You really can't go wrong with a Gulf livery, especially when presented on such a beautiful classic car such as this 1967 Ford GT40 MK.IV. Well cast with its dramatic flowing lines and clear plastic headlights. Part of 2022 Case H found at The Entertainer. Mint and boxed.

REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE METIS

Beautiful flowers at Reford Gardens.

TOURNESOL & BOURDON

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

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

Claudette, surrounded by lots of beautiful peonies, is '' making '' some photos...

Beautiful flowers at Reford 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.

Iceland, a Nordic island nation, is defined by its dramatic volcanic landscape of geysers, hot springs, waterfalls, glaciers and black-sand beaches. The capital, Reykjavik, home to the majority of the population, runs on geothermal power and offers a renowned nightlife scene as well as Viking history museums. The glaciers in Vatnajökull and Snæfellsnes national parks are popular for ice climbing, hiking and snowmobiling.

St Lawrence, Brundall, Norfolk

The Broads begin at Brundall. This is furthest outer Norwich; Brundall, and particularly adjoining Brundall Gardens, is Norwich's Metroland. How Betjeman must have loved it. And I liked it a lot too. The first time I came here was on a day in the summer of 2011. I had been cycling in nearby parishes which had, for Norfolk, a somewhat unenlightened attitude to church-opening, so it was a pleasure to come here and be able to step inside this lovely space.

But first, I had to find it. St Lawrence is a long, towerless church set back from the road and hidden in a garden-like churchyard with its rectory and parish hall. You step through a pretty thatched lychgate which serves as the parish memorial to the local boys lost in the mud and blood of Flanders and France. The path takes you to the east of the church and onto the south side, where the neat graveyard slopes down towards the river. Many churchyards have benches, but here was the first time that day I was unable to resist sitting down and soaking up the sunshine and the birdsong. It was idyllic.

It was good to be back here. They were doing building work to the north of the church, but the south was as idyllic as ever. St Lawrence is a curious building. There probably never was a tower. A tall bellcote sits about a third of the way down the nave, level with the porch. As Pevsner notes, it appears to be medieval. The north aisle you see as you walk from the lych gate dates from as recently as 1900, but everything you see from the south side is apparently 13th Century, except that, in reality, the bellcote sits above the medieval western gable; early in the 20th Century, the nave was extended westwards. if you stand to the south you can see that the building must get darker inside the further east you go.

You step into what is essentially an Edwardian era interior, that period of High Church triumphalism and gravitas between the end of the 19th Century and the First World War. It is the Church of England at its dramatic peak. But there are plenty of medieval survivals here, including East Anglia's only lead font. it is contemporary with the church building, its design depicting a repeated motif of the crucifixion and fleur-de-lys. It seems curiously primitive compared with lead fonts found elsewhere in the country, for example Low Halstow and Brookland in Kent.

There is good glass by Clayton and Bell, less good by Kempe & Co, but they both let coloured light fall across the dark wood furnishings, which is very atmospheric. In the north aisle, and probably installed here as part of the restoration in 1900, there is a fine roundel of continental glass depicting the church's patron Saint with his grid iron. It is probably 18th Century, I should think, unless it is one of those clever copies by the King workshop. Certainly of the 20th Century is the set of royal arms above the south door, because it is for Elizabeth II, one of several sets in East Anglia but probably the only one which appears to be painted on a fibre glass panel.

The view eastwards is to the early 20th Century roodscreen and the darkness of the chancel beyond. You can see that St Lawrence was restored for shadowy, incense-led worship. The memorials either side of the sanctuary are worth a look. The one on the south side is to Charles Leath, Midshipman of the British Navy... who died at sea in 1804. The memorial features his sword and sextant in relief at the top.

Even more striking is the relief on the memorial on the opposite wall. It dates from half a century later, and remembers Robert Cubitt and his wife Henrietta. The relief depicts a schooner with its sails furled, basking on a choppy sea. Under the relief are the words Such is Life.

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.

For more than a century Assiniboine Park has been the crown jewel in Winnipeg's regional park system. Designed by Canada's pioneer landscape architect and Olmsted apprentice, Frederick Todd, it takes its place alongside the great urban parks in Canada. After decades of declining maintenance, the riverside green space is undergoing a modern transformation that will see it reclaim its place as a social, educational and recreational hub in the city. The focus for the park's development is to re-connect visitors to its spectacular landscape through recreation, learning and discovery opportunities. New nature playgrounds and pathways celebrate the unique natural environment providing an interactive experience in every season. The 'Family Centre' is the architectural heart of the new development located along the shore of the park's iconic 'duck pond', forming a transition between the water's edge and the surrounding burr-oak forest.

The 900 square metre building functions as a focal point and gathering place, offering the modern amenities long absent from the park. The form of the new building supports and enhances the design principles of all the new components of the park by celebrating a connection with the outdoors while offering a protected indoor environment in all seasons. The sights, sounds and smells of the park permeate through every room of the Family Centre enhancing the visitor's relationship with the landscape at all times. The architecture is intended to encourage a spirit of discovery through its form, showcasing the landscape while being part of it. The challenge was to resolve the dichotomy of celebrating the natural surroundings while injecting an unnatural object into it. The appropriate consideration of structure, materials and layout allows the building to age and evolve along with its surroundings, growing from and into its place. The goal for the Family Centre was to tell the story of the park through its architecture, evoking a sense of wonder, attracting, welcoming and inspiring the next generation to form a personal connection to Assiniboine Park and its dramatic natural environment.

www.numberten.com

Claude Monet -

The Magpie - 1868-1869

There is something magical about a landscape painted by Claude Monet. No matter the time or the season, he captures the nuanced variations of light. Monet was the founding artist of French Impressionism in the 1860s, and his style of loose, quick, and instantaneous painting revolutionized the Western art world. After decades of society’s rejection, French Impressionism eventually gained popularity, and it maintains its popularity today after more than 160 years since its birth. Magpie by Monet is a snowscape masterpiece that captures the artistry of French Impressionism and the spirit of the winter season.

Claude Monet painted Magpie during the winter of 1868-1869. It is an oil on canvas that measures 130 cm long by 89 cm high (51 in by 35 in). The canvas is almost a perfect 2:3 rectangle with the height being almost two-thirds its length. The composition is a winter landscape blanketed by snow. A stone wall perfectly divides the image into two equal horizontal spaces. The space below the wall is the foreground, and the space above the wall is the background. A black-gray magpie sits on a wooden gate near the left mid-ground. A house surrounded by pine and oak trees stands in the right background, immediately behind the wall. The bird, wall, and trees cast diagonal shadows upon the foreground snow, adding a sense of visual movement to an otherwise still moment. Only the occasional chirp of the magpie breaks the scene’s icy silence.

Approximately 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Rouen and 200 km (124 mi) northwest of Paris is the coastal town of Étretat. Claude Monet frequently visited Étretat because he appreciated its dramatic seaside cliffs. However, the interior landscape of Étretat also fascinated Monet because Magpie depicts an Étretat snowscape. During the winter of 1868-1869, the snow was particularly heavy in Étretat, and Monet captured the deep snow layer in this painting. The brown stone wall is almost entirely white with its hefty snowcap, the trees resemble ice sculptures, and the ground is a white carpet. However, Monet adds depth and interest to the snowscape with countless shades of cream, varied with countless infusions of blue and gray.

Claude Monet is most famous for his waterscapes featuring water lilies. Therefore, his snowscapes like Magpie receive far less attention and praise by the general public. However, the overshadowing of Magpie and other wintery scenes does not diminish their artistic merit. Monet became famous for his play of light upon water, but his play of light upon snow is just as majestic. Snow has a magical quality of simultaneously reflecting and absorbing light. Snow is the physical solid manifestation of water, hence it has similar refractive properties as liquid water. However, snow does not move and ripple as water because of its solid volume and mass. Therefore, illuminated snow can twinkle and shimmer like millions of diamonds as it catches the light upon its irregular solid surfaces.

www.dailyartmagazine.com/magpie-by-claude-monet/

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.

trulyhalong.com/halong-bay-deluxe-cruises/paloma-cruise.htm

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.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary%27s_Church,_Fairford

Iceland, a Nordic island nation, is defined by its dramatic volcanic landscape of geysers, hot springs, waterfalls, glaciers and black-sand beaches. The capital, Reykjavik, home to the majority of the population, runs on geothermal power and offers a renowned nightlife scene as well as Viking history museums. The glaciers in Vatnajökull and Snæfellsnes national parks are popular for ice climbing, hiking and snowmobiling.

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.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary%27s_Church,_Fairford

Cathedral Gorge State Park is renowned for its dramatic, carved cliffs and canyons, remnants of a Pliocene-era lake bed. Visitors from around the world come here to hike on the park’s picturesque trails and explore its formations and cathedral-like spires. Miller Point, a scenic overlook, offers magnificent views of the canyon. Hiking, picnicking, camping, nature study, photography and ranger programs are the most common activities at the park. Facilities open all year include a 24-unit campground, RV dump station, restrooms with showers, a group use area and a day use picnic area. Cathedral Gorge is 165 miles northeast of Las Vegas, via Interstate 15 North. Easy access to the parks is available off U.S. Highway 93, two miles north of Panaca.

And there it is! The Point Reyes Lighthouse, in all its dramatic glory, sitting on its precarious little rock perch 290 feet above the Pacific, or 175 feet below the little platform where I was standing when I took this. (That's the platform you could just make out in the fog in this picture I posted yesterday. The platform you see in this picture is a second platform, another 70 feet down the slope.)

This is quite possibly the most dramatic location for a lighthouse I've ever seen, perched at one end of a narrow ridge with the Pacific on either side. According to the internet, National Weather Service records indicate this is the foggiest, windiest spot on the California coast, and based on my short experience, I'd believe it. It's hard to imagine what it must have been like back in the days of the steamships of the late 19th century, trying to tiptoe your way along this rocky coast through the fog to San Francisco. It's hard to imagine what it must have been like for the lighthouse keepers, marching up and down this hill through the storms.

**Lincoln Historic District** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 66000477, date listed 10/15/1966

U.S. 380

Lincoln, NM (Lincoln County)

A National Historic Landmark (www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/list-of-nh...).

Lincoln, New Mexico was founded circa 1854 by a band of Hispano farmers from the Rio Grande valley who were enabled by increased U.S. military protection against Apache raids to exploit the fertile land of the Rio Bonito valley. Known, as La Placita del Rio Bonito (the little town by the beautiful river).

The story of Lincoln, New Mexico, duplicates that of most of the cow towns that sprang up on the advancing cattlemen's frontier in the years following the Civil War. Like its counterparts throughout the West, it was a business and social community serving surrounding ranges. To it drifted cowboys, badmen, gunfighters, rustlers, soldiers, and famous lawmen. It was a scene of courtroom battles, public executions, and gunfights. As in other parts of the cattle country, conflict over water, government beef contracts, and grazing rights engendered bad feeling. At Lincoln one of the famous feuds for which the cattle frontier is noted reached its dramatic climax.

The Torreon, built circa 1850, is a circular stone tower with a viga-constructed second floor, and an open-roofed second story. The Torreon is owned by the state and was reconstructed in 1939. (pg 11) (1)

References (1) NRHP Nomination Form s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg...

Detail of the upper 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.

A substantial amount however still remained until it was unfortunately 'restored' in 1860 by Chance Bros of Smethwick, whose approach was to substitute all the surviving glass in the upper half of the window with a carefully created replica. It is clear that the design is a faithful copy of what was there originally, but none of the surviving material was reused, parts of it being secretly kept by the studio and probably sold (some elements have resurfaced much more recently).

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.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary%27s_Church,_Fairford

The beautiful and now tranquil setting of Augustinian Lanercost Priory belies an often troubled history. Standing close to Hadrian's Wall, it suffered frequent attacks during the long Anglo-Scottish wars, once by Robert Bruce in person. The mortally sick King Edward I rested here for five months in 1306-7, shortly before his death on his final campaign.

The east end of the 13th-century church survives to its full height, housing within its dramatic triple tier of arches some fine monuments.

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.

It's all here in one puzzling page-turner of a novel: conspiracy, codes, secret societies, UFOs, ancient mysteries, the prophetic Mayan calendar end-date of 2012, alternative interpretations of Biblical events, mystifying metaphysics, good guys, bad guys, murder most foul and, yes, even a touch of romance. All of this, and more, is intricately woven into the multifaceted storyline of THE EZEKIEL CODE.

Gary Val Tenuta - former contributing writer for Fate Magazine (U.S.) and Beyond Magazine (U.K.) and a guest on numerous radio programs (including Dreamland, hosted by best selling author Whitley Strieber and The X-Zone hosted by Rob McConnell) - has crafted a provocative mystery novel with an esoteric edge that may upset certain segments of the population while at the same time enthralling others with it's alternative perspective on reality and its vision for the future.

From its cryptic prologue to its dramatic climax, THE EZEKIEL CODE is a skillful blend of fact and fiction with likable, vividly developed characters:

Zeke Banyon is a handsome Catholic seminary dropout who now runs a homeless shelter in Seattle's old waterfront district and Angela Ann Martin is an attractive young widow who just wants a simple part-time job at the shelter. But a single twist of fate turns their simple lives upside down when together they stumble onto a mysterious code and a rumor about a lost scroll penned by the prophet, Ezekiel, thousands of years ago. They soon find themselves thrust deep into a world of secret societies, metaphysics, mystery and murder as they jet across continents in a race to understand the code that will lead them to an ancient artifact of profound importance. Dodging rogue Jesuit priests at every turn and unaware that the Illuminati are ever-present in the shadows, Zeke and Angela soon discover it's not just their own lives that are in danger but also the lives of everyone on the planet.

Is Zeke Banyon the Chosen One of an obscure ancient prophecy? And if so, can he successfully accomplish the mission fate has in store for him? Nothing in seminary school could ever have prepared him for this.

2012 is coming...The clock is ticking…The code must be deciphered…And only one man can save the planet...If he can just figure out how - before it's too late.

"The plot is intriguing and interesting to the point of being bestseller material."

- Red Adept's Kindle Book Review Blog

"Entertaining and enlightening. A course in high strangeness."

–– Jay Weidner, documentary producer and co-author of Mysteries of the Great Cross of Hendaye

"The most gripping and informative book I have read in ages."

–– Robert Tulip, independent reader

"High-concept fiction. An unforgettable book."

–– Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands

"I have read it twice and thinking about a third time.

There aren't many books I read more than once. For me it had the WOW factor."

–– L. Sue Durkin, author of Life is Like Making Chocolate Chip Cookies

"An impressive feat."

–– Peter A. Gersten, editor, PAG eNews

"Highly Recommended!"

–– Michael Tsarion, internationally renown divination scholar, author and lecturer

THE EZEKIEL CODE, an EVVY Award nominee, is available in paperback and Kindle.

Watch the video trailers, read the first 12 chapters (free!) and full reviews at www.ezekielcode.com.

The Ezekiel Code

By Gary Val Tenuta

ISBN: 978-1-4327-0650-0

676-Page Paperback (6x9)

Published by Outskirts Press (www.outskirtspress.com)

Contact the author: TheEzekielCode@aol.com

Charles Theatre, 409 North Main Street, Charles City, Iowa. The 1935 Charles Theatre was designed in beautiful Art Moderne style, including its dramatic mulicolored tile facade and other other stylish Moderne details inside. It still operates today as a movie house, seating 450. It originally could seat 600 and was first operated by A.H. Blank, as a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures.

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.

Smailholm Tower is a peel tower 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 located at grid reference NT637346, just west of Sandyknowe farm, and 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.

REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE METIS

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

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.

Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the city of Amarillo, Texas, United States. As the second largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly 193 km (120 mi) long and has an average width of 10 km (6.2 mi), but reaches a width of 32 km (20 mi) at places. Its depth is around 250 m (820 ft), but in some locations it can increase up to 304 m (997 ft). Palo Duro Canyon has been named "The Grand Canyon of Texas" both for its size and for its dramatic geological features, including the multicolored layers of rock and steep mesa walls similar to those in the Grand Canyon.

The canyon was formed by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, which initially winds along the level surface of the Llano Estacado of West Texas, then suddenly and dramatically runs off the Caprock Escarpment. Water erosion over the millennia has shaped the canyon's geological formations.

Notable canyon formations include caves and hoodoos. One of the best known and the major signature feature of the canyon is the Lighthouse Peak. A multiuse, six-mile round trip loop trail is dedicated to the formation. The middle portion of the trail can be hot with little shade, and hikers should take plenty of water.

Relaxing at Malibu Beach in southern California as the sun was making its dramatic exit for the day.

🇬🇧 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.

Cathedral Gorge State Park is renowned for its dramatic, carved cliffs and canyons, remnants of a Pliocene-era lake bed. Visitors from around the world come here to hike on the park’s picturesque trails and explore its formations and cathedral-like spires. Miller Point, a scenic overlook, offers magnificent views of the canyon. Hiking, picnicking, camping, nature study, photography and ranger programs are the most common activities at the park. Facilities open all year include a 24-unit campground, RV dump station, restrooms with showers, a group use area and a day use picnic area. Cathedral Gorge is 165 miles northeast of Las Vegas, via Interstate 15 North. Easy access to the parks is available off U.S. Highway 93, two miles north of Panaca.

Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah is known for its dramatic desert landscape carved by the Colorado River. Island in the Sky is a huge, flat-topped mesa with panoramic overlooks. Other notable areas include the towering rock pinnacles known as the Needles, the remote canyons of the Maze and the Native American rock paintings in Horseshoe Canyon. Whitewater rapids flow through Cataract Canyon.

P1380746

peniocereus greggii, the queen of the night was named for its dramatic, white, waxy flowers that are composed of elegant white petals and stamens. One of the desert's most famous yet least encountered cactus, the queen of the night is virtually invisible most of the year. Reaching a height of four to eight feet, its thin, inconspicuous branches are frequently hidden amongst other desert cacti or shrubbery.

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]

Cathedral Gorge State Park is renowned for its dramatic, carved cliffs and canyons, remnants of a Pliocene-era lake bed. Visitors from around the world come here to hike on the park’s picturesque trails and explore its formations and cathedral-like spires. Miller Point, a scenic overlook, offers magnificent views of the canyon. Hiking, picnicking, camping, nature study, photography and ranger programs are the most common activities at the park. Facilities open all year include a 24-unit campground, RV dump station, restrooms with showers, a group use area and a day use picnic area. Cathedral Gorge is 165 miles northeast of Las Vegas, via Interstate 15 North. Easy access to the parks is available off U.S. Highway 93, two miles north of Panaca.

The Amalfi Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southern Italy’s Campania region, is renowned for its dramatic cliffs, colorful seaside villages, and Mediterranean charm. Stretching along the Sorrentine Peninsula, it includes iconic destinations such as Sorrento, Positano, and Amalfi town.

Sorrento, perched above the Bay of Naples, offers sweeping views of Mount Vesuvius and serves as a gateway to the coast. Positano is famed for its pastel-hued houses cascading down steep hillsides to pebble beaches and turquoise waters. Amalfi, once a powerful maritime republic, is known for its historic cathedral, lively piazza, and lemon-based delicacies like limoncello.

The region’s narrow, winding roads and scenic boat routes connect these destinations, making the Amalfi Coast one of the world’s most picturesque coastal journeys.

Image of the day! This unprocessed "raw" image of Saturn's icy, geologically active moon Enceladus was acquired by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its dramatic Oct. 28, 2015 flyby in which the probe passed about 30 miles (49 kilometers) above the moon's south polar region. via NASA ift.tt/1MxNoLy

St Lawrence, Brundall, Norfolk

The Broads begin at Brundall. This is furthest outer Norwich; Brundall, and particularly adjoining Brundall Gardens, is Norwich's Metroland. How Betjeman must have loved it. And I liked it a lot too. The first time I came here was on a day in the summer of 2011. I had been cycling in nearby parishes which had, for Norfolk, a somewhat unenlightened attitude to church-opening, so it was a pleasure to come here and be able to step inside this lovely space.

But first, I had to find it. St Lawrence is a long, towerless church set back from the road and hidden in a garden-like churchyard with its rectory and parish hall. You step through a pretty thatched lychgate which serves as the parish memorial to the local boys lost in the mud and blood of Flanders and France. The path takes you to the east of the church and onto the south side, where the neat graveyard slopes down towards the river. Many churchyards have benches, but here was the first time that day I was unable to resist sitting down and soaking up the sunshine and the birdsong. It was idyllic.

It was good to be back here. They were doing building work to the north of the church, but the south was as idyllic as ever. St Lawrence is a curious building. There probably never was a tower. A tall bellcote sits about a third of the way down the nave, level with the porch. As Pevsner notes, it appears to be medieval. The north aisle you see as you walk from the lych gate dates from as recently as 1900, but everything you see from the south side is apparently 13th Century, except that, in reality, the bellcote sits above the medieval western gable; early in the 20th Century, the nave was extended westwards. if you stand to the south you can see that the building must get darker inside the further east you go.

You step into what is essentially an Edwardian era interior, that period of High Church triumphalism and gravitas between the end of the 19th Century and the First World War. It is the Church of England at its dramatic peak. But there are plenty of medieval survivals here, including East Anglia's only lead font. it is contemporary with the church building, its design depicting a repeated motif of the crucifixion and fleur-de-lys. It seems curiously primitive compared with lead fonts found elsewhere in the country, for example Low Halstow and Brookland in Kent.

There is good glass by Clayton and Bell, less good by Kempe & Co, but they both let coloured light fall across the dark wood furnishings, which is very atmospheric. In the north aisle, and probably installed here as part of the restoration in 1900, there is a fine roundel of continental glass depicting the church's patron Saint with his grid iron. It is probably 18th Century, I should think, unless it is one of those clever copies by the King workshop. Certainly of the 20th Century is the set of royal arms above the south door, because it is for Elizabeth II, one of several sets in East Anglia but probably the only one which appears to be painted on a fibre glass panel.

The view eastwards is to the early 20th Century roodscreen and the darkness of the chancel beyond. You can see that St Lawrence was restored for shadowy, incense-led worship. The memorials either side of the sanctuary are worth a look. The one on the south side is to Charles Leath, Midshipman of the British Navy... who died at sea in 1804. The memorial features his sword and sextant in relief at the top.

Even more striking is the relief on the memorial on the opposite wall. It dates from half a century later, and remembers Robert Cubitt and his wife Henrietta. The relief depicts a schooner with its sails furled, basking on a choppy sea. Under the relief are the words Such is Life.

The redness in the sky to the west was now alarming, although I knew the reason, it felt like something supernatural.

Palgrave was just a few miles from Hepworth, and one I hoped to find open, and at just after four in the afternoon, but nearly dar, it was.

It was really very gloomy inside the church, even with the lights on, shots were difficult to take. I was on a mission to snap all I could as soon as possible before the light failed altogether.

Church features a splendid Norman font, modern glass, and the remains of a spiral staircase leading to a room over the south porch, the floor of which has long since vanished. The stairs now a broom cupboard.

Wonderful painted roof, I thought maybe done in the last century, but might be much, much older than that.

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

2015: I've visited Palgrave church several times since this account first appeared, most recently to take the photographs here. However, I hope I will be forgiven for retaining the original text from 2003, if only for its freshness, and perhaps also for what may be viewed at this distance as its charm.

2003: I arrived at Diss railway station in that gentle sunshine for which we’ll remember the Spring of 2003. Diss is in Norfolk; I had just crossed the border on my train journey from Ipswich, but I was bound for Diss's southern suburb, the Suffolk village of Palgrave. I cycled off from the station. I headed under the railway line, and over the infant Waveney. At this point, I entered Suffolk again, but there were no county signs in either direction. To be honest, it didn’t feel that different, apart from the way that the road surface improved, the schools came off special measures, the police force became efficient, and so on.

The countryside opened out into golden oilseed rape fields under a wide sky. It was good to be home. Soon, I was coming into Palgrave village, which seemed very pleasant indeed.

In medieval times, Palgrave was actually two parishes; the westerly one, Palgrave St John, has been subsumed into this one, and that church has completely disappeared. However, this pretty church is walled neatly into its graveyard at the heart of the village, which spreads neatly around it. As this was my first church of the day, I hoped it would be open; it always puts a crimp in a trip if the first one is a lock-out. I was not disappointed; St Peter is a friendly parish that knows that part of its Christian mission is to welcome strangers and pilgrims.

I stepped through the elaborate arch of the late 15th Century south doorway. An angel and a dragon contended in the spandrels, and there were characterful heads carved in the entrance arch. Inside, a very nice lady was busy with the flowers, and took time out to show me around. All the while, I was conscious that above my head the lovely painted roof of Palgrave. Marian monograms and symbols punctuate the whitewash; once, many small Suffolk churches must have been like this. Perhaps someone can explain to me why this one hasn’t faded like many of the others; I don’t think it has been redone.

The other famous treasure here is the font. It is unlike anything else in Suffolk. Clearly Norman, but much more elaborate than most, its most outstanding features are the faces in each corner. Again, this is a more intimate experience of the faces we normally see as corbels; but Palgrave has these too, stunning medieval characters along the lines of the arcades.

While we are on the subject of treasure, there were two modern features that were obviously loved by the locals. Firstly, Surinder Warboys has her studio nearby at Mellis, and here is one of her windows in the south aisle. The light flooded through it. The lady told me that everybody liked it, but that it was very hard to do a flower arrangement in front of it! I thought that they had done very well. Secondly, up in the chancel is the benefice millennium banner – people from all the parishes came together and produced this amazing patchwork cross. On the back, there are panels depicting the mission of the Church. Apparently, it is shared around the benefice churches for display for a few weeks at a time.

In the place where many churches now display the coat of arms, Palgrave has part of a suit of armour. I have seen an explanation in several books that it was from the parish armoury, which was once stored in the upper room of the porch, as at Mendlesham. This upper room has now gone, and the armoury has, as in most churches, been dispersed. However, I could find no evidence for this story, and it seems to be based on one of Arthur Mee’s fancies. I don't think it is even real armour; rather, it is similar to the mock plate armour behind the Bacon memorial at nearby Redgrave. It seems likely to me that this is also part of an old set of armour associated with a memorial of some kind, which the Victorians swept away. I don’t suppose we’ll ever know.

Back outside again, I took time out to photograph the famous grave of carter John Catchpole, with its relief of a wagon and horses – you can see it in the left-hand column. It seems a modern fashion to decorate headstones with symbols associated with the deceased; nice to know it was happening in the mid-18th century.

I turned, and looked back at the neat tower, the splendid porch with its dramatic niches. You can see that there was once an upper room, but it has now gone.

And it was time for me to be gone, too. Waving cheerily, I headed off in the direction of Thrandeston, all the road back to Ipswich open in front of me in the sunshine.

Simon Knott, August 2003, updated July 2015

www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/palgrave.htm

Cathedral Gorge State Park is a public recreation area and geologic preserve featuring a dramatic landscape of eroded soft bentonite clay covering more than 1,600 acres (650 ha) in Lincoln County, Nevada. The state park is located along U.S. Route 93 at the west end of State Route 319, one mile (1.6 km) north of the town of Panaca.

The site has been popular with local picnickers since the nineteenth century, when it was known as Cathedral Gulch.[4] During the 1920s, its dramatic landscape provided a background for open-air plays and annual Easter ceremonies.[5] Governor James Scrugham began acquiring and setting aside the area for preservation in 1924. It subsequently became one of the four original Nevada state parks created in 1935. Members of the Civilian Conservation Corps built picnicking facilities that are still in use as well as a stone water tower and stone restroom which are no longer in operation.

from Wikipedia

Bryn Cader Faner is a small cairn just 8m across and less than 1m high, but around the edge is a ring of tall, thin slabs set at an angle, projecting from the mass of the cairn like the rays of the sun, or as some say the "Welsh Crown of Thorns". The monument may be classified as a cairn circle, and was probably a site of burial rather than ceremonial function. It has been disturbed and a hole in the centre no doubt indicates the position of a cist or grave, the content of which is unknown. The army, on manoeuvres before the second world war, pulled out stones on the east side but, miraculously, the striking silhouette remained intact.

It is a monument of simple but brilliantly effective design, placed with sophisticated precision in its dramatic setting so as to achieve maximum impact on travellers approaching from the south. It is arguably the most beautiful Bronze Age monument in Britain

One of the many carvings adorning the wall arcading in the north aisle.

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!).

beverleyminster.org.uk/visit-us-2/a-brief-history/

Tin toy made in Japan

Power: Friction

Size: 19 1/2" (50 cm) wingspan

The Louis Marx Co. commissioned its "Linemar" brand toys from various Japanese companies in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This large plane is not a DC-7 at all, but it is a wonderful creation indeed. The 707 jet's fuselage, with its dramatic pointed nose and swept tail fin, is combined with accurate Bristol Britannia wings and engine nacelles. The large, unusual bright red propellers match the Northwest Orient Airlines color scheme. The US flag on the wing has seven white stripes, six red stripes and 35 stars. Truly, this plane looks as though it is rarin' to go.

UPPER BALCONY:

Originally opened in 1921, the Lucas Theatre underwent a 12-year, $10 million dollar restoration project, and reopened on December 1, 2000.

In 2002, the theater was purchased by the Savannah College of Art and Design, which plans to incorporate the theater into its dramatic arts program.

cinematreasures.org/theater/3837/

20 pp. booklet titled, "The next wave: Introducing the new integrated Bangor bus and rail centre, 5th April 2001". Illustrated throughout, this brochure describes the design and layout of the new interchange. H208xW296 (mm)

Produced for Translink. Printed by Commercial Graphics. Design by Whitenoise. Photography by Chris Hill Photographic. Date March / April 2001.

This booklet was produced to coincide with the official opening of the new Bangor Bus and Rail Centre on 05.04.2001 after 18 months of building work.

Text from the booklet : 'The new interchange is located on the same site that the former bus and adjoining rail stations had occupied. The development is well placed on the main entry road into Bangor from the south and east, in an elevated position at the top of the town, on a steep slope, between the busy Abbey Street and Dufferin Avenue. It holds an imposing position offering clear views over the town and harbour and out to sea. The front of the station faces Upper Main Street, one of the main and busy shopping areas of the town. Bangor town centre is undergoing extensive redevelopment and reconstruction and this new interchange, with its dramatic physical profile and presence when viewed on approach, is a fitting gateway to the town.'

The second largest mosque in the world (after the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca). Built on a promontory over the Atlantic, its dramatic setting references a Quranic quote: 'God's throne is on the water.' Inside there is space for 25,000 worshippers. A further 80,000 can be accommodated in the courtyard. Its minaret is the world's tallest at 689 ft.

Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah is known for its dramatic desert landscape carved by the Colorado River. Island in the Sky is a huge, flat-topped mesa with panoramic overlooks. Other notable areas include the towering rock pinnacles known as the Needles, the remote canyons of the Maze and the Native American rock paintings in Horseshoe Canyon. Whitewater rapids flow through Cataract Canyon.

Week 8 Portraits ( 936 – 940) 11/12/-11/16/2017

Id 939

Marsden Hartley American 1877 - 1943

Portrait of a German Officer 1914

Oil on canvas

Hartley painted this advanced abstraction—part of an extended series of pictures of German officers—while living in Berlin during World War I. It shows his early assimilation of both Cubism (in its collage like arrangement of visual fragments) and German Expressionism (in its dramatic color and coarse brushwork). He intended the image as a symbolic portrait of his close friend (and perhaps lover) Karl von Freyburg, who had been killed in action. Hartley included seversal signs to represent the young cavalry officer: the initials K.v.F; von Freyburg’s regiment number (4); his age at death (24); and the Iron Cross that was awarded to him posthumously. Various spurs, tassels, and plumes suggest his uniform, and the blue and white pattern evokes the flag of Bavaria, von Freyburg’s home.

Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949 49.70.42

From the placard This painting is found in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Modern Paintings

www.metmuseum.org/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsden_Hartley

www.nga.gov/Collection/artist-info.1375.html

www.metmuseum.org/press/exhibitions/2016/marsden-hartleys...

Dresden's New Synagogue was completed in 2001, by architects Rena Wandel-Hoefer and Wolfgang Lorch.

It was built on the same location as the original Semper Synagogue (1839–1840) designed in Moorish-Revival style by Gottfried Semper and destroyed in 1938's Kristallnacht. Some fragments of Semper's original building can be seen in the new synagogue's outer wall. We were told that the only other part of the original that survived was Semper's Star of David, which fireman Alfred Neugebauer removed from the burning rooftop, hid wrapped in a blanket in his stepfather's cellar in Neustadt, and returned to the congregation in 1949.

The synagogue building, shortlisted by for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in 2003, is slightly askew to convey the relationship between the Jewish community and the city. Its dramatic, modern architectural style is also meant to contrast with the city center that it borders, as Dresden is being rebuilt with buildings whose exteriors and sometimes even interiors are replicas of the Baroque originals.

There are two buildings on either side, one the temple and one a community and administrative center, with a plaza between them: half of it is empty gravel to symbolize the loss of the original building and Dresden's murdered Jews, and the other half is trees to symbolize the future. Inside the sanctuary building is a stark cubic space, inside which is set a square worship area, curtained off by an enormous, heavy drapery made of chainmail.

Our tourguide told us that the roof leaks after a few days of rain, which seems a bit rough in a building that cost several million euros and is only a few years old.

Detail of the glass by Clayton & Bell in the central lancet of the north transept.

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!).

beverleyminster.org.uk/visit-us-2/a-brief-history/

The redness in the sky to the west was now alarming, although I knew the reason, it felt like something supernatural.

Palgrave was just a few miles from Hepworth, and one I hoped to find open, and at just after four in the afternoon, but nearly dar, it was.

It was really very gloomy inside the church, even with the lights on, shots were difficult to take. I was on a mission to snap all I could as soon as possible before the light failed altogether.

Church features a splendid Norman font, modern glass, and the remains of a spiral staircase leading to a room over the south porch, the floor of which has long since vanished. The stairs now a broom cupboard.

Wonderful painted roof, I thought maybe done in the last century, but might be much, much older than that.

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

2015: I've visited Palgrave church several times since this account first appeared, most recently to take the photographs here. However, I hope I will be forgiven for retaining the original text from 2003, if only for its freshness, and perhaps also for what may be viewed at this distance as its charm.

2003: I arrived at Diss railway station in that gentle sunshine for which we’ll remember the Spring of 2003. Diss is in Norfolk; I had just crossed the border on my train journey from Ipswich, but I was bound for Diss's southern suburb, the Suffolk village of Palgrave. I cycled off from the station. I headed under the railway line, and over the infant Waveney. At this point, I entered Suffolk again, but there were no county signs in either direction. To be honest, it didn’t feel that different, apart from the way that the road surface improved, the schools came off special measures, the police force became efficient, and so on.

The countryside opened out into golden oilseed rape fields under a wide sky. It was good to be home. Soon, I was coming into Palgrave village, which seemed very pleasant indeed.

In medieval times, Palgrave was actually two parishes; the westerly one, Palgrave St John, has been subsumed into this one, and that church has completely disappeared. However, this pretty church is walled neatly into its graveyard at the heart of the village, which spreads neatly around it. As this was my first church of the day, I hoped it would be open; it always puts a crimp in a trip if the first one is a lock-out. I was not disappointed; St Peter is a friendly parish that knows that part of its Christian mission is to welcome strangers and pilgrims.

I stepped through the elaborate arch of the late 15th Century south doorway. An angel and a dragon contended in the spandrels, and there were characterful heads carved in the entrance arch. Inside, a very nice lady was busy with the flowers, and took time out to show me around. All the while, I was conscious that above my head the lovely painted roof of Palgrave. Marian monograms and symbols punctuate the whitewash; once, many small Suffolk churches must have been like this. Perhaps someone can explain to me why this one hasn’t faded like many of the others; I don’t think it has been redone.

The other famous treasure here is the font. It is unlike anything else in Suffolk. Clearly Norman, but much more elaborate than most, its most outstanding features are the faces in each corner. Again, this is a more intimate experience of the faces we normally see as corbels; but Palgrave has these too, stunning medieval characters along the lines of the arcades.

While we are on the subject of treasure, there were two modern features that were obviously loved by the locals. Firstly, Surinder Warboys has her studio nearby at Mellis, and here is one of her windows in the south aisle. The light flooded through it. The lady told me that everybody liked it, but that it was very hard to do a flower arrangement in front of it! I thought that they had done very well. Secondly, up in the chancel is the benefice millennium banner – people from all the parishes came together and produced this amazing patchwork cross. On the back, there are panels depicting the mission of the Church. Apparently, it is shared around the benefice churches for display for a few weeks at a time.

In the place where many churches now display the coat of arms, Palgrave has part of a suit of armour. I have seen an explanation in several books that it was from the parish armoury, which was once stored in the upper room of the porch, as at Mendlesham. This upper room has now gone, and the armoury has, as in most churches, been dispersed. However, I could find no evidence for this story, and it seems to be based on one of Arthur Mee’s fancies. I don't think it is even real armour; rather, it is similar to the mock plate armour behind the Bacon memorial at nearby Redgrave. It seems likely to me that this is also part of an old set of armour associated with a memorial of some kind, which the Victorians swept away. I don’t suppose we’ll ever know.

Back outside again, I took time out to photograph the famous grave of carter John Catchpole, with its relief of a wagon and horses – you can see it in the left-hand column. It seems a modern fashion to decorate headstones with symbols associated with the deceased; nice to know it was happening in the mid-18th century.

I turned, and looked back at the neat tower, the splendid porch with its dramatic niches. You can see that there was once an upper room, but it has now gone.

And it was time for me to be gone, too. Waving cheerily, I headed off in the direction of Thrandeston, all the road back to Ipswich open in front of me in the sunshine.

Simon Knott, August 2003, updated July 2015

www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/palgrave.htm

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.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary%27s_Church,_Fairford

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