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A visit to the Museum of Somerset.
The museum tells the remarkable story of Somerset's history. Located at Taunton Castle, which was created from the 12th century onwards, and owned by the powerful bishops of Winchester.
The museum has deep roots. The successor to Somerset's County Museum, which was created by the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. The society bought the castle in 1874. Since 1958 the museum has been managed and funded by Somerset County Council. A new gallery opened in 1974 called the Somerset Military Museum.
The Museum of Somerset is located in the 12th-century great hall of Taunton Castle, in Taunton in the county of Somerset, England. The museum is run by South West Heritage Trust, an independent charity, and includes objects initially collected by the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society who own the castle.
Until 2008 the museum was known as the Somerset County Museum. Heritage Lottery Fund support was obtained to improve the museum, and the new museum reopened at the end of September 2011.
Exhibits include the Frome Hoard, the Low Ham Roman Mosaic, the bronze-age South Cadbury shield and a range of other objects relating to the history of the county.
A look around Taunton Castle from the outside.
Grade I listed building (apart from the modern extensions).
Taunton Castle: Standing Buildings of the Inner Court
Summary
The standing buildings of the inner court at Taunton Castle (excluding the Wyndham Galleries, the Welcome Building, and the East and West Passages). Established by the Bishops of Winchester in the late Anglo-Saxon period, with successive periods of remodelling in the medieval and post-medieval periods. Later alterations, rebuilding and repairs in the late C18 by Sir Benjamin Hammet, and in the C19 and mid-C20. A museum since 1899 which underwent substantial refurbishment in early C21.
The ruins, earthwork and buried remains of the castle, including those of both the inner and outer baileys, are a scheduled monument.
Description
The standing buildings of the inner court at Taunton Castle (excluding the Wyndham Galleries, the Welcome Building and East and West Passages). Established by the Bishops of Winchester in the late Anglo-Saxon period, with successive periods of remodelling in the medieval and post-medieval periods. Later alterations, rebuilding and repairs in the late C18 by Sir Benjamin Hammet, and in the C19 and mid-C20. A museum since 1899 which underwent substantial refurbishment in early C21. The ruins, earthwork and buried remains of the castle, including those of both the inner and outer baileys, are a scheduled monument.
The history, evolution and a detailed description of Taunton Castle is beyond the scope of this document and is covered in Webster (2016) from which the following summary draws heavily.
MATERIALS
The buildings are constructed of random freestone rubble, Hamstone, chert and some brick under plain-tiled pitched and hipped roofs, with metal sheeting and glazing to the roofs of the early-C21 additions. The dressings are mostly Hamstone and there are tall stone and brick stacks to Castle House. The fenestration is of various styles and dates, and includes mullion and transom windows and timber sashes with glazing bars.
PLAN
The buildings form three sides of a roughly triangular-shaped courtyard. The north range contains the Great Hall; a shorter west range formerly housed the bishop’s chamber, while the south range contained a chapel and lodgings, and has a gatehouse at its centre. Castle House forms the east half of the south range.
DESCRIPTION
The NORTH RANGE/GREAT HALL appears to have originally been a C12/C13 first-floor hall with an undercroft which was altered to a ground-floor hall in the mid-C13. Alterations were also carried out in the C16/C17 when it was also extended to the east; with further alterations, including re-roofing, taking place in the C19 relating to its use as courts, and again in the mid-C20. The external (north) wall incorporates a length of C12 curtain wall and reduces in thickness at the eaves level of the medieval hall. It has a chamfered plinth to all but the west end, four shallow buttresses, all in Hamstone, and a further buttress towards the eastern end of different materials. The westernmost buttress overlies a blocked window, and to its left is the stone jamb of a medieval window. Set high in the wall are heavily-repaired, mullion and transom Hamstone windows of four and five lights under catslide dormers which appear to be C16 or C17, though two are C20 replacements. The eastern end of the range was rebuilt in the C16/C17, but the north-east corner appears to be original and retains a Hamstone clasping buttress. To the far left, in the set-back, upper part of the wall is an infilled oval window within a surround of brick headers. It is one of six that were added to this elevation in the C18; the others are no longer visible externally or not extant. The east elevation of the hall has a pair of timber mullion and transom windows of C16/C17 date which appear to have been re-sited here. The south elevation, facing onto the courtyard, has five oval windows set high in the wall, dating from around 1700 and repaired in the C20. A sixth window has been replaced by a doorway (infilled). Most of the hall elevation is obscured by the 1930s former museum entrance block and the flanking single-storey lean-to additions which were substantially rebuilt in the early C21, however, a number of former door and window openings of various dates are visible from within these buildings.
INTERIOR: the Great Hall is a single open space with an early-C21 steel-framed gallery at first-floor level. The roof dates principally to 1816, though the central truss may be mid-C19, and it consists of king post trusses with angled struts, strengthened by modern timbers.
The WEST RANGE is a rectangular, two-storey block, formerly comprising the Bishop’s apartment or Camera and an undercroft, which structurally forms part of the Great Hall. It has C12 origins and was extended to the south (the Gray Room) probably in the mid-C13, although on a slightly different alignment on its west side. It was raised in height in the C18 and underwent substantial refurbishment in the late C18. Its shorter, north elevation has a plinth which is a continuation of the plinth on the Great Hall, clasping corner buttresses, an inserted, late-C18 ground-floor window with wooden Y-tracery set within a round-arched brick surround and a crenellated parapet. At first-floor level are two lancets; one has been restored and the other rebuilt in the late C19. At the north-east corner is a square stair turret which breaks forwards slightly and has slit windows; its upper section was rebuilt in the mid-C20. The plinth continues along the west elevation which has been re-faced in chert and has two short buttresses; the southern one aligning with quoin stones and a vertical joint in the masonry which marks the earlier extent of the range. There is a tall round-headed opening which has a panelled door surmounted by a window with vertical glazing bars, all set within a brick surround, and accessed via stone steps with metal handrails. To the right is a pointed-arched sash window, previously a doorway, also approached from similar flight of steps. The first floor has four sash windows in Hamstone surrounds. The courtyard (north-east) elevation has a high parapet and C12 buttresses. The C19 entrance, which occupies the position of an earlier doorway, has paired wooden doors and strap hinges set within a recessed semi-circular surround with engaged columns and cushion capitals. The first floor was lit originally by four narrow windows with deep reveals; of which one window and the jamb of another are visible externally. A larger C18 window of four lights which contains fragments of earlier windows has been inserted in the position of one of the original windows. There is a drip mould and a relieving arch above. The original entrance located in the south-east wall is visible internally, but is not centrally placed relative to the structure and this may indicate the presence of an external stair to the first-floor room.
INTERIOR: the undercroft has an inserted barrel-vaulted ceiling and a mid-C20 concrete floor. Two fireplaces have previously been uncovered in the west wall; one is probably C17 and has Hamstone jambs with chamfer and roll stops, and the other is a late C18/early C19 insertion. A segmental-arched doorway in the south wall leads into the mid-C13 extension (the Gray Room) to the south. The room over the undercroft (the Somerset Room) has splayed stone reveals for three of the four original windows in its east wall; the larger fourth reveal is that of an inserted C18 window. The reveals of the two tall lancets in the north wall are also visible. The range has a flat, sheet-metal roof of early-C21 date.
The SOUTH RANGE/CHAPEL BLOCK to the west of the gatehouse is rectangular on plan and built on the line of the south curtain wall. It dates largely to around 1500, as evinced by the roof timbers, although it has earlier origins. It originally contained a first-floor chapel which was converted in the late C18 to a dining room for the judges (the Adam Library). To the south-west corner is a probable late-C13 circular tower which butts against the wall of the Gray Room to the north-east. Between the south range and the gatehouse is a narrow block of one bay which is for the most part later, probably post-medieval, infill. The south range was substantially remodelled in the late C18, at which time the tower was largely rebuilt. The outer (south) wall is faced in chert and has a battered plinth. The tower has late-C18, pointed-arched sash windows to both floors, and the conical roof was re-slated in the late C20. To the right (east) of the tower, the ground floor has a mullion window of two lights, three mullion windows with Caernarfon surrounds which were inserted in 1874 and 1910, and the remains of an earlier square-headed, two-light window (infilled). To the upper floor are a late-C18 quatrefoil window and a three late-C18 sashes. To the far right, at ground- and first-floor level are further blocked openings. The ground floor of the courtyard (north) elevation has two mullion windows of three lights which appear to be C16 and were reset here in the late C18. To the right is a blocked single window, an altered medieval doorway with modern timber doors and a relieving arch above, and a C13 lancet which may have been lowered. Four relieving arches are visible at first-floor level, and to the far right is a re-used Perpendicular window of four lights with a drip mould to the right-hand end. The narrow infill bay which is adjacent to the gatehouse has a pointed-arched doorway with chamfered jambs, traces of a window to the right of this, and a mullion window with leaded lights set in a square-headed surround of Hamstone to the upper floors.
INTERIOR: the interior of the south range is accessed from the altered medieval doorway at the east end of the range and also from the door in the narrow infill bay to the west. The main ground-floor room (the Coin Room) has a brick-built east wall which contains an infilled fireplace and a round-headed niche. At the west end of the range is a C18 open-string staircase which has slender, turned newels, a ramped handrail and metal balusters. The principal first-floor room (the Adam Library) is accessed from doorways at either end of the room. The door in the east wall dates probably to the C15 and has a stone surround with roll mouldings and a segmental pointed head. The room itself has late-C18 decorative scheme with an Adam-style fireplace at the east end, blind arcading of three arches carried on four wooden, fluted pillars to the west wall, and a barrel-vaulted ceiling with plasterwork panels and radial fluting to the tympanum at either end. The wagon roof dates to around 1500; it has been strengthened with additional timbers and a small section is exposed at the west end of the range. The first floor of the tower has a decorative plasterwork scheme, including a dentilled cornice, moulded dado with fluting, raised architrave and shutters to the windows and a fireplace with a decorative surround that has a frieze with foliate festoons and a central classical figure and a Greek key moulding and fluting to the mantel. The ground floor of the infill bay to the east has a short corridor containing an early-C20 cast-iron spiral staircase. A door in the corridor’s south wall leads into a brick-vaulted former strongroom that was inserted in 1910. The spiral staircase leads to the first floor, but not to the second floor, although a late-C19 plan shows a circular stair in the thickness of the south wall. It is now accessed from the gatehouse. The roof to the infill bay was previously hipped, but was replaced with a gabled roof prior to 1933.
The south elevation of the GATEHOUSE has a C13 or C14 plain chamfered, segmental-pointed archway with a portcullis slot. The upper part was rebuilt in 1495-1496 by Bishop Langton whose arms are displayed in a plaque above the arch. The first floor has an inserted, probably late C18, square-headed, two-light window with moulded jambs and a drip mould. Inset into the parapet is a further, repaired plaque containing a much-eroded relief carving of the arms of Henry VII. The passage has a blocked doorway in its east wall and a flat, plaster ceiling. The courtyard (north) elevation appears to be late C15 and of one build. There is a plaque over the archway and a blocked opening above this. The stair turret was rebuilt in blue lias in the 1880s. It has a chamfered plinth and lancet windows to each floor, rising to a string course and crenellated parapet. To the west wall of the turret is a doorway above which is a stone plaque that records the rebuilding.
INTERIOR: the room above the gateway is entered from the stair turret and also from the south range. It retains a boarded-over fireplace with moulded timber surround and mantel and a low, panelled wooden partition screen with a door at one end which divides the room.
CASTLE HOUSE is to the east of the gatehouse and lies along the inner face of the south curtain wall. It is a two-storey, four-and a half-bay range that was built as lodgings in the late C15, upgraded and converted to the single dwelling in the mid-C16, and remodelled around 1700. At the south end of the building is a cross wing that is considered to date from the second half of the C16 (Keystone, see SOURCES). It seems likely that it was originally two storeys, possibly a kitchen range with accommodation above, which was raised to three storeys around 1700. A two-storey extension (East Block) under a hipped roof was added in the C18. Castle House underwent sympathetic repairs and renovation in the early C21. The entrance front of the former lodgings faces onto the courtyard and was originally symmetrically fenestrated. It has a two-stage plinth to all except the left-hand bay and the scars of two buttresses. A third buttress is buried in the return wall of the cross wing. The entrance is to the right of centre and has a C18 door frame and C19 paired doors. The early mid-C18 shell canopy on carved brackets above the entrance does not align with the doorway. There is also evidence that the doorway been widened. To the left of the entrance is an inserted window of five lights under a concrete lintel and to the right are two, C20 two-light windows and a late-C19 mullion window of two lights. The stone jamb of an earlier window is visible to the right of the entrance. To the first floor, above and to either side of the door are three square-headed, Hamstone windows with arched lights and spandrel carving, which are probably late C15. The two other first-floor windows are post-1874 copies. The rear (south) elevation of the lodgings has two ground-floor timber mullion and transom windows of around 1700 with ogee moulding to the inner faces and a single timber window. To the far left, there is a 1930s two-light window in a Doutling stone frame. The parapet is crenellated. The cross wing breaks forwards of the former lodgings. It has windows of various styles and dates, including timber-framed mullion and transom windows of around 1700, as well as late-C19 and early-C20 copies and early-C19 sash windows. Most of the elevations of both the former lodgings range and the cross wing retain evidence of earlier openings that have been infilled or partially overlaid with inserted windows.
INTERIOR: the former lodgings has a good survival of fixtures and fittings which pre-date the refurbishment of around 1700, and its principal first-floor room (formerly two rooms) retains the best-surviving evidence of the building’s early history. It has a mid- to late-C16 fireplace with moulded surround, and to the left of this, set low in the wall, is a pointed-arched recess which has re-used C12 beakhead decoration to its north (inner) face. A fragment of a C16 wall painting is exposed in the west wall. A C15 doorway within this wall has a C20 door. Elsewhere, within the lodgings are C15 and C16 deeply-chamfered axial ceiling beams, some with stepped stops, though some have been re-used. A small closet on the ground floor contains oak small field panelling, some re-used, of early- to mid-C17 date. The lower two floors of the cross wing also retain some early fittings such as C16 chamfered ceiling beams and a large fireplace with timber lintel. Throughout the entire building there are fixtures and fittings dating from the refurbishment of about 1700. These include the main staircase located in the cross wing which has an open string, plain newels and a flat-moulded handrail; the balusters are turned except for the upper part which has stick balusters. In addition, there are bolection-moulded fireplace surrounds, one with a later C18 hob grate; timber bolection-moulded wall panelling; round-headed doorcases with panelled jambs, moulded imposts and keystones; moulded plaster cornices and two-panelled doors with H-hinges. There is also some C18 joinery such as fielded panelled doors and architrave. The roof timbers of the lodgings have been dated by dendrochronology to 1480 to 1482. They consist of three arch-braced trusses, with cranked collars to the outer trusses, a flat-topped collar to the central one which was formerly a closed truss and trenched purlins. The cross wing has late-C17/early-C18 collared trusses and a single row of purlins.
The former museum ENTRANCE BLOCK in front of the Great Hall was constructed in 1931-1932 on the site of the early-C19 Jury Room which had an open-colonnaded ground floor, but was found to have significant structural problems. The replacement building was designed by Stone and Francis and is a symmetrical composition in the neo-Georgian style, with a central entrance under a Hamstone triangular pediment, two timber mullion and transom casements both sides of this, and five matching first-floor windows. There is currently (2018) a café on the ground floor along with a rotative beam engine (museum exhibit), and the upper floor contains office accommodation.
Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 ('the Act'), it is declared that the late-C20 portrait bust of Baron Harding of Petherton, the mid-C20 Wyndham Galleries and the early-C21 Welcome Building and East and West Passages are not of special architectural or historic interest.
History
From the late Anglo-Saxon period Taunton was the administrative centre for one of the largest estates of the Bishops of Winchester. Although the early origins of Taunton Castle are unclear, it is probable (Webster, see SOURCES) that the site initially comprised a minster church and a fortified episcopal residence. The early defences of the site, probably a motte castle and inner and outer baileys, may have been built by William Giffard, who was Bishop of Winchester 1100-1129. The castle underwent various phases of remodelling and repairs, being strengthened by Bishop Henry de Blois during the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda in the mid-C12. The overall form of the castle appears to have been in place by the beginning of the C13. Although it maintained the title and appearance of a castle, it seems to have served more as a centre for the estate than as a power base. That said, it was besieged in the mid-C15 and was garrisoned in 1497 during the Warbeck Rebellion of 1491-1499.
The castle appears to have fallen out of use by the early C16, but remained sufficiently defensible to become a Parliamentarian stronghold during the Civil War, and was besieged unsuccessfully by the Royalists in 1644. In 1649, it was confiscated from the Bishop of Winchester and was slighted on the orders of Charles II in 1662. It was, however, subsequently used as a prison and court, with the assizes and quarter sessions held in the Great Hall. In 1685, the trials following the quelling of the Monmouth Rebellion were conducted there. In around 1700 the eastern half of the south range was updated to provide substantial accommodation for the castle’s bailiffs and was renamed Castle House. In 1786 Sir Benjamin Hammet, MP for Taunton, acquired the castle and carried out extensive alterations in the Gothic style. Many of the walls were re-faced with chert and pointed-arched windows were added. The Great Hall was reordered and the judges’ lodgings in the west and south ranges were refashioned. Castle House entered a period of decline after the late Georgian period, with a succession of owners and tenants; its ground floor being used by a variety of schools from 1782 to 1901, but when the assize courts moved to the new Shire Hall in 1858, the castle lost its main role. The buildings subsequently fell into disrepair and the site was sold to the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society in 1874 which developed the museum. Repairs were carried out in the early C20 and new purpose-built galleries were added in front of and to the east (Wyndham Galleries) of the Great Hall in the 1930s. A major programme of refurbishment was undertaken in 2009-2010, together with building recording, archaeological watching briefs and historical research.
More detail on the history and evolution of Taunton Castle can be found in Webster’s 2016 publication (see SOURCES).
Reasons for Listing
The buildings of the inner court of Taunton Castle are listed at Grade I for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a remarkably complete example of a high status residence combining domestic and military architecture of the medieval and post-medieval periods;
* a significant proportion of historic fabric survives, providing evidence of the form and layout of the inner court and illustrating significant phases in the castle’s development;
* for the extensive range of high quality fixtures and fittings, especially those within Castle House.
Historic interest:
* for the site’s long documented history as an episcopal residence and administrative centre of the bishops of Winchester;
* the history and evolution of these buildings is illuminated by historical documentation and recent scholarship, and together with the abundant surviving archaeological evidence, they form a resource of great significance.
Group value:
* the inner court buildings have strong group value with the scheduled elements of the castle site, and with a number of other listed buildings including the two bays of the almshouses (Grade II) within the inner court, the former Grammar School (Grade II*), Castle Hotel (Grade II), Castle Lodge (Grade II), the Winchester Arms (Grade II) and, to the north-east, Ina Cottage (Grade II).
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, IMFC Chair Magdalena Andersson, and Communications Director Gerry Rice participate in a press briefing during the 2021 Annual Meetings at the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Photo/Allison Shelley
14 October 2021
Washington, DC, United States
Photo ref: AS211014076.ARW
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva meets with President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
Government handout
6 November 2022
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
Photo ref: IMG_1949.JPG
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve, Paschal Donohoe, Finance Minister of Ireland, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, participate in a seminar on the global economy moderated by CNBC’s Sara Eisen, Co-Anchor of Closing Bell, during the 2021 Spring Meetings from the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Photo/Cory Hancock
8 April 2021
Washington, DC, United States
Photo ref: CH2104081567.arw
I managed to get everything, a plane, a couple of birds, the Port Mann Bridge, and Surrey (okay, that last one was not so hard).
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, IMFC Chairman Agustín Carstens and IMF Communications Department Director Gerry Rice answer questions from the media during the IMFC Press Conference during the 2017 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings on Saturday, April 2s in Washington, D.C. IMF Photo by Ryan Rayburn
We managed to get up to The Lake District for a few days at Easter. We got away from work on Good Friday afternoon and spent three hours covering 110 miles, the M61 and M6 were very slow or stopped. As ever once there we soon left the hassle behind. We were using a B&B that we used very regularly for ten years until the owner passed away quite suddenly. Now under new ownership it has been totally gutted and refurbished, it’s very nice but twice as expensive.
We were out in good time on Saturday, it was dull and cool but very calm. I’d deliberated for ages as to where to walk, wanting to avoid the worst of the Easter crowds. It was the busiest I’d seen the Lakes for a long time amd the North Lakes in particular had stunning weather, the South Lakes had dense fog in places until the afternoon and was much cooler – but not cold. Parking in Patterdale we headed up Arnison Crag, on to Birks aiming for St Sunday Crag. This was where it started to go wrong. I got a sudden pain in my right ankle, near a previous serious ankle injury, it’s not unusual to get a bit of pain in this ankle but it got worse. My ankle felt like it was in a vice. On the plus side the cloud which was very low initially was clearing higher at the same speed that we were climbing. We scrambled over Cofa Pike through some snow on to Fairfield and for a change the summit was clear with glorious views. I had to undo my gaiter and slacken my boot, my ankle was swelling and bruising. I took paracetemol and carried on – I didn’t have much choice really. We walked to Hart Crag out to Dove Crag, back to Hart Crag as we wanted to head down over Hartsop above How. We stopped for a quick sandwich and pot of lemon tea before heading down the rocky path. By now I was suffering but still able to walk fairly fast. The yomp back along the road to Patterdale was tough. We covered 11.5 miles in around five hours, which was OK for a first walk in the mountains for a while. We drove to Keswick wanting to get to Brysons tearooms for cake and coffee. Keswick was packed and sunny and we had to walk in half a mile, that was painful, my ankle was agony until I got it loosened up. Toasted Plum Bread, apple pie and ice cream and coffee made up for the grief.
On Sunday I knew I couldn’t walk much. I was applying Ibuprofen Gel regularly but it was going to be a car and camera day. There was dense fog when we set off so I decided we needed to be somewhere attractive when it started to clear, I just didn’t know when that was going to be. We drove into Langdale and the fog broke to reveal Blue sky and the top of the Langdale Pikes, it was fantastic. I immediately thought of Blea Tarn and drove up the pass out of Langdale. I expected to find, as is usual, tripods in a row, with photographers clicking away. There wasn’t a soul, it was so calm and peaceful – and beautiful – I couldn’t believe my luck. I limped as fast as I could to the Tarn, unfortunately an overnight camper, who I chatted with about the beauty, reflections and the camera I was carrying, did her best to encourage her dog into the water and she got in to get washed. It was so calm that the ripples would cross the entire tarn and spoil the photos. I shot as quick as I could, moving away from her all the time. I think I had around 15 minutes at the most before a breeze – that I couldn’t feel – started to ripple the water. The reflections disappeared and it was over. Without the bad ankle I would have missed this tranquillity as we would have been toiling up out first climb of the day. The fog stayed put in the South Lakes but we headed north over Dunmail Raise to blue sky and 17 degrees.
On Monday after 36 hours of Ibuprofen I felt that my ankle would stand a six or seven miler – but where? We had very thick fog in Ambleside so again I drove over Dunmail Raise and again it was fantastic. I could see the chance of some good photos around Thirlmere but I had to get waterside at a point where the view wasn’t obstructed with saplings and bushes growing out of the water. This was easier said than done, it took three attempts to get a decent location. I had reflections, hanging mist, water and mountains – and wet feet again, fortunately I had my walking boots and socks to put on for the walk ahead. After my photo chase we parked at Steel End and headed up the steep nose of Steel Fell. It’s a tough climb but the view over Thirlmere was great. We could see the wall of fog to the south and I was looking forward to getting to the top, hoping that we would be able to see over it with mountains poking out of a sea of white. This was exactly as it was, the Lion and the Lamb on Helm Crag looked like an island in the sea of mist. We walked along the ridge to Calf Crag with clear views to the north and a sea on mist to the south, it looked like the right choice again. We were going to head down Wythburn back to Thirlmere. Wyth Burn runs through a secluded hanging valley through an area called The Bog. I’ve walked down here a few times and at first glance it looks dry – they didn’t name it The Bog for nothing – it is extremely wet. It doesn’t matter how high you walk to avoid it – you can’t! We were wet above the gaiters by the time we got back and it was tough on the ankle. Brysons here we come, another beautiful hot day in Keswick but back to work tomorrow.
We managed to get up to The Lake District for a few days at Easter. We got away from work on Good Friday afternoon and spent three hours covering 110 miles, the M61 and M6 were very slow or stopped. As ever once there we soon left the hassle behind. We were using a B&B that we used very regularly for ten years until the owner passed away quite suddenly. Now under new ownership it has been totally gutted and refurbished, it’s very nice but twice as expensive.
We were out in good time on Saturday, it was dull and cool but very calm. I’d deliberated for ages as to where to walk, wanting to avoid the worst of the Easter crowds. It was the busiest I’d seen the Lakes for a long time amd the North Lakes in particular had stunning weather, the South Lakes had dense fog in places until the afternoon and was much cooler – but not cold. Parking in Patterdale we headed up Arnison Crag, on to Birks aiming for St Sunday Crag. This was where it started to go wrong. I got a sudden pain in my right ankle, near a previous serious ankle injury, it’s not unusual to get a bit of pain in this ankle but it got worse. My ankle felt like it was in a vice. On the plus side the cloud which was very low initially was clearing higher at the same speed that we were climbing. We scrambled over Cofa Pike through some snow on to Fairfield and for a change the summit was clear with glorious views. I had to undo my gaiter and slacken my boot, my ankle was swelling and bruising. I took paracetemol and carried on – I didn’t have much choice really. We walked to Hart Crag out to Dove Crag, back to Hart Crag as we wanted to head down over Hartsop above How. We stopped for a quick sandwich and pot of lemon tea before heading down the rocky path. By now I was suffering but still able to walk fairly fast. The yomp back along the road to Patterdale was tough. We covered 11.5 miles in around five hours, which was OK for a first walk in the mountains for a while. We drove to Keswick wanting to get to Brysons tearooms for cake and coffee. Keswick was packed and sunny and we had to walk in half a mile, that was painful, my ankle was agony until I got it loosened up. Toasted Plum Bread, apple pie and ice cream and coffee made up for the grief.
On Sunday I knew I couldn’t walk much. I was applying Ibuprofen Gel regularly but it was going to be a car and camera day. There was dense fog when we set off so I decided we needed to be somewhere attractive when it started to clear, I just didn’t know when that was going to be. We drove into Langdale and the fog broke to reveal Blue sky and the top of the Langdale Pikes, it was fantastic. I immediately thought of Blea Tarn and drove up the pass out of Langdale. I expected to find, as is usual, tripods in a row, with photographers clicking away. There wasn’t a soul, it was so calm and peaceful – and beautiful – I couldn’t believe my luck. I limped as fast as I could to the Tarn, unfortunately an overnight camper, who I chatted with about the beauty, reflections and the camera I was carrying, did her best to encourage her dog into the water and she got in to get washed. It was so calm that the ripples would cross the entire tarn and spoil the photos. I shot as quick as I could, moving away from her all the time. I think I had around 15 minutes at the most before a breeze – that I couldn’t feel – started to ripple the water. The reflections disappeared and it was over. Without the bad ankle I would have missed this tranquillity as we would have been toiling up out first climb of the day. The fog stayed put in the South Lakes but we headed north over Dunmail Raise to blue sky and 17 degrees.
On Monday after 36 hours of Ibuprofen I felt that my ankle would stand a six or seven miler – but where? We had very thick fog in Ambleside so again I drove over Dunmail Raise and again it was fantastic. I could see the chance of some good photos around Thirlmere but I had to get waterside at a point where the view wasn’t obstructed with saplings and bushes growing out of the water. This was easier said than done, it took three attempts to get a decent location. I had reflections, hanging mist, water and mountains – and wet feet again, fortunately I had my walking boots and socks to put on for the walk ahead. After my photo chase we parked at Steel End and headed up the steep nose of Steel Fell. It’s a tough climb but the view over Thirlmere was great. We could see the wall of fog to the south and I was looking forward to getting to the top, hoping that we would be able to see over it with mountains poking out of a sea of white. This was exactly as it was, the Lion and the Lamb on Helm Crag looked like an island in the sea of mist. We walked along the ridge to Calf Crag with clear views to the north and a sea on mist to the south, it looked like the right choice again. We were going to head down Wythburn back to Thirlmere. Wyth Burn runs through a secluded hanging valley through an area called The Bog. I’ve walked down here a few times and at first glance it looks dry – they didn’t name it The Bog for nothing – it is extremely wet. It doesn’t matter how high you walk to avoid it – you can’t! We were wet above the gaiters by the time we got back and it was tough on the ankle. Brysons here we come, another beautiful hot day in Keswick but back to work tomorrow.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde meeting with Minister of Finance Jun Azumi, Nov. 12 (Photo by Ken Katsurayama)
The youngsters manage to thwart another encroachment by the vultures!
I posted a bit yesterday about the Great Blue Heron nest but did not post any shots. Will try to make up for it today and will actually overload everyone with a number of shots from yesterday. Will just say that the Turkey Vultures fly by and hang around the tree constantly. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the four youngsters are very capable of warding them off and making the vultures keep their distance. The vultures seem easily intimidated by the herons. All of these captures were made within about an hour. From the actions of the juveniles a person can tell that they are very capable of flying but are extremely hesitant to leave the safety of the nest. They extend their wings and fly from the branch on the left to the nest quite often, but that is about the extent of their movement. One of the adults paid a brief visit to the nest but none of the youngsters approached and it flew off after a very brief stay. They looked quite bewildered after the incident, but went back to their normal routine after a few minutes. Let’s hope that they soon fledge and make their way to the water’s edge very quickly. These scenes are not in any particular order.
I am going to leave them all open for comment, but don't feel as if you have to make any comments at all.
DSC04555uls
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde (L) and Benin President Patrice Talon (R) hold a joint press conference at the Presidential Palace December 11, 2017 in Cotonou, Benin. IMF Staff Photo/Stephen Jaffe
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and IMFC Chairman Agustín Carstens answers questions from the media during the IMFC Press Conference during the 2017 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings on Saturday, April 2s in Washington, D.C. IMF Photo by Ryan Rayburn
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, First Vice President of Spain and IMFC Chair Nadia Calvino, Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres, and Secretary of the Fund and Secretary’s Department Director Ceda Ogada participate in the IMFC Plenary Session during the 2022 Annual Meetings at the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Photo/Cory Hancock
14 October 2022
Washington, DC, United States
Photo ref: CH221014013.arw
We managed to get to the Lake District for the Easter weekend. We were open at work on Good Friday so I had to be in at work for a couple of hours and didn’t set off until 9.00am. We had a quick café stop and then jumped on the M62. It took us until 2.00pm to get to Langdale. We crawled up the M61 and M6, reminding me why we used to avoid Bank Holiday traffic. Although staying in Ambleside we drove to Langdale to get a couple of hours walking in. Langdale was packed but we found a place to park at the foot of the pass up to Blea Tarn. We headed up Pike of Blisco – against a steady stream of walkers descending at this time in the afternoon. I didn’t bother taking photos to any great extent, it wasn’t great light, windy and the appalling weekend forecast had depressed me – this was supposed to be the best day and it was nearly over. After a nice settled spell, possibly the first in the north of England this winter (now officially British Summertime) heavy rain and gales were coming our way apparently.
Each morning I studied the maps trying to second guess the light, wind and crowds. On Saturday it was initially dry, much to our surprise, we parked in Coniston and set off up Walna Scar Road. It’s a long steep drag to the top of the pass, the cloud was down and thick, the wind was getting extreme as we got higher – and we didn’t see a soul! We were heading over Brown Pike onto Dow Crag, we weren’t likely to get lost on a ridge. By now it was raining hard and the wind was making staying upright difficult. We slid off the rocky summit of Dow Crag on our backsides, the safest way. We dropped on to Goats Hause, the wind was screaming through and but I guessed there would be some shelter if we headed for the Old Man of Coniston. We met the first person of the day here, arriving at the summit just before him. There was still winter snow on north facing slopes but the wind wasn’t as bad as Dow Crag. It was grim, 30 metre visibility and there was very little point in staying on the tops as originally planned. Jayne was up for heading straight down the tourist track through the quarries. We have only ever ascended it before but we set off down at a trot, passing some fell runners along the way. There was a steady stream of Easter trippers heading up and judging by the questions we were asked on the way down they had little idea of what they were heading in to or how far they were from the summit, and all in appalling conditions. Lower down it was quite calm and many had little idea of the severity of the conditions on the tops. The countryside was rapidly waterlogging again after the belated dry spell.
Sunday brought more very heavy rain and gales on the tops. What looked like snow had accumulated on high ground overnight. It was actually several inches of hail and was horrible underfoot, like small wet marbles but trapping a lot of water on the lower slopes below the freezing line. We parked at Patterdale and walked across slopes that the recent floods had wreaked havoc on, with a lot of remedial work to be done this summer. The plan was to get to Boardale Hause and decide whether to go high – over Place Fell – or head in to Boardale and stay low by doing a circuit of Place Fell. It was raining hard and there was a howling gale but it was behind us, the cloud had lifted a bit so we went high. The summit plateau was a nightmare, covered in slippy, wet, slushy hail with the wind nearly blowing us over. We went north straight over the top and down the other side, the top was in thick cloud but the lower slopes were clear and we legged it off the fell, descending by Scalehow Force waterfall, which was in fine form with the heavy rain. We followed the path above the shores of Ullswater back to Patterdale. Another wet walk.
Monday saw us parked a mile or so south of yesterday’s parking place in Patterdale at Bridgend. With the weather being bad people weren’t out early, even on a bank holiday, so we didn’t have a problem parking. There wasn’t a plan, we were just making it up. Today looked promising, Storm Katie was battering the rest of the country but missed the north for a change. The tops were wintry, again it was hail accumulations not snow, on the high ground it was on very old lying snow and very difficult on steep descents. We decided to take the steady slopes of Hartsop above How to Hart Crag, on to Fairfield and then hopefully over Cofa Pike on to St Sunday Crag, Birks and finally Arnison Crag. This was just less than ten miles and it turned out to be a very tough five hours, exhausting, particularly after the three previous days. A large coastguard helicopter circled us repeatedly and finally landed on the path we were following to Hart Crag, we assumed it was on an exercise. The ground was frozen above 2500 feet and walking was easier as the snow/hail was load bearing and we could yomp on a bit. It was like midwinter with frequent squally whiteouts blasting in. The wind would pick up first lifting the frozen hail in a frozen spindrift that bounced along several feet high blasting our faces, this was followed by, what was more like frozen drizzle than snow, fine, but hard, we could feel it through our clothes it came at us that hard. I decided that we would head straight over Cofa Pike to St Sunday. A mistake with hindsight. The lake of footprints was the first bad sign but we were committed. We lived to tell the tale but Jayne had a bit of a near miss. The crag down to Cofa is steep and it was covered in hail on old snow, the layer of hail was shearing away from the underlying snow and we had to go down on out backsides, keeping a tight grip as we went. At one point Jayne failed to arrest a slide that was above a steep and deep drop. I had hold of her from a position in front of her and to her left and I was fairly well anchored so I felt in control and was sure of the outcome. From her point of view it was frightening and it subdued her for the rest of the walk. She had also ripped the outer lining of her Paramo waterproof trousers as well. Considering that we were going downhill it was hard going, every step a slip or a slide, with the underlying grass saturated and a thin layer of hail it was an unpleasant walk off the fell. At the end of Arnison Crag we took a pathless shortcut – that we swore we would never use again years ago – to save around twenty minutes of walking. This was the only day I had the camera out all day and had to cover it with a dryliner bag whenever a heavy shower came in. I also broke the lens hood. We drove to Keswick for afternoon coffee and toast at Brysons. The new Paramo store across the square was the next stop for new trousers. These Paramos had cost £85 14 years ago and they have just brought a new model out. We had two choices, The old model was reduced to…..£85 – after 14 years we could pay the same price or we could return the old trousers - cleaned – and get a £50 voucher towards the new model, which are £135, or £85 with the voucher. The old ones were ¾ of a mile away in the car – unwashed – so we bought the old model. Needless to say we had a couple of drinks in the Golden Rule in Ambleside every night before our tea.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde speaks to the Governors from 189 countries during the Plenary session October 7, 2016 at the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. IMF Staff Photo/Stephen Jaffe
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde speaks at the Bretton Woods Committee at the 2018 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings October 10, 2018 in Bali Indonesia. IMF Staff Photo/Stephen Jaffe
I managed to get out with the camera the other afternoon, trying to get some autumn shots before the leaves disappear. The light over that last two weeks as been terrible, very dull but with flashes of beautiful light-I'm always at work or the wrong place as is usually the case. I popped up to Marsden, around Tunnel End. No filters just straight shots. At teatime , after work I legged it to Wessenden Head, up West Nab -one photo, just one! and the sun slipped behind a cloud never to be seen again - not that night anyway. I met Chris Nickerson on West Nab. We had never met before and stood for ages as darkness fell talking photography and road cycling.Occasionally taking a photo.Chris has some nice stuff on Flickr. We had almost the same kit with us.
I stayed until total darkness, taking photos when it was that dark I couldn't see the image in the wiewfinder. Digital sensors amaze me, the images look like they were taken in much lighter conditions. the giveaway is that the lights are all on in the distance. The morning after I went out early chasing some autumn sunrise photos. I went to South Crosland but |I was too early - can you be too early? I nipped back to work and unlocked and then went back to Helme Edge and set the tripod up - me with a tripod twice in 12 hours!- and waites fpr the sun to light Helme-and the steeple of the church I was married in. I nipped back to work but passing Blackmoorfoot Res' I saw some amazing light on the trees, I cuoldn't stop because of the rush hour traffic so reported into the girls in the office and shot back out for 15 minutes. I had to climb down to the waters edge but it was worth it.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde joins the CNN Debate on the Global Economy during the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings October 12, 2017. IMF Staff Photo/Stephen Jaffe
My father’s motorcycling “bible”, ‘Motorcycles And How To Manage Them’, the thirty third edition published in 1960; the first edition being in 1900. Using this, we “de-coked” my father’s BSA Bantam D7 and carried out other maintenance tasks.
Remember the old fashioned, non sealed lead acid batteries?
12 September 2017 - "1+6" Roundtable: Promoting an open, invigorated and Inclusive World Economy, Beijing, China.
From left: Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD; Roberto Azevedo, Director-General of the WTO; Jim Yong Kim, President of the WB; China 's Premier Li Keqiang; Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF; Guy Rider, Director-General of the ILO and Financial Stability Board (FSB) Chairman Mark Carney.
Photo: "1+6" Roundtable: Promoting an open, invigorated and Inclusive World Economy.
We managed to get up to The Lake District for a few days at Easter. We got away from work on Good Friday afternoon and spent three hours covering 110 miles, the M61 and M6 were very slow or stopped. As ever once there we soon left the hassle behind. We were using a B&B that we used very regularly for ten years until the owner passed away quite suddenly. Now under new ownership it has been totally gutted and refurbished, it’s very nice but twice as expensive.
We were out in good time on Saturday, it was dull and cool but very calm. I’d deliberated for ages as to where to walk, wanting to avoid the worst of the Easter crowds. It was the busiest I’d seen the Lakes for a long time amd the North Lakes in particular had stunning weather, the South Lakes had dense fog in places until the afternoon and was much cooler – but not cold. Parking in Patterdale we headed up Arnison Crag, on to Birks aiming for St Sunday Crag. This was where it started to go wrong. I got a sudden pain in my right ankle, near a previous serious ankle injury, it’s not unusual to get a bit of pain in this ankle but it got worse. My ankle felt like it was in a vice. On the plus side the cloud which was very low initially was clearing higher at the same speed that we were climbing. We scrambled over Cofa Pike through some snow on to Fairfield and for a change the summit was clear with glorious views. I had to undo my gaiter and slacken my boot, my ankle was swelling and bruising. I took paracetemol and carried on – I didn’t have much choice really. We walked to Hart Crag out to Dove Crag, back to Hart Crag as we wanted to head down over Hartsop above How. We stopped for a quick sandwich and pot of lemon tea before heading down the rocky path. By now I was suffering but still able to walk fairly fast. The yomp back along the road to Patterdale was tough. We covered 11.5 miles in around five hours, which was OK for a first walk in the mountains for a while. We drove to Keswick wanting to get to Brysons tearooms for cake and coffee. Keswick was packed and sunny and we had to walk in half a mile, that was painful, my ankle was agony until I got it loosened up. Toasted Plum Bread, apple pie and ice cream and coffee made up for the grief.
On Sunday I knew I couldn’t walk much. I was applying Ibuprofen Gel regularly but it was going to be a car and camera day. There was dense fog when we set off so I decided we needed to be somewhere attractive when it started to clear, I just didn’t know when that was going to be. We drove into Langdale and the fog broke to reveal Blue sky and the top of the Langdale Pikes, it was fantastic. I immediately thought of Blea Tarn and drove up the pass out of Langdale. I expected to find, as is usual, tripods in a row, with photographers clicking away. There wasn’t a soul, it was so calm and peaceful – and beautiful – I couldn’t believe my luck. I limped as fast as I could to the Tarn, unfortunately an overnight camper, who I chatted with about the beauty, reflections and the camera I was carrying, did her best to encourage her dog into the water and she got in to get washed. It was so calm that the ripples would cross the entire tarn and spoil the photos. I shot as quick as I could, moving away from her all the time. I think I had around 15 minutes at the most before a breeze – that I couldn’t feel – started to ripple the water. The reflections disappeared and it was over. Without the bad ankle I would have missed this tranquillity as we would have been toiling up out first climb of the day. The fog stayed put in the South Lakes but we headed north over Dunmail Raise to blue sky and 17 degrees.
On Monday after 36 hours of Ibuprofen I felt that my ankle would stand a six or seven miler – but where? We had very thick fog in Ambleside so again I drove over Dunmail Raise and again it was fantastic. I could see the chance of some good photos around Thirlmere but I had to get waterside at a point where the view wasn’t obstructed with saplings and bushes growing out of the water. This was easier said than done, it took three attempts to get a decent location. I had reflections, hanging mist, water and mountains – and wet feet again, fortunately I had my walking boots and socks to put on for the walk ahead. After my photo chase we parked at Steel End and headed up the steep nose of Steel Fell. It’s a tough climb but the view over Thirlmere was great. We could see the wall of fog to the south and I was looking forward to getting to the top, hoping that we would be able to see over it with mountains poking out of a sea of white. This was exactly as it was, the Lion and the Lamb on Helm Crag looked like an island in the sea of mist. We walked along the ridge to Calf Crag with clear views to the north and a sea on mist to the south, it looked like the right choice again. We were going to head down Wythburn back to Thirlmere. Wyth Burn runs through a secluded hanging valley through an area called The Bog. I’ve walked down here a few times and at first glance it looks dry – they didn’t name it The Bog for nothing – it is extremely wet. It doesn’t matter how high you walk to avoid it – you can’t! We were wet above the gaiters by the time we got back and it was tough on the ankle. Brysons here we come, another beautiful hot day in Keswick but back to work tomorrow.
Managed to find the owner of this pristine looking Bayside Blue R34 GTR in it's stock condition, apart from the rims. Joining it is the R32 GTR that has the stock spoiler back on , looks way better than the GT Wing.
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Minister of Finance of Indonesia Sri Mulyani, and Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley participate in the Debate on the Global Economy during the 2022 Spring Meetings at the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Photo/Cory Hancock
21 April 2022
Washington, DC, United States
Photo ref: CH220421127.arw
The Tripartite Action to Protect and Promote the Rights of Migrant Workers within and from the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS TRIANGLE) project aims to reduce the exploitation of labour migrants by contributing to the development of legal and safe recruitment channels and improved labour protection mechanisms.
Funded by AusAID, one specific mechanism of the GMS TRIANGLE project is managed cross-border migration services, as shown here in Lao PDR.
© ILO/A.DOW
IMF First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and IMF Communications Department Director Gerry Rice during the Managing Director’s press conference at the 2018 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings on Thursday, October 11 in Bali, Indonesia. Ryan Rayburn/IMF Photo
Managed to get down to the Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Surf Ironwoman Series at Newcastle Beach for an hour today.
Shoot with the Canon 7S + 70-200mm f/4 IS + 1.4 extender.
View a slideshow of the entire set here.
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, First Vice President of Spain and IMFC Chair Nadia Calvino, Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann, President of the World Bank Group David Malpass, President for the 2021 COP26 conference Alok Sharma, and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Simon Stiell participate in the Getting to Net Zero with IFIs and Multilateral Partnerships Seminar during the 2022 Annual Meetings at the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Photo/Alison Shelley
12 October 2022
Washington, DC, United States
Photo ref: AS221012153.cr3
The Tripartite Action to Protect and Promote the Rights of Migrant Workers within and from the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS TRIANGLE) project aims to reduce the exploitation of labour migrants by contributing to the development of legal and safe recruitment channels and improved labour protection mechanisms.
Funded by AusAID, one specific mechanism of the GMS TRIANGLE project is managed cross-border migration services, as shown here in Lao PDR.
© ILO/A.DOW
Here is a simple way to manage fake blood. Use Photoshop or simular program.,
Takes only a couple of minutes to create blood or some other non opaque liquid.
See example...
I managed to get out with the camera the other afternoon, trying to get some autumn shots before the leaves disappear. The light over that last two weeks as been terrible, very dull but with flashes of beautiful light-I'm always at work or the wrong place as is usually the case. I popped up to Marsden, around Tunnel End. No filters just straight shots. At teatime , after work I legged it to Wessenden Head, up West Nab -one photo, just one! and the sun slipped behind a cloud never to be seen again - not that night anyway. I met Chris Nickerson on West Nab. We had never met before and stood for ages as darkness fell talking photography and road cycling.Occasionally taking a photo.Chris has some nice stuff on Flickr. We had almost the same kit with us.
I stayed until total darkness, taking photos when it was that dark I couldn't see the image in the wiewfinder. Digital sensors amaze me, the images look like they were taken in much lighter conditions. the giveaway is that the lights are all on in the distance. The morning after I went out early chasing some autumn sunrise photos. I went to South Crosland but |I was too early - can you be too early? I nipped back to work and unlocked and then went back to Helme Edge and set the tripod up - me with a tripod twice in 12 hours!- and waites fpr the sun to light Helme-and the steeple of the church I was married in. I nipped back to work but passing Blackmoorfoot Res' I saw some amazing light on the trees, I cuoldn't stop because of the rush hour traffic so reported into the girls in the office and shot back out for 15 minutes. I had to climb down to the waters edge but it was worth it.
First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath records remarks for the peek into training on climate change and the IMF Summer School at the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Photo/Cory Hancock
1 April 2022
Washington, DC, United States
Photo ref: CH220401007.arw
Agenda, Wednesday, June 5
0830 Registration of Participants
0900 Welcoming Remarks
Mr. Ernest Z. Bower
Senior Adviser and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
0915 Presentation: "The South China Sea in Focus"
Mr. Gregory Poling
Research Associate, Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
0945 Break
1015 Significance of the South China Sea Dispute
Speakers:
Dr. Patrick M. Cronin
Senior Advisor and Senior Director, Asia-Pacific Security Program
Center for a New American Security
Mr. Alexander Metelitsa
Economist
Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy
Mr. Murray Hiebert
Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Moderator:
Mr. Ernest Z. Bower
Senior Advisor and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1145 Break for Lunch
1200 Luncheon & Keynote Speech
Keynote Address:
Mr. Joseph Y. Yun
Acting Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Moderator:
Mr. Ernest Z. Bower
Senior Advisor and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1315 Break
1330 Recent Developments in the South China Sea
Speakers:
Dr. Wu Shicun
President
National Institute for South China Sea Studies
Dr. Renato C. De Castro
Professor
De La Salle University
Dr. Yann-Huei Song
Research Fellow
Institute of European American Studies
Dr. Tran Truong Thuy
Director, South China Sea Studies Program
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
Moderator:
Mr. Murray Hiebert
Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1500 Break
1515 South China Sea in Regional Politics
Speakers:
Amb. Hemant Krishan Singh
Wadhwani Chair in India-U.S. Policy Studies
Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations
Vice Admiral Hideaki Kaneda, JMSDF (ret.)
Director, The Okazaki Institute
The Japan Institute for International Affairs
Dr. Carlyle A. Thayer
Emeritus Professor
University of New South Wales, Australian Defense Force Academy
Dr. Donald K. Emmerson
Director, Southeast Asia Forum
Stanford University
Moderator:
Mr. Murray Hiebert
Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1700 End of Day One
Agenda, Thursday, June 6
0800 Registration of Participants
0900 Role of International Law in Managing the Disputes
Dr. Xinjung Zhang
Associate Professor of Public International Law
Tsinghua University Law School
Mr. Henry S. Bensurto, Jr.
Secretary General, Commission on Maritime and Ocean Affairs Secretariat
Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippines
Dr. Peter Dutton
Professor and Director, China Maritime Studies Institute
U.S. Naval War College
Dr. Nguyen Dang Thang
Vietnam Lawyer’s Association
Moderator:
Mr. Ernest Z. Bower
Senior Advisor and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1030 Coffee Break
1045 Policy Recommendations to Boost Cooperation in the South China Sea
Ms. Bonnie S. Glaser
Senior Adviser for Asia, Freeman Chair in China Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Mr. Leonardo Bernard
Research Fellow, Centre for International Law
National University of Singapore
Mr. Christian Le Miere
Senior Research Fellow for Naval Forces and Maritime Security, Defense and Military Analysis Program
International Institute for Strategic Studies
Moderator:
Mr. Ernest Z. Bower
Senior Advisor and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1215 End of Conference
Stephen Brown, Managing Director of Cohn & Wolfe Atlanta speaks at the Social Communications & Content Marketing Leadership Forum hosted by PR Newswire and the Business Development Institute on 11/15/11 in Atlanta, GA.
2 June 2015 - Talk Together-Managing Diversity in Cities
A question from the audience
OECD, Paris, France.
For more information, visit: www.oecd.org/Forum
Photo: OECD/Andrew Wheeler
We managed to get to the Lake District for the Easter weekend. We were open at work on Good Friday so I had to be in at work for a couple of hours and didn’t set off until 9.00am. We had a quick café stop and then jumped on the M62. It took us until 2.00pm to get to Langdale. We crawled up the M61 and M6, reminding me why we used to avoid Bank Holiday traffic. Although staying in Ambleside we drove to Langdale to get a couple of hours walking in. Langdale was packed but we found a place to park at the foot of the pass up to Blea Tarn. We headed up Pike of Blisco – against a steady stream of walkers descending at this time in the afternoon. I didn’t bother taking photos to any great extent, it wasn’t great light, windy and the appalling weekend forecast had depressed me – this was supposed to be the best day and it was nearly over. After a nice settled spell, possibly the first in the north of England this winter (now officially British Summertime) heavy rain and gales were coming our way apparently.
Each morning I studied the maps trying to second guess the light, wind and crowds. On Saturday it was initially dry, much to our surprise, we parked in Coniston and set off up Walna Scar Road. It’s a long steep drag to the top of the pass, the cloud was down and thick, the wind was getting extreme as we got higher – and we didn’t see a soul! We were heading over Brown Pike onto Dow Crag, we weren’t likely to get lost on a ridge. By now it was raining hard and the wind was making staying upright difficult. We slid off the rocky summit of Dow Crag on our backsides, the safest way. We dropped on to Goats Hause, the wind was screaming through and but I guessed there would be some shelter if we headed for the Old Man of Coniston. We met the first person of the day here, arriving at the summit just before him. There was still winter snow on north facing slopes but the wind wasn’t as bad as Dow Crag. It was grim, 30 metre visibility and there was very little point in staying on the tops as originally planned. Jayne was up for heading straight down the tourist track through the quarries. We have only ever ascended it before but we set off down at a trot, passing some fell runners along the way. There was a steady stream of Easter trippers heading up and judging by the questions we were asked on the way down they had little idea of what they were heading in to or how far they were from the summit, and all in appalling conditions. Lower down it was quite calm and many had little idea of the severity of the conditions on the tops. The countryside was rapidly waterlogging again after the belated dry spell.
Sunday brought more very heavy rain and gales on the tops. What looked like snow had accumulated on high ground overnight. It was actually several inches of hail and was horrible underfoot, like small wet marbles but trapping a lot of water on the lower slopes below the freezing line. We parked at Patterdale and walked across slopes that the recent floods had wreaked havoc on, with a lot of remedial work to be done this summer. The plan was to get to Boardale Hause and decide whether to go high – over Place Fell – or head in to Boardale and stay low by doing a circuit of Place Fell. It was raining hard and there was a howling gale but it was behind us, the cloud had lifted a bit so we went high. The summit plateau was a nightmare, covered in slippy, wet, slushy hail with the wind nearly blowing us over. We went north straight over the top and down the other side, the top was in thick cloud but the lower slopes were clear and we legged it off the fell, descending by Scalehow Force waterfall, which was in fine form with the heavy rain. We followed the path above the shores of Ullswater back to Patterdale. Another wet walk.
Monday saw us parked a mile or so south of yesterday’s parking place in Patterdale at Bridgend. With the weather being bad people weren’t out early, even on a bank holiday, so we didn’t have a problem parking. There wasn’t a plan, we were just making it up. Today looked promising, Storm Katie was battering the rest of the country but missed the north for a change. The tops were wintry, again it was hail accumulations not snow, on the high ground it was on very old lying snow and very difficult on steep descents. We decided to take the steady slopes of Hartsop above How to Hart Crag, on to Fairfield and then hopefully over Cofa Pike on to St Sunday Crag, Birks and finally Arnison Crag. This was just less than ten miles and it turned out to be a very tough five hours, exhausting, particularly after the three previous days. A large coastguard helicopter circled us repeatedly and finally landed on the path we were following to Hart Crag, we assumed it was on an exercise. The ground was frozen above 2500 feet and walking was easier as the snow/hail was load bearing and we could yomp on a bit. It was like midwinter with frequent squally whiteouts blasting in. The wind would pick up first lifting the frozen hail in a frozen spindrift that bounced along several feet high blasting our faces, this was followed by, what was more like frozen drizzle than snow, fine, but hard, we could feel it through our clothes it came at us that hard. I decided that we would head straight over Cofa Pike to St Sunday. A mistake with hindsight. The lake of footprints was the first bad sign but we were committed. We lived to tell the tale but Jayne had a bit of a near miss. The crag down to Cofa is steep and it was covered in hail on old snow, the layer of hail was shearing away from the underlying snow and we had to go down on out backsides, keeping a tight grip as we went. At one point Jayne failed to arrest a slide that was above a steep and deep drop. I had hold of her from a position in front of her and to her left and I was fairly well anchored so I felt in control and was sure of the outcome. From her point of view it was frightening and it subdued her for the rest of the walk. She had also ripped the outer lining of her Paramo waterproof trousers as well. Considering that we were going downhill it was hard going, every step a slip or a slide, with the underlying grass saturated and a thin layer of hail it was an unpleasant walk off the fell. At the end of Arnison Crag we took a pathless shortcut – that we swore we would never use again years ago – to save around twenty minutes of walking. This was the only day I had the camera out all day and had to cover it with a dryliner bag whenever a heavy shower came in. I also broke the lens hood. We drove to Keswick for afternoon coffee and toast at Brysons. The new Paramo store across the square was the next stop for new trousers. These Paramos had cost £85 14 years ago and they have just brought a new model out. We had two choices, The old model was reduced to…..£85 – after 14 years we could pay the same price or we could return the old trousers - cleaned – and get a £50 voucher towards the new model, which are £135, or £85 with the voucher. The old ones were ¾ of a mile away in the car – unwashed – so we bought the old model. Needless to say we had a couple of drinks in the Golden Rule in Ambleside every night before our tea.
Finally I managed to get inside and get permission to shoot the old 1936 Grade II Listed Chester Odeon Cinema. Work is just about to start (in December 2014) in turning this building into a new world-class theatre, library and cinema (due for completion in 2016).
The building will be run by Chester Performs and will also house much of that company’s work, including the Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre company, the MBNA Chester Music Festival and Essar Chester Literature Festival.
A few highlights from the mornings shoot where as follows:
-Still seeing a few (untouched but mouldy!) Juicy Strawberry sweets in the pick and mix.
-Two of the projectors still wired up in the main projection room.
-The smell of the building was odd but seemed to have a lot of history to it (like an old book).
-Finding a reel of unused tickets (I took one as a memento!).
-Seeing the “ODEON” sign marks on the wall (the original letters have been removed).
-Finding a sign for the film “28 weeks later” which looks like it might have been one of the last screenings in the cinema (from 2007).
For more information about the project and current plans (being submitted for planning application) see the web site:
To see a recent film made by Chat Noir Productions Ltd for the project called “Ghosts of the Odeon”, see this link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7YkpgG8NRE
Many thanks to the team in RE:NEW for allowing me to shoot inside the building and I also look forward to hopefully revisiting the building during the restoration / building process.
We managed to get to the Lake District for the Easter weekend. We were open at work on Good Friday so I had to be in at work for a couple of hours and didn’t set off until 9.00am. We had a quick café stop and then jumped on the M62. It took us until 2.00pm to get to Langdale. We crawled up the M61 and M6, reminding me why we used to avoid Bank Holiday traffic. Although staying in Ambleside we drove to Langdale to get a couple of hours walking in. Langdale was packed but we found a place to park at the foot of the pass up to Blea Tarn. We headed up Pike of Blisco – against a steady stream of walkers descending at this time in the afternoon. I didn’t bother taking photos to any great extent, it wasn’t great light, windy and the appalling weekend forecast had depressed me – this was supposed to be the best day and it was nearly over. After a nice settled spell, possibly the first in the north of England this winter (now officially British Summertime) heavy rain and gales were coming our way apparently.
Each morning I studied the maps trying to second guess the light, wind and crowds. On Saturday it was initially dry, much to our surprise, we parked in Coniston and set off up Walna Scar Road. It’s a long steep drag to the top of the pass, the cloud was down and thick, the wind was getting extreme as we got higher – and we didn’t see a soul! We were heading over Brown Pike onto Dow Crag, we weren’t likely to get lost on a ridge. By now it was raining hard and the wind was making staying upright difficult. We slid off the rocky summit of Dow Crag on our backsides, the safest way. We dropped on to Goats Hause, the wind was screaming through and but I guessed there would be some shelter if we headed for the Old Man of Coniston. We met the first person of the day here, arriving at the summit just before him. There was still winter snow on north facing slopes but the wind wasn’t as bad as Dow Crag. It was grim, 30 metre visibility and there was very little point in staying on the tops as originally planned. Jayne was up for heading straight down the tourist track through the quarries. We have only ever ascended it before but we set off down at a trot, passing some fell runners along the way. There was a steady stream of Easter trippers heading up and judging by the questions we were asked on the way down they had little idea of what they were heading in to or how far they were from the summit, and all in appalling conditions. Lower down it was quite calm and many had little idea of the severity of the conditions on the tops. The countryside was rapidly waterlogging again after the belated dry spell.
Sunday brought more very heavy rain and gales on the tops. What looked like snow had accumulated on high ground overnight. It was actually several inches of hail and was horrible underfoot, like small wet marbles but trapping a lot of water on the lower slopes below the freezing line. We parked at Patterdale and walked across slopes that the recent floods had wreaked havoc on, with a lot of remedial work to be done this summer. The plan was to get to Boardale Hause and decide whether to go high – over Place Fell – or head in to Boardale and stay low by doing a circuit of Place Fell. It was raining hard and there was a howling gale but it was behind us, the cloud had lifted a bit so we went high. The summit plateau was a nightmare, covered in slippy, wet, slushy hail with the wind nearly blowing us over. We went north straight over the top and down the other side, the top was in thick cloud but the lower slopes were clear and we legged it off the fell, descending by Scalehow Force waterfall, which was in fine form with the heavy rain. We followed the path above the shores of Ullswater back to Patterdale. Another wet walk.
Monday saw us parked a mile or so south of yesterday’s parking place in Patterdale at Bridgend. With the weather being bad people weren’t out early, even on a bank holiday, so we didn’t have a problem parking. There wasn’t a plan, we were just making it up. Today looked promising, Storm Katie was battering the rest of the country but missed the north for a change. The tops were wintry, again it was hail accumulations not snow, on the high ground it was on very old lying snow and very difficult on steep descents. We decided to take the steady slopes of Hartsop above How to Hart Crag, on to Fairfield and then hopefully over Cofa Pike on to St Sunday Crag, Birks and finally Arnison Crag. This was just less than ten miles and it turned out to be a very tough five hours, exhausting, particularly after the three previous days. A large coastguard helicopter circled us repeatedly and finally landed on the path we were following to Hart Crag, we assumed it was on an exercise. The ground was frozen above 2500 feet and walking was easier as the snow/hail was load bearing and we could yomp on a bit. It was like midwinter with frequent squally whiteouts blasting in. The wind would pick up first lifting the frozen hail in a frozen spindrift that bounced along several feet high blasting our faces, this was followed by, what was more like frozen drizzle than snow, fine, but hard, we could feel it through our clothes it came at us that hard. I decided that we would head straight over Cofa Pike to St Sunday. A mistake with hindsight. The lake of footprints was the first bad sign but we were committed. We lived to tell the tale but Jayne had a bit of a near miss. The crag down to Cofa is steep and it was covered in hail on old snow, the layer of hail was shearing away from the underlying snow and we had to go down on out backsides, keeping a tight grip as we went. At one point Jayne failed to arrest a slide that was above a steep and deep drop. I had hold of her from a position in front of her and to her left and I was fairly well anchored so I felt in control and was sure of the outcome. From her point of view it was frightening and it subdued her for the rest of the walk. She had also ripped the outer lining of her Paramo waterproof trousers as well. Considering that we were going downhill it was hard going, every step a slip or a slide, with the underlying grass saturated and a thin layer of hail it was an unpleasant walk off the fell. At the end of Arnison Crag we took a pathless shortcut – that we swore we would never use again years ago – to save around twenty minutes of walking. This was the only day I had the camera out all day and had to cover it with a dryliner bag whenever a heavy shower came in. I also broke the lens hood. We drove to Keswick for afternoon coffee and toast at Brysons. The new Paramo store across the square was the next stop for new trousers. These Paramos had cost £85 14 years ago and they have just brought a new model out. We had two choices, The old model was reduced to…..£85 – after 14 years we could pay the same price or we could return the old trousers - cleaned – and get a £50 voucher towards the new model, which are £135, or £85 with the voucher. The old ones were ¾ of a mile away in the car – unwashed – so we bought the old model. Needless to say we had a couple of drinks in the Golden Rule in Ambleside every night before our tea.
Agenda, Wednesday, June 5
0830 Registration of Participants
0900 Welcoming Remarks
Mr. Ernest Z. Bower
Senior Adviser and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
0915 Presentation: "The South China Sea in Focus"
Mr. Gregory Poling
Research Associate, Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
0945 Break
1015 Significance of the South China Sea Dispute
Speakers:
Dr. Patrick M. Cronin
Senior Advisor and Senior Director, Asia-Pacific Security Program
Center for a New American Security
Mr. Alexander Metelitsa
Economist
Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy
Mr. Murray Hiebert
Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Moderator:
Mr. Ernest Z. Bower
Senior Advisor and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1145 Break for Lunch
1200 Luncheon & Keynote Speech
Keynote Address:
Mr. Joseph Y. Yun
Acting Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Moderator:
Mr. Ernest Z. Bower
Senior Advisor and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1315 Break
1330 Recent Developments in the South China Sea
Speakers:
Dr. Wu Shicun
President
National Institute for South China Sea Studies
Dr. Renato C. De Castro
Professor
De La Salle University
Dr. Yann-Huei Song
Research Fellow
Institute of European American Studies
Dr. Tran Truong Thuy
Director, South China Sea Studies Program
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
Moderator:
Mr. Murray Hiebert
Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1500 Break
1515 South China Sea in Regional Politics
Speakers:
Amb. Hemant Krishan Singh
Wadhwani Chair in India-U.S. Policy Studies
Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations
Vice Admiral Hideaki Kaneda, JMSDF (ret.)
Director, The Okazaki Institute
The Japan Institute for International Affairs
Dr. Carlyle A. Thayer
Emeritus Professor
University of New South Wales, Australian Defense Force Academy
Dr. Donald K. Emmerson
Director, Southeast Asia Forum
Stanford University
Moderator:
Mr. Murray Hiebert
Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1700 End of Day One
Agenda, Thursday, June 6
0800 Registration of Participants
0900 Role of International Law in Managing the Disputes
Dr. Xinjung Zhang
Associate Professor of Public International Law
Tsinghua University Law School
Mr. Henry S. Bensurto, Jr.
Secretary General, Commission on Maritime and Ocean Affairs Secretariat
Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippines
Dr. Peter Dutton
Professor and Director, China Maritime Studies Institute
U.S. Naval War College
Dr. Nguyen Dang Thang
Vietnam Lawyer’s Association
Moderator:
Mr. Ernest Z. Bower
Senior Advisor and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1030 Coffee Break
1045 Policy Recommendations to Boost Cooperation in the South China Sea
Ms. Bonnie S. Glaser
Senior Adviser for Asia, Freeman Chair in China Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Mr. Leonardo Bernard
Research Fellow, Centre for International Law
National University of Singapore
Mr. Christian Le Miere
Senior Research Fellow for Naval Forces and Maritime Security, Defense and Military Analysis Program
International Institute for Strategic Studies
Moderator:
Mr. Ernest Z. Bower
Senior Advisor and Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1215 End of Conference
Managed to grab this image from Oxfordshire last night,
before the fog rolled in.
C11
EOS 600D
Photoshop
Managing Director of the IMF Christine Lagarde attends the Development Committee meeting at the 2017 World Bank-IMF Spring Meeting in Washington on April 22, 2017.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Christine Lagarde (R) and Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness (L) listen to Peter Blair Henry's keynote address at the 2017 High Level Caribbean Forum, Unleashing Growth and Strengthening Resilience, in Kingston, Jamaica November 16, 2017. IMF Photo/Alex Curro
We managed to get to the Lake District for the Easter weekend. We were open at work on Good Friday so I had to be in at work for a couple of hours and didn’t set off until 9.00am. We had a quick café stop and then jumped on the M62. It took us until 2.00pm to get to Langdale. We crawled up the M61 and M6, reminding me why we used to avoid Bank Holiday traffic. Although staying in Ambleside we drove to Langdale to get a couple of hours walking in. Langdale was packed but we found a place to park at the foot of the pass up to Blea Tarn. We headed up Pike of Blisco – against a steady stream of walkers descending at this time in the afternoon. I didn’t bother taking photos to any great extent, it wasn’t great light, windy and the appalling weekend forecast had depressed me – this was supposed to be the best day and it was nearly over. After a nice settled spell, possibly the first in the north of England this winter (now officially British Summertime) heavy rain and gales were coming our way apparently.
Each morning I studied the maps trying to second guess the light, wind and crowds. On Saturday it was initially dry, much to our surprise, we parked in Coniston and set off up Walna Scar Road. It’s a long steep drag to the top of the pass, the cloud was down and thick, the wind was getting extreme as we got higher – and we didn’t see a soul! We were heading over Brown Pike onto Dow Crag, we weren’t likely to get lost on a ridge. By now it was raining hard and the wind was making staying upright difficult. We slid off the rocky summit of Dow Crag on our backsides, the safest way. We dropped on to Goats Hause, the wind was screaming through and but I guessed there would be some shelter if we headed for the Old Man of Coniston. We met the first person of the day here, arriving at the summit just before him. There was still winter snow on north facing slopes but the wind wasn’t as bad as Dow Crag. It was grim, 30 metre visibility and there was very little point in staying on the tops as originally planned. Jayne was up for heading straight down the tourist track through the quarries. We have only ever ascended it before but we set off down at a trot, passing some fell runners along the way. There was a steady stream of Easter trippers heading up and judging by the questions we were asked on the way down they had little idea of what they were heading in to or how far they were from the summit, and all in appalling conditions. Lower down it was quite calm and many had little idea of the severity of the conditions on the tops. The countryside was rapidly waterlogging again after the belated dry spell.
Sunday brought more very heavy rain and gales on the tops. What looked like snow had accumulated on high ground overnight. It was actually several inches of hail and was horrible underfoot, like small wet marbles but trapping a lot of water on the lower slopes below the freezing line. We parked at Patterdale and walked across slopes that the recent floods had wreaked havoc on, with a lot of remedial work to be done this summer. The plan was to get to Boardale Hause and decide whether to go high – over Place Fell – or head in to Boardale and stay low by doing a circuit of Place Fell. It was raining hard and there was a howling gale but it was behind us, the cloud had lifted a bit so we went high. The summit plateau was a nightmare, covered in slippy, wet, slushy hail with the wind nearly blowing us over. We went north straight over the top and down the other side, the top was in thick cloud but the lower slopes were clear and we legged it off the fell, descending by Scalehow Force waterfall, which was in fine form with the heavy rain. We followed the path above the shores of Ullswater back to Patterdale. Another wet walk.
Monday saw us parked a mile or so south of yesterday’s parking place in Patterdale at Bridgend. With the weather being bad people weren’t out early, even on a bank holiday, so we didn’t have a problem parking. There wasn’t a plan, we were just making it up. Today looked promising, Storm Katie was battering the rest of the country but missed the north for a change. The tops were wintry, again it was hail accumulations not snow, on the high ground it was on very old lying snow and very difficult on steep descents. We decided to take the steady slopes of Hartsop above How to Hart Crag, on to Fairfield and then hopefully over Cofa Pike on to St Sunday Crag, Birks and finally Arnison Crag. This was just less than ten miles and it turned out to be a very tough five hours, exhausting, particularly after the three previous days. A large coastguard helicopter circled us repeatedly and finally landed on the path we were following to Hart Crag, we assumed it was on an exercise. The ground was frozen above 2500 feet and walking was easier as the snow/hail was load bearing and we could yomp on a bit. It was like midwinter with frequent squally whiteouts blasting in. The wind would pick up first lifting the frozen hail in a frozen spindrift that bounced along several feet high blasting our faces, this was followed by, what was more like frozen drizzle than snow, fine, but hard, we could feel it through our clothes it came at us that hard. I decided that we would head straight over Cofa Pike to St Sunday. A mistake with hindsight. The lake of footprints was the first bad sign but we were committed. We lived to tell the tale but Jayne had a bit of a near miss. The crag down to Cofa is steep and it was covered in hail on old snow, the layer of hail was shearing away from the underlying snow and we had to go down on out backsides, keeping a tight grip as we went. At one point Jayne failed to arrest a slide that was above a steep and deep drop. I had hold of her from a position in front of her and to her left and I was fairly well anchored so I felt in control and was sure of the outcome. From her point of view it was frightening and it subdued her for the rest of the walk. She had also ripped the outer lining of her Paramo waterproof trousers as well. Considering that we were going downhill it was hard going, every step a slip or a slide, with the underlying grass saturated and a thin layer of hail it was an unpleasant walk off the fell. At the end of Arnison Crag we took a pathless shortcut – that we swore we would never use again years ago – to save around twenty minutes of walking. This was the only day I had the camera out all day and had to cover it with a dryliner bag whenever a heavy shower came in. I also broke the lens hood. We drove to Keswick for afternoon coffee and toast at Brysons. The new Paramo store across the square was the next stop for new trousers. These Paramos had cost £85 14 years ago and they have just brought a new model out. We had two choices, The old model was reduced to…..£85 – after 14 years we could pay the same price or we could return the old trousers - cleaned – and get a £50 voucher towards the new model, which are £135, or £85 with the voucher. The old ones were ¾ of a mile away in the car – unwashed – so we bought the old model. Needless to say we had a couple of drinks in the Golden Rule in Ambleside every night before our tea.