I spent a lot of time doing this conversion just because I didn't know quite what needed to go where. I'm in the middle of the first roll right now, and things are going smoothly so far.

 

The camera takes 6cm x 10.5cm negatives, so I get 6 per roll right now. I may make a mask later so I can get that to a more manageable 6x9 format if I don't like the results.

 

Notice all the felt. I removed quite a few components and I'm worried it's gonna leak light like crazy. hopefully I've sealed it up.

A long planned visit to Leeds to record the church.

 

Leeds is just off the M20, and nearby to Leeds Castle, which means the roads are often busy. St Nicholas is on the main road leading up the down, but before the road gets narrow as it winds between the timber framed houses. Thankfully there is good parking next door, so we were able to get off the main road and out of the traffic, as unbeknown to us, there was a classical music show on that night, and most of Kent were going and in the process of arriving.

 

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One of the largest twelfth-century towers in Kent. The arch between tower and nave is of three very plain orders with no hint of the usual zigzag moulding of the period, and is so large that a meeting room has recently been built into it. The nave has three bay aisles and short chapels to north and south of the chancel. The outstanding rood screen was partially reconstructed in 1892, and runs the full width of nave and aisles - with the staircase doorways in the south aisle. That the chancel was rebuilt in the sixteenth century may be seen by the plain sedilia through which is cut one of two hagioscopes from chapels to chancel. The north chapel contains some good seventeenth- and eighteenth-century tablets and monuments. The stained glass shows some excellent examples of the work of Heaton, Butler and Bayne (south aisle) whilst there is an uncharacteristically poor example of the work of C.E. Kempe & Co. Ltd. in the north aisle. The church has recently been reordered to provide a spacious, light and manageable interior with excellent lighting and a welcoming atmosphere without damaging the character of the building.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Leeds

 

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LEEDS

IS the next parish southward from Hollingborne. Kilburne says, that one Ledian, a chief counsellor to king Ethelbert II. who began his reign in 978, raised a fortress here, which was called in Latin, from him, Ledani Castrum, and in process of time in English, LEEDS. This castle was afterwards demolished by the Danes, and continued in that situation till the time of the Norman conquest.

 

THE PRESENT CASTLE is situated at the southeast boundary of this parish, adjoining to Bromfield, which includes a part of the castle itself. It is situated in the midst of the park, an ample description of it the reader will find hereafter. The Lenham rivulet takes its course through the park, and having supplied the moat, in which the castle stands, and the several waters in the grounds there, and having received into it the several small streamlets from Hollingborne, and one from the opposite side, which comes from Leeds abbey, it flows on, and at a small distance from Caring street, in this parish, adjoining to Bersted, the principal estate of which name there belongs to the Drapers company, it turns a mill, and then goes on to Maidstone, where it joins the river Medway. The high road from Ashford and Lenham runs close by the outside of the pales of Leeds park, at the northern boundary of the parish next to Hollingborne, and thence goes on towards Bersted and Maidstone, from which the park is distant a little more than five miles; here the soil is a deep sand, but near the river it changes to a black moorish earth. Southward from the castle the ground rises, at about three quarters of a mile south-west from it is Leeds abbey, the front of which is a handsome well-looking building, of the time of queen Elizabeth. It is not unpleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, and is well watered by a small stream which rises just above it, and here turns a mill. It is well cloathed with wood at the back part of it, to which the ground still keeps rising; adjoining to the abbey grounds westward is Leeds-street, a long straggling row of houses, near a mile in length, having the church at the south end of it; here the soil becomes a red unfertile earth much mixed with slints, which continues till it joins to Langley and Otham.

 

LEEDS was part of those possessions given by William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, bishop of Baieux; accordingly it is thus entered, under the general title of that prelate's lands, in the survey of Domesday, taken in the year 1080.

 

Adelold holds of the bishop (of Baieux) Esiedes. It was taxed at three sulings. The arable land is twelve carucates. In demesne there are two carucates, and twenty-eight villeins, with eight borderers, having seven carucates. There is a church, and eighteen servants. There are two arpends of vineyard, and eight acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of twenty bogs, and five mills of the villeins. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth sixteen pounds, the like when be received it, now twenty pounds, and yet it pays twentyfive pounds. Earl Leuuin held it.

 

Of this manor the abbot of St. Augustine has half a suling, which is worth ten shillings, in exchange of the park of the bishop of Baieux. The earl of Ewe has four denns of this manor, which are worth twenty shillings.

 

The mention of the two arpends of vineyard in the above survey, is another instance of there having been such in this county in early times, some further observations of which the reader will find in the description of the parish of Chart Sutton, not far distant, and he will likewise observe, that at the above time the bishop of Baieux had a park here, which he acquired by exchange with the abbot of St. Augustine, who must therefore have had possessions here before that time.

 

On the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, about four years after the taking of the above-mentioned survey, this estate, among the rest of his possessions, became consiscated to the crown.

 

After which it was granted by king William to the eminent family of Crevequer, called in antient charters Creveceur, and in Latin, De Crepito Corde, who at first made Chatham in this county their seat, or caput baroniæ, i. e. the principal manor of their barony, for some time, until they removed hither, being before frequently written Domini de Cetham.

 

Robert, son of Hamon de Crevequer, who had probably a grant of Leeds from the Conqueror, appears to have held it of the king, as of his castle of Dover, in capite by barony, their barony, which consisted of five knight's sees, being stiled Baronia de Crevequer . (fn. 1) He erected the castle here, to which he asterwards removed the capital seat of his barony. This castle being environed with water, was frequently mentioned in antient writings by the name of Le Mote. In the north-west part of it he built a chapel, in which he placed three canons, which on his foundation of the priory of Leeds, in the 19th year of king Henry I. he removed thither.

 

His descendant, Hamon de Crevequer, lived in the reign of king Henry III. in the 19th year of which, he was joined with Walterand Teutonicus, or Teys, in the wardenship of the five ports, and the next year had possession granted to him of the lands of William de Albrincis or Averenches, whose daughter and heir Maud he had married. He died in the 47th year of king Henry III. possessed of the manor of Ledes, held of the king in capite, as belonging to his barony of Chatham; upon which Robert, his grandson, viz. son of Hamon his son, who died in his life-time, succeeded him as his heir, and in the 52d year of that reign, exchanged the manor of Ledes, with its appurtenances, together with a moiety of all his fees, with Roger de Leyburne, for the manors of Trottesclyve and Flete. He lest William de Leyburne, his son and heir, who in the 2d year of king Edward I. had possession granted to him of the manor of Ledes, as well as of the rest of his inheritance, of which Eleanor, countess of Winchester, his father's widow, was not endowed. (fn. 2)

 

His son, William de Leyborne, observing that the king looked on the strength of this fortress with a jealous eye, in the beginning of king Edward Ist.'s reign reinstated the crown in the possession of both the manor and castle; and the king having, in his 27th year married Margaret, sister of Philip, king of France, he settled them, being then of the clear yearly value of 21l. 6s. 8d. among other premises, as part of her dower. She survived the king her husband, who died in 1307, and in the 5th year of the next reign of king Edward II. by the king's recommendation, appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, a nobleman of great power and eminence, and much in that prince's favor, governor of this castle. (fn. 3) She died possessed of them in the 10th year of that reign; on which they came once more into the hands of the crown, and in the beginning of the next year the king appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, above-mentioned, governor of this castle, as well as of that of Bristol. In the 11th year of that reign, the king granted to him in see, this manor and castle, and the advowson of the priory of Ledes, in exchange for the manor of Addresley, in Shropshire. Being possessed of great possessions, especially in this county, he was usually stiled, the rich lord Badlesmere of Ledes. Being pussed up through ambition and his great wealth, he forgot his allegiance, and associated himself with the earl of Lancaster, and the discontented barons; which the king being well informed of, resolved, if possible, to gain possession of this strong fortress of Ledes: to effect which, under pretence of the queen's going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, she set forward for that city with a large train of attendants, and, with a secret intention of surprising this castle, sent her marshal with others of her servants, to prepare lodging for her and her suit in it. The lord Badlesmere's family, that is, his wife, son, and four daughters, were at that time in it, together with all his treasure, deposited there for safety, under the care of Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, who refused the queen's servants admittance, and on her coming up, peremptorily persisted in denying her or any one entrance, without letters from his lord. The queen, upon this, made some attempt to gain admittance by force, and a skirmish ensued, in which one or more of her attendants were slain, but being repulsed, she was obliged to relinquish her design, and to retire for a lodging elsewhere.

 

The king, chagrined at the failure of his scheme, and highly resenting the indignity offered to the queen, sent a force under the earls of Pembroke and Richmond, to besiege the castle; (fn. 4) and those within it finding no hopes of relief, for though the lord Badlesmere had induced the barons to endeavours to raise the siege, yet they never advanced nearer than Kingston, yielded it up. Upon which, the lady Badlesmere and her children were sent prisoners to the tower of London, Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, was hung up, and the king took possession of the castle, as well as of all the lord Badlesmere's goods and treasures in it. But by others, Thomas de Aldone is said to have been castellan at this time, and that the castle being taken, he, with the lord Badlesmere's wife, his only son Giles, his daughters, Sir Bartholomew de Burgershe, and his wife, were sent to the tower of London by the king's order; and that afterwards, he caused Walter Colepeper, bailiff of the Seven Hundreds, to be drawn in a pitiable manner at the tails of horses, and to be hung just by this castle; on which Thomas Colepeper, and others, who were with him in Tunbridge castle, hearing of the king's approach, sled to the barons.

 

After which the lord Badlesmere, being taken prisoner in Yorkshire, was sent to Canterbury, and there drawn and hanged at the gallows of Blean, and his head being cut off, was set on a pole on Burgate, in that city. Upon which the manor and castle of Leeds, became part of the royal revenue and the castle remained in a most ruinous condition till the year 1359, anno 34 Edward III. in which year that munisicent prelate, William of Wickham, was constituted by the king, chief warden and surveyor of his castle of Ledes, among others, (fn. 5) having power to appoint all workmen, to provide materials, and to order every thing with regard to building and repairs; and in those manors to hold leets and other courts of trespass and misdemeanors, and to enquire of the king's liberties and rights; and from his attention to the re-edisying and rebuilding the rest of them, there is little doubt but he restored this of Leeds to a very superior state to whatever it had been before, insomuch, that it induced king Richard to visit it several times, particularly in his 19th year, in which several of his instruments were dated at his castle of Ledes; and it appears to have been at that time accounted a fortress of some strength, for in the beginning of the next reign, that unfortunate prince was, by order of king Henry IV. sent prisoner to this castle; and that king himself resided here part of the month of April in his 2d year.

 

After which, archbishop Arundel, whose mind was by no means inferior to his high birth, procured a grant of this castle, where he frequently resided and kept his court, whilst the process against the lord Cobham was carrying forward, and some of his instruments were dated from his castle of Ledes in the year 1413, being the year in which he died. On his death it reverted again to the crown, and became accounted as one of the king's houses, many of the principal gentry of the county being instrusted with the custody of it:

 

In the 7th year of king Henry V. Joane of Navarre, the second queen of the late king Henry IV. being accused of conspiring against the life of the king, her son-in-law, was committed to Leeds-castle, there to remain during the king's pleasure; and being afterwards ordered into Sir John Pelham's custody, he removed her to the castle of Pevensey, in Sussex.

 

In the 18th year of king Henry VI. archbishop Chichele sat at the king's castle of Leeds, in the process against Eleanor, duchess of Gloucester, for forcery and witchcrast.

 

King Edward IV. in his 11th year, made Ralph St. Leger, esq. of Ulcomb, who had served the office of sheriff of this county three years before, constable of this castle for life, and annexed one of the parks as a farther emolument to that office. He died that year, and was buried with his ancestors at Ulcomb.

 

Sir Thomas Bourchier resided at Leeds castle in the 1st year of king Richard III. in which year he had commission, among others of the principal gentry of this county, to receive the oaths of allegiance to king Richard, of the inhabitants of the several parts of Kent therein mentioned; in which year, the king confirmed the liberties of Leeds priory, in recompence of twentyfour acres of land in Bromfield, granted for the enlargement of his park of Ledes.

 

In the 4th year of king Henry VIII. Henry Guildford, esq. had a grant of the office of constable of Leeds castle, and of the parkership of it; and in the 12th year of that reign, he had a grant of the custody of the manor of Leeds, with sundry perquisities, for forty years. He died in the 23d year of that reign, having re-edisied great part of the castle, at the king's no small charge.

 

But the fee simple of the manor and castle of Leeds remained in the hands of the crown, till Edward VI. in his 6th year, granted them, with their appurtenances in the parishes of Leeds, Langley, and Sutton, to Sir Anthony St. Leger, lord deputy of Ireland, to hold in capite by knight's service.

 

His son, Sir Warham St. Leger, succeeded him in this manor and castle, and was afterwards chief governor of Munster, in Ireland, in which province he was unfortunately slain in 1599, (fn. 6) but before his death he alienated this manor and castle to Sir Richard Smyth, fourth son of Thomas Smyth, esq. of Westenhanger, commonly called Customer Smyth.

 

Sir Richard Smyth resided at Leeds castle, of which he died possessed in 1628, and was buried in Ashford church, where there is a costly monument erected to his memory.

 

Sir John Smith, his only son, succeeded his father, and resided at Leeds castle, and dying s. p. in 1632, was buried in this church; upon which his two sisters, Alice, wife of Sir Timothy Thornhill, and Mary, of Maurice Barrow, esq. became his coheirs, and entitled their respective husbands to the property of this manor and castle, which they afterwards joined in the sale of to Sir T. Culpeper, of Hollingborne, who settled this estate, after his purchase of it, on his eldest son Cheney Culpeper, remainder to his two other sons, Francis and Thomas. Cheney Culpeper, esq. resided at Leedscastle for some time, till at length persuading his brother Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, (then his only surviving brother, Francis being dead. s. p.) to cut off the entail of this estate, he alienated it to his cousin Sir John Colepeper, lord Colepeper, only son of Sir John Culpeper, of Wigsell, in Sussex, whose younger brother Francis was of Greenway-court, in Hollingborne, and was father of Sir Thomas Culpeper, the purchaser of this estate as before-mentioned.

 

Sir John Colepeper represented this county in parliament in the 16th year of king Charles I. and being a person, who by his abilities had raised himself much in the king's favor, was made of his privy council, and chancellor of the exchequer, afterwards master of the rolls, and governor of the Isle of Wight. During the troubles of that monarch, he continued stedfast to the royal cause, and as a reward for his services, was in 1644 created lord Colepeper, baron of Thoresway, in Lincolnshire.

 

After the king's death he continued abroad with king Charles II. in his exile. During his absence, Leeds-castle seems to have been in the possession of the usurping powers, and to have been made use of by them, for the assembling of their committee men and sequestrators, and for a receptacle to imprison the ejected ministers, for in 1652, all his estates had been declared by parliament forfeited, for treason against the state. He died in 1660, a few weeks only after the restoration, and was buried at Hollingborne. He bore for his arms, Argent, a bend ingrailed gules, the antient bearing of this family; he left by his second wife Judith, daughter of Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, several children, of whom Thomas was his successor in title and estates, and died without male issue as will be mentioned hereafter, John succeeded his brother in the title, and died in 1719 s. p. and Cheney succeeded his brother in the title, and died at his residence of Hoston St. John, in 1725, s. p. likewise, by which the title became extinct; they all, with the rest of the branch of the family, lie buried at Hollingborne. Thomas, lord Colepeper, the eldest son, succeeded his father in title, and in this manor and castle, where he resided, and having married Margaret, daughter of Signior Jean de Hesse, of a noble family in Germany, he left by her a sole daughter and heir Catherine, who intitled her husband Thomas, lord Fairfax, of Cameron, in Scotland, to this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood.

 

The family of Fairfax appear by old evidences in the hands of the family to have been in possession of lands in Yorkshire near six hundred years ago. Richard Fairfax was possessed of lands in that county in the reign of king John, whose grandson William Fairfax in the time of king Henry III. purchased the manor of Walton, in the West Riding, where he and his successors resided for many generations afterwards, and from whom descended the Fairfax's, of Walton and Gilling, in Yorkshire; of whom, Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Gilling, was created viscount Fairfax, of the kingdom of Ireland, which title became extinct in 1772; and from a younger branch of them descended Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Denton, who lived in queen Elizabeth's reign, and changed the original field of his coat armour from argent to or, bearing for his arms, Or, 3 bars gemelles, gules, surmounted of a lion rampant, sable, crown'd, of the first, and was father of Sir. T. Fairfax, who was, for his services to James and Charles I. created in 1627 lord Fairfax, baron of Cameron, in Scotland. He died in 1640, having had ten sons and two daughters; of whom, Ferdinando was his successor; Henry was rector of Bolton Percy, and had two sons, Henry, who became lord Fairfax, and Bryan, who was ancestor of Bryan Fairfax, late commissioner of the customs; and colonel Charles Fairfax, of Menston, was the noted antiquary, whose issue settled there.

 

Ferdinando, the second lord Fairfax, in the civil wars of king Charles I. was made general of the parliamentary forces, and died at York in 1646. His son, Sir Thomas Fairfax, succeeded him as lord Fairfax, and in all his posts under the parliament, and was that famous general so noted in English history during the civil wars, being made commander in chief of all the parliamentary forces; but at last he grew so weary of the distress and confusion which his former actions had brought upon his unhappy country, that he heartily concurred in the restoration of king Charles II. After which he retired to his seat at Bilborough, in Yorkshire, where he died in 1671, and was buried there, leaving by Anne, daughter and coheir of Horatio, lord Vere of Tilbury, a truly loyal and virtuous lady, an only daughter; upon which the title devolved to Henry Fairfax, esq. of Oglesthorpe, in Yorkshire, his first cousin, eldest son of Henry, rector of Bolton Percy, the second son of Thomas, the first lord Fairfax. Henry, lord Fairfax, died in 1680, and was succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, fifth lord Fairfax, who was bred to a military life, and rose to the rank of a brigadier-general. He represented Yorkshire in several parliaments and marrying Catherine, daughter and heir of Thomas, lord Colepeper, possessed, in her right this manor and castle, and other large possessions, as before-mentioned. (fn. 7)

 

He died possessed of them in 1710, leaving three sons and four daughters, Thomas, who succeeded him as lord Fairfax; Henry Culpeper, who died unmarried, in 1734; and Robert, of whom hereafter. Of the daughters, Margaret married David Wilkins, D. D. and prebendary of Canterbury, and Francis married Denny Martin, esq. Thomas, lord Fairfax, the son, resided at Leeds-castle till his quitting England, to reside on his great possessions in Virginia, where he continued to the time of his death. On his departure from England, he gave up the possession of this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood, to his only surviving brother, the hon. Robert Fairfax, who afterwards resided at Leeds-castle, and on his brother's death unmarried, in 1782, succeeded to the title of lord Fairfax. He was at first bred to a military life, but becoming possessed of Leeds castle, he retired there, and afterwards twice served in parliament for the town of Maidstoue, as he did afterwards in two successive parliaments for this county. He was twice married; first to Marsha, daughter and coheir of Anthony Collins, esq. of Baddow, in Essex, by whom he had one son, who died an instant; and, secondly, to one of the daughters of Thomas Best, esq. of Chatham, who died s. p. in 1750. Lord Fairfax dying s. p. in 1793, this castle and manor, with the rest of his estates in this county, came to his nephew the Rev. Denny Martin, the eldest son of his sister Frances, by Denny Martin, esq. of Loose, who had before his uncle's death been created D. D. and had, with the royal licence, assumed the name and arms of Fairfax. Dr. Fairfax is the present possessor of this manor and castle, and resides here, being at present unmarried.

 

A court leet and court baron is held for the manor of Leeds, at which three borsholders are appointed. It is divided into six divisions, or yokes as they are called, viz. Church-yoke, Ferinland-yoke, Mill-yoke, Russerken-yoke, Stockwell-yoke, and Lees-yoke.

  

Here two layers of white mounting card is added to the baseboard to raise the level.

A first area of black road surface has been added using a thin card laid over the white and abutting the running rail. The area so treated here is embarrassingly narrow. Really a road vehicle should be able to stand there without troubling a passing tramcar. This is a result of my keeping the layout dimensions as manageable as possible. What a difference another inch or two would have made!

The entrance to the depot has been finished with cobbles.

Found this giant hunk of luxury German metal again, this time on the other side of town!

 

Indeed the Maybach is the real trend setter when it comes to gratuitously large luxury cars with a myriad of gratuitous luxury items. I remember attending an overview of the Maybach 62 a couple of years back at a car show and was actually very impressed with the number of gadgets and features the owner were lucky enough to have bestowed upon them.

 

Sitting inside it was like being in the first class cabin of a British Airways Boeing 747, crossed with the promenade deck of a luxury yacht! There are TV screens in the backs of the seat complete with DVD player and a hugely complicated radio/stereo system, there's wood veneer on all the surfaces, the seats you sank into with lovely thick head cushions (in fact I nearly fell asleep they were so comfy!), a Champagne bar with silver glasses and a fridge in the centre console for the bottle of Bubbly, as well as housing a mobile phone! The door panels were a maze of buttons for seat alignments and reclining options, including also heating, cooling, massaging, tumble drying, etc. In fact the seats recline so far back that they almost turn into beds!

 

And just so you're all tucked up warm at night, there's a blind that comes across the rear window!

 

Although I'm an avid Rolls Royce man, I will not hesitate to say that the Maybach delivers luxury in spades and contemporary Rollers don't hold a candle to it. But I will defend the Spirit of Ecstasy by saying that these cars are by no means 'Driver's Cars'. In order to truly appreciate the Maybach you have to be a passenger, otherwise it's just like driving any other car, but with the addition of it being very heavy, which makes pulling away from traffic lights a bit stunted and cornering a bit cautious because of how long these things are. A Rolls Royce on the other hand, especially the Ghost, is a more manageable car, something you can drive but at the same time still enjoy the luxuries of.

 

To be honest, I think what we're looking at here is not a large corporate luxury saloon to ferry business executives from conference to conference, what we're looking at is the next step in the evolution of the motorhome!

 

There's a fridge for your food, TV's in the headrests for entertainment, and the seats recline for a nice cosy bed to sleep in! It can be the luxury motorhome but at an economic size, and better performance too!

The Lincoln C Concept is packaged on Ford's global small car platform and brings luxury to a segment not normally associated with it. From a styling standpoint, the C wears cues started on the MKS and now carried through on both the MKT and the MKZ matched with what looks like the wackiest parts of Renault hatchback elements. Under the hood, the C gets a 1.6 liter four cylinder version of Ford's Ecoboost engine, making 180 HP and 180 lb-ft of torque, mated to a new dual clutch 6 speed transmssion, the whole ensemble gets up to 43 MPG.

 

The Lincoln C Concept is as much a concept car as it is a platform to carry a concept of the next generation of Ford's Sync system. Next-gen Sync is the latest version of a Buck Rogers future and plays out in this concept with a fully reconfigurable instrument panel spanning the dash, splayed across multiple screens and embodied by an avatar named "Eva." In the concept, you and Eva are digital best buddies and converse naturally, she acts as a creepy friendly little helper, pulling up addresses and mapping directions, making reservations, managing your social calendar, making suggestions on music playlists, and telling you that it can't do that as it would jeopardize the mission. Check out the video below and see what you think.

 

LINCOLN C CONCEPT: BIG LUXURY IN SMALL PACKAGE

 

DETROIT, Jan. 12, 2009 – Lincoln is breaking new ground with the Lincoln C concept, a new big idea for a small luxury car.

 

Designed with today's upscale, urban consumer in mind, the Lincoln C concept brings the presence and elegance of a large Lincoln to a smaller, more efficient C-sized car.

 

"Modern luxury buyers who live and work in large, urban areas want to play their part in helping the environment by moving to a smaller vehicle, but they still want to enjoy the luxuries of life," said Peter Horbury, executive director of Design, The Americas. "The Lincoln C offers sensible indulgence."

 

According to Horbury, younger contemporary consumers with slim iPods and pocket-sized cameras have already grown accustomed to the notion of premium quality in a small package.

 

"During the past decade, people have gotten used to the idea that you could pay more money for a smaller version of the real thing," said Horbury, citing the evolution of music players from tapes to CDs to MP3 players as an example.

 

"The same philosophy can be applied to the automobile," he added. "People will be happy to buy a smaller car that is better for the environment and more maneuverable in the city as long as the vehicle has all the attributes they want."

 

The concept's unique size, lightweight construction and use of sustainable materials make the Lincoln C stand out – along with its fuel economy.

 

Featuring a 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine and Ford's all-new dry, dual-clutch PowerShift six-speed transmission, the Lincoln C concept achieves 43 mpg on the highway, while offering up an impressive 180 horsepower and 180 ft.-lbs. of torque. PowerShift and outstanding driving dynamics make the Lincoln C concept fun for the driver.

 

Plus, a sophisticated human machine interface (HMI) and forward-thinking in-car connectivity technologies bring a whole new dimension to social networking, an important facet of modern customers' active lifestyles.

 

"Connectivity is as much a luxury for today's younger car buyer as are the traditional luxuries of wood, leather and a comfortable ride," said Horbury. "It means being able to continue your lifestyle seamlessly while you're on the move."

 

Sporty, Elegant Exterior Design

When designers developed the Lincoln C concept, their goal was to create a C-sized automobile with both presence and elegance. Their vision: a smaller, more fuel-efficient car that could maneuver easily in congested urban areas and compact parking spaces, yet still provide driver and passengers with levels of luxury and comfort usually reserved for larger sedans.

 

"Lincoln C is about efficiency without compromise," said Freeman Thomas, director of Ford's Strategic Concepts Group, who led the Lincoln C design team – David Woodhouse, Jeremy Leng, Andrei Markevich and Matt Edwards.

 

One of the most distinctive features of the Lincoln C is its unique silhouette. The visual mass of the car is very low to the road. A low-slung shoulder line with a wheel-at-each-corner stance supports a dynamic, slightly formal cabin. The aim was "go kart" visual stability combined with elegant lines and surfaces.

 

At first glance, the silhouette is immediately distinguished by a bold front profile, low shoulder, high beltline, wide C-pillar and compact bustle back.

 

The modern appearance of the Lincoln C reflects the timeless, iconic elements of the Lincoln DNA: sheer surfaces bounded by defined creases; a cantilevered roof extending from a strong C-pillar; a confident double-wing chrome grille; full-width tail lamps and rocker brightwork.

 

The front end of the concept is unmistakably Lincoln. The signature grille encapsulates LED headlamps that – like the taillights – are made with prismatic optical elements that create depth and visual sophistication. A sculpted groove in the top of the front hood – which derives its shape from the Lincoln badge – adds a finishing touch to the grille of the car.

 

A low shoulder line combines with a strong, high belt line to create a sense of safety and privacy inside and outside of the vehicle.

 

An aluminum cantrail adds elegance to the concept by extending the beltline to the rear glass and breaking up the otherwise tall C-pillar. Aluminum is also visible inside the door apertures.

 

The Lincoln C is absent of a B-pillar or center post. The center-opening doors – a classic Lincoln trait that rekindles memories of the 1961 Continental – allow effortless access to first- and second-row bench seats and give the vehicle a limousine-like quality.

 

Sleek side mirrors house both advanced rear-view camera and blind spot detection technologies. Slit-like LED turn signal indicators are integrated into the mirrors, allowing slim, efficient light.

 

LED taillamps span the full-width of the Lincoln C's rear, featuring turn signal indicators that fade toward the center of the car stretch from side to side.

 

An all-glass roof provides a modern, futuristic look. The expansive opening illuminates the cabin and enhances the sense of spaciousness inside the car.

 

Designers reinterpreted the presentation of the Lincoln badge throughout the exterior of the Lincoln C in a subtle way, giving it a contemporary "race track" theme. The Lincoln star sits proudly at the center of the front end, and the rear badge is slightly morphed to suit its placement above the taillights.

 

A more in-depth look at various details of the Lincoln C reveals that the badge motif is repeated in discreet ways in the design of the front lower intake mesh; the shape of the glass roof and structure; the implied illuminated keyholes on the door handles; the shape of the rear-view camera that sits on the back of the roof; the design of the wheels and the pattern in the tire treads.

 

The exterior of the Lincoln C is bathed in a light, exterior clear coat that hints of yellow metallic.

 

Modern, Timeless Interior Design

Inside, the Lincoln C concept welcomes driver and passengers to a space that looks more like the living room of a contemporary urban loft than the inside of a car.

 

Elements of classic Lincoln DNA permeate the cabin, including: a bright, clean, light color palette; authentic materials such as wood and metal; ambient lighting; jewel-like chrome details; bench seating; and the symmetrical design of the instrument panel, which thoughtfully serves both driver and passengers.

 

The interior's all-white color palette — from roof to seats to floor — is stunning. Subtle chrome accents on the seats, instrument panel, door panels and floor glimmer like fine jewelry. A light gray wood veneer – made from recycled wood – provides a striking contrast against the white leather on the instrument panel and door panels. The headliner is white Alcantara suede.

Because the Lincoln C concept is two inches wider than conventional C-class vehicles, it offers the roominess of a 1961 Continental at almost half the length. In modern terms, the vehicle has the overall length of a Ford Focus and the overall width of a Lincoln MKZ.

 

Designers took full advantage of the extra space in the interior of the Lincoln C by incorporating luxurious bench seating in the front and back rows. They are crafted from luxurious, chromium-free leather and filled with soy foam. The seats are thin and lightweight, but because they were designed to an ergonomic comfort curve, they are extremely comfortable.

 

There is a single headrest on the left and a double headrest on the right for passengers in both rows. All the headrests automatically retract without occupants for optimized driver vision. Convenience trays are housed compactly behind the front bench. In the closed position, they are flush with the leather and feature chrome release handles.

 

One of the most eye-catching elements of the seating is the laser-engraved floral etching on the passenger side seats and floor and on the back of the driver's seat. It is a light, airy pattern that gives the interior a refined, sophisticated look.

 

Because of their unique shape and the imperceptible way that they are mounted to the floor, the benches appear to be floating inside the cabin.

 

The steering wheel and instrument panel also seem to be suspended in air. All of these elements combine to enhance the concept's futuristic look, openness, and give the impression of dynamic space within the vehicle.

 

The steering wheel is hubless, lending the driver an unobstructed view of the instrument panel. The glossy white rim rotates around a stationary chrome ring with chrome shifter paddles on both sides. Simple toggles embedded into the left and right sides of the wheel control the vehicle's navigation system and menu selection.

 

The instrument panel is leather-wrapped with a chrome bezel. The light, gray wood veneer forms a symmetrical shape that surrounds the center-mounted touch screen and extends out to the right and left sides. Above the center screen is the Lincoln nomenclature and badge, finished tastefully in chrome.

 

The panoramic instrument panel is divided into three sections and designed with a mixture of digital and analog components. The left side contains Lincoln's signature HMI menus and driver-related information. The center portion displays a multi-functional screen displaying navigation, SYNC details and a life-like custom avatar to help make everyday journeys more seamless and other helpful, driver-oriented options.

 

Soft, white ambient lighting creates a relaxing atmosphere inside the cabin. The lighting is integrated into the C-pillar with a front face that displays the Lincoln badge.

 

The roof also features an integrated rearview mirror and a chrome-trimmed Web camera that rotates to the right or left, depending on whether the driver or the passenger is communicating via the Internet. A chrome air vent follows the shape of the glass roof.

 

"While the most luxurious and indulgent products often come in the smallest packages, unfortunately this hasn't been true of most small cars recently," said J Mays, Ford's group vice president of Design. "With the Lincoln C, we've remixed the traditional small car formula, taking the most engaging technologies and wrapping them in a design fit for today's urban luxury customer – without sacrificing style or substance."

 

# # #

 

LINCOLN C PAIRS ECOBOOST I-4 WITH DUAL-CLUTCH POWERSHIFT TRANSMISSION FOR 40-PLUS MPG

 

DETROIT, Jan. 12, 2009 – The Lincoln C concept showcases Ford Motor Company's newest combination of fuel-efficient powertrain innovations: a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine mated to a dual-clutch PowerShift transmission.

 

Featuring a 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine and Ford's all-new dry, dual-clutch PowerShift six-speed transmission, Lincoln C achieves a projected 43 mpg on the highway, while offering up an estimated 180 horsepower and 180 ft.-lbs. of torque. That's a nearly 25 percent fuel-economy improvement over Lincoln C's fuel-sipping C-car cousin, the Ford Focus, which currently delivers unsurpassed highway fuel economy in its segment when equipped with a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine.

 

"Lincoln C demonstrates that a higher degree of engine downsizing as the key to fuel economy improvement, paired with the right technologies, can deliver optimum horsepower, torque and drive-away capability," said Andreas Schamel, a chief engine engineer with Ford's Powertrain Research Laboratory. "Plus, when combined with the PowerShift six-speed transmission, the impossible equation becomes perfectly possible: lower fuel consumption, increased power and smoother, more fun-to-drive performance."

The 1.6-Liter EcoBoost Engine

The Lincoln C concept's 1.6-liter engine dimensions the common attributes of Ford's EcoBoost strategy, leveraging a combination of direct fuel injection technology and turbocharging to deliver significantly improved fuel economy and torque versus a larger displacement engine, while reducing emissions up to 15 percent.

 

The 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine features turbocharging and a central-injector direct injection system. Using a central injector instead of a side-injector system provides improved fuel-air mixture preparation, helping to further reduce fuel consumption and lower emissions. A central injector-based system also provides the most flexible foundation for future fuel-saving technologies.

 

"We know that a central injection system is a prerequisite for future global fuel economy upgrades such as stratified lean operation, homogeneous charge compression ignition or HCCI, and premium injection system technology if the market demands," said Martin Wirth, a Ford Direct Injection Gasoline Systems and Combustion technical specialist. "It's a value solution that gives us the ability to answer market trends quickly and provide broad market coverage, a key component of the EcoBoost strategy to deliver an affordable, fuel-efficient engine technology at high volumes."

 

When compared to a standard 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine, the 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine can deliver up to a 10-percent gain in fuel economy simply on the merits of the engine downsizing and boosting as well as common powertrain systems such as twin independent variable camshaft timing (TI-VCT).

 

TI-VCT varies the phase of the intake and exhaust cams independently for improved airflow through the engine, which delivers more torque while reducing average fuel consumption by up to 5 percent. "TI-VCT gives us better low-end torque and drive-away capabilities even under the stronger engine downsizing conditions," said Wirth.

 

The 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine also features other sophisticated fuel-saving powertrain technologies such as Assisted Direct Start, which contributes to an additional 3 percent gain in fuel efficiency.

 

Assisted Direct Start automatically shuts down the engine when the vehicle is at idle – at a stop light, for example – and automatically restarts the engine when the brake is released or gas pedal is engaged, improving fuel economy by saving idle fuel consumption.

 

When a vehicle comes to a stop, the electronic control unit immediately synchronizes the engine's systems for restart. Once the brake pedal is released or the gas pedal is engaged, a short starter engagement triggers the direct fuel injection system to fill the cylinders with fuel, initiate combustion and start the engine, producing the no-hesitation vehicle launch. An advanced battery management system converts braking energy into electricity and stores it to keep electrical systems operating while the engine is not running.

 

This advanced system provides consistent start behavior of the stopped or stopping engine that is smooth, quiet and seamless to the customer, requiring no changes in driver behavior.

 

Powershift Transmission

The Lincoln C concept also features Ford's dual-clutch PowerShift six-speed transmission, which delivers the efficiency of a manual with the ease of operation of a premium automatic transmission.

 

Compared to traditional automatic four-speed transmissions, PowerShift can help reduce fuel consumption by up to 9 percent depending on the application. PowerShift, for example, contributes to an estimated 8 percent uptick in Lincoln C's fuel efficiency when compared to the current Focus.

 

"The Lincoln C application of PowerShift helps illustrate the competitive advantage this transmission will offer to Ford in the global small car markets," said Jack Dorigo, North America Powertrain Planning manager. "It's a new-to-segment technology that's an improvement over today's automatic transmissions in terms of fuel economy while providing customers a more connected feel between the pedal and the vehicle's acceleration."

 

PowerShift provides the full comfort of an automatic with a more sophisticated driving dynamic, thanks to uninterrupted torque from the dual-clutch technology, which consists essentially of two manual transmissions working in parallel, each with its own independent clutch unit. One clutch carries the uneven gears – 1, 3 and 5 – while the other the even gears – 2, 4 and 6. Subsequent gear changes are coordinated between both clutches as they engage and disengage for a seamless delivery of torque to the wheels.

 

The lean curb weight of the Lincoln C enables a dry-clutch derivative of Ford's PowerShift transmission for added efficiency and durability. A dry clutch transmits power and torque through manual transmission clutch facings, while most automatic transmissions utilize wet clutch plates submerged in oil. As a result, the dry-clutch PowerShift transmission does not require an oil pump or torque converter, providing superior mechanical efficiency.

 

"A dry clutch is a real sweet spot for lighter vehicle applications like the Lincoln C concept," said Piero Aversa, manager, Ford Automatic Transmission Engineering. "It is perfectly matched to this vehicle and engine. PowerShift is more efficient, it saves weight, is more durable, more efficient and the unit is sealed for life, requiring no regular maintenance."

 

Lincoln C weighs in at 2,750 lbs. due to a number of light-weighting measures, including the transmission. PowerShift, unlike conventional automatic transmissions, does not need the pound-adding torque converter or planetary gears. In addition, the dry-clutch derivative eliminates the need for the weighty pumps, hydraulic fluids, cooling lines and external coolers that wet clutch transmissions require. As a result, the dry-clutch PowerShift transmission showcased on the Lincoln C is nearly 30 pounds lighter than the four-speed automatic transmission featured on today's Focus.

 

Differentiating PowerShift even further in terms of its customer appeal is its shift quality, launch feel and overall drive dynamic, which are all facilitated by an expert blend of Ford-exclusive electro-mechanical systems, software features, calibrations and controls. These unique driving features include:

 

• Neutral coast down – The clutches will disengage when the brakes are applied, improving coasting downshifts and clutch robustness as well as reducing parasitic losses for increased fuel economy.

 

• Precise clutch control in the form of a clutch slip to provide torsional damping of the engine vibration – This function improves noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) at low engine speeds and enables lower lugging limits for improved fuel economy.

 

• Low-speed driving or creep mode with integrated brake pressure – This function simulates the low-speed control drivers are accustomed to from an automatic transmission. T he amount of rolling torque in Drive and Reverse is precisely controlled, gradually building as brake pressure is released.

 

• Hill mode or launch assist – Prevents a vehicle from rolling back on a grade by maintaining brake pressure until the engine delivers enough torque to move the vehicle up the hill, providing improved driver confidence, comfort, safety and clutch robustness.

 

# # #

 

LINCOLN C SHOWCASES THE FUTURE OF DRIVER INFORMATION AND IN-CAR CONNECTIVITY SYSTEMS

 

DETROIT, Jan. 12, 2009 – Powered by a sophisticated human machine interface (HMI) and forward-thinking in-car connectivity technologies, the Lincoln C concept reinvents the automobile as a customer's companion in life on and off the road.

 

Lincoln C's car-to-companion transformation is the result of an innovative melding of Ford's new signature HMI as well as a next-generation in-car connectivity features anchored by Ford's award-winning SYNC technology and a revolutionary new system that helps intuitively connect occupants with the vehicle, their mobile devices and even the outside world.

 

All interaction and information is offered up in a simple, intelligent format that keeps a driver informed – but not distracted.

 

Simple, Sophisticated Control

The foundation of Lincoln C's connectivity capabilities is Ford's signature HMI.

 

This intelligent interface makes useful and relevant information and functionality immediately available to the driver in a way that is logical, easy to use and completely integrated.

"Before technologies such as SYNC were even crystallized, we knew we had to create a way for people to interface with their vehicle and its myriad technologies and features that was more manageable and limitless in terms of its ability to incorporate new innovations as they come," said Gary Braddock, Ford's group chief designer. "Our HMI had to create for the auto world what the mouse is to the PC world."

 

Unique to Ford's HMI strategy is the seemingly simplistic approach to how and where information is displayed. All car-related information, for example, appears to the left of the speedometer, including fuel economy, trip information and vehicle diagnostics. Passenger-related functions, such as audio, climate, navigation and phone, appear to the right of the instrument cluster.

 

"The beauty of this system is that the way information is offered encourages you to explore deeper and deeper and discover – without fear or intimidation – just how much the product can do for you," said Braddock.

 

The system's integrated platform offers tried-and-true methods of information control – steering wheel switches, touch screens and voice-activation – which can be alternatively used by the driver depending on the task, desire for control and preference.

 

The set of steering wheel controls, one on the left to access the car-related information and another on the right for the people-related functions, uses a stereotypical five-way mapping similar to that found on most cell phones and MP3 players – up, down, left, right and a center OK button – creating instant familiarity for the user.

 

Ford's signature HMI also aligns cluster and center stack display technologies and graphic treatments for visual harmony and synchronized information delivery. In the case of the Lincoln C concept, the touch-screen center stack has a four-corner layout that includes phone in the upper left, audio in the lower left, navigation in the upper right and climate in the lower right.

 

"Our vision for HMI is to make a customer's transition from home, to car, to the office and back again be experienced as seamless and uncompromised," said John Schneider, global chief engineer responsible for HMI, Driver Controls and Infotainment. "We want our vehicles to give you exactly what you need, when you need it and how need it. And, we want to do it in a way that adds emotion, personality and excitement for the customer."

 

In-Car Connectivity

Lincoln C features the latest in terms of SYNC-enabled technologies, providing hands-free, voice-activated cell phone, text messaging, and digital media player integration as well as security and personalized convenience features such as 911 Assist and Vehicle Health Reports.

 

In addition, the in-vehicle communications system is expanded to include a proprietary plug-and-play network architecture that can use a Bluetooth-enabled phone to access Internet-based services such as traffic reports, turn-by-turn navigation, a 14-million-plus business directory listing, weather forecasts, the latest sports scores and more. Customers have the option to personalize this information.

 

This latest evolution of SYNC with the Traffic, Directions and Information feature is set to launch next year on nearly all 2010 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles.

 

"SYNC puts Ford in a sweet spot in terms of vehicle connectivity because it allows us to take the cockpit of a vehicle and open it up to our customers' personal devices, especially the mobile phone – which is considered by many as an extension of oneself," said Joseph Berry, a member of Ford's newly formed Consumer Service Organization and a lead architect of the company's emerging off-board services system.

 

In-Car Companion

Catapulting Lincoln C's in-car connectivity to an unprecedented level is the system that uses a life-like avatar to connect the driver to the vehicle and all the functionality offered through key systems such as Ford's signature HMI and SYNC.

 

This avatar – nicknamed "EVA" – lives on the Lincoln C instrument panel and can take on a personalized visual image and personality. It responds to conversational speech, eliminating the need for menus or learned voice commands. Plus, EVA expertly manages and initiates all vehicle and SYNC-enabled functions and information to the driver. The avatar can even sense a driver's mood through voice and drive style and respond appropriately with, for example, a favorite song suggestion from a SYNC-connected MP3 music library.

 

This unique system on the Lincoln C concept also offers in-car Internet access, allowing the avatar to surf the Web for the driver and read the morning's online news headlines or latest restaurant reviews, check e-mail, or access a friend's Facebook page. The system will even advise the driver when and where to refuel based on fuel level, driving habits, gas station locations and current prices.

 

"We've taken the notion of effective vehicle HMI and the user's experience to the next level," said Braddock. "Our system creates a method of organization and function in the vehicle that is intuitive, familiar and keeps the driver focused on driving, along with creating a personality within the vehicle that evokes emotion, a personal connection and a sense of confident control."

  

For the video; youtu.be/IIcrPA7d1rI

A couple of guys in my dorm wanted official school notes sent to them for bogus classes at the school one evening. The purpose of the slips was so they could have sex with another inmate who also resided in the same dorm, actually only a few bunks from me. These two guys knew Big Al my brother from the street, actually both were old speed freak buddies with Al and we were therefore friendly towards each other. Having acquaintances in the joint is extremely potent and some potentially aggressive situations could be defused just by the mere fact a certain inmate had someone watching his back. Al Harington and Bob McKing were their names, they told me the passes would allow them to have some much needed privacy for sexual purposes and suggested, “why don’t you come along, it’s really great!” I took a pass, still hung up in a homophobic way. I wrote them their pass slips nonetheless for each night they requested. I took a good look at their date when they returned after their encounters. I don’t recall his name, he just looked like another guy to me, young, long blonde hair, blue eyes, nice ass. I remember him giving me the eye when he sat down on his bunk, I turned away feigning disgust my own homophobia preventing me from even thinking about sex with anything but a woman or my hand.

 

Other guys were openly bisexual, the toughest guy on the floor, Cliff he had a sweet kid, Cliff looked like he might chew your head off if you crossed him he lived to lift weights. He slept next door in the middle dorm along with this black dude named of Sonny. Sonny had an Afro and told everyone he was a tranny out on the street. He worked the strip around Yonge and Dundas, he did have a sort of shimmy as he walked about. Sonny never bothered anyone, never pushed his ideas on people and he was left alone. The outwardly gay people were quickly segregated and put into solitary or their assholes would have been ripped out in no time. It was a very masculine experience for the most part, even if many folk were wearing masks, in those days being in the closet was de rigour and few ventured out.

 

My card playing buddy Mike Cameo, he would often say in his French accent, “Chuck, we are buddies right? Well you should know Chuck, I go both ways, you know, girls and boys.” With this Cameo would flex his ample arms that he effectively enhanced by wearing his prison issue shirt sleeves rolled up past the elbows. He would look you in the eye to check out your reaction, then push his mop of golden hair that reached way down his back off of his forehead and continue to play the game. Cameo was from way up north, somewhere like Kapuskasing, where he got his bisexuality up there mystifies me, but that’s so much like stereotyping the way I had about Rouyn Noranda where I discovered that Toronto was not the centre of the Universe.

 

Mike and I became good friends, he never made any passes at me and we stayed friends after our sentences were over for a while until he insulted our friend Pee Wee at a house card game Julia and I were having at 2 Mahoney Ave one Sunday evening. I chose sides and I chose Pee Wee as Cameo was just pushing his way into friendships that had existed before the start of time, his youthfulness would have been no match for my longtime friends experience in fights, knives might have flashed, they would have torn the house apart. Mike left the game drove off pretty mad in a cherry red Datsun 280Z never to be heard from again.

 

He, like many other inmates was a bomb ready to explode. Twenty years later I ran into him at a highway diner on the 115/35 and gave him the dodge. He looked the same, hair hanging down his back like a lion, aggressively engaged in a conversation with another person not unlike himself, I thought perhaps they were club members. I was working a big gig and never mixed work with friends.

 

Sometime close to the three month date of my little ‘stretch’ the parole board called me in for a meeting to discuss the possibility of early parole being granted to me. A bright looking, intelligent University graduate, not much older than myself asked me a load of sensible questions, I think he had a ‘remorse’ detector hidden in his briefcase. One week later this carrot that had been dangled in front of my face was unceremoniously put to rest in the form of a short note from the Parole Board, ‘parole denied at this time’. For some reason the news hit me like a ton of bricks, you had to hold up though, crying was the natural response but there was no way you would cry, that would be a sign of weakness and loss of control, hold it in, take a deep breath, hold it in, I went back to the dorm, wrote home, gave them the news.

 

There was a program available at the time for prisoners called the Temporary Absence Program, T.A.P. for short. I applied for the program, filled out a long complicated application form. The purpose of my absence from prison was to attend classes at the University of Windsor which had accepted me in to the second year studies program, again. Copies of my marks were sent to both the school and the T.A.P. committee. Funding was arranged with the Ontario Student Awards Program. Accommodations were to be provided by the Windsor jail from which I was to be released from each morning to attend classes and return to in the evening after classes until the sentence had been served.

 

Mr. Ewing was both helpful and encouraging in this endeavor. The prison warden called me down to his office and gave me the good news, I had been accepted for the program and they wanted to schedule my transfer to the Windsor facility. Who was I kidding? If anyone was being fooled it was myself. Without a lot of emotion I made the decision to turn down the opportunity. Some of the guys thought I was nuts, crazy not to get out of the O.R., they didn’t know I was fairly comfortable in the joint, my status in the hierarchy was well established, I was after all a millionaire, had lots of new friends, found the system to my liking, I had a routine that suited me.

 

In truth I was quite anxious about my abilities to remain ‘clean and sober’ if released to a softer setting. I was also anxious about the ‘social’ necessities that would present themselves if I returned to Windsor where I was disgraced as a ‘drug dealer’. Perhaps if I had enrolled at a different school my decision may have differed, in retrospect I should have applied to a different school in a new town. If there was a field of study that I felt devoted to this would also have made a difference, as it was I was just ‘playing the system’, taking advantage of it, not being honest with myself and I had decided that this honesty with myself was important.

 

A dorm guard took offence to my gambling ways, I suppose an inmate whined about losing their canteen. This particular screw took a run at me, put me in a situation I couldn’t back down from. He asked me do a chore some new kid or an inmate with little status in the dorm was usually assigned to do, carry the laundry or garbage out, there was a pecking order. Screws were for the most part, factory workers who had their grade twelve education, not extremely bright for the most part. At times the term red neck could be used to describe them, hick was often bandied about. I refused to carry out the order and this annoyed the guard who had dark hair piercing eyes and a pencil moustache. To make matters worse I told him to go fuck himself when he repeated his request.

 

That got him going and he put me on charges which meant you were sent to solitary confinement for a while to cool your jets. I’m quite glad I didn’t take a punch at him as I have my temper and in different circumstances I would have let him have it. In solitary the inmate is brought to his senses quickly. The lack of creature comforts, the likes of books, writing materials, clean clothes, being served cold meals does not take long to affect ones behavior, the hole was not where I wanted to be. The inmate committee sent a representative in to see me and it was necessary for me to apologize to the screw in question after I had been in the hole for three days. This charge was a very minor one in the scope of prison offences and had little bearing on my future, although I did lose a day of my ‘good time’ due to it. The screw and self made a deal to stay out of each others hair.

 

At this time Big Al my brother Alex was driving by the gaol while on a gig with the Able the Movers crew from our neighbourhood of Mt.Dennis. Somehow he got in to see me, he was half drunk. His visit took place during non visiting hours using the excuse he had to tell me about a family death. I don’t recall which relation had passed, it could have been our Uncle Jim or even my old grandmother. The shame I had prevented me from keeping much contact with the familly relations and those relationships have never healed over to these days. Big Al, he was a case, he put some cash in my property, not much maybe twenty dollars, guess he was feeling guilty for selling my things. I gave him shit for giving my ‘treasures’ away, the wooden statue, the record player, the records, clothes, almost everything.

 

Another opportunity presented itself. ‘Camp’ was an expression some of the more seasoned veterans of the ‘joint’ would often mention. Actually camp was a small community of prisoners that were wards of the Ontario system who by good behavior lived together at a place called Camp Dufferin which was a little North of Guelph in an area called Mono Mills. I was grinding it out at Guelph, six months at that place wore on you, even with the cushy job at the school, my connections with various outlaws, the paisans I knew from the old St Clair days Pinky and Vinnie, the bikers from the street, many other dealers, the card playing friends, Cameo, McCann.

 

Cinnors and I were even playing tennis at lunch time, we had private access to the tennis court and would play in mid-afternoon when everyone else was grinding it out. Still I was bored, eventually the warden saw fit to give me the OK to go to camp. It almost never happened as on the day of my transfer the English trained warden called me without any notice down to the administration building. He told me to go and get my locker box which at the time was filled with 154 packs of cigarettes and lots of other goodies. While I was standing at the entrance to his office he walked by and surprised me by lifting the box, fortunately he never asked me to open it or I would have been going to solitary instead of Camp Dufferin. Gambling, though frowned on was a common occurrence.

 

Camp was like heaven in comparison to the ‘joint’. Cameo and little Ronnie McCann my card playing partners from the dorm were already at Camp Dufferin when I arrived. It must have been in late November as the first snow hadn’t yet fallen. The facility consisted of two modern barracks like dorms with a central area that the guards worked from, a kitchen and a store room. Outside of these prefabricated buildings there were two large barn size storage sheds where the camp vans would be parked along with some sports equipment, as well as the tractor. That tractor was used for hauling inmates on a flat bed trailer into the woods for their shift cutting firewood which the camp sold to other agencies. Each dorm housed about twenty inmates who through their good behavior had earned the right to be there.

 

On arrival at the camp the warden Mr Adamson, another Anglo Saxon import gave a stern chat to each new inmate, laying down the law about respecting the staff and each other. He pointed out the importance of not running away. There were no locks on the dorm doors, no barbed wire fences surrounding the large hundred acre property. The modern buildings were set in a few hundred yards from the main road. A prisoner with leaving in his mind had only to walk out the doors to freedom. Some did, every now and then, they were quickly found, hitchhiking nearby, or hiding in the forest where after a day of being cold or having the bugs dine on them they came back and were quickly segregated then returned to the O.R in Guelph with an additional six months tacked on to their sentences then a trip to the bad place, maximum security Millbrook.

 

It truly was wonderful to have a little breathing space. The dorms were modern, each inmate had his own full length locker, a bed and shelving for things as well as a partition between each bunk that provided the necessary privacy if one wanted to do private things. The floors were shiny vinyl tiles and the cleanliness resembled that of a hospital ward without the antiseptic smell. In each dorm there were three long tables where inmates could play cards, chess, checkers, or just chew the fat with the other guys. Between the two dorms there was a community TV room with easy chairs where we could watch TV in the evenings and all day long on weekends if we wished. Harold Ballard had done some prison time around then for embezzling the shareholders at Maple leaf Gardens, I sent him a letter at Maple Leaf Gardens and he quickly responded with a large Leafs calendar to hang in the TV room and a short note.

 

A fourty seat kitchen served up a much more enjoyable menu than Guelph had done. There were fewer inmates which made this possible. The chef was not a guard but a civilian employee with a big red nose. He was of Dutch decent, he had a good sense of humour his accent brought some relief to the ears. I remember he’d come into the dining area as we were eating enthusiastically and with a genuine grin say, “how’s the food?”

 

On Wednesday nights folk from the area would come in as volunteers and play euchre with us in the comfortable cafeteria that was more like a restaurant. There were newer round tables to sit at with a reasonable space between them. A shiny stainless steel serving area was spotlessly cleaned at all times. This mingling was part of our transition back into society, the volunteers would bring little cakes and cookies for us to munch on, it was all very formal, in a way, like being at home.

 

There were AA meetings every Tuesday night for those who thought they needed it, some inmates were obliged to attend as part of their sentence. Every Saturday night we watched a movie on a screen just like we did while in schools. I was the projectionist and McCann was my assistant. The films were B grade a couple of years old, westerns were mostly shown. This was before the advent of Video Rentals. For recreation we played many games, more so when winter set in. We cleared a big area besides the building, the size of a hockey rink, pushed the snow to the sides thereby forming banks and we were given brooms and a 6 inch diameter air filled ball that was easily propelled by hitting it with the broom. Teams consisted of six to a side. All the participants worked up a hell of a sweat chasing the ball around, scoring goals, smashing each other over the head with the brooms, it got quite vicious at times, games would start at 10 AM on Saturdays and Sundays, we’d break for lunch of fries and grilled cheeses and chocolate milk then we’d go out and kill each other some more.

 

I remember having these bloody warts on my feet, picked them up in Guelph. They are called planters warts. I remember my feet being very sore, nothing the doctors gave me would get rid of them, they were spreading. At camp I wore these cheap black running shoes while playing broom ball, never put socks on, just these cheap runners, within a week the warts were all gone! Where I don’t know I guess they didn’t like the rubber chemicals of the running shoes. Once when I was a young boy, maybe nine or ten, I had a couple of warts on my fingers and my dad gave me two pennies, and said, "those warts will be gone in a week” and they were, it was an Irish folk thing giving a penny on a Sunday to take away a wart.

 

Cameo, McCan and I worked on the wood cutting crew when we first arrived at the camp within a week of each other. Those two guys were almost my equal at Rummy 500, but I always managed to win. Plenty of other guys still wanted to lose and I took their bets and put them on the payment plan as well. Inmates would get visits and people would slip them dollars which they used to pay me with, this was better than canteen dollars as there was a small black market in this facility as there are in others. Twice weekly visits took place in the meeting room the same one they used for church service and also for AA meetings. It was quite casual, one time Boomer and Herbie dropped in and they left a ‘taste’ which they ‘dropped’ where I specified either in the washroom or on the grounds as I pretty much had the run of the place. By this time Rochdale had closed down and they were sharing a house in the Spadina Road and Eglinton area.

 

On the wood cutting crew Cameo and I were quickly made the deputies. We were in charge of the crew much like the biker guys Everest and Jingles were at Guelph on the S.W.P. In the forest that adjoined the property we would ride out on the back of a flatbed farm trailer pulled by a guard driving a blue Ford tractor. Another guard trailed behind looking for runaways and stragglers. A Canadian version of a chain gang. Those guards they had it made compared to the work days of the guards back at Guelph. Half of them were retired military guys who already had a nice pension but were to young to retire so they took this gig. They lived in the area which being fifty or sixty miles from T.O. meant house prices were much cheaper. If there was a downside to their gig it had to be the three shifts as we required supervision 24/7. These guards were easier to get close to, a couple of them like this one guy Sinclair you’d probably go have a beer with him at a Tavern. Sinclair used to take a couple of us to the dump on Saturdays in the Camp van and this was a real treat getting out into society, he kept a good eye on us but he never made you feel bad for your crimes. Never talked down to you.

 

Out in the woods there was a little shack big enough for the dozen or so inmates and guards to warm up in like the old Pearen Park ice rink shack. We used to have a tea at mid morning and mid afternoons in the shack. Cameo and I would manage the shack, start the fire going in the woodstove, get it real toasty, put a big grey steel pot of tea on the stove with sugar and milk that had already been added back in the kitchen and serve up the tea and cookies at break time. The guards they pretty much just kept their mouths quiet, we knew what we had to do. Cameo was an expert at the operation of a chainsaw, four and eight foot logs would be dropped off at the shack. That was the other guards job, along with his crew to cut the felled trees in the forest into manageable lengths. They used the tractor to haul the logs over to Mike and self. Other inmates never got near a chainsaw just Cameo and he taught me how to run one, a skill I still use from time to time.

 

My job was to split and stack the 16” inch pieces Mike was cutting up. There were no big trees so to speak, most of the wood was a foot in diameter, three whacks with the splitting maul and it was ready to be hauled away. We worked up a good sweat every shift but had plenty of time to horse around. I loved being in the thick forest when it snowed, the evergreens branches getting covered in thick heavy snow which we would pull when the flatbed drove by and cover the other inmates in white, nobody got pissed, it was a pretty mellow atmosphere.

 

Time was moving along pretty well, Santa Day came and went. The euchre people came and sung some Carols that day, gave us each a little goodie bag with a deck of cards and a chocolate bar inside, the chef served a nice turkey dinner with the trimmings, the guards lightened up a little, let you stay up an hour later, we played sports all day long there wasn’t much time left in the day to get mushy and sentimental about ones circumstances.

 

Around this time we started to go to the Mansfield Arena to play hockey on Wednesday mornings for an hour and a half. Two teams were picked, one from each dorm. Each side was competitive, for some odd reason I was the best player on the teams, and we all know my skating was never a strongpoint. I guess it was my turn to shine, I could in all honesty skate through the entire team and score at will. This pissed all the players on the other team off and they would chop at my head with their sticks almost beheading me.

 

One time I checked a rival player, he was a young healthy kid, a good hockey player and he took offence at the clean check, chased me all over the ice wanting to engage me in a fight. I didn't need the hassle from the guards for this and just kept skating around. Both benches poured on the ice it was definitely ‘mob mentality’. Our goalie, Vinnie from St Clair was hanging on to their goalie. Other players had paired off it was a little nutty. Had I dropped the gloves all hell could have broken out. I survived with no detentions or time in the hole, Mr. Adamson the camp commandant who was in the stands later took me aside and complimented me on my good judgment. You have to remember that a lot of these guys didn’t know any other way to solve problems, they’d gone through life fighting. I’d been lucky, had a bit of a taste of civility at catholic schools Our Lady of Victory and St Michaels.

 

There were inter prison games, the first one was with a team from the Brampton Institution at our arena. That team had a ‘ringer’ like myself and it was a real battle to out skate and out score the other player who was a very slick skater. I played on sheer adrenaline, everyone else pretty well just watched us, I recall it was a close game with no real problems.

 

The following week we went by bus to Guelph to play the team from the Guelph Reformatory. The game took place around noon at the big Guelph arena where the Junior As played. Each team filed onto the ice. I knew many of the Guelph players from time spent there hanging around with the staff from the phys-ed department which was staffed mostly by dealers. Zorky was on the team as was Bob Levin, big Toronto dealers. In a short time, less than five minutes I had turned my Whirling Dervish act into three quick goals, we were embarrassing the larger, better equipped Home team. I was nuts, insane, I flew from pass to puck, knocked people over, intimidated everyone, scored goals, we were hammering them. Sweat poured from my helmet in the form of steam. Then from nowhere I was blindsided, the Warden of our camp, Mr. Adamson sent word down to the coach to send me to the dressing room for being overly aggressive. The game then ended in a tie, I don’t think I have played a competitive game of hockey since.

 

I wanted to try something new, Rose got the new body with more articulation in the bust. I hope the result is not tacky >o<. I also cut her hair, it's more manageable and modern like this, I think ?

 

Lingerie and shoes : Momoko

My favorite chair that I put everywhere : Ebay

sorry i haven't uploaded anything for more than a month!

i can't promise something will change and i'll start uploading more, but i've been doing my best at taking photos regularly.

 

overall, everything is okay.

school is manageable, but still stressful sometimes.

this week i photographed an advertisement for a big company, so that's good.

my boyfriend finally repaired his car that you can see in the photo above, so i decided to do a little shoot before it goes to sleep in the garage until spring.

 

i hope all is well for you, too :)

   

my website!

With the recession forcing more and more Americans to burden their credit cards with debt, it's time to ask whether the increasing accrued costs are manageable, or are detrimentally impacting lives.

 

View full article at FST US

 

Graphic by Tiffany Farrant

Railways of Great Britain

This start of another one of my collections, although I have posted a few in the past.

I have taken quite a few images over the years of Old Steam, Diesel and Electric engines and after sorting out probably 3,000 plus, I’ve now got it down to a more manageable number.

I’m starting with English Engines. Some of these images could be 25 years old. Many were transferred from negatives via a scanner so the quality will not be as good I would like. I have put them all through Photoshop to get rid of the most glaring issues

Apologies to those enthusiasts if I don’t get the right engine with the right Railway, they were taken a long time ago, some of them have moved on and my memory is not as good as it was.

Happy viewing.

 

Another cold wet Wintry day, strolling around The Glen shopping centre, debating what to have for lunch. I realise it is Saturday, and Shira Nui is open for lunch! All it takes is a quick phone call to confirm and book.

 

Because this is a sushi restaurant, our choices are easy. A Sushi Lunch Special and a Sashimi Lunch Special, oh and send us a plate of wagyu beef yakiniku. Yum!

 

The chawan mushi arrived first, and it was the silkiest, smoothest savoury egg custard I have ever had, again :) The chicken broth on top was rich and very tasty. So tasty, yet so hot, I burnt my tongue.

 

This was followed by 2 cold starters, a chewy crunchy konnyaku with a sesame sauce, and a peppery spaghetti salad with a light mayonnaise.

 

Then comes the beef! There is no better way to serve marbled wagyu beef that to sear it quickly, yakiniku style, to give it a nice burnt colour and melt some of the fat. Of course, the lesser cuts can be made into burgers, etc, but sometimes, we need a bit of luxury.

 

The fish is good as always, and today's sashimi included hiramasa kingfish, wild barramundi, tuna and salmon. The kingfish with shisho was good, but surprisingly Suzuran's kingfish sahimi seemed fresher with a distinct crunch to the flesh. The barammundi was good too, but the tuna, was soft, smooth and buttery. Very good! As always, the offcuts from the fish were tossed into the salad, dressed with sesame oil and vinegar.

 

On the sushi platter we had cod, according to Nishikura-san, salmon, tuna, wild barammundi, hiramasa kingfish, prawn, tamago (egg omelet). All very good.

 

Even on such a Wintry day, Shira Nui was full. For both sessions. Both the tables, and the counter were full. It is obvious that bookings, even on the day, are essential.

 

Shira Nui 不知火

247 Springvale Rd

Glen Waverley VIC 3150

(03) 9886-7755

Lunch Tue-Sat noon-2pm. Dinner Tue-Sun 6pm-10pm

 

Reviews:

- Shira Nui, by Dani Valent, Epicure, The Age May 22, 2007 Sit at the sushi counter. Order the omakase

- Shira Nui By Jane Faulkner, Epicure, The Age October 10, 2005 Shira Nui is worth crossing town for.

- Fusion without power By John Lethlean, The Age August 5 2003 At Shira Nui, only certain types of sushi will be delivered to the table, so fanatical is the chef. The full range is available only to a manageable group of sushi-bar diners. He makes; you eat immediately; then he makes again. This is the omakase menu, a sushi-only degustation that is the purest, most pleasurable dining experience I have had all year.

- Shira Nui ... again - TummyRumbles by mellie on May 17th, 2009

- Shira Nui - Miettas

Age Good Food Guide 2010 Score: 14.5/20

Age Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 14.5/20

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide "A nondescript Glen Waverley shopping strip is not the obvious place to seek boundarypushing Japanese food, but Shira Nui's camouflage partially explains its 'hidden treasure' status"

Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 15/20

Age Good Food Guide 2006 score 15/20

Age Good Food Guide 2005 score 14/20

AGFG 2004, score 14/20

- Shiranui - UrbanSpoon

- Shira Nui - Your Restaurants

Parola Armour Museum. Finland.

Музей бронетанковых войск в Парола, Финляндия

  

The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks were a series of Soviet heavy tanks, named after the Soviet defense commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov. The KV series were known for their extremely heavy armour protection during the early war, especially during the first year of the invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II. Almost completely immune to the 3.7 cm KwK 36 and howitzer-like, short barreled 7.5 cm KwK 37 guns mounted respectively on the early Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks, until better guns were developed often the only way to defeat a KV was a point-blank shot to the rear. Prior to the invasion, about 500 of the over 22,000 tanks in Soviet service at the time were of the KV-1 type. When the KV-1 appeared, it outclassed the French Char B1, the only heavy tank used in the world at that time. Yet in the end it turned out that there was little sense in producing the expensive KV tanks, as the T-34 medium tank performed better (or at least equally) in all practical respects. Later in the war, the KV series became a base of development of the Iosif Stalin tanks.

Development

After disappointing results with the multi-turreted T-35 heavy tank, Soviet tank designers started drawing up replacements. The T-35 conformed to the 1920s notion of a 'breakthrough tank' with very heavy firepower and armour protection, but suffered from poor mobility. The Spanish Civil War demonstrated the need for much heavier armor on tanks, and was the main influence on Soviet tank design just prior to World War II.

 

Several competing designs were offered, and even more were drawn up prior to reaching prototype stage. All had heavy armour, torsion-bar suspension, wide tracks, and were of welded and cast construction. One of the main competing designs was the SMK, which in its final form had two turrets, mounting the same combination of 76.2 mm and 45 mm weapons. The designers of the SMK independently drew up a single-turreted variant and this received approval at the highest level. Two of these, named after the People's Defence Commissioner were ordered alongside a single SMK. The smaller hull and single turret enabled the designer to install heavy frontal and turret armour while keeping the weight within manageable limits.

   

When the Soviets entered the Winter War, the SMK, KV and a third design, the T-100, were sent to be tested in combat conditions. The KV outperformed the SMK and T-100 designs. The KV's heavy armour proved highly resistant to Finnish anti-tank weapons, making it more difficult to stop. In 1939 production of 50 KV was ordered. During the War, the Soviets found it difficult to deal with the concrete bunkers used by the Finns and a request was made for a tank with a large howitzer. One of the rush projects to meet the request put the howitzer in a new turret on one of the KV tanks.

 

Initially known as Little Turret and Big turret, the 76-mm-armed tank was designated as the KV-1 Heavy Tank and the 152 mm howitzer one as KV-2 Heavy Artillery Tank.

 

The KV's strengths included armor that was impenetrable by any tank-mounted weapon then in service except at point-blank range, that it had good firepower, and that it had good traction on soft ground. It also had serious flaws: it was difficult to steer, the transmission (which was a twenty year old Caterpillar design) was unreliable (and was known to have to be shifted with a hammer),[6] and the ergonomics were poor, with limited visibility and no turret basket. Furthermore, at 45 tons, it was simply too heavy. This severely impacted the maneuverability, not so much in terms of maximum speed, as through inability to cross many bridges medium tanks could cross. The KV outweighed most other tanks of the era, being about twice as heavy as the heaviest contemporary German tank. KVs were never equipped with a snorkeling system to ford shallow rivers, so they had to be left to travel to an adequate bridge. As applique armor and other improvements were added without increasing engine power, later models were less capable of keeping up to speed with medium tanks and had more trouble with difficult terrain. In addition, its firepower was no better than the T-34. It took field reports from senior commanders "and certified heroes", who could be honest without risk of punishment, to reveal "what a dog the KV-1.

By 1942, when the Germans were fielding large numbers of long-barrelled 50 mm and 75 mm guns, the KV's armor was no longer invincible. The KV-1's side, top, and turret armor could also be penetrated by the high-velocity MK 101 carried by German ground attack aircraft such as the Henschel Hs 129, requiring the installation of additional field-expedient appliqué armour. The KV-1's 76.2 mm gun also came in for criticism. While adequate against all German tanks, it was the same gun as carried by smaller, faster, and cheaper T-34 medium tanks. In 1943, it was determined that this gun could not penetrate the frontal armour of the new Tiger,the first German heavy tank, fortunately captured near Leningrad. The KV-1 was also much more difficult to manufacture and thus more expensive than the T-34. In short, its advantages no longer outweighed its drawbacks.

 

Nonetheless, because of its initial superior performance, the KV-1 was chosen as one of the few tanks to continue being built following the Soviet reorganization of tank production. Due to the new standardization, it shared the similar engine (the KV used a 600 hp V-2K modification of the T-34's V-2 diesel engine) and gun (the KV had a ZiS-5 main gun, while the T-34 had a similar F-34 main gun) as the T-34, was built in large quantities, and received frequent upgrades.

When production shifted to the Ural Mountains 'Tankograd' complex, the KV-2 was dropped. While impressive on paper, it had been designed as a slow-moving bunker-buster. It was less useful in highly mobile, fluid warfare that developed in World War II. The turret was so heavy it was difficult to traverse on non-level terrain, and it was expensive to produce. Only about 300 KV-2s were made, all in 1940-41, making it one of the rarer Soviet tanks. Many KV-2s were later converted into KV-1s.

As the war continued, the KV-1 continued to get more armour to compensate for the increasing effectiveness of German weapons. This culminated in the KV-1 model 1942 (German designation KV-1C), which had very heavy armour, but lacked a corresponding improvement to the engine. Tankers complained that although they were well-protected, their mobility was poor and they had no firepower advantage over the T-34 medium tank.

 

In response to criticisms, the lighter KV-1S (Russian language: КВ-1С) was released, with thinner armour and a smaller, lower turret in order to reclaim some speed. Importantly, the KV-1S also had a commander's cupola with all-around vision blocks, a first for a Soviet heavy tank. However, the thinning-out of the armor called into question why the tank was being produced at all, when the T-34 could seemingly do everything the KV could do and much more cheaply. The Soviet heavy tank program was close to cancellation in mid-1943.

 

The appearance of the German Panther tank in the summer of 1943 convinced the Red Army to make a serious upgrade of its tank force for the first time since 1941. Soviet tanks needed bigger guns to take on the growing numbers of Panthers and the few Tigers.

 

A stopgap upgrade to the KV series was the short-lived KV-85 or Objekt 239. This was a KV-1S with a new turret designed for the IS-85, mounting the same 85 mm D-5T gun as the SU-85 and early versions of the T-34-85; demand for the gun slowed production of the KV-85 tremendously and only 148 were built before the KV design was replaced. The KV-85 was produced in the fall and winter of 1943-44; they were sent to the front as of September 1943 and production of the KV-85 was stopped by the spring of 1944 once the IS-2 entered full scale production.

Successor

 

A new heavy tank design entered production late in 1943 based on the work done on the KV-13. Because Kliment Voroshilov had fallen out of political favour, the new heavy tank series was named the Iosif Stalin tank, after Iosif (Joseph) Stalin. The KV-13 program's IS-85 prototype was accepted for production as the IS-1 (or IS-85, Object 237) heavy tank. After testing with both 100 mm and 122 mm guns, the D-25T 122 mm gun was selected as the main armament of the new tank, primarily because of its ready availability and the effect of its large high-explosive shell when attacking German fortifications. The 122mm D-25T used a separate shell and powder charge, resulting in a lower rate of fire and reduced ammunition capacity. While the 122mm armour piercing shell had a lower muzzle velocity than similar late German 7.5 cm and 8.8 cm guns, proving-ground tests showed that the 122mm AP shell could defeat the frontal armour of the German Panther tank, and the HE shell would easily blow off the drive sprocket and tread of the heaviest German tank or self-propelled gun. The IS-122 replaced the IS-85, and began mass production as the IS-2. The 85 mm gun saw service in the lighter SU-85 and T-34-85.

 

Some KVs remained in service right up to the end of the war, although in greatly diminishing numbers as they wore out or were knocked out. The 260th Guards Heavy Breakthrough Tank Regiment, based on the Leningrad front, operated a number of 1941-vintage KV-1s at least as late as the summer of 1944 before re-equipping with IS-2s. A regiment of KVs saw service in Manchuria in August 1945, and a few KV-85s were used in the Crimea in the summer of 1944. The Finnish forces had two KVs, nicknamed Klimi, a Model 1940 and Model 1941, both of which received minor upgrades in their service, and both of which survived the war. A single captured KV-2 was used by German forces in 1945 against US forces in the Ruhr.

 

Specifications (KV-1 Model 1941)

Weight - 45 tonnes

Length - 6.75 m (22 ft 2 in)

Width - 3.32 m (10 ft 11 in)

Height -2.71 m (8 ft 11 in)

Crew - 5

Armour - 90 mm maximum

Main armament -76.2 mm model F-34 gun

Secondary armament - 3× or 4× DT machine guns

Engine - 12-cylinder diesel model V-2 600 hp (450 kW)

Power/weight - 13 hp/tonne

Suspension - Torsion bar

Operational range - 335 km

Speed - 35 km/h (22 mph)

Mississippi River - Down Town Memphis TN

251 Riverside Dr.

Memphis, TN 38103

 

www.cherokeehistorical.org/unto-these-hills/trail-of-tear...

Unto These Hills Outdoor Drama Retells the Trail of Tears in Cherokee, NC

 

Millions of visitors have attended Unto These Hills, presented by the Cherokee Historical Association, which tells the story of the Cherokees and the Trail of Tears. Taken from the pages of history, the play by Kermit Hunter follows the story of the Cherokee of the Eastern region up to their removal via the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma. The drama includes notable Cherokee historical figures, including Junaluska, Tsali, and Yonaguska.

 

What was the Trail of Tears?

Taking place in the 1830s, the Trail of Tears was the forced and brutal relocation of approximately 100,000 indigenous people (belonging to Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole, among other nations) living between Michigan, Louisiana, and Florida to land west of the Mississippi River. Motivated by gold and land, Congress (under President Andrew Jackson) passed the Indian Removal Act by a slim and controversial margin in 1830. The Cherokees resisted removal through every possible means. Even Junaluska, who had saved Andrew Jackson’s life at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, traveled to Washington to plead the Cherokee’s cause, but Jackson would not see him.

  

The Treaty of New Echota

In 1835, the Treaty of New Echota was signed by a minority of Cherokees, including Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot, in an act of absolute betrayal (the three were assassinated by other Cherokee in 1839). Major Ridge claimed to represent the Cherokee Nation, but he was only considering a small group of people. The Treaty would give Cherokee land west of the Mississippi to the US in exchange for $5,000,000. In 1836, the U.S. Congress ratified the treaty (by one vote in the Senate) and gave Cherokees two years to remove themselves. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army began constructing stockades in preparation for the removal, which would become known as the Trail of Tears.

 

The Forced Removal of the Cherokee People

The Cherokee Nation rejected the Treaty of New Echota. As a result, between May 1838 and March 1839, federal soldiers and state militia rounded up 16,000 Cherokees from Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina, taking them to stockades, and forcing them to get on boats and then march to Indian territory, present-day Oklahoma. At least 4,000 Cherokees died—one quarter of the population—and many were buried in unmarked graves. This devastating chapter in American history is known as the Trail of Tears.

 

Cherokee Heroes Emerged

One group of Cherokees, the Oconaluftee Citizen Indians, remained in North Carolina. Sixty families, led by Yonaguska, Long Blanket, and Wilnota, had land in their own names under the Treaties of 1817 and 1819. They lived sober, industrious lives, and were able to successfully appeal to the North Carolina legislature to remain on their lands, mostly near the Oconaluftee River.

 

During removal, three to four hundred Cherokees hid in the wooden mountains of Western North Carolina. In November of 1838, Tsali and his family killed two soldiers who were attempting to capture them. Tsali and his family became fugitives from the federal government. Aided by William Holland Thomas (Yonaguska’s adopted son), the American soldiers found Tsali. Tsali agreed to give himself up and be executed so that other Cherokees would be allowed to stay in their homes in the mountains.

 

Honoring the Cherokee Nation

All together, about a thousand Cherokees, including those who stayed in the mountains or made their way back from the Trail of Tears, became the ancestors of today’s Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Today, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a sovereign nation with over 14,000 members.

 

Visit the Museum of the Cherokee Indian to experience the story of the Trail of Tears through artifacts, artwork, audio narration, and life-sized figures.

 

Tickets for Unto These Hills in Cherokee, NC

Unto These Hills is a powerful retelling of Cherokee history, in a narrative about the Trail of Tears that is heartbreaking and hopeful. As one of the oldest outdoor dramas in the United States, it has been stirring audiences since the very first production opened in the Cherokee Mountainside Theater in 1950. We hope you will see it for yourself and be transformed by the vibrant and enduring spirit of the Cherokee people. Purchase tickets for your whole family to see Unto These Hills through the Cherokee Historical Association Box Office, by phone at 866.554.4557, or online.

 

www.cherokeehistorical.org/unto-these-hills/trail-of-tear...

 

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visitcherokeenc.com/play/attractions/

* Cherokee North Carolina *

Discover the fun of seeing the world through Cherokee eyes.

 

It might happen on a mud-spattering romp through the nearby Great Smoky Mountains. Or while hearing the creation legend in the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. You’ll be having fun in Cherokee, relaxing, and suddenly, you’re a little more in tune with the natural world. With just one visit to something as profound as the outdoor drama “Unto These Hills,” you can’t help but look at things a little differently. And you’ll certainly have more fun. How will Cherokee affect you? Plan. Play. Visit. And discover.

 

Play

Attractions

•Museum of the Cherokee Indian

•Oconaluftee Indian Village

•Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc.

•“Unto These Hills” Outdoor Drama

•Sequoyah National Golf Club

•Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort

 

Adventures that go deeper.

Each place you visit in Cherokee pulses with the stories and significance of a people whose roots run deep and whose ancient wisdom is fascinating to uncover. Nestled in the lush landscapes of Western North Carolina, Cherokee invites you to smell the wood smoke and open your ears. If you listen closely, maybe you can hear the chanting of the little Nunnehi people of the mountain peaks. No need to resist Cherokee’s invitations to dive right in. Fire off a blowgun if you dare, but make sure your spouse is in the clear. As you cast your line into the trout-filled rivers or wash your face in the sweet spray of a waterfall, let the powerful feelings of Cherokee carry you. Even if it’s just for a day or two.

 

Open your eyes with us.

A virtual treasure trove of outdoorsy fun awaits in Cherokee. Activities gain new dimensions as you become aware of their origins, steeped in a vibrant cultural heritage. For instance, if you enjoy birding, you may never see the cardinal in the same way after learning about the legend of how it got its scarlet color–just as you may observe in a new way the copper lines in the ancient boulders along the banks of the Oconaluftee where you may be fishing, tubing or kayaking. Did you know that the wolf showed the cardinal those copper lines to paint herself with after she pecked the mud from his eyes? These are stories you and your fellow travelers will learn as you explore Cherokee.

 

Awaken your power animal.

Cherokee history, song, dance, and period regalia come to vivid life in sites such as the Oconaluftee Indian Village, the outdoor drama “Unto These Hills,” or the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Cherokee hosts a variety of annual cultural festivals throughout the year where you can share in the celebration of colorful customs and learn about ancient beginnings.

 

Let your braids fly in downtown Cherokee.

Nostalgic shops offering blowguns and tomahawks, comfy motor lodges, family fun parks, and petting zoos can all be found in downtown Cherokee, NC. If you’re looking for something extraordinary, consider playing the 18-hole Sequoyah National Golf Course designed by Robert Trent Jones II, then staying at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.

  

visitcherokeenc.com/play/attractions/

 

A lot of fun here is priceless. Here are a few adventures you'll need to purchase.

 

* Fire Mountain Trails

The Fire Mountain Trails are Cherokee’s newest source for big adventure—a multiuse trail system that’s made to mountain bike, hike, or run. The...

Learn More

 

The network of trails is more than 10.5 miles total, so there’s plenty of room for everyone to recreate safely, responsibly…and flowy?

 

That’s right—if you like your trails with a nice flow of features, with fun berms and quick hits of elevation that are manageable and fun, Fire Mountain is made for you. You’ll find tables, rock gardens, and blinds for those who know, along with single-track and wider sections, spots that are smooth and fast, and trails that invite the more technically accomplished with options for those less so. The trailhead is located about 100 yards from the Oconaluftee Indian Village in Cherokee and shares a parking lot. The trails interlace through the nearby Great Smoky Mountains, so you already know the views and terrain will take your breath away, even if your recreation of choice doesn’t!

 

Is it the flowiest trail in the east? Better than Ridgeline? Check the video or better yet, judge it for yourself during an overnight stay in Cherokee. Trails are free of charge, and open every day, all day.

  

* Museum of the Cherokee Indian

The Museum of the Cherokee Indian, named “One of the top ten native sites east of the Mississippi” by Cowboys & Indians Magazine, is open year...

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The Museum of the Cherokee Indian is “A Model for Museums.” And like the Cherokee people themselves, it’s entirely unique.

 

Experience the 11,000-year-old Cherokee story vividly. If your idea of a museum includes dusty displays tended by a boring curator, get ready to rediscover what a museum can be. Inspired by the beauty and ingenuity of the Cherokee people, this is a cultural and historical tour without equal, one fused with interactive video, intriguing displays, and a full sensory experience. Step through our doors and discover up close the Cherokee people’s spirit of inventiveness, resilience, and will to survive. Let yourself be guided through a moving journey that illustrates who the people of Cherokee really are, where they came from, and why they’re still here. Keep a hankie close; Cherokee history is serious stuff.

 

Bringing a group to the area?

Ask about packages and “Cherokee Experiences” for groups, including Cherokee language courses, teacher workshops, and performances by the Warriors of AniKituhwa. The Museum of the Cherokee Indian is fully handicapped accessible throughout its exhibits, new education and research wing, and restrooms.

 

“One of the top ten native sites east of the Mississippi.” - Kevin Gover, Director, National Museum of the American Indian.

 

“The Museum of the Cherokee Indian is revolutionary in its ability to tell stories, and should be a model to other museums that are struggling to engage their audience with their message.”– Van Romans, Walt Disney Imagineering, Glendale, California.

 

Hours of Operation:

OPEN: 7 days/week year-round. Closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

Summer Hours: (Jun–Aug): 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Sundays.

 

Winter Hours: (Sep–May): 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday-Sunday.

 

ADMISSION: Adults $11; Children (ages 6–12) $7; Children 5 and under admitted free.

 

GROUPS: Group rates and custom itineraries available. The “Cherokee Group Experience” is available for groups of 20 or more.

DISCOUNTS: Enjoy our AAA “Show Your Card & Save” discount. Show your AAA card and receive 10% off admission at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.

AARP discounts also available.

LOCATION: 589 Tsali Blvd. Cherokee, NC, at the intersection of Tsali Blvd. and Drama Road.

 

Executive Director: Bo Taylor | botaylor@cherokeemuseum.org

Membership: Joyce Cooper | jcooper@cherokeemuseum.org

Education: Barbara Duncan | bduncan@cherokeemuseum.org

Reservations: Dawn Arneach | arneach@cherokeemuseum.org

Museum Store: Amber Treadway | atreadway@cherokeemuseum.org​

 

Warriors of AniKituhwa | bduncan@cherokeemuseum.org

 

Member of Southern Highlands Attractions | southernhighlands.org

 

828.497.3481

  

Fish Cherokee

Welcome to the most pristine, well-stocked waters east of the Mississippi. Here, you can fill your livewell or basket with more than just fish. This...

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Oconaluftee Indian Village

Travel back to the 18th century in the Oconaluftee Indian Village and witness the struggle between the Cherokee and early European settlers in “A...

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* “Unto These Hills” Outdoor Drama

Take a seat beneath the stars and prepare yourself for a Cherokee story. Filled with action, betrayal, love, and suspense, “Unto These Hills” portrays...

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The original “Unto These Hills” drama is back.

Now, with extra drama.

 

Since its debut on July 1, 1950, “Unto These Hills” has entertained over six million people, telling the Cherokees’ rich story from 1780 to the twenty-first century. And for the first time in over a decade, that original production—updated for cultural sensitivity and extra stage drama—is back. Yes, the original Kermit Hunter version of “Unto These Hills” is being performed live again, under the stars, at the Mountainside Theatre.

 

Does a story thousands of years old require spoiler alerts?

If so, consider yourself alerted.

 

This story has action. Violence. Bitter disappointments and broken agreements. You’ll see triumph and tribulation. But you’ll also see the hardships of Cherokee history—so be warned. Though a family-friendly production, this is a “keep you on the edge of your seat” experience audiences see and feel. Through amazing imagery, and even some pyrotechnics, one thing’s for certain: you’ll emerge thrilled by the beauty and astounding courage of the Cherokee people.

 

Bring a blanket and someone to hold hands with.

 

As you enjoy the fresh air and the 2,100-seat, newly renovated Mountainside Theatre, it’s easy to be transported as the story unfolds thrillingly before your eyes. Join us and experience the power of Cherokee performing arts in a production certain to move you. It might be the perfect way to end your day before a comfortable bed in Cherokee calls your name.

 

WHERE:

“Unto These Hills” is performed at the Cherokee Mountainside Theatre, located at 688 Drama Road. Free parking for “Unto These Hills” ticket holders.

 

DATES:

The 2018 season runs from June 2 to August 18.

 

TIMES:

The show starts at 8:00 p.m. nightly. The theatre is closed on Sundays.

 

“Unto These Hills” General Admission Prices:

 

Adults: $25.00

Children 6–12: $15.00

Children 5–under: FREE

 

“Unto These Hills” Reserved Ticket Prices

Adults: $28.00

Children 6–12: $18.00

Children 5–under: FREE

 

VIP Ticket Prices

All ages: $40.00

 

Rain Insurance is $3.00 per ticket. Call the box office to get rain insurance with your ticket order up to the day before the show.

 

Purchase your tickets now.

Cherokee Mountainside Theatre Group Prices:

Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more. Custom itineraries can be made to include other cultural attractions and/or events. Groups are encouraged to make advance reservations and must pay in full at least two weeks prior to date of arrival. Cancellations must be made two weeks in advance to receive a refund.

 

For any questions on group information please call 828.497.2111 ext. 215 or 866.554.4557 or contact us via email to ChaSales@cherokeeadventure.com.

 

Other ways to purchase tickets: To purchase tickets by phone, call toll free 866.554.4557. Tickets are also available at the Cherokee Historical Association Box Office at 564 Tsali Blvd., across the street from the Museum of the Cherokee Indian (off Highway 441N), from 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., and at the Mountainside Theatre (during summer season; located at 688 Drama Road) from 4:00 p.m. until showtime. Paid reservations are held for late arrival. All tickets are held at the box office (cash, Visa, and MasterCard are accepted). We do not accept personal checks at any of our box office locations.

866.554.4557

 

* Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc.

It’s difficult to find authentic, handcrafted art in today’s world. Luckily, it has been a Cherokee tradition for centuries. Qualla Arts and Crafts...

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Welcome to Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc. Who wouldn’t want a piece of Cherokee art to take home?

 

Cherokee art curators and collectors, rejoice. If you’re seeking authentic Cherokee arts and crafts, you’ve come to the largest home for it east of the Mississippi. Be it weaponry, the decorative beauty of beadwork, the intricate skill of finger weaving, or the sublime self-expression of wood and stone carving, it’s here, waiting to go home with you.

 

Timeless beauty captured in shape and texture.

 

In our world of mass production, it’s a welcome sight to behold something beautifully handmade in Cherokee. As you touch the smooth wood of the dramatic masks used in traditional dance rituals or the cool clay of the wedding jugs, you are reminded of the power of your own hands. Remember? Your fingers can do a lot more than navigate an iPhone touch screen or flip channels on a remote control. No reality TV here; this is a refreshing reality of a time past, preserved and carried on in the hands of present-day Cherokee craftsmen. Founded in 1946 with the purpose of preserving and advancing Cherokee arts and crafts, Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc. is the oldest and leading Native American Arts cooperative in the United States.

 

When and where to enjoy Cherokee arts and crafts:

 

Season: Open year-round. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

 

Summer hours: (June–mid-August): 8:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday;

8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Sunday.

 

Winter hours: (September–May): 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday;

9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Sunday. Closed Sundays in January and February.

 

Location: 645 Tsali Blvd. (Across the street from the Museum of the Cherokee Indian)

 

Phone: 828.497.3103

 

Admission: Showroom and gallery are FREE and open to the public during business hours.

 

Additional Cherokee Arts and Crafts Events

70th Anniversary Celebration

August 23, 2016

 

828.497.3103

 

* Sequoyah National Golf Club

Experience the breathtaking surroundings and long-range views of Sequoyah National Golf Club. Here, our exquisitely beautiful mountain course...

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* Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort

While in Cherokee, don’t miss your chance to experience one of the finest casinos in the Southeast. Harrah’s features over 21 stories of...

Book A Room

 

visitcherokeenc.com/play/attractions/

  

www.visitnc.com/

Spring FlourishSpring is the perfect time for new beginnings. Burst into the season with a hike up a 6,000-foot mountain. Sign up for your first surf lesson ever. Walk in the footsteps of history. Whatever it is that you’re into, let spring be your guide to a first you’ll never forget in North Carolina.

 

www.visitnc.com/

  

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Smoky Mountains

CHAMABER OF COMMERCE

 

* Cherokee SMOKIES *

The ancestral homeland of the Cherokee Indians offers

natural beauty, family attractions, outdoor activities and the

rich history of the Great Smoky Mountains.

 

www.cherokeesmokies.com/

 

** Events for March **

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=3&cal_y=2018

  

* Cherokee Heritage Day

Date(s): Mar 10, 2018

When: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Where: Museum of the Cherokee Indian

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=3&cal_y=2018

 

* Fourth Annual Boy Scouts of America Bass Fishing Tournament

Date(s): Mar 10, 2018 - Mar 11, 2018

Where: Fontana Marina

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=3&cal_y=2018

 

* Back Porch Old Time Music Jam

Date(s): Mar 17, 2018

When: 1:00 - 3:00 pm

Where: Oconaluftee Visitor Center, Cherokee

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=3&cal_y=2018

 

* Easter Weekend

Date(s): Mar 30, 2018 - Apr 01, 2018

Where: Fontana Village Resort

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=3&cal_y=2018

 

* Peanuts the Easter Beagle Express Train Event

Date(s): Mar 30, 2018 - Mar 31, 2018

When: 11:00 am daily

Where: Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, Bryson City

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=3&cal_y=2018

 

* KOA Fishing Tournament

Date(s): Mar 31, 2018 - Apr 01, 2018

When: 6:00 am to Sunday, April 1 at 4:00 pm

Where: Cherokee KOA Big Cove Rd

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=3&cal_y=2018

 

* Cherokee’s Annual Opening Day Fishing Tournament

Date(s): Mar 31, 2018 - Apr 01, 2018

When: one hour before sunrise and end one hour after sunset each day

Where: rivers on the Qualla Boundary (excluding the 2.2 miles of catch-and-release waters

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=3&cal_y=2018

 

** Events for April **

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=4&cal_y=2018

 

* Easter Weekend

Date(s): Mar 30, 2018 - Apr 01, 2018

Where: Fontana Village Resort

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=4&cal_y=2018

 

* KOA Fishing Tournament

Date(s): Mar 31, 2018 - Apr 01, 2018

When: 6:00 am to Sunday, April 1 at 4:00 pm

Where: Cherokee KOA Big Cove Rd

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=4&cal_y=2018

 

* Cherokee’s Annual Opening Day Fishing Tournament

Date(s): Mar 31, 2018 - Apr 01, 2018

When: one hour before sunrise and end one hour after sunset each day

Where: rivers on the Qualla Boundary (excluding the 2.2 miles of catch-and-release waters

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=4&cal_y=2018

 

* Cherokee Heritage Day

Date(s): Apr 14, 2018

When: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Where: Museum of the Cherokee Indian

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=4&cal_y=2018

 

* Spring Hike Week

Date(s): Apr 15, 2018 - Apr 19, 2018

Where: Fontana Village Resort

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=4&cal_y=2018

 

* Young Children’s Fair

Date(s): Apr 17, 2018

When: 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Where: Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=4&cal_y=2018

 

* Spring Garden Fair

Date(s): Apr 20, 2018

When: 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Where: Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=4&cal_y=2018

 

* Spring Garden Fair

Date(s): Apr 21, 2018

When: 9:00 am to 2:00 pm

Where: Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=4&cal_y=2018

 

* Back Porch Old Time Music Jam

Date(s): Apr 21, 2018

When: 1:00 - 3:00 pm

Where: Oconaluftee Visitor Center, Cherokee

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=4&cal_y=2018

 

Fontana Disc Golf Spring Championship

Date(s): Apr 29, 2018

When: 10am

Where: Fontana Village Resort

Visit site for More Info

www.cherokeesmokies.com/events.php?cal_m=4&cal_y=2018

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

~ Samuel F Campbell

BOX DATE: 1999

MANUFACTURER: Mattel

DOLLS IN LINE: Barbie; Skipper; Ken; Teresa; Christie; Steven; Midge

BODY TYPE: 1966; molded B print panties; Twist 'n Turn waist; straight arms; bend & snap legs

HEAD MOLD: 1998 "Generation Girl"; pierced ears

 

***My doll is wearing 2000 Dreamy Touches Fashions #68089-93.

 

PERSONAL FUN FACT: Hawaii Barbie was one of the most interesting finds from the "Teresa lot" of 2016! I have a very special place in my heart for this collection, since growing up, I briefly owned Hawaii Teresa. Not to mention, Skipper was always considered to be one of the most beautiful ones in my sister's Skipper collection. I remember how much Teresa always took my breath away. Even though I didn't own her long, I could never forget her stunning face. These Hawaii dolls are very distinctive, even when they aren't wearing their signature Hawaiian flower print swimsuits. They have really beautiful eyes, with lots and lots of eyelashes. They remind me a bit of the Florida Vacation dolls (but in my opinion, the Hawaii line is prettier overall). I spotted Barbie amongst the hoards of other dolls from the same lot, and I knew instantaneously who she was. Of course, like always I double checked. I especially found it curious that she had purple stud earrings when she wears a pink swimsuit. Anyways, this Barbie is a particularly unique variation. Both of my Hawaii Teresa dolls look different from one another. One has a more muted appearance, whereas the other gal's features are very bold and pop out (same country make though if I'm not mistaken). Anyways, this Barbie, like one of my Teresa dolls, has more muted features. It's interesting to look at her, since her skin is so very tan, but her eye paint is so faint. It almost looks like Barbie is radiating when I look at her--I guess her tan really does make her glow! Barbie also has the loveliest hair--I love that it is saran, platinum blonde, and a nice, manageable short length. This doll is a real gem, and I'm sure if I had owned her when I was growing up, I would have been obsessed with playing with her.

Railways of Great Britain

This start of another one of my collections, although I have posted a few in the past.

I have taken quite a few images over the years of Old Steam, Diesel and Electric engines and after sorting out probably 3,000 plus, I’ve now got it down to a more manageable number.

I’m starting with English Engines. Some of these images could be 25 years old. Many were transferred from negatives via a scanner so the quality will not be as good I would like. I have put them all through Photoshop to get rid of the most glaring issues

Apologies to those enthusiasts if I don’t get the right engine with the right Railway, they were taken a long time ago, some of them have moved on and my memory is not as good as it was.

Happy viewing.

 

Refugees from Kobanê.

The refugee flow to the wealthy continent of Europe is just the tip of the iceberg. It's a minor crisis compared to the real refugee crisis hitting Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan, where resources are not so plenty as in Europe. Belgium is not overwhelmed by a flood of refugees like Kurdistan. Many internal Iraqi refugees from areas which have been taken by IS flee to the Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Most refugees remain in the region, and within the sphere of influence of the conflicts of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Browse through these photos by photographer Baram Maaruf and you might get a better understanding of the scope of the "crisis" in Europe: limited and perfectly manageable. It's a not a "refugee crisis", but a crisis of "political will".

 

ARBAT IDP CAMP

Arbat Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp is located outside the city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. It is one of the most overcrowded refugee camps in Iraq. The camp was supposed to house 800 displaced Iraqi families, but now there are more than 2000 families (23.000 people). In each tent there are several families. It was established for Syrian refugees as a transit camp, but it turned into a camp for internally displaced Iraqi refugees. As the crisis in Iraq enters its second year with no political or military solution in sight, the government and aid groups are being forced to seek longer-term humanitarian solutions for the more than three million displaced by violence across the country.

 

ASHTI CAMP

It’s a short drive to a new camp location just five km away: Ashti Camp. UNHCR and its partners began to move residents to better-equipped facilities in June 2015. Ashti camp, was recently completed and will eventually accommodate some 1000 families who will be moved from Arbat Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp. They are displaced Iraqis sheltering in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. It looks like the foundation of a new village. Instead of pitched upon packed earth, tents here rest on poured concrete foundations. Plumbing is underground and electric wiring runs along poles that neatly follow the camp's grid layout.

 

ARBAT PERMANENT CAMP

The third refugee camp is a permanent camp for 6000 Syrian refugees, mainly Kurds from Kobani and Qamishlo. It looks like a village with paved roads, electricity wires, shops, little brick houses. Even though the whole “village” looks miserable, it is much “better” compared to Arbat Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.

Yes, I've gained ALL the weight back I lost before COVID. Every pound. F*ck it.

 

Ukraine flag on the t-shirt and the house (along with an Afghanistan flag). Because I care.

 

We rode to the Trask River Campground, a TIllamook County Park where we camped in our trailer two months ago, and from there, intended to pick a gravel road to explore. At the pit toilets, we met a very nice guy, Wesley, on his Africa Twin. After chatting about our intentions, he said he'd just come over from Nestucca River Road and would be happy to go that same route back and show us the way. It was just 14 miles, with just one really challenging section, but otherwise, it was VERY manageable. We said goodbye to Wesley at Nestucca road and then we did a loop over Bald Mountain before heading back home. Very nice 150 mile ride in total.

 

Here's our tracks: www.google.com/maps/dir/Gales+Creek,+OR/Trask+River+Count...

 

Here are maps and descriptions of my favorite local scenic routes / day trips for motorcyce near the greater PDX metro area: coyotebroad.com/travel/motorcycle/routes_local.shtml

LR-14910 - Slightly disappointed with myself here, didn't check the ISO set at 400, the Helios on extension tubes needs to be 100 or 200 and with overcast skies the hundred would have turned out better, so a slight tweak in light room to bring it up a little.

Well it has been raining for a few days on and off, yesterday was a whole day of fine annoying drizzle, but the fine droplets make for some great droplets, if only I could get them right, took about 15 different angles and slightly different light, so this was the best of the bunch for now.

 

Lightroom

EOS 7D + Helios 44M + 61mm of Helios 42mm extension tubes, flat Canon to 42mm converter

Somewhere around 60/80:1 magnification, but cannot find the ratio converter at the moment.

 

There is a huge room for improvement, such as using a hood to reduce the surrounding light, a way of reflecting more light on the subject and perhaps a steady hand or even a tripod. The set up is much more manageable than the bellows, as the tubes can come out for walks

 

Scavenger Challenge

16. The subject of your photo must be a NOUN (excluding names) beginning with "Mo..."

Since I have so many 2000s Barbies, I thought it was best to break my collection down into four videos. Each segment has roughly 50 dolls, so the length of the video is more manageable for me to film, and for you to watch. I am very passionate about 2000s Barbies, as some of my childhood favorites are from this time frame. I am incredibly nostalgic for many of the faces you will see in this video, and in my future installments. I hope you enjoy meeting all my dollies from the 2000s (this does not include Barbie's friends or family)! This video was filmed a few weeks ago, but I delayed uploading it until I had the other three segments filmed/edited, so they could all be up in a timely manner (that's why I sound sick in this video, even though I'm totally fine at the moment).

 

Video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=858gVR5841o&feature=youtu.be

 

Dolls in photo, from left to right:

-2000 Barbie in India

-2001 Fun Treats Barbie

-2001 Travel in Style Barbie

-2001 Malibu Barbie

-2001 Let's Camp Gift Set Barbie

 

Bottom row:

-2001 Dolls of the World Princess Collection Princess of Ireland

-2001 Dolls of the World Princess Collection Princess of the Nile

-2001 Salon Surprise Barbie

-2001 College Style/School Style Barbie

-2001 Ring in the New Year Barbie

(more details later, as time permits)

 

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

 

Our apartment is on the 21st floor, looking south from Broadway and 96th Street on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

 

We did not live here in 2001, and I don't know if we would have been able to see the World Trade Center at the time.

 

But we can see the shaft of blue light stealing upward from the Freedom Tower each year, on the eve of September 11th.

 

These were all handheld, taken from the terrace of my apartment. I experimented with different iSO's and different apertures, to try to keep the noise and sharpness within limits, while also keeping the shutter speed at a manageable level while I braced myself against the railing on the terrace.

 

I've only had a chance to do a tiny bit of post-processing -- but thought I would put them up here while they were fresh...

A long planned visit to Leeds to record the church.

 

Leeds is just off the M20, and nearby to Leeds Castle, which means the roads are often busy. St Nicholas is on the main road leading up the down, but before the road gets narrow as it winds between the timber framed houses. Thankfully there is good parking next door, so we were able to get off the main road and out of the traffic, as unbeknown to us, there was a classical music show on that night, and most of Kent were going and in the process of arriving.

 

St Nicholas is a grand church, the chancel and two side chapels are partially hidden behind a very fine Rood Screen, which at first didn't look original, but actually is.

 

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

 

One of the largest twelfth-century towers in Kent. The arch between tower and nave is of three very plain orders with no hint of the usual zigzag moulding of the period, and is so large that a meeting room has recently been built into it. The nave has three bay aisles and short chapels to north and south of the chancel. The outstanding rood screen was partially reconstructed in 1892, and runs the full width of nave and aisles - with the staircase doorways in the south aisle. That the chancel was rebuilt in the sixteenth century may be seen by the plain sedilia through which is cut one of two hagioscopes from chapels to chancel. The north chapel contains some good seventeenth- and eighteenth-century tablets and monuments. The stained glass shows some excellent examples of the work of Heaton, Butler and Bayne (south aisle) whilst there is an uncharacteristically poor example of the work of C.E. Kempe & Co. Ltd. in the north aisle. The church has recently been reordered to provide a spacious, light and manageable interior with excellent lighting and a welcoming atmosphere without damaging the character of the building.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Leeds

 

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

 

LEEDS

IS the next parish southward from Hollingborne. Kilburne says, that one Ledian, a chief counsellor to king Ethelbert II. who began his reign in 978, raised a fortress here, which was called in Latin, from him, Ledani Castrum, and in process of time in English, LEEDS. This castle was afterwards demolished by the Danes, and continued in that situation till the time of the Norman conquest.

 

THE PRESENT CASTLE is situated at the southeast boundary of this parish, adjoining to Bromfield, which includes a part of the castle itself. It is situated in the midst of the park, an ample description of it the reader will find hereafter. The Lenham rivulet takes its course through the park, and having supplied the moat, in which the castle stands, and the several waters in the grounds there, and having received into it the several small streamlets from Hollingborne, and one from the opposite side, which comes from Leeds abbey, it flows on, and at a small distance from Caring street, in this parish, adjoining to Bersted, the principal estate of which name there belongs to the Drapers company, it turns a mill, and then goes on to Maidstone, where it joins the river Medway. The high road from Ashford and Lenham runs close by the outside of the pales of Leeds park, at the northern boundary of the parish next to Hollingborne, and thence goes on towards Bersted and Maidstone, from which the park is distant a little more than five miles; here the soil is a deep sand, but near the river it changes to a black moorish earth. Southward from the castle the ground rises, at about three quarters of a mile south-west from it is Leeds abbey, the front of which is a handsome well-looking building, of the time of queen Elizabeth. It is not unpleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, and is well watered by a small stream which rises just above it, and here turns a mill. It is well cloathed with wood at the back part of it, to which the ground still keeps rising; adjoining to the abbey grounds westward is Leeds-street, a long straggling row of houses, near a mile in length, having the church at the south end of it; here the soil becomes a red unfertile earth much mixed with slints, which continues till it joins to Langley and Otham.

 

LEEDS was part of those possessions given by William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, bishop of Baieux; accordingly it is thus entered, under the general title of that prelate's lands, in the survey of Domesday, taken in the year 1080.

 

Adelold holds of the bishop (of Baieux) Esiedes. It was taxed at three sulings. The arable land is twelve carucates. In demesne there are two carucates, and twenty-eight villeins, with eight borderers, having seven carucates. There is a church, and eighteen servants. There are two arpends of vineyard, and eight acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of twenty bogs, and five mills of the villeins. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth sixteen pounds, the like when be received it, now twenty pounds, and yet it pays twentyfive pounds. Earl Leuuin held it.

 

Of this manor the abbot of St. Augustine has half a suling, which is worth ten shillings, in exchange of the park of the bishop of Baieux. The earl of Ewe has four denns of this manor, which are worth twenty shillings.

 

The mention of the two arpends of vineyard in the above survey, is another instance of there having been such in this county in early times, some further observations of which the reader will find in the description of the parish of Chart Sutton, not far distant, and he will likewise observe, that at the above time the bishop of Baieux had a park here, which he acquired by exchange with the abbot of St. Augustine, who must therefore have had possessions here before that time.

 

On the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, about four years after the taking of the above-mentioned survey, this estate, among the rest of his possessions, became consiscated to the crown.

 

After which it was granted by king William to the eminent family of Crevequer, called in antient charters Creveceur, and in Latin, De Crepito Corde, who at first made Chatham in this county their seat, or caput baroniæ, i. e. the principal manor of their barony, for some time, until they removed hither, being before frequently written Domini de Cetham.

 

Robert, son of Hamon de Crevequer, who had probably a grant of Leeds from the Conqueror, appears to have held it of the king, as of his castle of Dover, in capite by barony, their barony, which consisted of five knight's sees, being stiled Baronia de Crevequer . (fn. 1) He erected the castle here, to which he asterwards removed the capital seat of his barony. This castle being environed with water, was frequently mentioned in antient writings by the name of Le Mote. In the north-west part of it he built a chapel, in which he placed three canons, which on his foundation of the priory of Leeds, in the 19th year of king Henry I. he removed thither.

 

His descendant, Hamon de Crevequer, lived in the reign of king Henry III. in the 19th year of which, he was joined with Walterand Teutonicus, or Teys, in the wardenship of the five ports, and the next year had possession granted to him of the lands of William de Albrincis or Averenches, whose daughter and heir Maud he had married. He died in the 47th year of king Henry III. possessed of the manor of Ledes, held of the king in capite, as belonging to his barony of Chatham; upon which Robert, his grandson, viz. son of Hamon his son, who died in his life-time, succeeded him as his heir, and in the 52d year of that reign, exchanged the manor of Ledes, with its appurtenances, together with a moiety of all his fees, with Roger de Leyburne, for the manors of Trottesclyve and Flete. He lest William de Leyburne, his son and heir, who in the 2d year of king Edward I. had possession granted to him of the manor of Ledes, as well as of the rest of his inheritance, of which Eleanor, countess of Winchester, his father's widow, was not endowed. (fn. 2)

 

His son, William de Leyborne, observing that the king looked on the strength of this fortress with a jealous eye, in the beginning of king Edward Ist.'s reign reinstated the crown in the possession of both the manor and castle; and the king having, in his 27th year married Margaret, sister of Philip, king of France, he settled them, being then of the clear yearly value of 21l. 6s. 8d. among other premises, as part of her dower. She survived the king her husband, who died in 1307, and in the 5th year of the next reign of king Edward II. by the king's recommendation, appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, a nobleman of great power and eminence, and much in that prince's favor, governor of this castle. (fn. 3) She died possessed of them in the 10th year of that reign; on which they came once more into the hands of the crown, and in the beginning of the next year the king appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, above-mentioned, governor of this castle, as well as of that of Bristol. In the 11th year of that reign, the king granted to him in see, this manor and castle, and the advowson of the priory of Ledes, in exchange for the manor of Addresley, in Shropshire. Being possessed of great possessions, especially in this county, he was usually stiled, the rich lord Badlesmere of Ledes. Being pussed up through ambition and his great wealth, he forgot his allegiance, and associated himself with the earl of Lancaster, and the discontented barons; which the king being well informed of, resolved, if possible, to gain possession of this strong fortress of Ledes: to effect which, under pretence of the queen's going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, she set forward for that city with a large train of attendants, and, with a secret intention of surprising this castle, sent her marshal with others of her servants, to prepare lodging for her and her suit in it. The lord Badlesmere's family, that is, his wife, son, and four daughters, were at that time in it, together with all his treasure, deposited there for safety, under the care of Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, who refused the queen's servants admittance, and on her coming up, peremptorily persisted in denying her or any one entrance, without letters from his lord. The queen, upon this, made some attempt to gain admittance by force, and a skirmish ensued, in which one or more of her attendants were slain, but being repulsed, she was obliged to relinquish her design, and to retire for a lodging elsewhere.

 

The king, chagrined at the failure of his scheme, and highly resenting the indignity offered to the queen, sent a force under the earls of Pembroke and Richmond, to besiege the castle; (fn. 4) and those within it finding no hopes of relief, for though the lord Badlesmere had induced the barons to endeavours to raise the siege, yet they never advanced nearer than Kingston, yielded it up. Upon which, the lady Badlesmere and her children were sent prisoners to the tower of London, Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, was hung up, and the king took possession of the castle, as well as of all the lord Badlesmere's goods and treasures in it. But by others, Thomas de Aldone is said to have been castellan at this time, and that the castle being taken, he, with the lord Badlesmere's wife, his only son Giles, his daughters, Sir Bartholomew de Burgershe, and his wife, were sent to the tower of London by the king's order; and that afterwards, he caused Walter Colepeper, bailiff of the Seven Hundreds, to be drawn in a pitiable manner at the tails of horses, and to be hung just by this castle; on which Thomas Colepeper, and others, who were with him in Tunbridge castle, hearing of the king's approach, sled to the barons.

 

After which the lord Badlesmere, being taken prisoner in Yorkshire, was sent to Canterbury, and there drawn and hanged at the gallows of Blean, and his head being cut off, was set on a pole on Burgate, in that city. Upon which the manor and castle of Leeds, became part of the royal revenue and the castle remained in a most ruinous condition till the year 1359, anno 34 Edward III. in which year that munisicent prelate, William of Wickham, was constituted by the king, chief warden and surveyor of his castle of Ledes, among others, (fn. 5) having power to appoint all workmen, to provide materials, and to order every thing with regard to building and repairs; and in those manors to hold leets and other courts of trespass and misdemeanors, and to enquire of the king's liberties and rights; and from his attention to the re-edisying and rebuilding the rest of them, there is little doubt but he restored this of Leeds to a very superior state to whatever it had been before, insomuch, that it induced king Richard to visit it several times, particularly in his 19th year, in which several of his instruments were dated at his castle of Ledes; and it appears to have been at that time accounted a fortress of some strength, for in the beginning of the next reign, that unfortunate prince was, by order of king Henry IV. sent prisoner to this castle; and that king himself resided here part of the month of April in his 2d year.

 

After which, archbishop Arundel, whose mind was by no means inferior to his high birth, procured a grant of this castle, where he frequently resided and kept his court, whilst the process against the lord Cobham was carrying forward, and some of his instruments were dated from his castle of Ledes in the year 1413, being the year in which he died. On his death it reverted again to the crown, and became accounted as one of the king's houses, many of the principal gentry of the county being instrusted with the custody of it:

 

In the 7th year of king Henry V. Joane of Navarre, the second queen of the late king Henry IV. being accused of conspiring against the life of the king, her son-in-law, was committed to Leeds-castle, there to remain during the king's pleasure; and being afterwards ordered into Sir John Pelham's custody, he removed her to the castle of Pevensey, in Sussex.

 

In the 18th year of king Henry VI. archbishop Chichele sat at the king's castle of Leeds, in the process against Eleanor, duchess of Gloucester, for forcery and witchcrast.

 

King Edward IV. in his 11th year, made Ralph St. Leger, esq. of Ulcomb, who had served the office of sheriff of this county three years before, constable of this castle for life, and annexed one of the parks as a farther emolument to that office. He died that year, and was buried with his ancestors at Ulcomb.

 

Sir Thomas Bourchier resided at Leeds castle in the 1st year of king Richard III. in which year he had commission, among others of the principal gentry of this county, to receive the oaths of allegiance to king Richard, of the inhabitants of the several parts of Kent therein mentioned; in which year, the king confirmed the liberties of Leeds priory, in recompence of twentyfour acres of land in Bromfield, granted for the enlargement of his park of Ledes.

 

In the 4th year of king Henry VIII. Henry Guildford, esq. had a grant of the office of constable of Leeds castle, and of the parkership of it; and in the 12th year of that reign, he had a grant of the custody of the manor of Leeds, with sundry perquisities, for forty years. He died in the 23d year of that reign, having re-edisied great part of the castle, at the king's no small charge.

 

But the fee simple of the manor and castle of Leeds remained in the hands of the crown, till Edward VI. in his 6th year, granted them, with their appurtenances in the parishes of Leeds, Langley, and Sutton, to Sir Anthony St. Leger, lord deputy of Ireland, to hold in capite by knight's service.

 

His son, Sir Warham St. Leger, succeeded him in this manor and castle, and was afterwards chief governor of Munster, in Ireland, in which province he was unfortunately slain in 1599, (fn. 6) but before his death he alienated this manor and castle to Sir Richard Smyth, fourth son of Thomas Smyth, esq. of Westenhanger, commonly called Customer Smyth.

 

Sir Richard Smyth resided at Leeds castle, of which he died possessed in 1628, and was buried in Ashford church, where there is a costly monument erected to his memory.

 

Sir John Smith, his only son, succeeded his father, and resided at Leeds castle, and dying s. p. in 1632, was buried in this church; upon which his two sisters, Alice, wife of Sir Timothy Thornhill, and Mary, of Maurice Barrow, esq. became his coheirs, and entitled their respective husbands to the property of this manor and castle, which they afterwards joined in the sale of to Sir T. Culpeper, of Hollingborne, who settled this estate, after his purchase of it, on his eldest son Cheney Culpeper, remainder to his two other sons, Francis and Thomas. Cheney Culpeper, esq. resided at Leedscastle for some time, till at length persuading his brother Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, (then his only surviving brother, Francis being dead. s. p.) to cut off the entail of this estate, he alienated it to his cousin Sir John Colepeper, lord Colepeper, only son of Sir John Culpeper, of Wigsell, in Sussex, whose younger brother Francis was of Greenway-court, in Hollingborne, and was father of Sir Thomas Culpeper, the purchaser of this estate as before-mentioned.

 

Sir John Colepeper represented this county in parliament in the 16th year of king Charles I. and being a person, who by his abilities had raised himself much in the king's favor, was made of his privy council, and chancellor of the exchequer, afterwards master of the rolls, and governor of the Isle of Wight. During the troubles of that monarch, he continued stedfast to the royal cause, and as a reward for his services, was in 1644 created lord Colepeper, baron of Thoresway, in Lincolnshire.

 

After the king's death he continued abroad with king Charles II. in his exile. During his absence, Leeds-castle seems to have been in the possession of the usurping powers, and to have been made use of by them, for the assembling of their committee men and sequestrators, and for a receptacle to imprison the ejected ministers, for in 1652, all his estates had been declared by parliament forfeited, for treason against the state. He died in 1660, a few weeks only after the restoration, and was buried at Hollingborne. He bore for his arms, Argent, a bend ingrailed gules, the antient bearing of this family; he left by his second wife Judith, daughter of Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, several children, of whom Thomas was his successor in title and estates, and died without male issue as will be mentioned hereafter, John succeeded his brother in the title, and died in 1719 s. p. and Cheney succeeded his brother in the title, and died at his residence of Hoston St. John, in 1725, s. p. likewise, by which the title became extinct; they all, with the rest of the branch of the family, lie buried at Hollingborne. Thomas, lord Colepeper, the eldest son, succeeded his father in title, and in this manor and castle, where he resided, and having married Margaret, daughter of Signior Jean de Hesse, of a noble family in Germany, he left by her a sole daughter and heir Catherine, who intitled her husband Thomas, lord Fairfax, of Cameron, in Scotland, to this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood.

 

The family of Fairfax appear by old evidences in the hands of the family to have been in possession of lands in Yorkshire near six hundred years ago. Richard Fairfax was possessed of lands in that county in the reign of king John, whose grandson William Fairfax in the time of king Henry III. purchased the manor of Walton, in the West Riding, where he and his successors resided for many generations afterwards, and from whom descended the Fairfax's, of Walton and Gilling, in Yorkshire; of whom, Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Gilling, was created viscount Fairfax, of the kingdom of Ireland, which title became extinct in 1772; and from a younger branch of them descended Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Denton, who lived in queen Elizabeth's reign, and changed the original field of his coat armour from argent to or, bearing for his arms, Or, 3 bars gemelles, gules, surmounted of a lion rampant, sable, crown'd, of the first, and was father of Sir. T. Fairfax, who was, for his services to James and Charles I. created in 1627 lord Fairfax, baron of Cameron, in Scotland. He died in 1640, having had ten sons and two daughters; of whom, Ferdinando was his successor; Henry was rector of Bolton Percy, and had two sons, Henry, who became lord Fairfax, and Bryan, who was ancestor of Bryan Fairfax, late commissioner of the customs; and colonel Charles Fairfax, of Menston, was the noted antiquary, whose issue settled there.

 

Ferdinando, the second lord Fairfax, in the civil wars of king Charles I. was made general of the parliamentary forces, and died at York in 1646. His son, Sir Thomas Fairfax, succeeded him as lord Fairfax, and in all his posts under the parliament, and was that famous general so noted in English history during the civil wars, being made commander in chief of all the parliamentary forces; but at last he grew so weary of the distress and confusion which his former actions had brought upon his unhappy country, that he heartily concurred in the restoration of king Charles II. After which he retired to his seat at Bilborough, in Yorkshire, where he died in 1671, and was buried there, leaving by Anne, daughter and coheir of Horatio, lord Vere of Tilbury, a truly loyal and virtuous lady, an only daughter; upon which the title devolved to Henry Fairfax, esq. of Oglesthorpe, in Yorkshire, his first cousin, eldest son of Henry, rector of Bolton Percy, the second son of Thomas, the first lord Fairfax. Henry, lord Fairfax, died in 1680, and was succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, fifth lord Fairfax, who was bred to a military life, and rose to the rank of a brigadier-general. He represented Yorkshire in several parliaments and marrying Catherine, daughter and heir of Thomas, lord Colepeper, possessed, in her right this manor and castle, and other large possessions, as before-mentioned. (fn. 7)

 

He died possessed of them in 1710, leaving three sons and four daughters, Thomas, who succeeded him as lord Fairfax; Henry Culpeper, who died unmarried, in 1734; and Robert, of whom hereafter. Of the daughters, Margaret married David Wilkins, D. D. and prebendary of Canterbury, and Francis married Denny Martin, esq. Thomas, lord Fairfax, the son, resided at Leeds-castle till his quitting England, to reside on his great possessions in Virginia, where he continued to the time of his death. On his departure from England, he gave up the possession of this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood, to his only surviving brother, the hon. Robert Fairfax, who afterwards resided at Leeds-castle, and on his brother's death unmarried, in 1782, succeeded to the title of lord Fairfax. He was at first bred to a military life, but becoming possessed of Leeds castle, he retired there, and afterwards twice served in parliament for the town of Maidstoue, as he did afterwards in two successive parliaments for this county. He was twice married; first to Marsha, daughter and coheir of Anthony Collins, esq. of Baddow, in Essex, by whom he had one son, who died an instant; and, secondly, to one of the daughters of Thomas Best, esq. of Chatham, who died s. p. in 1750. Lord Fairfax dying s. p. in 1793, this castle and manor, with the rest of his estates in this county, came to his nephew the Rev. Denny Martin, the eldest son of his sister Frances, by Denny Martin, esq. of Loose, who had before his uncle's death been created D. D. and had, with the royal licence, assumed the name and arms of Fairfax. Dr. Fairfax is the present possessor of this manor and castle, and resides here, being at present unmarried.

 

A court leet and court baron is held for the manor of Leeds, at which three borsholders are appointed. It is divided into six divisions, or yokes as they are called, viz. Church-yoke, Ferinland-yoke, Mill-yoke, Russerken-yoke, Stockwell-yoke, and Lees-yoke.

  

After a great breakfast at a small cafe we took the Scenic Drive into Capitol Reef National Park. It's mostly a paved road until the very end but still manageable. We spent a few hours exploring the area. When we left Capitol Reef we decided to look for something new. I read about the Notom Road, east of the park, so we decided to check it out. Good decision. We went in about 12 miles before the road got rougher. Great scenery - it is the back side of the Waterpocket Fold - another area we need to check out. We then drove through some really desolate landscape before coming to the Hite Overlook. Great view of the Colorado River in the Glen Canyon Recreation Area. After this we were going to visit some Indian ruins but took a wrong turn somewhere so we just headed to Cortez, CO for the evening. Good day.

 

I took these photos in April 2018 in south eastern Utah.

The dream of staying somewhere where time stands still - one hour follows after the other - one day follows after the other - most of it is manageable and is a repetition of something one has already experienced and lived through. Bedouins in the Sahara desert

Another one from the vault and never processed … Back in Spring of 2015, the three (of four) Bando de Kvar (flickr.com/groups/2472126@N24/ ) members participated in an expedition to the wilds of Queen Street West in downtown Toronto, Ontario, to engage in some street photography. At the Northwest corner of the intersection of Queen St W an Peter St stood a tree with a somewhat Roy Orbison-ish face painted on it and above the face the words ‘Hug Me’. Perhaps a reference to tree huggers? But given the bit of an oddity and a convenient place to park myself, I crouched down with a wide-angle lense setting and waited. After a few minutes a family hurrying Westward in the company of a young lady outfitted in what struck me as possibly a first communion outfit entered my scene. Planing plus luck equals street photography. Colour was not an important factor in the original and that was likely why I had not bothered with it back in the day. But my recent exploration of the works of a number of notable street photographers gave me a different perspective so I opted to process it as B&W, which I rather like. - JW

 

Date Taken: 2015-05-24

 

Tech Details:

 

Taken using a hand-held Nikon D7100 fitted with a Nikkor 18-105mm VR lense set to 18mm, ISO100, Aperture priority mode, f/5.6, 1/500 sec. PP in free Open Source RAWTherapee from Nikon RAW/NEF source file: set final image size to 8000px wide, convert to B&W using the green and red channel gamma adjustments to darken the image’s darkest areas, use the Graduated Neutral Density/GND tool rotated to cover the left side of the frame to slightly darken and thus better balance its tonality with the rest of the image, brighten the image overall by apply an exposure compensation value of EV+0.58, enable the tone mapping tool at default levels to get the extremes of the tonal range into a more manageable value(s), increase contrast slightly in L-A-B mode, recover highlight detail using the Shadows/Highlights tool, sharpen (edges only), save, PP in free Open Source GIMP : use the contrast/brightness tool to fine-tune contrast while preserving highlight details, sharpen, save, scale image to 6000px wide, sharpen, save, add fine black-and-white frame, add bar and text on left, save, scale image to 2048 wide for posting online, sharpen slightly, save.

There were no animals grazing and so no animals to disturb as I took a break in a North to South journey and spent a brief time connecting with the genii loci, or spirits of this place. On 28 August 2018 I took some pictures of this same rock feature in very different daylight conditions the link and there description is given below they are titled, “Eagle Rock on Hadrian's Wall.” My return visit involved very different circumstances. The quick wander in the ravine and along the line of the roman defensive position was poignant for me considering several issues including being on the edges of the world that was wanted and manageable within the reach of civilisation and integration within the empire.

  

Eagle Rock on Hadrian's Wall

 

Between Brocolitia Fort and Black Carts Turret on Hadrian's Wall there is a great feature that I call Eagle Rock. I have searched the internet and other resources and so far I cannot see any mentions of this rock feature. The roman wall would have towered over the part natural and maybe part quarried ravine where the imposing Eagle’s Head is still present to this day. Originally signa militaria of the Roman army is said to have been a handful a manipulus of hay, or fern fixed to the top of a spear or pole. Hence the company of soldiers belonging to and following the insignia was called a maniple.

 

The dry tall stems of grass and fern sprouting out around the Eagle’s Head Rock are the flora symbols that gave way to fauna and wolf, ox, horse and boar are documented as being held aloft in front of the Roman Army. Eventually the Aquila, the Eagle in silver, or bronze became the animal insignia for every Roman Army. Jupiter the presiding father of the Roman Gods used an eagle as his personal messenger. The eagle as military insignia showed the way to progress on the march and under battle orders as such it was referred to as the soul of the Legion. The eagle became respected as the most prestigious military standard of the Roman army and it was held in the greatest veneration. Losing the Aquila standard, also known as the Legionary Eagle, was regarded as the ultimate shame and disgrace. On the other hand recovering a lost Aquila was hailed as a major victory.

 

Eagle Rock on Hadrian's Wall

www.flickr.com/photos/phhsykes/albums/72157700791783744

  

PHH Sykes copyright 2018

phhsykes@gmail.com

Squid are cephalopods in the superorder Decapodiformes with elongated bodies, large eyes, eight arms and two tentacles. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, and a mantle. They are mainly soft-bodied, like octopuses, but have a small internal skeleton in the form of a rod-like gladius or pen, made of chitin.

 

Squid diverged from other cephalopods during the Jurassic and occupy a similar role to teleost fish as open water predators of similar size and behaviour. They play an important role in the open water food web. The two long tentacles are used to grab prey and the eight arms to hold and control it. The beak then cuts the food into suitable size chunks for swallowing. Squid are rapid swimmers, moving by jet propulsion, and largely locate their prey by sight. They are among the most intelligent of invertebrates, with groups of Humboldt squid having been observed hunting cooperatively. They are preyed on by sharks, other fish, sea birds, seals and cetaceans, particularly sperm whales.

 

Squid can change colour for camouflage and signalling. Some species are bioluminescent, using their light for counter-illumination camouflage, while many species can eject a cloud of ink to distract predators.

 

Squid are used for human consumption with commercial fisheries in Japan, the Mediterranean, the southwestern Atlantic, the eastern Pacific and elsewhere. They are used in cuisines around the world, often known as "calamari". Squid have featured in literature since classical times, especially in tales of giant squid and sea monsters.

 

TAXONOMY AND PHYLOGENY

Squid are members of the class Cephalopoda, subclass Coleoidea. The squid orders Myopsida and Oegopsida are in the superorder Decapodiformes (from the Greek for "ten-legged"). Two other orders of decapodiform cephalopods are also called squid, although they are taxonomically distinct from squids and differ recognizably in their gross anatomical features. They are the bobtail squid of order Sepiolida and the ram's horn squid of the monotypic order Spirulida. The vampire squid, however, is more closely related to the octopuses than to any squid.

 

The cladogram, not fully resolved, is based on Sanchez et al, 2018. Their molecular phylogeny used mitochondrial and nuclear DNA marker sequences; they comment that a robust phylogeny "has proven very challenging to obtain". If it is accepted that Sepiidae cuttlefish are a kind of squid, then the squids, excluding the vampire squid, form a clade as illustrated. Orders are shown in boldface; all the families not included in those orders, except Sepiadariidae and Sepiidae are in the paraphyletic order "Sepiida", are in the paraphyletic order "Oegopsida".

 

EVOLUTION

Crown coleoids (the ancestors of octopuses and squid) diverged at the end of the Paleozoic, in the Permian. Squid diverged during the Jurassic, but many squid families appeared in or after the Cretaceous. Both the coleoids and the teleost fish were involved in much adaptive radiation at this time, and the two modern groups resemble each other in size, ecology, habitat, morphology and behaviour, however some fish moved into fresh water while the coleoids remained in marine environments.

 

The ancestral coleoid was probably nautiloid-like with a strait septate shell that became immersed in the mantle and was used for buoyancy control. Four lines diverged from this, Spirulida (with one living member), the cuttlefishes, the squids and the octopuses. Squid have differentiated from the ancestral mollusc such that the body plan has been condensed antero-posteriorly and extended dorso-ventrally. What may have been the foot of the ancestor is modified into a complex set of appendages around the mouth. The sense organs are highly developed and include advanced eyes similar to those of vertebrates.

 

The ancestral shell has been lost, with only an internal gladius, or pen, remaining. The pen, made of a chitin-like material, is a feather-shaped internal structure that supports the squid's mantle and serves as a site for muscle attachment. The cuttlebone or sepion of the Sepiidae is calcareous and appears to have evolved afresh in the Tertiary

 

DESCIPTION

Squid are soft-bodied molluscs whose forms evolved to adopt an active predatory lifestyle. The head and foot of the squid are at one end of a long body, and this end is functionally anterior, leading the animal as it moves through the water. A set of eight arms and two distinctive tentacles surround the mouth; each appendage takes the form of a muscular hydrostat and is flexible and prehensile, usually bearing disc-like suckers.

 

The suckers may lie directly on the arm or be stalked. Their rims are stiffened with chitin and may contain minute toothlike denticles. These features, as well as strong musculature, and a small ganglion beneath each sucker to allow individual control, provide a very powerful adhesion to grip prey. Hooks are present on the arms and tentacles in some species, but their function is unclear. The two tentacles are much longer than the arms and are retractile. Suckers are limited to the spatulate tip of the tentacle, known as the manus.

 

In the mature male, the outer half of one of the left arms is hectocotylised – and ends in a copulatory pad rather than suckers. This is used for depositing a spermatophore inside the mantle cavity of a female. A ventral part of the foot has been converted into a funnel through which water exits the mantle cavity.

 

The main body mass is enclosed in the mantle, which has a swimming fin along each side. These fins are not the main source of locomotion in most species. The mantle wall is heavily muscled and internal. The visceral mass, which is covered by a thin, membranous epidermis, forms a cone-shaped posterior region known as the "visceral hump". The mollusc shell is reduced to an internal, longitudinal chitinous "pen" in the functionally dorsal part of the animal; the pen acts to stiffen the squid and provides attachments for muscles.

 

On the functionally ventral part of the body is an opening to the mantle cavity, which contains the gills (ctenidia) and openings from the excretory, digestive and reproductive systems. An inhalant siphon behind the funnel draws water into the mantel cavity via a valve. The squid uses the funnel for locomotion via precise jet propulsion. In this form of locomotion, water is sucked into the mantle cavity and expelled out of the funnel in a fast, strong jet. The direction of travel is varied by the orientation of the funnel. Squid are strong swimmers and certain species can "fly" for short distances out of the water.

 

CAMOUFLAGE

Squid make use of different kinds of camouflage, namely active camouflage for background matching (in shallow water) and counter-illumination. This helps to protect them from their predators and allows them to approach their prey.

 

The skin is covered in controllable chromatophores of different colours, enabling the squid to match its coloration to its surroundings. The play of colours may in addition distract prey from the squid's approaching tentacles. The skin also contains light reflectors called iridophores and leucophores that, when activated, in milliseconds create changeable skin patterns of polarized light. Such skin camouflage may serve various functions, such as communication with nearby squid, prey detection, navigation, and orientation during hunting or seeking shelter. Neural control of the iridophores enabling rapid changes in skin iridescence appears to be regulated by a cholinergic process affecting reflectin proteins.

 

Some mesopelagic squid such as the firefly squid (Watasenia scintillans) and the midwater squid (Abralia veranyi) use counter-illumination camouflage, generating light to match the downwelling light from the ocean surface. This creates the effect of countershading, making the underside lighter than the upperside.

 

Counter-illumination is also used by the Hawaiian bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes), which has symbiotic bacteria (Aliivibrio fischeri) that produce light to help the squid avoid nocturnal predators. This light shines through the squid's skin on its underside and is generated by a large and complex two-lobed light organ inside the squid's mantle cavity. From there, it escapes downwards, some of it travelling directly, some coming off a reflector at the top of the organ (dorsal side). Below there is a kind of iris, which has branches (diverticula) of its ink sac, with a lens below that; both the reflector and lens are derived from mesoderm. The squid controls light production by changing the shape of its iris or adjusting the strength of yellow filters on its underside, which presumably change the balance of wavelengths emitted. Light production shows a correlation with intensity of down-welling light, but it is about one third as bright; the squid can track repeated changes in brightness. Because the Hawaiian bobtail squid hides in sand during the day to avoid predators, it does not use counter-illumination during daylight

 

PREDATOR DISTRACTION WITH INK

Squid distract attacking predators by ejecting a cloud of ink, giving themselves an opportunity to escape. The ink gland and its associated ink sac empties into the rectum close to the anus, allowing the squid to rapidly discharge black ink into the mantle cavity and surrounding water. The ink is a suspension of melanin particles and quickly disperses to form a dark cloud that obscures the escape manoeuvres of the squid. Predatory fish may also be deterred by the alkaloid nature of the discharge which may interfere with their chemoreceptors.

 

NERVOUS SYSTEM AND SENSE ORGANS

Cephalopods have the most highly developed nervous systems among invertebrates. Squids have a complex brain in the form of a nerve ring encircling the oesophagus, enclosed in a cartilaginous cranium. Paired cerebral ganglia above the oesophagus receive sensory information from the eyes and statocysts, and further ganglia below control the muscles of the mouth, foot, mantle and viscera. Giant axons up to 1 mm in diameter convey nerve messages with great rapidity to the circular muscles of the mantle wall, allowing a synchronous, powerful contraction and maximum speed in the jet propulsion system.

 

The paired eyes, on either side of the head, are housed in capsules fused to the cranium. Their structure is very similar to that of a fish eye, with a globular lens that has a depth of focus from 3 cm to infinity. The image is focused by changing the position of the lens, as in a camera or telescope, rather than changing the shape of the lens, as in the human eye. Squid adjust to changes in light intensity by expanding and contracting the slit-shaped pupil. Deep sea squids in the family Histioteuthidae have eyes of two different types and orientation. The large left eye is tubular in shape and looks upwards, presumably searching for the silhouettes of animals higher in the water column. The normally-shaped right eye points forwards and downwards to detect prey.

 

The statocysts are involved in maintaining balance and are analogous to the inner ear of fish. They are housed in cartilaginous capsules on either side of the cranium. They provide the squid with information on its body position in relation to gravity, its orientation, acceleration and rotation, and are able to perceive incoming vibrations. Without the statocysts, the squid cannot maintain equilibrium. Squid appear to have limited hearing, but the head and arms bear lines of hair-cells that are weakly sensitive to water movements and changes in pressure, and are analogous in function to the lateral line system of fish.

 

REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

The sexes are separate in squid, there being a single gonad in the posterior part of the body with fertilisation being external, and usually taking place in the mantle cavity of the female. The male has a testis from which sperm pass into a single gonoduct where they are rolled together into a long bundle, or spermatophore. The gonoduct is elongated into a "penis" that extends into the mantle cavity and through which spermatophores are ejected. In shallow water species, the penis is short, and the spermatophore is removed from the mantle cavity by a tentacle of the male, which is specially adapted for the purpose and known as a hectocotylus, and placed inside the mantle cavity of the female during mating.The female has a large translucent ovary, situated towards the posterior of the visceral mass. From here, eggs travel along the gonocoel, where there are a pair of white nidamental glands, which lie anterior to the gills. Also present are red-spotted accessory nidamental glands containing symbiotic bacteria; both organs are associated with nutrient manufacture and forming shells for the eggs. The gonocoel enters the mantle cavity at the gonopore, and in some species, receptacles for storing spermatophores are located nearby, in the mantle wall. In shallow-water species of the continental shelf and epipelagic or mesopelagic zones, it is frequently one or both of arm pair IV of males that are modified into hectocotyli. However, most deep-sea squid lack hectocotyl arms and have longer penises; Ancistrocheiridae and Cranchiinae are exceptions. Giant squid of the genus Architeuthis are unusual in that they possess both a large penis and modified arm tips, although whether the latter are used for spermatophore transfer is uncertain. Penis elongation has been observed in the deep-water species Onykia ingens; when erect, the penis may be as long as the mantle, head, and arms combined. As such, deep-water squid have the greatest known penis length relative to body size of all mobile animals, second in the entire animal kingdom only to certain sessile barnacles.

 

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Like all cephalopods, squids are predators and have complex digestive systems. The mouth is equipped with a sharp, horny beak mainly made of chitin and cross-linked proteins, which is used to kill and tear prey into manageable pieces. The beak is very robust, but does not contain minerals, unlike the teeth and jaws of many other organisms; the cross-linked proteins are histidine- and glycine-rich and give the beak a stiffness and hardness greater than most equivalent synthetic organic materials. The stomachs of captured whales often have indigestible squid beaks inside. The mouth contains the radula, the rough tongue common to all molluscs except bivalvia, which is equipped with multiple rows of teeth.[6] In some species, toxic saliva helps to control large prey; when subdued, the food can be torn in pieces by the beak, moved to the oesophagus by the radula, and swallowed.

 

The food bolus is moved along the gut by waves of muscular contractions (peristalsis). The long oesophagus leads to a muscular stomach roughly in the middle of the visceral mass. The digestive gland, which is equivalent to a vertebrate liver, diverticulates here, as does the pancreas, and both of these empty into the caecum, a pouch-shaped sac where most of the absorption of nutrients takes place. Indigestible food can be passed directly from the stomach to the rectum where it joins the flow from the caecum and is voided through the anus into the mantle cavity. Cephalopods are short-lived, and in mature squid, priority is given to reproduction; the female Onychoteuthis banksii for example, sheds its feeding tentacles on reaching maturity, and becomes flaccid and weak after spawning.

 

CARDIOVASCULAR AND EXCRETORY SYSTEMS

The squid mantle cavity is a seawater-filled sac containing three hearts and other organs supporting circulation, respiration, and excretion. Squid have a main systemic heart that pumps blood around the body as part of the general circulatory system, and two branchial hearts. The systemic heart consists of three chambers, a lower ventricle and two upper atria, all of which can contract to propel the blood. The branchial hearts pump blood specifically to the gills for oxygenation, before returning it to the systemic heart. The blood contains the copper-rich protein hemocyanin, which is used for oxygen transport at low ocean temperatures and low oxygen concentrations, and makes the oxygenated blood a deep, blue color. As systemic blood returns via two vena cavae to the branchial hearts, excretion of urine, carbon dioxide, and waste solutes occurs through outpockets (called nephridial appendages) in the vena cavae walls that enable gas exchange and excretion via the mantle cavity seawater.

 

BUOYANCY

Unlike nautiloids which have gas-filled chambers inside their shells which provide buoyancy, and octopuses which live near and rest on the seabed and do not require to be buoyant, many squid have a fluid-filled receptacle, equivalent to the swim bladder of a fish, in the coelom or connective tissue. This reservoir acts as a chemical buoyancy chamber, with the heavy metallic cations typical of seawater replaced by low molecular-weight ammonium ions, a product of excretion. The small difference in density provides a small contribution to buoyancy per unit volume, so the mechanism requires a large buoyancy chamber to be effective. Since the chamber is filled with liquid, it has the advantage over a swim bladder of not changing significantly in volume with pressure. Glass squids in the family Cranchiidae for example, have an enormous transparent coelom containing ammonium ions and occupying about two-thirds the volume of the animal, allowing it to float at the required depth. About half of the 28 families of squid use this mechanism to solve their buoyancy issues.

 

LARGEST AND SMALLEST

The majority of squid are no more than 60 cm long, although the giant squid may reach 13 m. The smallest species are probably the benthic pygmy squids Idiosepius, which grow to a mantle length of 10 to 18 mm, and have short bodies and stubby arms.

 

In 1978, sharp, curved claws on the suction cups of squid tentacles cut up the rubber coating on the hull of the USS Stein. The size suggested the largest squid known at the time.

 

In 2003, a large specimen of an abundant but poorly understood species, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni (the colossal squid), was discovered. This species may grow to 10 m in length, making it the largest invertebrate. In February 2007, a New Zealand fishing vessel caught the largest squid ever documented, weighing 495 kg and measuring around 10 m off the coast of Antarctica. Dissection showed that the eyes, used to detect prey in the deep Southern Ocean, exceeded the size of footballs; these may be among the largest eyes ever to exist in the animal kingdom.

 

DEVELOPMENT

The eggs of squid are large for a mollusc, containing a large amount of yolk to nourish the embryo as it develops directly, without an intervening veliger larval stage. The embryo grows as a disc of cells on top of the yolk. During the gastrulation stage, the margins of the disc grow to surround the yolk, forming a yolk sac, which eventually forms part of the animal's gut. The dorsal side of the disc grows upwards and forms the embryo, with a shell gland on its dorsal surface, gills, mantle and eyes. The arms and funnel develop as part of the foot on the ventral side of the disc. The arms later migrate upwards, coming to form a ring around the funnel and mouth. The yolk is gradually absorbed as the embryo grows. Some juvenile squid live higher in the water column than do adults. Squids tend to be short-lived; Loligo for example lives from one to three years according to species, typically dying soon after spawning.

 

n a well-studied bioluminescent species, the Hawaiian bobtail squid, a special light organ in the squid's mantle is rapidly colonized with Aliivibrio fischeri bacteria within hours of hatching. This light-organ colonization requires this particular bacterial species for a symbiotic relationship; no colonization occurs in the absence of A. fischeri. Colonization occurs in a horizontal manner, such that the hosts acquires its bacterial partners from the environment. The symbiosis is obligate for the squid, but facultative for the bacteria. Once the bacteria enter the squid, they colonize interior epithelial cells in the light organ, living in crypts with complex microvilli protrusions. The bacteria also interact with hemocytes, macrophage-like blood cells that migrate between epithelial cells, but the mechanism and function of this process is not well understood. Bioluminescence reaches its highest levels during the early evening hours and bottoms out before dawn; this occurs because at the end of each day, the contents of the squid's crypts are expelled into the surrounding environment. About 95% of the bacteria are voided each morning before the bacterial population builds up again by nightfall.

 

BEHAVIOUR

LOCOMOTION

Squid can move about in several different ways. Slow movement is achieved by a gentle undulation of the muscular lateral fins on either side of the trunk which drives the animal forward. A more common means of locomotion providing sustained movement is achieved using jetting, during which contraction of the muscular wall of the mantle cavity provides jet propulsion.

 

Slow jetting is used for ordinary locomotion, and ventilation of the gills is achieved at the same time. The circular muscles in the mantle wall contract; this causes the inhalant valve to close, the exhalant valve to open and the mantle edge to lock tightly around the head. Water is forced out through the funnel which is pointed in the opposite direction to the required direction of travel. The inhalant phase is initiated by the relaxation of the circular muscles causes them to stretch, the connective tissue in the mantle wall recoils elastically, the mantle cavity expands causing the inhalant valve to open, the exhalant valve to close and water to flow into the cavity. This cycle of exhalation and inhalation is repeated to provide continuous locomotion.

 

Fast jetting is an escape response. In this form of locomotion, radial muscles in the mantle wall are involved as well as circular ones, making it possible to hyper-inflate the mantle cavity with a larger volume of water than during slow jetting. On contraction, water flows out with great force, the funnel always being pointed anteriorly, and travel is backwards. During this means of locomotion, some squid exit the water in a similar way to flying fish, gliding through the air for up to 50 m, and occasionally ending up on the decks of ships.

 

FEEDING

Squid are carnivores, and, with their strong arms and suckers, can overwhelm relatively large animals efficiently. Prey is identified by sight or by touch, grabbed by the tentacles which can be shot out with great rapidity, brought back to within reach of the arms, and held by the hooks and suckers on their surface. In some species, the squid's saliva contains toxins which act to subdue the prey. These are injected into its bloodstream when the prey is bitten, along with vasodilators and chemicals to stimulate the heart, and quickly circulate to all parts of its body. The deep sea squid Taningia danae has been filmed releasing blinding flashes of light from large photophores on its arms to illuminate and disorientate potential prey.

 

Although squid can catch large prey, the mouth is relatively small, and the food must be cut into pieces by the chitinous beak with its powerful muscles before being swallowed. The radula is located in the buccal cavity and has multiple rows of tiny teeth that draw the food backwards and grind it in pieces. The deep sea squid Mastigoteuthis has the whole length of its whip-like tentacles covered with tiny suckers; it probably catches small organisms in the same way that flypaper traps flies. The tentacles of some bathypelagic squids bear photophores which may bring food within its reach by attracting prey.

 

Squid are among the most intelligent invertebrates. For example, groups of Humboldt squid hunt cooperatively, spiralling up through the water at night and coordinating their vertical and horizontal movements while foraging.

 

REPRODUCTION

Courtship in squid takes place in the open water and involves the male selecting a female, the female responding, and the transfer by the male of spermatophores to the female. In many instances, the male may display to identify himself to the female and drive off any potential competitors.[46] Elaborate changes in body patterning take place in some species in both agonistic and courtship behaviour. The Caribbean reef squid (Sepioteuthis sepioidea), for example, employs a complex array of colour changes during courtship and social interactions and has a range of about 16 body patterns in its repertoire.

 

The pair adopt a head-to-head position, and "jaw locking" may take place, in a similar manner to that adopted by some cichlid fish. The heterodactylus of the male is used to transfer the spermatophore and deposit it in the female's mantle cavity in the position appropriate for the species; this may be adjacent to the gonopore or in a seminal receptacle.

 

The sperm may be used immediately or may be stored. As the eggs pass down the oviduct, they are wrapped in a gelatinous coating, before continuing to the mantle cavity, where they are fertilised. In Loligo, further coatings are added by the nidimental glands in the walls of the cavity and the eggs leave through a funnel formed by the arms. The female attaches them to the substrate in strings or groups, the coating layers swelling and hardening after contact with sea water. Loligo sometimes forms breeding aggregations which may create a "community pile" of egg strings. Some pelagic and deep sea squid do not attach their egg masses, which float freely.

 

ECOLOGY

Squid mostly have an annual life cycle, growing fast and dying soon after spawning. The diet changes as they grow but mostly consists of large zooplankton and small nekton. In Antarctica for example, krill is the main constituent of the diet, with other food items being amphipods, other small crustaceans, and large arrow worms. Fish are also eaten, and some squid are cannibalistic.

 

As well as occupying a key role in the food chain, squid are an important prey for predators including sharks, sea birds, seals and whales. Juvenile squid provide part of the diet for worms and small fish. When researchers studied the contents of the stomachs of elephant seals in South Georgia, they found 96% squid by weight. In a single day, a sperm whale can eat 700 to 800 squid, and a Risso's dolphin entangled in a net in the Mediterranean was found to have eaten angel clubhook squid, umbrella squid, reverse jewel squid and European flying squid, all identifiable from their indigestible beaks. Ornithoteuthis volatilis, a common squid from the tropical Indo-Pacific, is predated by yellowfin tuna, longnose lancetfish, common dolphinfish and swordfish, the tiger shark, the scalloped hammerhead shark and the smooth hammerhead shark. Sperm whales also hunt this species extensively as does the brown fur seal. In the Southern Ocean, penguins and wandering albatrosses are major predators of Gonatus antarcticus.

 

HUMAN USES

IN LITERATUR AND ART

Giant squid have featured as monsters of the deep since classical times. Giant squid were described by Aristotle (4th century BC) in his History of Animals and Pliny the Elder (1st century AD) in his Natural History. The Gorgon of Greek mythology may have been inspired by squid or octopus, the animal itself representing the severed head of Medusa, the beak as the protruding tongue and fangs, and its tentacles as the snakes. The six-headed sea monster of the Odyssey, Scylla, may have had a similar origin. The Nordic legend of the kraken may also have derived from sightings of large cephalopods.

 

In literature, H. G. Wells' short story "The Sea Raiders" featured a man-eating squid species Haploteuthis ferox.[59] The science fiction writer Jules Verne told a tale of a kraken-like monster in his 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

 

AS FOOD

Squid form a major food resource and are used in cuisines around the world, notably in Japan where it is eaten as ika sōmen, sliced into vermicelli-like strips; as sashimi; and as tempura. Three species of Loligo are used in large quantities, L. vulgaris in the Mediterranean (known as Calamar in Spanish, Calamaro in Italian); L. forbesii in the Northeast Atlantic; and L. pealei on the American East Coast. Among the Ommastrephidae, Todarodes pacificus is the main commercial species, harvested in large quantities across the North Pacific in Canada, Japan and China.

 

In English-speaking countries, squid as food is often called calamari, adopted from Italian into English in the 17th century. Squid are found abundantly in certain areas, and provide large catches for fisheries. The body can be stuffed whole, cut into flat pieces, or sliced into rings. The arms, tentacles, and ink are also edible; the only parts not eaten are the beak and gladius (pen). Squid is a good food source for zinc and manganese, and high in copper, selenium, vitamin B12, and riboflavin.

 

COMMERCIAL FISHING

According to the FAO, the cephalopod catch for 2002 was 3,173,272 tonnes. Of this, 2,189,206 tonnes, or 75.8 percent, was squid. The following table lists squid species fishery catches that exceeded 10,000 tonnes in 2002.

 

IN BIOMIMICRY

Prototype chromatophores that mimic the squid's adaptive camouflage, have been made by Bristol University researchers using an electroactive dielectric elastomer, a flexible "smart" material that changes its colour and texture in response to electrical signals. The researchers state that their goal is to create an artificial skin that provides rapid active camouflage.

 

The squid giant axon inspired Otto Schmitt to develop a comparator circuit with hysteresis now called the Schmitt trigger, replicating the axon's propagation of nerve impulses.

 

WIKIPEDIA

cool rideable bike for a petite 5 foot 6 woman; quite fast and manageable for new riders too a CBR 400; a good starter biker more women should get; hip cool women like kate know this; remember kate's photos get to a nice size with the flick options

First time I visited the abandoned Grantsville, Nevada mining district in 2001 there was a very large, very old Caterpillar bulldozer parked beside the mill. It was almost complete. Visiting again in May 2012 I found it almost completely gone. Metal scrappers had used blowtorches to carve it into manageable pieces and dragged them to the recycler. Only the seat frame, part of the chassis rails and engine/driveline remain. It'll probably ALL be gone the next time I make it out there again. Judging by the graf on there, I'm not the only one disappointed by this.

 

The camera was placed along the machine's centerline, just at the ends of the cut off frame rails, to take advantage of its innate symmetry. It's parked on a slope, so I left the camera level, taking advantage of the scene's natural lean in an effort to break up the stiff, static nature of perfectly symmetrical images. I also made sure to break the horizon line with the top of the seat and levers: to get that sick green to pop against the blue sky and to follow the angle of the hill.

 

Lit with the Protomachines flashlight, I mixed up a strong yellow/green that complimented the natural color of the dozer and lit her from both sides. Then I lit the ground underneath with red from below the camera, bouncing it up onto the engine block. 332 second exposure, full moon.

We keep the snow blower's goin'!

A caterpillar and snow cat cut this slide from Liberty Bell chute #1 down to a manageable "bite" before the final "blow" was dealt.

IDP's from Tikrit and Ramadi.

The refugee flow to the wealthy continent of Europe is just the tip of the iceberg. It's a minor crisis compared to the real refugee crisis hitting Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan, where resources are not so plenty as in Europe. Belgium is not overwhelmed by a flood of refugees like Kurdistan. Many internal Iraqi refugees from areas which have been taken by IS flee to the Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Most refugees remain in the region, and within the sphere of influence of the conflicts of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Browse through these photos by photographer Baram Maaruf and you might get a better understanding of the scope of the "crisis" in Europe: limited and perfectly manageable. It's a not a "refugee crisis", but a crisis of "political will".

 

ARBAT IDP CAMP

Arbat Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp is located outside the city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. It is one of the most overcrowded refugee camps in Iraq. The camp was supposed to house 800 displaced Iraqi families, but now there are more than 2000 families (23.000 people). In each tent there are several families. It was established for Syrian refugees as a transit camp, but it turned into a camp for internally displaced Iraqi refugees. As the crisis in Iraq enters its second year with no political or military solution in sight, the government and aid groups are being forced to seek longer-term humanitarian solutions for the more than three million displaced by violence across the country.

 

ASHTI CAMP

It’s a short drive to a new camp location just five km away: Ashti Camp. UNHCR and its partners began to move residents to better-equipped facilities in June 2015. Ashti camp, was recently completed and will eventually accommodate some 1000 families who will be moved from Arbat Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp. They are displaced Iraqis sheltering in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. It looks like the foundation of a new village. Instead of pitched upon packed earth, tents here rest on poured concrete foundations. Plumbing is underground and electric wiring runs along poles that neatly follow the camp's grid layout.

 

ARBAT PERMANENT CAMP

The third refugee camp is a permanent camp for 6000 Syrian refugees, mainly Kurds from Kobani and Qamishlo. It looks like a village with paved roads, electricity wires, shops, little brick houses. Even though the whole “village” looks miserable, it is much “better” compared to Arbat Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

 

Some background:

Towards the end of WWII, large, piston-engined flying boats had been used exctensively in th bepatrol and bomber role, but with the advent of the new jet engine technology, engineers in several countries started to explore the new propulsion type's potential in different areas - including seaborne usage.

Towards the end of WWII and the far-stretched conflict theatre in the Pacific, the flying boat as well as float planes still had a large appeal due to their independence from airfields. This offered a lot of tactical flexibility. On the other side, the jet engine promised (much) higher speeds, but with the relative higher weight of early jet-driven aircraft (more fuel was needed, and more engines, as thrust was relatively low) a seaborne type would also avoid the need for a prepared and long airstrip to operate.

 

The United Kingdom was one nation that looked seriously into this kind of aircraft, and Saunders Roe presented in 1943 the proposals for a plane that should actually make it to the hardware stage: the SR.1/A, which made its maiden flight in 1947. The Soviet union also undertook some studies, but fighters remained just proposals. Eventually OKB Beriev would produce several sea-borne, jet-powered patrol bombers (e .g. the R-1 experimental plane, and later the Be-10 flying boat), which actually entered service.

 

In the USA, studies for a jet-powered fighter fyling boat gained momentum during the final stages of WWII. Convair developed the 'Skate' for the US Navy, a heavy night fighter, and Boeing designed a competitive concept. In parallel, and towards the end of the forties, heavier flying boats for maritime patrol were requested by the Navy - and with them a lighter, single-seat fighter that could escort them, or be used as an interceptor to defend improvised forward maritime bases. Using this type as a fast, ship-borne reconnaicssance aircraft was also envisioned.

This fighter was to be capable of a similar performance to land-based fighters in this class, like the F-80 or the F-86. The dsuccessful evelopment of the SR.A/1 in the UK had been keenly observed, and the concept of a jet-powered flying boat fighter appeared feasible and appealing.

 

One company to respond to the USN request was Curtiss, who already had experience with float planes like the Model 82 (SOC) and the Model 97 (SC 'Seahawk') - both rather pathfinder aircraft than true combat types, though. Curtiss designed its Model 101 around two J47-GE-11 jet engines, each rated at 2.359 kN (5.200 lbf) of thrust.

 

The Model 101's layout was rather concentional, with a deep, single step boat hull that would house a huge amount of fuel for the requested long range escort capability. The J47-GE-11-engines (the same which powered the B-47 bomber) were placed in nacelles, at the highest point of the gull wings.

As an innovative step, the Model 101 featured swept wings - the first time ever that this was tried on a flying boat. On the tips of the wings with a 35° sweep, slats and large flaps, fixed stabilizer floats were mounted. The large fin was swepts as well, and the horizontal stabilizers were placed as a T-tail high on the fin, clear of any jet turbulence or spray water.

 

The pilot sat in a pressurized cockpit under a bubble canopy, which offered good view, even though the massive engine nacelles blocked much of the side and rearward field of view.

The Model 101 was armed with four 20 mm (0.79 in) M3 autocannons in the nose section, with 200 RPG. An A-1CM gunsight which used an AN/APG-30 radar to automatically compute the range of a target was housed in a small radome in the nose tip. Under its inner wings, just outside of the engines, hardpoints allowed an external ordnance of up to 4.000 lb (1.816 kg), including bombs of up to 1.000 lb calibre, eight HVAR missiles, drop tanks or even two torpedos.

 

Curtiss received a go-ahead and two prototypes were built during 1948. First taxi runsd tok place in late 1947, the maiden flight of prototype #01 was on February 6th 1948, the second aircraft followed only three weeks later on 1st of March 1948 - and the tests were soon halted. Both aircraft suffered from severe purpoising at 80% of the take-off speed, and this problem almost resulted in the loss of prototype #01. This was a new problem, as such high take-off speeds had never before been encountered on water, and the phenomenon was called the 'hydro-dynamic instability barrier': essentially it was unstable aquaplaning.

 

First attempts to solve the problem were elevator compensation and tailplane incidence angle adjustments. This helped, but the aircraft remained unstable during take-off and landing - it was not before November 1948 that modifications were made to the planing bottom of prototype #02.

This brought the purpoising to a manageable level, but did not fully cure it. Disaster struck on February 12th 1949, when the still unmodified first prototype was lost in a starting accident: the aircraft started purpoising during take-off, hit a wave with the left side stabilizer swimmer, suddenly veered off towards the left, pitching down with the nose and toppling over at more than 120mph, ripping off the left wing and the whole tail section. Miracuously, test pilot Simon Pritchard escaped alive from the sinking wreck (even though heavily injured), but the XFC-1 #01 had to be written off and any high speed ground tests were suspended..

 

Flight tests were resumed in June 1949 after a bottom step venting system had been introduced, and this measure finally cured the instability problem. In the meantime, two more airframes had been built: one with more powerful J47-GE-23 engines (with 2.631 kN/5.800 lbf each, these were introduced to the other two prototypes during 1950, too) and another one for static tests.

 

Further trials followed during 1950 and in early 1951 the re-engined machine #02 even became supersonic in a dive. While the Model 101 (which received the USN designation XFC-1 and was christened 'Oceanhawk') was up to the original specifications it was clear that it could not compete with land-based aircraft - essentially, it offered a similar performance to the land-based F-86, but the XFC-1 needed two engines for that, was much less agile and still needed a complex infratsructure to operate properly. Its independence from land bases was still its biggest selling point, though, so the development was kept up.

 

At that time, the USN issued a specification for a supersonic flying boat, and NACA understook a study that a Mach 2 aircraft would be feasible until 1955. This rendered the Oceanhawk more or less obsolete, as it could not keep up with this requirement, and the XFC-1 program was finally closed in 1953. Eventually, the Convair XF2Y Sea Dart would be the next (and final) step on the way to a seaborne jet fighter.

 

Anyway, the remaining two XFC-1 prototypes were not scrapped but allocated to the USN's test squadrons. Prototype #02 and #03 were handed over as UFC-1 to Air Development Squadron VX-4 "Evaluaters" at Point Mugu, California, together with the static airframe #04 which was used for spares. Both aircraft were used as chase planes, observation platforms and target tugs. Machine #02, for instance, took part in the evaluation program of the Martin P6M SeaMaster flying boat in 1955, and was then modified for several tests with hydroski installations under the fuselage. On the other side, machine #03 was used in the development of remote drone and target tug control equipment, being re-designated DFC-1.

 

After serving in these second line roles, both aircraft were finally scrapped in 1965 and replaced by land-based types.

  

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 14.11 m (46 ft 6 1/3 in)

Wingspan: 12.46 m (40 ft 9 1/2 in)

Height: 4.10 m (13 ft 5 1/4 in)

Empty weight: 9.265 kg (20.408 lb)

Loaded weight: 16.080 kg (35.418 lb)

 

Powerplant:

2× J47-GE-23 engines, rated at 2.631 kN/5.800 lbf each

 

Performance

Maximum speed: 932km/h (577mph/503nm) at sea level

Range: 2.092 km (1296 ml)

Service ceiling: 13.450 m (44.040 ft)

 

Armament

4× 20 mm (0.79 in) M3 autocannons with 200 RPG.

Eight underwing hardpoints for a total external ordnance of up to 4.000 lb (1.816 kg), including bombs of up to 1.000 lb calibre, eight HVAR missiles, drop tanks or two torpedos.

  

The kit and its assembly:

This model is a complete fantasy aircraft, inspired by a TV documentation about sea plane projects in the USA and USSR after WWII. Among others, the Martin P6M SeaMaster and the Saro SR.1/A made an appearance, and I wondered how an escort fighter for the P6M would have looked like in USN service? Well, let's build one...

 

Making a flying boat is pretty tricky, and the whole thing was built from scratch and with lots of putty.

 

Basically, the following went into it, all 1:72 unless stated otherwise:

● Fuselage and cockpit from a Hobby Boss F-86E

● Floating bottom is the lower half of a Matchbox Heinkel He 115 swimmer

● Wings come from another Hobby Boss F-86E, but this time a Batch 30 aircraft with extended wing tips

● Vertical stabilizer comes from an Academy MiG-21F

● Horizontal stabilizers come from a 1:100 Tamiya Il-28 bomber

● Stabilzer swimmers come from a vintage box scale Revell Convair Tradewind kit

● Engine intakes and exhausts are resin parts from Pavla, replacements for a Hasegawa B-47 kit

● A massive beaching trolley, which actually belongs to the A-Model Kh-20M missile kit

 

Assembly went from fuselage over the wing roots, the improvised engine nacelles, outer wings and stabilizer swimmers, step by step. I had a vague idea of what the aircraft should look like, but the design more or less evolved, depending from what I had at hand.

For instance, the Il-28 stabilizers were late additions, as the original F-86 parts turned out to be much too small for the massive aircraft.

 

The cockpit was taken OOB, just a pilot figure was added and the canopy cut into two pieces, so that it could be displayed in an open position.

Around the hull, small mooring hooks made from wire were added, gun nozzles made from hollow needles, as well as some antennae, since the whole kit was rather bleak and simple.

 

The trolley was puzzled together from the parts supllied with A-Model's Kh-20M (AS-3 'Kangaroo') kit, but was modified (e. g. with different wheels) and adapted to the flying boat's hull. It fits perfectly in shape and design, though!

  

Painting and markings:

Nothing fancy, as a jet-powered flying boat fighter is unique enough. Design benchmark was again the P6M, and AFAIK these aircraft were painted in just two tones: FS16081, a very dark grey, with white undersides and a wavy waterline. They were definitively not blue of any sort, as one might think in the first place.

 

I started with the lower side - white is always difficult to apply, and in order to avoid any trouble I used stpray paint from a rattle can and used a very light grey instead of pure white. The latter has two benefits: it covers the surface much better than white, and the contrast is not so harsh - the grey still leaves 'room' for some dry-brushing with white.

 

Next step was the dark grey - I used Humbrol's 32, which is FS36081 and looks very good. Dry-brushing with Humbrol 79 (Dark Blue Grey) was used for some counter-shading, and after a black ink wash I also painted some panel lines with a mix of black and matt varnish onto the hull. That turned out to be a little much, but finally, when the decals were applied (wild mix from various aftermarket sheets and the scrap box), the overall impression became much better.

 

The trolley was simply painted in yellow and makes a nice contrast to the dark aircraft on top of it.

 

Both aircraft and trolley were additionally weathered with some dry-brushed rust and grinded graphite, and finally received a coat of matt varnish.

I figured it was coming when Evan started having trouble reading the closed captions on the TV from the couch, so I was not at all surprised when he failed his eye exam at the pediatrician's office. A month later, he finally had his first optometrist appointment and got to pick out some glasses. We had the kid area all to ourselves for the initial, masked narrowing down of choices. Once we had a more manageable number of frames, we went out to the little atrium area to try those on without the mask.

My 2013 Classic Ariel Doll has been completely deboxed. She is standing, supported by a Kaiser doll stand (not included with the doll), and is photographed from various angles.

 

The 2013 Classic Ariel mermaid doll has many differences from the 2012 model, and is a greatly improved doll. She is both more attractive and more movie accurate. The major changes are to her head and face, her hair, her tail and her legs. There is a minor change to her shell bra. The only features that haven't changed are her torso and arms. I think that overall, she is the best doll in the new class of Classic Princess dolls from the Disney Store. That is fitting, as this is the year of the Diamond Edition release of her movie, The Little Mermaid.

 

Her head has been redesigned to be rounder than the previous models, thus more accurate by the shape alone. Her forehead is lower, her cheeks are fuller and her cheekbones are more prominent. Her cute button nose, open mouth smile and small angular chin seem to be same as the previous model. So her head is not as long, and her face is not as flat.

 

Her face is similar to last years, but with many small changes. Her eye molds appears to be the same shape, but the corners of her eyes are more rounded, so overall the eyes are slightly smaller but rounder. Her big round blue green eyes are wide open, and glancing to her right. They are darker, the pupils are significantly larger, and the glance is more severe than the 2012 doll. It makes for a more lively and adorable expression. She has four short thick curving black lashes over each eye, in the same pattern as last year, and black eyeliner under them that is thicker and darker than before. She has silver eyeshadow as before, but the thick eyeliner partially obscures the eyeshadow. Her rust colored eyebrows a little thicker and darker than last year, and are closer to her eyes. The rouge on her cheeks are much darker than last year, when it was barely visible, if it was there at all. Her mouth is the same, but her lips are a dark pink (as opposed to last year's pastel pink), and her upper lip is painted thinner, and her lower lip is painted fuller. Her face is very beautiful, youthful, lively and much more movie accurate than before.

 

Her waist length red hair is mostly straight and soft, but it ends in large stiff curls. The area around her face is also stiffened with gel to keep it off her face, which works very well to make her face much more open than the 2012 doll. Her volume of hair is much less than before. Her hair is much more manageable, neater, and movie accurate than before. But her part is still on the wrong side of her head, and the large curving front bangs of the movie character are still missing from this doll.

 

Her tail is a dark blue green color, with green glitter forming a scale pattern that is fetching. However her upper and lower fins are made of light blue green tulle that looks much less realistic and movie accurate than the 2012 model. Her purple shell bra is a little darker and a little more accurate than before. It also seems to fit better.

 

Her body is fully articulated in the arms, but now has the rubber legs of 2011 and earlier dolls, which has internal knee joints and fixed angled feet. Her hip joints allow her to sit down with her legs together and her back straight up, unlike the 2012 doll with the fully articulated but defective legs. Her angled rubber feet also make her about 1/4 inch shorter than the 2012 doll. I'd say that the rubber legs are definitely a big improvement for Ariel over the fully articulated hard plastic legs of 2012.

 

The packaging for the dolls is much improved. The box art has been completely redesigned, with beautiful decorations unique to each Princess (actually for each movie), and a cameo of the animated movie character. The boxes are the same height and width, but are 1/2'' flatter, making them smaller and lighter.

 

The 2013 Disney Princess Classic Doll Collection, released on June 10, 2013. They consist of 11-12'' articulated dolls of the 11 official Disney Princesses, from Snow White to Merida, as well as Princes, Villains and Sidekicks. I now have all 11 Princesses, Queen Elinor, Charlotte and Gaston. I will photograph them boxed, during deboxing and fully deboxed. I will also post reviews and comparative photos.

 

Classic Disney Princess Ariel Doll - 12''

US Disney Store

Released online June 10, 2013.

Purchased online June 13, 2013.

Received June 24, 2013.

$14.95 (was on sale for $10 at time of purchase).

 

When you learn something.

Wake up and live it.

We live in a world where nothing is learnt…. things are said, and then we wait for the opportunity to open our fucking mouths.

After, what I have already described as an awesome weekend, I felt that the normal come down would occur. The one that occurs, when you have learnt a different way of life, and then choose to revert to your existing way of life.

You know the one?

Say you have parted ways with a friend, lover or relative and you think that if you do one more thing… well then, mother fucker… it will all be ok.

Chances are, it won't, and then you end up walking away feeling like there is time you could of spent doing something else.

Stop that.

Stop that right now.

You just learnt something.

You learnt, that the whole thing was not what you wanted, it was not what the other person wanted. It was an idea, you experimented and it turned out to be a failure.

 

You are not a failure.

They are not a failure.

The idea was not a failure.

It was an experiment, and it went awol.

 

So when life is like that, do you keep finding a comfort spot that is the same?

Because it is familiar?

Easy?

Manageable?

 

You can if you want to keep making the same mistakes…. over and over again.

 

Or you can step up and make things different.

This rant is not about relationships.

This rant is not about careers.

This rant is not about family,

nor is it about the colour of Janet Jacksons G- String

 

It is about life.

 

We are all very capable, people… thinking… understanding… developing…. people.

We can do so much, but our own ideals, our own ideas of ambition, our own love for comfort… can destroy us.

 

I have felt this for a long time.

Today I made a decision, to sit down and make clear all the points that needed to be understood.

Worked on.

Changed.

It was hard, but, not as hard as I thought.

This 365 project has given me a reference point.

I am lucky with that.

 

Example:

I came home tonight. I called 25 people for work, I got 5 call backs in 3 different fields of work that I am capable in.

In the space of 10 minutes.

 

All I want to say is… it is you that are blurring your own potential.

It is you that is hiding your own treasure.

It is up to you….

Reach out…

Fucking grab it.

 

All it takes is an understanding of what is going on around you… and your reactions to it.

 

You only get out of your head… what you put in.

You only get out of your body…. what you put in.

You only get out of any relationship… what you put in… no pun intended.

 

Love.

Ryan.

 

PS: Ms Lemon seems to have a monopoly on glasses-strangeface looks… so if you are out there…. Take this one too… It wasn't intended… but I like to credit when and where I can. All I can say is… it is b/w… not colour.

 

Twitter: unkonshus

 

View On Black

My fleet was almost 120 buses when these photos were taken. It would max out at 130 a few years later. Today the fleet is much smaller and a bit more manageable.

Case Study 113 : Warning, these are the raw, bare unusual occurrences as originally chronicled. Some names, times, places and some facts have been, of course, altered.

Name: Angelica D circa 192__

Subject: an unscrupulous light-fingered body thief

Event: Posh Wedding Reception

Place: Upstate New York

Time: Warm early Autumn Saturday

 

Angie Being Receptive

Story line:

 

Angie had heard about the affair, a wedding, from a list of prospective functions provided by a discreetly paid contact. It was being given for the only daughter of a wealthy politician (as if there were any non-wealthy ones!) Angie had happily invited herself to the affair, carefully dressing up in her best for the special occasion!

 

**

Wedding receptions were by far Angie’s favorite hunting grounds. During the season there could be anywhere from upwards of 20 high end affaires every weekend in the bigger cities, and always 2 or 3 in even the smallest of towns.

Wedding s were usually easy pickings: free food, drink and entertainment, and seldom worn jewelry made for a ready-made mix for Angie to ply her trade. For Angelica D. was a uniquely skilled pickpocket, specializing in the removal for profit of the expensive jewelry worn by the (usually be -gowned) women and young ladies’ who hauntingly dwelt in societies upper crust!

So Weddings, by their nature, were the desirable choice for Angie. One only had to avoid the Bride, her Bridesmaids, and their court, which were usually the major focus of any security present. However, there were plenty of opportunities to be had by employing her special bag of tricks on the outlaying fringe.

Angie had arrived early at the mammoth facility, to scout out the establishment and to scope out who was wearing what. Used to these affairs either being feast or famine, she could quickly tell that in this one there was cooking up a devouring banquet.

**

After Angie had entered the mammoth reception room it did not take her long to spy her first plump prospect, nicely loaded with possibilities. It was a lady, bearing a haughty look, who had been making a b-line through the crowd as way was parted for her. She was wearing a luxuriously long rusty coloured sable fur coat that hid most of her long crimson -red satin gown. What Jewels were visible, ears, fingers and wrist, were all flashing with pricy fire. In tow she held the hand of a young girl, obviously her daughter, wearing actual makeup, which, along with her fetching gown and brite jewelry, made her appear far older than she was. A handsome man , looking like the actor William Powell in a tux, followed behind the pair, husband and father, Angie presumed. She shadowed the little family as they swished their way to a corner table, conveniently located by a rear exit, for a better look over. Her fingers had started with an all too familiar tingle as she took it all in.

**

The husband helped his wife out of the sable, laying it carefully along a bench against the wall. Angie was not disappointed. A silver necklace of large matched diamonds gracefully encircled her throat. A dazzling blood ruby and diamond brooch held up the center of her gown, positioned just below the bust line. Brooches, like this one, were worth a lot once fenced, but its placement required a little more dexterity and skill than she was willing to risk. In actuality, Angie had only attempted twice before to take a brooch pinned to a gown in this fashion. She had only been successful one of those times, only to find out it was a pretty piece of paste.( Years later, as Angie’s talents became more polished, relieving ladies of their dangling brooches, like this blood ruby, became her specialty.. the Eds.) Angie’s eyes moved on. The rest of the snooty lady’s jewels matched her necklace. Long earrings, free clipped, dangling brightly from her earlobe s. A pair of wide ruby bracelets clasped tightly home around elegant red elbow length satin gloves, sparkled devastatingly, matching her brooch. Her long fingers were home to a pair of ruby and diamond rings and a third ring set with a gold band and a vulgarly large solitaire diamond.

**

Angie’s attention turned to the daughter, whom had been helped by her Father , squirming, from the chocolate coloured satin cape that she had been wearing. The youngster, all of about 10, was wearing a cream coloured long puffy sleeved dress with a brown satin sash encircling her waist that matched her Cape. The young lady possessed impossible large bright eyes. The only thing that held more shine than those doe like eyes had been the antique rhinestone diamond necklace that fell dripping ever so invitingly down the front of the precious little imp’s rich glossy gown. The rest of her matching rhinestones (obviously belonging to the child’s mother) consisted of an engaging display of a bracelet, pair of dangling, screwed on clasp earrings, and matching rings encircling a chubby finger one on each hand. It all gleamed brightly, invitingly from her svelte girlish figure. A large round pin held her sash up in place; it sparkled with what looked like a ring consisting of one caret diamonds, as unlikely as it was they could be real.

**

The two females of the family presented a pretty package indeed. Not one to pass up an invite that alluring, Angie walked by , with the pretext of heading to a back exit behind the table the little family had staked, just so she could get a closer peek.

**

Angie’s practiced eye took in a wealth of information during the few seconds it took her to walk up and pass the group, so involved with themselves they never even looked her way. Her attention focused upon the young mother first scoping head to toe.

**

Angie scrutinized the brooch; it was definitely worth the effort. In her mind’s eye, Angie envisioned the mother as a stumbling drunk “bumping into” Angie. Fingers whisking along the slippery lustrously softness of the gown, as the lady was steadied. Angie would accept the women apologies and the pair would part their ways, Angie from the young mother, and the magnificent brooch from the rich satiny red gown. But then the mother raised her head, looking up past Angie, towards a commotion being made behind her. Typical Angie thought, she doesn’t recognize me, so I don’t exist, like some sort of servant. But it was as she caught the young mother in full profile that she realized this lady looked strikingly similar to another woman who had been wearing an expensive dress of teal charmeuse that Angie had had been having a long conversation with, while relieving the woman’s finger of a costly diamond sapphire ring. It had happened only just last weekend at a formal function, and Angie figured she may have not recognized her in passing, but may if Angie were to use one of her approaches again with the intent of taking some of her jewelry, he memory may be jarred, and she may remember her missing ring. This was why Angie only allowed herself to ply her trade for no more than a month in any given place per year. This was from a lesson she had learned early on in her career. And so, for that reason alone, Angie decided to, at least temporarily, abandon any designs she had on the young mother’s brooch, allowing her devious intentions to evaporate from her mind like smoke on the wind. There were plenty more fish in the sea she told herself.

**

Angie still allowed herself a quick appraisal of the squirming 10 year old. She admired the glossy dress of slippery satin that her mother had conveniently dressed her daughter up in, as it fell spilling down to her black open toed shoes. Angie’s fingers started to tingle; this was a perfect tickling gown. Angie liked to think of any long dress or gown that swept down to a females heels as a” tickling gown”. All it took was a strategically placed foot timed with a well place nudge to send the chosen victim tumbling. During the ensuing diversion, Angie would use her long subtle fingers to swiftly probe along the gowned figure, tickling she like to call it due to the tingling sensation of the usually rich material of the victim’s attire. In this fashion, a pre-targeted piece of valuable jewelry could then be easily acquired, no matter what its placement had been on the unfortunate female. If only the chatty youngster had something on better than rhinestones. It was a crying shame to have a child that young dolled up like an adult, but not wearing adult jewels.

**

Angie continued to walk past, unseen, and went out the door. She found herself in a large serenity garden of roses and shrubs, surrounded by a 10 foot high well-trimmed hedge. The sort of garden one usually found in those days around upscale Churches. The only exit was a gate leading onto the parking lot on the side of the church. Here was positioned a solitary, lonely guard in a neat little guard hut. In the opposite, far corner was a statue of Cupid, arrow drawn, standing above a display of blooming moss roses at the end opposite to the gate. There was always potential in places like these.

**

Angie had started to walk over to the Cupid statue when she heard the exit door open. Turning, she saw the young girl, whose mother’s brooch Angie had been scoping out, looking out the door. She snuck through, running out alone, silky tickling gown swishing out behind her. Her heart leapt to her throat as she watched the girls rhinestones sparkle radiantly. She actually turned to head towards the path the unsuspecting child was running up, flexing her fingers as she contemplating a little warm up practice. Angie watched as the dolled up imps necklace flashed with pinpricks of coloure as it bounced to and fro as she ran happily up the path .Angie turned her back to the girl, waiting to hear the telltale click of her heels come up just behind her. She would then move, bumping into the girl as she passed, tripping her to the ground. After which Angie would help her up, removing the girl’s fancy necklace in the process. Come to Mama Angie whispered under her breath, waiting to make her move as the skipping heels grew ever louder.

**

But then Angie froze, hearing the clicking of the exit door again opening behind her. She checked her stride letting the daughter slither past without a glance. She headed again towards the statue, watching her prize move on ahead. Then she heard the father in the background calling out to his little princess. The youngster turned, and ran back, beaming at Angie as she passed. Angie smiled back, her eyes again traveling to the girls neckline, and the sparkling jewelry the outlined her throat. It had been a silly thought she chided herself, as the girl passed from view. If only the necklace had been real, and the father about ten minutes later in discovering his daughter absence. It would have been an unbelievably easy pluck and she could be out the gate before anyone was the wiser. And the best part was that they would probably believe the scampering girl had just lost it in the garden. And, while the parents were looking about, Angie would have been free to renter to ply her trade again. As it was, it was silly of Angie, risking her opportunity on a child’s bauble worth a mere pittance compared to some of the other offerings so readily being flaunted this evening by her adult counterparts.

**

Angie continued her casual stroll through the Garden, happily playing over in her mind some of the jewels that she would like to see adorning the female guests inside, and the scenarios she may be using to acquire them

**

Finding herself approaching the guard hut, she allowed herself a glance back. Jealously she watched the father, who had caught and was carrying his slippery attired daughter, heading back inside. How Angie wished she had been the one carrying the squirming little imp, it would have been like a smorgasbord, with jewels instead of food. Pity her mother had not put the good stuff on the daughter, she sighed to herself. Tonight she would have to work for her butter. She walked past the bored guard, nodding at him, receiving a rather lecherous look in return. A smile was forming across her cunning face, for now it was time to get down to the real business at hand.

**

The affair turned out to be quite a showcase for the very rich. Who were indiscreetly flaunting their riches, trying to outdo one another, probably for the benefit of the politicians’ attention? Certainly not for the attention of the designer satin gowned and flashy diamonded daughter, whom most of the guests hardly knew, or had ever met.

**

Angie always felt like a little kid in a candy shoppe at these lavish affairs.

She spent the first part of the reception mingling and thoroughly enjoying the show her the reception’s guests were u wittingly putting on. Angie, wearing no jewels herself, was something of an anomaly compared to her fellow guests.

**

There were over a thousand luxuriously coloured, squawking female birds and their young chicks pompously displaying valuable finery, oblivious of the cat amongst them waiting to pounce. Angie patently mingled, watching as the adult guests had their fill of food and drink.

Once their guard began to relax, Angie raised hers’, her probingly skillful fingers now more than prepared to begin and ply her trade. For the more they imbibed, the less guarded they were, both about themselves and their female offspring. Angie would start with the adults, 2 or 3 of the right pieces of jewelry, once acquired, and would mean she could call it a night and have enough to support her for a solid month. If she came up empty in that department, her back up would then center on the female off-spring, daughters and nieces.

Most of said offspring would be by then scattered about, aware that their parents were no longer paying them any heed, exploring and playing, sporting their fancy satin gowns, silken dresses, and their dainty jewelry, ripe for the picking. Giving pickpockets like Angie endless opportunity to ply their trade on them, once they had finished working through the adults. Or if the thieves were beginners, plenty of easy practice while “learning the ropes!”

**

Now, when Angie herself was just starting out as a young pickpocket, she stumbled across a treatise written by a man using the pseudonym “Gaston Monescu”. Written around 1826, entitled the Cutpurse: skilles, artes and Secretes of the Dip, it covered the various tactics and moves used by master pickpockets.

 

Angie had studied it religiously, especially a ploy called the “Necklace Flimp.” This tactic was primarily used for body thieves working alone. Angie had been surprised to learn that a pickpocket could raise his/her skill level above just acquiring wallets. Having the ability to lift a woman’s necklace amazed her, not to mention the profit that could be realized. With practice, Angie had found that not only was it a good technique for acquiring necklaces, but it worked for other pieces of worn jewelry as well.

 

It was relatively simple process, but took a long time to master.

First part was to employ psychology and watch the potential victim for the unique movements and quirks in their personality and actions that could provide an opportunity for her skills. Then observe the selected piece the victim wore, for value, type of clasp, make, and accessibility. The second part was to employ a bump, slip, or grasp, and in one motion, flick open the studied clasp and send the piece away from the body by either pulling and palming, or dropping it to the floor or ground for retrieval later. If she was noticed, it was “sorry, miss, very clumsy of me” “here let me get if for you, no harm done?” Then walk away and let the waters settle before trying yet again (sometimes even on the same person!)

 

Angie had practiced the jewelry flimp until she had the technique totally mastered. Starting out first on specially dressed up mannequins in her apartment, than trying it on small pieces of cheap baubles worn by real women in crowded streets and stores. Then on younger, less guarded, better jewelry wearing young girls attending proms and social dances. Young looking for her age at the time, Angie had fit right in amongst them. Then, finally, she graduated to lifting the better jewels of the older, wealthy women attending society’s finer parties and receptions. And it was this path that led her here today, and would also lead several unlucky females to report missing jewelry to their respective insurance companies.

**

See Album “Angie having a Ball” for additional background on our master thief with the light fingers.

**

Angie now eagerly employed those useful talents learned from monsieur Monescu’s little pamphlet at the wedding reception. She mingled freely, carrying around a drink that never touched her lips. She watched and learned, her trained eyes missing very little. Soon, like that hypothetical kid in a candy shoppe, Angie’s head was spinning from so much to choose from that she really could not make any easy choice. So, she waited and watched patiently, knowing opportunity would knock.

 

**

 

Then, like it usually happened with Angie, the first genuine opportunity unexpectedly presented herself. Angie literally was run into a rather awkward, spindly lady in thick glasses clad in a fetchingly expensive costume consisting of a thick silver satin blouse with hanging ruffles down its front, combined with a long rustling tiered skirt that swept down to the top of her open toed silver high heels. Her diamond jewelry shone with exuberant flames as they caught the light from the many chandeliers that hung from the vaulted ceiling. The lady expressed frantically her apologies, placing a hand with well ringed fingers on Angie’s shoulder, where they sparkled merrily. No worries Angie said smiling, her eyes taking it all in without appearing to move. She let the frazzled lady leave, allowing her a head start, it was only sporting to do so.

**

Angie shadowed her quarry for a while, seemingly rewarded for her efforts when the lady managed to spill a bit of her drink down on her skirt. In a show of flashing silvery satin and diamonds ,she retreated and disappeared into a nearby powder room, with Angie following eagerly, opportunity knocking.

**

As Angie grabbed onto the closing powder room door, a mid- twenty something girl in a deep green velvet gown came out. Her only jewelry was a wide diamond bracelet wrapped around a wrist of the matching long green gloves she wore. Angie caught it out of the corner of her eye, realizing that it was as expensive as it was bright. But it was her friend, a willowy short haired pretty young thing in a glamorous Chocolate Satin gown that made Angie’s jaw drop. Her jewels, like her friends, were also sparse, but enormously pricy. The long white satin gloves that graced her hands and arms also held matching bracelets, thin, but each one worth the effort. But her real eye catcher was the row of authentic, one caret white diamonds that were rippling exquisite fire along her throat. Angie held the door for them, nodding to as they passed. Noses in the air, they did not appear to notice Angie. Then, with the ladies backs to her, Angie abandoned Miss silver satin and turned to follow. Angie got in behind the two with the intention of getting a closure examination of the clasp of the fiery diamond necklace Miss Chocolate satin was wearing.

**

However, Angie never got her closer look. For at that moment the tossing of the bride’s boutique was announced and Angie was overwhelmed by a mad dash of single ladies heading for the bride. On a lark she allowed herself to be swept along, losing sight of Miss Chocolate satin, but found herself right smack behind Miss Green velvet and her cheerfully sparkling diamond bracelet, a beautifully expensive piece that would have cost someone a king’s ransom. Angie’s fingers began their all too familiar tingling, eager for a chance to acquire jewelry that valuable, but not for any king, just for herself!

**

Though the night was still relatively early, and Angie still had visions of those exquisite rippling diamonds of the pretty Miss in chocolate satin on her mind, she simply could not pass up this opportunity. Angie wedged herself close behind her chosen victim as the multitude of hopeful young women pressed forward to try their luck. As the Bride teased her guests before getting ready to toss her bouquet of white and red roses, Angie expertly scrutinized the bracelet as it dangled from the green velvet glove. When the bride finally turned her back and raised her arms every one of the richly clad single women’s eyes was focused on the bride’s bouquet, Angie’s eyes were fixated on the bracelet. With the music playing loud, the crowd giggling and laughing, and all eyes focused on the gorgeously outfitted young long haired bride, Angie again felt opportunity knocking. Her pulse beating in rhythm with the music, she made ready to seize the chance when it presented itself. The roses flew through the air and all the women raised their hands high, looking all for the world like being involved in a stick-up. Angie timed it perfectly, snapping the clasp, and snatching the bracelet easily away from the gloved wrist of its owner as she raised her arms high to grab at the boutique. In her excitement, shared by everyone, Miss Green velvet ( who did not catch the bouget of roses) never felt a thing. Angie had smirked as she left the giggling group, stowing securely the purloined diamonds, as she imagined what it would have been like to watch that group robbed in a mass stick-up. The money that some enterprising soul could have made from that haul would have been astronomical.

**

She went to the open bar, lighting her first cigarette; she ordered her first real drink of the night. She could feel the coolness of the weighty bracelet in its hiding spot, and Angie, pleased with herself, calmly sipped her drink as she relished in the moment. The toss of the Brides Boutique was, in Angie’s experienced opinion, one of the three common events occurring during a wedding reception that were fertilely prime times for pickpocketing. (Editor’s note.. Miss D. mysteriously never divulged what she considered the other two prime events to be….)

**

She looked about without a worry in the world, coolly watching the antics of some of the younger women on the dance floor. She spied the young miss in the green velvet gown over in a corner talking in an animated fashion with several other women. Green velvet gown’s now bare velvet glove, apparently not noticed by anyone but Angie. One of her group was displaying some bright emeralds peeking through the long silver fur she was wearing, obviously she was leaving, and she was talking excitedly about something to the group formed around her! Nowhere in sight was Miss chocolate satin, too bad, Angie would have loved another peek before leaving.

Angie watched around the room causally, as the cold bracelet pressed expensively against her figure from its hiding spot. She eventually lost track of green velvet and her friends while finishing her drink. Setting down the empty glass, she decided it was time to call it a night. The bracelet now in her possession was easily worth as much as the 2 or 3 separate pieces she usually acquired at functions like these, added together! And, she needed her rest, Angie had a couple of plans the next day, one revolving around the female guests who would be attending an upscale afternoon prom fashion show a, the other, an evening opera performance (invited guests only, and her contact had managed to supply a ticket, at a hefty price!) No rest for the wicked, Angie told herself.

**

On her way out of the main lobby, she found herself leaving behind the very lady in green velvet whose bracelet was now in Angie’s possession. She was with the same gaggle of her similarly dressed friends, including the one exhibiting the emeralds. However, miss chocolate satin was still not visible. They were laughing and joking as they collected their assorted pretty wraps, obviously heading for a nightclub. If she had not already relieved one of them of a bauble, Angie might have invited herself along, if only to have a go at some emeralds. Angie hesitated about leaving withy them, then shrugged, followed the group out the door past the pair of bored rent a cops.

**

She remembered thinking, as she followed the elegant young princesses ,their fluid gowns peeking from under their various furs and wraps, how shallow the very rich could be. She wondered if Miss Green velvets friends had even noticed that she had had diamonds around the wrist of her glove, let alone that they were now missing. She wondered how long it would be before the bracelets loss was discovered. She figured it would be several hours, long enough for its owner not to be sure what place they had been lost. As young Miss Green velvet fancy gown and her friends turned right outside the exit, Angie turned left, heading towards the guard hut at the entrance to the garden.

She decided not to follow them but rather circle around the outside of the garden to give her victim time to leave.

**

That simple decision to make a left turn proved to be a major turning point in Angie’s fortunes that evening.

**

As Angie passed the hut guarding the entrance to the serenity garden, she noticed it was deserted.

It was as she was looking it over, that she heard the sounds of clicking heels moving fast, followed by the sounds of a young girl giggling. On the alert she stole to the backside of the hut, soon spying a splash of something blue and silky between the gaps of a couple of large bushes. Her senses on their highest peak, she began to move cautiously in, hoping the female making the noise would be in need of aid and comfort perhaps.

**

She soon spotted a young lady of about 14 bending over, hands on her knees as she panted heavily. Her back was to Angie, and what pretty back it was. She was nicely attired in a long gown of shiny material dyed deep blue like an afternoon, cloudless summer sky. The gown cascaded down along her petite figure, spilling out on the ground around her feet. Her hair was pulled back, easily displaying a pair of small diamond and sapphire earrings, not rhinestones for this one, but the real McCoy. Around one finger was a gold ring with sapphires, and from her left wrist dangled a thin silver bracelet with a row of diamond chips, both pretty, both valuably real. But it was her last piece of visible jewelry that stole the show. It hung, swinging to and from her neck on a thick braided chain of solid silver. On its end, like a hypnotists prism, was a silver pendent in the shape of a flower, with 1 inch long, pear shaped real diamonds as petals and a fully 2 inch in circumference center stone of deep sea blue. Angie watched it, her eyes following it for a full minute, its expensive fire sealing its own fate as Angie began flexing her fingers. Angie took her eyes off of it and looked around to see why the princess had been running. But all was still as the girl continued to peek through the branches towards the back door leading into the hall. Angie silently approached, and walking up to the pretty miss she bent down and in a friendly tone, asked who she was running from.

**

I played a joke on my sister, and now I’m hiding from her, piped the girl breathlessly, as Angie placed a hand upon the girls shoulder in a conspiratorial fashion, said shoulder made silky soft by the gowns half sleeve.

**

I know a better place where you can hide from her, Angie whispered in the girl’s ear, the dangling earring ever so close to her lips. The girl looked up, smiling, and Angie pointed towards the guard hut, and as the girl looked, Angie’s fingers glided up along the silky shoulder and lifted the thick silver chain up from the back of the gowns’ scooped collar. Come Angie said, and as the girl rose Angie’s fingers nimbly flicked open the chains’ lobster clasp, holding onto the clasp as the other end of the chain slipped down, allowing the pendent to slide free and fall onto the grass at the girls feet, where it lay shimmering. Angie moved her hand to the girls shoulder, squeezing it, while slipping off the braided silver chain with her other hand, whisking it back and away from the guileless young girl. Angie led her princess away from the spot and walked with her to the guard’s hut, still empty, where she had her hide neath the counter.

**

Angie turned and went back to claim the pendent, there still was no sign of any sister. She secured the pendent, joining it with the chain and bracelet, and headed deeper into garden. Her plan was to watch the hut and see which way the girl went after getting bored waiting. But as she skirted the perimeter her plans were changed when, upon rounding a corner of the path at the far end, she saw yet another back belonging to a solitary lady in her late thirties, clad in a long slinky yellow coloured gown of expensively shiny taffeta, bending over to smell the yellow roses on a bush. Instinctively Angie knew two things about her. One was that whatever jewels this lady would be wearing, they would be expensive, and the other was that with an expensive gown like that; the lady would undoubtedly be wearing her jewels. Angie suddenly became aware that her fingers were tingling, as an all too familiar whelming feeling again delightfully washed over her.

**

Angie found herself automatically turning back onto the garden path. She headed around the women and went down to the cupid’s statue, where now out of sight, she carefully hid the purloined bracelet, and still warm fiery pendent and its ‘fancy silvery braided chain..

**

She then headed towards the unsuspecting flower admirer. The ladies’ long brunette hair had fallen, flowing down the backside of her shiny taffeta gown. Angie could see rings and a bracelet gleaming as she was holding up the rose to her face. A long double rope of pearls hung swaying deliciously from her throat. Coming up behind her Angie stood watching; calculating until the lady rose and with a start realized she was not alone.

**

Pretty Angie said, her eyes on the pearls now draping down the front of her marks yellow gown. They are lovely, are they not? The damsel responded thinking Angie was referring to the roses. Just like the ones in the park, my husband and I walked through on our way to catch a cab today. Actually, I meant your dress Angie said complimentary. Thank you the lady practically squealed, I love the way it flows, and she swirled it about to show Angie, who got an eyeful of sparkly jewelry for her efforts. As she continued engaging the women in conversation, Angie decided upon attempting for the woman’s necklace of pearl. Seeing opportunity knocking when Yellow Taffeta pulled her long hair forward so it hang down the front of her gorgeous gown, laying silkily over one shoulder, nicely exposing the pricy necklaces clasp. Angie looked around, they were alone, out of site of the opposite end of the garden where the inside door was, and the guards hut with it’s pretty occupant.

**

Angie, using the marks interest in roses to her advantage, managed to steer the capricious damsel in shiny yellow over to the cupid’s statue. There, she placed a hand upon a silky taffeta covered shoulder, and pointed down to the shrub of moss roses growing at the foot of the statue . When she stooped down to get a closer look, Angie’s fingers whisked from her marks shoulder to the clasp, in a single effort with two fingers, lifted it by the clasp, and snapped it open. At that moment the mark cried “spider” and jumped up, backing into Angie, who watched helplessly as the pearls fell down from the damsel’s throat and slipped along the front of the yellow taffeta gown. They fell with a soft plop unto the ground at their mistress’s feet. Angie tried to lead her away, hoping to come back and reclaim the necklace. But as Angie pointed to another rose bush some distance away, the lady took a step forward, instead of back, planting her feet right onto the pearl necklace. Hey she exclaiming, what’s that, looking down to her high heeled foot? Oh, my pearls the lady squealed again, a glittering hand shooting to feel around her throat. Angie reached down, and reluctantly retrieved them from the base of the rose bush for the squealing lady in yellow . My husband would not have been pleased if I had lost these, she said as Angie held them, feeling their pricey smoothness.

**

She asked if Angie could help her put them on, my maid usually does this sort of thing, you know. Angie reluctantly complied, re- hanging the pearls as the pretty damsel held up her hair, and reluctantly redid the clasp. The Damsel thanked Angie by embracing her in a full hug, her diamond and pearl earring hitting Angie’s cheek. But Angie’s arms were being held by the hugging woman, so Angie was able to only watch the tantalizingly close earring sway free. Angie left yellow-gowned damsel in the garden, getting nothing for her efforts other than the feel of an expensive gown of the likes she could probably never afford to own.

**

With the pretty damsel hovering around the cupid statue, Angie decided to go back into the reception hall until the coast was clear. She carefully looked towards the Guards hut, and seeing that the guard had returned, figured the girl, so fetchingly clad in blue, had been rousted out, so that loose end was probably tied up. She just had to keep a careful eye out. The quite valuable bracelet and pricy necklace with its pendent were well hidden; there was absolutely no danger of someone stumbling over it.

**

Truth was, Angie had found her appetite wetted and once again visions of a lady in chocolate brown satin exhibiting a row of flashy diamonds, teased her thoughts. An accomplished pickpocket like herself had a couple of well-practiced ploys she could utilize to obtain a tight fitting necklace from its mistress. In addition, Angie was now determined to find her and to risk a try. She had really nothing to lose.

**

It took almost an hour of hunting amongst the now well liquored, gaily mingling crowd before Angie could admit to herself that there was absolutely no sign of the willowy lady in the stunning chocolate satin gown. Damn she thought to herself, those diamonds were something special. She shrugged it off, reciting in her mind a wicked little mantra of hers, “Another one who got away, a chance to lose her jewels to Angie on another day!” She strolled about pondering on what her next course of action could be. There had been no sign of the pretty girl in blue whose necklace Angie now had hidden away, and Miss Green Velvet was definitely out of the picture, so she felt that it was still safe to try to pluck one last bird or chick. In her hunt for the brown, Angie had seen several inviting prospects; one lady(purple satin, diamonds), two girls( ivory silk, pearled pin; red satin, gold necklace set with chips of precious stones), and now was weighing the risks.

 

It was at that point she once again espied the thickly bespectacled awkwardly introverted young lady invitingly wearing the thick silver satin ruffled blouse, which she had been tailing much earlier. And as Angie watched here, she again accepted the invitation. Her prey had appeared on the dance floor, being led around by a rather charming young man. That would make a dandy consolation prize Angie drooled to herself happily as she took in the sparkling show put on by the dancers jewels.

**

Angie looked her over, reacquainting herself with the jewels she so nicely was displaying. A pair of long earrings cascaded down from her earlobes where they precariously held on by antique silver claps. Angie relished the opportunity to “flimp” pairs of earrings like these. Heavily jeweled, each one was worth a tidy sum. Angie mulled this as she continued to study the jewels of her appealingly dressed new target.

**

The girl’s only ring was a solitaire diamond of at least 3 carets on a thick solid gold band worn vulnerably loose on her un-gloved, bare ring finger. A wide silver cuff bracelet with what appeared to be at least seven rows of matching, shimmering diamonds was dangling around her left wrist (she was right handed Angie observed) . The bracelet had a habit of lying over her sleeve, and Angie could see that it was a costly tiffany piece, whose clasp was exceptionally easy to flick open. A diamond pendent hung swinging from her satiny ruffles, held by an extravagantly thick silver chain with a simple , small eye in hook clasp. The Diamonds in the pendent were as shimmery as stars plucked from the night’s sky.

Angie remembered reading that in a poem from a book she had picked up years earlier in a library, while stalking a young mother in a satin dress, wearing an authentic Gruen Watch on one wrist, and a bracelet of diamonds on the other, that had gone into the library in pursuit of her young son running inside. Like that young mother, It was obvious that this lady in silver satin was not accustomed to wearing jewels, and that set probably spent most of their days lying in a safe. Angie licked her lips as she imagined what the other contents of that safe might look like

**

Angie moved in to allow herself a much closer appraisal of her potential victim’s jewels.

The young lady was totally oblivious to anything but the rather surprisingly strikingly handsome man who to all appearances was her Fiancée, who was holding her ever so close. But Angie was able to see enough of what she wanted to. The young Ladies’ thick satin blouse shone richly in the lights, moving like glistening wet liquid silver, while from her waist spilled the long black skirt with satiny tiers that swished and swayed nicely along her figure as she uneasily danced. Her jewels were bursting with colour as they played hide and seek with Angie’s watchful eyes. From all appearances, they were a mismatched couple. He seemed to know everyone and moved with a confident air, she was just the opposite. It made an enticingly intriguing package indeed for someone with Angie’s skills.

**

Silver Satin was the perfect “Gaston Monescu” type of mark, a perfect combination of classic mannerisms, clothing and Jewels worth anyone’s efforts to take. This was the only fly in the ointment that Angie observed. For by the bar she could see that two other sets of eyes were watching the same young lady in shiny satin and blazing diamonds. Angie intuitively knew they were drooling over acquiring jewels she was wearing.

**

She had noticed the pair of young men in loose fitting suits when they had entered a little earlier about the same time as Angie’s reappearance. They were obviously casing the jewels of any woman, young, or old, who walked past them. Angie knew their type, simple thieves, with no real skills outside of holding a knife in a dark alley to the throat of their victim while they unceremoniously searched and stripped them of their treasures. Angie saw that they were whispering amongst themselves and instinctively knew they were watching and waiting for the fetchingly clumsy silver clad lady clad loaded with diamonds, to leave the “establishment”.

**

She is mine Angie whispered, possessively snarling the words under her breath. She looked around as she thought about how best to handle the situation. Her eyes opened wide as she saw a familiar woman waiting by the coat checkroom. Perfect she purred, placing an unlit a cigarette in her mouth and heading over the bar.

**

She sauntered up next to them and ordered a drink, catching their eyes she asked for a light. As they obliged she took a pull and puffed out smoke, asking in a casual tone, “how about my jewels? Boys!” They could see perfectly well that she was not wearing any, and one snarled, “What’s your game, sister?” Angie snarled back in her best cop like manner, “We know what you boys are up to, and we suggest you both call it a night!” “Yer no cop sister”, they challenged, calling her bluff,” what’s your angle!” Angie calmly looked towards the entrance, perfect she mused as she saw their eyes follow hers, “Maybe not” she stated, “but see that lady being helped into the black mink?” “The shiny yellow dame?” one of em asked? “ “yes”, Angie replied taking a puff on her cigarette before going on, “ well that man’s she’s with used to be mine .” “ Now, I aint one to hold a grudge, but, those pearls she’s waltzing around with are worth plenty. And her rings, they are an easy two grand alone.”

**

Angie could tell she had captured their interest, and that they were now paying rapt attention to the lady in the thick yellow taffeta gown whose necklace Angie had almost acquired in the serenity garden. One of them looked at Angie, a suspicious look crossing his mug, “What’s innit for you sister?!” He demanded. Angie looked at him, dripping with sarcastic innocence. “Nothing brother, other than to make sure the jewels of the dame who stole my husband get home safely .” “I just worry,’ Angie went on, “there is a park in front of their residence and that dame in yellow likes to stroll through it to smell the roses after their cab drops them off.” They watched the couple leave, her expensive yellow gown sweeping provocatively at her gold high- heeled shoed feet. Angie looked them in the eyes and said smoothly, “ Gentlemen such as yourselves may want to do a good deed and follow them home to make sure some miscreant doesn’t spot her in those valuable jewels and mink. Not to mention her man’s gold watch and three hundred sawbucks in his wallet!” Angie winked at the pair, “If you catch my drift.” She added.

**

Still not totally convinced about what Angie was selling them, but equally unsure over who Angie was, both men got up and quickly headed towards the main exit as the last slip of an expensive yellow taffeta gown disappeared through the door. Smugly, Angie puffed on her cigarette as she watched them leave.

**

It was then that a hand was placed on Angie’s shoulder from behind.

**

She froze for a split second, before becoming aware of the soft mummer of satin, and of a slender finger was home to a sparkling sapphire ring. Angie smiled and turned around, facing the girl. Pardon me ma’am, she says politely, but do you remember me? Of course dear, Angie gushes while beaming at the forlorn looking miss in the fetching blue gown; I met you in the garden. Yes she confirms, but I lost my necklace somewhere and I was wondering if you remember if I had it on when we met? Angie’s heart leapt, bless this babe in the woods, thinking her necklace had merely been lost, never suspecting that someone like, say, Angie could have been the cause. She absolutely adored the trusting nature of rich girls this age. For that aspect of their purity had allowed Angie, far too easily sometimes, to lift many a jewel from well attired unsuspecting young princesses like this one. Who was now standing before her, miserable, her desirable diamond and sapphire earrings dangling ever so beckoningly, her sad puppy eyes pleading ever so sweetly, and her missing necklace closer than she could ever imagine.

**

No dear, I did not see you with a necklace, Angie lied coolly, as she reached out and stroked the girl tenderly alongside her face, her fingers touching one of the earrings. Angie was looking her fully in the eye, you didn’t lose anything else, and did you dear she asked with a concerned tone. The girl checked her earrings, bracelet and ring (Angie smiled to herself, silently thinking thanks for the info kid!) But when she spoke, it was with hopeful words laced with honey, If you want, I can help you look, my dear. The girl’s eyes lit up for a second, thank you ma’am, I wanted to, but papa said to wait until tomorrow when the light is better.

Angie smiled winningly, don’t worry dear, I’m sure its somewhere in the garden. Someone will find it, she promised, thinking to herself maliciously, and keep it for their own profit!

**

Thank you Ma’am she chirped, at the encouraging words that had been spoken, luckily she could not hear the ones Angie was thinking to herself, and turning moved off, her scrumptious gown swishing pleasantly around her silver heels. Angie watched, as the girl disappeared in the crowd Angie marked her direction.

**

Angie Imagined if the girl had accepted her offer, and she had left with the vulnerable, unguarded princess to search in the garden, and in the process help relieve her of her remaining jewels. There would be enough light with the gas lamps that lined the paths in the garden. Enough light, so that as Angie helped the princess look, her fingers could slip ever so delicately slip in and search along her shiny sky blue gown.

**

Angie licked her lips slowly as she fantasied about the search. The girl bending down to look under a bush, Angie placing her knee sharply in a certain spot below the girl’s armpit, temporarily numbing her upper body. Allowing Angie enough time to pull off both her earrings without feeling it,( this also worked well on working off broaches placed in upper parts of gowns and dresses, not to mention necklaces!) The bracelet would be no problem; it would be the easiest and probably the first, snatched off while the rich girl’s attention was easily diverted away. Since she was not wearing silky gloves, her ring would be the trickiest, but manageable, by either having her walk too close to a water fountain and hopefully having her get her fingers wet, or by simple holding onto her hand and tripping her by stepping on her gowns hem. And just like that, Angie would become that much richer, the rich girl that much poorer. And it all would be done without giving the girl any additional stress, like say she had run into the two muggers Angie had chased off. They may not have been content with just the jewels of a girl dressed as she was that they had found wandering alone in the gardens at night.

**

As Angie excitedly thought about these things, she had trained her focus back upon her original meal ticket, whom for the second time that evening had almost been allowed to slip through Angie’s light fingers. Watching with half lidded eyes, the still dancing couple not unlike a wolf watches lambs, waiting for one to make an ill-fated move away from the flock. The lamb’s fate was sealed, when a vivacious blonde in a long wispy silken dress cut in on the dancing couple. Asking miss silver satin’s fiancé for a dance. He obliged, leaving his shimmering fiancée unaccompanied, nakedly exposed to the wolf that was Angie.

**

More than one way to skin a cat Angie thought, tingling from the thrill of the hunt her prey, now in a reachable situation. She happily headed towards the spot where Miss silver satin had moved off to. A small table, located conveniently by a powder room. One the way she grabbed a half full glass of red wine off a table. Angie circled around young miss silver satin, taking a position up about two table lengths behind her. She casually scoured the area; most of the nearby tables were deserted.

Knowing the band would stop playing soon for the evening; most of the couples were out on the dance floor. All in all, the situation presented the perfect opportunity for some one of Angie’s persuasion.

**

Angie watched as the young lady picked up a glittery silver clutch and opening it, started to search inside. Angie moved swiftly, catching up behind her , tripping intentionally into her, splashing some wine onto the front of the silver satin blouse as the unfortunate lady dropped her purse in surprise. Oh my gosh, I did not see you, miss silver satin pleaded apologetically to Angie, more concerned over Angie’s feelings than her soiled satin blouse. Angie accepted her apology and, producing a lacey silk handkerchief, began to wipe themselves both down.

Angie’s practiced eyes swiftly took it all in. Miss silver satin’s pretty earrings swaying out vulnerably from her long straggly hair as it fell into her face. The clasp of her necklace was also exposed and within easy grasp. A s she reached out for the floor to steady herself, Angie’s eyes took in the sparkling ring on her now wetted finger and then watched the wide bracelet with its’ easily open able clasp slip up glitteringly over her sleeve.

The girl, now thoroughly flustered, started to rise, tripping over her slippery long skirt( with no help from Angie) Angie caught her, taking advantage of the split second opening she had been waiting for and Angie took it, making her selection as she steadied the poor thing with one hand, as the other caressed along a slick silver satin back. Angie’s long supple fingers darted in and deftly did their trick, this time with no spiders interfering. She quickly removed her chosen glittery prize from the distracted lady, who never noticed so much as a prick as Angie removed the expensive piece from her person in the confusion.

**

Angie secreted he shiny jewel as she helped miss silver satin collect herself. Than they rose, and Angie happily accepted miss silver satin profuse and obviously well used, apology. Then, as she fumbled nervously with her thick glasses, Angie laid a calming hand upon her shoulder, her fingers relishing in the richness of her victims sleek ruffled blouse. Miss silver satin was by now so distracted and embarrassed that Angie was all but assured of a clean get away.

However, as an extra measure of caution Angie intentionally jarred silver satin’s elbow of the hand steadying her eye glasses. Thus sending her glasses falling from her face to the floor with a small clatter, then Angie kicked them under a table before the startled lady could react. Angie offered to help, but the lady implored that she was okay, just needed to find her glasses. Angie left as Miss silver satin started to frantically grope around for her glasses, her silver blouse and remaining jewels shimmering brightly along their miserable mistress..

Angie took her leave, knowing that once she found her glasses, Miss silver satin would flee for sanctuary into the ladies powder room, buying her more than enough time for Angie to make her escape. Taking one last look over the dance floor, she blithely saw that miss silver satins fiancé was still in the clutches of the vivacious blonde-haired girl, still safely out of the picture. Angie made her way with purpose to the rear exit leading to the garden that she had used earlier, intending to head out into the serenity garden to collect the hidden bracelet and pendent, adding them to her purloined plunder.

**

As she walked amongst the mostly deserted tables, her mind went to the woman in yellow taffeta and imagined that right about now she would be standing with raised arms and a forlorn look. Ruefully wincing as the man who was holding her mink busily stripped those luscious pearls from the neckline of her tight gown, as the shiny yellow material gleamed in the moonlight! Serves her right for being afraid of spiders, Angie thought unforgivingly.

***

Angie’s mind also went to the poor young princess in blue with the missing necklace. She looked towards the area she had headed, opposite of the back exit to the garden. She reluctantly decided not to push her luck, there was a sister and parents to contend with, and she really had no time left. So she decided to call it a day, a rather successful day, and made her way to retrieve her loot.

**

Angie had now reached the now deserted table by the back exit where the lady in the crimson gown and blood red rubies had been earlier, along with her rhinestone encumbered 10 year old daughter and handsome husband.

**

She paused between the table and the bench, something was not quite right, She eyed the area around the dance floor for any signs of trouble that may be centered on the quite valuable jewels now in her possession. All was quiet, except for a little murmur behind her. Turning she looked at the bench and was shocked to discover the soundly asleep ten year old, using the long rusty sable fur as a blanket. What have we here, Angie thought, licking her lips wickedly?

**

Angie pursed her lips, checking the coast; spotting the young girl’s parents, still on the dance floor, a safe distance away the other side of the room. No sign of miss silver satin. No one else was nearby. Perfect. She went over, bending down so the table hid her. The child looked so vulnerably innocent, sound asleep as she lay on her side, facing Angie. She was clutching an arm of the sable like a warm fuzzy teddy bear, her ring sparkling. Angie gently tugged the mink from the girl’s clasp, and gradually pulled until the fur swished away from along the inert silken figure on the bench, where it fell into a pile on the floor. The child looked very innocent, very vulnerable, like a sleeping princess. An earring lay exposed over one shoulder, her necklace dangled down slightly askew from her slender throat, the pin holding her sash, all of which shone brightly now that it was exposed to the low lights of the ballroom, still called out. Too bad, Angie thought to herself, too bad the mother had not dressed her little doll in real diamonds.

**

 

Angie again looked to the dance floor; she could see the mother’s jewelry twinkling brightly as the child’s parents danced close, very unaware of anything else but themselves. She looked back over the girl, contemplating. But the song was winding down, Angie stooped to pick up the sable, bird in hand she thought, and placing the rich fur over her arm, stood just as the song ended. Looking at the exit door, so near and yet so far, she started to hasten to it, but checked herself as the band immediately started another, rather slow song that Angie knew quite well.

**

She hesitated, incredibly, everyone was staying on the floor for the final dance, she looked back at the bench, and the sleeping imps exposed jewels still shined, tempting her to come for them. Angie knew that she would only have about four minutes. Always open to new challenges, Angie chose to answer that sweet little invite that the necklace was extending out to her. Checking once again to make sure the parents was still obliviously dancing; she laid the mink down by the door and eased back to the bench. Kneeling down, Angie began to perform the delicate operation.

**

Lifting up the necklace she gently tugged it loose from around the sleeping child’s neck until the clasp appeared. She subtly flicked open the clasp, then shamelessly slipped the necklace from around its perch on the little whelp’s throat. It flickered like some slithering shiny snake, glittering as it came away. Like taking candy from a baby, Angie drooled happily, as she let the necklace run along her fingertips while watching the sleeping princess for a few seconds.

**

Her fitted cream coloured dress shimmered with expensive richness in the shadowy light. The poor thing was so soundly asleep after her long exhausting day that Angie figured she could have peeled the dress off her without causing a stir. This for a pickpocket would be the ultimate test, the pinnacle of her criminal class. But, Angie thought; if she ever had the opportunity to do so, it would have to be worth her while, like a shiny gown, an appealing sky blue gown with half sleeves and scooped collar. And the jewels would be sapphire drop earrings, bracelet and ring, not plain rhinestones. She licked her lips at the enticing thought of such a perfect “coup fera”, than told herself to get back to work, time was money.

**

She slipped her hand along the satin cape being used as a pillow and felt under the girls head until she felt the cold earring she was laying upon. Deftly undoing the screw she pulled it free, watching with delight as it came out from underneath.

**

Angie than, gently lifted, and nimbly stroked back the girl’s ultra-soft hair, exposing her long silvery earring. She pulled the jewel out and laid it out upon the child’s shoulder, where it lay, shimmering vibrantly. Then she reached in with her fingers and began unscrewed its clasp. Pulling it free she added it to her growing collection. She next lifted the hand that had held the warm sable, gently prying open her clenched fingers. The sleeping child never stirred. Angie gently slipped off the glittering ring. She then peeled back a silky sleeve, checking for the bracelet, finding her wrist was bare. The rest of the jewels were hiding securely on the side she was laying upon. Smiling wickedly to herself, an idea popped into Angie’s head.

**

The music was now almost to the halfway point, and Angie thought for a brief second that she should leave . Another quick scan assured her the coast was still clear, and Angie decided to press her luck, eagerly going back to work, putting her idea into motion.

Angie fingers felt along the sleeping child’s waist until she located the brooch. Quickly unfastening the brooch from the chocolate satin sash, she pulled it out. Watching as the diamonds caught fire and burst into vibrant life, unusually vivid for plain rhinestones she thought contemplatively. Angie plopping it in with the growing pile of the sleeping girls purloined baubles. Again reaching in along the warm waist, Angie gradually tugged at the now undone sash. The sleeping girl, unconsciously obliged by turning over on her other side, as the sash was pulled away.

**

Her arm with the ring and bracelet was now exposed. Lifting the arm , and peeling back the puffy sleeve, Angie found and unclasped the bracelet, slipping it away, then allowing it to dangle in triumph before letting it join its purloined mates. Then lifting the child’s hand she pulled at the ring, it was a little tight. Angie licked her fingers, and moistened the girls finger, than began slipping the ring off ever so gently from the along her finger. Almost there, Angie thought, as the ring joined its abducted companions in her pocket.

 

**

As Angie finished pocketing the last of the girls jewels, her victim whimpers something discernible in her sleep, her small hand feeling to pull up the missing warm sable she had been using as a blanket. Angie quickly looked around, spying a cheap linen coat hanging on a nearby hook, she grasped it and laid it over the stirring girl, stroking her for a precious few seconds. Then rising, calmly Angie snatched a shiny purse from the table, and moved off, unbelieving of her luck. She reclaimed the sable fur, and strolled out the door without looking back.

**

As Angie closed the door she heard the last notes of the song waning from inside. She licked her lip, that was close, but her luck had held. Now all that remained was to visit the Cupid Statue In the garden to reclaim her other prizes. As she reached the statue, Angie realized that she still had the child’s satin sash in her hand.

She smiled as she tied it, blindfolding the cupid statues eyes. Retrieving and pocketing the now stone cold diamond bracelet, and the young Princess in blue’s necklace with its shimmering pendent, she slowly looked around, the cost was clear. Angie coolly made her way to the gate, the bored guard offering to help her with the mink she was carrying. , Angie stopped, and handed it to him. Then turning, allowed him to help her on with it. He puffed out his chest as Angie gave him a sweet smile; she thanked him, then turned and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

**

Angie disappeared from view into the foggy evening, relishing the warmth of the sensuous sable. Happily contemplating the small fortune in jewels it had been in contact with earlier that evening, and also the small fortune she had walked out of the reception with in her possession.

**

The guard watched the spot for some time where the pretty lady in the expensive fur had vanished in the mists. He fantasized for a good few minutes, wondered what had been behind the enchantingly secret smile she had given to him.

Excuse me, sir?, a female voice coming from the garden startles him, he had never heard anyone coming.

He turns, catching an eyeful of a long glamourous, brown satin gown, worn fetchingly by a willowy short haired pretty young thing. Diamonds blazed from around her throat, caught by the gas lights, and from around her white satin gloved wrists as she raised her hands in a pleading fashion.

She continues, pointing to a young girl in a smashing blue satin gown, bending over looking for something in the bushes. My sister lost her necklace and pendent while playing around here earlier, did you or anyone find it? She asked in a rather seductive tone of voice9 not a common, it was her regular voice)

No lady, no one turned in a necklace. Thank you sir, and she turns away, her gown flowing out behind her.

He watches for a minute as she and her sister both move elegantly down the path, continuing their search.

He sighed, and turns away, babysitting rich dames he mutters under his breath, what a dismal way to make a living. Why won’t this affair ever end he asked himself, as he reached for his silver pocket watch to check the time. Damnations he said, not finding it nor its chain and fob, must have dropped it in the alley earlier where I had gone for a nipper from his flask. He sauntered off quickly to the alley located in the direction Angie had disappeared, abandoning his post.

Soon after, a pair of dark figures who had been walking on the opposite side of the street, and had stopped to loiter when they spied the guard talking to some posh broad in a shiny brown dress, saw the guard leaving his post. They quickly stole with sinister intent across the road and entered into the gardens, disappearing into the darkness.

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

This ended up being Angie’s first big score, She got more for the rhinestone set then she had imagined, the small brooch taken off the brown satin sash had proved to have real diamonds in its center! Also the princess in silky sky blue’s pendent and chain had fetched a nice tidy sum. The jewels lifted from the ladies in Green and Silver also realized quite a handsome profit, as did the sable and purse.

if one includes the real diamond ring slipped off the finger of a silky dressed debutante from the prom show and her rather nice haul of a slim pearl necklace and diamond pin from the Opera, the whole weekend was unimaginably successful.

**

From the profit realized, she had been able to spend a pleasant month away in Monte Carlo, even indulging in the purchase of a rich red wine coloured taffeta gown to wear.

Which she pleasantly found that, when paired with her deftly acquired collection of dripping rhinestone diamond jewelry, she attracted wealthy young males with expensive gold watches and fat wallets like honey bee drones to a bright moss rose.

**

She also enticed a long raven haired, Miss, richly clad in emerald silk, to enter into her snare.

But Angie did not make an entirely clean get away. For the last jewel to be taken was the girl’s brooch , and before Angie could hide it with the rest, the girl spotted its’ glitter in Angie’s hand, and with a gasp had looked down on her dress at the now vacant spot where it had been dangling ever so provocatively for Angie all evening.. Angie smiled at the girl as she had looked up in confusion. The girl had placed a hand to her throat, startled when feeling it bare of her necklace. She looked at Angie in hurt confusion, her eyes wide with fright. Angie placed a finger to the girl’s lips, hushing any fuss she may have been thinking of making over her missing jewelry, and turning her back to the forlorn miss, Angie left, not looking back….

**

But that was a story for another day, so we were promised by Angie, giving us an all too familiar look of devious satisfaction at making us wait.

.************************************************************************************

Editor’s Notes:

Our Thanks to Mr. J. Gardner for pointing out the existence of Mr. Monescu’s 1826 guide

If you enjoyed our little story, please like and leave a comment.

And if you wish, describe what intrigued you the most about it…

Thank You

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

Courtesy of Chatwick University Archives

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No Part of this can reprinted, duplicated, or copied be without the express written permission and approval of Chatwick University.

These photos and stories are works of fiction. Any resemblance to people, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

As with any work of fiction or fantasy the purpose is for entertainment only, and should never be attempted in real life.

We accept no responsibility

My birthday (#34!) was on Thursday and it was unusual in that I spent it all by myself. In fact, I've been on my own all week while C visits family back east.

 

So, while I've had to write the occasional work email and keep up with four cats by myself (oy!) I've been trying to treat this week like a "Staycation" of sorts. I've spent a lot of time driving around the LA area and taking it all in.

 

It's been fairly warm in the city so I decided that heading down the beach would be a perfect escape for my Saturday. This was taken under the pier on Manhattan Beach. This is one of my favorite Southern California beaches, btw -- it has ample free parking, traffic is manageable, and the shore isn't too crowded. Plus MB has a lot of good places to eat and shop right there by the beach. What's not to like?

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

 

Some background:

Towards the end of WWII, large, piston-engined flying boats had been used exctensively in th bepatrol and bomber role, but with the advent of the new jet engine technology, engineers in several countries started to explore the new propulsion type's potential in different areas - including seaborne usage.

Towards the end of WWII and the far-stretched conflict theatre in the Pacific, the flying boat as well as float planes still had a large appeal due to their independence from airfields. This offered a lot of tactical flexibility. On the other side, the jet engine promised (much) higher speeds, but with the relative higher weight of early jet-driven aircraft (more fuel was needed, and more engines, as thrust was relatively low) a seaborne type would also avoid the need for a prepared and long airstrip to operate.

 

The United Kingdom was one nation that looked seriously into this kind of aircraft, and Saunders Roe presented in 1943 the proposals for a plane that should actually make it to the hardware stage: the SR.1/A, which made its maiden flight in 1947. The Soviet union also undertook some studies, but fighters remained just proposals. Eventually OKB Beriev would produce several sea-borne, jet-powered patrol bombers (e .g. the R-1 experimental plane, and later the Be-10 flying boat), which actually entered service.

 

In the USA, studies for a jet-powered fighter fyling boat gained momentum during the final stages of WWII. Convair developed the 'Skate' for the US Navy, a heavy night fighter, and Boeing designed a competitive concept. In parallel, and towards the end of the forties, heavier flying boats for maritime patrol were requested by the Navy - and with them a lighter, single-seat fighter that could escort them, or be used as an interceptor to defend improvised forward maritime bases. Using this type as a fast, ship-borne reconnaicssance aircraft was also envisioned.

This fighter was to be capable of a similar performance to land-based fighters in this class, like the F-80 or the F-86. The dsuccessful evelopment of the SR.A/1 in the UK had been keenly observed, and the concept of a jet-powered flying boat fighter appeared feasible and appealing.

 

One company to respond to the USN request was Curtiss, who already had experience with float planes like the Model 82 (SOC) and the Model 97 (SC 'Seahawk') - both rather pathfinder aircraft than true combat types, though. Curtiss designed its Model 101 around two J47-GE-11 jet engines, each rated at 2.359 kN (5.200 lbf) of thrust.

 

The Model 101's layout was rather concentional, with a deep, single step boat hull that would house a huge amount of fuel for the requested long range escort capability. The J47-GE-11-engines (the same which powered the B-47 bomber) were placed in nacelles, at the highest point of the gull wings.

As an innovative step, the Model 101 featured swept wings - the first time ever that this was tried on a flying boat. On the tips of the wings with a 35° sweep, slats and large flaps, fixed stabilizer floats were mounted. The large fin was swepts as well, and the horizontal stabilizers were placed as a T-tail high on the fin, clear of any jet turbulence or spray water.

 

The pilot sat in a pressurized cockpit under a bubble canopy, which offered good view, even though the massive engine nacelles blocked much of the side and rearward field of view.

The Model 101 was armed with four 20 mm (0.79 in) M3 autocannons in the nose section, with 200 RPG. An A-1CM gunsight which used an AN/APG-30 radar to automatically compute the range of a target was housed in a small radome in the nose tip. Under its inner wings, just outside of the engines, hardpoints allowed an external ordnance of up to 4.000 lb (1.816 kg), including bombs of up to 1.000 lb calibre, eight HVAR missiles, drop tanks or even two torpedos.

 

Curtiss received a go-ahead and two prototypes were built during 1948. First taxi runsd tok place in late 1947, the maiden flight of prototype #01 was on February 6th 1948, the second aircraft followed only three weeks later on 1st of March 1948 - and the tests were soon halted. Both aircraft suffered from severe purpoising at 80% of the take-off speed, and this problem almost resulted in the loss of prototype #01. This was a new problem, as such high take-off speeds had never before been encountered on water, and the phenomenon was called the 'hydro-dynamic instability barrier': essentially it was unstable aquaplaning.

 

First attempts to solve the problem were elevator compensation and tailplane incidence angle adjustments. This helped, but the aircraft remained unstable during take-off and landing - it was not before November 1948 that modifications were made to the planing bottom of prototype #02.

This brought the purpoising to a manageable level, but did not fully cure it. Disaster struck on February 12th 1949, when the still unmodified first prototype was lost in a starting accident: the aircraft started purpoising during take-off, hit a wave with the left side stabilizer swimmer, suddenly veered off towards the left, pitching down with the nose and toppling over at more than 120mph, ripping off the left wing and the whole tail section. Miracuously, test pilot Simon Pritchard escaped alive from the sinking wreck (even though heavily injured), but the XFC-1 #01 had to be written off and any high speed ground tests were suspended..

 

Flight tests were resumed in June 1949 after a bottom step venting system had been introduced, and this measure finally cured the instability problem. In the meantime, two more airframes had been built: one with more powerful J47-GE-23 engines (with 2.631 kN/5.800 lbf each, these were introduced to the other two prototypes during 1950, too) and another one for static tests.

 

Further trials followed during 1950 and in early 1951 the re-engined machine #02 even became supersonic in a dive. While the Model 101 (which received the USN designation XFC-1 and was christened 'Oceanhawk') was up to the original specifications it was clear that it could not compete with land-based aircraft - essentially, it offered a similar performance to the land-based F-86, but the XFC-1 needed two engines for that, was much less agile and still needed a complex infratsructure to operate properly. Its independence from land bases was still its biggest selling point, though, so the development was kept up.

 

At that time, the USN issued a specification for a supersonic flying boat, and NACA understook a study that a Mach 2 aircraft would be feasible until 1955. This rendered the Oceanhawk more or less obsolete, as it could not keep up with this requirement, and the XFC-1 program was finally closed in 1953. Eventually, the Convair XF2Y Sea Dart would be the next (and final) step on the way to a seaborne jet fighter.

 

Anyway, the remaining two XFC-1 prototypes were not scrapped but allocated to the USN's test squadrons. Prototype #02 and #03 were handed over as UFC-1 to Air Development Squadron VX-4 "Evaluaters" at Point Mugu, California, together with the static airframe #04 which was used for spares. Both aircraft were used as chase planes, observation platforms and target tugs. Machine #02, for instance, took part in the evaluation program of the Martin P6M SeaMaster flying boat in 1955, and was then modified for several tests with hydroski installations under the fuselage. On the other side, machine #03 was used in the development of remote drone and target tug control equipment, being re-designated DFC-1.

 

After serving in these second line roles, both aircraft were finally scrapped in 1965 and replaced by land-based types.

  

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 14.11 m (46 ft 6 1/3 in)

Wingspan: 12.46 m (40 ft 9 1/2 in)

Height: 4.10 m (13 ft 5 1/4 in)

Empty weight: 9.265 kg (20.408 lb)

Loaded weight: 16.080 kg (35.418 lb)

 

Powerplant:

2× J47-GE-23 engines, rated at 2.631 kN/5.800 lbf each

 

Performance

Maximum speed: 932km/h (577mph/503nm) at sea level

Range: 2.092 km (1296 ml)

Service ceiling: 13.450 m (44.040 ft)

 

Armament

4× 20 mm (0.79 in) M3 autocannons with 200 RPG.

Eight underwing hardpoints for a total external ordnance of up to 4.000 lb (1.816 kg), including bombs of up to 1.000 lb calibre, eight HVAR missiles, drop tanks or two torpedos.

  

The kit and its assembly:

This model is a complete fantasy aircraft, inspired by a TV documentation about sea plane projects in the USA and USSR after WWII. Among others, the Martin P6M SeaMaster and the Saro SR.1/A made an appearance, and I wondered how an escort fighter for the P6M would have looked like in USN service? Well, let's build one...

 

Making a flying boat is pretty tricky, and the whole thing was built from scratch and with lots of putty.

 

Basically, the following went into it, all 1:72 unless stated otherwise:

● Fuselage and cockpit from a Hobby Boss F-86E

● Floating bottom is the lower half of a Matchbox Heinkel He 115 swimmer

● Wings come from another Hobby Boss F-86E, but this time a Batch 30 aircraft with extended wing tips

● Vertical stabilizer comes from an Academy MiG-21F

● Horizontal stabilizers come from a 1:100 Tamiya Il-28 bomber

● Stabilzer swimmers come from a vintage box scale Revell Convair Tradewind kit

● Engine intakes and exhausts are resin parts from Pavla, replacements for a Hasegawa B-47 kit

● A massive beaching trolley, which actually belongs to the A-Model Kh-20M missile kit

 

Assembly went from fuselage over the wing roots, the improvised engine nacelles, outer wings and stabilizer swimmers, step by step. I had a vague idea of what the aircraft should look like, but the design more or less evolved, depending from what I had at hand.

For instance, the Il-28 stabilizers were late additions, as the original F-86 parts turned out to be much too small for the massive aircraft.

 

The cockpit was taken OOB, just a pilot figure was added and the canopy cut into two pieces, so that it could be displayed in an open position.

Around the hull, small mooring hooks made from wire were added, gun nozzles made from hollow needles, as well as some antennae, since the whole kit was rather bleak and simple.

 

The trolley was puzzled together from the parts supllied with A-Model's Kh-20M (AS-3 'Kangaroo') kit, but was modified (e. g. with different wheels) and adapted to the flying boat's hull. It fits perfectly in shape and design, though!

  

Painting and markings:

Nothing fancy, as a jet-powered flying boat fighter is unique enough. Design benchmark was again the P6M, and AFAIK these aircraft were painted in just two tones: FS16081, a very dark grey, with white undersides and a wavy waterline. They were definitively not blue of any sort, as one might think in the first place.

 

I started with the lower side - white is always difficult to apply, and in order to avoid any trouble I used stpray paint from a rattle can and used a very light grey instead of pure white. The latter has two benefits: it covers the surface much better than white, and the contrast is not so harsh - the grey still leaves 'room' for some dry-brushing with white.

 

Next step was the dark grey - I used Humbrol's 32, which is FS36081 and looks very good. Dry-brushing with Humbrol 79 (Dark Blue Grey) was used for some counter-shading, and after a black ink wash I also painted some panel lines with a mix of black and matt varnish onto the hull. That turned out to be a little much, but finally, when the decals were applied (wild mix from various aftermarket sheets and the scrap box), the overall impression became much better.

 

The trolley was simply painted in yellow and makes a nice contrast to the dark aircraft on top of it.

 

Both aircraft and trolley were additionally weathered with some dry-brushed rust and grinded graphite, and finally received a coat of matt varnish.

Hasselblad 503cw - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f2.8-22 - Yellow Filter - Kodak 100TMX

 

Best viewed on black

 

As I excluded the top of the mountain with the snow and the very bight sky (if compared to the valley), in this one the range of grays was better manageable. The result is an overall brighter and I believe more detailed image, which should be seen on black.

 

I'm pleased to

announce the next portrait session starts April 12th. And please

check out Robert Armetta's Composition and Design

Workshop. He breaks down the Golden Section into manageable

form for beginners. I hope to see you at the... more

One of my favourite pics i have clicked recently. The rain makes everything look so amazing. The bokeh is not very sharp from my camera, but still manageable. I definitely need better bokeh lenses, first an SLR :)...surely coming in near future.

Trying to add the backlog in manageable numbers :)

I have never enjoyed driving as much as I do in this car! And I only paid $24,000 for it (1 year old, with 16,000 miles, perfect condition). It's like the car I always wanted. I had always wanted a porche, but could never afford it. This car is as much fun as any Porche, and according to Car & Driver, it outperforms the Porche Boxter.

 

It has a 2.2 liter 4-cylinder engine that is very manageable for daily driving if you keep the RPMs under about 5000. But it redlines at 8000! Once you get over 6000 rpm, it screams like you wouldn't believe, and presses you further back into your seat! The ride is too harsh for most people (especially most americans) to use every day, but I don't mind it at all. As a result of the very tight suspension, it handles curves like it's glued to the road. I even drive it all winter in Michigan!

 

2013 Update: I'm still driving and loving my S2000! I live in New Mexico now and not too many days go by that I'm not pushing this car to its limits; either trying to break my 12 minute record up the 10,000 foot Sandia Peak road (120 turns), or pushing well past 120 mph on the desert roads (sometimes well over 140 mph). Top speed with the top down (no wind, and level road) is about 135 mph. With the top up, it's redline limited at 157 mph. I now have over 75,000 miles on this thing and it still drives and handles like new. I hope this car lasts me many more years, especially since Honda stopped making them.

 

In a comparison test by Car And Driver in 2003:

Fifth Place: 2003 Audi TT Roadster

Fourth Place: 2003 BMW Z4

Third Place: 2003 Porsche Boxster

Second Place: 2003 Nissan 350Z Roadster

First Place: 2003 Honda S2000

 

Car and Driver said:

Haring around is not the mandatory driving style in sports cars, but to qualify for the class they must be capable of it. And if you drive this Honda politely, you'll never know about its other moods. Ride harshness is Boxster level, but the car feels much crisper. Weight is less by 189 pounds, and the controls are sharper. The clutch stroke is succinct. The stubby aluminum shifter travels in microflicks. Precision machinery, that's the feel.

 

And if you keep the yellow graphic arc of the tach below, say, 6000, this Honda plays the sweet little zip-about roadster.

 

Above 6000, no more nice little Honda. The VTEC cams switch to HP max, and the sound hardens to combat steel and you're in the full Formula 1 mode, hell-bent on a grid position at Monte Carlo. Default to fighting reflexes. Lead the arcing yellow as you would a low-flying clay. Don't wait for it to touch the nine-grand redline; you'll be into the rev limiter. Pull. Snick! Push. Snick! Pull. Snick!

 

Check the mirrors for flashing lights! Whew. How long can you keep living like this?

 

This is a scalpel-quick sports car when you keep it boiling, quickest of the bunch around the BeaveRun road course, barely behind the Z4 in acceleration, even though it gives away a full liter of displacement. Think intensity. Think fury.

 

Think...could I stand this as an only car?

 

For sure, only an extremist would love it as an interstate cruiser. And yet, and yet . . . so much excitement for a fraction of Porsche and BMW prices. Actually, the Honda's interior details, particularly the leather wheel, look richer than the Porsche's. The metal-trimmed pedals and footrest fit the racy personality exactly.

 

According to RS Sports Cars:

Widely considered the quintessential roadster-style sports car, the S2000 is the performance icon for the Honda brand and combines uncompromising racetrack-ready performance with everyday usability.

 

Introduced in 1999, the S2000 rewards driving enthusiasts with a potent 237 horsepower, 2.2-liter, 16-valve DOHC VTEC 4-cylinder engine and a precise, short throw 6-speed manual transmission, along with tenacious handling and a perfect 50/50 weight balance. Continuing with significant improvements made to the 2006 model, the 2007 Honda S2000 includes an electronic Drive-by-Wire (DBW) Throttle System, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA),

 

"The Honda S2000 is a true performance vehicle that provides customers with an exciting experience behind the wheel," said John Mendel, senior vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "Since the S2000 is a car designed by enthusiasts for enthusiasts, it can easily satisfy daily driving needs without sacrificing track-worthy performance."

 

The S2000's renowned high-revving, 2.2-liter, 16-valve DOHC VTEC 4-cylinder engine remains the pinnacle of naturally aspirated performance technology, delivering 237 horsepower at 7,800 rpm and 162 lb-ft of torque at 6,800 rpm. Perfectly complimenting the engine's output characteristics is a compact, longitudinally-mounted, close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission that features a direct linkage for precise shifting and quick throws.

 

The S2000 comes equipped with a Drive-by-Wire throttle control system eliminating the need for a mechanical connection between the throttle pedal and the engine. This enables continuous electronic monitoring and adjustment of throttle pedal sensitivity to create an ideal match between throttle response and driving conditions. The system also manages the S2000's cruise control function for greater precision.

 

Honda's VSA system makes the S2000 more stable and forgiving during street driving or in inclement weather conditions. Working in concert with the Drive-by-Wire system, VSA continuously monitors yaw rate, steering input, throttle input, and braking pressure to determine if the car is following the driver's intended path, and can independently coordinate each of the disk brakes through the 4-channel anti-lock brake system, along with the throttle, to enhance vehicle stability. While this serves to effectively enhance driver control during acceleration, braking, and cornering, the system can be disabled with the touch of a button when conditions warrant it. To help provide optimum stopping power, the braking system also features Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist.

 

The S2000's rear-wheel-drive chassis and powertrain layout results in a 50/50 front/rear weight distribution for perfect balance when cornering, while its hybrid monocoque body and "high X-bone frame" results in exceptional structural rigidity. Combined with a front and rear double wishbone suspension, precise electric power steering, and a torque-sensing limited slip differential, the end result is a complete, no compromise, performance package for the enthusiast driver.

 

It looked to be a good day for a hike in the foothills east of the Rocky Mountains, except for some wind. Snow was patchy on the trail in the lower reaches, but still manageable with just our boots. Once past the junction with Prairie Link Trail, we had to don our spikes to continue. A kilometre from the summit, however, the ridge had been swept free of snow, and we were back with just our boots without spikes. The same winds that kept the snow off the ridge top returned to pester and annoy us, cooling us down. We walked just over 18 km's, gaining just over 800 m's, and taking 5 1/4 hours to so.

2010 - Day 71. Mar. 12, 2010.

 

Daily Shoot - Electronic gadgets pervade our world. You've probably got several. Make a photo of your favorite gadget today.

 

Blackberry - an aggregate fruit. This powerful tool, (long ago elevated from 'gadget' status), is key to aggregating all the many pieces of my life as a manageable whole.

My daughter needle-felted these elf-ears for her Halloween costume this year. See more of the costume in my post today in the Every Second Sunday in Film blog.

 

While there please visit the other wonderful Sunday on Film posts: Sunday on Film posts.

 

I haven't given up on Flickr. My older daughter has been performing in a high school performance of As You Like It, and I have spent this week involved with headshots, group shots, candids, and photos of the play, and this is the first moment I've had to do something else. I have to go sort through 400 photos and narrow it down to something manageable now. I really miss my flickr time though, so I will return.

The dream of staying somewhere where time stands still - one hour follows after the other - one day follows after the other - most of it is manageable and is a repetition of something one has already experienced and lived through. Bedouins in the Sahara desert

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

Originating in China, the Limequat (Citrus x floridana) is cultivated in Japan, Israel, Spain, and Malaysia. In the United States, the Limequat is grown in Florida and California. The self-fertile Limequat is almost everbearing with heavy crops of oval-shaped, lemon-colored fruit, larger than both of the parents. The flesh is juicy, acidic and high in Vitamin C.

 

There are 3 (three) original varieties of Limequat, resulting from different crosses between a Key Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) and a Kumquat (Citrus fortunella). They were produced in Florida and named Eustis, Lakeland, and Tavares (could be a Lemon X Kumquat hybrid) in honor of the Florida cities of the same names. They are grafted onto Flying Dragon dwarfing rootstock (Poncirus trifoliata) syn. (Citrus trifoliate) to attain manageable heights desired in dooryard trees and container gardening.

 

Because of the parentage, Limequats are much cold hardier than the Key Lime and are much less susceptible to disease than the Key Lime.

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

This is a display of 4 Lakeland Limequats in various stages of ripeness, compared with a 2.54cm (1inch) coin.

 

Limequat 'Lakeland'

Citrus japonica 'Marumi' X Citrus aurantiifolia

Family Rutaceae

Rockledge Gardens, Rockledge, Florida, USA.

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

Sunday morning crowd at Waitrose seems manageable