of the British South Africa Co. that "in 1893 was ambushed and massacred by more than 3,000 Matabele warriors in pre-Southern Rhodesia during the First Matabele War." The main inscription reads: "To Brave Men", with a smaller dedication beneath: "Erected to the enduring memory of Allan Wilson and his Men who fell in fight against the Matabele on the Shangani River December 4th, 1893. There was no survivor". Headed by Maj. Allan Wilson, "the patrol was attacked just north of the Shangani river in Matabeleland. Its dramatic last stand, sometimes referred to as 'Wilson's Last Stand', achieved prominence in the British public imagination and, subsequently, in Rhodesian history. ... The patrol comprised elements of the Mashonaland Mounted Police and the Bechuanaland Border Police. Scouting ahead of Maj. Patrick Forbes' column attempting the capture of the Matabele King Lobengula [following his flight from his royal capital Bulawayo and which was destroyed a month earlier], it crossed the Shangani late on Dec. 3, 1893, and moved on Lobengula the next morning, but was ambushed by Matabele riflemen and warriors near the king's wagon. Surrounded and outnumbered @ 100 to 1, the patrol made a last stand. ... They fought to the last cartridge and killed over 10 x their own number {or so it's said}." While the 34 soldiers were killed, no-one can deny that they were the aggressors, nor that Maj. Wilson was over-confident and underestimated the Matabele. "The patrol's actions confused the Matabele, who could not understand why there appeared to be so few company soldiers, nor why they would reveal their position" as they did, by calling repeatedly to Lobengula. ("Lobengula's troops were well-drilled and formidable by pre-colonial African standards, but the company's Maxim guns, which had never before been used in battle, far exceeded expectations [in the co.'s approach to Bulawayo], according to an eyewitness "mow[ing] them down literally like grass.") Notwithstanding that "none [of the officers with whom Wilson conferred] was particularly optimistic about their prospects ("This is the end" said one), British soldier and historian Roger Marston postulates that the patrol might still have been safe had it not [persisted in] pursu[ing] the king. "Let's ride on Lobengula," said Wilson. Several analysts comment that this was excessively rash. Marston says that Wilson's actions "had a flavour of doomed resignation about them"." (Wikipedia)
- "In historical terms, the Shangani Patrol subsequently became an integral part of Rhodesian identity, with Wilson and Capt. Henry Borrow in particular woven into the national tapestry as heroic figures representing duty in the face of insuperable odds. Their last stand together became a kind of national myth, as Lewis Gann writes, "a glorious memory, [Rhodesia's] own equivalent of the bloody Alamo massacre and Custer's Last Stand in the American West". In 1895, Dec. 4 was declared "Shangani Day", an annual Rhodesian public holiday which endured until 1920, when it was folded into 'Occupation Day' [lol], a national holiday commemorating several early colonial events together. Shangani Day remained part of the national calendar, however, and was still marked each year.
- "The remains of the patrol's members were buried on Aug. 14, 1894, in the ruined city of Great Zimbabwe. [!] Rhodes later wrote into his will that he wished to have the patrol re-interred alongside him at 'World's View' in the Matopos Hills when he died; this was done in 1904, two years after Rhodes's death. Also according to Rhodes' wishes, [the] memorial to the Shangani Patrol was erected at World's View in July, 1904." (all Wikipedia)
- Here's the film 'The Shangani Patrol' (1970).: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T5pcpzY6mE The monument is seen at the 1:32:07 point. Some excerpts.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XmkJfeqaEM
- "Up the Washangani": www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMbEreea9Z4
- From Matobo and the town of Matopos, I hitched back to Bulawayo, walked through more of that city and then hitched SE (I think) down the A6 past ranches and mixed farms through the town of Esigodini to Mbalabala (where there's a monolith named 'Balloon kop' poultney.rhodesiana.com/photos/photo003.html which I don't recall) and the T-junction with the A9, and then east along that rte. through Zvishavane to Masvingo (a name I recall) and then @ 20 km.s south to the site of 'the Great Zimbabwe'. Masvingo was known as 'Fort Victoria' until 1982 and is "the oldest colonial settlement in Zimbabwe. It developed around an encampment established in 1890 when the British South Africa Company "Pioneer Column" of the first European colonists passed through en route to what became Salisbury, now Harare. The Old Fort national monument [1891] is located in the centre of town. It was one of a series of fortifications built to guard the route from Salisbury to the south. The very first cricket match in Zimbabwe is said to have taken place close by, in 1890." (Wikipedia) I don't recall anything about Masvingo.
🇬🇧 English
Lao Shan (Laoshan) is a sacred mountain on China’s eastern coast, near Qingdao, famous for its dramatic granite peaks, clear springs, and strong Taoist heritage.
It is considered one of the birthplaces of Taoism, with temples dating back over 2,000 years. Laoshan is renowned for its pure mountain water, believed to have exceptional quality, and for its rare combination of mountain landscapes and direct sea views, which is unusual in China.
The mountain has long inspired poets, philosophers, and martial artists, symbolizing harmony between nature, spirit, and the Dao.
🇨🇳 中文（简体）
崂山（Lao Shan） 位于中国山东省青岛市东部，是中国著名的道教名山之一。
崂山以奇峰怪石、清泉瀑布和临海山景而闻名，是中国少有的“海上第一名山”。这里被认为是道教的重要发源地之一，至今仍保留着大量古老的道观。
崂山的山泉水极为著名，被认为清澈甘甜，富含灵气，长期被用于茶叶和传统养生文化中。
🇭🇷 Hrvatski
Lao Shan (Laoshan) je sveta planina na istočnoj obali Kine, u blizini Qingdaoa, poznata po strmim granitnim vrhovima, čistim izvorima i snažnoj daoističkoj tradiciji.
Smatra se jednim od najvažnijih povijesnih središta taoizma, s hramovima starima više od dvije tisuće godina. Posebnost Lao Shana je rijetka kombinacija planine i mora, gdje se s vrhova pruža pogled izravno na Žuto more.
Planina simbolizira sklad prirode, duhovnosti i dugovječnosti te ima važno mjesto u kineskoj filozofiji i kulturi.
Lake Como, in Northern Italy’s Lombardy region, is an upscale resort area known for its dramatic scenery, set against the foothills of the Alps. The lake is shaped like an upside-down Y, with three slender branches that meet at the resort town of Bellagio. At the bottom of the southwest branch lies the city of Como, home to Renaissance architecture and a funicular that travels up to the mountain town of Brunate.
Detail of the lower half of the west window depicting the Last Judgement. The Last Judgement is Fairford's most celebrated window for its dramatic composition and graphic depiction of the horrors of hell in the lower half. The window sadly suffered badly during the great storm of 1703 with the upper half depicting Christ in Judgement and the surrounding company of saints and angels the most seriously affected part.
The lower half depicts Archangel Michael at the centre with the elect entering Heaven to the left and the damned being condemned to Hell on the right. This depiction of Hell is renowned for its exotic demons dragging their victims to the red glow of hellfire, culminating in the monstrous soul-devouring figure of Satan seated in the bottom right hand corner.
St Mary's at Fairford is justly famous, not only as a most beautiful building architecturally but for the survival of its complete set of late medieval stained glass, a unique survival in an English parish church. No other church has resisted the waves of iconoclasm unleashed by the Reformation and the English Civil War like Fairford has, and as a result we can experience a pre-Reformation iconographic scheme in glass in its entirety. At most churches one is lucky to find mere fragments of the original glazing and even one complete window is an exceptional survival, thus a full set of 28 of them here in a more or less intact state makes Fairford church uniquely precious.
The exterior already promises great things, this is a handsome late 15th century building entirely rebuilt in Perpendicular style and dedicated in 1497. The benefactor was lord of the manor John Tame, a wealthy wool merchant whose son Edmund later continued the family's legacy in donating the glass. The central tower is adorned with much carving including strange figures guarding the corners and a rather archaic looking relief of Christ on the western side. The nave is crowned by a fine clerestorey whilst the aisles below form a gallery of large windows that seem to embrace the entire building without structural interruption aside from the south porch and the chancel projecting at the east end. All around are pinnacles, battlements and gargoyles, the effect is very rich and imposing for a village church.
One enters through the fan-vaulted porch and is initially met by subdued lighting within that takes a moment to adjust to but can immediately appreciate the elegant arcades and the rich glowing colours of the windows. The interior is spacious but the view east is interrupted by the tower whose panelled walls and arches frame only a glimpse of the chancel beyond. The glass was inserted between 1500-1517 and shows marked Renaissance influence, being the work of Flemish glaziers (based in Southwark) under the direction of the King's glazier Barnard Flower. The quality is thus of the highest available and suggests the Tame family had connections at court to secure such glaziers.
Entering the nave one is immediately confronted with the largest and most famous window in the church, the west window with its glorious Last Judgement, best known for its lurid depiction of the horrors of Hell with exotic demons dragging the damned to their doom. Sadly the three windows in the west wall suffered serious storm damage in 1703 and the Last Judgement suffered further during an 1860 restoration that copied rather than restored the glass in its upper half. The nave clerestories contain an intriguing scheme further emphasising the battle of Good versus Evil with a gallery of saintly figures on the south side balanced by a 'rogue's gallery' of persecutors of the faith on the darker north side, above which are fabulous demonic figures leering from the traceries.
The aisle windows form further arrays of figures in canopies with the Evangelists and prophets on the north side and the Apostles and Doctors of the Church on the south. The more narrative windows are mainly located in the eastern half of the church, starting in the north chapel with an Old Testament themed window followed by more on the life of Mary and infancy of Christ. The subject matter is usually confined to one light or a pair of them, so multiple scenes can be portrayed within a single window. The scheme continues in the east window of the chancel with its scenes of the Passion of Christ in the lower register culminating in his crucifixion above, while a smaller window to the south shows his entombment and the harrowing of Hell. The cycle continues in the south chapel where the east window shows scenes of Christ's resurrection and transfiguration whilst two further windows relate further incidents culminating in Pentecost. The final window in the sequence however is of course the Last Judgement at the west end.
The glass has been greatly valued and protected over the centuries from the ravages of history, being removed for protection during the Civil War and World War II. The windows underwent a complete conservation between 1988-2010 by the Barley Studio of York which bravely restored legibility to the windows by sensitive releading and recreating missing pieces with new work (previously these had been filled with plain glass which drew the eye and disturbed the balance of light). The most dramatic intervention was the re-ordering of the westernmost windows of the nave aisles which had been partially filled with jumbled fragments following the storm damage of 1703 but have now been returned to something closer to their original state.
It is important here not to neglect the church's other features since the glass dominates its reputation so much. The chancel also retains its original late medieval woodwork with a fine set of delicate screens dividing it from the chapels either side along with a lovely set of stalls with carved misericords. The tomb of the founder John Tame and his wife can be seen on the north side of the sanctuary with their brasses atop a tomb chest. Throughout the church a fine series of carved angel corbels supports the old oak roofs.
Fairford church is a national treasure and shouldn't be missed by anyone with a love of stained glass and medieval art. It is normally kept open for visitors and deserves more of them.
Cathedral Peak and Cathedral Lakes are stunning natural landmarks located in Yosemite National Park, California. Cathedral Peak, standing at 10,912 feet, is a striking granite pinnacle renowned for its dramatic spire and challenging climbing routes. It was first ascended by the famous naturalist John Muir in 1869. Below the peak, Cathedral Lakes consist of two beautiful alpine lakes, the Upper and Lower Cathedral Lakes, nestled amidst picturesque meadows and surrounded by the Sierra Nevada's majestic peaks. The area is a popular destination for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, offering breathtaking views, serene landscapes, and opportunities for rock climbing, camping, and photography.
This stunning head with its wonderful representation of a complex hair style was yet another treasure from this great museum. Powerful and evocative I personally found this piece very moving, not just because of its dramatic representative power, but alss because of its intimate portrait of a woman of long ago.
To create the iconic curving forms of the cruise-ship terminal in Porto, Portugal, architect Luís Pedro Silva began working from the project’s territorial context rather than simply seeking a display of formal prowess. The powerful oval drum of its main volume, with its spiraling central atrium and exterior ramps, is charged with both centripetal and centrifugal force, gathering all the vectors of movement that come together in the terminal from sea and land, and spinning them back out again to their various destinations. Before receiving the commission, Silva, who has degrees in architecture and urban planning from Porto University, worked on a strategic plan for the entire port as a member of a team of economists, engineers, and other specialists. The building and its new dock bring together the group’s ideas for increasing the port’s efficiency, promoting a growing tourist industry, and improving connections to the area’s attractions.
Leixões, the port, occupies a small inlet on the Atlantic Ocean 6 miles north of the historic city center of Porto. It is protected by two breakwaters that reach more than 2,500 feet into the sea, each with a dock on its harbor side. The tightly confined waterway houses facilities for container ships, oil tankers, a fishing fleet, and a recreational marina. It’s a node of heavy industry that interrupts the rocky beaches of the coast, separating seaside promenades designed by Portugal’s two Pritzker Prize winners: Eduardo Souto de Moura to the south, in Matosinhos, and Álvaro Siza to the north, in Leça da Palmera, where his outdoor swimming pools and Tea House are nestled into the rocks.
In the first phase of the plan, finished in 2011, Silva and his team moved the cruise-ship dock from the inner harbor to a new pier at the end of the southern breakwater, for more direct access to the city and to accommodate ships up to 1,000 feet long. The terminal was completed in a second phase last year. In the near future, the pier and terminal will open to the general public, allowing the building, with its rooftop viewing deck, to truly function as a destination rather than just a curiosity when seen from Souto de Moura’s seaside promenade, where its dramatic forms stand out against the horizon.
Silva set the terminal in the elbow of the angled breakwater, and in plan it resembles a hinge or spring, with ramps and arms curving out in different directions toward the marina, the new pier, and the shore. Inside, these pedestrian paths come together in a spiraling oval ramp around the central atrium. The uncoiling arms diagram the different systems of movement through the building. From a cruise ship, for example, a breezeway carries passengers over the service areas of the dock to the terminal. Ramps and escalators bring them down to the ground level, where they pass through customs and baggage handling (or vice-versa), to connect to tour buses or smaller boats for trips to the city and the Douro wine region, or eventually to a tram line that is planned to run along the coast.
In the original program, the upper section of the terminal was meant to house a shopping concourse and a restaurant, but Portugal’s ongoing financial slump made investors hard to find. While Silva was developing the design, these floors were taken on by the University of Porto’s Marine Science and Technology Research Park. The architect rather awkwardly converted the commercial spaces into laboratories, with floor-to-ceiling glazed storefronts facing the atrium but with no exterior windows, and with offices on mezzanines accessed via spiral stairs. He installed a research aquarium in the basement, and converted the top-floor restaurant into a multi-use event credits space. Yet this unlikely partnership with the university does bring life to the building, as well as steady revenue, and allows the center’s scientists to be close to the sea.
Silva worked with local manufacturers to develop a hexagonal ceramic tile with a tilted face to clad the building, updating the Portuguese tradition of painted-tile facades. He rotated the tiles, placing them in varying relations to each other, like barnacles or shells, to create an uneven surface. “They give the building a human scale,” he says.
Glistening in the light, the curving walls of the building read like ribbons looping around themselves in an irregular tangle. Echoes of two Guggenheims are evident—Wright’s in New York and Gehry’s in Bilbao. Silva affirms, however, that Siza is his most important reference: “The way our bodies move in a space, and the way a space invites you forward.” Like Souto de Moura, whose early buildings were very Miesian, Silva may be using Wright and Gehry to mitigate the influence of Siza’s eccentric, rectilinear forms. Whatever the case, he develops the terminal’s looping ramps and drum with an elegant economy of means, and makes this formal repertoire his own.
Day two of our trip down to Wanaka Central Otago. February 20, 2018 New Zealand.
We didn't get accommodation in Wanaka last night and they were all booked out until the 25th. We went on to Cromwell .. some there but we did book for today. We finally found a place to stay in the camping ground in Alexandra. Now we are making our way back to Cromwell for the next two nights.
Mt Difficulty Wines is located in Bannockburn, well within an hour's drive of both Queenstown and Wanaka. The Cellar Door is known as much for its dramatic views of rugged rock and thyme landscapes as it is for its stylish wine.
www.newzealand.com/ie/plan/business/mt-difficulty-wines-c...
Architect: Klas Anshelm
Built in: 1957
Client: The City of Lund
Prehistory
Lund Konsthall is the result of a donation from the Old Savings’ Bank (today’s Finn Savings’ Bank) to the City of Lund. In 1953 the City Council decided to accept the gift and invited six architects for a competition to design the new art gallery. In 1954 the jury unanimously decided that Klas Anshelm’s proposal should be realized.
Architecture
Klas Anshelm (1914–1980) was a well-known and busy architect in Lund. With its monolithic brick façade Lunds Konsthall became one of Sweden’s finest exhibition venues. Its dramatic and yet restrained form is well adapted to contemporary art, and also blends in with the medieval architecture of Lund.
Renovations
Lunds Konsthall has not fully retained its original architectural expression, but it has escaped thorough reconstruction. In 1997 the building was renovated with support from the Finn Savings’ Bank and in 2004 it underwent a lighter renovation, aiming at restoring as much as possible of the original architecture.
History
‘I have tried to achieve an environment, tried to achieve a spatial frame for objects, and also to facilitate the changing of light bulbs.’
Klas Anshelm, Architect
Source: Lunds Konsthall - History.
The images from Lunds Konsthall was taken during the exhibition - The Opposite of Me Is I by the artist Miriam Bäckström.
More pictures from Lunds Konsthall here.
There is a danger of running out of superlatives when trying to describe Beverley Minster. It is not only the second finest non-cathedral church in the country but is architecturally a far finer building than most of our cathedrals themselves! It will come as a surprise to many visitors to find this grand edifice simply functions today as a parish church and has never been more than collegiate, a status it lost at the Reformaton. What had added to its mystique and wealth was its status as a place of pilgrimage housing the tomb of St John of Beverley, which drew visitors and revenue until the Reformation brought an end to such fortunes and the shrine was destroyed (though the saint's bones were later rediscovered and reinterred in the nave). That this great church itself survived this period almost intact is little short of a miracle in itself.
There has been a church here since the 8th century but little remains of the earlier buildings aside from the Saxon chair near the altar and the Norman font in the nave. The present Minster's construction spans the entirety of the development of the Gothic architecture but forms a surprisingly harmonious whole nevertheless, starting with Early English in the 13h century choir and transepts (both pairs) with their lancet windows in a building phase that stopped at the first bays of the nave. Construction was then continued with the nave in the 14th century but only the traceried windows betray the emergent Decorated style, the design otherwise closely followed the work of the previous century which gives the Minster's interior such a pleasingly unified appearance (the only discernable break in construction within can be seen where the black purbeck-marble ceased to be used for certain elements beyond the eastern bay of the nave). Finally the building was completed more or less by 1420 with the soaring west front with its dramatic twin-towers in Perpendicular style (the east window must have been enlarged at this point too to match the new work at the west end).
The fabric happily survived the Reformation intact aside from the octagonal chapter-house formerly adjoining the north choir aisle which was dismantled to raise money by the sale of its materials while the church's fate was in the balance (a similar fate was contemplated for the rest of the church by its new owners until the town bought it for retention as a parish church for £100). The great swathes of medieval glass alas were mostly lost, though seemingly as much to neglect and storm-damage in the following century than the usual iconoclasm. All that survived of the Minster's original glazing was collected to form the patchwork display now filling the great east window, a colourful kaleidoscope of fragments of figures and scenes. Of the other furnishings the choir stalls are the major ensemble and some of the finest medieval canopied stalls extant with a full set of charming misericords (though most of these alas are not normally on show).
There are suprisingly few monuments of note for such an enormous cathedral-like church, but the one major exception makes up for this, the delightful canopied Percy tomb erected in 1340 to the north of the high altar. The tomb itself is surprisingly plain without any likeness remaining of the deceased, but the richly carved Decorated canopy above is alive with gorgeous detail and figurative embellishments. There are further carvings to enjoy adorning the arcading that runs around the outer perimeter of the interior, especially the north nave aisle which has the most rewarding carved figures of musicians, monsters and people suffering various ailments, many were largely restored in the 19th century but still preserve the medieval spirit of irreverent fun.
To summarise Beverley Minster would be difficult other than simply adding that if one enjoys marvelling at Gothic architecture at its best then it really shouldn't be missed and one should prioritise it over the majority of our cathedrals. It is a real gem and a delight to behold, and is happily normally open and welcoming to visitors (who must all be astonished to find this magnificent edifice is no more than a simple parish church in status!). I thoroughly enjoyed this, my second visit here (despite the best efforts of the poor weather!).
Afton Canyon's surface water makes it unique in the southern California desert. Known locally as "The Grand Canyon of the Mojave" for its dramatic geological formations, this is the only place where the Mojave River flows above ground year-round - providing significant riparian (riverbank) wildlife habitat amid the desert. Since prehistoric times, the natural bounty created by this water source has made Afton Canyon a focus for living things. Dense willows and cottonwoods shaded the river, and thickets of mesquite produced bean pods for food. The ponds, marshes and streams provided habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species.
Photo by Jesse Pluim, BLM.
Timmelsjoch (Italian: Passo del Rombo), (elevation 2,474 metres (8,117 ft)) is a high mountain pass that creates a link through the Ötztal Alps along the border between Austria and Italy.
The Timmelsjoch connects the Ötztal valley in the Austrian state of Tyrol to the Passeier Valley in the Italian province of South Tyrol, as it bridges the saddle point between the Jochköpfl (3,141 metres (10,305 ft)) and Wurmkogl (3,082 metres (10,112 ft)) peaks to its northeast and southwest, respectively. The pass is sometimes called the "secret passage" because it is little-used compared to the much easier and lower Brenner Pass some 25 kilometres (16 mi) to its east, and Reschen Pass some 60 kilometres (37 mi) to its west.
History
During the early Stone Age, shepherds and their flocks lived in the Obergurgl area near Timmelsjoch. By the early Bronze Age, the glaciers of the last Ice Age were retreating and various hunters, adventurers, and wandering tribes entered the higher elevations in the area in search of game and treasure. The discovery of a brooch near the Schönbodenlacke dating from the La Tène period (around 300 BC) indicates that people were passing over the Timmelsjoch during this period.
By the Middle Ages, mining influenced the development of a road network in the area. Marble quarries, semiprecious stones, and oil shales were all exploited. The ancient path over the Timmelsjoch was one of many such roads in the Tyrol which helped facilitate trade and would have a profound social, cultural, political, and religious impact on the peoples of the region. The Timmelsjoch was a particularly important route because it provided one of the most direct routes between the upper Inntal valley and Meran, the regional capital at the time, as well as Tirol Castle and St. Leonhard in Passeier, where the road forks to the Jaufenpass, down to Sterzing, and on to the Brenner Pass road. During that time, cart tracks were relatively few, and travelers, peddlers, and people leading pack animals tended to choose the shortest route.
From the end of the thirteenth century to the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Timmelsjoch facilitated increased trade. Ötztaler Kraxenträger (basket bearers) transported flax, livestock, cured bacon, lard, vinegar, wine, and spirits across the pass. These early traders routes and techniques that would later inspire modern alpinists. The name "Thymelsjoch" first appeared in 1241 in a letter written by the Bavarian Count of Eschenlohe. For centuries, the spelling "Thimmeljoch" was widely used. The current spelling came into usage only in the twentieth century during the construction of the paved road.
Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstrasse
Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstrasse
The first plans to build a road across the Timmelsjoch were drawn up in 1897, when the Tyrolean Landtag (regional assembly) established a construction agenda which comprised the building of several "rival roads" including a road over the Timmelsjoch. Work would not begin until the autumn of 1955.[3] On July 7, 1959, after four years of construction, the 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) road was finally opened to the public. The Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstrasse was well-engineered and integrated into the landscape.
While the road up from the Ötztal valley was built for tourism purposes, the situation in the Passeier Valley (on the southern side) was very different. As in many other parts of the Italian Alps, Mussolini, the ruler from 1922 to 1945, had numerous military roads built up towards Italy's international borders. Construction of the road from Moos in Passeier, 10 km southeast from the pass, commenced in the 1930s. After the meeting between Mussolini and Hitler on the Brenner in 1939, construction work ceased. The road was narrow and rough, but had almost been completed. The last 700-metre (2,300 ft) tunnel had been dug through; just the remaining 2 km stretch from its end to the pass had not been built. The tunnel partly collapsed in the following years. From 1939 to the mid-1960s, the unfinished, grassed-over road was only used for forestry purposes. Construction work resumed in the mid-1960s and the road was completed to the pass and opened to through traffic in 1967.
The road on the Ötztal valley side is called the Timmelsjoch Hochalpenstrasse. The pass is now popular with car and motorbike tourists. Due to its elevation, steepness, and narrow road, the Timmelsjoch pass is closed to lorries and vehicles with trailers. With its dramatic scenery, particularly on the southern side, the road has become popular with cyclists. On the last Sunday in August, several thousand cyclists take part in the Ötztaler Cycling Marathon crawl up the 29-kilometre (18 mi) section from St. Leonhard in Passeier (672 metres (2,205 ft)) to the pass, gaining 1,800 metres (5,900 ft)—the fourth and final pass included in the grueling 238-kilometre (148 mi) marathon.
Large chairs at the pass, one on each side of the Austria-Italy border with a border marker in between
The Timmelsjoch pass is open to traffic from approximately the first half of June to the second half of October (the exact dates depend on snow conditions) daily from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. The Ötztal valley side is subject to a toll charge. At the Timmelsjoch pass, the Rasthaus summit tavern offers travelers warm meals and drinks and a sun terrace.Overlooking the Rasthaus is a stone mountain hut with a summit cross nearby.
Detail of the lower half of the west window depicting the Last Judgement. The Last Judgement is Fairford's most celebrated window for its dramatic composition and graphic depiction of the horrors of hell in the lower half. The window sadly suffered badly during the great storm of 1703 with the upper half depicting Christ in Judgement and the surrounding company of saints and angels the most seriously affected part.
The lower half depicts Archangel Michael at the centre with the elect entering Heaven to the left and the damned being condemned to Hell on the right. This depiction of Hell is renowned for its exotic demons dragging their victims to the red glow of hellfire, culminating in the monstrous soul-devouring figure of Satan seated in the bottom right hand corner.
St Mary's at Fairford is justly famous, not only as a most beautiful building architecturally but for the survival of its complete set of late medieval stained glass, a unique survival in an English parish church. No other church has resisted the waves of iconoclasm unleashed by the Reformation and the English Civil War like Fairford has, and as a result we can experience a pre-Reformation iconographic scheme in glass in its entirety. At most churches one is lucky to find mere fragments of the original glazing and even one complete window is an exceptional survival, thus a full set of 28 of them here in a more or less intact state makes Fairford church uniquely precious.
The exterior already promises great things, this is a handsome late 15th century building entirely rebuilt in Perpendicular style and dedicated in 1497. The benefactor was lord of the manor John Tame, a wealthy wool merchant whose son Edmund later continued the family's legacy in donating the glass. The central tower is adorned with much carving including strange figures guarding the corners and a rather archaic looking relief of Christ on the western side. The nave is crowned by a fine clerestorey whilst the aisles below form a gallery of large windows that seem to embrace the entire building without structural interruption aside from the south porch and the chancel projecting at the east end. All around are pinnacles, battlements and gargoyles, the effect is very rich and imposing for a village church.
One enters through the fan-vaulted porch and is initially met by subdued lighting within that takes a moment to adjust to but can immediately appreciate the elegant arcades and the rich glowing colours of the windows. The interior is spacious but the view east is interrupted by the tower whose panelled walls and arches frame only a glimpse of the chancel beyond. The glass was inserted between 1500-1517 and shows marked Renaissance influence, being the work of Flemish glaziers (based in Southwark) under the direction of the King's glazier Barnard Flower. The quality is thus of the highest available and suggests the Tame family had connections at court to secure such glaziers.
Entering the nave one is immediately confronted with the largest and most famous window in the church, the west window with its glorious Last Judgement, best known for its lurid depiction of the horrors of Hell with exotic demons dragging the damned to their doom. Sadly the three windows in the west wall suffered serious storm damage in 1703 and the Last Judgement suffered further during an 1860 restoration that copied rather than restored the glass in its upper half. The nave clerestories contain an intriguing scheme further emphasising the battle of Good versus Evil with a gallery of saintly figures on the south side balanced by a 'rogue's gallery' of persecutors of the faith on the darker north side, above which are fabulous demonic figures leering from the traceries.
The aisle windows form further arrays of figures in canopies with the Evangelists and prophets on the north side and the Apostles and Doctors of the Church on the south. The more narrative windows are mainly located in the eastern half of the church, starting in the north chapel with an Old Testament themed window followed by more on the life of Mary and infancy of Christ. The subject matter is usually confined to one light or a pair of them, so multiple scenes can be portrayed within a single window. The scheme continues in the east window of the chancel with its scenes of the Passion of Christ in the lower register culminating in his crucifixion above, while a smaller window to the south shows his entombment and the harrowing of Hell. The cycle continues in the south chapel where the east window shows scenes of Christ's resurrection and transfiguration whilst two further windows relate further incidents culminating in Pentecost. The final window in the sequence however is of course the Last Judgement at the west end.
The glass has been greatly valued and protected over the centuries from the ravages of history, being removed for protection during the Civil War and World War II. The windows underwent a complete conservation between 1988-2010 by the Barley Studio of York which bravely restored legibility to the windows by sensitive releading and recreating missing pieces with new work (previously these had been filled with plain glass which drew the eye and disturbed the balance of light). The most dramatic intervention was the re-ordering of the westernmost windows of the nave aisles which had been partially filled with jumbled fragments following the storm damage of 1703 but have now been returned to something closer to their original state.
It is important here not to neglect the church's other features since the glass dominates its reputation so much. The chancel also retains its original late medieval woodwork with a fine set of delicate screens dividing it from the chapels either side along with a lovely set of stalls with carved misericords. The tomb of the founder John Tame and his wife can be seen on the north side of the sanctuary with their brasses atop a tomb chest. Throughout the church a fine series of carved angel corbels supports the old oak roofs.
Fairford church is a national treasure and shouldn't be missed by anyone with a love of stained glass and medieval art. It is normally kept open for visitors and deserves more of them.
First of July 2017 I made my way to Stonehaven, a small fishing town a few miles from Aberdeen, while there the sun shone high in the blue sky making it a perfect day to capture the scenery and landscape surrounding me, hence I packed my Nikon D750 and made full use of it, I left Stonehaven around 16pm and drove the few miles to this wonderful location Dunnottar Castle, absolutely breathtaking , I post a few of the photos I have taken along with a brief history of castles heritage .
Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope" is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Stonehaven.
The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. Dunnottar has played a prominent role in the history of Scotland through to the 18th-century Jacobite risings because of its strategic location and defensive strength. Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.
The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.
The ruins of the castle are spread over 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres), surrounded by steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea, 50 metres (160 ft) below. A narrow strip of land joins the headland to the mainland, along which a steep path leads up to the gatehouse.
The various buildings within the castle include the 14th-century tower house as well as the 16th-century palace. Dunnottar Castle is a scheduled monument, and twelve structures on the site are listed buildings.
History
Early Middle Ages
A chapel at Dunnottar is said to have been founded by St Ninian in the 5th century, although it is not clear when the site was first fortified, but in any case the legend is late and highly implausible. Possibly the earliest written reference to the site is found in the Annals of Ulster which record two sieges of "Dún Foither" in 681 and 694.
The earlier event has been interpreted as an attack by Brude, the Pictish king of Fortriu, to extend his power over the north-east coast of Scotland. The Scottish Chronicle records that King Domnall II, the first ruler to be called rí Alban (King of Alba), was killed at Dunnottar during an attack by Vikings in 900. King Aethelstan of Wessex led a force into Scotland in 934, and raided as far north as Dunnottar according to the account of Symeon of Durham. W. D. Simpson speculated that a motte might lie under the present caste, but excavations in the 1980s failed to uncover substantive evidence of early medieval fortification.
The discovery of a group of Pictish stones at Dunnicaer, a nearby sea stack, has prompted speculation that "Dún Foither" was actually located on the adjacent headland of Bowduns, 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) to the north.
Later Middle Ages
During the reign of King William the Lion (ruled 1165–1214) Dunnottar was a center of local administration for The Mearns. The castle is named in the Roman de Fergus, an early 13th-century Arthurian romance, in which the hero Fergus must travel to Dunnottar to retrieve a magic shield.
In May 1276 a church on the site was consecrated by William Wishart, Bishop of St Andrews. The poet Blind Harry relates that William Wallace captured Dunnottar from the English in 1297, during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is said to have imprisoned 4,000 defeated English soldiers in the church and burned them alive.
In 1336 Edward III of England ordered William Sinclair, 8th Baron of Roslin, to sail eight ships to the partially ruined Dunnottar for the purpose of rebuilding and fortifying the site as a forward resupply base for his northern campaign. Sinclair took with him 160 soldiers, horses, and a corps of masons and carpenters.
Edward himself visited in July, but the English efforts were undone before the end of the year when the Scottish Regent Sir Andrew Murray led a force that captured and again destroyed the defences of Dunnottar.
In the 14th century Dunnottar was granted to William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d.1370), and in 1346 a licence to crenellate was issued by David II. Around 1359 William Keith, Marischal of Scotland, married Margaret Fraser, niece of Robert the Bruce, and was granted the barony of Dunnottar at this time. Keith then gave the lands of Dunnottar to his daughter Christian and son-in-law William Lindsay of Byres, but in 1392 an excambion (exchange) was agreed whereby Keith regained Dunnottar and Lindsay took lands in Fife.
William Keith completed construction of the tower house at Dunnottar, but was excommunicated for building on the consecrated ground associated with the parish church. Keith had provided a new parish church closer to Stonehaven, but was forced to write to the Pope, Benedict XIII, who issued a bull in 1395 lifting the excommunication.William Keith's descendents were created Earls Marischal in the mid 15th century, and they held Dunottar until the 18th century.
16th century rebuilding
Through the 16th century the Keiths improved and expanded their principal seats: at Dunnottar and also at Keith Marischal in East Lothian. James IV visited Dunnottar in 1504, and in 1531 James V exempted the Earl's men from military service on the grounds that Dunnottar was one of the "principall strenthis of our realme".
Mary, Queen of Scots, visited in 1562 after the Battle of Corrichie, and returned in 1564.
James VI stayed for 10 days in 1580, as part of a progress through Fife and Angus, during which a meeting of the Privy Council was convened at Dunnottar.
During a rebellion of Catholic nobles in 1592, Dunnottar was captured by a Captain Carr on behalf of the Earl of Huntly, but was restored to Lord Marischal just a few weeks later.
In 1581 George Keith succeeded as 5th Earl Marischal, and began a large scale reconstruction that saw the medieval fortress converted into a more comfortable home. The founder of Marischal College in Aberdeen, the 5th Earl valued Dunnottar as much for its dramatic situation as for its security.
A "palace" comprising a series of ranges around a quadrangle was built on the north-eastern cliffs, creating luxurious living quarters with sea views. The 13th-century chapel was restored and incorporated into the quadrangle.
An impressive stone gatehouse was constructed, now known as Benholm's Lodging, featuring numerous gun ports facing the approach. Although impressive, these are likely to have been fashionable embellishments rather than genuine defensive features.
Civil wars
Further information: Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
In 1639 William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, came out in support of the Covenanters, a Presbyterian movement who opposed the established Episcopal Church and the changes which Charles I was attempting to impose. With James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, he marched against the Catholic James Gordon, 2nd Viscount Aboyne, Earl of Huntly, and defeated an attempt by the Royalists to seize Stonehaven. However, when Montrose changed sides to the Royalists and marched north, Marischal remained in Dunnottar, even when given command of the area by Parliament, and even when Montrose burned Stonehaven.
Marischal then joined with the Engager faction, who had made a deal with the king, and led a troop of horse to the Battle of Preston (1648) in support of the royalists.
Following the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Engagers gave their allegiance to his son and heir: Charles II was proclaimed king, arriving in Scotland in June 1650. He visited Dunnottar in July 1650, but his presence in Scotland prompted Oliver Cromwell to lead a force into Scotland, defeating the Scots at Dunbar in September 1650.
The Honours of Scotland
Charles II was crowned at Scone Palace on 1 January 1651, at which the Honours of Scotland (the regalia of crown, sword and sceptre) were used. However, with Cromwell's troops in Lothian, the honours could not be returned to Edinburgh. The Earl Marischal, as Marischal of Scotland, had formal responsibility for the honours, and in June the Privy Council duly decided to place them at Dunnottar.
They were brought to the castle by Katherine Drummond, hidden in sacks of wool. Sir George Ogilvie (or Ogilvy) of Barras was appointed lieutenant-governor of the castle, and given responsibility for its defence.
In November 1651 Cromwell's troops called on Ogilvie to surrender, but he refused. During the subsequent blockade of the castle, the removal of the Honours of Scotland was planned by Elizabeth Douglas, wife of Sir George Ogilvie, and Christian Fletcher, wife of James Granger, minister of Kinneff Parish Church. The king's papers were first removed from the castle by Anne Lindsay, a kinswoman of Elizabeth Douglas, who walked through the besieging force with the papers sewn into her clothes.
Two stories exist regarding the removal of the honours themselves. Fletcher stated in 1664 that over the course of three visits to the castle in February and March 1652, she carried away the crown, sceptre, sword and sword-case hidden amongst sacks of goods. Another account, given in the 18th century by a tutor to the Earl Marischal, records that the honours were lowered from the castle onto the beach, where they were collected by Fletcher's servant and carried off in a creel (basket) of seaweed. Having smuggled the honours from the castle, Fletcher and her husband buried them under the floor of the Old Kirk at Kinneff.
Meanwhile, by May 1652 the commander of the blockade, Colonel Thomas Morgan, had taken delivery of the artillery necessary for the reduction of Dunnottar. Ogilvie surrendered on 24 May, on condition that the garrison could go free. Finding the honours gone, the Cromwellians imprisoned Ogilvie and his wife in the castle until the following year, when a false story was put about suggesting that the honours had been taken overseas.
Much of the castle property was removed, including twenty-one brass cannons,[28] and Marischal was required to sell further lands and possessions to pay fines imposed by Cromwell's government.
At the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the honours were removed from Kinneff Church and returned to the king. Ogilvie quarrelled with Marischal's mother over who would take credit for saving the honours, though he was eventually rewarded with a baronetcy. Fletcher was awarded 2,000 merks by Parliament but the sum was never paid.
Whigs and Jacobites
Religious and political conflicts continued to be played out at Dunnottar through the 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1685, during the rebellion of the Earl of Argyll against the new king James VII, 167 Covenanters were seized and held in a cellar at Dunnottar. The prisoners included 122 men and 45 women associated with the Whigs, an anti-Royalist group within the Covenanter movement, and had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the new king.
The Whigs were imprisoned from 24 May until late July. A group of 25 escaped, although two of these were killed in a fall from the cliffs, and another 15 were recaptured. Five prisoners died in the vault, and 37 of the Whigs were released after taking the oath of allegiance.
The remaining prisoners were transported to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as part of a colonisation scheme devised by George Scot of Pitlochie. Many, like Scot himself, died on the voyage.
The cellar, located beneath the "King's Bedroom" in the 16th-century castle buildings, has since become known as the "Whigs' Vault".
Both the Jacobites (supporters of the exiled Stuarts) and the Hanoverians (supporters of George I and his descendents) used Dunnottar Castle. In 1689 during Viscount Dundee's campaign in support of the deposed James VII, the castle was garrisoned for William and Mary with Lord Marischal appointed captain.
Seventeen suspected Jacobites from Aberdeen were seized and held in the fortress for around three weeks, including George Liddell, professor of mathematics at Marischal College.
In the Jacobite Rising of 1715 George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal, took an active role with the rebels, leading cavalry at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. After the subsequent abandonment of the rising Lord Marischal fled to the Continent, eventually becoming French ambassador for Frederick the Great of Prussia. Meanwhile, in 1716, his titles and estates including Dunnottar were declared forfeit to the crown.
Later history
The seized estates of the Earl Marischal were purchased in 1720 for £41,172, by the York Buildings Company who dismantled much of the castle.
In 1761 the Earl briefly returned to Scotland and bought back Dunnottar only to sell it five years later to Alexander Keith, an Edinburgh lawyer who served as Knight Marischal of Scotland.
Dunnottar was inherited in 1852 by Sir Patrick Keith-Murray of Ochtertyre, who in turn sold it in July 1873 to Major Alexander Innes of Cowie and Raemoir for about £80,000.
It was purchased by Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, in 1925 after which his wife embarked on a programme of repairs.
Since that time the castle has remained in the family, and has been open to the public, attracting 52,500 visitors in 2009.
Dunnottar Castle, and the headland on which is stands, was designated as a scheduled monument in 1970.In 1972 twelve of the structures at Dunnottar were listed.
Three buildings are listed at category A as being of "national importance": the keep; the entrance gateway; and Benholm's Lodging.
The remaining listings are at category B as being of "regional importance".[39] The Hon. Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray, currently owns and runs Dunnottar Castle which is part of the 210-square-kilometre (52,000-acre) Dunecht Estates.
Portions of the 1990 film Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, were shot there.
Description
Dunnottar's strategic location allowed its owners to control the coastal terrace between the North Sea cliffs and the hills of the Mounth, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) inland, which enabled access to and from the north-east of Scotland.
The site is accessed via a steep, 800-metre (2,600 ft) footpath (with modern staircases) from a car park on the coastal road, or via a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) cliff-top path from Stonehaven. Dunnottar's several buildings, put up between the 13th and 17th centuries, are arranged across a headland covering around 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres).
The dominant building, viewed from the land approach, is the 14th-century keep or tower house. The other principal buildings are the gatehouse; the chapel; and the 16th-century "palace" which incorporates the "Whigs' Vault".
Defences
The approach to the castle is overlooked by outworks on the "Fiddle Head", a promontory on the western side of the headland. The entrance is through the well-defended main gate, set in a curtain wall which entirely blocks a cleft in the rocky cliffs.
The gate has a portcullis and has been partly blocked up. Alongside the main gate is the 16th-century Benholm's Lodging, a five-storey building cut into the rock, which incorporated a prison with apartments above.
Three tiers of gun ports face outwards from the lower floors of Benholm's Lodging, while inside the main gate, a group of four gun ports face the entrance. The entrance passage then turns sharply to the left, running underground through two tunnels to emerge near the tower house.
Simpson contends that these defences are "without exception the strongest in Scotland", although later writers have doubted the effectiveness of the gun ports. Cruden notes that the alignment of the gun ports in Benholm's Lodging, facing across the approach rather than along, means that they are of limited efficiency.
The practicality of the gun ports facing the entrance has also been questioned, though an inventory of 1612 records that four brass cannons were placed here.
A second access to the castle leads up from a rocky cove, the aperture to a marine cave on the northern side of the Dunnottar cliffs into which a small boat could be brought. From here a steep path leads to the well-fortified postern gate on the cliff top, which in turn offers access to the castle via the Water Gate in the palace.
Artillery defences, taking the form of earthworks, surround the north-west corner of the castle, facing inland, and the south-east, facing seaward. A small sentry box or guard house stands by the eastern battery, overlooking the coast.
Tower house and surrounding buildings
The tower house of Dunnottar, viewed from the west
The late 14th-century tower house has a stone-vaulted basement, and originally had three further storeys and a garret above.
Measuring 12 by 11 metres (39 by 36 ft), the tower house stood 15 metres (49 ft) high to its gable. The principal rooms included a great hall and a private chamber for the lord, with bedrooms upstairs.
Beside the tower house is a storehouse, and a blacksmith's forge with a large chimney. A stable block is ranged along the southern edge of the headland. Nearby is Waterton's Lodging, also known as the Priest's House, built around 1574, possibly for the use of William Keith (died 1580), son of the 4th Earl Marischal.
This small self-contained house includes a hall and kitchen at ground level, with private chambers above, and has a projecting spiral stair on the north side. It is named for Thomas Forbes of Waterton, an attendant of the 7th Earl.
The palace
The palace, to the north-east of the headland, was built in the late 16th century and early to mid-17th century. It comprises three main wings set out around a quadrangle, and for the most part is probably the work of the 5th Earl Marischal who succeeded in 1581.
It provided extensive and comfortable accommodation to replace the rooms in the tower house. In its long, low design it has been compared to contemporary English buildings, in contrast to the Scottish tradition of taller towers still prevalent in the 16th century.
Seven identical lodgings are arranged along the west range, each opening onto the quadrangle and including windows and fireplace. Above the lodgings the west range comprised a 35-metre (115 ft) gallery. Now roofless, the gallery originally had an elaborate oak ceiling, and on display was a Roman tablet taken from the Antonine Wall.
At the north end of the gallery was a drawing room linked to the north range. The gallery could also be accessed from the Silver House to the south, which incorporated a broad stairway with a treasury above.
The basement of the north range incorporates kitchens and stores, with a dining room and great chamber above. At ground floor level is the Water Gate, between the north and west ranges, which gives access to the postern on the northern cliffs.
The east and north ranges are linked via a rectangular stair. The east range has a larder, brewhouse and bakery at ground level, with a suite of apartments for the Countess above. A north-east wing contains the Earl's apartments, and includes the "King's Bedroom" in which Charles II stayed. In this room is a carved stone inscribed with the arms of the 7th Earl and his wife, and the date 1654. Below these rooms is the Whigs' Vault, a cellar measuring 16 by 4.5 metres (52 by 15 ft). This cellar, in which the Covenanters were held in 1685, has a large eastern window, as well as a lower vault accessed via a trap-door in the floor.
Of the chambers in the palace, only the dining room and the Silver House remain roofed, having been restored in the 1920s. The central area contains a circular cistern or fish pond, 16 metres (52 ft) across and 7.6 metres (25 ft) deep, and a bowling green is located to the west.
At the south-east corner of the quadrangle is the chapel, consecrated in 1276 and largely rebuilt in the 16th century. Medieval walling and two 13th-century windows remain, and there is a graveyard to the south...
From cinematreasures.org/theaters/13303
The 1935 Charles Theatre, designed in beautiful Art Moderne style, including its dramatic mulicolored tile facade other other stylish Moderne details inside, still operates today as a movie house, seating 450.
It originally could seat 600 and was first operated by A.H. Blank a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures Inc. In addition to first-run fare, the Charles Theatre also on ocassion shows classic movies as well.
A newly installed window in the north aisle, designed and made by Helen Whittaker of the Barley Studio, commemorates the local dead of the Afghan War.
All Saints in Pavement, York is distinguished by its dramatic octagonal tower, a major landmark of the city and masterpiece of late medieval architecture. The church itself is of mainly 14th/15th century date, though lost its chancel in the following centuries. The west window contains reset late 14th century panels depicting the Passion.
This church is generally open and welcoming to visitors.
Afton Canyon's surface water makes it unique in the southern California desert. Known locally as "The Grand Canyon of the Mojave" for its dramatic geological formations, this is the only place where the Mojave River flows above ground year-round - providing significant riparian (riverbank) wildlife habitat amid the desert. Since prehistoric times, the natural bounty created by this water source has made Afton Canyon a focus for living things. Dense willows and cottonwoods shaded the river, and thickets of mesquite produced bean pods for food. The ponds, marshes and streams provided habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species.
Photo by Jesse Pluim, BLM.
The Taylor's checkerspot was once found throughout grasslands in the Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, and south Vancouver Island. The historic range and abundance of the Taylor's checkerspot is not precisely known because exhaustive searches did not occur until recently. Northwest grasslands were formerly more common, larger, and interconnected - conditions that would have supported a greater distribution and abundance of Taylor's checkerspot. Before its dramatic decline, the Taylor's checkerspot was documented at more than seventy sites in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. The range of the Taylor's checkerspot has contracted severely. Currently, it is extirpated from British Columbia and all but one locale in Oregon's Willamette Valley.
(description from BFCI )
FWS Image, Aaron Barna
White Sands National Monument is in the northern Chihuahuan Desert in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It's known for its dramatic landscape of rare white gypsum sand dunes. Trails through the dunes include the raised Interdune Boardwalk and the Dune Life Nature Trail, dotted with interpretive exhibits on wildlife and other features. Dunes Drive is a looped road from the White Sands Visitor Center to the dune field.
Lassen Volcanic National Park, 2014
Digital illustration, watermarked
Original 12 x 9 inches | Displayed 32 x 24 inches
This symmetrical cone of loose scoria (gaseous lava) bears the name of the type of volcano it so precisely represents. Less visited than other volcanoes in Lassen Volcanic National Park, it is a spectacular sight for those who stray off the beaten path. A steep trail on its northeast face is both intimidating and enticing; an invitation to persevere through the strenuous 700-foot climb. Whether you climb to the summit or hike to its base, Cinder Cone reveals the story of its dramatic eruption, ending just over 300 years ago. Find the story in its double-rimmed crater, lake-creating lava flow, and colorful ash deposits known as the Painted Dunes.
1281
Visit: www.refordgardens.com/
MECONOPSIS BETONICIFOLIA
REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
From Wikipedia:
Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.
Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.
Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.
She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.
In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.
During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.
In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.
Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.
To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.
Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.
In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)
Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.
Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.
Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada
© Copyright
This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.
REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE METIS
MECONOPSIS BETONICIFOLIA
Himalayan flower imported by Elsie Reford in the early 1930s that has since become the floral emblem of the Gardens.
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
From Wikipedia:
Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.
Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.
Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.
She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.
In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.
During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.
In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.
Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.
To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.
Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.
In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)
Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford
Visit : www.refordgardens.com
LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.
Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.
Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada
© Copyright
This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.
Afton Canyon's surface water makes it unique in the southern California desert. Known locally as "The Grand Canyon of the Mojave" for its dramatic geological formations, this is the only place where the Mojave River flows above ground year-round - providing significant riparian (riverbank) wildlife habitat amid the desert. Since prehistoric times, the natural bounty created by this water source has made Afton Canyon a focus for living things. Dense willows and cottonwoods shaded the river, and thickets of mesquite produced bean pods for food. The ponds, marshes and streams provided habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species.
Photo by Jesse Pluim, BLM.
Afton Canyon's surface water makes it unique in the southern California desert. Known locally as "The Grand Canyon of the Mojave" for its dramatic geological formations, this is the only place where the Mojave River flows above ground year-round - providing significant riparian (riverbank) wildlife habitat amid the desert. Since prehistoric times, the natural bounty created by this water source has made Afton Canyon a focus for living things. Dense willows and cottonwoods shaded the river, and thickets of mesquite produced bean pods for food. The ponds, marshes and streams provided habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species.
Photo by Jesse Pluim, BLM.
This morning we went along to a wonderful drawing workshop run by artist Reuben Powell as part of The Elephant and the Nun festival elephantandnun.wordpress.com/
We started with this view with its dramatic perspective, shapes and curves.
Afton Canyon's surface water makes it unique in the southern California desert. Known locally as "The Grand Canyon of the Mojave" for its dramatic geological formations, this is the only place where the Mojave River flows above ground year-round - providing significant riparian (riverbank) wildlife habitat amid the desert. Since prehistoric times, the natural bounty created by this water source has made Afton Canyon a focus for living things. Dense willows and cottonwoods shaded the river, and thickets of mesquite produced bean pods for food. The ponds, marshes and streams provided habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species.
Photo by Jesse Pluim, BLM.
Kirkjufell, or 'Church Mountain', is a distinctly shaped peak found on the north shore of Iceland’s Snæfellsnes Peninsula, only a short distance away from the town of Grundarfjörður. It is often called ‘the most photographed mountain in Iceland’ due to its dramatic formation and perfect coastal location.
Peaking at 463 meters, 1519 feet, Kirkjufell is an impressive landmark. Throughout the centuries, Kirkjufell’s striking slopes have acted as a visual landmark for seafarers and travellers. More recently, it has attracted amateur and professional photographers alike.
Within walking distance from Kirkjufell is the serene and perfectly located waterfall Kirkjufellsfoss, or 'Church Mountain Falls', an excellent subject for photographers who can easily frame the mountain in the background. Despite its relatively diminutive height, Kirkjufellsfoss’ three steps, gentle flow, and dramatic differences between seasons make it as impressive as some of Iceland’s larger waterfalls.
Architect: Klas Anshelm
Built in: 1957
Client: The City of Lund
Prehistory
Lund Konsthall is the result of a donation from the Old Savings’ Bank (today’s Finn Savings’ Bank) to the City of Lund. In 1953 the City Council decided to accept the gift and invited six architects for a competition to design the new art gallery. In 1954 the jury unanimously decided that Klas Anshelm’s proposal should be realized.
Architecture
Klas Anshelm (1914–1980) was a well-known and busy architect in Lund. With its monolithic brick façade Lunds Konsthall became one of Sweden’s finest exhibition venues. Its dramatic and yet restrained form is well adapted to contemporary art, and also blends in with the medieval architecture of Lund.
Renovations
Lunds Konsthall has not fully retained its original architectural expression, but it has escaped thorough reconstruction. In 1997 the building was renovated with support from the Finn Savings’ Bank and in 2004 it underwent a lighter renovation, aiming at restoring as much as possible of the original architecture.
History
‘I have tried to achieve an environment, tried to achieve a spatial frame for objects, and also to facilitate the changing of light bulbs.’
Klas Anshelm, Architect
Source: Lunds Konsthall - History.
The images from Lunds Konsthall was taken during the exhibition - The Opposite of Me Is I by the artist Miriam Bäckström.
The building replaced a meat inspection facility ... “there were exhibited dead rabbits and chickens, it was quite a stylish facility with overhead light and so. Here you display painted bunnies and chickens ...“explained Anshelm 1979 in an interview.
More pictures from Lunds Konsthall here.
Detail of the patchwork of medieval glass remaining from various windows throughout the Minster re-assembled to fill the great east window.
There is a danger of running out of superlatives when trying to describe Beverley Minster. It is not only the second finest non-cathedral church in the country but is architecturally a far finer building than most of our cathedrals themselves! It will come as a surprise to many visitors to find this grand edifice simply functions today as a parish church and has never been more than collegiate, a status it lost at the Reformaton. What had added to its mystique and wealth was its status as a place of pilgrimage housing the tomb of St John of Beverley, which drew visitors and revenue until the Reformation brought an end to such fortunes and the shrine was destroyed (though the saint's bones were later rediscovered and reinterred in the nave). That this great church itself survived this period almost intact is little short of a miracle in itself.
There has been a church here since the 8th century but little remains of the earlier buildings aside from the Saxon chair near the altar and the Norman font in the nave. The present Minster's construction spans the entirety of the development of the Gothic architecture but forms a surprisingly harmonious whole nevertheless, starting with Early English in the 13h century choir and transepts (both pairs) with their lancet windows in a building phase that stopped at the first bays of the nave. Construction was then continued with the nave in the 14th century but only the traceried windows betray the emergent Decorated style, the design otherwise closely followed the work of the previous century which gives the Minster's interior such a pleasingly unified appearance (the only discernable break in construction within can be seen where the black purbeck-marble ceased to be used for certain elements beyond the eastern bay of the nave). Finally the building was completed more or less by 1420 with the soaring west front with its dramatic twin-towers in Perpendicular style (the east window must have been enlarged at this point too to match the new work at the west end).
The fabric happily survived the Reformation intact aside from the octagonal chapter-house formerly adjoining the north choir aisle which was dismantled to raise money by the sale of its materials while the church's fate was in the balance (a similar fate was contemplated for the rest of the church by its new owners until the town bought it for retention as a parish church for £100). The great swathes of medieval glass alas were mostly lost, though seemingly as much to neglect and storm-damage in the following century than the usual iconoclasm. All that survived of the Minster's original glazing was collected to form the patchwork display now filling the great east window, a colourful kaleidoscope of fragments of figures and scenes. Of the other furnishings the choir stalls are the major ensemble and some of the finest medieval canopied stalls extant with a full set of charming misericords (though most of these alas are not normally on show).
There are suprisingly few monuments of note for such an enormous cathedral-like church, but the one major exception makes up for this, the delightful canopied Percy tomb erected in 1340 to the north of the high altar. The tomb itself is surprisingly plain without any likeness remaining of the deceased, but the richly carved Decorated canopy above is alive with gorgeous detail and figurative embellishments. There are further carvings to enjoy adorning the arcading that runs around the outer perimeter of the interior, especially the north nave aisle which has the most rewarding carved figures of musicians, monsters and people suffering various ailments, many were largely restored in the 19th century but still preserve the medieval spirit of irreverent fun.
To summarise Beverley Minster would be difficult other than simply adding that if one enjoys marvelling at Gothic architecture at its best then it really shouldn't be missed and one should prioritise it over the majority of our cathedrals. It is a real gem and a delight to behold, and is happily normally open and welcoming to visitors (who must all be astonished to find this magnificent edifice is no more than a simple parish church in status!). I thoroughly enjoyed this, my second visit here (despite the best efforts of the poor weather!).
This is Anneli. I think rather than try to write a story here about Anneli I will simply copy and paste one of her facebook posts here. She's a painter, activist, mom, graphic designer, adventurer, writer and all around great person to know. I loved hanging out with her and painting her portrait. We actually collaborated on this one. I painted in pencil and watercolor and left it for her to work on. Then she painted in the background with oils. She dropped it off yesterday and I photographed it and continued working on it some more in Artrage 5, a digital painting software.
This story by Anneli comes from an adventure she took last year with her friend, Jonathan, traveling from Maine to Iceland on a container ship.
Day 5, Friday | Amuse-Bouche
We left Newfoundland last night after 12 hours loading, unloading, and fueling up before our ocean crossing. It took us about 3 days to get there from Portland, Maine. I had really big plans to write an entry every day, but have now realized I will just have to write when I have the opportunity. Mainly because I can no longer remember what day it is, and just to further mess with us they keep pushing the clock forward a half or a whole hour every day.
Argentia, Newfoundland is a small Canadian port out in nowhere, far east at the edge of the ocean. We woke up yesterday morning to see a landscape out our window that was reminiscent of Lofoten, Norway, with its dramatic and exaggerated mountains. There were people on small skiffs cruising the bay picking off puffins with rifles before scooping them into nets. FYI: Up here, guns don’t kill puffins — men and women in black ski masks kill puffins. The port was literally a concrete dock with a few small buildings and pretty much nothing else. No stores, restaurants, shops — it is about as functional as it gets. So much for tax-free shopping — not that we need anything.
Since we started on this trip, Jonathan and I have been literally and figuratively stunned by the amount of hearty food we’ve been served. Not just some Cheerios from a box, either — serious, home-cooked, no-bullshit hot meals at 8:00, 12:00, 18:00 — and for good measure there is some sort of baked pastries and coffee at 15:00 just in case the other three meals aren’t enough to give you cardiac arrest. If you have a problem with gluten, meat, or sugar — this trip is decidedly not for you.
Yesterday everyone had their hot breakfast as usual and suited up to go out and do their respective jobs. This was really the first time we had an opportunity to see them in action as they secured Selfoss to the shore and started a long, hard day juggling massive containers on and off the ship, in a snow shower no less. One thing is increasingly apparent: this is no work for pussies. The alcohol ban on board makes a lot more sense when you understand what a detail oriented job this is. Mistakes can result in huge losses, not only in profit but in lives. Precision and safety are everything.
Knowing this, our meals make more sense as well. Hearty traditional food for hard work — but it also it means important downtime for the crew. Something steady, dependable and enjoyable. A family meal of sorts where everyone gathers for their food. And arguably a nice reward for not dropping a container on someone. The food is the social connection, along with hanging out in the smoking room. Kalli tells me that the “smoking room” is a newer concept, that smoking used to be an important social connection between all the crew onboard, a common pastime that has been somewhat toned down by the designation of a specific area for this activity.
“I guess I need to start smoking,” I tell Kalli. I’ve probably smoked a half a pack since the beginning of the trip in second-hand smoke alone.
He shrugs, “It’s never too late to start.”
Just a few days ago, still somewhat full from some delicious hot lunch only a few hours earlier, I’m working in our cabin when Captain Kalli comes by. Jonathan is presumably hanging off the ship somewhere like a squirrel with his GoPro.
“There’s a special surprise for coffee time today,” he says.
Naturally, I’m delighted at this unexpected news. I love surprises.
“Where is Jonathan? There’s a surprise for him, too,” he continues.
“Oh, I’m sure he’s still on the ship. Hopefully.”
Excited by the prospect of a surprise, I scurry down to the mess room and am met by Jona, the only female crew member. She is holding a plate for me. The anticipation is palpable.
A cream puff! Who doesn’t love cream puffs? A cream puff shaped like a…
A chocolate covered penis cream puff.
I burst out laughing. Jona is visibly pleased.
“I made these for you,” she says, proudly. “Here’s one for Jonathan,” she shows me the plate with a pair of beautifully formed, perky breasts.
Jonathan is not yet here and has no idea that a spectacular set of boobies are waiting for him along with some delicious cocoa.
“You are an artist, Jona.”
I’m about one coconut sprinkled testicle in when Jonathan shows up and receives his plate, somewhat dumbfounded. He clearly wasn’t expecting this either.
“You get the boobs,” I say matter-of-factly in-between a mouth full of balls. There really is no proper etiquette for eating these sorts of things.
I look around and can confirm that everyone else has normal cream puffs. I am at once honored and flattered. After eating the lamb testicles in aspic a few days ago, I feel that this is some sort of reward. We’re officially in now. Phallic karma.
Done with my cream puff, and after a few highly inappropriate comments about the pastry that I won’t mention here, I head for the smoking room.
I think I need a cigarette.
Llyn Llech Owain Country Park is is a stunning 158-acre expanse of woods and lakeland near Cross Hands with nature trails, an adventure area and visitor centre. At the heart of this spectacular park is its dramatic lake which is surrounded by peat bog and there’s a lovely myth associated with Llyn Lech Owain. Legend has it that Owain Lawgoch ("Owain of the Red Hand" - who led an army of French mercenaries against the English in the Hundred Years' War), was entrusted to look after a well on the mountain named Mynydd Mawr. Each day, after extracting enough water for himself and his horse, Owain was always careful to replace the stone but on one occasion he forgot and a torrent of water poured down the side of the mountain. The resultant lake was hence named Llyn Lech Owain - the lake of Owain’s slab. Today, specially constructed paths allow for safe access over the bog and around the lake. The paths are well-surfaced and accessible to wheelchair-users. A forest track provides a longer walk or cycle ride around the country park and there’s a rough mountain bike trail for the more adventurous cyclist. Much of the park consists of coniferous woodland, planted by the Forestry Commission during the 1960s and there are also areas of dry heath and broad-leaved woodland.
Afton Canyon's surface water makes it unique in the southern California desert. Known locally as "The Grand Canyon of the Mojave" for its dramatic geological formations, this is the only place where the Mojave River flows above ground year-round - providing significant riparian (riverbank) wildlife habitat amid the desert. Since prehistoric times, the natural bounty created by this water source has made Afton Canyon a focus for living things. Dense willows and cottonwoods shaded the river, and thickets of mesquite produced bean pods for food. The ponds, marshes and streams provided habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species.
Photo by Jesse Pluim, BLM.
Sunset on the River - 1867
George Inness (1825 - 1894)
The play of sunshine and shadow across the scene of cows grazing and thunderclouds in the distance creates a dynamic mood in the landscape. George Inness believed there was a direct correspondence between the natural and spiritual realms, as theorized by the Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). The artist hoped that, by showing the drama and dynamism of nature, his paintings would transport viewers to a higher emotional or mental plane.
George Inness distinguished himself among the Hudson River School painters by pursuing a more modern aesthetic of landscape painting. Unlike his contemporaries, who believed in creating realistic canvases of nature's vastness, Inness felt that "paintings were not necessarily pictures, and it was the artist's function, even his obligation, by an aesthetic and expressive reorganization, to interpret nature and not merely depict it." (as quoted in N. Cikovsky, Jr. and M. Quick, George Inness, Los Angeles, California, 1985, p. 19) Inness' New York based works from the 1860s are widely admired today because they are closest to the familiar manner of Hudson River School painting in those years. Yet these works also begin to show the artist's painting philosophy of incorporating atmospheric climate and expression which brings deeper spiritual meaning into his compositions. Inness went on to produce a body of work marked by a more subjective and ultimately more modern aesthetic than that of his contemporaries. With its dramatic composition and high degree of finish, Sunset on the River is an extraordinary masterwork from this important transitional phase in the artist's career.
Painted in 1867 near the town of Leeds, New York, Sunset on the River presents an expansive view of cattle grazing in a broad pasture which slopes toward a river, partially visible on the left. On the right a stone wall borders a road, along which a covered wagon moves toward a mill with a smoking chimney near the water. From a slightly elevated vantage point, the viewer looks across the expanse to another light-struck pasture in the middle ground extending to wooded foothills, which give rise to a large mountain in the distance. Storm clouds fill the sky, dappling the land with dark streaks intermingled with bursts of light which pierce the foliage and rake across the landscape.
Inness' use of light and atmosphere in Sunset on the River evokes mood and meaning. Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., writes: "In all of the paintings of the 1860's, nature is not merely depicted straightforwardly, but is made articulate: moods of calm are emphatically peaceful, rainbows are clearly portentous, storms are dramatic and threatening, sunsets are gloriously radiant, and bleakness is unmistakably harsh and cold. In 1865, a writer remarked that Inness 'signally [possessed the power of] seizing upon the critical moment in some marked phase of nature.' The result is that one is made aware of the spiritual significance of nature through the way in which its visible forms and effects reflect some higher power." (George Inness, London, 1971, p. 38) The painting's dramatically changing sky, along with the tranquil setting of workers setting off to the mill, seems to express a sense of hope and prosperity in the wake of the Civil War. Very likely, Inness' contemporaries saw in this painting a theme that would pervade American art after the war--the return to peace, industry, and prosperity. The movement and energy of the present work's lush brushwork, paint texture and strong color choices underscore the emotional sense of calm after a storm.
Michael Quick considers Sunset on the River a stunning success of Inness' style of the 1860s. He writes: "This handsome, fully developed painting, with its dramatic lighting and clouds, is one of the most impressive of 1867, looking ahead to the more emotional interpretation of nature seen in Inness's work at the end of the decade. The view is based upon a sketch he used again in Approaching Storm, 1869. In this case, both the foreground and the distance are deeper, and the season is full summer, rather than fall. An unusual element is the mill with its smoking chimney, near what appears to be a building in ruins. Inness drew attention to the mill by both silhouetting it against the lighted field beyond and by making it the object of the road's long diagonal. Brick textile mills were numerous in the Leeds area, but this factory seems out of place in the otherwise entirely pastoral landscape. The textured foreground and the blacklighting of the trees are also unusual for works of 1867, no doubt reflecting the extra effort to add interest to this painting." (George Inness: A Catalogue Raisonné, vol. one, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2007, p. 278) His inclusion of the factory and its workers appears here to add an element of the contemporary to his idealized landscape. Where other artists of the 1850s and 1860s might choose to render more purely pastoral views, Inness embraced the new.
All of the artistic devices evident in Sunset on the River convey emotional power. The painting's dramatic recession, extreme contrasts and strong color scheme induce the spiritual response that Inness began to suggest in the 1860s, and continued to evoke in his paintings throughout his career.
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This World Class attraction was everything we expected and more. Construction has just begun on a major expansion, but that has been managed in such a way that it does not in any way detract from the experience now.
This album focuses on the artwork inside the buildings and on the other interior spaces including the Eleven Restaurant and the Gift Shop. A separate album posted a few days ago is devoted to the two April mornings that we spent exploring just some of the trails that crisscross the 120 acres of Arkansas forest around the museum.
Alice Walton and her co-creative team can be proud of the vision and execution of everything on this 120 acre site.
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"Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a museum of American art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The museum, founded by Alice Walton and designed by Moshe Safdie, officially opened on 11 November 2011. It offers free public admission.
Alice Walton, the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, spearheaded the Walton Family Foundation's involvement in developing Crystal Bridges. The museum's glass-and-wood design by architect Moshe Safdie and engineer Buro Happold features a series of pavilions nestled around two creek-fed ponds and forest trails. The 217,000 square feet complex includes galleries, several meeting and classroom spaces, a library, a sculpture garden, a museum store designed by architect Marlon Blackwell, a restaurant and coffee bar, named Eleven after the day the museum opened, "11/11/11". Crystal Bridges also features a gathering space that can accommodate up to 300 people. Additionally, there are outdoor areas for concerts and public events, as well as extensive nature trails. It employs approximately 300 people, and is within walking distance of downtown Bentonville."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Bridges_Museum_of_American_Art
crystalbridges.org/nature-trails/
...
There is a danger of running out of superlatives when trying to describe Beverley Minster. It is not only the second finest non-cathedral church in the country but is architecturally a far finer building than most of our cathedrals themselves! It will come as a surprise to many visitors to find this grand edifice simply functions today as a parish church and has never been more than collegiate, a status it lost at the Reformaton. What had added to its mystique and wealth was its status as a place of pilgrimage housing the tomb of St John of Beverley, which drew visitors and revenue until the Reformation brought an end to such fortunes and the shrine was destroyed (though the saint's bones were later rediscovered and reinterred in the nave). That this great church itself survived this period almost intact is little short of a miracle in itself.
There has been a church here since the 8th century but little remains of the earlier buildings aside from the Saxon chair near the altar and the Norman font in the nave. The present Minster's construction spans the entirety of the development of Gothic architecture but forms a surprisingly harmonious whole nevertheless, starting with Early English in the 13h century choir and transepts (both pairs) with their lancet windows in a building phase that stopped at the first bays of the nave. Construction was then continued with the nave in the 14th century but only the traceried windows betray the emergent Decorated style, the design otherwise closely followed the work of the previous century which gives the Minster's interior such a pleasingly unified appearance (the only discernable break in construction within can be seen where the black purbeck-marble ceased to be used for certain elements beyond the eastern bay of the nave). Finally the building was completed more or less by 1420 with the soaring west front with its dramatic twin-towers in Perpendicular style (the east window must have been enlarged at this point too to match the new work at the west end).
The fabric happily survived the Reformation intact aside from the octagonal chapter-house formerly adjoining the north choir aisle which was dismantled to raise money by the sale of its materials while the church's fate was in the balance (a similar fate was contemplated for the rest of the church by its new owners until the town bought it for retention as a parish church for £100). The great swathes of medieval glass alas were mostly lost, though seemingly as much to neglect and storm-damage in the following century than the usual iconoclasm. All that survived of the Minster's original glazing was collected to form the patchwork display now filling the great east window, a colourful kaleidoscope of fragments of figures and scenes. Of the other furnishings the choir stalls are the major ensemble and some of the finest medieval canopied stalls extant with a full set of charming misericords (though most of these alas are not normally on show).
There are suprisingly few monuments of note for such an enormous cathedral-like church, but the one major exception makes up for this, the delightful canopied Percy tomb erected in 1340 to the north of the high altar. The tomb itself is surprisingly plain without any likeness remaining of the deceased, but the richly carved Decorated canopy above is alive with gorgeous detail and figurative embellishments. There are further carvings to enjoy adorning the arcading that runs around the outer perimeter of the interior, especially the north nave aisle which has the most rewarding carved figures of musicians, monsters and people suffering various ailments, many were largely restored in the 19th century but still preserve the medieval spirit of irreverent fun.
To summarise Beverley Minster would be difficult other than simply adding that if one enjoys marvelling at Gothic architecture at its best then it really shouldn't be missed and one should prioritise it over the majority of our cathedrals. It is a real gem and a delight to behold, and is happily normally open and welcoming to visitors (who must all be astonished to find this magnificent edifice is no more than a simple parish church in status!). I thoroughly enjoyed this, my second visit here (despite the best efforts of the poor weather!).
To create the iconic curving forms of the cruise-ship terminal in Porto, Portugal, architect Luís Pedro Silva began working from the project’s territorial context rather than simply seeking a display of formal prowess. The powerful oval drum of its main volume, with its spiraling central atrium and exterior ramps, is charged with both centripetal and centrifugal force, gathering all the vectors of movement that come together in the terminal from sea and land, and spinning them back out again to their various destinations. Before receiving the commission, Silva, who has degrees in architecture and urban planning from Porto University, worked on a strategic plan for the entire port as a member of a team of economists, engineers, and other specialists. The building and its new dock bring together the group’s ideas for increasing the port’s efficiency, promoting a growing tourist industry, and improving connections to the area’s attractions.
Leixões, the port, occupies a small inlet on the Atlantic Ocean 6 miles north of the historic city center of Porto. It is protected by two breakwaters that reach more than 2,500 feet into the sea, each with a dock on its harbor side. The tightly confined waterway houses facilities for container ships, oil tankers, a fishing fleet, and a recreational marina. It’s a node of heavy industry that interrupts the rocky beaches of the coast, separating seaside promenades designed by Portugal’s two Pritzker Prize winners: Eduardo Souto de Moura to the south, in Matosinhos, and Álvaro Siza to the north, in Leça da Palmera, where his outdoor swimming pools and Tea House are nestled into the rocks.
In the first phase of the plan, finished in 2011, Silva and his team moved the cruise-ship dock from the inner harbor to a new pier at the end of the southern breakwater, for more direct access to the city and to accommodate ships up to 1,000 feet long. The terminal was completed in a second phase last year. In the near future, the pier and terminal will open to the general public, allowing the building, with its rooftop viewing deck, to truly function as a destination rather than just a curiosity when seen from Souto de Moura’s seaside promenade, where its dramatic forms stand out against the horizon.
Silva set the terminal in the elbow of the angled breakwater, and in plan it resembles a hinge or spring, with ramps and arms curving out in different directions toward the marina, the new pier, and the shore. Inside, these pedestrian paths come together in a spiraling oval ramp around the central atrium. The uncoiling arms diagram the different systems of movement through the building. From a cruise ship, for example, a breezeway carries passengers over the service areas of the dock to the terminal. Ramps and escalators bring them down to the ground level, where they pass through customs and baggage handling (or vice-versa), to connect to tour buses or smaller boats for trips to the city and the Douro wine region, or eventually to a tram line that is planned to run along the coast.
In the original program, the upper section of the terminal was meant to house a shopping concourse and a restaurant, but Portugal’s ongoing financial slump made investors hard to find. While Silva was developing the design, these floors were taken on by the University of Porto’s Marine Science and Technology Research Park. The architect rather awkwardly converted the commercial spaces into laboratories, with floor-to-ceiling glazed storefronts facing the atrium but with no exterior windows, and with offices on mezzanines accessed via spiral stairs. He installed a research aquarium in the basement, and converted the top-floor restaurant into a multi-use event credits space. Yet this unlikely partnership with the university does bring life to the building, as well as steady revenue, and allows the center’s scientists to be close to the sea.
Silva worked with local manufacturers to develop a hexagonal ceramic tile with a tilted face to clad the building, updating the Portuguese tradition of painted-tile facades. He rotated the tiles, placing them in varying relations to each other, like barnacles or shells, to create an uneven surface. “They give the building a human scale,” he says.
Glistening in the light, the curving walls of the building read like ribbons looping around themselves in an irregular tangle. Echoes of two Guggenheims are evident—Wright’s in New York and Gehry’s in Bilbao. Silva affirms, however, that Siza is his most important reference: “The way our bodies move in a space, and the way a space invites you forward.” Like Souto de Moura, whose early buildings were very Miesian, Silva may be using Wright and Gehry to mitigate the influence of Siza’s eccentric, rectilinear forms. Whatever the case, he develops the terminal’s looping ramps and drum with an elegant economy of means, and makes this formal repertoire his own.
Cathedral Peak and Cathedral Lakes are stunning natural landmarks located in Yosemite National Park, California. Cathedral Peak, standing at 10,912 feet, is a striking granite pinnacle renowned for its dramatic spire and challenging climbing routes. It was first ascended by the famous naturalist John Muir in 1869. Below the peak, Cathedral Lakes consist of two beautiful alpine lakes, the Upper and Lower Cathedral Lakes, nestled amidst picturesque meadows and surrounded by the Sierra Nevada's majestic peaks. The area is a popular destination for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, offering breathtaking views, serene landscapes, and opportunities for rock climbing, camping, and photography.
The Colorado River is the principal river of the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. The 1,450-mile (2,330 km) river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. and two Mexican states. Rising in the central Rocky Mountains in the U.S., the river flows generally southwest across the Colorado Plateau before reaching Lake Mead on the Arizona–Nevada line, where it turns south towards the international border. After entering Mexico, the Colorado forms a large delta, emptying into the Gulf of California between Baja California and Sonora.
Known for its dramatic canyons and whitewater rapids, the Colorado is a vital source of water for agricultural and urban areas in the southwestern desert lands of North America. The river and its tributaries are controlled by an extensive system of dams, reservoirs and aqueducts, which furnish water for irrigation and municipal supplies of almost 40 million people both inside and outside the watershed. The Colorado's steep drop through its gorges is also utilized for the generation of significant hydroelectric power, and its major dams regulate peaking power demands in much of the Intermountain West. Since the mid-20th century, intensive water consumption has dewatered the lower course of the river such that it no longer reaches the sea except in years of heavy runoff.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...
Fonte : Wikipedia
Florence and the Machine (styled as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead singer Florence Welch, Isabella Summers, and a collaboration of other artists. The band's music received praise across the media, especially from the BBC, which played a large part in their rise to prominence by promoting Florence and the Machine as part of BBC Introducing. At the 2009 Brit Awards they received the Brit Awards "Critics' Choice" award. The band's music is renowned for its dramatic and eccentric production and also Welch's powerful vocal performances.
The band's debut studio album, Lungs, was released on 6 July 2009, and held the number-two position for its first five weeks on the UK Albums Chart. On 17 January 2010, the album reached the top position, after being on the chart for twenty-eight consecutive weeks.As of October 2010, the album had been in the top forty in the United Kingdom for sixty-five consecutive weeks, making it one of the best-selling albums of 2009 and 2010. The group's second studio album, Ceremonials, released in October 2011, entered the charts at number one in the UK and number six in the US. The band's third album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, was released on 2 June 2015. It topped the UK charts, and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, their first to do so. The album reached number one in a total of eight countries and the top ten of twenty. Also in 2015, the band was the headlining act at Glastonbury Festival, making Florence Welch the first British female headliner this century.
Florence and the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul. Lungs won the Brit Award for Best British Album in 2010. Florence and the Machine has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards including Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album. Additionally, the band performed at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Concert
Flanked by columns, the barrel vaulted entrance of this three bedroom home is echoed in its dramatic arched windows and gables. In this house plan, interior columns add elegance while visually dividing foyer from dining room and great room from kitchen. The great room is made even larger by its cathedral ceiling and bank of windows, including an arched clerestory window. A box bay window adds space to the formal dining room, while the kitchen features an angled center island with breakfast counter for the busy family. The floor plan's master suite, secluded on the first floor, boasts his and her walk-in closets and garden tub with skylight. Two bedrooms upstairs share another skylit bath. *Photographed home may have been modified from the original construction documents.* www.dongardner.com/house-plan/248/the-barclay/
Opened in 1927 as The Hotel Beverly, the building was considered to be one of famed architect Emery Roth’s most successful creations, inspiring even legendary artist Georgia O’Keeffe to paint it from her apartment across the street. Purchased in 1997 by the Denihan Hospitality Group (DHG), formerly Affinia Hospitality, the building began its dramatic restoration, opening in Spring of 1999.
The award-winning team that handled the challenging renovation project included the internationally known interior design firm Di Leonardo International and the prominent architectural firm of Ronald Schmidt & Associates. The renovation has not only restored Emery Roth’s neglected 1927 architectural treasure to its original grandeur, but has transformed the building into a classic for the future.
The Benjamin was named for Benjamin J. Denihan, Sr., founder of the original company (presently DHG) who turned a small family dry cleaning business into a successful company and later, a collection of New York hotels. Today, 9 hotels are owned and managed by his son and daughter. It is their mission to uphold the genuine values and superior standards established by Denihan years ago. The Benjamin is a tribute to the success and reputation of this man and the company he built.
To create the iconic curving forms of the cruise-ship terminal in Porto, Portugal, architect Luís Pedro Silva began working from the project’s territorial context rather than simply seeking a display of formal prowess. The powerful oval drum of its main volume, with its spiraling central atrium and exterior ramps, is charged with both centripetal and centrifugal force, gathering all the vectors of movement that come together in the terminal from sea and land, and spinning them back out again to their various destinations. Before receiving the commission, Silva, who has degrees in architecture and urban planning from Porto University, worked on a strategic plan for the entire port as a member of a team of economists, engineers, and other specialists. The building and its new dock bring together the group’s ideas for increasing the port’s efficiency, promoting a growing tourist industry, and improving connections to the area’s attractions.
Leixões, the port, occupies a small inlet on the Atlantic Ocean 6 miles north of the historic city center of Porto. It is protected by two breakwaters that reach more than 2,500 feet into the sea, each with a dock on its harbor side. The tightly confined waterway houses facilities for container ships, oil tankers, a fishing fleet, and a recreational marina. It’s a node of heavy industry that interrupts the rocky beaches of the coast, separating seaside promenades designed by Portugal’s two Pritzker Prize winners: Eduardo Souto de Moura to the south, in Matosinhos, and Álvaro Siza to the north, in Leça da Palmera, where his outdoor swimming pools and Tea House are nestled into the rocks.
In the first phase of the plan, finished in 2011, Silva and his team moved the cruise-ship dock from the inner harbor to a new pier at the end of the southern breakwater, for more direct access to the city and to accommodate ships up to 1,000 feet long. The terminal was completed in a second phase last year. In the near future, the pier and terminal will open to the general public, allowing the building, with its rooftop viewing deck, to truly function as a destination rather than just a curiosity when seen from Souto de Moura’s seaside promenade, where its dramatic forms stand out against the horizon.
Silva set the terminal in the elbow of the angled breakwater, and in plan it resembles a hinge or spring, with ramps and arms curving out in different directions toward the marina, the new pier, and the shore. Inside, these pedestrian paths come together in a spiraling oval ramp around the central atrium. The uncoiling arms diagram the different systems of movement through the building. From a cruise ship, for example, a breezeway carries passengers over the service areas of the dock to the terminal. Ramps and escalators bring them down to the ground level, where they pass through customs and baggage handling (or vice-versa), to connect to tour buses or smaller boats for trips to the city and the Douro wine region, or eventually to a tram line that is planned to run along the coast.
In the original program, the upper section of the terminal was meant to house a shopping concourse and a restaurant, but Portugal’s ongoing financial slump made investors hard to find. While Silva was developing the design, these floors were taken on by the University of Porto’s Marine Science and Technology Research Park. The architect rather awkwardly converted the commercial spaces into laboratories, with floor-to-ceiling glazed storefronts facing the atrium but with no exterior windows, and with offices on mezzanines accessed via spiral stairs. He installed a research aquarium in the basement, and converted the top-floor restaurant into a multi-use event credits space. Yet this unlikely partnership with the university does bring life to the building, as well as steady revenue, and allows the center’s scientists to be close to the sea.
Silva worked with local manufacturers to develop a hexagonal ceramic tile with a tilted face to clad the building, updating the Portuguese tradition of painted-tile facades. He rotated the tiles, placing them in varying relations to each other, like barnacles or shells, to create an uneven surface. “They give the building a human scale,” he says.
Glistening in the light, the curving walls of the building read like ribbons looping around themselves in an irregular tangle. Echoes of two Guggenheims are evident—Wright’s in New York and Gehry’s in Bilbao. Silva affirms, however, that Siza is his most important reference: “The way our bodies move in a space, and the way a space invites you forward.” Like Souto de Moura, whose early buildings were very Miesian, Silva may be using Wright and Gehry to mitigate the influence of Siza’s eccentric, rectilinear forms. Whatever the case, he develops the terminal’s looping ramps and drum with an elegant economy of means, and makes this formal repertoire his own.
Sunset on the River - 1867
George Inness (1825 - 1894)
The play of sunshine and shadow across the scene of cows grazing and thunderclouds in the distance creates a dynamic mood in the landscape. George Inness believed there was a direct correspondence between the natural and spiritual realms, as theorized by the Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). The artist hoped that, by showing the drama and dynamism of nature, his paintings would transport viewers to a higher emotional or mental plane.
George Inness distinguished himself among the Hudson River School painters by pursuing a more modern aesthetic of landscape painting. Unlike his contemporaries, who believed in creating realistic canvases of nature's vastness, Inness felt that "paintings were not necessarily pictures, and it was the artist's function, even his obligation, by an aesthetic and expressive reorganization, to interpret nature and not merely depict it." (as quoted in N. Cikovsky, Jr. and M. Quick, George Inness, Los Angeles, California, 1985, p. 19) Inness' New York based works from the 1860s are widely admired today because they are closest to the familiar manner of Hudson River School painting in those years. Yet these works also begin to show the artist's painting philosophy of incorporating atmospheric climate and expression which brings deeper spiritual meaning into his compositions. Inness went on to produce a body of work marked by a more subjective and ultimately more modern aesthetic than that of his contemporaries. With its dramatic composition and high degree of finish, Sunset on the River is an extraordinary masterwork from this important transitional phase in the artist's career.
Painted in 1867 near the town of Leeds, New York, Sunset on the River presents an expansive view of cattle grazing in a broad pasture which slopes toward a river, partially visible on the left. On the right a stone wall borders a road, along which a covered wagon moves toward a mill with a smoking chimney near the water. From a slightly elevated vantage point, the viewer looks across the expanse to another light-struck pasture in the middle ground extending to wooded foothills, which give rise to a large mountain in the distance. Storm clouds fill the sky, dappling the land with dark streaks intermingled with bursts of light which pierce the foliage and rake across the landscape.
Inness' use of light and atmosphere in Sunset on the River evokes mood and meaning. Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., writes: "In all of the paintings of the 1860's, nature is not merely depicted straightforwardly, but is made articulate: moods of calm are emphatically peaceful, rainbows are clearly portentous, storms are dramatic and threatening, sunsets are gloriously radiant, and bleakness is unmistakably harsh and cold. In 1865, a writer remarked that Inness 'signally [possessed the power of] seizing upon the critical moment in some marked phase of nature.' The result is that one is made aware of the spiritual significance of nature through the way in which its visible forms and effects reflect some higher power." (George Inness, London, 1971, p. 38) The painting's dramatically changing sky, along with the tranquil setting of workers setting off to the mill, seems to express a sense of hope and prosperity in the wake of the Civil War. Very likely, Inness' contemporaries saw in this painting a theme that would pervade American art after the war--the return to peace, industry, and prosperity. The movement and energy of the present work's lush brushwork, paint texture and strong color choices underscore the emotional sense of calm after a storm.
Michael Quick considers Sunset on the River a stunning success of Inness' style of the 1860s. He writes: "This handsome, fully developed painting, with its dramatic lighting and clouds, is one of the most impressive of 1867, looking ahead to the more emotional interpretation of nature seen in Inness's work at the end of the decade. The view is based upon a sketch he used again in Approaching Storm, 1869. In this case, both the foreground and the distance are deeper, and the season is full summer, rather than fall. An unusual element is the mill with its smoking chimney, near what appears to be a building in ruins. Inness drew attention to the mill by both silhouetting it against the lighted field beyond and by making it the object of the road's long diagonal. Brick textile mills were numerous in the Leeds area, but this factory seems out of place in the otherwise entirely pastoral landscape. The textured foreground and the blacklighting of the trees are also unusual for works of 1867, no doubt reflecting the extra effort to add interest to this painting." (George Inness: A Catalogue Raisonné, vol. one, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2007, p. 278) His inclusion of the factory and its workers appears here to add an element of the contemporary to his idealized landscape. Where other artists of the 1850s and 1860s might choose to render more purely pastoral views, Inness embraced the new.
All of the artistic devices evident in Sunset on the River convey emotional power. The painting's dramatic recession, extreme contrasts and strong color scheme induce the spiritual response that Inness began to suggest in the 1860s, and continued to evoke in his paintings throughout his career.
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This World Class attraction was everything we expected and more. Construction has just begun on a major expansion, but that has been managed in such a way that it does not in any way detract from the experience now.
This album focuses on the artwork inside the buildings and on the other interior spaces including the Eleven Restaurant and the Gift Shop. A separate album posted a few days ago is devoted to the two April mornings that we spent exploring just some of the trails that crisscross the 120 acres of Arkansas forest around the museum.
Alice Walton and her co-creative team can be proud of the vision and execution of everything on this 120 acre site.
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"Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a museum of American art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The museum, founded by Alice Walton and designed by Moshe Safdie, officially opened on 11 November 2011. It offers free public admission.
Alice Walton, the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, spearheaded the Walton Family Foundation's involvement in developing Crystal Bridges. The museum's glass-and-wood design by architect Moshe Safdie and engineer Buro Happold features a series of pavilions nestled around two creek-fed ponds and forest trails. The 217,000 square feet complex includes galleries, several meeting and classroom spaces, a library, a sculpture garden, a museum store designed by architect Marlon Blackwell, a restaurant and coffee bar, named Eleven after the day the museum opened, "11/11/11". Crystal Bridges also features a gathering space that can accommodate up to 300 people. Additionally, there are outdoor areas for concerts and public events, as well as extensive nature trails. It employs approximately 300 people, and is within walking distance of downtown Bentonville."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Bridges_Museum_of_American_Art
crystalbridges.org/nature-trails/
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Llyn Llech Owain Country Park is is a stunning 158-acre expanse of woods and lakeland near Cross Hands with nature trails, an adventure area and visitor centre. At the heart of this spectacular park is its dramatic lake which is surrounded by peat bog and there’s a lovely myth associated with Llyn Lech Owain. Legend has it that Owain Lawgoch ("Owain of the Red Hand" - who led an army of French mercenaries against the English in the Hundred Years' War), was entrusted to look after a well on the mountain named Mynydd Mawr. Each day, after extracting enough water for himself and his horse, Owain was always careful to replace the stone but on one occasion he forgot and a torrent of water poured down the side of the mountain. The resultant lake was hence named Llyn Lech Owain - the lake of Owain’s slab. Today, specially constructed paths allow for safe access over the bog and around the lake. The paths are well-surfaced and accessible to wheelchair-users. A forest track provides a longer walk or cycle ride around the country park and there’s a rough mountain bike trail for the more adventurous cyclist. Much of the park consists of coniferous woodland, planted by the Forestry Commission during the 1960s and there are also areas of dry heath and broad-leaved woodland.