manageable photos on Flickr

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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.

Wildebeest herd [C0060] by Roy Prasad

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Shot at 4K video with Sony RX10M3, then downsized to 1080P to keep the file size and upload times manageable. Sorry for the camera shakes, these videos were all hand-held with a tough viewing angles, and I haven't had the time to edit the videos.

Maasai Mara, Kenya

Exiting the Willamette, via wet, tippy rolling tricycle jungle gym/crab pot. by Peter Wm. Wagner

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The Kinetic Sculpture, the Vitruvian Racer, 'piloted' by Whymcycles, Peter Wagner, counter balances the rearward wheels and cart upward ( deeper water end) The 50 lb. cart rolls with the hoop up to the top, then rolls/plummets to the ground, making the pilot/climber dance backward to keep things 'manageable'. .all while staying aboard during forward movement. Once up the riverbank, with course corrections, the front wheel (not seen here) is re-deployed in a moment, and I then passed everyone still converting their machines back to land format. Good times!

Photo by Melanie Davis

1/2 hour earlier.. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elc5LNk5XDY

IMG_8692 by Graham Scott

Frogs are much more manageable!

tangled yoke. by Megan

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don't mind me... just busy documenting things i must knit.

from interweave knits fall 2007 preview.

eunny, you've outdone yourself. you've created a pattern that is both interesting and visually stunning, but looks manageable enough for even me to knit. and in rowan felted tweed? how could i not knit this?

StellaNightshade6 by Beth

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Stella is about 8 1/2 inches tall, crocheted from my Simply Ami pattern with crochet eyes. She has a bit of bling in her hair and at the waist with glass star beads and assorted smaller glass beads.

Her hair is worsted mohair crocheted in a cap, with long strands of single crochet to give her long, but manageable, hair. The bangs are embroidered to her head before the wig cap is sewn down.

Dads latest project. by Chris Firth

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After a breather of fifteen years dad decided that he wanted to try another bike rebuild. This time he wanted something manageable in size and chose probably the classic bike least street cred. Yep, a 1962 200cc water-cooled LE Velocette. The police used to ride around on these in the 60's (no doubt before the time the baddies had transport other than their own two feet). They were known as Noddy bikes, although I can't say I know the reason why. Top speed would be 50 odd but then again you probably got that many miles to the gallon as well.

The engine and gear box are out as can be seen and are currently in many pieces on dad's work bench. He's in no rush to complete this renovation, but one thing is for sure, it will look well when he's finished.

2-10-4 steam engine with 909 Limited passenger train by Murdoch17

First uploaded in November 2012, this passenger train originally had six 8-wide cars consisting of a baggage car, four passenger coaches, and a observation car. It was pulled by my 2-8-4 steam engine for a while before I whittled down the number of the (slightly heavy) cars to a more manageable total of four. Over these two years I have modified them a lot, taking out the detailed interior and replacing the complex window assembly with something less fragile. The last time I changed the train was October 2014, when I modified the baggage car to a half baggage / half passenger coach (this is known as a combine) and lengthened the 2-8-4 Berkshire type into a 2-10-4 Texas type.

After I originally had built the six cars I realized the only thing that could pull my 8 wide cars was a 8 wide engine. The coaches just didn't look very good with a 6 wide locomotive at the front, but the opposite was true about 6 wide coaches with an 8 wide engine. So after much internal debate over the possibility of reducing the size of the train cars, I found a workable solution that looks good. This is that solution, plus their is an added bonus of having enough parts left over from the "slimming down" of the four 8 wide train cars that I could build a third passenger car. This makes me happy, because a full size 2-10-4 that can pull 10+ heavyweight cars in real life looks silly as a LEGO model pulling only 4 coaches of the same style.

Background for the coaches:

Train name: 909 Limited

Car Types: Baggage / coach (1) Coach (3) Observation (1)

Configuration (per car): 4 wheels on two bogies

Designer: Pullman Car Company

Build Date: 1924

Builder: Pullman Car Company

Current Owner: Brick Railway Systems

Length: 28 studs

Width: 6 studs

Height: 10 ⅔ bricks

Background for the locomotive:

Engine Type: Steam, heavy freight

Configuration: 2-10-4

Engine Class: Texas

Designer: (unknown)

Build Date: 1939

Road number(s): 6297

Builder: Lima Locomotive works

Current Owner: Brick Railway Systems

Length: 81 studs (with tender)

Width: 8 studs

Height: 10 bricks

Top Speed: 100 MPH

NOTES:

Here is the original inspiration for these cars, a vintage 2009 LEGO model of "Galaxy Express 999". (Link to Brickshelf: www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=374748 ) The name 909 Limited is a combination of this train and the Beatles song "One after 909", which is sort-of about a train. Also, the pistons rod are missing two pieces that are laid off to the side of the locomotive. They do work in real life but LDD doesn't like them being attached.

LDD file: www.mocpages.com/user_images/80135/1424626224m.lxf

Salar 40 - FREEBOOTER by Salar Admirer

Price AU $160,000

Vessel NameFreebooter

Year1974

Length39' 6" - 12.04m

Beam3.6m

Draft1.6m

Displacement12 ton

Keel / BallastLead, integral with keel

LocationNewhaven, Phillip Island

RegionVictoria

HINN/a

RegistrationON 355274

DesignerLaurent Giles

BuilderRod Levy

Hull MaterialFibreglass/GRP

Decks MaterialGRP

EngineM series naturally aspired 4 cylinder diesel, with dual controls (throttle, fwd & reverse) to aft steering station. Inventory of engine spares.

Engine MakePerkins

Number Engines1

Horsepower80 hp

Fuel TypeDiesel

Engine HoursAprox 3,000 hrs

Fuel ConsumptionAprox 3.5 l/hr

Max Speed8 kts

Cruise Speed6.5 kts

PropulsionShaft driven 4 blade propeller

ThrustersVetus 12512D 250mm 125 kgf fitted 2017

Fuel800 lt

WaterAprox 800 Lt

Dinghy2.4m Aquapro. Aft mounted davits, or can be stowed on deck forward of mast.

Outboard2 hp Mariner

CoversWheel house cover, aft wheel & pedestal cover.

AccommodationDouble berth aft cabin, 2 x single berths saloon, 2 vee berths forward cabin.

ShowerAft en suite, with hot water. Shower and wash basin discharge to aprox 60 Lt grey water holding tank

Toilet1 electric mascerating aft en suite, 1 electric mascerating forward. Aft toilet can discharge to aprox 60Lt black water holding tank, with pump out connections.

EntertainmentTV, DVD player, CD player/am fm radio.

GalleyU shaped configuration, double bowl sink, pressure fresh water (hot & cold). Foot pump saltwater. Sink discharges to grey water holding tank.

RefrigerationAprox 40Lt 12v galley fridge

FreezerChest style, aprox 80 Lt. Utec (Sydney) eutectic system, engine driven compressor with 12 v back up.

Hot WaterAprox 40 Lt

Ground Tackle200 ft aprox 7/16" chain, regalvanized 2017.35kg NZ plough, 25kg plough, 20 kg danforth.

Nilsson 2000 12v anchor winch, overhauled 2017, manual overide. Deck wash.

Safety Gear2 x life rings, 1 dan bouy, 1floating lifebuoy light. Full length Jack lines. Stainless steel boarding ladder.

Bilge Pumps1 x 12v bilge pump, 1 x manual Whale Gusher bilge pump

Life Raft6 person, not currently in survey.

EpirbGME 406, currently in survey, registered with AMSA.

Life Jackets2 x personal inflatable vests, 4 x standard life jackets

FlaresCurrent inshore flare kit

Fire Protection3 x fire extinguishers

ElectricsTotal wiring & new circuit board replaced 2006.3 x 100AH house batteries, 1 x 100AH engine starting battery ( new 2015). Bow thruster battery ( new 2017). 80 amp engine driven alternator. Battery usage & charge monitoring instruments. 2 x 240v AC circuits with 3 GPO's for shore power. 240v multi stage 12v battery charger. 12v propeller shaft alternator. Navigation lights, cabin lights converted to LED's.

Electronics / NavigationFuruno 32 NM Radar, Garmin GPS. Wind speed & direction & sum log instruments. Depth sounder. GME Electrophone VHF. TMQ AP4 Automatic pilot (new 2010). Older style Sharpe automatic pilot. Hydrovane (wind vane) self steering.

Sail InventoryCross cut furling (number 1) Genoa, furling (number 3) self tacking working jib, fully battened radial dacron Liesure Boom furling main, fully battened mizzen with lazy jacks, storm jib (for demountable inner stay). All sails new, by Hoods Sydney, 2015, except storm jib. Light weight MPS (old, but in excellent condition).

Mast / RiggingNew ketch rig (2015), including refurbishment of existing alloy mast & spreaders, new fabricated aluminium mast head fitting, sheaves etc, and fitting of Liesure Furl (NZ) in boom furling system. Furlex 304S headsail furling gear (new 2015). Refurbished mizzen mast to laurent Giles Design Office specifications (2015). All standing and running rigging replaced 2015.

Deck GearAll mainsail and headsail sheeting & reefing lines led back to wheel house. Liesure Furl in boom reefing operated by electric Harken self tailing winch (mainsail raising, & furling from wheel house). Upholstered rear seating, with stowage under.

RemarksFreebooter has recently (2017) been stripped of all old antifouling back to original gel coat, been treated in a few small areas for potential osmosis, had 3 barrier coats of epoxy applied, and is ready for extended trouble free cruising. The addition of dual station steering and engine controls, plus bow thruster, makes this yacht easily manageable in tight maneuvering situations.

Salar 40 - FREEBOOTER by Salar Admirer

Price AU $160,000

Vessel NameFreebooter

Year1974

Length39' 6" - 12.04m

Beam3.6m

Draft1.6m

Displacement12 ton

Keel / BallastLead, integral with keel

LocationNewhaven, Phillip Island

RegionVictoria

HINN/a

RegistrationON 355274

DesignerLaurent Giles

BuilderRod Levy

Hull MaterialFibreglass/GRP

Decks MaterialGRP

EngineM series naturally aspired 4 cylinder diesel, with dual controls (throttle, fwd & reverse) to aft steering station. Inventory of engine spares.

Engine MakePerkins

Number Engines1

Horsepower80 hp

Fuel TypeDiesel

Engine HoursAprox 3,000 hrs

Fuel ConsumptionAprox 3.5 l/hr

Max Speed8 kts

Cruise Speed6.5 kts

PropulsionShaft driven 4 blade propeller

ThrustersVetus 12512D 250mm 125 kgf fitted 2017

Fuel800 lt

WaterAprox 800 Lt

Dinghy2.4m Aquapro. Aft mounted davits, or can be stowed on deck forward of mast.

Outboard2 hp Mariner

CoversWheel house cover, aft wheel & pedestal cover.

AccommodationDouble berth aft cabin, 2 x single berths saloon, 2 vee berths forward cabin.

ShowerAft en suite, with hot water. Shower and wash basin discharge to aprox 60 Lt grey water holding tank

Toilet1 electric mascerating aft en suite, 1 electric mascerating forward. Aft toilet can discharge to aprox 60Lt black water holding tank, with pump out connections.

EntertainmentTV, DVD player, CD player/am fm radio.

GalleyU shaped configuration, double bowl sink, pressure fresh water (hot & cold). Foot pump saltwater. Sink discharges to grey water holding tank.

RefrigerationAprox 40Lt 12v galley fridge

FreezerChest style, aprox 80 Lt. Utec (Sydney) eutectic system, engine driven compressor with 12 v back up.

Hot WaterAprox 40 Lt

Ground Tackle200 ft aprox 7/16" chain, regalvanized 2017.35kg NZ plough, 25kg plough, 20 kg danforth.

Nilsson 2000 12v anchor winch, overhauled 2017, manual overide. Deck wash.

Safety Gear2 x life rings, 1 dan bouy, 1floating lifebuoy light. Full length Jack lines. Stainless steel boarding ladder.

Bilge Pumps1 x 12v bilge pump, 1 x manual Whale Gusher bilge pump

Life Raft6 person, not currently in survey.

EpirbGME 406, currently in survey, registered with AMSA.

Life Jackets2 x personal inflatable vests, 4 x standard life jackets

FlaresCurrent inshore flare kit

Fire Protection3 x fire extinguishers

ElectricsTotal wiring & new circuit board replaced 2006.3 x 100AH house batteries, 1 x 100AH engine starting battery ( new 2015). Bow thruster battery ( new 2017). 80 amp engine driven alternator. Battery usage & charge monitoring instruments. 2 x 240v AC circuits with 3 GPO's for shore power. 240v multi stage 12v battery charger. 12v propeller shaft alternator. Navigation lights, cabin lights converted to LED's.

Electronics / NavigationFuruno 32 NM Radar, Garmin GPS. Wind speed & direction & sum log instruments. Depth sounder. GME Electrophone VHF. TMQ AP4 Automatic pilot (new 2010). Older style Sharpe automatic pilot. Hydrovane (wind vane) self steering.

Sail InventoryCross cut furling (number 1) Genoa, furling (number 3) self tacking working jib, fully battened radial dacron Liesure Boom furling main, fully battened mizzen with lazy jacks, storm jib (for demountable inner stay). All sails new, by Hoods Sydney, 2015, except storm jib. Light weight MPS (old, but in excellent condition).

Mast / RiggingNew ketch rig (2015), including refurbishment of existing alloy mast & spreaders, new fabricated aluminium mast head fitting, sheaves etc, and fitting of Liesure Furl (NZ) in boom furling system. Furlex 304S headsail furling gear (new 2015). Refurbished mizzen mast to laurent Giles Design Office specifications (2015). All standing and running rigging replaced 2015.

Deck GearAll mainsail and headsail sheeting & reefing lines led back to wheel house. Liesure Furl in boom reefing operated by electric Harken self tailing winch (mainsail raising, & furling from wheel house). Upholstered rear seating, with stowage under.

RemarksFreebooter has recently (2017) been stripped of all old antifouling back to original gel coat, been treated in a few small areas for potential osmosis, had 3 barrier coats of epoxy applied, and is ready for extended trouble free cruising. The addition of dual station steering and engine controls, plus bow thruster, makes this yacht easily manageable in tight maneuvering situations.

DRE @ 12 Weeks Old by mark fox

DRE @ 12 Weeks Old

HISTORY OF THE STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER

Mankind has enjoyed the faithfulness of the dog by the side for countries. Few dogs desire to please their human masters as mush as the staffordshire bull terrier. Dogs in general have accommodated man and his every whim for generations anything to please the master. Today's Staffordshire Bull Terrier, in mind and body, echoes that sentiment with night and determination.

A SPECIALIST IN BODY AND MIND

before the days of dog shows and the purebred mating of champions, human recognised the merit in dogs that specialise in performing a specific job or task. We bred dogs that could hunt, herd, haul, guard, run, track and perform countless other tasks geared towards making humans lives more comfortable, enjoyable, and manageable. Each dog's anatomy reflected the task tha men set before him. The hunting dog had an insulated coat, a super sensitive nose, a short coupled body, a deep chest and straight, strong legs. The coursing dog had longer legs, a tucked-up abdomen (for speed), a deep chest (for lung capacity), keen eyesight, and a narrow, long muzzle (to slice the wind). The guard dogs were true heavyweights: massive and solidly boned with punishing jaws and nerves of steel.

Understand the Staffordshire Bull Terrier as a pet

required knowledge of the dog's history as a baiting and

fighting dog. No dog matches this breeds devotion to

it's master, in mind and body

The physical characteristics that set apart the staffordshire bull terrier are its impressive musculature, its strongly undershot strong jaws and large teeth, very pronounced cheek muscles, loose shoulders, roach black, low-slung body and long legs that bend in the forequarters. These are the characteristics of a fighting or baiting dog that enable it to perform the tasks that breed indeed all the bull and terrier dogs, were created to tackle. The decree'Go Low, pin and hold!' was in sooth a battle cry! This imposing physique was needed for the dogs to fight one another, as well as dodge and grab an ornery bull with their powerful gripping jaws and hold on to it without being tossed aside!

Baiting a bull, an animal twenty or more times the size of a dog, placed some obvious demands on the dog, its anatomy and temperament. The desired temperament of a bull and terrier dog for baiting was not a vicious, risk-taking daredevil. Instead, the baiting dog required an even-keeled, level-headed, obedient temperament, peppered with patience, indomitable courage and tenacity. The bulldog excelled in the pinning and holding of the bull, but lacked the flexibility required in the dog pit. thus, the smaller bull and terrier dogs were designed to take on this challenge and each other.

The characteristics of a fighting dog still distin

guish the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, including the

pronounced cheek muscles, long legs and loose

shoulders

Image the heart of the dog that willingly undertake such a task for the sake of pleasing his master! Baiting and fighting dogs were not the only kinds of dogs that risked their lives for their human counterparts. Indeed, harding and droving dogs, hunting dogs, and even the smaller terrier risked their lives for the sake of accomplishing their task. Nonetheless, the bloody endeavour of slaying bull overshadows almost any other taskset before dog.

The original fighting types were large, mastiff dogs with heavy, low-slung bodies and powerfully developed heads. Some accounts also descibed the deep, frightening voice of the mastiffs. In appearance, the mastiffs were appalling and frightful. Mastiff dogs yielded not only fighting dogs but also flock guards, scent hounds and other powerful hunters. Consider the size and fearlessness of such modern-day mastiff as Great Pyrenees, Kuvasz, Dogo Argention and Spanish Mastiff. Consider the size and features of the bloodhound, Great Dane,Newfoundland and Polish Hound. All these dogs derive from crosses to these powerful mastiffs of yesteryear.

ORIGINAL PURPOSES OF THE GREAT MASTIFFS

Historians have recorded many impressive duties amongst the purposes of these original mastiffs. Dogs used for war armoured,spiked, and collared became valuable weapons for human strying to defend themselves from t heir enemies. These dogs were not only brave but aggressive and resource full. As early as 2100B.C. dogs were employed for warring purposed. Many famous kings and tribes used dogs to claim their victories. The dogs were trained in combat and were uniformed with impenetrable metal shields and spiked collars to protect them from their foes who carried spears and other primitive weapons.

The American Staffordshire Terrier, shown here,

derived from the Staffordshire Bull Terrier from

crosses to other terriers in the U.S

Spanning the millennia, Hammurabi, Kambyses, Varius and henry VII were among the monarchs that valued dogs in their militia. These dogs were necessarily vicious and trusted no one exept their one master. Appropriately these war dogs were labelled Canis bellicosus.

The great mastiff also assisted man by hunting large, ferocious game. These dog commonly hunted in packs, maintained by the royals, and were used to pursue bison and aurochs in the wild forests. Dogs were also used to track the stag, considered a noble game,as well as the wild boar, the most dangerous of wild game, revered for its ruthless, nasty disposition. The mastiffs worked in conjunction with lighter, swifter dogs that tired the boar before the mighty mastiffs were releases to slay it, many men, dogs and horses were killed by the wild boars fighting for their lives. There are accounts of boar dogs being kept in kennel 6000 dog strong. Today, mastiffs are rarely used for these purposes, but there are still boar hunts in the U.S., Germany and the Czech Republic.

Bear hunting, even more popular today than boar hunting,was also a noble pursuit of the dogs of antiquity. The dogs were required to track the bear, cornerit and keep it occupied until the hunter arrived with their firearms. The bear is highly intelligent creature that could weight much as 350 kgs and could easily outmatch a dog. Mastiffs in India produce the most coloful tale of hunting, including the pursuit of buffalo, leopards, panthers and elephants! Regardless of the actual truth of many of these accounts, the stories underscore the fearless tenacity of these mastiff dogs that the ancestors of our Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

G 937 #9 Ferrari 355 Nikon S Nikkor 35mm f3.5 by T&T and Mr B Abrahamsson

8 4

One of the nicer ferrari's - the 355 has a bit of a Dino look to it. OK, it does not have a v12 out front as the real Ferraris have - but it sounds good and is small enough to be useful in modern traffic. Some of the newer Ferraris start looking "bloated".

IMG_5561. Something more manageable.. by Nick Ransdale

28 2

...that's better!

Spain; Ebro delta, Catalunya 5/1/15.

The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci. Clementoni 3000 pieces. by Piecefull

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This one has been high on my to-do list since seeing Joey Smith's start on the Clementoni 13200 piece. I love the look of this ancient and very worn work by Da Vinci. I was pleased to find a 3000 version of the puzzle. There are many smaller versions by most of the manufacturers. I hope this 3000 will be manageable.

The print on this puzzle is just gorgeous; it's sharp with lots of colourful speckled textures. I'll make a start on the white area and then not sure where to head. I think this is going to be a difficult one.

I'm running behind schedule and thought by this time I would be well into Babel 5000. Looks as though Babel might have to wait until next year.

IMG_2986a by Elvert Barnes

2

BLACK LIVES MATTER PLAZA along 16th between K and I Street, NW, Washington DC on Saturday morning, 4 July 2020 by Elvert Barnes Photography

CAPITAL BIKESHARE BICYCLIST

Follow CAPITAL BIKESHARE at www.facebook.com/CapitalBikeshare/

Follow BLACK LIVES MATTER PLAZA DC at www.instagram.com/blacklivesmatterplaza/

Learn about BLACK LIVES MATTER PLAZA / Washington DC at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter_Plaza

Elvert Barnes BLACK LIVES MATTER 2020 at elvertbarnes.com/BLM2020.html

Elvert Barnes Saturday, 4 July 2020 DC docu-project at elvertbarnes.com/DC4July2020.html

Elvert Barnes Corona Virus COVID-19 Pandemic Project at elvertbarnes.com/COVID19.html

Published at ggwash.org/view/78372/how-wear-a-damn-mask-sounds-like-do...

Published at ggwash.org/view/80191/a-shoutout-to-capital-bikeshare-for...

Cycling in Ghent by VisitGent

You will love Ghent, featuring the largest low-traffic pedestrian zone in Europe. Experiencing Ghent on a bike is a really good idea: the city loves cyclists and cyclists love the city. Ghent is a manageable size and the sights are easy to find.

visit.gent.be/en/good-know/practical-information/getting-...

Photo by Martin Corlazzoli

Image use disclaimer / copyright

All images in this database are protected by copyright. They are the property of Stad Gent – Dienst Toerisme (Visit Gent). Any reproduction, distribution or republication of all or part of the images and other materials included in this image database is expressly prohibited, unless prior written consent has been obtained from Stad Gent.

When using an image upon obtaining consent, you must mention copyright © Stad Gent – Dienst Toerisme as well as the author of the image. Please provide your contact at Stad Gent – Dienst Toerisme (Visit Gent) with a copy or digital file of the publication in which the images are used.

The image shall not be modified, altered or misused. If you wish to modify the image, you must first request permission to do so. You are authorised to use the images only once. If you want to use the same image for other purposes, you must request permission once more. Sale of the images is prohibited.

The images shall not be used for commercial, philosophical, religious or political purposes.

Globe Chimney Demolition June 2014 075 by Mark Schofield

2

I've been following the demolition of parts of the Globe Mill quite closely, My late wife worked there and her father was the chief electrician and died on the bottom floor after walking to work in snow 30 years ago. There have been delays due to scaffold problems and a layer of concrete near the top - this chimney had to be gone - quickly!

I saw the high reach machine had appeared on Saturday so I was aware of what was going to happen. I Had been thinking Monday but! I had a dream about it being done on Sunday - when it was quiet. I suddenly woke thinking of course it will be Sunday. I went up to work early on Sunday to collect my gear and pop down Slaithwaite to photograph some flowers I spotted near the wine bar the evening before. I had my gear set up at 7.30, nice and peaceful having forgotten all about the chimney. At 7.50 Jeremy Walker of Pennine Demo pulled up in His Scania Rolonof - shit, the chimney, I'd completely forgotten but happy days I was in the right place for once, and with the right gear with me.

Jeremy knew I was recording the chimney coming down and was going to text me apparently. I had to ring Jayne and ask her to walk to Slawit to meet me at nine instead of work and warn her that we might be having breakfast later than usual - no worries.

By 9.30 the chimney was down to a manageable height, I was stood on a garden wall getting a close up of Jeremy when a hydraulic seal blew - just above us. Hydraulic oil drizzle on me and the camera. At this point I left - I needed to eat - and I had a photo mission up Wessenden planned. The rest of the chimney was dropped with a smaller machine - done and dusted before dinner. My car was thick with dust, I could hardly see through the windscreen - all in a good cause.

To see more information about the 130 year history of J B Schofield and Sons, including their transport and 33 years gritting in the Pennines look here www.jbschofieldandsons.co.uk/

IMG_7026 by Red Carpet Report on Mingle Media TV

www.rcrnewsmedia.com

Recap by RCR’s Producer and resident comic nerd, JD Piche, follow him on IG @Misadventur3r

As the world begins to open back up and in person events pick up, Albuquerque Comic-Con was held this weekend.

Normally a January show, it was held at the ABQ Convention Center. This was our first year attending, and when comparing it to a WonderCon or Star Wars Celebration, the only difference beyond location is scale. You’ve got your vendor booths, the celebrity signing area, comic vendors, cosplayers, and lines to get in, park and whathaveyou. It doesn’t matter where people are, as long as they have a love for Genre content, regional Comic Conventions bring people together.

Walking into the Albuquerque Convention Center’s main hall, Twin Suns Comics have the catbird seat. Comics, the first thing you see walking in. With one of the best selections of classic books at this year’s Con, Twin Suns had a great booth stacked high with Thanos and Captain America Standees on top of merchandise display, that could be seen from almost any point in the hall. Exploring the Con floor has become like visiting your local Etsy artisans, with groups like Krazy Krafters Abq, The Geeky Octopus, Ghost In The Machine Tech Repair, as well as artists for hire, like Jonathan Hallett from StitchToons, Hailey Patrick’s Digillama Art, KayyArkham a tattoo and logo designer, to Valerie DeCoy’s JellyCows Illustrations, whose booth was a personal favorite for Booth Design, her first year doing a table at a Convention, Valerie told me she had burnt out working retail and her art brought her joy and this was her first time renting a table for a Con and had spent the past week fine-tuning her booth, which she transformed into a wonderful little stall with some potted plants to give ambiance, and brings the artwork up close for attendees to see clearly presented, rather than strewn across the black tablecloth. The fairy lights in the garland around the top of her booth really worked for me, she was also in costume as Bulma from Dragon Ball, the stall design also shielded Valerie’s young baby from the Darth Vaders roaming the aisles.

One of the other vendors I wanted to spotlight was Comic Afterlife (IG @Comic.Afterlife) he creates decoupage 8.5×11 splash pages out of, older / less valued books. I had walked by not realizing what great work was actually done, thinking it was just someone selling returned comics. When books don’t sell, rather than returning the whole book stores will just return the cover and toss the book itself, but Comic Afterlife specializes in the kind of poses and dialog from your favorite characters, and he checks before cutting, that none of the books he sacrifices for his art are rare or ultra-valuable. Kind of ‘Best Of’ works, done with scissors and glue, just waiting to be framed.

With media guests, the likes of Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Michael Biehn, Jason O’Mara, & Kane Hodder next to Dot Marie Jones from Glee and Ming Chen from Comic Book Men, as well as the star of Disney’s Descendents, the Twilight Saga, and Warpath from X-Men Days of Future Past, BooBoo Stewart had fans lined up for meet and greets, autographs and photo opportunities. The Breaking Bad RV Tour was there with their Crystal Ship, next to a US Army Helicopter training simulator, Xfinity also had a booth for attendees to take a photo with several Mortal Kombat cosplayers, as well as a lovingly recreated A-Team Van, and Herbie the Lovebug.

Albuquerque Comic Con had a tent set up for Warrior Robotics, as the Convention is a supporter of the Socorro Consolidated School’s team in the FIRST Tech Challenge, where 7-12 grade students work on teams for creating mechanical solutions for a given task, a Science and Engineering focused after school league. For reference see the George Lopez movie “Spare Parts.”

While this marks 2 years without the juggernaut of San Diego Comic-Con, check out your regional Cons, they’re much more manageable.

Albuquerque Comic Con was limited to 7,500 attendees over this three-day run, and you could see every booth twice walking the floor for an hour, it’s nice to see people passionate about their crafts and costumes. The Cosplayers and other fans are reason enough to return for multiple days. Whether it’s The 501st / Mandolorian Mercs / Rebel Legion costume club showing off their movie-accurate Stromtrooper fare, wanting to haggle on a sword, or commission an anime-styled portrait of your pet, the people are the reason to return to the con for another day.

Be sure to LIKE and follow #RCRNewsMedia for further coverage on the cool things happening in your area.

Improving the Eel Garden Dive Site by Jan (Arny) Messersmith

www.messersmith.name/wordpress/2010/03/01/improving-the-e...

I had no business diving on Saturday. I've been fighting off a cold which turned into sinusitis and a bronchial infection for over two weeks now. However, I could "pop" my ears after taking a 12-hour Sudafed, so I decided to have a go for a shallow dive. When I flipped over the side of Faded Glory onto my back and sank about a meter before popping up again, I knew I'd made an error of judgement. However, as I was already in the water, I decided to grab my camera and see if I could get deep enough to do any good.

My ears cleared okay, but my entire head felt as if it was being squeezed in a vise. There lot of cavities in your head that are supposed to be filled with air at normal atmospheric pressure - that's you're sinus cavities. When you're congested, they don't connect up right and you can't equalise pressure between them. It hurts like billy-blue-blazes. I found if I went down only a half meter at a time, and kept equalising all the time, I could keep the pain manageable.

For you divers out there, keep in mind that I have over 2,000 dives, so I have a fairly good idea of what I can actually get away with. I was pushing the limits and taking a calculated risk that I wouldn't rupture a blood vessel. Don't try this at home. Just because I do stupid things doesn't mean that we're in a contest to see who can be the more stupid. Be the winner - stay safe!

Here you can see Richard Jones taking a depth measurement at the level of a stainless steel pin cast into the reef. We will attach a chain to it with a float about two meters below the surface. To that, we'll attach a short rope with a ring in the end and a small surface float to mark it: When approaching for a dive, someone (appointed by the captain - ME) will dive over the side holding a moring line, run it through the ring, and then hand it up to another crew member to be tied off to hold the boat in position. This way we don't have to drop anchor at dive sites. We are usually very careful to aviod damage, but sometimes it happens. Note that you can see Faded Glory's anchor lying in the sand just beyond him in the distance.

We gave up trying to get funding to put in permanent anchorages at all of the popular dive sites. There are plenty of agencies who talk the talk about saving the reefs, but none that we've found who walk the walk. My advice, if someone approaches you in Madang about "saving our reefs" is to ask them to give you a list of active project where they are spending money to do something useful instead of just moaning about it. I'm fed up with aid agencies that show you the fancy brochures and web sites, but give you the blank stare when you ask for money to do something that will actually get the job done.

With my head pounding like a jackhammer, I descended to about six meters and discovered a fish that I've never seen before. I was lucky enough to get a couple of good shots of this Six-Spot Goby (Valenciennea sexguttata): Hey, this fish has six blue spots on each side. Shouldn't it be a Twelve-Spot Goby? It's not exactly gorgeous, but It's a new one for me, so I say hurrah!

Here's our beautiful little friends the Purple Anthea (Psudanthias tuka) sparkling like jewels above the sandy bottom of The Eel Garden near Pig Island: There are both males and females there in that image along with a variety of other species. A typical "fish soup".

You've seen the Nudibranch (Phyllidia varicosa) here before, but not one this large, I don't believe: This one couldn't have hidden behind two golf balls. The colours are gorgeous. It looks like some kind of fancy candy.

This is a particularly nice shot of a Longfin Bannerfish (Heniochus acuminatus) which I certainly did not think was going to be worth saving: It just flashed past me as I was clearing my ears for the hundredth time. I swung my camera around and pressed the shutter release in its general direction. When I check the shot on the screen, I was dumbfounded. I couldn't have gotten that good a shot normally if I'd spent all day trying. Sometimes the camera just does it's job.

This is a funny little image of some arms of a Feather Star (Comanthina schlegeli) sticking out of its hidey-hole: I don't know what it was doing crammed down in there. It certainly isn't any kind of normal behaviour that I've seen before. They are usually our where they can wave their arms about in the breeze.

Since Rich Jones was spotting for me, I knew that I'd get something special. He found this Banded Coral Shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) hiding down in a crevice: It was a devil of a shot to get. There was too little light and the flash just made it all garish and contrasty. I finally set the camera for a very tight aperture to get the best depth of field and backed off the flash power to its minimum setting. I was surprised to get anything at all, let alone the nice shot above.

There's something going on the image above that puzzles me. There are far too many antennae in that image. The has to be two shrimp in that hole. Where is the other one? It looks like it could be behind the visible one. I leave the reader to ponder that one.

Buy me by Steven Brandist

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"At the price of £28,990 and with the option to purchase on credit with manageable repayments starting off at £531 per calendar month, this Volvo comes fitted out with automatic transmission, a diesel motor and has clocked up 21504 miles.

It has a wide variety of features: At such a low price, this low mileage Volvo XC40 may not be up for sale for very long so don't miss out on this fantastic deal. Pick up the phone or get over to Carsa located in..."

That £531 is for 5 years. £31,860 total repayment. "Other fees may be incurred" it states.

Polar by Zubeir

4 1

"I work in student counselling. It could do with being bigger, there’s such a long waiting list. There’s not enough funding for mental health in general I feel. For a long time people were just told to ‘get over it’, and that is so not how it works. I suffer from bipolar disorder, but I’ve been in and out of treatment for various mental illnesses since I was fourteen. At the moment I’m at the most manageable state that I’ve ever been, but it’s incredibly unpredictable. In the past I’ve had to leave jobs because it’s been too difficult, and it’s very embarrassing. People used to ask, “Why are you ill?”, and I just couldn’t tell them. The last job I had, which I had to quit, was actually working in the NHS but it was still difficult. It wasn’t that I was made to feel like I couldn’t share something like that, it seems to be ingrained in us to hold back. I think a lot of people with mental illness learn that people don’t take them seriously, you’re never quite sure how people will react."

Blog | Facebook

tech support by Jenny

1 2

Day 86-- Sorry about this one. I only took a few pictures all day, and I don't like them. Not going to bother with Photoshop, because I can't see it helping me like the picture, so this is sooc.

I took my kids to a portrait studio. Not a good one, but one with some sort of external flash and a better camera than I have. I can't imagine why I thought this was necessary, when I take pictures of my kids every day and hate being pressured to buy thousands of dollars of pictures because "we have a payment plan!" but it's been years.

It was my half birthday, and that's how I celebrated. It was half fun, half completely miserable, just like half a birthday should be. Or something.

Anyway, I was lame and let someone else do the photography, but I'm going to do the whole shoot myself one of these days.

Oh, also, I cut Emily's bangs and accidentally cut her face. Right above her eye. Bad, bad mama. I felt horrible about it, and it was right before she got her picture taken, so... yeah. She forgave me after a few minutes of screaming and said she knows I would never hurt her on purpose. My mom assured me that it happens all the time, particularly with squirmy, hyperactive, uber-ticklish kids like my little brother. The guilt is more manageable now.

McGraw Creek WSA by Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington

The Bureau of Land Management manages 517 wilderness study areas containing about 12.6 million acres located in the Western States and Alaska. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 directed the Bureau to inventory and study its roadless areas for wilderness characteristics. To be designated as a Wilderness Study Area, an area had to have the following characteristics:

Size - roadless areas of at least 5,000 acres of public lands or of a manageable size;

Naturalness - generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature;

Opportunities - provides outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined types of recreation.

In addition, Wilderness Study Areas often have special qualities such as ecological, geological, educational, historical, scientific and scenic values.

The congressionally directed inventory and study of BLM's roadless areas received extensive public input and participation. By November 1980, the BLM had completed field inventories and designated about 25 million acres of wilderness study areas. Since 1980, Congress has reviewed some of these areas and has designated some as wilderness and released others for non-wilderness uses. Until Congress makes a final determination on a wilderness study area, the BLM manages these areas to preserve their suitability for designation as wilderness.

In Oregon/Washington there are 83 wilderness study areas comprising 2,642,289 acres. These 83 wilderness study areas are primarily located in southeast Oregon in the Prineville, Lakeview, Burns and Vale Districts.

To learn more about wilderness study areas head on over to: www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/oregon-w...

IMG_6986 by Red Carpet Report on Mingle Media TV